1. CHAPTER 1-THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY Geography is the scientific study of the location of people and activities, and reasons for their distribution.

2. Human Geography deals with asking where and why human activities are located where they are. Human Geography is the bridge between the natural and social sciences

3. Two factors pulling people in opposite direction: – 1. Globalization: the interconnectedness of different parts of the world economically, politically and culturally.

4. Human Geographers examine five main geographical aspects. These are: 1. space 2. place 3. region 4. scale 5. connections/ interaction 6. Location and 7. movement

5. Thinking about Space In thinking about space geographers observe regularities across the earth’s surface.

6. Space deals with three main components: 1. Density 2. Concentration 3. and Pattern

7. Density is the frequency with which something occurs. There are three types of density. 1. Arithmetic-total number of objects (people) in an area. 2. Physiologic- number of people per unit area of agriculturally productive land.

8. 3. Agricultural-the ratio of the number of farmers to the total amount of land suitable for agriculture.

9. Another component of space is concentration. Concentration is the extent of a features spread over space.

10. Concentration can be either clustered or dispersed. 1. clustered-relatively close 2. dispersed-relatively far apart

11. Space also deals with pattern. Pattern- says that some features are organized in a geometric pattern (linear, centered), while others are distributed irregularly (random).

12. Thinking about Place In thinking about place geographers identify areas of the world formed by distinctive combinations of features.

13. Place and Sense of Place Sense of place- hometown, vacation destination Place- geographers look at where (location) and features that make a place unique Geographers look at similarities, differences and changes across the Earth

14. The Spatial Organization of Human Activity Geography is a “spatial science” (place and space) Human Activities are: – 1. located in space at particular places – 2. Regular (with discernible pattern)

15. The first aspect of place is location-where something is. Location has two components: 1. Absolute location-measured by latitude and longitude. Precise location. 2. Relative location-location of a place relative to other places ( situation ).

16. Globe Longitude/ meridians – Prime meridian 0 degrees – Separates East and West – Runs south/ north direction – Length is the same for all meridians – Converge at the poles= distance between meridians decreases towards the pole

17. 90 N- North Pole 90 S – South Pole Tropic of Cancer (23.5N), tropic of Capricorn (23.5 S) 66.5 N and 66.5 S arctic circle Tropical- hot temperature, heavy rain fall and dense jungles Temperate- four seasons Polar Reason for the seasons- Earth’s tilt

19. Latitude/ parallel – Equator 0 degrees – separate north and south – runs east/west direction – distance between parallels= equidistance – length decreases towards the poles

20. Absolute and Relative Direction Absolute direction- north, south, southeast… Relative direction- “in the middle”, “west coast”, “deep south”

21. Absolute and Relative Distance Absolute distance- cm, km, miles… Relative distance- measured by time

22. Toponyms- place names. Ex. Miami mathematical location (absolute location)- described precisely by meridians and parallels( latitude and longitude)

23. Site and Situation Helps us describe a place Helps us understand its importance Helps us understand the characteristics of a place

24. site-specific characteristics of a place (physical, cultural, economic, geographic…) situation (connectivity and accessibility)- location of a place relative to other places 1. situation helps understand the relative importance of a place 2. Situation helps us understand why a place is the way it is

25. Telling time from longitude- traveling 15 degrees east is the equivalent of traveling one hour forward on the clock, and 15 degrees west is one hour backward

27. Time zones- the earth is divided into 24 standard time zones

28. The International Date Line-follows 180 degrees longitude. Traveling east you move back 24 hours. Traveling west, you turn the clock ahead 24 hours, or one day.

29. Latitudes are scientifically derived by the earth’s shape and its rotation around the sun. Zero degrees longitude runs through Greenwich, England because it was the world’s most powerful country.

30. Thinking about Regions Geographers identify areas of the world formed by distinctive combinations of features. Earth area that display some self uniformity Regions don’t have rigid, strict, static boundaries Unit of geography- helps understand spatial patterns Overlap and have hierarchical arrangement (global to local)

31. There are three types of Regions: 1.Formal Region-a uniform region, is an area within which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristics. Based on data, facts, Can be religious, political, ethnic, etc. States, countries, the corn belt, wheat belt, dairy belt

32. 2. Functional Region- a nodal region, an area organized around a node or focal point. For example Atlanta is a airline transportation hub for the southeast. Marietta is a suburb of Atlanta. Chicagoland- chicago CBD and surrounding suburbs)

33. 3. Vernacular Region- a perceptual region, a place that people believe exists as a part of their cultural identity. No geographical boundaries Usually have too many attributes to be measureable (some attributes are measurable and have been measure in these regions) Ex: “ the south”.

