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Population
Standard(s) of Learning
| WG.5 |
The student will compare and contrast the distribution, growth rates, and characteristics of human population in terms of settlement patterns and the location of natural and capital resources. |
WG.6 |
The student will analyze past and present trends in human migration and cultural interaction as they are influenced by social, economic, political, and environmental factors. |
WG.11 |
The student will analyze the patterns of urban development by |
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b) |
explaining how the functions of towns and cities have changed over time; |
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c) |
describing the unique influence of urban areas and some challenges they face. |
Content
Explain that population growth rates are influenced by human, environmental, economic, and political factors.
Describe the following factors that influence growth rate:
• Modern medicine and hygiene
• Education
• Industrialization and urbanization
• Economic development
• Government policy
• Role of women in society
Explain the following social, economic, political, and environmental push/pull factors that have influenced human migration:
• Push factors
– Overpopulation
– Religious persecution
– Lack of job opportunities
– Agricultural decline
– Conflict
– Political persecution
– Natural hazards — Droughts, floods, famines, volcanic eruptions
– Limits on personal freedom
– Environmental degradation
• Pull factors
– Religion
– Economic opportunity
– Land availability
– Political freedom
– Ethnic and family ties
– Arable land
Explain how modern transportation and communication are encouraging higher levels of cultural interaction worldwide. Include the following evidence of cultural interaction:
• Diffusion of U.S. culture to other regions
• Popularization of other cultures’ traditions in the United States
Explain that patterns of urban development occur according to site and situation.
Summarize the following functions of towns and cities:
• Security, defense
• Religious centers
• Trade centers (local and long distance)
• Government administration
• Manufacturing centers
• Service centers
Explain the following powerful influences urban areas have on the world’s cultural, political, and economic ideas and systems:
• Nation-building (monuments, symbols)
• Transportation/communication hubs
• Magnets for migration
• Seed beds of new ideas and technologies
• Diversity, leading to creativity in the arts
• Universities, educational opportunities
• Corporate headquarters/regional offices
• Media centers (news, entertainment)
Summarize the following problems related to human mobility, social structure, and the environment that may occur as a result of development:
• Transportation problems emerge, especially as automobile travel increases.
• Rich and poor neighborhoods exist in different areas isolated from one another.
• Providing essential services (fresh water, sewage treatment, waste disposal, electricity, schools, clinics) becomes a problem.
• Air, water, and noise pollution increase.
• Sprawl results in conversion of agricultural land to urban uses, especially in North America.
• Rapid immigration results in “shantytowns” on the edges of cities in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
• In developing countries, major cities are more connected to regions outside the country than to regions within the country.
Sample Resources
Below is an annotated list of Internet resources recommended for this organizing topic. Copyright restrictions may exist for the material on some Web sites. Please note and abide by any such restrictions.
“The Characteristics, Distribution, and Migration of Human Population on Earth’s Surface.” National Geographic Xpeditions: Geography Standards in Your Classroom. <http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/standards/09/>. This site provides information on population distribution.
Outline Maps — Education Place. Houghton Mifflin, 2002. <http://www.eduplace.com/ss/ssmaps/>. This site permits visitors to print a variety of maps related to this organizing topic.
Places OnLine, sponsored by the Association of American Geographers. <http://www.placesonline.org/>. This site is a portal to the world’s very best place-based web sites.
Virginia Standards of Learning Assessments: Selected Items for World Geography. Virginia Department of Education 2003. <http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/.../history_social_science/2003/world_geography.pdf>.
Virginia Standards of Learning Assessments for the 2008 History and Social Science Standards of Learning: World Geography Test Blueprint. Virginia Department of Education, 2009. <http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.../2008/blueprints_worldgeo.pdf>. This site provides assessment information for the course in World Geography.
The World Factbook - U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/>. This site contains searchable information on all countries.
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