Shifting flows Flashcards
Demographic change is caused by shifting flows
Demographic characteristics are to do with who lives in a place and what they’re like they include factors such as age, gender, education level, religion, birth rates, ethnicity and population size
Demographic change
Flows of ideas and resources-ideas such as the use of birth control can flow to new places and affect their demographic characteristics, e.g. by reducing the birth rate and affecting the population size
Flows of people can change any of the demographic characteristics of a place, e.g. the age or gender balance. For example, on a local scale, younger people have been leaving the town of Uckfield in East Sussex as they are unable to afford to buy a house in the area, leaving an increasingly high proportion of older people
Cultural characteristics of a place
The cultural characteristics of places are to do with how people live their lives, e.g. the foods, customs, clothing, traditions, language, art, attitudes, beliefs and values people have
Cultural characteristics-Flows of people
Flows of people new people moving to a place, or even visiting it, bring their culture with them, which can change the characteristics of the place. E.g. in the 20th century the UK experienced mass international migrations from India, Pakistan and other Commonwealth countries. This has created multi-ethnic communities in many places, where there is a greater mix of languages spoken, religions practised and foods eaten.
Cultural characteristics-Flows of money, investment, ideas
Flows of money, investment and ideas -new cultural ideas introduced to places can change the - characteristics of those places, e.g. fast food companies from the USA such as KFC, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut® opened restaurants in China in the 1980s and 1990s and have grown rapidly since. It is thought that eating habits have changed in China as a result, with increasing numbers of people favouring western-style fast food over traditional Chinese food.
Economic change
The economic characteristics of places are to do with work and money, e.g. income, employment rates and the types of job available
Economic change- external flows
Flows of resources- the outward flow of local products or natural resources from a place can have a large impact on local economies.
Flows of people-people visiting places can change the economic characteristics of those places, e.g. St Ives in Cornwall used to be a fishing settlement, but is now a popular tourist destination
social inequality
Are the differences in these factors between different groups of people
Flows also affect social inequality
The social characteristics of places are to do with what people’s lives are like, e.g. their overall quality of life, their access to adequate food supplies, healthcare, education, sanitation, leisure facilities etc.
social inequality-Flow of people
Flows of people-regional migration from rural areas to urban areas in poorer countries has changed social characteristics and levels of social inequality. E.g. in India, large-scale rural to urban migration has resulted in slums (illegal, overcrowded settlements that often lack basic services) developing in cities such as Mumbai. The migrants often have a very low quality of life, without access to electricity, sanitation or clean water-this contrasts with the high quality of life that wealthier residents in these cities have, and this gap is widening.
social inequality-Flow of Resources
Flows of resources -the outward flow of natural resources from poorer countries can change levels of social inequality. E.g. large amounts of oil are extracted around Warri in Nigeria then exported round the world, but most of the wealth that is generated goes to a few individuals who have a high quality of life, while large numbers of people remain in poverty with a very low quality of life.
