Human Geography Introduction

What is Geography? Geography is the science of place and space. Geographers ask: where things are located on the surface of the earth why they are located where they are how places differ from one another and how people interact with the environment

basically the… WHY of WHERE?

Branches of Geography There are three main branches of geography: Human Geography Physical Geography Environmental Geography

Human Geography Human geography is concerned with the spatial aspects of human existence - how people and their activity are distributed in space, how they use and perceive space, and how they create and sustain the places that make up the earth's surface. Human geographers work in the fields of urban and regional planning, transportation, marketing, real estate, tourism, and international business.

Physical Geography Physical geographers study patterns of climates, land forms, vegetation, soils, and water. They forecast the weather, manage land and water resources, and analyze and plan for forests, rangelands, and wetlands. Many human and physical geographers have skills in cartography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Environmental Geography Geographers also study the linkages between human activity and natural systems. Geographers were, in fact, among the first scientists to sound the alarm that human-induced changes to the environment were beginning to threaten the balance of life itself. They are active in the study of global warming, desertification, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, groundwater pollution, and flooding.

All geographers study the linkages, or interdependency, between human activity and natural systems.

History of Geography Note the relationship between the rise/decline of empires and the rise/decline of geography. Empires “need” geography when their “world” has expanded, thus more studies are devoted to it. Geographic inquiry!

Greek Geographic Thought 500 BCE to 500 CE Eratosthenes Credited with coining the term “geography,” which literally means “earth-writing.” Remarkably accurate computation of the earth’s circumference (error of less than 2%!), which he based on the angle of the sun at the summer solstice and the distance between the two Egyptian cities of Alexandria and Syene.

Greek Geographic Thought 500 BCE to 500 CE Ptolemy Published Guide to Geography in the second century BCE, which included rough maps of the landmasses, as he understood them at the time, and a global grid system.

The Chinese and Arab World 500 CE to 1500 CE During Roman days, Chinese geographers knew as much as Western geographers. The compass was invented in China in the 11th century for navigation. Muslim: Arab geographers and librarians from about 700- 1400 CE translated the geographic works of the Greeks and Romans, which later helped to spurn European exploration during the Renaissance.

Western Europe 1500 CE to 1900 CE European global exploration --need for good navigation, knowledge about the world Expanding empires of Spain, England, France, Netherlands, Germany imperialism: the extension of the power of a nation through direct or indirect control of the economy and political life of other territories

Rise of Modern Geography 1700’s -- Immanuel Kant (philosopher), Carl Ritter, and Alexander von Humboldt stressed the interdependence of people, plants, and animals. 1800’s -- “environmental determinism” (Darwinian geography) where the environment determines how people live. 1900’s -- the “quantitative revolution”

Geography’s Spatial Perspective An intellectual framework that looks at: particular locations of specific phenomena how and why that phenomena is where it is how it is spatially related to phenomena in other places.

The Five Themes of the Spatial Perspective Location Human-Environment Interaction Region Place Movement

Location Where something is on the earth and the effects that position has on human life.

Location Absolute location (mathematical) Relative Location Latitude & Longitude degrees, minutes, seconds Relative Location “place” in relation to surroundings Site versus situation Site- a place’s internal physical and cultural characteristics Situation- context

Location

Human-Environment Interaction How human activities affect their environment and how environmental changes impact human life. Positive and negative effects of interaction

Region Spatial units that share some similar characteristics.

Types of Regions Formal Region Functional Region Perceptual Region A type of region marked by a certain degree of homogeneity in one or more phenomena; also called uniform region or homogenous region. Examples: a country linked by government, a climate region, a religious region. Functional Region Defined by the places affected by the movement of some phenomenon from its source (node) to other places. Examples: airline routes, area affected by a disease. Perceptual Region A region that only exists as a conceptualization or an idea and not as a physically demarcated entity, e.g. in the US, “the South” and “ the Mid-Atlantic region”

Place Unique combination of physical and cultural attributes that give each location on the earth its individual identity. Human components: Religion Language Politics Artwork Physical components Climate Terrain Natural resources

Sense of Place Feelings evoked by people as a result of certain experiences and memories associated with a particular place. Questions to ask: Do all places have a sense of place? Are some better than others? Do some places have a stronger sense of place than others? What makes places more memorable than others? What environments do you remember best? Examples? Physical factors versus experiential factors.

Movement Geographers analyze the movement occurring in space: Information People Goods Other phenomena Spatial interaction- how places interact through movement

Friction of Distance Degree to which distance interferes with some interaction. Been reduced in many aspects of life with improved transportation and communication technology. New phenomenon: Space-time compression Increasing sense of accessibility and connectivity that seems to be bringing humans in distant places closer together.

Distance Decay Pattern in which the interaction between two places declines as the distance between the two places increases.