Concepts Key 3 1) Population geographers depend on a wide array of data sources to assess the geography of populations. The most important of these are censuses, while other sources include vital records and public health statistics. 2) Population geographers are concerned with the same sorts of questions that other population experts address, but differ from demographers by asking about "the why of where." Why do particular aspects of population growth and change (and problems) occur where they do, and what are the implications of these factors for the future of places? 3) Two of the most important factors that make up population dynamics are birth and death. Crude birth and crude death rates measure population change, so population geographers also look at factors such as the particular experiences of certain age cohorts in age-sex pyramids or race cohorts to understand how those factors influence birth and death rates. 4) A crucial force in population change is migration, or the movement of populations. The push factors that force populations from particular locations as well as pull factors that cause them to move to new areas are key to understanding new settlement patterns. Population migration may not always be a matter of choice. Migration is one of the most important factors affecting the distribution of world population today. For some countries whose birth rates are especially low, migration is one way of reversing that trend. 5) The demographic transition is a model of population change in which high birth and death rates are replaced by low birth and death rates. Once a society moves from a preindustrial economic base to an industrial one, population growth slows. According to the demographic transition model, the slowing of population growth is attributable to improved economic production and higher standards of living brought about by better health care, education, and sanitation. 6) Perhaps the most pressing question facing scholars, policymakers, and other interested individuals is: How can the global economy provide the world's growing population with enough food and safe drinking water and a sustainable environment so that all the world's people have the basic necessities for enjoying happy, healthy, and satisfying lives? The most recent approach to limiting population growth is to look toward sustainable economic development as a way of limiting births and ensuring an improved quality of life. Key Concepts 5 1) Geographers have been focused upon culture as it shapes the characteristics of a place, while the geography of a place shapes the culture. The subfield of cultural geography focuses on how space, place, and landscape shape culture, and vice versa. Your text employs two broad categories of culture: folk culture- comprised of traditional practices, practiced by small groups. popular culture- comprised of heterogeneous tastes, often changing, practiced by the masses. 2) Cultural complexes are studied in several ways. The first major piece of data is the cultural landscape. If one reads the landscape, insights are gained into the interactions between culture and natural landscapes. These interactions affect housing styles, densities, mobility, communication, economic production, just to name a few aspects of human culture. Important parts of these cultures are specific culture traits. Rites of passage, marking the progression from childhood to the adult world are examples of cultural traits, as well as dietary habits, religious practices, etc. When aggregated, commonalities in practices can be delineated, forming the basis of classifying parts of the globe as cultural regions. In these places, observers find enough commonality in cultural traits and practices as practiced by a majority of people, and thus create regions reflecting these values 3) Culture is often used as a primary marker of identity. Cultural systems are the aggregate of several components including various traits, territorial affinity, and shared history. Major cultural identity markers include religion, language, ethnicity, gender, and race. 4) Globalization of culture has led to the interaction of cultures in ways never conceived. One view of globalization is that it is the "Americanization" of the world's culture. Consumption of American cultural products is clearly global, but this implies that consuming these things has the same meaning overseas as it does in the United States. Each place on the globe reacts differently to globalized cultural inputs.
5) The issue of a global culture is also important. World music is an example where cultures that are diffusing across the globe are interacting to foster new cultural forms and artifacts. This would seem to indicate that cultures will continue to work in a multidirectional way, with interactions reshaping cultures in both the core and the periphery. Key Concepts 6 1) People are actively involved in the process of place-making, that is, giving meaning to places that resonate with their own culture. One key process is territoriality, the desire to have a place to call your own, whether it be individually or as part of a group. Territoriality can be used to regulate social interaction (who is allowed in this space), control access to food and resources, and provide a focus for a group, as part of their common identity. 2) Understanding landscapes is important to understanding local culture. Geographers use several classifications to describe processes on the ground. One landscape form is the derelict landscape, those of places with little hope (homeless encampments, the slums of periphery cities, abandoned city centers). Another form is the ordinary landscape, which can be quite powerful in representing certain values, ideologies, morals, and patterns of consumption. Looking at any landscape, one may treat it as a text, something to be read and understood if one wishes to understand the people living in a place and the interactions that occur there on a daily basis. 3) Reading a landscape as text requires an understanding of how the different landscapes communicate culture. Semiotics, the study of signs and meanings, aids geographers in comprehending the vast number of cultural clues present in a landscape. Your text considers the signs found in places of consumption such as malls and shopping centers. It also considers signs near places that are considered sacred to religions. 