Unit II.  Population and Migration Patterns and Processes

This unit addresses the patterns associated with human populations.  Populations may increase or decrease as a result of a combination of natural changes (births and deaths) and migration patterns (emigration and immigration). Students examine population distributions at different scales—local, national, regional, and global. Population pyramids demonstrate age-sex structures, revealing the growth or decline of generations and allowing geographers to predict economic needs based on reproductive and aging patterns.

Students learn about factors that influence changes in population as well as the long- and short-term effects of those population changes on a place’s economy, culture, and politics. For example, environmental degradation and natural hazards may prompt population redistribution at various scales, which in turn creates new pressures on the environment and on cultural, economic, and political institutions. The study of migration patterns allows students to examine factors contributing to voluntary and forced relocation and the impact of these migrating populations on existing settlements.

Combined, the concepts and theories encountered in this unit help students develop connections and transfer their learning in upcoming units to course topics such as cultural patterns, the political organization of space, food production issues, natural resource use, and urban systems.

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Unit II Topics

Topic 2.1 Population Distribution

  1. Understanding where and how people live is essential to understanding global cultural, political, and economic patterns
  2. Identify the factors that influence the distribution of human populations at different scales
  3. Physical factors (e.g., climate, landforms, water bodies) and human factors (e.g., culture, economics, history, politics) influence the distribution of population.
  4. Factors that illustrate patterns of population distribution vary according to the scale of analysis.

 

  1. Define methods geographers use to calculate population density.
  2. The three methods for calculating population density are arithmetic, physiological, and agricultural.

 

  1. Explain the differences between and the impact of methods used to calculate population density.
  2. The method used to calculate population density reveals different information about the pressure the population exerts on the land.

 

Topic 2.2 Consequences of Population Distribution

  1. Understanding where and how people live is essential to understanding global cultural, political, and economic patterns.
  2. Explain how population distribution and density affect society and the environment.
  3. Population distribution and density affect political, economic, and social processes, including the provision of services such as medical care.
  4. Population distribution and density affect the environment and natural resources; this is known as carrying capacity

 

Topic 2.3 Population Composition

  1. Understanding where and how people live is essential to understanding global cultural, political, and economic patterns.
  2. Describe elements of population composition used by geographers.
  3. Patterns of age structure and sex ratio vary across different regions and may be mapped and analyzed at different scales.
  4. Explain ways that geographers depict and analyze population composition.
  5. Population pyramids are used to assess population growth and decline and to predict markets for goods and services.

 

Topic 2.4 Population Dynamics

  1. Changes in population are due to mortality, fertility, and migration, which are influenced by the interplay of environmental, economic, cultural, and political factors.
  2. Explain factors that account for contemporary and historical trends in population growth and decline.
  3. Demographic factors that determine a population’s growth and decline are fertility, mortality, and migration.
  4. Geographers use the rate of natural increase and population-doubling time to explain population growth and decline.
  5. Social, cultural, political, and economic factors influence fertility, mortality, and migration rates.

 

Topic 2.5 The Demographic Transition Model

  1. Changes in population are due to mortality, fertility, and migration, which are influenced by the interplay of environmental, economic, cultural, and political factors.
  2. Explain theories of population growth and decline.
  3. The demographic transition model can be used to explain population change over time.
  4. The epidemiological transition explains causes of changing death rates.

 

Topic 2.6 Malthusian Theory

  1. Changes in population are due to mortality, fertility, and migration, which are influenced by the interplay of environmental, economic, cultural, and political factors.
  2. Explain theories of population growth and decline.
  3. Malthusian theory and its critiques are used to analyze population change and its consequences

 

Topic 2.7 Population Policies

  1. Changes in population have long- and short-term effects on a place’s economy, culture, and politics.
  2. Explain the intent and effects of various population and immigration policies on population size and composition.
  3. Types of population policies include those that promote or discourage population growth, such as pronatalist, antinatalist, and immigration policies.

 

Topic 2.8 Women and Demographic Change

  1. Changes in population have long- and short-term effects on a place’s economy, culture, and politics.
  2. Explain how the changing role of females has demographic consequences in different parts of the world.
  3. Changing social values and access to education, employment, health care, and contraception have reduced fertility rates in most parts of the world.
  4. Changing social, economic, and political roles for females have influenced patterns of fertility, mortality, and migration, as illustrated by Ravenstein’s laws of migration.

