CHAPTER 1-THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY

Geography is the scientific study of the location of people and activities, and reasons for their distribution.

Human Geography deals with asking where and why human activities are located where they are.

Human Geography is the bridge between the natural and social sciences

Two factors pulling people in opposite direction:– 1. Globalization: the interconnectedness of

different parts of the world economically, politically and culturally.

Human Geographers examine five main geographical aspects. These are:

1. space

2. place

3. region

4. scale

5. connections/ interaction

6. Location and 7. movement

Thinking about Space

In thinking about space geographers observe regularities across the earth’s surface.

Space deals with three main components:

1. Density

2. Concentration

3. and Pattern

Density is the frequency with which something

occurs. There are three types of density.

1. Arithmetic-total number of objects (people)

in an area.

2. Physiologic- number of people per unit area

of agriculturally productive land.

3. Agricultural-the ratio of the number of

farmers to the total amount of land suitable

for agriculture.

Another component of space is concentration.

Concentration is the extent of a features

spread over space.

Concentration can be either clustered or

dispersed.

1. clustered-relatively close

2. dispersed-relatively far apart

Space also deals with pattern.

Pattern- says that some features are

organized in a geometric pattern (linear, centered), while others

are distributed irregularly (random).

Thinking about Place

In thinking about place geographers identify

areas of the world formed by distinctive

combinations of features.

Place and Sense of Place

Sense of place- hometown, vacation destination

Place- geographers look at where (location) and features that make a place unique

Geographers look at similarities, differences and changes across the Earth

The Spatial Organization of Human Activity

Geography is a “spatial science” (place and space)

Human Activities are:– 1. located in space at particular places– 2. Regular (with discernible pattern)

The first aspect of place is location-where

something is. Location has two components:

1. Absolute location-measured by latitude and

longitude. Precise location.

2. Relative location-location of a place relative

to other places ( situation ).

Globe

Longitude/ meridians – Prime meridian 0 degrees– Separates East and West– Runs south/ north direction– Length is the same for all meridians – Converge at the poles= distance between

meridians decreases towards the pole

90 N- North Pole 90 S – South Pole Tropic of Cancer (23.5N), tropic of Capricorn (23.5

S) 66.5 N and 66.5 S arctic circle Tropical- hot temperature, heavy rain fall and dense

jungles Temperate- four seasons Polar Reason for the seasons- Earth’s tilt

Latitude/ parallel – Equator 0 degrees – separate north and south – runs east/west direction – distance between parallels= equidistance– length decreases towards the poles

Absolute and Relative Direction

Absolute direction- north, south, southeast… Relative direction- “in the middle”, “west

coast”, “deep south”

Absolute and Relative Distance

Absolute distance- cm, km, miles… Relative distance- measured by time

• Toponyms- place names. Ex. Miami• mathematical location (absolute location)-

described precisely

by meridians and parallels( latitude and

longitude)

Site and Situation

• Helps us describe a place• Helps us understand its importance• Helps us understand the characteristics of a

place

• site-specific characteristics of a place (physical, cultural, economic, geographic…)

• situation (connectivity and accessibility)- location of a place relative to other

places

1. situation helps understand the relative importance of a place

2. Situation helps us understand why a place is the way it is

Telling time from longitude- traveling 15

degrees east is the equivalent of traveling

one hour forward on the clock, and 15

degrees west is one hour backward

Time zones- the earth is divided into 24

standard time zones

The International Date Line-follows 180

degrees longitude. Traveling east you move

back 24 hours. Traveling west, you turn the

clock ahead 24 hours, or one day.

Latitudes are scientifically derived by the

earth’s shape and its rotation around the sun.

Zero degrees longitude runs through

Greenwich, England because it was the

world’s most powerful country.

Thinking about Regions

Geographers identify areas of the world

formed by distinctive combinations of features. Earth area that display some self uniformity Regions don’t have rigid, strict, static boundaries Unit of geography- helps understand spatial

patterns Overlap and have hierarchical arrangement

(global to local)

There are three types of Regions:

1.Formal Region-a uniform region, is an area

within which everyone shares in common

one or more distinctive characteristics. Based on data, facts,

Can be religious, political, ethnic, etc.

States, countries, the corn belt, wheat belt, dairy belt

2. Functional Region- a nodal region, an area

organized around a node or focal point.

For example Atlanta is a airline transportation hub for the southeast. Marietta

is a suburb of Atlanta.

