Geography Project Plan Instructions
TheGeography Project Plan is a research paper and a capstone assignment wherebyyou will apply geographic and research skills toward solving a real problem.
Choosea service project at an accessible location where you have an interest andpassion for making a difference. The project must be feasible in scale andscope for a students time and budget. Choose a specific location rather than agrand scale project like ending world hunger. Your plan must be 1,0001,250words, use Times New Roman 12-point font with 1-inch margins, include a coverpage, the required sections (shown below), a reference page, a map, and arealistic budget. Cite at least five scholarly sources (other than Scripture, thetextbook, and Wikipedia) in current APA format.
Theproject can have an environmental focus, e.g., access to clean drinking water;preserving natural habitats; reducing air and water pollution; or dealing withthe aftermath of natural disasters like floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes. Manystudents choose humanitarian projects focused on health, education, andfinancial needs, e.g., educating illiterate populations; helping startbusinesses; feeding the malnourished; or resourcing underserved schools, healthclinics, hospitals, or orphanages. Your project may be as simple as building awheelchair ramp for your neighbor or building a new playground at your church. Theproject may expand upon an existing service, but you must identify whatservices currently exist and how the services may be expanded based on yourcontribution. You must include realisitic materials, transportation, labor, andother associated costs. For example, is there a need for additional homelessshelters? If shelters exist, where are they located and what populations dothey serve? Is there a need for shelters to safely house families, or justwomen and children? How much would it cost to erect and operate a homelessshelter for the number of clients that you are proposing?
Step 1: Statethe objective (what will be accomplished) and location of the project, e.g., Iwill provide clean drinking water to the rural population in Nimba, Liberia bydigging three wells. Then give a brief explanation based on your initialresearch for why this project is needed.
Step 2: Research,analyze, and describe the problem through a geographic lens. Consider the termsand concepts in the textbook and the five main themes of geography.
Step 3: Describea feasible course of action to solve the problem. The paper must explain thewho, what, why, and where of this project. In the end, this paper is about theproposed solution, or Project Plan.
Step 4: Listand describe the detailed costs ofthe project (i.e. materials, transportation, labor, etc.)
Step 5: Utilizeand bold highlight at least five geographic terms from the text.
Step 6: Incorporate the five main themes of geography intotheir required section headings.
Usethe following 10 required main sectionswhen writing your paper. You may include subheadings as needed.
I. Introduction
II. General Overview and Rationale
III. RegionRelevance
IV. LocationRelevance
V. PlaceRelevance
VI. MovementRelevance
VII. Human-Environmental Interaction Relevance
VIII Budget
IX. Summary
X. References
The Geography Project Plan is due via SafeAssign by 11:59 pm (EST) on Monday of Module/Week 6.
HINT: The CIA World Factbook is ahelpful place to begin when studying another country.
Startby describing and analyzing the significance of location. Is the problemunique to a specific location or region? Why or why not? Describing thelocation of a low income rural town relative to regions of industry oragriculture can be revealing. Is the location a conurbation, technopole,forward capital, or primate city?
Followwith a regional analysis that might include physiography (climate,terrain, bodies of water, flora and fauna), culture, population data(demographics), the economy, political geography, urban development, industrialization,and agriculture. How would you characterize the people, i.e., their culture,lifestyle and beliefs? How do language, gender, religion, and culturaltraditions and values affect the project? Are the people part of a shatterbelt?Think about the sectors of the economy and development. Is the area you areaddressing a periphery, semi-periphery, or core state, and how does that helpor hinder the solution to the problem? Are the people subsistence farmers?Describe the population. Analyze the population distribution and density. Is ita floating population? Look at demographics like the birth rate, infantmortality rate, overall longevity, ratio of physicians to population, percapita income, average years of education or illiteracy, and the dependencyratio. What do those statistics indicate regarding the problem to be solved?
Movement,or connectivity, is often a key component in any geographic analysis. Willyou move people, goods, or information? How will you do that? What are thechallenges of movement? Can you hand out brochures or a Bible if the peoplereceiving them are illiterate? Do they have access to the internet? Is thereadequate transportation infrastructure to move people and goods? Are roadsimproved or unimproved? Is there access to public transportation? Analyzephysiography as it relates to movement. Think about transferability of goods,distance decay, or the movement of people through immigration or emigration.
Studythe cultural landscape and develop a sense of place. This can add insightto the culture and the economy. Can the type of places of worship indicatecultural or ethnic diversity in a location? Where is the nearest hospital orcollege? Do most people live in single-family homes, or do most residents rent?Can the number of traffic lights in a town indicate size?
Considerthe cause and effect of human interaction with the natural environmentas it relates to your project. It may be as simple as studying the generalclimate and the seasonal effect on activities and services. Do the peoplecontend with devastating drought, earthquakes, tsunamis, or hurricanes? Havepeople permanently altered the natural landscape through deforestation or theconstruction of dams, levees, or canals?