nit 1: Thinking Geographically
U
Key Concepts:
Spatial thinking and patterns
Maps and types of maps (thematic, reference)
Map projections (Mercator, Robinson, Peters, etc.)
Scale: local, regional, national, global
Geographic data (census, satellite, GIS)
Vocabulary:
Absolute vs. relative location
Distance decay
Time-space compression
Site vs. situation
Environmental determinism vs. possibilism
Geographic Information System (GIS)
Remote sensing
nit 2: Population and Migration Patterns and Processes
U
Key Concepts:
Population distribution and density
Demographic transition model (DTM)
Population pyramids
Malthusian theory vs. population policies
Types of migration: forced, voluntary, internal, international
Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration
Push and pull factors
Vocabulary:
Arithmetic, physiological, agricultural density
Natural Increase Rate (NIR)
Crude Birth Rate (CBR), Crude Death Rate (CDR)
Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
Dependency ratio
Immigration vs. emigration
Intervening obstacle
nit 3: Cultural Patterns and Processes
U
Key Concepts:
Culture traits and cultural landscapes
Folk vs. popular culture
Language families and diffusion
Religions: universalizing vs. ethnic
Acculturation, assimilation, syncretism
Diffusion types: relocation, hierarchical, contagious, stimulus
Vocabulary:
Cultural hearth
Ethnocentrism
Cultural relativism
Lingua franca
Creole language
Secularism
Globalization and cultural convergence/divergence
nit 4: Political Patterns and Processes
U
Key Concepts:
State, nation, nation-state, stateless nation
Sovereignty and territoriality
Types of boundaries (geometric, physical, cultural)
Gerrymandering and redistricting
Devolution and supranationalism (e.g., EU, UN)
Geopolitical theories (Rimland, Heartland)
Vocabulary:
Colonialism and imperialism
Self-determination
Federal vs. unitary states
Centripetal vs. centrifugal forces
Shatterbelt
Balkanization
EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone)
nit 5: Agriculture and Rural Land-Use Patterns and Processes
U
Key Concepts:
Agricultural revolutions (1st, 2nd, Green Revolution)
Subsistence vs. commercial agriculture
Von Thünen model
Rural settlement patterns (clustered, dispersed, linear)
Land survey systems (metes and bounds, township and range)
Global food systems and sustainability
Vocabulary:
Intensive vs. extensive farming
Shifting cultivation, pastoral nomadism
Agribusiness
Desertification
GMOs
Monoculture
nit 6: Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes
U
Key Concepts:
Urban models: Burgess (concentric), Hoyt (sector), Harris-Ullman (multiple nuclei), Galactic City
Urbanization and suburbanization
Megacities and world cities
Gentrification and urban renewal
Housing and zoning practices
Edge cities and edge development
Vocabulary:
Central Business District (CBD)
Urban sprawl
Redlining
Blockbusting
Smart growth
Informal economy
Squatter settlements
nit 7: Industrial and Economic Development Patterns and Processes
U
Key Concepts:
Sectors of the economy (primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary, quinary)
Models of development (Rostow’s Stages, Wallerstein’s World Systems)
Industrial location theories (Weber’s Least Cost Theory)
Just-in-time vs. bulk-reducing/bulk-gaining industries
Globalization of industry and outsourcing
Vocabulary:
GDP vs. GNI
HDI (Human Development Index)
Agglomeration
Maquiladoras
Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
Microloans
Neocolonialism