| WG.5 |
The student will compare and contrast the distribution, growth rates, and characteristics of human population in terms of settlement patterns and the location of natural and capital resources. |
| WG.6 |
The student will analyze past and present trends in human migration and cultural interaction as they are influenced by social, economic, political, and environmental factors. |
| WG.11 |
The student will analyze the patterns of urban development by |
| |
|
a) |
applying the concepts of site and situation to major cities in each region; |
| |
|
b) |
explaining how the functions of towns and cities have changed over time; |
| |
|
c) |
describing the unique influence of urban areas and some challenges they face. |
Explain that population distribution is described according to location and density.
Describe the following human, environmental, economic, and political factors that influence population distribution:
• Natural resources (oil, arable land, water)
• Climate (hot/cold; wet/dry)
• Economic development
• Government policy
• Rural/urban settlement
• Capital resources (transportation, technology)
• Conflicts (refugees)
Explain that characteristics of human populations differ over time and from region to region.
Explain the following characteristics of human populations:
• Birth and death rates
• Age distribution
• Male/female distribution
• Life expectancy
• Infant mortality
• Urban/rural
• GDP
• Ethnicity
• Language
• Religion
• Education
Explain that population growth rates are influenced by human, environmental, economic, and political factors.
Describe the following factors that influence growth rate:
• Modern medicine and hygiene
• Education
• Industrialization and urbanization
• Economic development
• Government policy
• Role of women in society
Explain the following social, economic, political, and environmental push/pull factors that have influenced human migration:
• Push factors
- Overpopulation
- Religious persecution
- Lack of job opportunities
- Agricultural decline
- Conflict
- Political persecution
- Natural hazards — Droughts, floods, famines, volcanic eruptions
- Limits on personal freedom
- Environmental degradation
• Pull factors
- Religion
- Economic opportunity
- Land availability
- Political freedom
- Ethnic and family ties
- Arable land
Explain how migrations have influenced the following:
• Language
• Religion and religious freedom
• Customs/traditions
• Cultural landscape
Explain how modern transportation and communication are encouraging higher levels of cultural interaction worldwide. Include the following evidence of cultural interaction:
• Diffusion of U.S. culture to other regions
• Popularization of other cultures’ traditions in the United States
Describe site as the actual location of a city.
Describe the following examples of site:
• Harbor sites: New York City; Alexandria, Egypt; Istanbul, Turkey
• Island sites: Paris (originally located on an island in the Seine River), Hong Kong, • Singapore
• Fall line sites: Richmond, Virginia
• Confluence sites: Khartoum, Sudan; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Hilltop sites: Rome, Athens, Jerusalem
• Oasis sites: Damascus, Syria
• Sites where rivers narrow: London, Quebec City
Describe situation as another name for relative location — the location of a city with respect to other geographic features, regions, resources, and transport routes.
Explain that site and situation are important geographic concepts when studying the growth of cities.
Describe the following examples of situation:
• Baghdad — Command of land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
• Istanbul — Command of straits and land bridge to Europe
• Mecca, Saudi Arabia; Varanasi (Benares), India — Focal point of pilgrimages
• Samarkand, Uzbekistan; Xi’an, China; Timbuktu, Mali; Singapore — Cities that grew up around trade routes (the Silk Road; Trans-Sahara trade; maritime trade)
• Capetown, South Africa — Supply station for ships
• Omaha, Nebraska; Sacramento, California — Cities that grew up along the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad
• Novosibirsk, Vladivostok — Cities that grew up along the Trans-Siberian Railroad
Explain that patterns of urban development occur according to site and situation.
Summarize the following functions of towns and cities:
• Security, defense
• Religious centers
• Trade centers (local and long distance)
• Government administration
• Manufacturing centers
• Service centers
Use the following examples to explain how the functions of towns and cities have changed over time:
• Rio de Janeiro — Move of Brazil’s capital city from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Early function connected to defense, then became steel manufacturing center, later shifted to diverse services (financial, light manufacturing)
• New York City — Changes in trade patterns, coastal and transatlantic trade, trade from Great Lakes via Erie Canal, worldwide trade and finances
• Mining towns, “ghost” towns — Resource depletion, changes in the environment
Explain the following powerful influences urban areas have on the world’s cultural, political, and economic ideas and systems:
• Nation-building (monuments, symbols)
• Transportation/communication hubs
• Magnets for migration
• Seed beds of new ideas and technologies
• Diversity, leading to creativity in the arts
• Universities, educational opportunities
• Corporate headquarters/regional offices
• Media centers (news, entertainment)
Summarize the following problems related to human mobility, social structure, and the environment that may occur as a result of development:
• Transportation problems emerge, especially as automobile travel increases.
• Rich and poor neighborhoods exist in different areas isolated from one another.
• Providing essential services (fresh water, sewage treatment, waste disposal, electricity, schools, clinics) becomes a problem.
• Air, water, and noise pollution increase.
• Sprawl results in conversion of agricultural land to urban uses, especially in North America.
• Rapid immigration results in “shantytowns” on the edges of cities in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
• In developing countries, major cities are more connected to regions outside the country than to regions within the country.
Below is an annotated list of Internet resources recommended for this organizing topic. Copyright restrictions may exist for the material on some Web sites. Please note and abide by any such restrictions.
“GDP.” National Economic Accounts. U.S. Department of Commerce; Bureau of Economic Analysis. <http://www.bea.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta.exe?q=GDP&btnSubmit=Go&input-form=simple-clustergoogle&v%3Asources=GoogleAppliance>. This site provides information on the GDP.
“The Characteristics, Distribution, and Migration of Human Population on Earth’s Surface.” National Geographic Xpeditions: Geography Standards in Your Classroom. <http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/standards/09/>. This site provides information on population distribution.
Outline Maps — Education Place. Houghton Mifflin, 2002. <http://www.eduplace.com/ss/ssmaps/>. This site permits visitors to print a variety of maps related to this organizing topic.
Subject Access: World Geography, Languages, and Regional Information. Discovery Channel School. <http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/world/geog.html>. This site provides links to many Web sites on geography.
The World Factbook 2002. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. <https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html>. This site contains searchable information on all countries.
Virginia Standards of Learning Assessments for the 2001 History and Social Science Standards of Learning: History and Social Science Released Items for Virginia and United States History. Virginia Department of Education 2003/04. <http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Assessment/Release2003/History/VA-RIBs_g11wgeo-1.pdf>.
Virginia Standards of Learning Assessments for the 2001 History and Social Science Standards of Learning: World Geography Test Blueprint. Virginia Department of Education, 2003/04. <http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Assessment/HistoryBlueprints03/2002Blueprint9WG.pdf>. This site provides assessment information for the course in World Geography. |
