Name: ________________________________
AP EXAM: TEST TAKING TIPS
The Multiple Choice Section
1. Read the question slowly. Every word in the stem is important. Skipping one word could
change the question’s intent and meaning completely. Underlining or circling key words may
be helpful.
2. Eliminate bad choices. Read through all of the answers and cross off the ones that are sure
to be incorrect.
3. To guess or not to guess. Answering a question correctly gives you one point. You do not
lose any points for an incorrect answer.
4. Skipping questions. Skip the question, marking it with a dash or circle and returning to it
after answering the rest of the questions. Don’t spend too much time on one question if you
are not sure. It makes you frustrated, and may prevent you from getting to questions that you
know and are easier.
5. No.2 Pencil. Make sure you have several number two pencils for the exam.
The Free-Response Section
1. This is not an essay. You do not need to write an introduction, body, and conclusion. There
is no need to restate the question. There is no need for an introduction. You should read the
question and proceed directly to answering all of its parts.
2. Teach students the exam’s multiple-step format. Most free-response questions are in a
multiple-step format with parts (a), (b), (c), and so on. Write A in the exam booklet and
proceed to answer the question. When you move on to part (b), follow the same procedure.
To make it easy for the AP Readers, skipping lines is acceptable.
3. Read completely and prepare before writing. Read through the entire question and take
the time to get yourself organized. Many students feel pressured during the test and rush to
finish, which usually has a negative impact on your answer. Preparing and planning an answer
in advance of writing it is extremely important and will help you develop a more organized and
well thought out response.
4. Read all three questions first. Take a few minutes to read through all the questions,
underline key words, and make a brief outline/sketch or jot down key ideas. Spending the time
doing this in the beginning will make it easier once you start actually writing your answer.
5. Underline key words. As you are reading/dissecting a question, identify the most important
word(s) in the question. Be aware for words/phrases such as:
- Numbers: “Identify THREE things”
- Geographic Regions: “In SOUTHEAST ASIA”
- Action Verbs: “Briefly IDENTIFY” or “DESCRIBE using TWO examples”
6. Use blue or black ink. Pencils are sometimes difficult to read and you want the readers to
be able to easily read your responses. You don’t want to do anything that makes this more
difficult. Make sure you bring more than one just in case.
7. Write Legibly. Again, you want to make it as easy as possible for the readers to understand
your response. If they can’t read it, how can they grade it?
MAJOR TOPICS TO KNOW
Chapter 1
Chapter 8
1. Everything!
1. Concept of “state”
2. Shapes of states/types of boundaries
3. Federal v. Unitary governments
Chapter 2
Chapter 9
1.
2.
3.
3.
4.
5.
1. Key Issue 1
2. MDC/LDC regions (where are the
located?)
3. Self-Sufficiency vs. Int’l Trade
4. Fair Trade
Population Concentrations
CBR, NIR, CDR, TFR
Demographic Transition
Population Pyramids
Malthus
Epidemiological Transition
Chapter 3
Chapter 10
1. Reasons for migration
2. Key Issue 2
1.
2.
3.
4.
Origins
3 Revolutions
Types and Locations
Von Thunen
Chapter 4
Chapter 11
1. Popular vs. Folk Culture
2. Diffusion/Globalization of culture
3. Influence of pop/folk culture
on the environment (uniform landscapes)
4. Problems caused by globalization of culture
1.
2.
3.
4.
