SPREADING AND CONNECTING

Geographers increasingly study patterns at the global scale. Scale is the relationship between the portion of the Earth being studied and Earth as a whole. There are many scales from the micro (the individual) to the macro (Earth as a whole). Some examples: neighborhood, city, county, state, region, country, macrocultural region, planet. Geographers increasingly study patterns at the global scale.

GLOBALIZATION Eye Surgery in Japan BIRD FLU (H5N1) IRAN VWs in Mexico A process that involves the whole world (or places distributed globally) and that makes something worldwide in scope. Due to advances in industrial, communication and transportation technology the world is increasingly interconnected through culture and economy. As a result, the world is increasingly more uniform and interdependent.

Okay everybody, spread out. DISTRIBUTION Okay everybody, spread out.

Geographers ask WHERE and WHY. DISTRIBUTION Spatial thinking Is the most fundamental skill to possess to understand the arrangement of objects Geographers look at the arrangement of people and activities and try to understand why they are distributed across space as they are. Historians ask WHEN and WHY Some Basics Geographers ask WHERE and WHY.

Distribution is: The arrangement of a feature in space. Each building, community, object and person occupies a distinct space on Earth’s surface. Geographers explain how these features are arranged across Earth’s surface. Distribution has three main properties: DENSITY CONCENTRATION PATTERN

PHYSIOLOGICAL DENSITY DISTRIBUTION DENSITY IS: The frequency with which something occurs in space. Density refers to items per area. A B The density of box A and box B are equal: 6 circles per box. THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF DENSITY: ARITHMETIC DENSITY (total number of objects divided by total area) PHYSIOLOGICAL DENSITY (total number of people divided by total area of ARABLE land) AGRICULTURAL DENSITY (total number of FARMERS divided by total area of arable land)

A B DISTRIBUTION CLUSTERED: relatively close together Concentration is the extent of a feature’s spread across space. CLUSTERED: relatively close together DISPERSED: relatively spread out A B Box A has a higher concentration (more clustered) than box B (more dispersed). Density and concentration are not the same. Box B has a higher density, but Box A has a higher concentration. Density considers amount per area, whereas concentration considers spread over an area.

Circular pattern DISTRIBUTION Guess the Pattern Rectangular Pattern PATTERN is the arrangement of objects in space (geometric or otherwise). Guess the Pattern Rectangular Pattern Linear Pattern Hub and Spoke Pattern Circular pattern

Space-Time Compression EFFECTS OF DISTANCE Distance Decay Model Space-Time Compression

EFFECTS OF DISTANCE DISTANCE DECAY THEORY The distance decay model states that as the distance between two places increases, the interaction between them decreases. Distance is to travel what friction is to physics, so geographers often refer to the “friction of distance.” C C A A B B Therefore there will be more interaction between points A and B Than there is between A and C

…and it all kept getting better and faster EFFECTS OF DISTANCE Then Came Stuff …Really Cool Stuff …and it all kept getting better and faster

Space-Time Compression EFFECTS OF DISTANCE Space-Time Compression The space-time compression model states that modern technology and its advances in transportation and communication have reduced the time it takes for people to migrate or information to diffuse to other places. Space and time are compressed by technology. Distance loses its coefficient of friction through technology. On a burro, it takes a long time to get from Sao Paulo to Paris. In a bitchin’ camaro, it takes a lot less.

The Compressed World EFFECTS OF DISTANCE Travel time to major cities (in hours and days) and shipping lane density Image Source Link