Political, Economic, and Urban Geography

Population

1. demography – the study of changes in population
   • Demohraphic changes can be due to human reasons (like crime, wars, births, deaths, suicides, etc.) or due to natural reasons, which cause most deaths (like tsunamis, storms, droughts, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc.)
2. birth rate – amount of people that are born per every 1,000 persons, increase in population (ratio)
   • Usually countries with higher birth rates (X = 150 : 1,000) tend to be poorer since people are less conscious when having children, on richer countries (Y = 50 : 1,000) people tend to me more educated and conscious when having children.
3. death rate (mortality rate) – amount of people that die per every 1,000 persons, decrease in population (ratio)
   • Usually countries with a higher death rate (X = 150 : 1,000) are poorer because of the lack of medical attention, richer countries (Y = 50 : 1,000) tend to have a low death rate due to advanced medicine.
4. infant mortality rate – amount of children that die before 1 year of age per every 1,000 live births
   • Countires with high infant mortality rates are usually poorer.
   • When working with life expectancy they’re passed as zero.
5. fertility rate – the amount of women that find themselves in the age of reproduction (13 – 25), in poor countries there are more, the higher this number the higher the birth rate
6. rate of natural increase – the speed at which a population grows (births – deaths = RNI)
7. life expectancy – average amount of years a person is expected to live (per country)
   • Low life expectancies indicate poor quality of life which may be due to crime, war, hunger, no medicine, etc.
   • High life expectancies indicate a better quality of life due to medical advances, etc.
   • To find life expectancy we add all the ages of death we’re given and then divide them by the amount of numbers we were given.
8. population density – the average amount of people per square mile (PD = population/area)
   • Puerto Rico’s population density is around 1,057 people per sq. mile.
9. carrying capacity – amount of people that can live in a place without affecting the environment
10. push-pull factors – factors that move population; push = leaving/moving/exiting, pull = attraction/coming/entering
11. population pyramids – diagram that shows population distribution in terms of age and gender

• The world’s population is about 7.3 billion people.
• China (1.4B) and India (1.2B) are the countries with the largest populations.
• Asia is the continent with the greatest population.
• The total population of Puerto Rico is about 3.7 million, but there are around 1.5 million puertoricans outside of Puerto Rico.
• There are four stages to population growth:
  1. Stage 1: High birth rates and high death rates
     • Zero population growth because births = deaths.
     • This stage is extinct since the Introduction of Agriculture (10,000 years ago).
  2. Stage 2: High birth rates and decreasing death rates
     • Rapid population growth, the population boom refers to a dramatic increase in population growth.
     • The poor countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America are in this stage due to lack of knowledge and education of how many children you can maintain, and lack of access to protection.
     • The extended family is most found here, where the family is made up of mother, father, children (could be more than 2), and other family members (grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.).
  3. Stage 3: Decreasing birth rates and low death rates
     • Slow population growth occurs in this stage.
     • Developed countries of Europe, America, and Asia are in this stage. Puerto Rico is in this stage.
     • The nuclear family is the most popular here, it’s made up of mother, father, and 2 children.
  4. Stage 4: Low birth rates and low death rates
     • Zero population growth (birth rate = death rate, no significant growth)
     • Countries in Northern Europe are often found in this stage because young people don’t want to have children.
     • It’s dangerous because the country’s future is old and productivity lowers because there are no young workers.

Political Geography

1. state – A country that has total control over its own decisions, in and out of the territory (complete political power).
2. nation – A country united by a similar cultural identity.
3. nation-state – A country that has complete political power and is united by a similar cultural identity

Types of Government

1. monarchy – country ruled by a King or Queen
   • absolute monarchy – the King or Queen has total power, they came to decline after the French Revolution (Fernando & Isabel of Spain, Henry VIII of England)
   • constitutional monarchy – monarchy is preserved as a tradition, but the King or Queen has no real power, the government elected by the people has the power, so it’s a democracy (Spain, Great Britain)
     • Parliament – law-making body in constitutional monarchies, it consists of:
       • House of Commons – voice and vote
       • House of Lords – only voice
2. democracy – a government elected by the people and for the people, made up of 3 branches that are constantly checking on each other to eliminate total power (USA, Canada, Colombia, Argentina)
   • executive branch – consists of the president and his Cabinet (which is selected by the president)
   • judicial branch – consists of the courts and judges, they enforce the laws (the Supreme Court is the most importaint in USA)
   • legislative branch – law-making body, also known as Congress: the Senate and the House of Representatives (the Senate has 2 members per state for a total of 100; the House depends on the population of each state)
3. communism – a government that has complete political and economic control, it was born in Russia in 1917 (China, Cuba – Fidel Castro, Laos, North Korea, Vietnam)
   • Mikhail Gorbachev – the one that brought about change in Russia
   • Glasnost – call for openness and transparency in the government
   • Perestroika – refers to the restructuring of the government
4. totalitarian – a government taken and maintained by force and violence, the people have little or no rights, it usually benefits the few that hold power (Kim Jong-un – North Korea, Vladimir Putin – Russia)