Chapter 5
Chapter 12
1. Location of languages
2. Family, branch, dialect…
3. Globalization of English/preserving local languages
- so recent I would study it, but not as
much as the first 11 chapters
Location of Industrialized nations
Key Issue 2
New Industrial regions
Key Issue 4
Chapter 6
1. Location of Religions/Diffusion
2. Impact on culture/environment (architecture,
Chapter 13
Calendar, use of space, diet…)
3. Religious conflicts
- so recent I would study it, but not as
much as the first 12 chapters
Chapter 7
Chapter 14
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
- so recent I would study it, but not as
much as the first 12 chapters
Location of ethnicities
Ethnicity vs. race
Migration Patterns
Nation, nation-states, nationalism (KI2)
Ethnic cleansing
MAPS/FIGURES TO KNOW
Chapter 1
Chapter 8
1. Time Zones – p.19
2. Climate Regions – p.26
1. Fertile Crescent – p.261
Chapter 2
Chapter 9
1. Population Distribution – p.48
2. Demographic Transition – p.58
3. Population Pyramids – 63
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Chapter 3
Chapter 10
1. Migration Patterns – pp.88,89,90,93 (both),97
1. Hearths – pp.330-331
2. Climate and Vegetation –pp.336-337
3. Von Thunen – p.350
Chapter 4
Chapter 11
1. Pig production – p.123
2. Burials – p.125
3. Uniform Landscapes – p.139
1. Manufacturing – p.367
2. Hearth of the IR – p.368
3. Auto Alley – p.376
Chapter 5
Chapter 12
1. Kurgan Migration – p.160
2. Language Families – pp.162-165
1. Types of Settlements – pp.404-405
2. CPT – p.406
3. Rank Size – p.411
Chapter 6
Chapter 13
1. Religions – pp.184-185
2. Religions in U.S. – 187
3. Holy Sites – figure 6-10 on p.198; Varanasi – p.199
1. Urban Areas – p.433
2. Models – p.439-440
3. Peripheral Model – p.452
Chapter 7
Chapter 14
1. African-American Migration Patterns – p.226
1. Coal and Petroleum – pp.470-471
HDI – p.293
GDP – p.294
Sectors - p.295
World Regions – p.301
GDI – p.310
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT MAPS
1. Equal Area Projection – p.9
2. Mercator Projection – Preserves accurate compass direction, distorts the area of
landmasses relative to each other. Landmasses become increasingly distorted in size (larger)
near latitudes closer to the poles. (p.505)
3. Peters Projection – A cylindrical projection that retains accurate size of all landmasses.
Shows how large landmasses near the equator are.
4. Fuller Projection – Maintains accurate size and shape of landmasses but does not maintain
accurate cardinal directions.
5. Robinson Projection – Does not maintain accurate shape, distance, or direction but
minimizes errors in each. Frequently used by groups such as National Geographic. (p.507)
6. Azimuthal Projection – These are planar, formed when a flat piece of paper is placed on top
of the globe and light source projects the surrounding areas onto the map. Either the north or
south pole is oriented at the center of the map as if you are looking down on the earth.
7. Large vs. Small scale maps – p.9
8. Resolution – A map’s smallest discernible unit; the smallest thing you can see on a map. For
example, of something needs to be 100 meters long to show up on the map, then that map’s
resolution is 100 meters.
9. Reference Maps – Work well for locating and navigating between places.
10. Thematic Maps – Display one or more variables (such as language) across a specific space.
11. Topographic Maps – show great detail of physical features and include elevation.
12. Dot Maps – Use points (dots) to show the precise locations of specific observations or
occurrences (such as crimes).
13. Choropleth Maps – Use colors or shadings to represent categories of data for a given
geographic area.
14. Menntal Map/Cognitive Maps – p.22
15. Coordinate system – pp.17-20
16. Meridians – pp. 17-20
17. Parallels – pp.17-20
18. Isoline – Used on topographic maps. Each isoline represents a constant elevation.
19. Cartography – p.6,9,15
20. Projection – p.9
21. Map – p.5
AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTIONS TO KNOW
First Agricultural Revolution – see p.58 in text
Second Agricultural Revolution – read below
The Second Agricultural Revolution, or The British Agricultural Revolution, describes a period of
agricultural development in Britain between the 18th century and the end of the 19th century, which
saw a massive increase in agricultural productivity and net output. This in turn supported
unprecedented population growth, freeing up a significant percentage of the workforce, and thereby
helped drive the Industrial Revolution. How this came about is not entirely clear. In recent decades,
enclosure, mechanization, four-field crop rotation, and selective breeding have been highlighted as
primary causes, with credit given to relatively few individuals.