4) Modernity, the forward looking view of the world that emphasizes science, technology, and novelty, is a major design force on many landscapes. New forms of design are coming to the forefront, including postmodern design (an emphasis on a mix of styles, artistic expression, and political empowerment). These designs and sign systems on the landscape reflect a cultural system of its own. 5) Finally, places are often treated as objects of consumption in their own right. Places one vacations, where one lives, and where one works are all markers of economic status. As places become objects of consumption, place marketing and the creation of sites aimed at fostering consumption of a particular image are increasing in importance as cities, regions, and countries try to promote tourism and investment. Key Concepts 7 1) Economic development, as defined by social scientists, refers to the processes of change involving multiple aspects of an economy, not just the relative prosperity. These include changes in the type of economic activity that dominates (agriculture, manufacturing, or services), changes in the way the economic production is set up (is it a capitalist system or some other type?), and the change in the use of technology in a locale. 2) Economic development is an inherently uneven process, exhibiting core-periphery patterns in many measures of economic well-being. There are also marked differences in development on gender roles, as well as economic development and human development indices. One of the reasons for the uneven pattern of development is the distribution of resources such as agricultural land, natural resources, and the population to produce resources. 3) Across the globe there are increasing tendencies to specialize in certain economic activities. The process is known as the geographic division of labor. Newly industrializing countries are examples of this greater specialization as they transform their economies from resources based on manufacturing or service-based economies. Other regions remain peripheral, and often display forms of dependency on core regions in terms of trade, aid, and debt. 4) Many scholars have proposed models to aid countries in developing their economies. One of the more famous was Rostow's stages of economic development. The model, while intuitive, is attacked as an oversimplification. Others working from a world-system theory argue that the reason the core regions are rich is because of the exploitation of the periphery for cheap resources. Economic courses rise as a function of several processes. A place may have an initial advantage in an economic activity, and with further development, may accrue localization economies where the input and knowledgeable labor are close at hand to make production even more efficient and competitive with other firms. Ancillary industries that support the initial companies develop, broadening the economy. Not all places that start as the core stay in the core. Processes of deindustrialization and creative destruction are important in understanding how regions rise and fall in the global economic system. New places are seen as offering
better possibilities of high profits, leading some firms to relocate. Others are not able to compete with global competitors and the firms go out of business, leaving behind derelict landscapes ripe for redevelopment. Government intervention also is part of the economic development process, as governments attempt to foster economic growth. 5) Whereas in the past, production of a product could be local in nature, today observers refer to the global assembly line to denote the expansion of transnational firms overseas, exploiting proximity to markets and cheaper labor. Flexible production systems allow for greater response to market conditions in terms of styles of products and the speed in which they are produced. Just-in-time production systems are also becoming important, as factories place orders for parts and inputs, and have them delivered as they are needed, reducing the need for large warehouses for inventory. These principles are also applied to the service sectors as well, as call centers and software developers head overseas for the same reasons manufacturers have. 6) Tourism is also a growing component of economic development, though the actual impacts on places remain questionable. Ecotourism is a buzzword that implies ecological harmony and development, but there are questions about the eco-friendly nature of the industry. Tourism at one time was only for the wealthy, but with the decline in transportation costs and larger middle classes, tourism is taking off, and places rush to meet this demand. Key Concepts 8 This chapter's introduction makes it clear that there have been massive changes in the way we eat, our tastes and preferences, and how our food is produced and delivered to our tables, if we eat at home anymore. 1) Agricultural practices are considered both a science and an art, as well as a business where the aim ranges from feeding a family to raising enough product to make a profit. Early forms of food procurement relied on hunting and gathering, which usually provided subsistence levels of production. Subsistence agriculture is a system where the farming produces enough for a family, with nothing left for profit. Commercial agriculture on the other hand is clearly aimed at creating surpluses for profit. A variety of forms of subsistence agriculture have developed that are appropriate for the environments in which they are practiced. Shifting cultivation is one that works in tropical areas where the challenge is to maintain the fertility of the soil. A second is intensive subsistence agriculture, focusing on highly efficient use of small parcels of land to produce high yields. This form of agriculture usually relies on large inputs of human labor and fertilizers. Lastly, pastoralism is the third form of subsistence, the breeding and herding of animals being the dominant activity. 