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Chapter 3: Earth's Human and Cultural Geography

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Chapter 3: Earth's Human and Cultural Geography Earth’s Human and Cultural Geography Movement The human population is growing rapidly, but the world in which people live is, in many ways, becoming a smaller place. In the past, many cultures were isolated from each other. Today , individuals and countries are linked in a global economy and by forms of communication that can instantly bring them together. What factors bring about changes in cultures? 70 • Chapter 3 ML Sinibaldi/CORBIS Section 1: World Population BIG IDEA Geographers study how people and physical features are distributed on Earth’s surface. Although the world’s population is increasing, people still live on only a small part of the Earth’s surface. Section 2: Global Cultures BIG IDEA Culture influences people’s perceptions about places and regions. The world’s population is made up of different cultures, each of which is based on common beliefs, customs, and traits. Section 3: Resources, Technology, and World Trade Canal market, Thailand BIG IDEA Patterns of economic activities result in global interdependence. Because resources are unevenly distributed, the nations of the world must trade with each other. New technologies make the economies of nations more dependent on one another. Categorizing Information Make this Foldable to organize information about Earth’s population; cultures; and resources, technology, and trade. Step 1 Place two Step 2 Fold the Step 3 Staple the Reading and Writing sheets of paper paper to form four sheets, and label As you read the chapter, about 1 inch apart. equal tabs. each tab as shown. take notes under the appropriate tab. Write a main idea for each section Earth’s Human and Cultural Geography using your Foldable. World Populations Global Cultures Resources, Technology, and Trade Social Studies ONLINE To preview Chapter 3, go to glencoe.com. Chapter 3 • 71 ML Sinibaldi/CORBIS World Geographers study how people and physical features are distributed on Population Earth’s surface. Content Vocabulary Forty years ago, for every • death rate (p. 73) car in China, there were 250 bicycles, earning • birthrate (p. 73) the country the nickname “Bicycle Kingdom.” • famine (p. 73) Today, however, China, which is the world’s • population density (p. 74) most populous country, has a new love—the • urbanization (p. 75) automobile. People are earning more money, • emigrate (p. 75) and the number of people who own cars is • refugee (p. 76) increasing. Because of this, it is feared that Academic Vocabulary China’s cities will become more polluted and • technology (p. 73) congested with traffic. Read this section to • internal (p. 75) learn about the world’s population and the effects it has on the Earth. Reading Strategy Determining Cause and Effect Residents of Shanghai, China Use a diagram like the one below to show the causes and effects of global migration. Causes Eff ects Global Migration 72 • Chapter 3 Keren Su/Getty Images Another reason why the population has Population Growth grown is high birthrates in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The birthrate is the number MMainain IIdeadea The world’s population has of children born each year for every 1,000 increased rapidly in the past two centu- people. High numbers of healthy births ries, creating many new challenges. combined with lower death rates have Geography and You Has the population in your increased the population growth, especially community increased or decreased in recent years? Are in these areas of the world. new schools being built, for example? Read to find out why the world’s population has grown so fast. Challenges of Population Growth More food is needed for a growing pop- In the past 200 years, the world’s popu- ulation. Advances in technology, such as lation has increased rapidly. Around 1800, improved irrigation systems and the cre- a billion people lived on Earth. Today the ation of hardier plants, will continue to population is more than 6 billion. increase food production. On the other hand, warfare and crop failures can lead Reasons for Population Growth to famine, or a severe lack of food. Some One reason the population has grown countries may also face shortages of water so fast in the last 200 years is that the death and housing. Additionally, growing pop- rate has gone down. The death rate is the ulations require more services, like those number of deaths per year for every 1,000 provided by hospitals and schools. people. Better health care and living con- ditions, as well as more plentiful food sup- Identifying What has plies, have decreased the death rate. caused population growth in the last 200 years? Expected Population Growth Rates, 2005–2050 120 100 80 60 %) ( 40 20 0 -20 Expected Growth Over 45 Years 45 Expected Over Growth Africa Asia Latin United States Australia and China Europe (excluding China) America and Canada Pacific Islands and Russia Region Source: World Population Data Sheet, 2005. 