Enclosure
Enclosure is the term used in England and Wales for the process by which arable farming in open field
systems was ended. It is also applied to the process by which some commons (a piece of land owned by
one person, but over which other people could exercise certain traditional rights, such as allowing their
livestock to graze upon it), were fenced (enclosed) and deeded or entitled to one or more private
owners, who would then enjoy the possession and fruits of the land to the exclusion of all others.
Mechanization
Jethro Tull made the first advancements in agricultural technology with his seed drill (1701)—a
mechanical seeder which distributed seeds efficiently across a plot of land. However, he was not the
first to invent a seed drill and it took a while to catch on because he was eccentric. It took a century
after the publication in 1731 of his Horse hoeing husbandry for farmers to widely adopt the technology.
Jethro Tull also invented the horse-drawn hoe
Joseph Foljambe's Rotherham plough of 1730, while not the first iron plough, was the first iron plough
to have any commercial success, combining an earlier Dutch design with a number of technological
innovations. Its fittings and coulter were made of iron and the mouldboard and share were covered with
an iron plate making it lighter to pull and more controllable than previous ploughs. It remained in use in
Britain until the development of the tractor. It was followed by John Small of Doncaster and
Berwickshire in 1763, whose 'Scots Plough' used an improved cast iron shape to turn the soil more
effectively with less draft, wear, or strain on the ploughing team.[1]
Andrew Meikle's threshing machine of 1786 was the final straw for many farm laborers, and led to the
1830 agricultural rebellion of Captain Swing (a mythical character).
In the 1850s and '60s John Fowler, an agricultural engineer and inventor, produced a steam-driven
engine that could plough farmland more quickly and more economically than horse-drawn ploughs. His
ploughing engine could also be used to dig drainage channels, thereby bringing into cultivation
previously unused swampy land. Although faster than horse-drawn ploughing, the capital costs of a pair
of engines would often be too much for a single farmer to purchase for his own exclusive use, which
lead to the development of an independent contracting industry for ploughing.
Four Field Crop Rotation
During the Middle Ages, the open field system had employed a four year crop rotation, with a different
crop in each of the three fields, eg. wheat and barley in two, with the third fallow. 'Fallow' is a term
which means that the field is empty, there is nothing growing there. Over the following two centuries,
the regular planting of nitrogen-rich legumes in the fields which were previously to fallow slowly
increased the fertility of croplands. The planting of legumes (leguminosae, plants of the pea/bean
family) helped to increase plant growth in the empty field because they used a different set of nutrients
to grow than the grains. The legumes put back nutrients the grains used, nitrates produced from
nitrogen in the atmosphere, and the grains put back the minerals the legumes used. In a way, they fed
each other. When the pastures were brought back into crop production after their long fallow, their
fertility was much greater than they had been in medieval times. The farmers in Flanders (current day
Belgium), however, discovered a still more effective four-field rotation system, introducing turnips and
clover to replace the fallow year. Clover was both an ideal fodder crop, and it actually improved grain
yields in the following year (clover is part of the pea family, leguminosae). The improved grain
production simultaneously increased livestock production. Farmers could grow more livestock because
there was more food, and manure was an excellent fertilizer, so they could have even more productive
crops. Charles Townshend learned the four field system from Flanders and introduced it to Great Britain
in 1730.
Selective Breeding
In England, Robert Bakewell and Thomas Coke introduced selective breeding (mating together two
animals with particularly desirable characteristics), and inbreeding (to stabilize certain qualities) in order
to reduce genetic diversity in desirable animals programs from the mid 18th century. These methods
proved successful in the production of larger and more profitable livestock.
Third Agricultural Revolution (Green Revolution) – see your class notes, also in Chapter 10
notes on teacher site.
