Unit 7: Industrial and Economic Development Patterns and Processes

From the College Board Course Exam Description (2019:

    • Exam Weight: 12-17%

This unit addresses the origins and influences of industrial development, along with the role industrialization plays in economic development and globalization. Concepts learned in the political unit, such as territoriality, help students build an understanding of the measures of social and economic development and to explain development theories, such as dependency theory and Rostow's Stages of Economic Growth. The theories they explore are in turn useful in explaining spatial variations in development such as core-periphery relationships.

Students examine contemporary spatial patterns of industrialization and the resulting geography of uneven development--for example, the differences between urban and rural in China or Brazil. They explore changes to places resulting from the growth or loss of industry and the role of industry in the world economy. Measurements of development provide the quantitative data to analyze the spatial relationships of the global market. Statistics and spatial data reveal the impact of development on individual populations, including the role of women in the labor market. Students explore strategies for sustainable development focused on women, children, health, education, the environment, and global cooperation.

The final unit of the course pulls together those aspects of human geography learned in previous units to help students develop a more complete understanding of local and global geographic patterns and processes and of possibilities for the future.


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