Geography of Human

Wellbeing

Stage 5
Lesson objectives
By the end of this lesson you will be able
to:
 Define Human Wellbeing

 Outline why Human Wellbeing is a

Geographical issue

 Understand what makes Human

Wellbeing a Geographical issue
Human Wellbeing
Activity: Create a mind map in your workbooks.

Human Wellbeing

Happin Human
ess wellbeing
 See, Think, Wonder…
Activity: Look at the following images and
complete the See, Think, Wonder worksheet.
 See... Think… Wonder…
What do you see in the What are you thinking about as you What wonderings (questions) do you
images? are looking at the images? have about these images?
Wonder ….
For example: For example:
For example:

• 4 families- different • Some people are rich/ some

• Does where you live, or the size of
are poor
sizes/ structures your family have something to do
• Some people eat a lot, some with the amount of food that you
• Different places in the don’t have?

world • Some people come from a

• I wonder, if I didn’t live in
bigger family than others Australia, would I be like some of
• Different kitchens/
• Maybe where they live has these people in the photos?
different foods something to do with what they
• I wonder, are there people in my
• Packaged food, raw eat own country that are in my own
• Some people spend more country that don’t have much
food, water, fresh food food?
money on food- they must
• Some people smiling, have good jobs? Maybe some
• Why is there such a difference
some not. don’t have jobs. between how much a person
eats/ can afford to eat?
What The World Eats
Photos From Around the
World of Families and
Their Possessions
Where Children Sleep Around the World Paints a
Powerful Picture of Inequality
 Human Wellbeing
Activity: Copy the following information into your
workbooks.

Human wellbeing is the

recognition that everyone
around the world, regardless of
geography, age, culture, religion
or political environment, aspires
to live well.
This can be measured by objective
indicators, for example, life
expectancy, educational
attainment and income, or by
subjective measures of how people
perceive the quality of their life, as
revealed by surveys of happiness.
Wellbeing is not necessarily
bound by income, rather, it is an
individual’s thoughts and
feelings about how well they
are doing in life, contentment
with material possessions and
having relationships that enable
them to achieve their goals.
Many factors impact upon
an individual’s ability to live
well including: war, conflict,
social fragmentation,
inequality, poverty,
malnourishment as well as
access to resources.
Understanding people’s Wellbeing
We are able to understand people’s well-being by measuring
their:
 Material living conditions (or economic well-being), which
determine people’s consumption possibilities and their
command over resources.

 Quality of life, which is defined as the set of attributes that

shapes an individuals opportunities and life chances, and has
intrinsic value under different cultures and contexts.

 The sustainability of the socio-economic and natural systems

where people live and work, which is important for well-being
to last over time. Sustainability depends on how current
human activities impact on the stocks of different types of
capital (natural, economic, human and social) that underpin
well-being.
Activity: Complete the worksheet
Introduction; Human Wellbeing
Activity: Complete the worksheet activities-
‘What is Human Wellbeing?’
Human wellbeing is about quality of life. Around the
world there is a difference in people’s quality of life.
Activity: Complete the worksheet questions below.

BOSTES defines ‘Human Wellbeing’ as:

“The quality of life of a population”

 What do you like about this

definition?

 What would you change / include?

Activity: Group task-
Defining Human Wellbeing
Physical: The lifestyle behaviour choices you make to
ensure health, avoid preventable diseases and
conditions, and live in a balanced state of body, mind
and spirit.

Psychological: A state of wellbeing in which every

individual realises his or her own potential, can cope
with the normal stresses of life, can work productively
and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her
or his community.

Social: Social wellbeing is the extent to which you feel a

sense of belonging and social inclusion; a connected
person is a supported person in society. Lifestyles, ways
of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs
are all important to our social well being and quality of
life.
 Economic: Economic well-being, which
determines people’s consumption possibilities
and their command over resources

 Environmental: Refers to what the needs of

human society are, and what constitutes
human well-being. From the biophysical
environment individual humans require clean
air, a safe and adequate water supply,
adequate nutrition and shelter and a global
ecosystem that will continue to provide these
services.
In groups, discuss and list THREE MORE important factors that contribute to
human wellbeing using the following diagram as a guide.

PHYSICAL SOCIAL
For example: For example:
• Diet • Family
• Housing HUMAN • Friends
WELLBEING
ECONOMIC
For example: PSYCHOLOGICAL

• Standard of For example:

living • Health
• Income • Happiness
Lesson #2 Human Wellbeing

Lesson Objectives

• Re-cap: ‘What is Human Wellbeing?’