VOCABULARY TO KNOW
(NOT COVERED IN OUR TEXT)
Changing attributes of place
built landscape -
sequent occupance -
those features and patterns reflecting human occupation
and use of natural resources
the notion that successive societies leave their cultural
imprints on a place, each contributing to the cumulative
cultural landscape
Dispersion (concentration)
dispersed/scattered - characterized by a low density and a wide spacing of units
agglomerated –
Spatial interaction
accessibility -
characterized by a closely packed density and
clustered spacing of units
the ability to reach a place with respect to another place
connectivity -
the degree of direct linkage between one particular
location and other locations in a transport network
network -
the entire regional system of transportation connections
and nodes through which movement can occur
friction of distance - quantity of interaction will decline with distance, because
distance usually requires some amount of effort, money,
and/or energy to overcome; spatial interactions tend to
take place more often over shorter distances
Age distribution -
Population growth based on the age of the population.
When drawn as a population pyramid, it can provide clues
to the patterns of growth.
Carrying capacity -
The number of living organisms an ecosystem/environment
can support without negative effects.
Cohort -
A population of people who are grouped together due to a
commonality or significant event. These groups are
commonly five-year periods when studying demographics.
Demographic equation -
A formula for measuring population change.
Birth minus deaths (natural increase) plus net migration.
Demographic momentum -
The ability for a population to continue expanding despite
reproductive rates being reduced
Demographic regions - Areas of the world grouped and divided based on
population data.
J-curve -
The line showing population growth over time, where time
is the x-axis, and total population is the y-axis.
Natality -
Birth; birth rate.
S-curve -
A graph of population growth that produces a
characteristic curve because the population increases
rapidly until it reaches the carrying capacity where it
begins to decelerate and stabilize.
Underpopulation -
The idea or concept that the population may be too small to
efficiently use the resources available. It is usually when a
country's population has declined too much to support its
current economic system.
Activity space -
Area in which regular, cyclical human activity takes place.
The magnitude of activity space varies greatly from
society-to-society.
Personal space -
The region/area surrounding each person (or group of
people), which if entered by another person (or group) creates
uneasiness or friction.
Place utility -
The level of satisfaction that a person (or group) considers
to be attainable at a given location.
Cultural adaptation – Changing one’s belief systems, attitudes, languages, social relationships,
institutions, and material goods transmitted within a society
Cultural core/periphery pattern – The contrasting spatial characteristics of, and linkage between, the
have (core) and have-not (periphery) components of a national or regional system
Innovation adoption - Study of how why and at what rate new technology spreads throughout a culture
Maladaptive diffusion - Diffusion of a process with negative side effects or what works well in one region
may not in another
Sequent occupance – The notion that successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place, each
contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape
Anglo-American landscape characteristics – Traits of an area that are common to people of mixed
English and American influence or heritage, or those parts of or groups within the Americas which have a
tie to or which are influenced by England
Built environment – the parts of an area that are man made
Material culture - objects made or modified by man reflect, consciously or unconsciously, directly or
indirectly, the beliefs of the individuals who made, commissioned, purchased, or used them and, by
extension, the beliefs of the larger society to which they belonged
Nonmaterial culture - The products of collective human activity that have no physical reality, including
symbols, language, music, beliefs, values, norms, and attitudes
Trade language - A language, especially a pidgin, used by speakers of different native languages for
communication in commercial trade
Cargo cult pilgrimage - believe western goods have been traded to them by ancestral spirits. It takes
place in Melanesia
Exclave - A bounded territory that is part of a particular state but is separated from it by the territory of
a different state.
Enclave – A piece of a territory that is surrounded by another political unit of which it is not a part
Fundamentalism - The strict adherence to a particular doctrine
Geomancy (feng shui) - is a method of prediction that interprets markings on the ground, or how
handfuls of dirt land when someone tosses them. The Arabic tradition consists of sketching sixteen
random lines of dots in sand.
