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Overview of AP Human Geography Concepts

Apr 22, 2025

AP Human Geography Summary

Introduction

  • Purpose: Review of all seven units of AP Human Geography.
  • Goal: Provide highlights and main concepts for review before exams.
  • Additional Resources:
    • Ultimate Review Packet (includes videos, quizzes, and practice tests).
    • Discord community for student discussions and support.

Unit 1: Maps and Spatial Concepts

Types of Maps

  • Thematic Maps: Focus on specific themes.
  • Reference Maps: General purpose maps.
  • Map Projections: Each has distortion (e.g., Mercator projection).

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

  • Layers data on maps to show spatial relationships.
  • Uses both qualitative (attitudes, beliefs) and quantitative data (numerical).

Spatial Concepts

  • Distance Decay: Decreasing due to technological advances.
  • Sense of Place: Unique cultural and environmental characteristics.

Environmental Theories

  • Environmental Determinism: Environment sets societal limits.
  • Possibilism: Societies can modify the environment.

Scale and Regions

  • Scale of Analysis: Organization of data at various levels (national, local).
  • Types of Regions:
    • Functional/Nodal: Organized around a node (e.g., airports).
    • Perceptual/Vernacular: Defined by people's beliefs.
    • Formal/Uniform: Defined by consistent attributes.

Unit 2: Population and Migration

Population Distribution

  • Influenced by economic, social, political, and environmental factors.
  • Larger urban areas attract more people.

Population Density

  • Arithmetic Density: Total people / total land area.
  • Physiological Density: People / arable land.
  • Agricultural Density: Farmers / arable land.

Demographic Transition Model

  • Stages of population growth reflecting economic and social changes.
  • Stage 1: Low growth.
  • Stage 2: High growth (Industrial/Medical Revolution).
  • Stage 3: Moderate growth (urbanization).
  • Stage 4: Low growth (zero population growth).
  • Stage 5: Population decline (debated).

Population Models

  • Malthusian Theory: Predicted a population crisis due to resource scarcity.
  • Neo-Malthusians: Extend the idea to all resources, not just food.

Migration

  • Push and Pull Factors: Economic, political, social, environmental.
  • Types of Migration:
    • Forced: Due to threats on life.
    • Voluntary: Chosen migration without immediate threats.
    • Ravenstein’s Laws: Counter migration connects places.

Unit 3: Cultural Geography

Cultural Concepts

  • Cultural Relativism: Understanding cultures in their own context.
  • Ethnocentrism: Judging cultures by one's own standards.

Cultural Landscapes

  • Reflects shared practices, beliefs, and values.
  • Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces: Influence cultural identity.

Diffusion Types

  • Relocation: Movement from place to place.
  • Expansion: Spread through growing participation.
    • Hierarchical, Contagious, Stimulus diffusion.

Religion and Language

  • Universalizing Religions: Seek global appeal (e.g., Christianity, Islam).
  • Ethnic Religions: Focus on cultural identity (e.g., Judaism, Hinduism).
  • Language Families: Spread and impact on cultural landscapes.

Unit 4: Political Geography

Political Concepts

  • Nation vs. State: Nation has shared identity, state has political boundaries.
  • Nation-State: Homogeneous nation and state.
  • Multinational State: Multiple nations within a state.

Boundaries and Power

  • Types of Boundaries: Relic, Antecedent, Subsequent, Superimposed, Geometric.
  • Maritime Boundaries: Territorial waters, EEZ, international waters.

Political Structures

  • Unitary States: Centralized power.
  • Federal States: Shared power between national and regional governments.
  • Supranational Organizations: States join for economic/military benefits.
    • Examples: EU, NATO, UN.

Unit 5: Agricultural Geography

Agricultural Practices

  • Intensive Agriculture: Near population centers; labor and capital intensive.
  • Extensive Agriculture: Requires more land; less labor-intensive.

Agricultural Revolutions

  • First Agricultural Revolution: Neolithic period.
  • Second Agricultural Revolution: Industrial technologies.
  • Green Revolution: GMOs, chemical fertilizers.

Modern Agricultural Issues

  • Sustainability: Organic farming, local food movements.
  • Role of Women: Significant in subsistence agriculture.

Unit 6: Urban Geography

Urban Models

  • Concentric Zone Model: Growth in rings from the center.
  • Sector Model: Development in wedges.
  • Multiple Nuclei Model: Multiple centers of growth.

Urbanization Issues

  • Infrastructure and Density: Impact of urban planning.
  • Challenges: Gentrification, segregation, economic development.

Unit 7: Economic Geography

Globalization

  • Impacts of the Industrial Revolution on global trade.
  • Formal vs. Informal Economies: Regulated vs. unregulated jobs.

Economic Theories

  • Rostow’s Stages of Growth: Economic development process.
  • World Systems Theory: Core, semi-periphery, and periphery dynamics.

Trade and Development

  • Comparative Advantage: Specialization benefits.
  • Indicators: GDP, GNP, GNI, HDI, Gender Inequality Index.

These notes provide a high-level overview of the main concepts covered in the AP Human Geography course, summarizing each unit and highlighting key themes and models that are essential for understanding and preparing for exams.

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