Human Geography - Terminologies

 

Population Distribution & Density

Population distribution denotes the spatial spread of people across the globe. Remarkably, 90% of the global population is concentrated on merely 10% of the Earth’s surface, indicating extreme demographic clustering. Population density, expressed as persons per square kilometre, serves as a crucial metric to assess human pressure on land.

Determinants of Population Distribution

  • Geographical Factors: Access to freshwater (rivers, lakes, aquifers), fertile plains (e.g., Indo-Gangetic Plain), favourable climate, and productive soil influence habitability.
  • Economic Factors: Industrial hubs (like Ruhr in Germany or Osaka-Kobe in Japan) attract populations due to employment opportunities. Urbanisation brings in better civic amenities and services, triggering rural-urban migration. Mining belts (e.g., Katanga-Zambia Copper Belt) pull labour for extractive industries.
  • Social-Cultural Factors: Sacred cities or politically stable areas attract dense populations, whereas conflict-ridden zones experience depopulation.

Population Growth Dynamics

Population growth occurs through:

  1. Natural Increase: Difference between birth rate and death rate.
  2. Actual Growth: Accounts for migration—In-migration adds to population, while out-migration reduces it.

Components of Demographic Change

  • Crude Birth Rate (CBR) and Crude Death Rate (CDR) measure fertility and mortality per thousand population annually.
  • Migration (rural–urban, urban–urban, cross-border) serves as a demographic equalizer, redistributing labour based on resource endowment and economic opportunity.

Implications of Population Change

  • A moderate increase aligns with economic growth by augmenting the workforce.
  • Overpopulation leads to ecological strain, unemployment, and housing crises.
  • Population decline signals economic stagnation and underutilization of resources.

Fig 1 - Class notes

Three-Stage Model of Demographic Transition

  1. Stage I (High Stationary): High birth and death rates neutralize each other; population growth remains negligible. Societies are agrarian, illiterate, and plagued by epidemics.
  2. Stage II (Early Expanding): Death rates drop due to medical and public health improvements, but fertility remains high, causing a demographic surge.
  3. Stage III (Late Expanding): Both fertility and mortality decline, resulting in population stabilization. Urbanization, female literacy, and economic growth promote family planning.

Population Control Strategies

  • Advocacy through media, tax incentives/disincentives, and contraceptive accessibility.
  • Malthusian theory warned that unchecked population growth would outpace food production, leading to famine, disease, and war unless preventive checks (moral restraint) are applied.

Population Composition

  • Sex Ratio: Measured as females per 1000 males; imbalance indicates gender discrimination.
  • Age Structure: A youthful population implies demographic dividend; an ageing population raises dependency.
  • Literacy: Reflects socio-economic advancement and impacts fertility and productivity.
  • Occupational Structure: Economic development correlates with higher tertiary and quaternary sector employment.

Growth vs Development

  • Growth is quantitative and value-neutral; can be positive or negative.
  • Development implies qualitative progress, ensuring enhancement in well-being and freedom.

Human Development Index (HDI)

Devised by Dr. Mahbub-ul-Haq and refined by Amartya Sen, HDI is a composite index based on:

  1. Health – Life expectancy at birth.
  2. Education – Literacy rate and gross enrolment.
  3. Standard of Living – Adjusted per capita income (Purchasing Power Parity).

Pillars of Human Development

  • Equity: Equal opportunity irrespective of gender, caste, or ethnicity.
  • Sustainability: Intergenerational equity in access to environmental and financial resources.
  • Productivity: Enhanced capabilities boost labour efficiency.
  • Empowerment: Right to make life choices supported by democratic governance and legal institutions.

Limitations of HDI

Fails to capture intra-national disparities or social exclusions.

Human Poverty Index (HPI) - *A NON INCOME MEASURE*

  • Measures deprivation in basic needs (health, education, standard of living).
  • Factors include child malnutrition, illiteracy, and lack of clean water.
  • Often more revealing than HDI in developing countries.

Primary Activities

Primary activities extract or harvest products directly from the Earth—agriculture, fishing, forestry, mining.

Fig 2 - Economic Activities


Types of Agriculture

  • Subsistence Agriculture: farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families.
    • Primitive Subsistence: Slash-and-burn (shifting cultivation); prevalent in tribal tropical regions.
    • Intensive Subsistence: Smallholdings with high input and labour; rice-dominated (wet) or multi-crop (dry) based on irrigation.
  • Plantation Agriculture: Monoculture cash crops (tea, coffee) grown on large estates; capital- and labour-intensive, scientific methods, good transportation system.
Fig 3 - Features of plantation agriculture


  • Commercial Grain Farming: Mechanised, large-scale wheat farming in semi-arid interiors (e.g., Prairies).
  • Mixed Farming: Integration of crop and livestock farming; prevalent in Europe and North America.
  • Dairy Farming: Capital- and labour-intensive livestock rearing for milk; 3 major regions include

o   NW Europe,

o   Canada,

o   and South Eastern Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania.

