Human Interest

While many countries have anti-natalist policies (policies to discourage more births), other countries with declining populations have pro-natalist policies in an attempt to increase fertility rates.  While not an exhaustive list, this list gives a few more examples that teachers can use to show how countries in stage 4 of the demographic transition are dealing with declining fertility rates.  

• Denmark
• Russia
• Japan
• Romania
• Singapore
• South Korea
• India (Parsis community)
• Italy
• Hong Kong
• Spain

Tags: declining populations, population, demographic transition model, models, unit 2 population. 

This is also an issue in Australia where the overwhelming majority of people live in single story dwellings and are very car reliant.

I can definitely see this as a real problem. Both my Uncle and my Great Uncle moved their condos from ones that had numerous steps to climb to the second floor to more elder-friendly options. My Great Uncle even went a step further to move him and his wife to a senior living community, where there food, entertainment, etc. is all provided within an enclosed neighbourhood with other people of their age group. More of these communities that act like oversized retirement homes could be the answer. They give the illusion of suburban living, something the baby boomers liked, while providing the accessibility they need.

APHG- HW Option 1

This essay is written by a critic of Thomas Malthus and could serve as a bridge to discuss issues in a population unit and an urban unit.  In a nutshell, Dorling feels that that Malthusian-like fears and assumptions about the proliferation of slums are unfounded; this is a good reading that can spark some conversation in a college seminar. 

Tags: declining populations, population, demographic transition model, urban, megacities, squatter.

This essay is written by a critic of Thomas Malthus and could serve as a bridge to discuss issues in a population unit and an urban unit.  In a nutshell, Dorling feels that that Malthusian-like fears and assumptions about the proliferation of slums are unfounded; this is a good reading that can spark some conversation in a college seminar. 

Tags: declining populations, population, demographic transition model, urban, megacities, squatter.

mega cities 

After reading such an article, I could not understand why someone would not want to have children, especially with the incentives offered by the governments. Clearly it seems as if Denmark is the most concerned because they take up three out of five of the slots for how Europe is trying to convince its citizens to make more babies. In general, the incentives seem to be very good, good enough for someone to want to have children. In Sweden you get 480 days out of work plus 80% of your previous salary, Denmark says if Danes were successful in conceiving a child while being on a vacation organized by the company, they were eligible to win three years of free diapers and a trip abroad and France pays families monthly allowances to their children who are younger than 20, plus discounts. 

the fact that these campaigns are necessary in this age where migrants are flooding Europe and the birth rate is declining. its amazing that this is necessary, but with the birthrate declining the only other home to insure their economic system continues to function is to get the migrants working.

Unit II: Population and Migration

As Italy becomes a highly developed country, it begins to experience a large population decline. Fertility rates are negative and continue to decline, and mortality rates are dropping as well. People are not having large families, and all of these factors contribute to the rapidly declining population of Italy. The prime minister of Italy hopes to simulate an economic and cultural recharge in hopes that this will help encourage people to make more babies so that the population does not continue to decline at this rate.

This relates to the demographic transition model, as Italy is in the last stage of it. Once countries are developed, fertility rates begin to slow as mortality rates continue to decline, causing a decline in the total overall population. This is clearly exemplified through this story about Italy. 

The low birth rate in Italy is causing the country to think that its dying because there aren't enough new-born to replace the ones that passed away. As the article state, it mainly in the south where the economy is very poor and the average family is not making as much money as they should to support more children. This might lead people to migrate to other places  to find opportunities for their future generations. If Italy could find a way distribute wealth evenly across the countries they might be able to find a better result in birth rate. This is easier said than done however. 

its fascinating that there may no longer be such a term as Italian outside of history books in fifty years. the low birth rate in European countries is a major concern, especially as the economies in those same countries start to suffer.

This is also an issue in Australia where the overwhelming majority of people live in single story dwellings and are very car reliant.

I can definitely see this as a real problem. Both my Uncle and my Great Uncle moved their condos from ones that had numerous steps to climb to the second floor to more elder-friendly options. My Great Uncle even went a step further to move him and his wife to a senior living community, where there food, entertainment, etc. is all provided within an enclosed neighbourhood with other people of their age group. More of these communities that act like oversized retirement homes could be the answer. They give the illusion of suburban living, something the baby boomers liked, while providing the accessibility they need.

APHG- HW Option 1

unit 7

Unit 2

How will this trend affect perspectives on population?  How will the DTM reflect these new figures?