The Three Characteristics of Nations

1. Size – determines amount of power since a larger area may include more natural resources
2. Shape – determines difficulty to govern (archipielagos may be harder to govern because the territory is separated)
3. Location – determines success of its commerce and economy (exports, imports, tourism, etc.)

Boundaries

• Natural boundaries are those made by nature, like:
  • The Pyrenees Mountains (separate France from Spain)
  • The Alps (separate France from Italy)
  • The Himalayas – where Mount Everest is (separate China from India)
  • The Ural Mountains (separate Asia from Europe)
  • The Caspian Sea (separate Asia from Europe)
  • The Rio Grande (separated Mexico from the United States)
  • The Mediterranean Sea (separates Europe from Africa)
  • The Sahara Desert (separates North Africa from South Africa)
• Artificial boundaries are the ones that are man-made, made by humans, like:
  • All the political boundaries that separate all the countries on Earth.
  • All the lines of latitude and longitude that are used to measure exact location.
  • The Berlin Wall – was built in the early 60’s and was a major symbol of the Cold War, it came down on 1989 (separated East and West Berlin)
  • The Great Wall of China (separated China from Mongolia)

Economic Geography

1. Economy – The constant interchanging of goods and services.
2. Traditional Economy – The very first type of economy based on the barter system, or the exchange of one product for another.
3. Command Economy – An economy where the means of production and distribution are totally controlled by the government. It is the economy of the Communist System.
4. Market Economy – An economy where the means of production and distribution are found in private individuals through the legal authorization of the government. It is the economy of the Capitalist System.
5. Mixed Economy – An economy that has both Command and Market economies. It is the most common, and it safeguards the interest of the people.
6. Infrastructure – all the major projects developed and funded by the government (roads, expressways, public housing, parks, etc.)
7. Per capita income – average amount of money that each person would receive if the GDP or GNP was divided equally among the population, it tells us how rich/poor is the country (PC = GDP/Pop)
8. Gross National Product (GNP) – the sum of all goods and produced in and out of the country in one year
9. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – the sum of all goods and services produced in the country in one year

The Four Levels of Economic Activity

1. Primary Activity:
   • Makes direct use of nature and obtain raw materials.
     • Lumberjacks, miners, farmers, fishermen…
2. Secondary Activity:
   • Does manufacturing and processing of raw materials.
     • All types of factories and their workers.
3. Tertiary Activity:
   • Involves work in any type of service.
   • Most people in advanced countries work on this level.
     • Janitors, doctors…
4. Quaternary Activity:
   • Super specialized people in their works.
     • Areas of science and technology

Natural Resources

1. natural resources – all the resources produced by nature (raw materials that are then processed)
2. renewable resources – all the resources that can be regenerated or regrown (vegetation, fruits, trees, animals)
3. non-renewable resources – all the resources that will never be regenerated once they have finished (oil, petroleum, coal, gas, diamonds, emeralds, gold, silver)
4. inexhaustible resources – all the resources that will never be used up (wind, water, sun – also the 3 important energy resources)

Urban Geography

1. Urbanization – growth and expansion of cities (population growth)
2. Suburbs – area that surround the city
3. Exurbs – area that surround the suburbs
4. Metropolitan Area – made up of urban area, suburbs, and exurbs
5. Central Buisness District (CBD) – center of major economic activity (Puerto Rico’s CBD is “La Milla de Oro”)

The Three Basic Land Use Patterns Found in Cities

1. Residential (where people live, housing)
2. Industrial (where people work, manufacture, factories)
3. Commercial (where people buy/sell, shops)

Major Services and Functions Found in Cities (Infrastructure)

1. Transportation
2. Hospitals
3. Schools
4. Parks
5. Security
6. Commerce