GEOGRAPHY MODELS

Preparing for the

AP Human Geography Exam
THE DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION
 THE DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION
StageOne:
CBRveryhigh
CDRveryhigh
NIR low PopulationGrowth:Low

MovementfromStageOnetoStageTwo:
MDCIndustrialRevolution
LDCMedicalRevolution

StageTwo:
CBRveryhigh
CDRplummets
NIR high PopulationGrowth:High
MovementfromStageTwotoStageThree:
ChangesinSocialcustomsandimprovedtechnology
DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION

StageThree:
CBR:Dropsquickly
CDR:Fallingputslowerthanbefore
NIR:slows PopulationGrowth:Moderate

MovementfromStageThreetoStageFour:
greatergenderequity,morewomenworkingandimprovedbirthcontrol

StageFour:
CBR:low
CDR:low
NIR:low PopulationGrowth:Low
DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION

ExamplesofCountriesandRegionsofeachstageofdemographictransition:
StageOne: None
StageTwo: SubsaharanAfrica
Nigeria,SierraLeon,CapeVerde
StageThree: EastAsia,LatinAmerica,MiddleEast
China,Brazil,Mexico,SaudiArabia,Chile
StageFour: WesternEurope
UnitedKingdon,Demnark
ROSTOWS STAGES OF ECONOMIC
GROWTH
Definition:Amodelofeconomicdevelopmentthatdescribesacountrys
progressionwhichoccursinfivestagestransformingthemfromleast
developedtomoredevelopedregions.
Stages:
1. Thetraditionalsocietyacountrythathasnotyetbeguntheprocessof
development.Itcontainsaveryhighpercentageofnationalwealthallocated
tomilitaryandregion.(Rostowcalledthoseservicesnonproductive)
2. Preconditionstotakeoff Anelitegroupofpeopleinitiateinnovative
economicactivitiesincludingnewtechnologyandinfrastructure.
3. TheTakeoffRapidgrowthgeneratedinalimitednumberofeconomic
activitiesliketextileandfoodproduction.
4. ThedrivetomaturityModerntechnologydiffusestomanyareas.Workers
becomemoreskilledandspecialized.
5. Theageofmassconsumption Economyshiftsfromheavyindustryto
consumergoods.
ROSTOWS STAGES OF ECONOMIC
GROWTH
Supportofthemodel:Accordingtothemodel,eachcountryisinoneofthe
fivestages.Itwasbasedontwofactors:1.thedevelopedcountriesof
EuropeandAngloAmericahadbeenjoinedbyothercountriesinSouthern
andEasternEuropeandJapan.2.manyLCDscontainanabundantsupply
ofrawmaterialssoughtbymanufacturersandproducersinMDCs

Critiquesofthemodel:Onemajorproblemwiththemodelisthatisassumes
thatallcountrieswillfollowthesameprocessofdevelopmentthatthe
developedcountriesofWesternEuropeandNorthAmericafollowed.Italso
followscountrieswithacapitalisteconomy.Notallcountriesintheworldhavea
strong,capitalisticeconomylikethoseintheWest.
MALTHUS PRINCIPAL OF POPULATION AS
IT AFFECTS THE FUTURE
MALTHUS PRINCIPAL OF POPULATION AS
IT AFFECTS THE FUTURE
WhatMalthussaid:
populationgrowsgeometricallywhilefoodproductiongrowsarithmetically
accordingtoMalthus,thesegrowthrateswouldproducethefollowing
relationshipsbetweenfoodandpeopleinthefuture:
Today 1person,1unitoffood
25yearsfromnow 2persons,2unitsoffood
50yearsfromnow 4persons,3unitsoffood
75yearsfromnow 8persons,4unitsoffood
100yearsfromnow 16persons,5unitsoffood

thesepredictionsweremadejustafterEnglandbecamethefirstcountryto
enterstage2ofDemographicTransition
MALTHUS PRINCIPAL OF POPULATION AS
IT AFFECTS THE FUTURE
NeoMalthusians:
1.Populationgrowthisincreasinggreatlyinthepoorercountriesof
theworldbecauseofmedicalgrowthnotgrowthofwealth.Theyare
notincreasingtheirfoodproductionasquicklyastheyaretheir
population
2.Populationgrowthisstrippingtheworldofmanyvaluable
resourceslikeenergysources,notjustfood.

MalthusCritics:
1. BoserupandKuznets:Populationgrowthcouldstimulateeconomic
growthandbringaboutmorefoodproduction.
2. Simon:Populationstimulatedeconomicgrowth.Morepeople=more
brainstoinventthingstoimprovelife.
3. Marxists:Nocauseeffectrelationshipbetweenthegrowthofpopulation
andeconomicdevelopment.
VON THUNENS LAND USE MODEL
1826TheIsolatedStatebyJohann
vonThunen
Accordingtothemodel,a
commercialfarmerinitiallyconsiders
whichcropstocultivateandwhich
animalstoraisebasedonmarket
location.
Farmertakesintoaccounttwocosts:
costoflandv.costoftransportation
Thegoodsthatareexpensivetoship
orareperishablewillbeclosertothe
centralcitywhilethegoodsthatneed
lotsoflandorareinexpensivetoship
willbefartherfromthecentralcity.
 CENTRAL PLACE THEORY
Definition:
AtheoryofWalterChristallerthatseekstoexplaintherelativesizeandspacingof
townsandcitiesasafunctionofpeoplesshoppingbehavior.
Itexplainshowandwherecentralplacesintheurbanhierarchyshouldbe
functionallyandspatiallydistributed.