2) Three major revolutions have transformed agricultural production over time. The first revolution involved the development of seed agriculture and the harnessing of animal power to expand the area that could be farmed. The second revolution involved the further development of technologies yokes (better on oxen for more efficient animal labor, use of fertilizers, and development of field drainage systems) at the same time the industrial revolution was starting. The third revolution is characterized by several key innovations: mechanization, chemical farming, and food manufacturing. This final revolution laid the groundwork for the industrialization of agriculture, a shift in focus of agriculture from the farm to the whole process of creating hybrids that will have high yields, and to the delivery of food to the consumer, creating an agro-commodity production system. 3) Globalization of agriculture is a process that is multifaceted in layers and stakeholders. Supranational organizations such as the World Trade Organization and the European Union (EU) are major influences on global agriculture in terms of trade rules or subsidies to farmers in the case of the EU. States also are important players, as they try to protect farmers from the increasingly global pressures of competition. Non-state actors are also vital to consider. Banks and credit companies are increasingly important in the financing of high-tech inputs into farming. 4) Biotechnology has emerged as a Janus-faced entity within agriculture systems. On the one hand, proponents believe that production costs decline when biotechnology is used in farming practices, addressing issues of environmental degradation, overuse of chemical inputs, and soil depletion. Simultaneously, the technology has attracted a host of detractors who point out that the diffusion of such technology remains in the core regions of the world, with the transformative effects never reaching the people who could benefit. Biotechnology also promises to change the ways of farmers, making some roles obsolete. 5) Agriculture is intimately linked to the environment. Whether practiced at a subsistence level or in the industrialized commercial form, several processes impact a variety of environments. Chemical usage, in the form of pesticides, has had unforeseen impacts on wildlife. Farming techniques that may not work in all areas have contributed to denudation of
vegetation and soil depletion. The increasing use of genetically modified organisms has also raised concerns, particularly in European Union states which have blocked their use over long-term environmental concerns.
Ch.3 Objectives Chapter 3 explores how the geography of population is directly connected to the complex forces that drive globalization. Over the past 500 years the distribution of the world's population has changed dramatically as capitalist economies have expanded, bringing new and different peoples into contact with one another and setting into motion additional patterns of national and regional migrations. Our chapter on population also examines how death rates, birth rates, and migration rates are the central variables of population growth and change. Additionally, this chapter demonstrates how geographers, while largely concerned with the same sorts of questions that other population experts study, also investigate "the why of the where." Specifically they ask: Why do particular aspects of population growth and change (and problems) occur where they do and what are the implications of these factors for the future of these places? Emphasizing the book's globalization framework, the authors illustrate in this chapter how the political and economic changes occurring in one part of the world send waves through the global system that affect people in other parts of the world. In order to understand the geography of human populations, we must also understand how places fit into the wider global economic system, past and present. The objectives of this chapter are to: 1. Examine the national census and understand its limitations 2. Investigate population distribution and structure 3. Explore the various population dynamics and processes 4. Understand population movement and migration 5. Discuss current population policies and debates Objectives 5 A study of human geography generally looks individually at the components of culture as systems. These systems, such as interaction with the environment, religion, agriculture, politics, social interactions, economics, music, language, architecture, and all that is culture, are then assessed collectively to define a culture. Culture, as a collective character of human beings, is learned and propagated through these systems. This chapter focuses on defining what a culture is and what forces influence the establishment of culture. The chapter considers globalization as a force which has attempted to produce a unified culture. Mechanisms such as the international media, music, and business quickly spread a materialist culture. Cultures are influenced by outside forces and sometimes can assimilate these characteristic changes to produce further diversity. The cultural landscape, as Carl Sauer described it, was defined by the impact of humans on the Earth. These impacts produce defined cultural regions, systems, and complexes. The chapter introduces students to contemporary approaches in cultural geography and subdivides the character of culture into a folk and popular genre. Geographers consider these characteristics within the context of their interaction of the physical landscape. The text points out that it does not categorize culture but rather treats it as an overarching process that shapes, and is shaped itself by society, politics, and the economy. Culture is seen as something that continues on through long periods of time, yet can also emerge as something new. It represents the complex interaction of people with the material aspects of their lives. Finally, the chapter engages the ideas that surround globalization and cultural change. Some critics charge that globalization is simply a euphemism for Americanization of other cultures through consumption of material goods and ideas. The intermixing of cultures ensures that cultural exchange is a two-way process, exemplified through world music and consumption of cultural products. The objectives of Chapter 5 are to:
1. Examine the cultural systems of religion and language as they are related to geography 2. Provide a foundation in the understanding of cultural nationalism 3. Survey culture and identity by examining our sexual geographies, ethnicity, and the use of space, race and place, and gender. 4. Explore the relationship between culture and the physical environment 5. Investigate the relationship between globalization and cultural change Objectives 6 I like to have a man's knowledge comprehend more than one class of topics, one row of shelves. I like a man who likes to see a fine barn as well as a good tragedy. Ralph Waldo Emerson Journal 1828 In his wonderful geohistorical text Common Landscape of America, 15801845, John Stilgoe reminds us how slippery the word landscape really is: . . . It means more than scenery painting, a pleasant rural vista, or ornamental planting around a country house. It means shaped land, land modified for permanent human occupation, for dwelling, agriculture, manufacturing, government, worship, and for pleasure. A landscape happens not by chance but by contrivance, by premediation, by design; a forest or swamp or prairie no more constitutes a landscape than does a chain of mountains. Such land forms are only wilderness, the chaos from which landscapes are created by men intent on ordering and shaping space for their own ends. But landscapes always display a fragile equilibrium between natural and human force; terrain and vegetation are molded, not dominated. When men wholly dominate the land, when they shroud it almost completely with structure and chiseled space, landscape is no longer landscape; it is cityscape, a related but different form. Landscape is essentially rural, the product of traditional agriculture interrupted here and there by traditional artifice, a mix of natural and man-made form (p. 3). (Stilgoe, John R. Common Landscape of America, 1580 to 1845. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1982) Lowenthal (Understanding Ordinary Landscapes, Co-Edited by Paul Groth and Todd W. Bressi, Yale University Press, 1997) argues that interpretation of landscape requires giving it meaning in terms of cultural experience and cultural values. Landscape experience influences and, in turn, is influenced by culture. Cultural values, he argues, serve to condition the way people interpret, regard, and interact with landscapes. John Brinckerhoff Jackson a well-known geographer who focused on landscape studies, once wrote: "The older I grow and the longer I look at landscapes, the more convinced I am that their beauty is not simply an aspect but their very essence, and that that beauty derives from the human presence." Knox and Marsten show how different groups of people experience landscape and place differently, how ordinary landscapes differ from symbolic landscapes, and how all landscapes can be understood as a kind of text, something that can be written and read, rewritten and reinterpreted. The chapter emphasizes the effects of globalization on cultural landscapes, showing how individuals and groups have struggled to negotiate the local impacts of broader trends. In addition, the chapter explores how people's environments are perceived and understood, how individuals and groups acquire knowledge of their environments and how this knowledge shapes their attitudes and behaviors.
1. The objectives of Chapter 6 are to:
Understand landscape as a human system Explore what a sense of place is Examine coded spaces Survey postmodern spaces Objectives 7 Economic development is an important place-making process that underpins much of the diversity among regions and nations. At the same time, it is a reflection and a product of variations from place to place in natural resources,
demographic characteristics, political systems, and social customs. Knox and Marsten emphasize that economic development is always an uneven geographic phenomenon and explain why there is a general tendency toward the creation of regional cores with dependent peripheries. What is most striking about these contrasts today is the dynamism and pace of change involved in economic development. The global assembly line, the global office, and global tourism are all making places much more interdependent, and much faster-changing. This dynamism has, however, brought with it an expanding gap between rich and poor at every spatial scale: international, regional, and local. The objectives of Chapter 7 are to: 1. Examine the unevenness of economic development in various parts of the world 2. Investigate the economic structure of countries and regions, and explore the various stages of economic development 3. Survey principles of commercial and industrial location and how they affect economic interdependence 4. Examine core-periphery patterns and how they are created 5. Explore the pleasure periphery Objectives 8 Chapter 8 explores the emergence of the present industrialized agricultural system in contrast with other agricultural practices such as shifting cultivation, subsistence agriculture, and pastoralism. The authors discuss how traditional forms of agricultural practices, such as subsistence farming, continue to exist, but have become increasingly overshadowed by the global industrialization of agriculture. The industrialization of agriculture has included not only mechanization and chemical applications but also the coordination of the agricultural sector with other sectors of the economy. The contemporary agrocommodity system is organized around a chain of agribusiness components that begins at the farm and ends at the retail outlet. A geographic perspective forces us to recognize that the dramatic changes that have occurred in agriculture have affected different places and different social groups. Households in both the core and the periphery have strained to adjust to these changes, often disrupting existing patterns of authority and access to resources. Just as people have been affected by the transformations in global agriculture, so too has the physical environment. These impacts include soil erosion, desertification, deforestation, and soil and water pollution, as well as the elimination of plant and animal species. The objectives of Chapter 8 are to: 1. Understand the traditional agricultural geography 2. Examine the agricultural revolution and its industrialization 3. Investigate the forces of agricultural globalization 4. Explore the social and technological change in global agricultural restructuring 5. Examine the relationship between the environment and agricultural industrialization