Unit 2 - Population and Migration

Unit 2 Population and Migration: Critical to human geography is the human population. Geographers seek to understand the distribution of people on earth, why people decide to live where they do, why they migrate from one place to another, and the effects of migration. The demographic characteristics of populations, such as their birth rates, death rates, and life expectancy, are key to understanding population change. The distribution of people influences all other elements of human geography. Where people live; whether spread out or in small communities, or concentrated in large cities, affects how we interact with each other and the demands placed on the environment. For example, the spatial distribution of children will influence where a community will build a new school. People decide where to live based on many factors. Some are physical: people want to be near sources of food and water, and where the climate is not too extreme. Some factors are human: people might want to move to take a job or to be close to family. (142 Slides and videos)