1 Analyzing How fast is the population of 2 Explaining What is expected to happen to the U.S. and Canada expected to grow? the population of Europe and Russia? Chapter 3 • 73 urally prefer to live in places that have fer- Where People Live tile soil, mild climates, natural resources, and water resources, such as rivers and MMainain IIdeadea The Earth’s population is coastlines. Two-thirds of the world’s peo- not evenly distributed. ple are clustered into five regions with Geography and You Do you live in a city, a suburb, a these resources—East Asia, South Asia, small town, or a rural area? What are the advantages and Southeast Asia, Europe, and eastern North disadvantages of your location? Read to find out where America. In most regions, more people live the world’s people choose to live. in cities than in rural areas because of the jobs and resources found there. People live on a surprisingly small part of the Earth. Land covers only about 30 per- Population Density cent of the Earth’s surface, and only half Geographers have a way to figure of this land is usable by humans. Deserts, out how crowded a country or region is. high mountains, and ice-covered lands They measure population density— the cannot support large numbers of people. average number of people living in a square mile or square kilometer. To arrive at this Population Distribution figure, the total population is divided by On the usable land, population is not the total land area. distributed, or spread, evenly. People nat- As you have just read, the world’s pop- ulation is not evenly distributed. Malay- sia and Norway, for example, have about • • the same total land area, around 130,000 Population Density square miles (336,697 sq. km). Norway’s population density is about 40 people per square mile (15 per sq. km). Malaysia, on the other hand, has a density of 205 people per square mile (79 per sq. km). Population density represents an average. Remember that people are not distributed evenly throughout a country. Argentina, for example, has a population density of 36 people per square mile (14 per sq. km). However, the density around the city of Buenos Aires, where nearly one third of Argentina’s people live, can be as high as 5,723 people per square mile (14,827 per sq. km). Population density is low on the grasslands of Mongolia. In contrast, Determining Cause Tokyo, Japan (inset), has a high population and Effect Why does much of the world’s density. Regions In what regions are most population live on a relatively small area of of the world’s people clustered? the Earth? 74 • Chapter 3 (l) Cancan Chu/Getty Images, (r) Greg Elms/Lonely Planet Images tion. One kind of internal migration is the Population Movement movement of people from farms and vil- lages to cities. Such migrants are often MMainain IIdeadea Large numbers of people in search of jobs. This type of movement migrate from one place to another. results in urbanization, or the growth of Geography and You Have you and your family ever cities. Urbanization has occurred rapidly moved? Read to learn some of the reasons why people all in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. over the world move from one place to another. Movement between countries is called international migration. Some people Throughout history, millions of people emigrate, or leave the country where they have moved from one place to another. were born and move to another. They are People continue to move today, sometimes emigrants in their homeland and immi- as individuals, sometimes in large groups. grants in their new country. Figure 1 shows the immigrant populations in regions of the Types of Migration world. Immigration has increased greatly Moving from place to place in the in the past 200 years, partly due to better same country is known as internal migra- transportation. Figure 1 World Immigrant Populations 8.8% 13.5% 1.4% 1.9% 1.2% 15.1% Immigrant Total population population 1 Regions Which region’s Total population (millions) population has the highest Africa 905.7 percentage of immigrants? Asia 3,920.5 Europe and Russia 730.2 2 Place About how much of Latin America 558.8 Africa’s population is made United States and Canada 328.8 up of immigrants? Australia and Oceania 33.3 Sources: World Population Data Sheet, 2005; World Migrant Stock, United Nations. Chapter 3 • 75 Reasons People Move and on the region where they settle. When People migrate for a variety of reasons. emigrants leave a country, its population Historians say that “push” factors convince decreases or does not increase as quickly. people to leave their homes and “pull” fac- This can ease overcrowding.
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