Changing population - Population distribution + density

Question 1

Where is the explosion in population growth happening?

Answer 1

Up to 95% of population growth is happening in developing countries

Question 2

How many people are born each second and each year?

Answer 2

• 2 extra people each second
• 80 million new births per year

Question 3

Where will the greatest increases take place?

Answer 3

In the least developed nations:
- Afghanistan’s population will double
- Niger’s population will triple

Question 4

What are the temporal + Spatial patterns of population?

Answer 4

-Temporal = change over time
- Spatial = change or variation over space (across a geographical area)

Question 5

What is population distribution?

Answer 5

A description of the way in which people are spread out across the earth’s surface
- Where people live
- Even/uneven distribution

Question 6

What is population density?

Answer 6

The number of people occupying a specific area (people per sq km)
- Sparse/dense population

Question 7

Why is the global population described as unevenly distributed?

Answer 7

Because over 50% of people are on just 5% of the land

Question 8

Why is this trend of uneven distribution of the population increasing?

Answer 8

Because more and more people are living in urban areas, over half the world’s population
- 21 megacities
- 2008 tipping-point urban-rural

Question 9

Why are there large unpopulated areas?

Answer 9

Due to their climate
- continental interiors = often extreme environments -> too hot, dry, cold, wet, steep

Question 10

Where are three major concentrations of populations found?

Answer 10

• S.E. Asia
• W. Europe
• N.E. USA

Question 11

Where are three other types of areas where large population concentrations are found?

Answer 11

• Coastal areas (75% within 1000km of sea)
• 80% in N. Hemisphere (most in temperate zone, between 20-60 degrees north)
• 85% live in low-lying areas (0-500m above sea level)

Question 12

What are the physical factors that affect population density?

Answer 12

• Physical accessibility
• Relief + soils
• Climate
• Vegetation
• Water supply

Question 13

How does the physical factor of physical accessibility affect population density

Answer 13

• Sparse population: Rugged mountains (Alps) or High plateaux (Tibet)
• Dense population: Flat lowlands (Netherlands or Nile valley)

Question 14

How does the physical factor of relief + soils affect population density?

Answer 14

• Sparse population: Frozen soils (Siberia) or Eroded soils (Sahel)
• Dense populations: Deep humus (Paris basin) or River silt (Ganges delta)

Question 15

How does the physical factor of climate affect population density?

Answer 15

• Sparse population: Low temperatures (Canada or Alaska)
• Dense population: Longer growing season (tropical Asia)

Question 16

How does the physical factor of vegetation affect population density?

Answer 16

• Sparse population: Dense forest which restricts human activity
• Dense population: Grassland ecosystems (Eastern Europe)

Question 17

How does the physical factor of water supply affect population density?

Answer 17

• Sparse population: Insufficient or unpredictable supply (Australian desert)
• Dense population: Mostly reliable all-year supply (Western Europe)

Question 18

What are the human factors that affect population density?

Answer 18

• Economic factors
• Political factors
• Technological factors

Question 19

How does the human factor of an economic factor affect population density?

Answer 19

• Sparse population: Extensive agriculture (few workers needed per unit area)
• Dense population: Ports (Singapore) or Intensive farming (China)

Question 20

How does the human factor of a political factor affect population density?

Answer 20

• Sparse population: Low levels of state investment (interior of Brazil)
• Dense population: Forced movements (Soviet settlement of Siberia)

Question 21

How does the human factor of a technological factor affect population density?

Answer 21

• Sparse population: Lack of technology needed to increase water availability
• Dense population: Irrigation and desalinisation technologies available

Question 22

What is chloropleth mapping?

Answer 22

Shading areas according to a prearranged key, each colour/shade representing a range of values

Question 23

What is are dot density maps?

Answer 23

Where dots are placed where the value and location are known
- the key identifies the dot size value

Question 24

What are the positives and negatives of a chloropleth map?

Answer 24

+ Gives good visual impression of change over space
+ Widely understood method of presentation
- Large data ranges may reduce detail
- Give false impression of abrupt change at boundaries
- Can be difficult to distinguish between different shades
- Quantity that is assumed to be of uniform density throughout any shaded area

Question 25

What are the positives and negatives of dot density mapping?

Answer 25

+ More accurate representation of spatial data, such as density (e.g. low population in California's Mojave desert) + Easy to read and is a visual representation of data - Much more complicated to construct - Requires more additional data - Limitations include difficulty of counting large numbers of dots in order to get a precise value - Also the need to have a large amount of initial information before drawing the map

Question 26

What is an alternative way of representing population distribution?

Answer 26

Isopleth/Isoline maps = lines connect points of equal value

Question 27

What is the general population distribution of the USA?

Answer 27

- 80% live in urban areas - 20% live in rural areas - Over half of the population live within 50 miles of the coast - Half of the population live within just 9 states

Question 28

How are physical factors linked to the population distribution and density in the USA?

Answer 28

- Altitude = Above 400m you get a much lower population density (too steep/cold) - Precipitation = Large areas of West USA get less than 4000mm per year (often less than 600) which causes lower density of people --> 600-1500mm/yr = Eastern US states which leads to higher population density

Question 29

What is the average population density of the USA and what is the distribution?

Answer 29

Uneven distribution and an average of 33 people per square km

Question 30

What are the highest density areas in the USA and why?