34. Vernacular/ Perceptual Regions Nicknames given to an area Chinatown, little Italy, the gator nation, the hood, the south, the middle east (east is relative to European views) Stereotype play a role in perceptual regions

35. Perceptual/ Vernacular historical context The rust belt (informal name used to describe a post industrial region in northeast U.S –formerly iron/steel belt) Characterized by urban decay, population loss, shrinking of industrial sector… Sun Belt1960s moving from rust belt to sunbelt

36. In thinking about why each region is distinctive geographers refer to culture

37. Culture- is the body of customary beliefs, material traits, and social forms that constitute the distinct tradition of a group of people.

38. Cultural ecology- the geographic study of human-environment relations.

39. Environmental Determinism-human actions were scientifically caused by environmental conditions. Environment sets limits on human activities The physical environment (landforms, climate) determine patterns in cultural and human/ social development

40. Possibilism- Physical environment may limit some human actions, but people can adjust to their environment. Possible to chose crops compatible with environment adopting new technology, migration, consumption of different foods We use the environment in different ways

41. Thinking About Scale Scale refers to how geographers understand how each place is unique yet at the same time similar to other places.

42. Map scale is a consistent relationship between size on the map and size in real life. Large scale- small area- a lot of detail Small scale- big area- not a lot of detail

43. Map scale is represented in 3 different ways: 1. fraction ( 1/24,000 ) 2. ratio ( 1:24,000 ) 3. written statement ( 1 inch equals 1 mile ) or graphic bar scale

44. Scale leads to Spatial Association-which says that different conclusions may be reached concerning a regions characteristics depending on scale.

45. Scale allows geographers to study global trends particularly in cultural aspects and the environment.

46. Globalization- a force or process that involves the entire world and results in making some- thing world wide in scope.

47. Globalization of Culture- Geographers observe that increasingly uniform cultural preferences produce uniform “ global “ landscapes of material artifacts and of cultural values.

48. Thinking About Connections In thinking about connections geographers explain relationships among places and regions across space.

49. Space-time compression- the reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another place.

50. Diffusion- The process by which a characteristic spreads across space.

51. Relocation diffusion-spread of an idea through physical movement of people.

52. Expansion diffusion-spread of a feature through a snowballing effect. Three types of Expansion diffusion: 1. Hierarchical-From authority downward 2.Contagious-person to person 3. Stimulus-one idea stimulates the development of other ideas. Most common with technology.

53. Distance-Decay- The farther something travels from its source the less intensity it has. Ex. Language, fashion, even religion.

54. Interrelationships Between Places The ideas of relative location and relative distance leads to a fundamental spatial reality A. Places interact with other places in structured and understandable ways through the following – A. accessibility- ability to interact with a particular location – B. connectivity- interactions between several locations – C. spatial distribution: density, dispersion, pattern

55. MAPS Mental Maps: maps of the mind – 1. helpful for understanding human behavior – 2. Culturally influenced and subjective – Can mental maps by affected by your gender? How?

56. GIS, GPS, Remote Sensing Geographical Positioning System- mathematical location and absolute directions Geographic Information System- A collection of computer hardware and software that uses multiple thematic layers Remote Sensing- A method of collecting data by instruments that are physically distant

57. MAP SCALE THE SCALE ON THE SURFACE OF THE GLOBEIS THE SAME IN EVERY DIRECTION

58. Map Projections Making a flat map of round surface All maps distort the globe grid properties – 1. planar projection (also called azimuthal) – 2. Cylindrical projection- Mercator Maps – 3. Conic projection

59. Maps Mercator- useful for navigation Robinson- gives up on all areas (minor distorting in all areas), shape near poles are flat, continents appear similar to globe. Peters- distorts shape but relative size proportion is accurate

60. General Purpose and Thematic Maps General purpose maps- simple physical information depicted Thematic maps- more complicated information depicted, such as population or educational level

61. Types of Thematic Maps Chloropleth- Dot- depicted level of occurrence Isometric- show changes in the variable being mapped by connecting lines (isolines)