Geography: Human Geography Basics

What is the Crude Birth Rate (CBR) and how is it calculated?

The Crude Birth Rate is the total number of live births in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society.

In the Demographic Transition Model (DTM), what characterizes Stage 2?

Stage 2 is characterized by rapidly declining death rates and very high birth rates, leading to high natural increase and rapid population growth.

What are the primary critiques of the Demographic Transition Model regarding its universal applicability?

Critiques include that the model is based on Western European experiences, fails to account for government intervention (like China's one-child policy), and ignores the impact of migration.

What is the core premise of Thomas Malthus's theory on population growth?

Malthus theorized that population grows geometrically (exponentially) while food supply grows arithmetically (linearly), eventually leading to a 'Malthusian catastrophe'.

Distinguish between 'push factors' and 'pull factors' in migration.

Push factors are negative conditions that induce people to move out of their present location, while pull factors are positive conditions that lure people to a new location.

According to Ravenstein's Laws of Migration, what is the most common distance and destination for migrants?

Most migrants move only a short distance and remain within the same country, typically heading toward centers of economic activity.

How does Zelinsky's Model of Mobility Transition relate to the Demographic Transition Model?

It claims that the type of migration changes as a country progresses through the DTM; for example, Stage 2 involves high international migration, while Stages 3 and 4 see more internal/suburban migration.

What defines 'forced migration' as opposed to 'voluntary migration'?

Forced migration involves people being compelled to move by cultural or environmental factors (e.g., refugees), whereas voluntary migration is a choice, usually for economic improvement.

What is a 'Primate City' and how does it differ from the Rank-Size Rule?

A Primate City is more than twice as large as the next largest city and dominates the country's culture and economy, whereas the Rank-Size Rule suggests the nth largest city is 1/n the size of the largest.

What is the population threshold for a city to be classified as a 'Megacity'?

A megacity is a metropolitan area with a total population in excess of 10 million people.