Election 2000: Regional Differences Fig. 1-10: Presidential election results by county and state illustrate differences in regional voting patterns.

Types of Regions Formal (uniform) regions (p.20-21) Area where everyone has one or more distinctive characteristic in common. Example: Montana Functional (nodal) regions (p.22) Area organized around a node or focal point. Example: the circulation area of a newspaper Vernacular (cultural) regions (p.22-23) Place that people believe exists b/c of their cultural identity. Example: the American South

Formal and Functional Regions Fig. 1-11: The state of Iowa is an example of a formal region; the areas of influence of various television stations are examples of functional regions.

Vernacular Regions Fig. 1-12: A number of factors are often used to define the South as a vernacular region, each of which identifies somewhat different boundaries.

Spatial Association A region can be constructed to encompass an area of widely varying scale, from a small portion of Earth to a large portion of Earth. Different conclusions are drawn depending on the region’s scale. Ex. Death rates from cancer (p.23-24)

Spatial Association at Various Scales Fig. 1-13: Death rates from cancer in the U.S., Maryland, and Baltimore show different patterns that can identify associations with different factors.

Culture When looking at the distinctiveness of regions, geographers look at culture. (p.24-25) Origin from the Latin cultus, meaning “to care for” Two aspects: What people care about Beliefs, values, and customs What people take care of Earning a living; obtaining food, clothing, and shelter

Cultural Ecology The geographic study of human–environment relationships Two perspectives: Environmental determinism: Study of how the physical environment causes (controls/limits) human activities. Possibilism: Modern geographers generally reject environmental determinism in favor of possibilism The physical environment may limit some human actions, but people have the ability to adjust. Determined by a group’s values: Crop selection determine by environment Vegetarian vs Non-vegetarian Cremation versus burial

Physical Processes 5 Climates: Tropics, Dry, Warm, Cold, Polar Climate=the long-term average weather condition at a particular location. Vegetation/Biomes: Forest, Savanna, Grassland Desert Soil: 12,000 soil types Landforms: flat to mountainous Influences most human activities Humans have limited tolerance for extreme temperature and precipitation levels. Climate, precipitation, temperature * Vegetation, plant life * Soil, nutrients to allow plant life to grow, erosion * Landforms, steepness measured by slope

http://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/terrestrial-biomes-13236757

Physical Processes Soil-thin layer between air and rocks containing nutrients Concerns over soil include erosion and nutrient depletion Landforms-study of landforms is called geomorphology Explains the distribution of people and economic activities at different locations Studied through topographic maps

Modifying the Environment Examples The Netherlands Polders: creating land by drainage The Florida Everglades Not so sensitive environmental modification/ unintended environmental/social consequences 13th century polder initiative. Dikes, Zuider Zee & Delta Plan to prevent flooding by the north sea. Leader in renewable energy and conservation Figure 1-21

Key Issue 3 Why Are Different Places Similar?

Scale: From Local to Global Globalization-a force or process that involves the entire world and results in making something worldwide in scope; means the scale of the world is shrinking Economic globalization (see p.31-32) Transnational corporations Has led to more specialization and has heightened economic differences among places Cultural globalization (see p.32-33) A global culture?

Globalization of the Economy Fig. 1-17: The Denso corporation is headquartered in Japan, but it has regional headquarters and other facilities in North America and Western Europe.

Space: Distribution of Features Distribution-the arrangement of a feature in space Density-frequency that something occurs in space Arithmetic-total # of objects in an area (p.34) Physiological-# of people per unit of arable land Agricultural-# of farmers per unit of farmland Concentration-extent of a feature’s spread over space If objects are close together, they are clustered If objects are far apart, they are dispersed Pattern-geometric arrangement of objects in space

40. Diffusion The process by which a characteristic spreads across space and over time Hearth = source area for innovations Two types of diffusion Relocation: idea spread by people CONCENTRATION IS THE EXTENT… key difference…

Relocation Diffusion: 1) HIV/AIDS 2) release of a coin….(37) Relocation Diffusion: Diffusion through physical movement of a person from one place to another Figure 1-31

Expansion Relocation “snowball” diffusion Three types: Hierarchical: top down or centers of power Contagious: diffuses regardless of the origin (person or place) Stimulus: diffusion in which one people/ receives a culture element from another but gives it a new and unique form 3 types of of expansion: H: Government Initiative: Innovations… Urban to Rural… source outward C: no specific source…. An idea on the World Wide Web. Simultaneous access.. Going Viral! S: diffuses but fails in its initial form and is modified to another form.

41 – 44. Diffusion of Culture & Economy the hearth of C&E primarily in USA, Europe, & Japan. Africa, Latin America, and Asia on the periphery of global investment Resulted in uneven development what do you see with this map? Is it accurate? What do you think most geographers depict the diffusion of culture and economics like this?

Space–Time Compression Figure 1-29

Density, Concentration, and Pattern Fig. 1-18: The density, concentration, and pattern (of houses in this example) may each vary in an area or landscape.

Density and Concentration of Baseball Teams, 1952–2000 Fig. 1-19: The changing distribution of North American baseball teams illustrates the differences between density and concentration.

Spatial Interaction Transportation networks Electronic communications and the “death” of geography? Distance decay Figure 1-30

Airline Route Networks Fig. 1-21: Delta Airlines, like many others, has configured its route network in a “hub and spoke” system.

Diffusion The process by which a characteristic spreads across space and over time Hearth-source area for innovations Two types of diffusion Relocation-spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another; ex. Language, religion, ethnicity Expansion-spread of a feature from one place to another Three types: hierarchical, contagious, stimulus

Diffusion Hierarchical diffusion-spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places; ex. Hip hop, rap, and jazz music Contagious diffusion-rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout a population; ex. Diseases or use of the Internet Stimulus diffusion-spread of an underlying principle, even though a characteristic itself apparently refuses to diffuse; ex. Apple vs. IBM, Windows

AIDS Diffusion in the U.S., 1981–2001 Fig. 1-22: New AIDS cases were concentrated in three nodes in 1981. They spread through the country in the 1980s, but declined in the original nodes in the late 1990s.