Population & Urban Geography

Earths population hit the one billion mark in the early 1800’s

By 1930 2 billion people In 2007 over 6 billion people In 2011 hit 7 billion

Population Growth To understand population growth,

geographers study the following: Birthrate- number of live births per

thousand Fertility Rate- average number of

children a woman of childbearing years would have in her lifetime

*The world’s average fertility rate is about 3.0

Population Growth Cont. Mortality rate- number of deaths

per thousand Infant mortality rate- number of

deaths among infants under age one per thousand births

Rate of natural increase- the rate at which a population is growing

Birthrate – Mortality rate = rate of natural increase

Population Distribution The billions of people in the world

are not distributed equally Some lands are not suitable for

human habitation Almost 90% of the worlds population

lives in the Northern Hemisphere

Habitable lands Almost two-thirds of the worlds

population lives in the zones between 20°N and 60°N latitude

The highly populated areas are warm and wet enough to make agriculture possible

The lightly populated areas are in the polar regions, heavily mountainous regions, and desert regions

Urbanization The dramatic rise in the number of

cities and changes in lifestyle

Urbanization More people are moving into cities 26 giant cities, called megacities,

are home to a total of more than 250 million people

The largest city is Tokyo, with a population of over 28 million people

1. Tokyo2. Mexico City3. New York

Population Density The average number of people who

live in a measurable area, such as a square mile

Number of people / the total amount of land they occupy = population density

Singapore- 16, 714 people per square mile

Monaco - 45, 333 people per square mile

Urban Geography The study of how people use space

in cities Cities- center of business and

culture and has a large population An urban area develops around an

area called the central business district

Suburbs-political units touching the borders of the central city or touching other suburbs that touch the city

Within commuting distance

Central Business District Also called CBD It is the core of a city, which is

almost always based on commercial activity

Very expensive housing can be found there; land value is very high in the CBD

As you move away from the CBD, other functions become more important (housing begins to dominate land use)

Migration Reasons for migrating are referred

to as push-pull factors Push factors- those that cause

people to leave their homeland Pull factors- draw or attract others

to a region

Factors Influencing Where People Settle

Both physical and human factors affect where people settle.

¾ of the world’s population now live on less than 5% of Earth’s surface. Most of the world’s population is concentrated

in five areas, with more than half in the first two.

East Asia, including China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan South Asia, with India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri

Lanka Southeast Asia Europe North America

Factors Influencing Where People Settle

Physical Factors Population tends to cluster around

seaports and fresh water sources 2/3 of the world’s population today live

within 500 miles of the ocean Population is typically sparse in

extremely dry, wet, cold, or mountainous areas

People tend to settle in low-lying areas with fertile soil and a temperate or mild climate.

Factors Influencing Where People Settle

Human Factors The need to establish a capital city at a

central location The need to establish new

transportation routes As technology improves, people are

able to explore and settle in new areas despite physical barriers

Economic activities: Discovery of valuable resources like gold,

diamonds, or oil