1. The Nature & Perspectives of Geography
UNIT I:
The Nature & Perspectives of Geography

2. Definition of Geography
human & physical features
spatial perspective looking at patterns & distributions
invented by Greeks: Eratosthenes
“geo”: Earth
“graphy”: writing

3. “THE WHY OF WHERE!!!” Basic Geo Ques.: How are places related?
How are places inter-connected?
How are humans affected?
“THE WHY OF WHERE!!!”

4. Human Geo: study of the spatial organization of human activities
how we organize space & place
where & why human activities are located

6. Location absolute location: latitude & longitude; street address
relative location: expressing a location in relation to another site

7. Situation: the location of a place relative to other places
Site: the physical character of a place
Situation: the location of a place relative to other places
Fig. 1-7: Singapore is situated at a key location for international trade.

8. Place place: location with physical & cultural attributes
“sense of place”: infusing a place with meaning & emotion

9. Perception of Place Where Pennsylvanian students prefer to live
Where Californian students prefer to live

10. The Cultural Landscape
natural landscape modified by human activities
the “Built Environment”
Religion and cremation practices diffuse with Hindu migrants from India to Kenya.

11. Spatial analysis: the study of geographic phenomena the SPATIAL:
1. Distance
2. Accessibility
3. Connectivity

12. “friction of distance”
1. Distance Decay
interaction diminishes as distance increases
“friction of distance”
closer = more interaction

13. Distance Decay Curve (“j-curve”)

14. place utility: a place’s usefulness to a particular person or group

15. How easy/difficult to overcome the friction of distance?
2. Accessibility
How easy/difficult to overcome the friction of distance?

16. 3. Connectivity level of interaction communication & transportation
Ex: Telephone Lines, streets, pipelines, radio, TV, internet

17. Ullman’s Spatial Model of Interaction
1. Complementarity:
supply & demand between places

18. 2. Transferability: ability to acquire item

19. 3. Intervening Opportunity:
closer location develops = more interaction

20. Diffusion: - spread of an idea or innovation from its hearth
Barriers to diffusion?
- physical
- distance decay
- cultural barriers

21. 1. Expansion Diffusion: spreads outward from the hearth
a. contagious: spreads adjacently
b. hierarchical: spreads from big city to smaller places

22. Cultural Diffusion in action
Ex:
Because Hindus believe cows are holy.. McDonalds restaurants in India feature veggie burgers.

23. 2. Relocation Diffusion: permanent movement of individuals who carry an idea
Paris, France
Kenya

24. Spatial Distribution elements common to all spatial distributions :
Density, Dispersion, & Pattern

25. Density
quantity within a defined unit of area

26. Dispersion How spread out? Clustered (Agglomerated) = spatially close
2. Dispersed (Scattered) = spread out

27. Pattern The geometric arrangement in space Types of Patterns:
Linear, Clustered, & Random

28. Linear Pattern
typically depict houses along a street or towns along a railroad

29. Clustered Pattern
typically involve items concentrated around a single node
Ex: Center City with surrounding suburbs

30. Random Pattern
An unstructured irregular distribution

31. Levels of Scale
- local
- regional
- national
- global

32. Scale

33. “REGIONAL APPROACH”
Latin America
Sub-Saharan Africa
Southeast Asia

35. Types of Regions
Formal (Uniform) region: defined by a uniform characteristic
Exs: a country’s border
a language region

36. Functional (Nodal) region: defined by interactions
Ex: magazine circulation, radio station’s range, a downtown CBD

37. Perceptual (Vernacular) Region: ideas or emotions of an area
Exs:
the South
the Middle East
Chinatown
Little Italy

39. In Montgomery, Alabama, streets named after Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Civil Rights leader Rosa Parks intersect.

40. 1. Globe Grid: based upon latitude-longitude
2. Map Projections: making a flat map of a round surface
* All maps have distortion!

41. World Geographic Grid
The world geographic grid consists of meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude. The prime meridian (0º) passes through Greenwich, England

44. Cylindrical Projection
Planar Projection
(Azimuthal)
Conic Projection

45. The Robinson Projection

47. Which is the small-scale map?
Neighborhood in Edmonton
City of Edmonton
Small scale: more area, less detail
Large scale: less area, more detail

49. Two Types of Maps: Reference Maps Thematic Maps Show locations
General purpose
Ex: street maps
Thematic Maps
“Tells a story”
Uses Data
Pattern, distribution

50. Reference Map

51. Thematic Maps TYPES: Graduated Circle Dot-Distribution
Isopleth (isolines: weather, topographic maps)
Choropleth (by region: county, state)

52. Graduated Circle Map
different sizes to show frequency

53. Dot Map

54. Isopleth Map
The isoline connects values

55. Examples of topographic maps (shows elevation through contour lines)
                             

56. Choropleth Map

57. Thematic
Map
What story about median income in the Washington, DC area is this map telling?

58. Mental maps (“cognitive” maps)
mental maps: representations of our own image of the world

59. Activity Space: the places we travel to in our daily activities
How are activity spaces and mental maps related?

60. Geographic Information System (GIS): computer programs
that collect layers of
spatial data

61. Remote Sensing: collecting data through satellites

62. Measuring Spatial Interaction
The Gravity Model:
How size & distance affect
interaction