Thesmallestsettlementsinanurbansystemwillprovideonlythosegoodsand
servicesthatmeeteverydayneeds(bakeryanddiaryproducts,andgroceries)and
thatthesesmallsettlementswillbesituatedrelativelyclosetooneanotherbecause
consumers,assumedtobespreadthroughoutthecountryside,willnotbeprepared
totravelfarforsuchitems.Ontheotherhand,peoplewillbewillingtotravel
fartherformoreexpensive,lessfrequentlypurchaseditemsusuallyfoundinthe
largersettlements.

RangeandThresholdaretakenintoaccountwhendecidingwheretoplacea
business.
 CONCENTRIC ZONE MODEL

Definition:Acitygrowsoutwardfromacentralcityinaseriesofconcentricrings.
Theringsdenotedifferentclassesofpeople.
1st istheCBD
2nd isthezoneoftransitioncontainingindustryandpoorerhouses
3rd istheworkingclasszonecontainingmodesthomeswithworkingclassfamilies
4th isthemiddleclasswithnewerspacioushomes
5th isthecommuterzone
SECTOR MODEL

Definition:Thecitydevelopsinaseriesofsectors,notrings.Asacitygrows,
activitiesexpandoutwardinawedgefromthecenter.Manyareasaremore
attractiveforvariousactivities.Socialclassesarefoundinsectorsofacity,not
intheringsfromtheinsideout.
MULTIPLE NUCLEI MODEL

Definition:Acityisacomplexstructurethatincludesmorethanonecenteraround
whichactivitiesrevolve.Examplesofthesenodesareaport,neighborhood
businesscenter,university,airportandpark.Someactivitiesareattractedto
particularnodes,whereasotherstrytoavoidthemlikethingsnearuniversitiesand
airports.
WALLERSTEINS WORLD SYSTEMS THEORY

Definition:TheorydevelopedbyImmanuelWallersteinthatexplainsthe
emergenceofacore,peripheryandsemiperipheryintermsofeconomic
andpoliticalconnectionsfirstestablishedatthebeginningofexplorationin
thelate15th centuryandmaintainedthroughincreasedeconomicaccessup
untilthepresent.
Core Countrieswithstrongeconomieswithlargeeconomicproductivity,
highpercapitaGDP.SeenastheMDCsoftheworld
Semiperiphery Thenewlyindustrializedcountrieswithmedianstandards
ofliving,suchasChile,Brazil,India,ChinaandIndonesia.Theyoffertheir
citizensrelativelydiverseeconomicopportunitiesbutalsohaveextreme
gapsbetweenrichandpoor.
Periphery Countriesthathavelowlevelsofeconomicproductivity,lowper
capitaincomesandgenerallylowstandardsofliving.Theyworldeconomic
peripheryincludesAfrica(notS.Africa),partsofS.AmericaandAsia
CORE-PERIPHERY MODEL
MACKINDERS HEARTLAND THEORY
AND SPYKMANS RIMLAND THEORY
MACKINDERS HEARTLAND THEORY
AND SPYKMANS RIMLAND THEORY
HeartlandTheory:
Mackinderbelievedthatalandbasedpower,notaseabasedpower,
wouldultimatelyruletheworld.HebelievedthatEurasiawasthemost
importantareaintheworldcontainingapivotareaextendingfromEastern
EuropetoeasternSiberia.ThepivotareabecameknownastheHeartland.
WhorulesEastEuroperulestheHeartland.
WhorulestheHeartlandrulestheWorldIsland.
WhorulestheWorldIslandrulestheWorld.
RimlandTheory
SpykmanbelievedtheEurasiarim,notitsheart,heldthekeytoglobal
power.HeparodiedMackinder:
WhocontrolstheRimlandrulesEurasia
WhorulesEurasiacontrolsthedestiniesoftheworld.
Spykmansawadividedrimlandasakeytotheworldsbalanceofpower.Today
therimlandincludesWesternEuropeandChina
WEBERS LEAST COST THEORY
Definition:
Modeldevelopedaccordingtothelocationofmanufacturingestablishmentsis
determinedbytheminimizationofthreecriticalexpenses:
1. labor
2. transportation
3. agglomeration(aprocessinvolvingtheclusteringorconcentratingof
peopleoractivities.Oftenreferstobusinessesthat
benefitfromproximitybecausetheyshareskilled
laborpoolsandtechnologicalandfinancial
amenities.)