World Geography – Unit 2 – Human (Cultural) Geography
Unit 2: Human (Cultural) Geography
Enduring Understanding: Cultural geography focuses on settlement patterns, population, demographics, places, regions and
cultures. Various social, political and economic factors affect cultures, the way said cultures change over time, and how
the components of culture shape the characteristics of a region.
Essential Questions:
Concepts: Distributions and Patterns, Economic Systems, Cultural Patterns, Population and Demographics, Migration, Places,
Regions, Character of a Place, Culture, Cultural Traits, Standard of Living, Urbanization
Topic/Take-Away: Population growth rates vary, posing different problems for different countries because of development,
resources, etc. The world's population is unevenly distributed because of the physical geography of the world. Large numbers
of people are emigrating from rural areas to cities. The push factors would include wars, food shortages, persecution, lack of
jobs, or other problems. The physical environment and distribution of resources determines settlement patterns.
Topic/Take-Away: Global cultures include language, religion, social groups, government, and economic activities.
Geographers divide the earth into specific culture regions to better identify trends. Trade, migration and war all change
cultures. The world's first civilizations arose in cultural hearths. Unique physical and human characteristics define places and
regions and often change over time. Social, political, and economic factors determine population trends and demographics in a
region.
Topic/Take-Away: Political and economic systems are extremely important because they directly affect individuals. The three
major economic systems are traditional, command and market economy.
Topic/Take-Away: Peoples are increasingly interdependent in the world. Because natural resources are not evenly
distributed, countries must trade. Governments can create or eliminate trade barriers. A negative effect with the development of
human economic activities is the creation of pollution. Social, political, and economic factors affect cultures and cause
changes in the culture over time.
Academic Terms to Know:
Culture
Language
Religion
Ethnic Group
Culture Region
Culture Hearth
Political Systems
Economics Systems
Population Distribution
Standard of Living
Death Rate
Birth Rate
Natural Increase
Doubling Time
GNP
Per-Capita
Literacy Rates
Middle Income
Developed
Developing
Life Expectancy
Dense and sparsely
populated
Urban Growth
Urbanization
Cities
Rural
Population Pyramids
Human Migration
Natural Disaster
Natural Resource
Disease
Famine
Political Instability
Industrialization
Diffusion
Population Patterns
Population Distribution
Population Density
Soilis
Climate
Vegetation
Language
Trade Network
Free Trade
Pollution
River Systems
Unitary System
Federal System
Autocracy
Oligarchy
Democracy
Traditional Economic
System
Command Economic
System
Market Economic
System
Map
Goods and Services
"Melting Pot"
"Tossed Salad"
Education Systems
Guided Reading Questions
1. How does the physical environment, location of water, and location of resources determine the distribution of settlements?
2. How do settlement patterns change over time in response to physical or cultural change?
3. How do population and demographics represent the various human landscapes on Earth?
4. What social and cultural factors contribute to changes in populations and demographics?
5. What unique physical and human characteristics define a place and region?
6. How are places or regions affected by human perceptions and how do they change over time?
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World Geography – Unit 2 – Human (Cultural) Geography
7. What is a culture? What does a "cultural landscape" look like?
8. How are cultures affected by social, political and economic factors?
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