1. The Study of Human Geography
Chapter 3 Section 1

2. Where People Live
In some areas the population density is very high while in other areas it is very low.
Population Density- the average number of people in a square mile or a square kilometer
What factors lead people to live where they live?

3. Possible Answers Land Deserts Mountains Bitter cold Extreme Heat
Fertile Soil
Plenty of water
Good Climate to grow crops

4. People and Environments
People adapt to their surroundings.
But human activity has DRAMATICALLY altered the earth’s physical landscape.
EXAMPLES:
Cutting trees
Grazing animals on wild land
Plowing soils
Damming rivers
Population Density
Can be measured two ways:
-By a Regions Land Area
Total # of people/ Total Square Miles
-By Arable land (land that can be farmed)
Total # of People/ Total Farmed Land Square Miles

5. Population Growth Patterns of Settlement: Comparing Growth Rates:
The densest population of people is in four regions: East Asia, South Asia, Europe, and Eastern North America.
Many people in these areas live in metropolitan areas- cities surrounded by suburbs.
Urbanization- the growth of a cities population, happens everywhere
Cities are growing twice as fast as rural areas- countryside towns
Comparing Growth Rates:
World population growth is uneven
What effects population in a country?
Different countries have a different balance b/w birthrates and death rates.
Birthrate/Death Rate- The number of live births or deaths each year per 1000 people
Immigrants- people who move into a country and emigrants- people who leave a country for another place
*Birthrate/Immigration Rate= Death Rate/ Emigration Rate
The Effects of Growth:
What could be some effects of population growth?
Famine, Disease, Depletion of Natural resources, Better Technology, Better Creativity

6. The Nature of Culture Population is also greatly effected by culture.
As children grow up they become accustomed to skills, languages, eating customs, and cultural traits. Then they have children and pass everything on.
Culture is both material and nonmaterial.
Material Culture includes things that people make food, clothing, architecture, crafts, and technology
Non-Material Culture includes religion, language, patterns of behavior, government systems, education systems, and attitudes toward men and women. Some place value on the good of the group while others place value on the good of the individual.
Cultural Hearth- refers to a place where I important ideas begin and from which they spread to surrounding cultures.
Give me some examples.

7. Cultural Landscapes
Vary also from place to place. Rural south America is very different from rural China. Farming equipment is a lot smaller and less than here in America.
Although many cultural landscapes are very similar in cities across the world.

8. Social Organizations
Society often takes culture and divides us into many social organizations to help us work together to meet our basic needs.
The smallest social organization is the family.
Society ranks people and families according to status, based on what the culture deems important. I.E. Job, money, education, ancestry, etc..
In the past, a person was born into a social class and rarely could move up out of that social class. Today, people can move up or down in class by hard work or lack there of.

9. Women and Minorities
In many cultures, social mobility is restricted and difficult. People who have trouble the most are women and minorities.
Women in some cultures, are limited and kept out of the public eye.
Minorities, such as Jews, Muslims, and Christians have all suffered in one way or another by majorities.

10. Cultural Convergence
Modern transportation and communication increase the speed and frequency of cultural change.
Cultural Convergence occurs when the skills, arts, ideas, habits, and institutions of one culture come in contact with those of another culture.
Example: The Love of Mexican food in the US.
Diffusion is the process of one culture element moving from one group or individual to another.
Examples: When People move and when goods move

11. Cultural Divergence
Cultural Divergence is the restriction of a culture from outside cultural influences.
Some governments try to repress cultural contact and the spread of ideas to seek control. They control transportation, acess to newspapers, internet links, and radio and TV stations.
Countries who have tried to control diffusion have had a very hard time.