Geog1001 - Final Exam

Front 1

Central American Free Trade Association (CAFTA)

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a 2004 free trade agreement between the United States and 5 Central American countries (Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica) and the Dominican Republic

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megacity

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a city with over 10 million people

Ex: Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro

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shield

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large upland areas of very old exposed rocks that range in elevation from 600-5000 ft.

3 major shields in Latin America: (largest to smallest)
Brazilian, Patagonian, and Guiana shields

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grassification

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conversion of tropical rainforest into pasture for cattle ranching. Typically, this process involves introducing species of grasses and cattle, mostly from Africa

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altitudinal zonation

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the relationship between higher elevations, cooler temperatures, and changes in vegetation that result from the environmental lapse rate.
In Latin America: tierra caliente, tierra templada, tierra fría, tierra helada

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environmental lapse rate

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the decline in temperature as one ascends higher in the atmosphere

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urban primacy

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a state in which a disproportionately large city, such as London, New York, or Bangkok, dominates the urban system and is the center of economic, political, and cultural life.
Ex: Lima, Caracas, Guatemala City, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Mexico City

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informal sector

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a much-debated concept that presupposes a dual economic system consisting of formal and informal sectors. The informal sector includes self-employed, low-wage jobs that are usually unregulated and untaxed. Street vending, shoe shining, artisan manufacturing, and even self-built housing are considered part of the informal sector. Some scholars include illegal activities such as drug smuggling and prostitution in the informal economy.

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latifundia

Back 9

a large estate or landholding

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minifundia

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a small landholding farmed by peasants or tenants who produce food for subsistence and the market

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agrarian reform

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a popular but controversial strategy to redistribute land to peasant farmers. Throughout the 20th century, various states redistributed land from large estates or granted title from vast public lands in order to reallocate resources to the poor and stimulate development. Agrarian reform occurred in various forms, from awarding individual plots or communally held land to creating state-run collective farms.

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mestizo

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a person of mixed European and Indian ancestry

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transnationalism

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complex social and economic linkages that form between home and host countries through international migration. Unlike earlier generations of migrants, early 21st century immigrants can maintain more enduring and complex ties to their home countries as a result of technological advances

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Columbian exchange

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an exchange of people, diseases, plants, and animals between the New World and the Old World initiated by the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492

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syncretic religions

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the blending of different belief systems. In Latin America, many animist practices were folded into Christian worship

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machismo/marianismo

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machismo - a stereotypical cultural trait of male dominance

marianismo - an idealized model for women that stresses the virtues of patience, deference, and working in the home

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Organization of American States (OAS)

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founded in 1948 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the organization advocates hemispheric cooperation and dialog. Most states in the Americas belong except Cuba.

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Mercosur

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the Southern Common Market established in 1991 that calls for free trade among member states and common external tariffs for nonmember states. Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, and Uruguay are members; Chile is an associate member.

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Treaty of Tordesillas

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a treaty signed in 1494 between Spain and Portugal that drew a north-south line some 300 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde islands. Spain received the land to the west of the line and Portugal the land to the east.

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supranational organizations

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governing bodies that include several states, such as trade organizations, and often involve a loss of some state powers to achieve the organization's goals

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subnational organization

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groups that form along ethnic, ideological, or territorial lines that can induce serious internal divisions within a state

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maquiladora

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assembly plants on the Mexican border built by foreign capital. Most of their products are exported to the United States.

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dependency theory

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a popular theory to explain patterns of economic development in Latin America. Its central premise is that underdevelopment was created by the expansion of European capitalism into the region that served to develop "core" countries in Europe and to impoverish and make dependent peripheral areas such as Latin America.

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neoliberal policies

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economic policies widely adopted in the 1990s that stress privatization, export production, and few restrictions on imports

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dollarization

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an economic strategy in which a country adopts the U.S. dollar as its official currency. A country can be partially dollarized, using U.S. dollars alongside its national currency, or fully dollarized, when the U.S. dollar becomes the only medium of exchange and a country gives up its own national currency. Panama fully dollarized in 1904; more recently, Ecuador fully dollarized in 2000.

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acid rain

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harmful form of precipitation high in sulfur and nitrogen oxides. Caused by industrial and auto emissions, acid rain damages aquatic and forest ecosystems in regions such as eastern North America and Europe.

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boreal forest

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coniferous forest found in high-latitude or mountainous environments of the Northern Hemisphere

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concentric zone model

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a simplified description of urban land use: a well-defined central business district (CBD) is surrounded by concentric zones of residential activity, with higher-income groups living of the urban periphery

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connectivity

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the degree to which different locations are linked with one another through transportation and communication infrastructure

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counterurbanization

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the movement of people out of metropolitan areas toward smaller towns and rural areas

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cultural assimilation

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the process in which immigrants are culturally absorbed into the larger host society

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digital divide

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the uneven and inequitable access to the Internet and to computer technology based on wealth and education

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ethnicity

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a shared cultural identity held by a group of people with a common background or history, often as a minority group within a larger society

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federal state

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political system in which a significant amount of power is given to individual states.

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gentrification

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a process of urban revitalization in which higher-income residents displace lower-income residents in central city neighborhoods

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Group of 8 (G-8)

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a collection of powerful countries that confers regularly on key global economic and political issues.
Includes: United States, Canada, Japan, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Russia

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location factors

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the various influences that explain why an economic activity takes place where it does

Front 38

megalopolis

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a large urban region formed as multiple cities grow and merge with one another. The term is often applied to the string of cities in eastern North America that include Washington, D.C.; Baltimore; Philadelpia; New York City; and Boston

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North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA)

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an agreement made in 1994 between Canada, the United States, and Mexico that established a 15-year plan for reducing all barriers to trade among the three countries

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postindustrial economy

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an economy in which the tertiary and quaternary sectors dominate employment and expansion

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prairies

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an extensive area of grassland in North America. In the more humid eastern portions, grasses are usually longer than in the drier western areas, which are in the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountain range.

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sectoral transformation

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the evolution of a labor force from being highly dependent on the primary sector to being oriented around more employment in the secondary, tertiary, and quaternary sectors

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tundra

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Arctic region with a short growing season in which vegetation is limited to low shrubs, grasses, and flowering herbs.

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unitary state

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a political system in which power is centralized at the national level

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urban decentralization

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the process in which cities spread out over a larger geographical area

Front 46

urban realms model

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a simplified description of urban land use, especially descriptive of the modern North American city. t features a number of dispersed, peripheral centers of dynamic commercial and industrial activity linked by sophisticated urban transportation networks