Interfaith boundaries - the boundaries between the world's major faiths, such as Christianity, Muslim,
and Buddhism. This isn’t the same as Intrafaith boundaries which describes the boundaries within a
major religion. .
Secularism - The idea that ethical and moral standards should be formulated and adhered to for life on
earth, not to accommodate the prescriptions of a deity and promises of a comfortable afterlife.
Theocracy – A state whose government is under the control of a ruler who is deemed to be divinely
guided or under the control of a group of religious leaders.
Barrio - a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood. The word has come into use in English mostly
through the large Hispanic populations on both coasts of the United States.
Plural society – A society composed of numerous ethnic groups
Social distance - the distance between different groups of society which includes all differences such as
social class, race/ethnicity or sexuality, but also the fact that the different groups do not mix
Dowry death - the deaths of young women who are murdered or driven to suicide by continuous
harassment and torture by husbands and in-laws in an effort to extort an increased dowry
Enfranchisement - To endow with the rights of citizenship, especially the right to vote
Gender gap – The difference between levels of health, education, income, opportunity, and participation
in politics and public life that exists between males and females.
Infanticide - The practice of killing newborn infants
Longevity gap – the difference in the average length of life between males and females
Maternal mortality rate - The number of maternal deaths related to childbearing divided by the number
of live births (or by the number of live births + fetal deaths) in that year
Decolonization - To free (a colony) from dependent status
Devolution -The process whereby regions within a state demand and gain political strength and growing
autonomy at the expense of the central government
Domino theory - A theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations
will also come under Communist control
EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) - An oceanic zone extending up to 200 nautical miles within which the
coastal state can control fishing and other economic activity
Forward capital - In some cases positioned in contested territory as testimony to a country's interest in
keeping the territory. In the Case of Brazil, Brazilia was an economic statement of Brazil's intent to
economically develop its hinterlands
Geopolitics - A study of the interplay between international political relations and the
territorial/environmental context in which they occur
Global commons - that which no one person or state may own or control and which is central to life
Heartland Theory - A Geopolital hypothesis by Halford MacKinder around 1900-1920 that the power
that controls the heart of the Eurasian landmass will control the world. He argued that this would give
the ruler of this territory unlimited access to the East
Rimland - The outer area of Eurasia. A theory was created that if you controlled the Rimland you would
rule the world.
International organization - Separate entity composed of three or more states that forge and
association and form an administrative structure for economic benefits
Iron Curtain - often Iron Curtain The military, political, and ideological barrier established between the
Soviet bloc and western Europe from 1945 to 1990
Irredentism - advocating the recovery of territory culturally or historically related to one's nation but
now subject to a foreign government.
Law of the Sea - United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea AKA UNCLOS, signed by 157 states in
1982, established rights and responsibilities concerning the use of the Earth’s seas and their resources
Manifest destiny - The 19th-century doctrine that the United States had the right and duty to expand
throughout the North American continent
National iconography –the identification, description, and the interpretation of nations
Reapportionment - The process of determining representation in politics within a legislative body by
creating districts
Regionalism - Political division of an area into partially autonomous regions
Reunification - To cause (a group, party, state, or sect) to become unified again after being divided
Satellite state - political term that refers to a country which is formally independent, but under heavy
influence or control by another country
Supranationalism - Ventures involving three or more independent states involving political, economic or
cultural cooperation
Territorial disputes - disagreement over the possession/control of land between two or more states
Territorial morphology (compact, fragmented, elongated, prorupt, perforated)
Territoriality - Attempt of an individual or group to affect, influence, or control people, phenomena, and
relationships by delimiting and asserting control over a geographic area.
Treaty ports - A port kept open for foreign trade according to the terms of a treaty, especially formerly
in China, Korea, and Japan.
UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) – see Law of the Sea
Women’s enfranchisement - To endow women with the rights of citizenship, especially the right to
vote.
