AP Human Geography Final Project

The Purpose of the AP Human Geography Final Project is to apply geographic concepts to your local community in order to better understand geography and your community. You will present this application in the form of a research paper using the Turabian documentation style. The paper will have seven sections: The Nature and Perspectives of Geography (which you will use as an introduction to your paper), Population, Cultural Patterns and Processes, Political Organization of Space, Agricultural and Rural Land Use, Industrialization and Economic Development, and Cities and Urban Land Use. Some portions of the assignment will be more relevant to your cities than others but all of them will have some relevance, either contemporary or historical. In all cases be as specific as possible for the information available. You may share sources of information with any classmate researching the same city, but this assignment is in no way meant as a group or team project. Any research papers which contain nearly identical passages will be docked a minimum of 100 points, more for egregious violations.

Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives

You will begin your paper with an introduction of your city, including a history, where you will describe your city in general terms, assuming your audience knows nothing of your city. You will also describe your city in terms of the key geographic concepts of location, space, scale, pattern, regionalization, and globalization.

You must also use the five key geographical skills throughout your paper. In each section of the paper you will use one or more of these key skills. If at any point you are not using any of the skills, you are probably doing it incorrectly.

    1. How to use and think about maps and spatial data
    2. How to understand and interpret the implications of associations among phenomena in places
    3. How to recognize and interpret at different scales the relationships among patterns and processes
    4. How to define regions and evaluate the regionalization process
    5. How to characterize and analyze changing interconnections among places

In order to find information for your project you will use traditional geographic sources such as field observations and census data as well as any other archival data you find useful and relevant. You may also find long time community residents to interview which you help you obtain a better picture of the evolution of your city.

Population

1. Conduct a geographical analysis of the population of your city.

 2. Show the growth or decline of your community’s population over time and space.

3. Describe population movement affecting your community.

Cultural Patterns and Processes

1. Demonstrate an understanding of cultural concepts.

2. Explain cultural differences within your community as well as at larger scales.

3. Describe the impact on the environment of your community’s attitudes and practices.

4. Explain the cultural landscape and cultural identity of your community.

Political Organization of Space

1. Explain the territorial dimensions of politics as they relate to your community.

2. Show any impacts on your community from the evolution of the contemporary political pattern.

3. Show the challenges to the current political-territorial arrangements that affect your community at different scales.

Agricultural and Rural Land Use

1. Show how the development and diffusion of agricultural techniques has impacted your community over time.

2. Chart your community’s place within the major agricultural production regions.

3. Describe the historical land use and settlement patterns of your community.

 4. Explain how modern commercial agriculture has impacted your community.

Industrialization and Economic Development

1. Explain the growth and diffusion of industrialization as it has affected your community.

2. Explain how contemporary patterns and impacts of industrialization and development are affecting your community.

Cities and Urban Land Use

1. Explain where your community fits in a definition of urbanism based on the Census Bureau.

2. Describe your community in terms of the origin and evolution of cities.

3. Explain the functional character of contemporary cities as it applies to your community.

4. Describe the built environment and social space of your community.

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