 

Topic 2.9 Aging Populations

  1. Changes in population have long- and short-term effects on a place’s economy, culture, and politics.
  2. Explain the causes and consequences of an aging population.
  3. Population aging is determined by birth and death rates and life expectancy.
  4. An aging population has political, social, and economic consequences, including the dependency ratio.

 

Topic 2.10 Causes of Migration

  1. Changes in population are due to mortality, fertility, and migration, which are influenced by the interplay of environmental, economic, cultural, and political factors.
  2. Explain how different causal factors encourage migration.
  3. Migration is commonly divided into push factors and pull factors.
  4. Push/pull factors and intervening opportunities/obstacles can be cultural, demographic, economic, environmental, or political.

 

Topic 2.11 Forced and Voluntary Migration

  1. Changes in population are due to mortality, fertility, and migration, which are influenced by the interplay of environmental, economic, cultural, and political factors.
  2. Describe types of forced and voluntary migration.
  3. Forced migrations include slavery and events that produce refugees, internally displaced persons, and asylum seekers.
  4. Types of voluntary migrations include transnational, transhumance, internal, chain, step, guest worker, and rural-to-urban.

 

Topic 2.12 Effects of Migration

  1. Changes in population are due to mortality, fertility, and migration, which are influenced by the interplay of environmental, economic, cultural, and political factors.
  2. Explain historical and contemporary geographic effects of migration.
  3. Migration has political, economic, and cultural effects.

Unit II Questions

  1. In what ways might the patterns of population distribution vary according to the scale of analysis?
  2. How do physical factors influence the distribution of population?
  3. How do human factors influence the distribution of population?
  4. What is arithmetic density?
  5. What is physiological density?
  6. What is agricultural density?
  7. How does population density influence political processes?
  8. How does population density influence economic processes?
  9. How does population density influence social processes?
  10. How does population density impact the environment?
  11. How does population density impact natural resources?
  12. What is carrying capacity?
  13. How does population density affect the need for infrastructure?
  14. Why would a geographer map age, sex, and ethnicity at different scales?
  15. How could a population pyramid be used to project population growth or decline?
  16. How could a population pyramid be used to predict markets for goods and services?
  17. What factors are used to determine population growth and decline?
  18. What is “population-doubling time” and how can that be used?
  19. What social, cultural, and economic factors influence fertility?
  20. What social, cultural, and economic factors influence mortality?
  21. What social, cultural, and economic factors influence migration?
  22. What is the demographic transition model?
  23. How can the demographic transition model be used to explain population change over time and space?
  24. What is Malthusian theory?
  25. How can Malthusian theory be used to analyze population change and its consequences?
  26. What is the epidemiologic transition?
  27. How does the epidemiologic transition explain the causes of changing death rates?
  28. What is pronatalist policy?
  29. What is antinatalist policy?
  30. What factors have influenced the reduced fertility rates seen in most parts of the world?
  31. How have the changing social, economic, and political roles of women influenced the patterns of fertility?
  32. How have the changing social, economic, and political roles of women influenced the patterns of mortality?
  33. How have the changing social, economic, and political roles of women influenced the patterns of migration?
  34. How do birth and death rates affect population aging?
  35. What are social implications of population aging?
  36. What are economic implications of population aging?
  37. What are political implications of population aging?
  38. What are “push” and “pull” factors in migration?
  39. Give an example of a push and a pull cultural factor.
  40. Give an example of a push and a pull demographic factor.
  41. Give an example of a push and a pull economic factor.
  42. Give an example of a push and a pull environmental factor.
  43. Give an example of a push and a pull political factor.
  44. What is meant by the term “forced migration”?
  45. Explain transitional migration.
  46. What is internal migration?
  47. Explain chain migration.
  48. Explain step migration.
  49. Explain rural to urban migration.
  50. How do distance and physical features affect migration patterns?
  51. What are three examples of major historical migrations?
  52. Why do governments institute policies to encourage migration?
  53. Why do governments institute policies to restrict migration?
  54. What are cultural consequences of migration?
  55. What are economic consequences of migration?
  56. What are environmental consequences of migration?
  57. What are political consequences of migration?