The Northeast: America s Gateway to the World People Come and People Go a lesson on Population INTRODUCTION: In this lesson we are going to investigate population growth in the northeastern part of the United States. As you probably know, population around the world is growing, but not at an equal rate. In Africa and in the southwestern part of the United States population is booming. In the Northeast it is growing, but at a much slower rate. Let s analyze this situation, using data from the Census Bureau. PART ONE: What causes growth or decline of population? First, we look at natural causes. Population is gained by and decreased by. Human causes of population growth have to do with movement or migration. The population of a place (city or state or country) will increase if On the census data chart there are two columns for migration: domestic and international. What is the difference between the two? You will now be assigned a state in the Northeast. You will be given a data chart with population statistics from April 1990 to July 1999. Your task is to compute the net increase (or decrease) of population for your state. On the FLOW CHART below, fill in the blanks with the correct data and complete the calculations: POPULATION BIRTHS DEATHS APRIL 1990 NET NET INTERNATIONAL NET DOMESTIC POPULATION MIGRATION MIGRATION INCREASE This means the population of in July 1999 was.
-2- Percent of population increase is found by using this formula: Substitute the data for your state into this formula and determine the percent of increase: During this same time period, the population of the entire United States increased from about 248,791,000 in April 1990 to 272,691,000 in July 1999. Determine the percent of increase of our nation s population: Students should now report their calculations to the rest of the class. How did the population increase in the Northeast compare the entire country? How can you account for this difference? Did births outnumber deaths in the Northeast? Was international migration a positive or negative number? The largest negative population growth factor was. PART TWO: Population Growth in New York State As a whole, the state of New York grew in population during the 1990 s. But is it correct to say that every region of the state saw an increase? Your second data table has information about population growth or decline in eleven regions of the state. First, you will determine the percent of increase for each region, completing the chart. Then, on a county map of New York, you will construct a choropleth map showing population growth patterns. The map will be shaded from yellow to dark red. The darker the color the greater the percent of population increase. CONCLUSIONS: What pattern do you see about population growth and decline? What explanation can you give for this pattern?
-3- PART THREE: Historic population growth We have shown that the Northeast has not grown much in recent times, and some areas have actually lost population. This was not always the case, especially in the 1800 s. The city of Rochester, New York is a good example. You will be shown a line graph of Rochester s population from 1820 to 2000. You need to locate sections of the graph that show rapid population growth: slow population growth: decline in population: What might have caused some of the population booms in the past? What are the main causes of decline? Note that Greater Rochester is growing in population today, but not the City of Rochester itself. How can you account for this difference? WRAP-UP PROBLEM: The Census Bureau estimates that the population of the United States will increase by 8% between 1999 to 2009. Determined the predicted population of the entire country in 2009. Show your work.
CENSUS DATA TABLES NORTHEASTERN STATES STATE POP. 4 / 90 BIRTHS DEATHS NET INTER. MIGRATION NET DOMESTIC MIGRATION Maine 1,227,928 137,791 107,664 3895 7347 New Hampshire 1,109,252 142,027 83,680 6995 29,607 Vermont 562,758 67,101 44,797 4959 5615 Massachusetts 6,016,425 778,803 506,880 147,834 55,060 Connecticut 3,287,116 423,922 268,782 73,389 226,370 Rhode Island 1,003,464 125,103 89,187 16,339 250,958 New Jersey 7,747,750 1,079,022 667,367 377,830 378,495 Pennsylvania 11,882,842 1,438,566 1,163,384 114,753 250,958 New York 17,990,778 2,539,280 1,519,562 1,107,814 1,888,936
NEW YORK STATE POPULATION DATA BY REGION REGION 1990 POP. 2000 POP. POP INCREASE (DECREASE) PERCENT GROWTH Adirondacks 440,000 446,000 Capital District 915,000 933,000 Catskills 161,000 170,000 Central NY 1,250,000 1,172,000 Finger Lakes 304, 000 308,000 Hudson Valley 2,019,000 2,168,000 Long Island 2,608,000 2,753,000 New York City 7,323,000 8,008,000 Greater Roch. 960,000 998,000 Southern Tier 456,000 440,000 Western NY 1,560,000 1,550,000