·        Mediterranean Agriculture: Horticulture and viticulture (grapes, olives); winter farming aligns with off-season demand in Europe.

  • Market Gardening & Truck Farming: Near-urban intensive vegetable cultivation; dependent on refrigeration and quick transport.
  • Factory Farming: Controlled indoor rearing of livestock in industrial areas; technologically advanced.

Collective and Cooperative Farming

  • Collective (e.g., Soviet Kolkhoz): State-owned production with pooled labour.
  • Cooperative (e.g., Denmark): Farmers pool resources voluntarily; democratic management.

Mining

  • Surface Mining: Economical and less hazardous.
  • Underground Mining: Suitable for deep ores but risk-prone.

Secondary Activities

Secondary activities involve transformation of raw materials into finished goods through manufacturing and construction.

Features of Modern Manufacturing

  • Specialisation: Mass production vs craft industries.
  • Mechanisation and Automation: Machines increase scale and speed of production.
  • Technological Innovation: Focus on R&D to improve quality and reduce environmental harm.

Factors Influencing Industrial Location

  • Market access, raw materials, skilled labour, transport, energy availability, government policy, and agglomeration economies.

Types of Manufacturing Industries

  • By Size: Cottage (home-based), Small-scale (workshops), Large-scale (mass production).
  • By Input: Agro-based, Mineral-based, Forest-based, Chemical-based, Animal-based.
  • By Output: Basic (iron and steel) vs Consumer goods (textiles).
  • By Ownership: Public, Private, Joint-sector.

High-Technology Industries

  • Characterised by white-collar workforce, robotics, CAD-CAM systems.
  • Located in technopoles (e.g., Silicon Valley).

Tertiary Activities

  • Involve service provision: trade, transport, communication, banking, education, healthcare.

Trade:

  • Retail: Direct consumer transactions.
  • Wholesale: Bulk trading through intermediaries.

Transport:

  • Enhances spatial mobility.
  • Isochrone maps show travel-time contours.

Communication:

  • Encompasses postal services, telephony, internet.
  • Mass Media (TV, radio, newspapers) and Digital Media (internet, satellite) drive globalization.

Tourism:

  • A major global employer; fosters allied sectors (hospitality, crafts).
  • Medical tourism in India exemplifies healthcare-driven international mobility.

Quaternary Activities

  • Intellectual and information-based services: R&D, IT, consultancy, media.

Quinary Activities

  • High-level decision-making roles in governance, academia, and business.
  • Known as “gold-collar” professions.

Digital Divide

  • Reflects inequality in access to ICT.
  • Exists across and within nations, limiting equitable development.

International Trade - Historical Evolution

  • Silk Route facilitated transcontinental exchange.
  • Colonialism initiated slave trade and extraction economies.
  • Post-Industrial Revolution: Shift from primary exports to manufactured imports.

Determinants of Trade

  • Natural resources, population demographics, economic development, foreign investment, transport infrastructure.

Trade Metrics

  • Volume: Quantified in value/tonnage.
  • Composition: Agriculture, fuels, manufactured goods.
  • Direction: South-North or North-North exchange.

Balance of Trade

  • Favourable (positive): Exports > Imports.
  • Unfavourable (negative): Imports > Exports.

Trade Types

  • Bilateral: Two-nation agreements.
  • Multilateral: Multiple partners; MFN status under WTO.

WTO

  • Evolved from GATT (1948); aims to liberalize and standardize trade.
  • Critics argue developed nations manipulate rules to marginalize the Global South.

Regional Blocs

  • Encourage intra-bloc trade; examples include EU, NAFTA, ASEAN.

Human Settlements

Permanent human habitation patterns reflecting socio-economic activities.

Types

  • Rural: Dominated by primary activities; dispersed or nucleated.
  • Urban: Larger population, administrative function, and non-agricultural economy.

Urban Functions

  • Administrative towns: Seats of government (Delhi, Washington D.C.).
  • Commercial centres: Markets, banks, transport nodes.
  • Cultural towns: Religious and heritage hubs (Mecca, Varanasi).

Urban Challenges

  • Economic: Unemployment, informal sector congestion.
  • Social: Inequitable service access, gender imbalance.
  • Environmental: Pollution, housing shortage, poor sanitation.

WHO's Healthy City Criteria

  • Clean environment, inclusive governance, accessible healthcare, and participatory planning.

UNDP Urban Strategy Priorities

  1. Affordable housing.
  2. Essential services (education, health, water).
  3. Gender inclusivity.
  4. Sustainable transport and energy.
  5. Pollution control.

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