Emphasis on historical and spatial patterns of immigration, the experience of ethnic groups in American plural society, and ethnic contributions to American life. Survey of global population concerns including historic and contemporary patterns of population growth, distribution, fertility, and impact of these on the environment and economic resources. Survey of American rural settlement and its European antecedents. Emphasis on the evolution and regional variation in property, field, fence, and road patterns on farmsteads and in small towns. Systematic examination of basic approaches, historical development, special problems, and spatial concepts in political geography.
Case studies emphasize nation-state.
Geographic analysis of cities and urbanization. Examines spatial patterns of cities and factors that lead to growth, decline and change in urban areas. Introduces models of land use, transportation, population distribution, ethnic patterns segregation, employment, urban economies, and housing. Studies impacts of public policy changes and shifting social attitudes on spatial structure of cities, urban life, and city management. Systematic and regional survey of past human geographies of the United States from 1450 until the present.