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Understand aspects of personal Human wellbeing

• Understand categories of wellbeing indicators

• Understand what makes Human wellbeing a

Geographical issue
Re-Cap
What we already know…

Human wellbeing is defined as:

A good or satisfactory condition of

existence; a state characterised by health,
happiness, prosperity and welfare.
Indicators of Human Wellbeing
Copy this diagram from the board into your
workbooks (page 396).

Your title is:

Figure 1. Categories of wellbeing indicators
Quality of Life Indicators
Overview Video

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfC
b7KIUMlM
 What is Quality of life?
Copy the following information into your
workbooks:
 Quality of life is the general well-being of
individuals and societies, outlining negative and
positive features of life.
 It observes life satisfaction, including everything
from physical health, family, education,
employment, wealth, religious beliefs, finance
and the environment.
 Qualityof life has a wide range of contexts,
including the fields of international
development, healthcare, politics and
employment.

 Qualityof life should not be confused with the

concept of standard of living, which is based
primarily on income.
 Personal Wellbeing is referred to as the quality of an
individuals everyday emotional experiences.
 That is, the frequency and intensity of personal
experiences. For example, joy, stress, sadness, anger,
and affection.
 To understand Human Wellbeing, you have to think
about life in general and evaluate it against a scale-
Social, environmental, psychological etc.
What influences your quality of life?
Now, lets think about your own
happiness
Activity: In your workbooks, answer these questions to
get you thinking about your own personal wellbeing.

1. What makes you happy?

2. Explain how your happiness affects your everyday

life?

3. What do you think your quality of life would look

like if you didn’t have these in your life?
Glossary of Key terms
Homework Activity:
Using your textbook, on the Glossary of Key
terms worksheet provided to you, fill in the
definition for the following:
1. Human wellbeing
2. Development
3. Spatial variation
4. Food security
Lesson #3
Now we are going to look at:

What makes Human

wellbeing a
Geographical
issue?
But first…
What is a Geographical issue?
 Geographical Issues are areas of concern
that arise due to changes in both physical
and human environments

 Geographical issues are subject of

widespread community discussion and
debate (e.g. in the Media).

 Theyare viewed over a period of time and

at a variety of scales, ranging from local to
global.
Activity: Complete the ‘Human Wellbeing as a Geographical issue’
worksheet.

Human Wellbeing – A Geographic issue

There are several key questions geographers try to answer when looking at geographic issues:
a. What is it?
b. Where is it?
c. Why is it there?
d. What are the effects of it being there?
e. How is it changing over time?
f. Should it be like this?
g. What will it be like in the future?
As geographers we investigate the world as the home of living things. We study both the
ENVIRONMENTS of the world as well as the COMMUNITIES that live within them.

Geography has many dimensions, two of which are:

 The ecological dimension which considers how humans interact with environments AND
 The spatial dimension which focuses on where things are, why they are there and how people interact
differently with environments in different places.

In geography we are interested in the environment. The term ‘environment’ describes all that surrounds us.
We can, however, divide the environment into two separate but very connected parts:
 What makes Human Wellbeing a Geographical issue?

i. The biophysical environment i. The built environment

- Also known as the natural
environment or physical
environment.
- Is made up of the living and
non-living parts of the
environment which occur
naturally.
- Includes the features of the
environment altered or
created by people.
- These features are also called
human-made or cultural
features.
As Geographers we examine environments
and communities at different SCALES – for
example, at the local scale, the regional scale,
the national scale, and the global scale.

Additionally, Geographers are particularly

interested in change that takes place in
environments and communities.

These changes take place as a result of a

combination of biophysical and human forces.
Human Wellbeing definitely has a spatial
dimension and is reflected within our built
environment.

It also raises many questions for us as

Geographers to consider, explore and find
connections with regarding what, where,
why and how Human Wellbeing exists
locally, nationally and globally.
1. Define the term ‘Environment’ and list the two
different types of environments:
The term environment can be defined as:
“The living and non-living elements of the Earth's
surface and atmosphere. Where unqualified, it
includes human changes to the Earth's surface e.g.
croplands, planted forests, buildings and roads”

2. List some (at least 4) examples of the spatial

dimensions of wellbeing:
 Lesson #4

Qualitative indicators
of Human wellbeing-
The Happy Planet
Index
Re-Cap: What we know
 Geographical issues have a: Spatial dimension

 Spatial Dimension tells us where things are and why they are
there.

