1

1. HUMAN ENVIRONMENTS:RURAL & URBAN

Key Knowledge:• Definition of rural and urban environments

• Classification of rural and urban environments using a variety of media

Source: pg 114-118

2

WHAT IS A HUMAN ENVIRONMENT?• A human environment is a place where activities are

conducted by humans, and features are built and/or modified by humans.

3

NEW YORK (USA)http://www.airpano.com/List-Aerial-Panoramas-Top10.php

4

KAKADU URANIUM MINE, N.T (AUSTRALIA)Australia is home to around 40% of the world’s uranium reserves and currently supplies around 20% of the global market.From 2000 to 2005 nearly 50,000 metric tonnes of Uranium oxide were exported from Australia to eleven different countries. This brought over A$2.1 billion dollars to the Aust. economy

5

SOLAR POWER TOWER, SEVILLE (SPAIN)Towers receive the focused sunlight from mirrors. Flat, movable mirrors focus the sun's rays upon a collector tower (the target). Concentrated solar thermal is seen as one viable solution for renewable, pollution free energy.The heat produced, heats saltwater, turns turbines and produce electricity.

6

FAVELA, RIO DE JANIERO (BRAZIL)• Favelas were the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed

black slaves moved in. • Most modern favelas appeared in the 1970s, due to rural exodus, when many people left rural areas of Brazil and moved to

cities. • Residences are built without permission or a license and are often disorganised, without numbered streets, sanitation networks,

electricity, a telephone service or plumbing. In recent years favelas have been troubled by drug-related crime and gang warfare.

7

RURAL & URBAN ENVIRONMENTSTHINK PAIR SHARE

• Write down a definition of rural and urban environments

• Write down as many examples of each of these environments

• What are basic facilities that humans need?

• What are basic services that should be accessible in human envrionments?

8

9

OBERWIL IN WALDKIRCH, ST. GALLEN, (SWITZERLAND)An example of a hamlet

10

A SETTLEMENT HIERARCHYType of Settlement Population Description

Conurbation 3-10 million A group of large cities and their suburbs

Metropolis/ Metropolitan area

1-3 million A large city and its suburbs

Large city 300,000 to 1 million A city with a large population and many services; usually capital cities

City 100,000 to 300,000 Abundant services

Town 1000 to 100,000 Few services

Village 100 to 1000 Limited services

Hamlet 10 to 100 0 services likely

Isolated dwelling Less than 10 1-2 buildings and families

URBAN

RURAL

11

Regions located outside cities and towns with a low population density, few buildings/homes and limited businesses/services.

Agriculture is the primary industry in most rural areas, although other human activities may include forestry, tourism, mining, fishing.

Settlements: hamlets, villages, towns

Rural regions differ because of geographic characteristics• Relief• Climate • Human activities• Social characteristics e.g. culture, wealth

RURAL ENVIRONMENTS

12

TYPES OF AGRICULTURE• Compare the following terms using pg. 115

– Arable farms and Pastoral farms– Intensive farming and Extensive farming– Subsistence farming and Commercial farming

• Arable farms: grow crops e.g. sugar canes, pineapples, cotton• Pastoral farms: rear animals e.g. lambs, dairying cows, llamas• Intensive farming: farms with a high level of input such as labour, fertilisers and

pesticides to achieve a high output (yield per hectare)• Extensive farming: farms with a low level of input and output per hectare, e.g. cattle

station• Subsistence farming: farming family consumes what is produced and any surplus is sold

or bartered. • Commercial farming: farms that sell a majority of their produce

Cotton farming, Australia Rice farming, Laos Pineapple farm, Philippines

13

SUBSISTENCE FARMING IN TIBET (CHINA)Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average elevation of 4,900 metres.The economy of Tibet is dominated by subsistence agriculture; due to limited arable land, the primary occupation of the Tibetan Plateau is raising livestock, such as sheep, cattle, yaks, camels and dzo.

Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to add

14

EXTENSIVE VS. INTENSIVE FARMING (AUSTRALIA)

Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to add

Extensive cattle farming in inland AustraliaIntensive cattle farming in well-watered pastures in Australia

15

URBAN ENVIRONMENTS• Regions located in a town, city, metropolitan area or

conurbation with a population greater than 1000 peopleABS

• Urban environments are generally non-agricultural, and have abundant services such as education, healthcare, public transport, entertainment and retail.

16

PATTERNS OF GLOBAL URBANISATIONSource:: (Fig 6.4) Textbook pg. 116Describe the locations of the earth’s highest and lowest levels of urbanisation

17

PUSH/ PULL FACTORS

18

Push factors

• Reasons for people to leave rural regions

Pull factors

• Reasons that attract people to cities

• What push and pull factors can you think of for rural-urban migration?

• Ben’s push/pull activity

19

MIGRATION TO URBAN (OR RURAL) ENVIRONMENTS

Push factors• Industrialisation has reduced the

need for farm labourers• Declining rural services• Unemployment• Low commodity prices• Debt• Poverty• Drought or bushfire or flooding• Salinity• Crop failure, Food shortage,

famine• High crime• War/ conflict

Pull factors• More job opportunities• Opportunity to increase income• Higher standard of living• Access to education• Access to housing• More services• Improved living standards• Better health services• Wider lifestyle opportunities • Good climate• More fertile land• Improved safety• Political stability• Reduced risk of natural hazards

20

ACTIVITIES1. Find examples of subsistence and commercial agriculture, and intensive and extensive farming;

and present in Pinterest. Include the product farmed and location in your description.

2. Repeat question 1 for a town, city, megacity, metropolis and conurbation.

3. Refer to figure 6.3 (also on next slide)a) What are the main agricultural types found in Africa? How do they differ to the ones in North America, both

in type and scale?

b) Apart from Africa, where else is shifting cultivation found?

c) Which country’s land use combinations are most like Australia’s

4. Refer to figure 6.4 a) Describe the location of high, moderate and low percentages of populations living in urban areas.

b) If earth’s population becomes more urbanised, which continents are likely to see more change?

c) Compare Australia’s level of urbanisation with its nearest northern neighbours

5. What land uses might you expect to find at a rural-urban fringe? How might the social, economic and environmental characteristics of this fringe area differ to an urban environment?

6. Create a map on Google Earth with the worlds megacities (population: over 10M): Lagos, London, Moscow, Istanbul, Cairo, Tehran, Karachi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Dacca, Guangzhou, Manila, Jakarta, Beijing, Shanghai, Isaka, Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires

21

THE EARTH’S MAJOR TYPES OF AGRICULTURE

Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to add

Source: Pg. 115