Theme A - People and Where They Live Flashcards
When will population increase
When birth rate is higher than death rate. Meaning more people are being born than dying in any year. This is called natural increase.
Explain the stages in world population.
Stage 1
- most countries had very high birth rates and high death rates. This stopped the population from growing very much, so it was quite low.
Stage 2.
- some richer countries managed to reduce their death with better food and better healthcare. The birth rate was still high, so the populations kept growing but not quite so fast
Stage 3.
After a while these countries started to reduce their birth rates too, because more of their children were surviving. Their populations kept growing but not quite so fast.
Stage 4.
As rich countries became more developed, the birth rates and death rates both reached a low level. This means their population stays high, but stops growing. E.g USA or UK
Less developed countries like India and Mexico are still in the middle stages and their populations are growing quickly meaning world population is going to grow a lot more in the next few years.
What is a GIS?
A geographical information system is a way of storing information about places so that lots of data can be compared and brought together. E.g NINIS website. It is useful because it allows us to access the information quickly and easily and identify patterns clearly. Lots of information can be linked for one area this is much quicker than finding information separately.
Define
- migration
- immigration
- emigration
Migration - when people move house permanently. People who move are called migrants
Immigration - when people move into a country. People who do this are called immigrants
Emigration - when people move out of a country. People who do this are called emigrants
Impacts of migration
The country people leave
- lose best qualified people (brain drain)
- fewer people to provide for
- emigrants may send money back
The country people go to
- more people to provide housing, healthcare and education for
- more people to work and earn money
- migrants may bring in important skills
- migrants may be willing to work for low wages
The migrants
- may get good job and be able to send money home
- may be lonely or unable to speak the language
- may find cultural differences difficult
- may be eligible for benefits
- may get better education and healthcare than at home
What is population structure?
Population structure or composition is the way population is divided between male and female, and different age groups. This can be shown on a population pyramid.
- wide/narrow base shows high/low birth rates
- straight/triangular pyramid shows low/high death rate
- tall/short pyramid shows high/low life expectancy
- missing/extra young adult males shows out/in migration
What is dependency?
Groups of people who are dependant on people of working age to support them.
- aged dependant 65+
- youth dependant 0-14
Dependancy ratio
Dependency ratio = youth dependant + aged dependant % working population X 100
Definitions of settlement, location and site
Settlement - a place where people live. Settlements range in size from single farmhouses and small hamlets to villages, towns and cities.
Site - the site of a settlement is the actual spot where it is built
Location - refers to where it is in relation to its surroundings
How is a site selected? Give examples
The original settlers needed food, water and shelter so they selected a site near a stream for drinking water, with land nearby suitable for grazing or growing crops and supplies of timber for building and firewood
Defensive site - for people who feared attack chose either a hilltop or surrounded by a meander bend of a river as these are easier to defend.
Wet point site - has a water supply as its most important factor. In chalk or limestone areas, where most water flows underground, Spring line settlements grew up where springs emerged from the ground.
A bridging point - where a river could be crossed most easily and as it became the focus where tracks and roads converged, the settlement that grew up there often became successful as a market town.
Explain a settlement hierarchy
It is an arrangement of settlements in order of their size and importance.
1. City
2. Town
3. Village
4. Hamlet
5. Isolated farmhouse
As size and importance of the settlement increases the number of the settlements decreases
Order of goods and services
Order of goods and services
- Low order/ convenience foods - bought or used frequently often daily, may be perishable, found near home e.g bread, milk, newspapers
- Middle order - bought or used less often: weekly, monthly, willing to travel further to buy or use these e.g supermarket shopping, cosmetics, hairdressers, cinema
- High order comparison goods - bought or used seldom, once a year or less often, durable, willing to travel a long distance to obtain these e.g. Christmas shopping, furniture, hospital, theatre
What is a sphere of influence, range, function and threshold?
The sphere of influence of a settlement is its market area that is the area from which people travel to use its services.
The range is the maximum distance people travel to obtain a service.
The threshold is the minimum number of people needed to ensure the service stays in business.
The function of a settlement is its main economic activity
Explain land use zones
- Central business district - shops, offices, entertainment, easy to access by bus, train or car, land is expensive because space is limited so people build skyscrapers
- Inner city - some buildings old, dilapidated and boarded up awaiting redevelopment, some former houses converted into small offices, large houses divided up, for student housing, some high rise blocks of flats
- Residential suburbs - small Victorian terraced houses closest to CBD, semi-detached houses with gardens built in the 1920-30s, detached houses with gardens and garages, furthest from CBD
- Industrial zones - old industries located close to the docks, railways or canals and to terraced housing for workers, modern single-storey factories in industrial estates on the edge of the city, on cheaper land and close to motorways for transport
- Rural-urban fringe - a zone of mixed urban and rural land uses, space available for a golf course, waste recycling centre, hospital or airport, problems of litter, vandalism or planning blight cause farmland to be under-used
Causes and definition of urbanisation
Urbanisation is the process of an increasing percentage of people living in towns and cities.
Causes;
- lots of young people migrate to the city, then want to start a family
- more babies are born alive in towns because of better healthcare
- death rate is lower because there are lots of young people and better healthcare
- this means natural increase is greater in the city
