Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chapter 1 - Major Geographic Concepts
Chapter 1 - Major Geographic Concepts
Geographic Patterns
Spatial arrangement of a given phenomenon.
Political Boundaries
Infrastructure
Ethnic Distribution
Population
Agriculture
Urbanization
Cultural Differences
Processes
The actions that bring about
particular patterns.
Processes necessarily have a
temporal component, i.e. they occur
over time.
In human geography, processes
tend to be probabilistic rather than
deterministic.
May be multivariate and
multiscalar.
Urban Growth
The growth of Lawrence:
Changes in Migration
Environmental Changes
Absolute Location
Relative Location
Ghetto
Suburbs
Space:
A (usually) two-dimensional area that acts as a "container" for
a given phenomenon, activity, action, pattern, or process.
Spaces often encompass large areas, but can exist at any
scale. Spaces can be clearly bounded and/or demarcated, or
their boundaries can be only vaguely defined.
Spaces of Commerce
Sacred Spaces
Spaces of Learning/Education
Green Spaces
Scale
In geography, scale refers to the spatial extent to which we
chose to focus our presentation, discussion and/or analysis of a
given phenomenon, pattern, process, activity, or action.
When using a map, scale refers to the ratio of the distance on
the map to that which it represents in the real world.
1:100,000 1 inch on the map = 100,000 inches in the real world
Small scale:
Large area but with
little detail
Large scale:
Small area but with
lots of detail
National Scale
Global Scale
Kansas:
Douglas County:
Keep in mind that, like space and place, scales are not discrete or mutually
exclusive. They can be overlapping or interconnected. They do not need to be
formal territories either; scale is merely a tool used to focus our inquiry on a
specific geographic location or area.
This map
doesn't
really tell us
anything
useful...
Choropleth Maps
Show the quantity or type of phenomena by territory or region
usually by coloring each with a different color or pattern to
represent different values in order to reveal broader spatial
patterns.
Countries' GDP per capita
Isoline Maps
Flow Maps
Show the direction and volume of movement of people, goods,
money, etc. between different locations
Distance
In simple terms, it is an expression of the space between
different objects and the time it takes to travel between them,
but there are different ways of conceiving of distance:
Absolute or Euclidean Distance: The actual geometric length
of a straight line drawn between two objects ("as the crow
flies").
Travel Distance: The length of the route that must actually be
traveled between two objects. Depends upon physical
geography, transportation technology, and infrastructure. The
amount of time needed to travel between two objects is known
as the friction of distance.
Cognitive Distance: Distance as it is perceived by subjective
observers. It is influenced by a person's own knowledge,
experience, and perspective.
Distance Decay
Regions
Regions are a way of subdividing space into categorizable
geographic units. Regions characterize broad spaces that
share some common characteristic or attribute, or which are
connected by a certain process, theme, or perception. As with
space, place, and scale, they may be overlapping and
interconnected.
Formal Regions
Regions that consist of spaces and places that share one or
more commonly recognized and often institutionalized attribute,
whether it is defined historically, politically, agriculturally,
linguistically, culturally, etc. These regions may often have some
sort of functional meaning, such as political cohesion or internal
cooperation.
"Corn Belt"
"Wheatbelt"
"Cotton Belt"
Functional Regions
Regions constructed out of places that interact, or are
connected through processes and human activity.
This diagram shows
the space and all the
places within which
an individually might
perform their normal
tasks and activities
on a regular basis,
and how they are
connected to each
other to form a
functional region of
those activities.
Vernacular Regions
Informal regions that people construct in their own mind or that
societies construct within their common imagination. Because
they are generally not formalized, their boundaries can be very
ambiguous and contentious.
The South is a wellrecognized vernacular region
in the US, as there are certain
historical and cultural qualities
that distinguish it from the rest
of the country. However, there
is no consensus on which
states truly belong in the
South. Depending on whose
perspective you take, there
are many states which may or
may not be included.
Landscape
Those that we encounter on a regular basis and reflect certain aspects of our
daily experiences. These landscapes help us understand the culture and ways
of life of the people who inhabit them.
Iconic Landscapes
Interior Landscapes
Those that occur within buildings, homes, or other structures. They too can
reveal important things about a society or culture.