1.9 Geographic Insights: Review and Self-Test

• 1. Physical and Human Geographers: The primary concerns of both physical and human geographers are the study of the Earth’s surface and the interactive physical and human processes that shape the surface.

  • Question

    What are some of the ways in which the Earth’s physical and human processes interact?

  • Question

    Name some circumstances that can benefit from collaboration between physical and human geographers.
• 2. Regions: The concept of region is useful to geographers because it allows them to break up the world into manageable units in order to analyze and compare spatial relationships. Nonetheless, regions do not have rigid definitions and their boundaries are fluid.

  • Question

    How might you understand the place where you live as part of a region? What combination of distinct physical and/or human features describes this region?
• 3. Gender and Population: The shift toward greater gender equality is having an influence on population growth patterns, patterns of economic development, and the distribution of power within families, communities, and countries.

  • Question

    How is the shift toward greater equality between the genders influencing population growth rates, patterns of economic development, and politics?

  • Question

    How do your plans for a career and a family compare to those of your grandparents and great-grandparents?

  • Question

    Ask your parents who the first woman in your family was who had a career. How, if at all, did this impact the number of children she had?
• 4. Food and Urbanization: Modernization in food production is pushing agricultural workers out of rural areas toward urban areas where jobs are more plentiful but where food must be purchased. This circumstance often leads to dependency on imported food.

  • Question

    How is the food you eat more like or less like a product of green revolution agriculture or other food production systems, such as organic agriculture?

  • Question

    How far back in your family history would you need to go to find ancestors who lived in a rural area and grew almost all their own food?

  • Question

    Assuming you do not live in a rural area, how has urban life affected the diet and level of physical activity of you and/or your family?
• 5. Globalization and Development: Increased global flows of information, goods, and people are transforming patterns of economic development.

  • Question

    How is globalization evident in your life—from the clothes you wear, to your favorite foods, to your career plans?

  • Question

    To what extent does your circle of friends show the effects of globalization?
• 6. Power and Politics: There are major differences across the globe in the ways that power is wielded in societies. Modes of governing that are more authoritarian are based on the power of the state or community (or tribal) leaders. Modes that are more democratic give the individual a greater say in how policies are developed and governments are run. There are also many other ways of managing political power.

  • Question

    Give several examples from recent world events of shifts from authoritarian modes of government to more democratic systems in which individuals have a greater say in the running of their governments.

  • Question

    Are peace, broad prosperity, education, and civil society features of life in your home country? How do the political freedoms you enjoy shape your daily life?
• 7. Climate Change and Water: Water and other environmental factors often interact to influence the vulnerability of a location to the impacts of climate change. These vulnerabilities have a spatial pattern.

  • Question

    How is the place where you live vulnerable to climate change?

  • Question

    Assess your exposure, sensitivity, and resilience to water-related climate-change impacts.