 Geographical issues also have: Ecological dimension

 Ecological dimension describes the interaction between people

and the environment and the effect they have on each other.
Geographical Issues: Spatial dimensions

Spatial dimension refers to:

Spatial dimension in Geography is the
study of how variables are distributed
across the globe.
What are qualitative
indicators?
 Qualitative indicators are used to determine
particular aspects of quality of life or to describe
living conditions.
 These indicators are more difficult to measure and
compare as the information takes time to collect.
 Qualitative indicators such as: surveys, interviews
can be used to measure wellbeing, rather than just
data collected from numerical values such as:
income.
To determine spatial variations
across the globe we have to:
 Measure indicators, in order to give us a better insight
into a country's wellbeing.

 Over time different societies have measured progress in

different ways.

The Happy Planet Index is one

way wellbeing can be measured.
Spatial Variations:
Happy Planet Index

Which country is the happiest?

The Happy Planet Index (HPI) shows the extent to which 151
countries across the globe produce long, happy and
sustainable lives for the people that live in them.

The Happy Planet Index combines four elements to show how

efficiently residents of different countries are using
environmental resources to lead long, happy lives.

Each of the four components measures:

1. Life expectancy
2. Experienced wellbeing
3. Inequality of outcomes
4. Ecological footprint
Wellbeing: How satisfied the residents of each country say they feel
with life overall, on a scale from zero to ten, based on data
collected.

Life expectancy: The average number of years a person is expected

to live in each country based on data collected by the United
Nations.

Inequality of outcomes: The inequalities between people within a

country, in terms of how long they live, and how happy they feel,
based on the distribution in each country’s life expectancy and
wellbeing data. Inequality of outcomes is expressed as a
percentage.

Ecological Footprint: The average impact that each resident of a

country places on the environment, based on data prepared by the
Global Footprint Network. Ecological Footprint is expressed using a
standardized unit: global hectares (gha) per person.
Understanding the HPI
Happy Planet Index = experienced wellbeing X life expectancy
_______________________________________________

Ecological footprint

Now, we understand that

the…..
The Happy Planet Index measures what matters:
sustainable wellbeing for all. It tells us how well nations
are doing at achieving long, happy, sustainable lives.
These indicators are given a traffic light
score, based on the thresholds for
performance:

 Good (Green)

 Middling (amber)

 Bad (red)
 HPI-
COLOURS These scores are combined to
an expanded six-colour traffic
light for the overall HPI score.

To achieve bring Green (the

best of the six colours) a
country would have to perform
well on all three individual
components.
 Activity: Global Distribution of
Happy Planet Index
Answer the following questions:

1. Name three places in the world that you would

expect to rank highly on the Happy Planet Index
2. Name three places you would expect to
rank low
Activity
3. Using the blank world map you have been
given, colour in your blank world map so that it
looks like the map shown in: Figure 1.
In- class/ Homework

Answer the following question:

1. Explain in 1 paragraph why you chose the country/

continent you did for happiest/ least happiest.

2. Based on the colours and KEY shown on Figure 1.- The

Happy Planet Index Map, were your predications for the
happiest/ least happiest countries correct?

3. Can you think of any reasons that could explain why the
spatial distribution of happiness within countries/
continents and across the globe have been presented this
way on Figure 1.?
Activity: TED global The Happy Planet Index
Watch this video of Nic Marks, who is the founder of the London Centre of
Human wellbeing. He introduced the Happy Planet Index to measure
Human Wellbeing.

https://www.ted.com/talks/nic_marks_the_happy_planet_index
 Nic Marks introduces the Happy Planet Index,
which tracks national well-being against resource
use (because a happy life doesn't have to cost the
earth)

 Nic Marks thinks quality of life is measurable, and

that true contentment comes not from the
accumulation of material wealth but from our
connections with others, engagement with the
world, and a sense of autonomy.

 He creates statistical methods to measure

happiness, analyzing and interpreting the evidence
so that it can be applied to such policy fields as
education, sustainable development, healthcare,
and economics.
The Happiest Country vs. the
Least Happiest Country
http://happyplanetindex.org/countries/

Highest Country:
http://happyplanetindex.org/countries/cost
a-rica

Lowest Country:
http://happyplanetindex.org/countries/cha
d
Where does Australia Rank on
the HPI?
 http://happyplanetindex.org/countries/aus
tralia
Examining world choropleth maps-
HDI, GDP and Happiness Index

Activity:

1. Examine three world choropleth maps- HDI, GDP

What are the similarities/ differences?