Chicagoland- chicago CBD and surrounding suburbs)

3. Vernacular Region- a perceptual region,

a place that people believe exists as a

part of their cultural identity. No geographical boundaries

Usually have too many attributes to be measureable (some attributes are measurable and have been measure in these regions)

Ex: “ the south”.

Vernacular/ Perceptual Regions

Nicknames given to an area Chinatown, little Italy, the gator nation, the

hood, the south, the middle east (east is relative to European views)

Stereotype play a role in perceptual regions

Perceptual/ Vernacular

historical context The rust belt (informal name used to describe

a post industrial region in northeast U.S –formerly iron/steel belt)

Characterized by urban decay, population loss, shrinking of industrial sector…

Sun Belt1960s moving from rust belt to sunbelt

In thinking about why each region is distinctive

geographers refer to culture

Culture- is the body of customary beliefs, material traits, and social forms that constitute the distinct tradition of a group of people.

Cultural ecology- the geographic study of human-environment relations.

Environmental Determinism-human actions were scientifically caused by environmental conditions.

Environment sets limits on human activities The physical environment (landforms, climate)

determine patterns in cultural and human/ social development

Possibilism- Physical environment may limit some human actions, but people can adjust

to their environment.

Possible to chose crops compatible with environment adopting new technology, migration, consumption of different foods

We use the environment in different ways

Thinking About Scale

Scale refers to how geographers understand how each place is unique yet at the same time similar to other places.

Map scale is a consistent relationship

between size on the map and size in real life. Large scale- small area- a lot of detail Small scale- big area- not a lot of detail

Map scale is represented in 3 different ways:

1. fraction ( 1/24,000 )

2. ratio ( 1:24,000 )

3. written statement ( 1 inch equals 1 mile )

or graphic bar scale

Scale leads to Spatial Association-which

says that different conclusions may be

reached concerning a regions characteristics

depending on scale.

Scale allows geographers to study global

trends particularly in cultural aspects and the

environment.

Globalization- a force or process that involves

the entire world and results in making some-

thing world wide in scope.

Globalization of Culture- Geographers

observe that increasingly uniform cultural

preferences produce uniform “ global “

landscapes of material artifacts and of

cultural values.

Thinking About Connections

In thinking about connections geographers

explain relationships among places and

regions across space.

Space-time compression- the reduction in the

time it takes for something to reach another

place.

Diffusion- The process by which a characteristic spreads across space.

Relocation diffusion-spread of an idea through

physical movement of people.

Expansion diffusion-spread of a feature

through a snowballing effect. Three types of

Expansion diffusion:

1. Hierarchical-From authority downward

2.Contagious-person to person

3. Stimulus-one idea stimulates the

development of other ideas. Most common

with technology.

Distance-Decay- The farther something

travels from its source the less intensity

it has. Ex. Language, fashion, even religion.

Interrelationships Between Places

The ideas of relative location and relative distance leads to a fundamental spatial reality

A. Places interact with other places in structured and understandable ways through the following

– A. accessibility- ability to interact with a particular location– B. connectivity- interactions between several locations– C. spatial distribution: density, dispersion, pattern

MAPS

Mental Maps: maps of the mind– 1. helpful for understanding human behavior– 2. Culturally influenced and subjective – Can mental maps by affected by your gender?

How?

GIS, GPS, Remote Sensing

Geographical Positioning System- mathematical location and absolute directions

Geographic Information System- A collection of computer hardware and software that uses multiple thematic layers

Remote Sensing- A method of collecting data by instruments that are physically distant

MAP SCALE

THE SCALE ON THE SURFACE OF THE GLOBEIS THE SAME IN EVERY DIRECTION

Map Projections

Making a flat map of round surface All maps distort the globe grid properties

– 1. planar projection (also called azimuthal)– 2. Cylindrical projection- Mercator Maps – 3. Conic projection

Maps

Mercator- useful for navigation Robinson- gives up on all areas (minor

distorting in all areas), shape near poles are flat, continents appear similar to globe.

Peters- distorts shape but relative size proportion is accurate

General Purpose and Thematic Maps

General purpose maps- simple physical information depicted

Thematic maps- more complicated information depicted, such as population or educational level

Types of Thematic Maps

Chloropleth- Dot- depicted level of occurrence Isometric- show changes in the variable

being mapped by connecting lines (isolines)