The Human MosaicThe Human Mosaic

CHAPTER THREECHAPTER THREE

Population Geography: Population Geography:

Shaping the Human MosaicShaping the Human Mosaic

Kolkota, India

►Introduction:

►What is geodemography?

►Spatial and ecological aspects of population density, distribution, fertility, gender, living standards, health, age, etc.

►What parts of the world see population growth, what parts don’t? Why?

► > 7 billion people!

► I) Demographic Regions

► A. Population Distribution and Density - uneven distribution of people on a global scale - largely unpopulated vs. thickly settled regions

>72% live on the Eurasian continent < 8% live on the North American continent

- Three major population clusters: 1) East Asia 2) Indian subcontinent 3) Europe

- population density vs. physiological density & carrying capacity:

“density beyond which people cease to be nutritionally self-sufficient"

What is the carrying capacity of a given piece of land?

- your book shows the most recent data and expected future growth

- note the corrections indicating less growth until 2050

- will global population growth come to a standstill earlier than expected?

From where does U.S. oil come? Has “fracking” changed the situation?

B. Patterns of Natality

- Birthrate (number of births / year / 1000)

- Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (children / woman)

(focus: women, family size, future development) - TFR < 2.1 leads to population decline - Worldwide contrasts of TFR values- Hong Kong (TFR 1.02) and Macao (TFR

0.91)!

C. Geography of Mortality

- Death Rates (number of deaths / year / 1000)

- worldwide contrasts in death rates - correlation to TFR? - sub-Saharan Africa? - Europe? - North America? - death comes in different forms

geographically

Early diffusion of HIV

D. Population Explosion  

- dramatic increase since 1900 (Why?) - decrease in death rates while TFR remains

high- result is geometrical population increase,

where doubling times become increasingly shorter

- 62 billion people!  

Thomas Malthus (1766-1834)  

"Human ability to multiply far exceeds our ability

to increase food production"

- Is that true? - Need to check population growth- How? ----- Wars? Famine? What else?

Malthus’s Dismal Equation?

E. Or Population Implosion Perhaps?

- Is the world overpopulated today? - Although we see decrease in TFR rates in

many countries, is the population explosion over?  

F. The Demographic Transformation Model

- The Stages: 1) Pre-Industrial 2) Beginning Industrialization 3) Transitional 4) Industrialization Completed 5) Postindustrial Period

 How do societies move from one stage to the next? Technical innovations? Birth control?

The Rule of 72? (US: 72/0.6=120 years)

The Rule of 72 in other countries?

S-shaped world population curve?

World Population Doubling Timeline

Compare this graph with the one on the following slide!

Demographic TransitionDemographic Transition

Figure 1.35

The Different Stages of the Demographic Transition

What’s wrong with this question?

Residents of Sun City, Arizona

Sun City, Arizona

G. Age Distribution  

- Why do some countries have overwhelmingly young populations?

- Why does the age structure vary within the United States?

- Population Pyramids as devices to study age and gender characteristics of societies.  

H. Geography of Gender  

- geographical differences in sex ratio within the U.S. and throughout the world

- "gendered spaces" (from Mount Athos in Greece to Valdosta, Georgia)

- female infanticide (see China and India)

Greek Orthodox Monastery on Mount Athos

Population Pyramids

Population Pyramid of Botswana / Impact of AIDS epidemic

Population Pyramids from the USPopulation Pyramids from the US

Which of these represents Laredo (TX), Lawrence (KS), Naples (FL), or Cedar Rapids (IA)?

A “little emperor” with his grandparents in China

Segregated beach in Tel Aviv, Israel.

I. Standard of Living 

- infant mortality rate (number of children/ 1000)

(measure for health, nutrition, sanitation, access to doctors, education, etc.)  

- Human Development Index (literacy, life expectancy, education,

wealth)

II) Diffusion in Population Geography

How does demography relate to the theme of cultural diffusion?

A. Migration - from the early beginnings in central Africa to

today's examples of migration - push- and pull factors of migration - 50 million Europeans in the 19th century - change of national and international migration patterns over time - voluntary vs. forced migration

B. Disease Diffusion - example of aids in Africa, its source of origin,

and its spread through the rest of the world - aspects of contagious, relocation, and

hierarchical diffusion

Migration events as described by ancient Aztecs

Fleeing from disease in London in the 1600s

Mapping disease in London

Consequences of the Thirty Year War in Europe

Early diffusion of HIV

C. Diffusion of Fertility Control

- importance for final two stages in demographic transformation model

- France as place of origin - Slow spread throughout Europe - China's "one couple, one child" policy (

with some exceptions)- 1970 a TFR of 5.9- 1980 a TFR of 2.7- 1990 a TFR of 2.2- 1994 a TFR of 2.0- 2007 a TFR of 1.7- negative side-effect of this policy in connection

with a culturally based preference for males?- recent discussions in China to do away with the

“one couple, one child” policy … why?

Use of birth control in Europe

III) Population Ecology

How is cultural ecology relevant to population geography?

A. Environmental Influence - population is being influenced by available resources,

climates, soils, etc. - tendency to live near coastlines and rivers, in

temperate climates, near water in dry climates, or away from regions prone to livestock diseases

B. Environmental Perception and Population Distribution - German and Italian speaking peoples of the Alps - changing perceptions of regions rich in coal - perception influences migration

C. Population Density and Environmental Alteration - modification of habitats through adaptive strategies - correlation of population explosion and ecological

crisis - problem of overconsumption: the US with <5% of

world’s population consumes 25% of the resources

Overpopulation/deforestation: Haiti vs. Dominican Republic.

Human ImpactHuman Impact

Figure 1.36

IV) Cultural Interaction and Population Patterns

How are issues of globalization, culture & demography intertwined?

A. Cultural Factors - rice in Southeast Asia & potatoes in Ireland - The Navajo Indians, their hogans, and their lack of

migration

B. Political Factors - forced migration & ethnic cleansing - China's "one couple, one child" policy

C. Economic Factors - industrialization in Europe - changes in cotton cultivation/resulting northward

migration

D. Gender and Geodemography - 19th century Irish women to U.S. - Filipinas in Japan & Burmese women in Thailand

Population control in China.

Population control in China. Patterns?

V) The Settlement Landscape

How is the distribution of people reflected in the cultural landscape?

The example of rural settlement patterns:

A. Farm Villages - irregular clustered villages, street villages, green

villages, and checkerboard villages - what are strong-point, wet-point, and dry-point

settlements?

B. Isolated Farmsteads - what conditions favor dispersed settlements? - see North America, Australia, and New Zealand

C. Semi clustered Rural Settlements - hamlets, loose irregular villages, & row villages

D. Reading the Cultural Landscape - hypothetical farm village in Yucatan

Irregular clustered village in southeastern Tibet.

Irregular clustered village in northern Switzerland.

Street village in Siberia, Russia, along the Lena River.

Isolated farmstead in Iceland

Hypothetical modern Mayan checkerboard village.

Filipina domestic servants in Hong Kong.

Kolkata, India