Human geography focuses on the role that human play in the world and the effects that human activities have on the Earth.
Human geography focuses on understand processes about human populations, settlements, economics, transportation, recreation and tourism, religion, politics, social and cultural traditions, human migration, agriculture, and urbanization.
Human geography is one of the two main branches of geography, the other main branch is physical geography.
Related: What is the AP Human Geography Exam?
Cultural Geography
Cultural geography studies the relationship between different cultures and place. Geographers will look at how cultures are distributed over space and how different cultures express their practices on the Earth’s landscape.
Cultural Geography Topics
Development Geography
Development geography studies the quality of life and standards of living within different communities around the world. As geographers seek to understand spatial patterns in development, they will look at economic, political and social factors that affect standards of living.
Birth rate, death rate, and fertility rates within a community are some of the demographic metrics that geographers use when assessing the development rates of different regions.
Development geographers are particularly focused on understanding inequality across time and space.
Development Geography Topics
- These Cities are the Most Unaffordable Places to Buy a House in the World
- Addressing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals
- Climate Change and Development
Economic Geography
Geographers under this branch normally study the manner in which products are usually produced and consequently distributed in their respective niche markets.
In addition to this, they also study the way in which wealth is distributed in various regions over the planet. In general, the structures which control and influence the conditions of the economy are usually dissected microscopically here.
Economic Geography Topics
- Model Predicts Economic Damage from Climate Change to be Greatest in the South in the US
- Economic Geography of Your Valentine’s Day Chocolate
- Spatial Analysis of Inflation and the Impact of the Pandemic
Health Geography
Healthy geography looks at the distribution and access to healthcare as well as the overall health of populations.
Health Geography Topics
Historical Geography
Historical geography looks at how a place and the people that live there have changed over time.
Historical Geography Topics
- Review: Time in Maps
- Review | The First Three Hundred Years of Historical Atlases
- California as an Island
Population Geography
In most cases, scholars usually equate population geography to demography even though this is usually not the case. This is mainly owing to the reason that population geography is deeper than the study of the patterns of a group of people with regards to birth, marriage & death as is the case with demography.
Geographers who are involved in this discipline normally study the population of regions in much more detail.
This means that they normally look at the manner in which the population of a given area is distributed, how the people there migrate, and the rate as well as pattern of the population growth.
Population Geography Topics
- Population Geography of the United States
- Study Forecasts World Population to Peak in 2064
- Which Country is the Least Densely Populated?
Medical Geography
In this branch, geographers normally study the patterns in which particular diseases spread. This means that pandemics & epidemics are usually studied here as well as common illnesses, general health care and death as well.
Medical Geography Topics
- The Speaking Style of Some Languages May Help Spread COVID-19
- Review | Difference and Disease: Medicine, Race, and the Eighteenth-Century British Empire
Military Geography
Geographers who practice this discipline normally conduct their research and studies within the military fraternity.
They mainly study the manner in which military facilities are distributed as well as the best ways in which the troops can be able to utilize the facilities that they have at their disposal.
In addition to this, the branch also covers the techniques that can be implemented in developing solutions to the common problems that military units commonly face.
Military Geography Topics
Political Geography
This is a very interesting branch of geography that is involved in the investigation of every aspect of politics. This is with regards to the boundaries of a country, the states it has and the development strategies that it has in place.
In addition, there are other details which are also covered such as: voting, sub-divisions, diplomacy and international organizations.
Political Geography Topics
Transportation Geography
Geographers who are involved in this branch of geography are usually involved in the research of the available networks for transportation. This includes both the public ones as well as private ones.
Once the networks have been studied, ways in which to maximize their use in the movement of people and products can be explored.
Transportation Geography Topics
- Mapping the Transportation Network of the Roman World
- What are 15-Minute Cities?
- Will Self-Driving Cars Make Traffic Worse?
Settlement Geography
Settlement geography, which includes urban geography, is the study over time and space of areas where humans have or currently reside.
Settlement Geography Topics
Urban Geography
With the development of urban cities worldwide, the branch of urban geography came into play since it enables researchers to study these trends much more effectively. In addition to this, these geographers are able to investigate potential locations that are suitable fore development for the tiniest of villages to sprout into the desired huge cities.
Urban Geography Topics
- The Wildland Urban Interface is Growing in the United States
- Defining the Degree of Urbanization
- Urban Farming Increases Food Resources for Local Populations
