1. Five Themes of Geography
Aim: How and why do the Five Themes of Geography have an impact on Human Geography?
Test: 10/19/15
Five Themes of Geography

2. What are the five themes?
Tools geographers use to study features on earth.
Location
Place
Region
Human Environment Interaction
Movement

3. Movement (Spatial Interaction) Region Human Environment interaction
aka MR. HELP
Movement (Spatial Interaction)
Region
Human Environment interaction
Location
Place
Logically the order would be LPRH(EI)M

4. 1. Location Describes where places are on Earth. Types of Location:
ABSOLUTE: exact location on earth (fixed)
Doesn’t change
Latitude/Longitude
Hemispheres
Grid System
Address
RELATIVE: compared to other places (variable)
Changes dependent upon where you’re comparing it to.
Miles
Distance
Direction

5. Examples: Rome is located at 41 N, 12 E
Absolute Location
Examples:
Rome is located at 41 N, 12 E
Argentina is located in the southern hemisphere.
THHS is located at Melbourne Ave.

7. Problems ? Examples: Relative Location
Rome is located near the Mediterranean Sea.
Argentina is near Brazil.
Ecuador is south of Mexico.
New York is located in the North East
Problems ?

8. Site vs Situation
Great Situation
Lousy Site

11. 2. Place Physical characteristics Cultural characteristics
A place is defined by it’s unique characteristics.
Physical characteristics
Cultural characteristics

12. Physical Characteristics
Specific to THAT place, not generic.
The way a place looks.
Created by nature.
Mountains
Rivers, Lakes, Seas
Climate
Vegetation
Examples:
Andes Mountains are in South America.
Amazon River flows through Brazil.
Pampas are located in Argentina.
The Panamanian Isthmus connects Central & South America.

13. Cultural Characteristics
Specific to THAT place, not generic.
Peoples activities change the way a place looks or is represented.
Man-made or invented.
Language
Unique buildings
Religious Practices
Celebrations/traditions/holidays
Examples:
Portuguese is the official language of Brazil.
Many Mexicans are Catholic.
Mayan ruins are located in Mexico.
Cinco de Mayo is a national holiday in Mexico.

14. Cultural Characteristics Exercise
“Name that Place!”
Think of a place. State, act out some cultural characteristics that you think are associated with the particular place in mind. No negative stereotypes please!!!

15. Five Themes of Geography
Aim: How and why do the Five Themes of Geography have an impact on Human Geography?
Five Themes of Geography

16. 3. Region
The world is divided into different regions based upon similarities & differences.
Climate
Location
Beliefs
Languages
Ethnicity
Race
Types:
Formal
Functional
Perceptual (Vernacular Region)

17. Formal Region Most common/familiar.
Determined by the distribution of a uniform characteristic (physical or cultural) i.e.: homogenous characteristic
Location
Climate
Religion
Examples
Central America (Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama)
Latin America

18. Formal region e.G.: linguistic region

19. Formal region
Political region
Cultural Region

20. Cultural, Linguistic, and Political Region

21. Linguistic and Cultural (Religious) Regions

22. Formal region environmental region
Bioregion (biome)
Ecotone E.g.: The Sahel
Bioregion (biome)
Ecotone = transitionary region between two biomes. Note Human Geography words.

23. Core (heartland), Core periphery and Border Zones

24. What mall do you associate with? Or are you…
Functional Region
Serves a purpose that affects places around it.
Distributes goods/people
Serves specific purpose
Examples:
Panama Canal
Hollywood
Havana, Cuba
Any market town and even a mall.
What mall do you associate with? Or are you…
The area a mall serves / influences is NOT formal. However, it’s influence does exist… hence functional.

25. What mall?

26. Nodal points can be part of multiple regions
Nodal points can be part of multiple regions. However, they apply best to functional regions.
Node (nodal Point)

27. Distance Decay within a functional region
Applicable to many aspects of Human Geography.
Distance Decay within a functional region

28. Core periphery and Border Zones

29. Perceptual Region (vernacular region)
What’s the difference between vernacular and linguistic?
Groups of areas that provoke a certain stereotype or feeling.
Examples:
The Bronx (Da Bronx)
The “ghetto” as opposed to the Ghetto*
China Town
The Midwest
“The Valley”
The Ghetto was a formal region whereas the ghetto is a perceptual region. How so?
see next slide
BTW, any idea as to why perceptual regions are frequently referred to as vernacular regions?

30. What and where is this?

31. Exercise Where is the Midwest?
Identify the Perceptual Region by naming states that you think are part of the Midwest.
How do you complete the process of identifying the Midwest?

32. Mental maps invariably map Perceptual Regions… Get it? Thinking.

35. What type of Region is the “Corn Belt”?

38. AIM: twe does Human Environment Interaction have an impact on the world?

39. 4. Human Environment Interaction
The environment & people are interconnected.
Consequences to those actions depend upon how people choose to interact with the world and use their resources.
Positive/Negative
Intentional/Accidental
Favorable/Destructive

40. HEI Current Environmental Issues: Climate Change (global warming)
Energy Resources
Water Conservation
Deforestation

45. AIM: twe does movement have an impact on the world?

46. 5. Movement Places do not exist in isolation. Examples:
Interconnectedness of the world changes the way places “look.”
Today: “globalization”
People, goods & ideas move from place to place.
Examples:
Immigration from anywhere E.g.: Latin America to USA.
War in Iraq and Syria (troops, supplies, ideas, people)
Internet E.g.: Facebook (ideas), Twitter, Youtube
Rapid Transportation

47. Sat in my living room in New Rochelle, NY, USA and watched Springboks vs. All Blacks in South Africa on a Japanese television station in Japanese and English using a service provided by a company located in Luxembourg, Europe.
PTO

48. BTW, what type of map?

49. To what extent is “[geographic] movement” a real or perceived threat to various cultures and countries around the world?

50. Get it?

51. Get it?

54. Harvard University Professor Samuel Huntington
“…The fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. Nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs, but the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of different civilizations. The clash of civilizations will dominate global politics.” (Huntington, 1993)
Harvard University Professor Samuel Huntington

55. “Jihad vs. McWorld.” Benjamin Barber Aka
“Traditional values” vs. Globalization.

57. Problem: they increasingly have to interact.
Country B
Country A
Democracy
All people have same legal rights
Freedom of speech
Freedom of religion
18 or older to marry
Polygamy illegal
Same sex marriage legal
Universal healthcare
Alcohol legal
All gambling legal
Prostitution legal
Medical marijuana & decriminalization
Problem: they increasingly have to interact.

58. Country B Other / Similar Issues: Happy Valentine’s Religious Police
Male guardianship
Child Marriage
Rape laws
Alcohol
Religious Conversion
Homosexuality
Democracy
Slavery (1962, UAE, 1963, Oman, 1970)
Fruits and Vegetables
Happy Valentine’s
Social Mixing
The Movies
Music School
Bacon!
Gyms for Girls
Every Other God
Women At Work
Roaming Women
Women Behind the Wheel

59. Malala just made the ‘Most Influential Teens’ list… but so did Kendall and Kylie Jenner

60. Hong Kong 2014…. Ironic ‘eh?

61. Movement (Spatial Interaction)
aka MR. HELP
Movement (Spatial Interaction)
Region (Formal, Functional, & Perceptual)
Human Environment interaction
Location (Absolute & Relative)
Place (Site & Situation)
Logically the order would be LPRH(EI)M

62. Fin