Spatial Concepts Spatial concepts are the organising concepts common to all branches of geography. Although there are many organising concepts, there are nine commonly recognised concepts:

What are the spatial concepts? movement spatial association spatial change over time spatial interaction distribution (spatial) direction distance location scale region

Spatial Concepts Are tools which should be used to describe the geographic characteristics of an environment. You can use the following acronym to remember the spatial concepts: MR SCOT SAID LSD You need to be able to remember the spatial concepts and know how to use and identify each

Movement: Involves the change in location of one or more phenomena across the earth’s surface. It may involve the movement of water, air, sediments, traffic, people, money, trade etc

Movement

Region An area which shares at least one human or natural geographic characteristic which distinguishes itself from other regions. It can refer to a variety of scales, from local to encompassing several countries

Region

Spatial change over time The degree to which a place or phenomena has changed its spatial characteristics (location or distribution) features (human or natural) or pattern of use over time.

SCOT

Spatial interaction The nature of the links between phenomena and places. It is the degree to which they influence and interact with each other over space through a natural process or human activity for example through the movement of people, flow of water, emission of pollution etc.

Spatial Interaction

Spatial Association: The degree to which the distribution of two phenomena overlap in space Strong Medium Weak None

Spatial Association

Spatial Distribution The arrangement of phenomena on (or near) the earth’s surface. One feature or place has a location; the arrangement of many features over space is its distribution.

Distribution

Location: is where a feature is found on the earth’s surface Location: is where a feature is found on the earth’s surface. Each place has an absolute and a relative location.

Location

Scale: includes distance scales and the importance of the phenomena or the size of the response or phenomena: local, regional, national, international, global

Scale

Distance: A measurement of the space between two places Distance: A measurement of the space between two places. It includes the concepts of absolute (linear) distance, relative distance (the time it takes to travel), and psychological distance.

Distance