Aquaculture - the cultivation of aquatic animals and plants, esp. fish, shellfish, and seaweed, in natural
or controlled marine or freshwater environments; underwater agriculture
Biotechnology - the use of living organisms or other biological systems in the manufacture of drugs or
other products or for environmental management, as in waste recycling: includes the use of bioreactors
in manufacturing, microorganisms to degrade oil slicks or organic waste, genetically engineered bacteria
to produce human hormones, and monoclonal antibodies to identify antigens
Dairying - an agricultural activity involving the raising of livestock, most commonly cows and goats, for
dairy products such as milk, cheese and butter
Debt-for-nature swap - an agreement between a developing nation in debt and one or more of its
creditors. Many developing nations are severely limited by huge debts they have accrued. In a debt for
nature swap, creditors agree to forgive debts in return for the promise of environmental protection
Environmental modification – things such as pesticides, soil erosion, desertification that have an impact
on the environment
Extractive industry - made up of the mining, quarrying, dredging, oil and gas extraction industries where
things are taken from the environment and used for everyday life
Growing season - the time of year during which a crop grows best
Market gardening - a garden or farm for growing vegetables to be shipped esp. to local or nearby
markets
Mineral fuels - fossil source fuels (hydrocarbons) found within the top layer of the earth’s crust.
Planned economy - an agricultural economy found in communist nations in which the government
controls both agricultural production and distribution
Staple grains - rice, corn, beans
Suitcase farm - A farm devoted to specialized fruit, vegetable, or vine crops for sale
“Tragedy of the commons” - a type of social trap, often economic, that involves a conflict over finite
resources between individual interests and the common good
Ancillary Activities – Economic activities that surround and support large scale industries such as
shipping and food service.
Core-periphery model – A model of special structure of development in which underdeveloped
countries are defined by their dependence on a developed core region
Dependency theory - the notion that resources flow from a "periphery" of poor and underdeveloped
states to a "core" of wealthy states, enriching the latter at the expense of the former
Foreign direct investment – overseas business investments made by private companies.
Neocolonialism - used by some to describe an indirect form of imperialism where rich countries are
able to exert control over poorer countries by using their economic power.
Physical Quality of Life Index - an attempt to measure the quality of life or well-being of a country.
The value is a single number derived from basic literacy rate, infant mortality, and life expectancy at
age one.
Purchasing power parity – a monetary measurement of development that takes into account what
money buys in different countries
World Systems Theory – Theory developed by Immanuel Wallerstein that explains the emergence
of a core, periphery, and semi-periphery in terms of economic and political connections first
established at the beginning of exploration in the late 15th century and maintained through increased
economic access up until the present.
Agglomeration economies - cost savings resulting from location near other firms
Bid rent theory - variations in land rents payable by different users with distance from some point in
the market, usually the CBD. Since transport costs rise with distance from the market, rents generally
tend to fall correspondingly, but different forms of land use (retail, service, industrial, housing, or
agricultural) generate different bid-rent curves
Comparative advantage - explains how trade can benefit all parties involved (countries, regions,
individuals and so on), as long as they produce goods with different relative costs.
Cumulative causation - The unfolding of events connected with a change in the economy. These
changes apply to a whole set of variables as a consequence of the multiplier effect. Thus, the location
of a new factory may be the basis of more investment, more jobs both in that factory and in ancillary
and service industries in the area, and have a better infrastructure which would, in turn, attract more
industry
Deglomeration - The process of industrial deconcentration in response to tech advances and/or
increasing costs due to congestion and competition
Deindustrialization - Process by which companies move industrial jobs to other regions with
cheaper labor, leaving the new deindustrialized area to shift to a service economy leaving the area to
work through a period of high unemploymnent.
Economies of scale - Lower production costs as a result of larger volumes of production
Export processing zone – areas where governments create favorable investment and trading
conditions to attract export oriented industries
Fixed costs - expenses that do not change in proportion to the activity of a business
Footloose industry – Manufacturing activities in which cost of transporting both raw materials and
finished product is not important for determining the location of the firm
Industrial location theory - an industry is located where the transportation costs of raw materials
and final product is a minimum
Least-cost Theory - Developed by Alfred Weber as model for location of industrial plants . Theory
says costs should be reduced in the following order to minimize costs. 1. transportation 2. labor 3.
