ECONOMICS: STRUCTURE,

CONCEPTS AND STRATEGIES

GEOGRAPHY: STRUCTURE,
CONCEPTS AND STRATEGIES
The Historical Geography of Hispanics in the
United States
Hispanics are becoming one of the largest ethnic groups in the
United States.
Hispanic population in the US increased from 14.6 million in 1960 to
22.35 million in 1990.
The first European to permanently settle in the Southwest were
from Spain.

1607-Santa Fe was founded by the Spanish.

1610- Santa Fe became the capitol of New Mexico.
1700- Spanish had established missions in southern Arizona.
1716- Spanish had settled in east Texas.
1769- Spanish settlers had established a string of missions
along the California coast.
1848- Treaty of Guaalupe Hidalgo was signed.
Because of Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo-Southwest became part of the US
in 1848; United States gained all the land north of the Rio Grande and
north of a horizontal line drawn one marine league south of the Port San
Diego extending to the Rio Grande at El Paso.
1850- the political power of the Hispanic population and the future
of the region had been transfered from Mexico City to Washington
D.C.
1930- the Census Bureau created a new ethnic category for Mexican.
all people who were born in Mexico and who were not White, Negro,
Native American, Chinese, or Japanese were categorized as Mexican.
Between 1900 and 1935- approximately 700,000 people Migrated to
the US from Mexico.
BRACERO PROGRAM had a major influence on Mexican migration,
it was a guest worker program that was in effect from 1942 to 1964.
1930's- Mexican's were also recruited to work in factories.
during the period of recession- Mexican in the Bracero program
were forcibly returned to Mexico.
at the end of the Korean War- the US established Operation
Wetback an return undocumented workers to Mexico.
the end of recession- the demand for labor in several
economic sectors resulted in a termination of Operation
Wetback an a return to previous levels of undocumented
Mexican workers.
1950's- Puerto Rican migration to the US increased.
- Cuban revolution occured
1982- South American, Central American and
Dominicans were lumped together in the US Census
under the category of “OTHER” Hispanics.
1990's- there were 2.7 million Puerto Ricans in the US
- Cubans along with Mexicans and Puerto Ricans
made up the largest percentage of the Hispanic
THE GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE
Geography is one of the oldest social sciences.
The term “Geography” comes from the Greek word
GEO means “EARTH” and GRAPHEIN means “TO
WRITE”.
 Geography is an integrative iscipline that brings
together the physical an human dimensions of the
world in the study of people, places and
environments.
FIVE TRADITIONS
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
(Earth Science Tradition)

The study of the surface of the earth, particularly the

arrangement an function of natural features is
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
The study includes physical features as plains,
valleys, mountains and rivers; the weather and
climate of the atmosphere (meteorology), the action
of tide, waves and currents (oceanography); an the
vegetation and animal life to the earth.
 REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY
(Area Studies Tradition)

Regional geographers study an area or region of the

earth's surface that is homogeneous in terms of specific
criteria such as location, manufacturing, land, forms,
climate, economic activity, cultural trait, or ethnic origin,
of the people.
Three types of regions are most commonly studied :
PHYSICAL REGIONS (land features are basically alike ),
CULTURAL REGIONS( some aspect of culture or level of
technology predominates), POLITICAL REGIONS
(grouped along the lines of territorial boundaries).
 CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
(Human-Land Tradition)

Cultural geographers study the relationship between

people an the environment.
sometimes called as Human Geography or Ecological
Geography.
 SPATIAL GEOGRAPHY
(Location Theory Tradition)

Spatial geography centers on the location of places

and the patterns of distribution; explain why features
such as cities, mountains,. or human populations are
arranged as they are on the earths surface, an why
there are differences in the densities, dispersions and
patterns.
Spatial geography often concentrates on developing
theories of location.
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY TRADITION

This is the study of the geographic change of a region

as it has occured over time.
Historical geographers use time as the main
dimension for studying spatial distributions and
patterns on the earth's surface.
 Doreen Massey

Doreen Massey is an internationally known human

geographer whose research focuses on space and place.
Massey and her colleagues use the term “GEOGRAPHY
MATTERS,” to call attention to the human dimension
of geography, to challenge power structures, and to
question the authority of geographical acccounts an
explanations.
In her book “Space, Place, and Gender”, Massey
bridges the divisions
between social and natural categories in geography an
PROMINENT THEORIES IN GEOGRAPHY
 LOCATION THEORY

It was derived from the related field of economics,

urban studies, and transportation studies.
Essentially, it is the study of the geography of
economic activities.
It is the study of the effects of place an space on the
organization of economic activities.
 CENTRAL PLACE THEORY

Central place theory has played a key role in studying

the locations of towns and cities in urban geography.
Christaller discovered that small villages tended to
cluster about larger towns or cties in a rather
hexagonal pattern, thus making the earlier concept of
Christaller's hexagonal trade patterns obslete.
 SPATIAL STRUCTURE THEORY

A third theory in geography that has a considerable

importance especially in urban geography, is the
spatial structure theory.
This is an outgrowth of the central place theory.
GEOGRAPHIC CONCEPTS
 LOCATION

SITE- refers to the location of a place in terms of its local internal

features and resources. This maybe the pressence oif a number of steep
hills in a town, a winding river, sheltering hillsides, or the juncture of
two main railroad lines.
SITUATION- refers to the larger concept of a site. Situation deals with
external relations of the place and its interaction with other places.
ENVIRONMENT- used to refer the totality of both site an situation.
This inclue the physical, biotic, an cultural features of landscape van
their interaction.
 SPATIAL INTERACTION

