GLOBAL CULTURES

Culture -the way of life of a group of people that share similar beliefs and customs

Global Cultures Elements of Culture A culture can be understood by looking at its language, religion, daily life, history, art, government, technology, and economy. There are 5 main elements of culture that geographers look at. Cultures may include people in different ethnic groups, which are groups of people who share a common language, history, or place of origin. Geographers divide Earth into culture regions, which are areas with certain traits in common, such as similar economic systems or forms of government.

Language

Religion

Social Systems

Governments

Economic Activity

Cultural Change Cultures are constantly changing through new ideas, lifestyles, inventions, and through spatial interactions such as trade and migration. The world's first civilizations arose in culture hearths that emerged from farming settlements. Surplus food allowed early civilizations to focus on long-distance trade, leading to the development of complex social systems Today technology has increased cultural contact and promoted cultural change as ideas spread throughout the world. Global Cultures

Cultural Hearths- center where cultures developed and from which ideas and traditions spread

Causes of Cultural Change

Internal Factors -new ideas -lifestyles -inventions

-trade -migration -war

Cultural Diffusion -growth of society on a single idea (agriculture) -mass spread of ideas (internet)

POPULATION Geography, Growth, and Distribution

What factors influence population growth?

Population Geography Population Growth Over 7 billion people live on Earth, and most of them live on about 30 percent of the planet's land area. The population of countries or regions changes over time depending on the area's birthrate, death rate, and the migration of people to or from the area. Rapid population growth presents many challenges, including producing enough food and shortages of resources such as water and housing. Other concerns include adequate health care, access to medicine, and technology, and loss of cultural traditions.

Population Geography Population Distribution Most of Earth's population lives on land with fertile soil, available water, and a mild climate; human settlements generally avoid mountains, deserts, and tundra areas that make life difficult. To determine population density in a country, geographers divide the total population of the country by its total land area. In a pattern called urbanization, trends indicate that many people are moving from rural villages to cities in order to find a better life and jobs in more prosperous urban areas.

What influences population distribution?

NATURAL INCREASE = the growth rate of a population; the difference between birthrate and death rate

DOUBLING TIME = number of years it takes for the population to double in size

Migration – Push/Pull Factors -the movement of people from one place to another

Pull factors = factors that attract people Push factors = factors that push people out

What factors influence the migration of people from one country to another?

ANSWER: Economic factors often attract people to a place; these factors are pull factors. Religious and political freedoms are also examples of pull factors that attract a person to another country. Push factors cause out-migration. Push factors include a lack of economic opportunities and religious or political persecution. Some people are forced to leave their countries due to wars, food shortages, or other problems.

URBAN GEOGRAPHY

Urban Geography The Nature of Cities During the Industrial Revolution, people began moving in large numbers from rural areas to urban areas, and now over half the world's people live in cities. Every city serves a variety of functions, including manufacturing, service centers, and retail, which are the economic base of the city, generating employment for large populations. Urban areas have advantages, such as peoples' innovation and creativity, and challenges, such as overcrowding, crime, poverty, and pollution.

Urban Geography Patterns of Urbanization Cities can grow or shrink in population depending on the need for industry or the supply of natural resources. Metropolitan area is a region that includes a central city and its surrounding suburbs Central place theory is a spatial theory in urban geography that attempts to illustrate how settlements locate in relation to one another. World cities play an important role in the global economic system. New trends in cities include the development of suburban business districts and major diversified centers.

Central Place Theory

Urban Land Use Models

World Cities = play an important role in global economics

Urban Geography Challenges of Urban Growth Rapid urban growth often strains a city’s capacity to provide services such as energy, education, health care, transportation, sanitation, and physical security. Modern cities all over the world face many of the same problems: poor housing, homelessness, pollution, and social problems such as addiction, crime, and gang violence. Rapid urban growth may lead to urban sprawl that might destroy open space, change the physical environment, or diminish the character of a community.

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY

Political Geography Features of Government There are nearly 200 independent countries on Earth that vary in size, military might, natural resources, and world influence. The government of each country has unique characteristics that relate to that country's historical development. 3 Levels of Government: (1)Unitary –all key powers rest with the national or central government (2)Federal – government divides power (3)Confederation – loose union of powers Types of governments can be classified into three major groups: (1) autocracy, or rule by one person; totalitarianism (2) oligarchy, or rule by a few people; or (3) democracy, or rule by many people.

AUTOCRACY

Types of Autocracy Absolute Monarch – king or queen rules with all power, passed down to next generation Theocracy – a ruler has divine power and is chosen to rule by God Dictatorship – single person has absolute power

Modern Autocracy - Fascism

Modern Autocracy

Old Oligarchy

Modern Oligarchy South Africa - Apartheid

Modern Oligarchy - Communism

Types of Democracy

Direct Democracy

Modern Democracy

Political Geography Geography and Government Geographic areas can determine how political and administrative units, such as states or provinces, are drawn up and how they will be governed. Geography influences governments as they develop policy to provide people with goods and services and build infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and power plants. The political boundaries of countries can follow natural boundaries such as mountains and rivers, cultural boundaries of religion or language, or geometric boundaries made by humans.

Political Geography Conflict and Cooperation Conflict between countries often includes border disputes, tensions over larger territories, multiple ethnic groups within one area, competition for resources, and control of strategic sites. Nationalism and terrorism, both types of political conflicts, can breed fear, violence, and may lead to war. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose aims are to facilitate cooperation between countries and achieve world peace.

Economic Geography

Economic Systems All economic systems must make three basic economic decisions: what goods and services should be produced, how they should be produced, and who gets the goods and services that are produced. The U.S. economy is a mixed economy in which the government supports and regulates the free market. There are three types of economies: traditional economy: habit and custom determine economic rules; market economy: individuals and private groups decide what to produce; and command economy: the government owns or directs the means of production.

Traditional Economy

Market Economy

Mixed Economy

Supply & Demand

Economic Geography Economic Development Geographers and economists classify economic activities into four types. Primary economic activities involve taking or using natural resources directly from Earth. Secondary economic activities use raw materials to make a product that is new and more valuable. Tertiary economic activities provide services to people and businesses. Quaternary economic activities process, manage, and distribute information.

Economic Activity

Economic Geography Economies and World Trade World trade is the exchange of capital, labor, goods, and services between countries. Countries export their specialized products, trading them to other countries that cannot produce those goods. International trade is typically more costly than domestic trade due to tariffs, time costs, and expenses associated with different languages, legal systems, or other cultural barriers.