Countries which now are densely populated where attractive for early settlement because they have physical factors that enabled contructors to build buildings (flat land and lowland plains). The climate also attracted them, since in those areas rainfall is reliable and evenly distributed throughout the year, there are no extreme temperatures and have a lengthly growing season. Also areas where it is easier to construct canals, railways, roads and airports have attracted settlements. Settlements where attracted by regions with intensive farming or industry since they can support large numbers of people employed. Sparsely populated areas, are located in places where it is dificult to build houses and buildings, for example the mountains. There temperature is very low, and in some cases, snow damages the land so people can’t grow crops correctly, so they loose time and also beneficts which normaly are taken from crops, as money. For this reason, areas located at extremes North and South, are sparsely populated, as northern Russia, or Ushuahia in Agentina.
As an alternative statement we can say that the climate, comunications, water supply and the economy of a country makes people choose some areas in detriment of others since it’s easier to live in. Two MEDC’s countries which have stable climate (in general), good water supply and a stable economy are United States and Japan. This means that the statement is right, those factors makes people living easier.
In the other hand LEDC’s are totally oposed to these factors, which tells us that leaving in LEDC is much more difficult, so most of them should be sparsely populated which isn’t, because of several factors as poor sexual education, girls start to having babies at 16 years old, and a very high fertility rate, in LEDC’s its 5,4 lifetime births per woman. Also most of them are densely populated probably because people don’t have the chance to move because of their economic status, so they are obligated to stay in their countries working in farms and with the scarce resources due to the adverse climate. Their poor resources, lack of communication and poor wealth lead to a difficult life for people leaving in LEDC’s. People interested in changing country, will probably dont chose places as this ones, because there life is very difficult and danger of different diseases and pests are always present.
In conclusion, places which are most likely to be suitable in terms of living, are cities which have a stable climate, good water supplies, expanded communications and have high and stable economy, but up to certain point, because densely populated places, as Sudan where it is not easy to live, cities are overcrowded. So I think that people who have the chance to change country do it, and search places where jobs are better paid and life is easier, but people who don’t have the chance to change country because of their economical satus, are forced to stay in countries where life is difficult, and population grows at hudge speeds, which means that more and more people are forced to take this decition.
Sources
Anonym author, Wednesday 12 March 2008, Demographics of United States, Wikipedia, [Internet],
Anonym author, Wednesday 12 March 2008, Demographics of Japan, Wikipedia, [Internet],
Anonym author, Thursday 27 March 2008, Fertility and contraceptive use, Unicef, [Internet],
Sparsely and densely populated areas, Fotocopy given in class