Spatial interaction refers to the relationship of one place to another

within the sorrouning space an to varying degrees of mutual
dependence that may exist between places.
CIRCULATION-refers to the patterns of movement between places.
ACCESS- deals with the easy entry into and exit from the circulation
patterns.
 URBAN SPATIAL PATTERNS
a city's economic influence extends outward, to a
wide area of the sorrounding hinterland, and greatly
affects the likelyhood of many people.
cities provide a centrally located trading place and a
ready supply of goods and services not available in
the sorrounding area.
 INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF A CITY

The transportation, commercial, an financial linkagesof

a city converge at one place to form a central trade or
business ditrict (CBD).
The change from fixed means of transportation, such as
railroads or streetcars, to more mobile cars, buses, and
trucks results in growth of new sectors of the city an the
eventual deterioration of older sectors, resulting in
slums.
When immigrant groups move into ka city, they tend to
congregate in clearly defined sections of the city inorder
 CULTURAL DIFFUSION

The movement of people with culturally ifferent traits is

facilitated by improved transportation and changes in
technology.
The interactions between an ethnically or culturally
different group an the members of other group and the
members of other groups in a community result in the
gradual movement and exchange of cultural traits from
place to place.
Geographical features of the earth such as oceans,
mountains an swamps tend to isolate certain people and
 ENVIRONMENTAL PERCEPTION

Groups of people view the environment differently,

depending on the value or worth they place on its use.
The social condition of a community will affect how
its members or visitors percieve it.
Racial or ethnic biases affect how a person feels
about or percieves a neighborhood where culturally
different people live.
GEOGRAPHY IN THE SCHOOL
Geography has been a long part of the
elementary school curriculum.
Trends in teaching geography in recent years
have reflected in an integrated social science
approach, focused around broad themes or major
social science issues.
Certain geographic topics have typically recieved
major emphasis at a particular grade level.
 NATIONAL STANDARDS IN GEOGRAPHY

National standards in geography were established in

1995 through the collaborative efforts of the
Association of American Geographers, National
Council for Geographic Education, the National
Geographic Society, and the American Geographic
Society.
 National Geography Standards
I. The World in Spatial Terms
Geography studies the relationships between people, places, and
environments by mapping information about them into a spatial
context.
Geographically informed person knows and understands:
1. How to use maps and others geographical representations,
tools and technology to acquire, process, and report information
from a spatial perspective?
2. How to use mental maps to organize information about
people, places, and environments in a spatial context?
3. How to analyzed te spatial organizationof people, places, and
II. Places and Regions
The identities and lives of individuals and peoples are
rooted in a particular places and the human contructs called
regions.
Geographically informed person knows and
understands:
4. The physical and human characteristics of places.
5. That people create regions to interpret Earth's
complexity.
6. How culture and experience influence people's
perceptions of places and regions.
III. Physical Systems
Physical processes shape Earth's surface and interact with
plant and animal life to create, sustain, and modify ecosytems.
Geographically informed person knows and understands:
7. The physical processes that shape patterns of Earth's
surface.
8. The characteristics and spatial distribution of
ecosystems on Earth's surface.
IV. Human Systems
People are central to geography in that human activities help shape
Earth's surface, human settlements and structures are part of Earth's
surface, and humans compete for control of Earth's surface.
Geographically informed person knows and understands:
9. The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations
on Earth's surface.
10. The characteristics, distriibution an complexity of Earth's culturl
mosaics.
11. The patterns and networks of economic interependence on Earth's
surface.
12. The process, patterns, and functions of human settlement.
13. How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the
division and control of Earth's surface.
V. Environment and Society
The physical environment is modified by human activities,
largely as consequence of the ways in which human societies
value and use Earth's natural resources, and human activities
are also influence by Earth's physical features an processes.
Geographically informed person knows and
understands:
14. How human activities modify the physical
environment?
15. How physical systems affects human systems?
16. The changes that occur in the meaning, use,
distribution, and importance of resources.
VI. The Uses of Geography
Knowlege of geography enables people to develop an
understanding of the relationship between people,
places, and environments overtime-that is, of Earth as it
was, is, an might be.
Geographically informed person knows and
understands:
17. How to apply geography to interpret the past?
18. How to apply geography to interpret the present and
plan for the future?
 Some persistent errors in Geography

outdated textbooks
inaccurate and misleading terms (Middle East/ Far East)
Most classroom maps are still outdated Mercator
projections that badly distort many parts of the Earth, rather
than some newer map projections via accurate photographs
made from satellite orbiting in space.
 TEACHING STRATEGIES
(GENERALIZATIONS / CONCEPTS)
 PRIMARY GRADES

The teacher begins by arousing interestwith large colorful pictures of

various geographic regions: tropical rainforest, desert, tundra, marine
climates, plains, alpine mountains.
Discussion of similarities and differences.
The teacher repeats and practices the new words with class.
The student learned the basic concept of regions.
 INTERMEDIATE GRADE

The teacher use the case study approach.

The teacher asks each student about their own ideas and the
ideas written in the books.
The case study could focus on one point in time or it could
focus on one region throughout time.
 UPPER GRADES

1. Concept Diagnosis
2. Data Collection
3. Generalizing
4. Definition of Problem
5. Proposing Solutions- Value Clarification