Agglomeration (locating near like industries to share talents etc
Market orientation - the tendency for an industry to locate near population centersin order to save
on transport costs, which usually occurs when the final product is more expensive to transport than
the raw materials
Multiplier effect - The expansion of a country's money supply that results from banks being able to
lend.
Postindustrial - Emerging mode of production and consumption of the late 20th and early 21st
centuries featuring huge transnational corporations and localized agglomerations in
telecommunications and technology with enhanced tertiary quaternary sector employment
Specialized economic zones - a geographical region that has economic laws that are more liberal than a
country's typical economic laws
Substitution principle - the substitution of a product, service or process to another that is more efficient
or beneficial in some way while retaining the same functionality
Variable costs - A cost that fluctuates directly with output changes
Barriadas – Spanish word for slums or run down neighborhoods
Centrality - The degree to which a town serves its surrounding area. This depends on the ease of access
to the town and the range of goods and services offered
Commercialization - Final step in new product development when the product developer makes a major
marketing commitment to the product. At this stage the product developer implements a total
marketing plan and works toward production capacity
Decentralization - spontaneous movement away from the cities which has been compounded by the
increasing locational freedom of shops, offices, and industries to move to out-of-town shopping centers,
office parks, and industrial estates, respectively, together with the increase in numbers of white-collar
workers and the consequent rise in incomes, and mass car ownership
Employment structure - the organization and proportions of the various job types and skill levels in an
enterprise or economy
Entrepôt - A place where goods are stored or deposited and from which they are distributed or a trading
market or center
Favela - A shantytown or slum, especially in Brazil.
Gateway city - Airport or seaport that serves as the entry point to a country by being the primary arrival
and departure point
Hydraulic civilization - according to the theories of the German-American historian Karl A. Wittfogel, any
culture having an agricultural system that is dependent upon large-scale government-managed
waterworks—productive (for irrigation) and protective (for flood control).
In-filling - The use of vacant land and property within a built-up area for further construction or
development, especially as part of a neighborhood preservation or limited growth program
Informal sector - economic activity that is neither taxed nor monitored by a government; and is not
included in that government's Gross National Product (GNP); as opposed to a formal economy
Inner city - The usually older, central part of a city, especially when characterized by crowded
neighborhoods in which low-income, often minority groups predominate
Lateral commuting - Commuting between two suburbs
Office park - An area in which a number of office buildings are constructed together, often on
landscaped grounds with ancillary structures such as those housing health clubs and day-care centers
Peak land value intersection - the region within a settlement with the greatest land value and
commerce
Planned communities - a residential district that is designed for a certain class of residents
Restrictive covenants - An agreement between two or more individuals, incorporated within a deed
which stipulates how land may be used. The constraints may include: the specific use to which a
property can be put, the location and dimensions of fences, the setback of buildings from the street, the
size of yards, the type of architecture, the cost of the house, etc.
Slum - A heavily populated urban area characterized by substandard housing and squalor.
Urban heat island - a metropolitan area which is significantly warmer than its surroundings. The
temperature difference usually is larger at night than during the day and larger in winter than in
summer, and is most apparent when winds are weak. The main cause of the urban heat island is
modification of the land surface by urban development
Urban hierarchy - a term that relates to the structure of towns within an area
Supranationalism - Ventures involving three or more independent states involving political, economic or
cultural cooperation (example – European Union)
Dependency Theory - the notion that resources flow from a "periphery" of poor and underdeveloped
states to a "core" of wealthy states, enriching the latter at the expense of the former.
(see http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/depend.htm)
Nomothetic View of Geography – this notion suggests that similarities between places can be explained
by using universal laws.