The Geography Project Plan is a research paper and a capstone assignment whereby youwill apply geographic concepts learned in the course
towards solving a real problem.
Choose a service project at a specific locationwhich you have an interest or passionfor. The project mustbe feasible in scale and
scope;choose a location in a neighborhood, city, county, state, country, or region rather than agrand scale project like ending world
hunger. Your plan must be 1,000–1,250words, use Times New Roman 12-point font with 1-inch margins, include a cover page, a reference page,
and a map. Cite at least 5scholarly sources (other than Scripture, the textbook, and Wikipedia) in current APA format.
The project can have an environmental focus,e.g., access to clean drinking water; preserving natural habitats;reducing air and water
pollution;or dealing with the aftermath of natural disasters like floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes. Many students choose humanitarian
projects focused on health, education, and financial needs, e.g., educating illiterate populations; helping start businesses;feeding the
malnourished;or resourcing underserved schools, health clinics, hospitals, or orphanages.The project may expand upon an existing service,
but you must identify what services currently exist and how the services may be expanded based on your contribution. For example, is there
a need for additional homeless shelters? If shelters exist, where are they located and what populations do they serve? Is there a need for
shelters to safely house families, or just women and children?
• Step 1:State the objective (what will be accomplished) and location of the project, e.g., “I will provide clean drinking water to
the rural population in Nimba, Liberia by digging wells.”Then give a brief explanationbased on your initial research for why this project
is needed.
• Step 2:Research, analyze, and describe the problem through a geographic lens. Consider the terms and concepts in the textbook and
the 5main themes of geography.
• Step 3:Describe a feasible course of action to solve the problem.The paper mustexplain the who, what, why, and where of this
project. In the end, this paper is about the proposed solution, or Project Plan.
• Step 4:Incorporate at least 5geographic termsfrom the text and all 5of the main themesof geography into the paper.
Use the following main section heading outline when writing your paper. You may include subheadings as needed.
I. Introduction
II. General Overview and Rationale
III. Region Relevance
IV. Location Relevance
V. Place Relevance
VI. Movement Relevance
VII. Human-Environmental Interaction Relevance
VIII. Summary
IX. References
The Geography Project Plan is due via Safe Assign by 11:59 pm (EST) on Monday of Module/Week 6.
HINT:The CIA World Factbook is a helpfulplace to beginwhen studying another country.
Start by describing and analyzing the significance of location.Is the problem unique to a specific location or region? Why or why not?
Describing the location of a low income rural town relative to regions of industry or agriculture can be revealing.Is the location a
conurbation, technopole, forward capital, or primate city?
Follow with 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 cultural traditions 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 are addressing a
periphery, semi-periphery, or core state, and how does that help or hinder the solution to the problem? Are the people subsistence
farmers? Describe the population. Analyze the population distribution and density.Is it a floating population? Look at demographics like
the birth rate, infant mortality rate, overall longevity, ratio of physicians to population, per capita income, average years of education
or illiteracy, and the dependency ratio. What do those statistics indicate regarding the problem to be solved?
Movement, or connectivity, is often a key component in any geographic analysis. Will you move people, goods, or information? How will you
do that? What are the challenges of movement? Can you hand out brochures or a Bible if the people receiving them are illiterate? Do they
have access to the internet? Is there adequate transportation infrastructure to move people and goods? Are roads improved or unimproved?
Is there access to public transportation?Analyze physiography as it relates to movement. Think about transferability of goods, distance
decay, or the movement of people through immigration or emigration.
Study the cultural landscape and develop a sense of place. This can add insight to the culture and the economy. Can the type of places of
worship indicate cultural or ethnic diversity in a location? Where is the nearest hospital or college? Do most people live in single-
family homes, or do most residents rent?Can the number of traffic lights in a town indicate size?
Consider the cause and effect ofhuman interaction with the natural environment as it relates to your project.It may be as simple as
studying the general climate and the seasonal effect on activities and services.Do the people contend with devastating drought,
earthquakes, tsunamis, or hurricanes? Have people permanently altered the natural landscape through deforestation or the construction of
dams, levees, or canals?