Answer 30

The Eastern coast (e.g. New York, Philadelphia + Baltimore) because of the way Europeans funded new settlements along the Eastern seaboard in the 1600s and 1700s

Question 31

Where else are there clusters of high population density in the northern USA?

Answer 31

There are clusters of high population density around the great lakes (e.g. Cleveland, Detroit, etc.)

Question 32

What is the typical density in the interior of the USA?

Answer 32

Normally fewer than 20 people per square km

Question 33

Where and why can you find large areas of less than 1 person per square km

Answer 33

You can find areas with such a low density in many areas West of the Rocky Mountains - this is because of the aridity of the Western desert (including large part of Texas, New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona).

Question 34

Which city with high population density is an anomaly in these areas with such a low population density (>1 person per square km)?

Answer 34

Phoenix (Arizona) - has gained a population thanks to irrigation + water transfer schemes

Question 35

What does the population density on the West coast of the USA look like, and why?

Answer 35

The West coast has a higher density, especially in areas surrounding cities like Los Angeles or San Francisco. - this is due to many migrants being attracted here on account of its hot, dry climate + the opportunities provided by the Pacific coastline for trade with Asia - (Los Angeles - entertainment industry hub on global scale --> Hollywood)

Question 36

Why can the USA be said to have a binary settlement plan?

Answer 36

Because the world cities of New York and Los Angeles are equally powerful magnets for migrants + investors alike - and the Great Lake area likewise has a coal + mining industry

Question 37

How many people have moved in history's largest internal migration in China in the last 25 years, and from where to where?

Answer 37

Over 200 million people moved from rural areas in the Interior - central + western China to urban areas in the east --> e.g. Beijing + Shanghai - Interior to coast - West to East - Rural to urban

Question 38

What does the internal migration reflect in China?

Answer 38

It reflects the inequalities in wealth and levels of development in China --> (internal migration) Contributed to the uneven population distribution across the country

Question 39

How is China an example of uneven population distribution?

Answer 39

- 1.4 billion people - Less than 1 person per km sq - Some very high densities = 1000 people per km sq - Average = 146 people per km sq (compared to 33 in USA)

Question 40

What is the Hu Huanyong line, and what does it depict?

Answer 40

A line that splits China in two (NE to SW) - West of the line = 57% of the land + only 6% of the population - East of the line = 43% of the line + 94% of the population

Question 41

How does surface elevation affect population distribution in China?

Answer 41

East of the Hu Huanyong line = mainly 0-400 m above sea level - more hospitable climate + better soils

Question 42

How does precipitation affect population distribution in China

Answer 42

- West of the Hu Huanyong line = Arid region + mainly less than 400mm in the SW and desert areas of less than 200mm in the NW - East of the Hu Huanyong line = large areas of more than 800mm per year --> wheat and wet rice farming possible

Question 43

How does cultivated land affect population distribution in China?

Answer 43

Vast majority of cultivated land is to the east of the Hu Huanyong line because of the physical factors such as relief, soil, temperatures + rainfall - Predominantly wheat to North of the East of HH line - Predominantly rice in the South to the East of the HH line

Question 44

What are 3 of the biggest cities in China?

Answer 44

- Beijing (Capital economic zone) - Shanghai ( Yangtze river delta) - Macau (Pearl river delta)

Question 45

Where are the two main sparsely populated areas in China?

Answer 45

- Southwest = Tibetan plateau --> 4000m above sea level --> -40'C in winter --> low rainfall: less than 400m/yr (*'Rain Shadow' of Himalayas*) --> poor soils - Northwest = Arid regions such as the Gobi + Taklimakan deserts (less than 200mm rain per year)

Question 46

How does the rain shadow of the Himalayas affect the Tibetan Plateau + Gobi desert (in China)?

Answer 46

The air isn't able to absorb moisture anymore because the mountains block the warm, moist air, and the air is forced to compress and evaporate on the other side (Tibetan plateau) and turns into warm dry air

Question 47

Where are the main densely populated areas in China?

Answer 47

- East coast mega regions include: --> Beijing = Capital economic zone (400+ per km sq) --> Jiangsu = Yangtze River Delta + Shanghai (800+ per km sq) - Southeast China: --> Pear River Basin + Delta (mega-region of 120 million) - includes Shenzhen, Hong Kong + Macau (600+ per km sq)

Question 48

What do the East coast mega regions + Pear River Delta benefit from (China)?

Answer 48

- Highly fertile, well-watered farmland (alluvial deposits from river flooding + rainfall of 800mm+ per year) - Ports + Special Economic Zones (SEZs)

Question 49

What are Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in China?

Answer 49

Areas designated for industrialisation + trade, which have attracted FDI + seen rapid economic development + job creation

Question 50

What type of factors determined China's uneven population distribution in the past?

Answer 50

Physical factors

Question 51

When did China start establishing Special Economic Zones (SEZs) on the east coast?

Answer 51

In the 1980s and 1990s

Question 52

What has China establishing Special Economic Zones (SEZs) along the eastern coast led to?

Answer 52

- Increasing trade - FDI - Industrialisation - Jobs - Wealth creation

Question 53

What has the economic growth (through SEZs) in eastern regions led to and what has this reinforced?

Answer 53

- Led to internal migration of 200 million people to these areas --> has reinforced uneven distribution already present due to physical factors in China