Chapter 1 Notes

Chapter 1 Intro: Thinking Spatially Solves Problems. Geographers do fieldwork. (% of arable land)

I.What is Human Geography? Study: Diversity, Globalization, Scale, human/environment interaction. Globalization: complex processes affecting places differently. Scale – Local, regional, national, global All environments altered by humans – we study this too.

II. What are Geographic Questions? Geography – the “why of where”/”so what” How are phenomena spatially distributed?

A.Maps in the time of cholera pandemics Use of geography: mapping, stopping disease. John Snow discovered cause of cholera w/ maps Epidemic: local outbreak pandemic: worldwide outbreak recent outbreaks of cholera: Lima, Haiti Places likely to get cholera: poor, bad sanitary system

B. The Spatial Perspective Geography – understanding how places interact.

1.The Five Themes of Geography: a. Location b. Human Environment interaction c. Region – phenomena are concentrated d. Place. Sense of place is our subjective meaning. Our perception of place is also subjective (Penn vs CA) e. Movement

2. Cultural Landscape Cultural landscape = human structures +natural features – human made features on environment (Carl Sauer) Sequent occupance – layers of impressions. Landscape is our biography. Can see major events. (Dar es Salaam). Peirce Lewis – Axioms for reading the landscape. Grinnell Glacier – All landscapes are marked by humans.

Sense of Place: ESPN

EconomicSocial Economic Systems Agriculture/Industrialization Capitalism/Socialism Business Organizations Labor Movements/Organizations Education (Infrastructural, training workforce) Social/Economic Classes Gender Roles Elites/Inequalities Family/Kinship Racial/Ethnic Constructs Cultural Artifacts Music/Literature Intellectual Movements Inventions/Innovations/Technology Belief Systems Philosophy Secularism/Atheism

PoliticalEnvironmental Nations/Nationalism Empires/Rulers Forms of Government Revolts/Revolutions/Conflict State-building/Expansion World Views Ideologies and isms Demography/Settlement and Migration Patterns Urbanization/Cities Regions/Locations Human Interaction with Physical Earth Environment/Land Management Systems Infectious Diseases

Physical and Cultural Attributes Natural Landscape: The natural aspects of a locale such as its climate and soil, the presence or absence of water supplies and mineral resources, its terrain features, etc. Cultural Landscape: the visual expression of human activity.

Classify as Natural or Cultural

III. Why do Geographers use maps, and what do maps tell us? Maps solve problems and define locations. Cartography: Map Making ReferenceThematic Locations Geographic Features Absolute Location Tell stories Attributes Phenomena Absolute Location Relative Location GPS/Satellites Geocaching Longitude Latitude Never Change Relative to other things Change constantly

C. Remote Sensing and GIS Digital Maps are highly detailed! Remote sensing +computer storage of data = GIS (Geographic Information Systems) GIS solves problems, wins elections, tracks Dengue Field Note – Data used to predict Dengue – precipitation and temp in Hawaii.

Draw a mental Map of Prosper

Draw your activity space on the mental map.

Partner Talk Gender and Activity Space – How would gender affect your activity space? How would age affect your activity space? How would social class affect your activity space?

Partner Talk Why is your typical activity space necessarily limited? Why don’t you go to high school across town, and hour away? Friction of Distance/Distance Decay Intervening Opportunity

Geographic Information Systems Arc.gis