1. Chapter 1: Introduction: Some background basics

2. Geography Origin of the Discipline Three Fundamental Questions
Concepts
Two Dimensioned Researches
System of Geography

3. Concept of Geography
The studies of the phenomena, processes and patterns of natural environment and the spatial organization of human life as a whole.
Geography is the study of phenomena, processes of natural environment and of human life organizations as a spatial wholeness.

4. 3 Fundamental Questions
Where?: Where did/are the phenomenon, processes, patterns happened/happening?
Why there?: Why did/are they happened/happening there? (not at a different/other place?)
How?: How are they in the relationships to those at other places, and affect or are affected by human life and natural environment?
 spatial/geographical thinking

5. To answer those questions, we:
Focus in spatial and system analysis
Using concepts, terms, and methods in geography
Understand things are rationally organized on earth’s surface
Spatial patterns  understanding how people live on and shape the earth’s surface

6. Basic Geographic Concepts
Spatial/Space
Location
Direction
Distance
Size and Scale
Place
Region
Spatial Interaction and Analysis

7. Spatial/Space
‘Spatial’ always carries the ideas of the ways things are distributed, the movement occur, and the processes operate over the whole or a part of the surface of the earth.
Space  ‘Spatial’  forming the concepts:
Geography  spatial science
Places on earth’s surface  spatial behavior of people
 spatial relationship
Behavior + relationship maintained  spatial process

8. Location
Absolute Location
Relative Location

9. 1. Absolute Location
being unique to each described place
measuring the distance separating places
finding directions between places on the earth’s surface.
One of systems (also called mathematic location): a positioning system of precise and accepted identification of a place accurately described by reference to its degrees, minutes and seconds of latitude and longitude.
Ex: Vietnam is located at, latitude: 8010’ to 23024’ N
longitude:1020 O9’ to ’ E

10. Other precise and accepted system: survey system on regional level.
Depends any other characteristics, it has:
Legal description of place,
Measuring the distance separating places,
Finding directions between places on the earth’s surface.
Ex:
Vietnam University: the 6th site, Linh Trung ward, Thu Duc district, HCMC
HCMC International University:
University of Oxford: University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD UK
Stanford University: 630 Serra Street, Suite 120, Stanford, CA USA

12. 2. Relative Location
the position of a place in relation to that of other places or activities
It explains spatial interconnection and interdependence
Ex: location of library, cafeteria … to your classroom
In other sense, it tells us that people, things, and places exist in the world of physical and cultural characteristics that differ from place to place
Ex: Vietnam is located in the southeastern extremity of the Indochinese Peninsula, nearby the maritime cross-road of the world

13. Site and Situation 1. Site:
refers to physical and cultural characteristics and attributes of the place itself.
tells us the internal features of that place
Ex: the Mekong Delta is the area which has 9 rivers surrounding 9 provinces.
2. Situation:
refers to the external relations of a place.
is relative location with particular reference to items of significance to the place.
Ex: Danang city is the small plain bounded by the sea in the east and the mountain range in the north and west.

14. Direction Absolute direction
Based on the cardinal points of North, South, East, and West.
Eg. the rising and setting of the sun for East and West, the sky location of noontime sun and of certain fixed stars for north and south
Relative direction
The directional references are culturally based and locationally variable, despite their reference to cardinal compass points.

15. Distance Absolute distance
refers to the spatial separation between two points on the earth’s surface
measured by standard unit: miles or kilometers, feet or meters (for more closely spaced points).
Relative distance
Transforms measurements into other units, more meaningful for the space relationship at question.
Miles, kilometers, meters  hours, minutes, monetary system, or psychological transformation (unfamiliar, dangerous/familiar, friendly etc.)

16. Size and Scale being largeness or smallness of a place
Map Scale: the relationship btw the size of an area on a map and the actual size of the mapped area on the surface of the earth.
Spatial size concerned or compared
Local, regional, global
Individual, household, community, areal, national, regional, international, global
 THINK GLOCAL, ACT LOCAL

17. Place
Places have location, direction, and distance with respect to other places
A place may be large or small  scale is important.
A place has both physical structure and cultural content.
The characteristics of places develop and change over time.
Places interact with other places.
Places may be generalized into regions of similarities and differences

18. Physical and cultural attributes
All places have physical and cultural traits that distinguish them from other places.
Physical attributes: natural landscape
Climate, soil, present or absence of water supply, minerals, etc.
Shape how people live.
Cultural attributes: cultural landscape
People modify the environmental conditions of occupied place.
Human activities leave on places soils, water, vegetation, animal life

19. Interaction among places
Spatial interaction: places interact with other in the comprehensive ways.
Their processes and patterns are described by words ‘accessibility’ and ‘connectivity’
Accessibility:
Connectivity:

20. Accessibility: refers to location
Consideration of distance implies assessment of accessibility.
Question: How easy or difficult is it to surmount/overcome the barrier of the time and space separation of places?
Internal place: transport network…
External place: airplane, ship, train, etc.

21. Connectivity: refers to distance
A broader concept of accessibility implying all tangible and intangible ways in which places are connected
Tangible: telephone lines, street and road systems, pipelines and sewers, etc.
Intangible: radio and TV broadcasts, telecommunications, etc.

22. Spatial distribution
How things are distributed in place?
The arrangement of things is analyzed by density, dispersion, and pattern.
Density: measure of the number or quantity of anything within a defined unit of area.
Dispersion ≠ Concentration: amount of spread of a phenomenon over an area.
Not tells us ‘how many/how much’ but ‘how far’ things are spread out.
If they are closed together: ‘cluster’ or ‘agglomeration’
If they are spread out: ‘dispersion’ or ‘scattered’
Pattern: describes spatial arrangement
Distribution along: linear pattern
Concentrated around: centralized pattern
Unstructured irregular distribution: random pattern.