2. What are some of the possible reasons for

countries that are inconsistent along the three
maps?
Re-cap: Post-it note Activity
Your task:

On the posit-it-note you have been given,

write down 3 things that are important in
shaping a person or a nations wellbeing.
Spatial Variations in Human
Wellbeing

As geographers it is our job to

question why these spatial
variations in wellbeing occur.
We do this by:
 Investigating the nature of, and differences in,
human wellbeing and development that exist
within and between countries.
 Describing explanations for differences.
 Examining how governments, groups and
individuals respond to inequalities in development
and human wellbeing for a sustainable future.
Internal reasons for variations
 This refers to: Internal forces that take place within
a country. Includes factors such as: the number of
people, and political systems all contribute to a
country's level of development and the wellbeing
of its people.
Example: Resources
 Variations between resources occur between
nations, as their access to natural resources is
uneven.
 In places like Japan, they cannot produce
sufficient agricultural products to sustain its
population
Political instability
 War and civil unrest have a major impact on
wellbeing and development of countries.
 Those nations that experience higher levels of
political instability find it much harder to develop
 Much of nations infrastructure can be destroyed
by conflict, as the case with the Syria Conflict in
2015
External reasons for variations:
Example: Trade
 Power and less developed nations have a far greater
proportion of their economy based in primary
production, often centred on raw materials
 These agricultural commodities have a far lower
value than high cost manufactured goods that are
required within the country
 Aid
 Aid takes form in: money, food, medicine
equipment, expertise, scholarships, training,
clothing or military assistance
 Less-developed countries are offered aid from
other countries as a means of helping their citizens.
 Aid is usually delivered as either bilateral- aid is
given by governments to donor countries
Mini Research task:
Wellbeing- country comparison
Your Task :
You are to investigate an example of the spatial
variations in human wellbeing between a set of
nations. For example you could analyse the difference
in human wellbeing between neighbouring or nearby
nations like North Korea and South Korea, Hati and
Dominican Republic or Australia and Indonesia.
You are then to set your research out on the table
below, present an image of the spatial variations
between the two nations and answer the response
question.
 Spatial Variation Country 1: Australia Country 2: Indonesia
differences
For example: For example:
Environmental

For example: For example:

Social

Economic

Historic

Political
An image of the spatial variations between your two
nations:

Response question: Using the ALARM scaffold provided to

you, answer the following question:

Describe the presented pattern of spatial variations

between these two countries and explain this in relation to
wellbeing of the two nations.
Activity
1. How does external factors differ from internal
factors?

2. Explain how trade influences economic

development within a country?

3. How can trade improve wellbeing within a

country?
 Sustainable Human Development

https://www.naturalcapita
lproject.org/mesh/

What is Sustainable
Human Development?
If human development is
about enabling people to
lead long, healthy,
educated and fulfilling
lives, then sustainable
human development is
about making sure that
future generations can do
the same.
 Re-cap
Write a short journal reflection in your
workbooks on the knowledge you have
developed from completing this activity:

1. What did I expect?

2. What did I get?
3. What more do I want to find out?
Activity:
You have been given a map of the school. On the map there
are some property features, classrooms, buildings etc.

1. Using coloured pencils, highlighters etc. map your

personal wellbeing.

For example: you may wish to include some of the

following:

 Use certain colours for moods, areas where there may be

conflict, no go zones, fun times, arrows for flow and
movement, pictures, mother nature space, (or lack of
them) feeling good time, working out space etc.
Features of human wellbeing and how they
can be measured

Activity:

1. In pairs, brainstorm features you consider important for human

wellbeing and suggest ways they could be measured.

Activity:

In your workbooks answer the following question (1 page written response)

Discuss the statement: ‘All wellbeing indicators are of equal importance for
survival’.

In your response, identify places with high and low wellbeing and describe
global wellbeing trends.
 What matters most to
people around the world?
More than 100, 000 users of the Better Life Index around the
world have shared their views on what makes for a better
life.

Activity:
1. Visit the following website
http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/responses/
Explore the interactive map and find out what well-being
topics are rated highest and where.
Wellbeing indicators to determine how changes to wellbeing
may occur over time

Activity:
1. Using the World Bank website, create a choropleth map and/or a
graph representing one wellbeing indicator e.g. life expectancy.
Map-
data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.H2O.SAFE.ZS/countries?display=map

Graph –
data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.H2O.SAFE.ZS/countries?display=graph