Preliminary HSc - Global challenges: Population

The article headline is quite click-baity, but there is some real substance to this article.  The graphs are especially useful to teach concepts such as population momentum and the age-dependency ratio. These were the key parts of the article that caught my eye:

• An aging population will mean higher costs for the government, a shortage of pension and social security-type funds, a shortage of people to care for the very aged, slow economic growth, and a shortage of young workers.
• Following feminism's slow build in Japan since the 1970s, today's workers strive for equality between the sexes, something Japan's pyramid-style corporate structure just isn't built for. That's because institutional knowledge is viewed as a big deal in Japan.
• The elderly now make up 27% of Japan's population. In the US, the rate is only 15%. Experts predict the ratio in Japan could rise to 40% by 2050. With that comes rising social-security costs, which the shrinking younger generations are expected to bear.
• To make up for an aging population and aversion toward immigrant work, Japan's tech sector has stepped up its efforts in robotics and artificial intelligence.

Tags: culture, gender, labor, population, migration, Japan, East Asia.

unit 2 article 1              2

While we struggle to reduce fertility by offering education and opportunities, in places where there IS education and opportunities, we are struggling to spice things up, for the sake of maintaining our economic prowess.  Here's one of many examples of a country trying to get people to manufacture babies. 

These contemporary maps help undetrstand the changing global population distribution.

The two maps that received my attention the most was 'No Work for the Young' and "Big City Drain.' It bothers me to read that the young population of European citizens is out of work, even the cities that do well. Stockholm, a well off country has a you unemployment rate of 30 percent, and Sheffield is 35 percent, that is huge! As for Big City Drain, although Europe's cities are growing, it is because of immigrants from other countries and migrants from that country moving to another part, just to find better work. Having immigrants does not help a particular countries population. Also the fact that since big cities are more expensive, people will leave the big cities such as London and Paris to find cheaper means of living. 

Population shifts are an important part of determining migrating trends of a population. Are they going to more urban areas? Are they going to suburban areas?  These maps can help understand the questions regarding where the higher population trends are and what countries are seeing a drop in their population to people moving to new places and creating new lives.

Due to urban migration, this village of Nagoro is said to be one of 10,000 small towns that will disappear in Japan.  I've been to some small towns in Japan and can say there is so much more culture in these villages than there is in the big cities.  I got a totally different feeling in my sole than when I ended my trip in Tokyo.  While both parts of the country have its pros and cons, it is terrible to think that these villages will be defeated to the rise of urbanism.   

It has been estimated that in the coming years 80% of people will live within mega cities. This is that statistic unraveling before our eyes. It is really sad to me because these within these small villages is a culture that is almost like an art in its own right. It is clear to see the impacts it has on the remaining villagers.

A depressing but also fascinating situation in Japan. Their Urban migration coupled by an aging population is wiping out their villages around the country. One women has even apparently been filling the village with dolls to make it seem more populated. How she got her neighbors to approve and where all the resources and money came from to pull that off who knows. However what is being witness now is a change in demographic but also one in geography since the village in 30 or so years could be reclaimed by the wilderness while the cities expand and have to cope with the influx taking away more wild land. Hopefully Japan gets this straightened out for they currently seem to be having the exact opposite demographic problem of China and India.

This shows what Pro-Natalism looks like in the 21st century. Youtube videos, and competitions that can go viral and trending. I find it interesting how these policies are trying to gain traction through video campaigns with sexy models and catchy slogans like "Do it for Demark". Population geography can be a key indicator of the characteristics of a country or nation. Denmark knows they need to counter a falling birthrate in order to stay growing this is definatly a modern way of going about that.

Sex sells everything, even making babies!

This video may be both the greatest and worst television commercial in the history of civilization. I can already imagine a do it for Rhode Island commercial airing sometime in the near future. In all seriousness, this video is aimed at an enormous issue facing Both Europe and Russia. Russia particularly, is suffering terribly. In the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian death rate far outpaced the Russian birth rate. The seriousness of such an issue can not be understated. A country can not survive if more people are dying, than being born. Only recently, has the birth rate caught back up to the death rate in Russia. While the death crises may be ebbing in Russia, there is no way to erase twenty years of death.

Have observed the transition in our suburban school district.  I love the diversity -- yet, teaching students from all over the globe, sometimes with limited English, can be challenging.  And, our working population will eventually see the change as well -- at all levels.

unit 2

"The demographic shifts in the United States are transforming the cultural fabric of the country and this interactive feature from the Pew Research Center explores some of these changes.  Interracial marriage, declining fertility rates, migration, economic opportunities and politics are just some of the issues that can be seen in these excellent populations pyramids, charts, videos and graphs." - Seth Dixon 

The demographic shifts will most definitely have an impact on politics and economic opportunities. With as many 85 year olds as 5 year olds, we will see an increase in the need for health care and general overall care for the elderly. There will be more need for social security and retirement plans. While it is a good thing overall that life expectancy is increasing, it may create other issues.