Intro to Human Geography
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Transcript of Intro to Human Geography
Geographic Questions:
• Where are things located?
• Why?
• How are places related?
• How are places inter-connected?
• How are humans affected by these locations?
“THE WHY OF WHERE!!!”
Definition of Geography• scientific and systematic study physical &
cultural features of the earth’s surface.
• spatial perspective looking at patterns and distributions
• Invented by Greek scholar: Eratosthenes
-Geo – “Earth”
-graphy – “to write”
• Human (or Cultural) Geography: study of the spatial differentiation and organization of human activity on the earth’s surface.
• how we organize space and society
• where & why human activities are located
THE REGIONAL APPROACH
• Regional (Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia)
Latin America
Sub-Saharan AfricaSoutheast
Asia
Location
Location-position on the earth’s surface
Absolute Location: latitude and longitude; street address
Relative Location: a way of expressing a location in relation to another site
Site & Situation
Site-the physical character of a place
Situation– the location of a place relative to other places
Fig. 1-7: Singapore is situated at a key location for international trade.
PlacePlace: physical location with physical & cultural attributes
sense of place: infusing a place with meaning and emotion.
Where Pennsylvanian students prefer to live
Where Californian students prefer to live
Perception of Place
The Cultural Landscape • visible expression of human activity
• natural landscape modified by human activities
• Can also be called the “Built Environment”
Religion and cremation practices diffuse with Hindu
migrants from India to Kenya.
Sequent OccupanceDar es Salaam, Tanzania: African, Arab, German, British, and Indian layers to the city
Apartment in Mumbai, India Apartment in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Spatial analysis: the study of geographic
phenomena on the earth’s surface
- how are things organized on Earth?
- how do they appear on the landscape?
- Why of where? and so what?
Distance Decay
•interaction between places diminishes frequency as distance between them increases
closer = more interaction
Connectivity
•Level of interaction
•channels of communication & transportation
Ex: Telephone Lines, streets, pipelines, radio, TV, internet
Diffusion
- Dissemination or spread of an idea or innovation from its hearth to other areas
What prevents diffusion?- time-distance decay- cultural barriers
1. Expansion Diffusion: spreads outward from the heart
a. Contagious – spreads adjacently
b. Hierarchical – spreads to linked people or places first
c. Stimulus – foreign idea promotes a local change
Stimulus
Diffusion
Ex:
Because Hindus believe cows are holy, cows often roam the streets in villages and towns. The McDonalds restaurants in India feature veggie burgers.
2. Relocation Diffusion: permanent movement of individuals who carry an idea or innovation with them
Kenya
Paris, France
Dispersion
•Spread of a phenomenon over an area
•How spread out?
1. Clustered (Agglomerated) = spatially close together
2. Dispersed (Scattered) = spread out
Pattern
•The geometric arrangement of objects in space
•Types of Patterns:
Linear, Clustered, & Random
Clustered Pattern
•typically involve items concentrated around a single node
•Ex: Center City with surrounding suburbs
Types of Regions
1. Formal (Uniform) region: defined by a commonality, typically a cultural linkage or physical characteristic
Ex: German speaking region of Europe
2. Functional (Nodal) region: defined by a set of social, political, or economic activities or interactions
Ex: an urban area, magazine circulation, radio station, downtown CBD
3. Perceptual (Vernacular) Region: ideas in our minds that define an area of “sameness” or “connectedness.”
Exs:
the Souththe Mid-Atlantic
the Middle EastChinatown
Little Italy
The meanings of regions are often contested. In Montgomery, Alabama, streets named after Confederate
President Jefferson Davis and Civil Rights leader Rosa Parks intersect.
1. Globe Grid: based upon latitude-longitude coordinates
latitude lines (parallels) – decrease in length closer to poles
longitude lines (meridians) – converge at the poles
* scale on Earth’s surface is same everywhere
2. Map Projections: making a flat map of a round surface
* All maps distort the globe grid properties
World Geographic Grid
The world geographic grid consists of meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude. The prime meridian (0º) passes through Greenwich, England
Two Types of Maps:
Reference Maps
- Show locations- Geographic
features- Absolute locations
Ex: street maps
Thematic Maps
- “Tells a story”- Data attributes- Pattern, distribution,
movement- Relative
locations/features
Thematic Maps • Thematic Maps: a map depicting a
specific spatial distribution or statistical variation of abstract objects in space
TYPES:
Graduated Circle
Dot-Distribution
Isopleth (isolines: weather, topographic maps)
Choropleth (by region: county, state)
Graduated Circle Map
• Uses circles of different sizes to show the frequency of occurrence of a certain topic
Isopleth Map
• Calculation refers to an areal statistic
• The isoline connects average values per unit
Which is the small-scale map?
City of Edmonton
Neighborhood in Edmonton
Small scale: more area, less detailLarge scale: less area, more detail
Activity Spaces: the places we travel to routinely in our rounds of daily activity.
– How are activity spaces and mental maps related?
Geographic Information System
(GIS):
a collection of computer
hardware and software that permits storage
and analysis of layers
of spatial data.
Remote Sensing: a method of collecting data by instruments that are physically distant from the area of study.
Scale- local- regional- national- global
What is occurring across scales provides context for us to understand a phenomenon.
Measuring Spatial Interaction
i. Distance Decay (“the friction of distance”)
ii. The Gravity Model
(size & distance affect interaction)
iii. Movement Biases (distance, direction, & network bias)
distance decay: the decline of activity with increasing distance from the point of origin
• inverse-square relationship (j-curve)
voluntary migration: people have a choice to move or stay
reluctant migration: less than fully voluntary, but not forced
forced migration: imposed relocation by one group over another causing “refugees”
Refugee Exs.: - any economic migrantany economic migrant- 75 million people from Europe to
Americas (1835-1935)- Indonesia: resettlement from
overcrowded Java
E. Ravenstein’s “Laws of Migration”
1. short distance
2. step by step
3. rural to urban
4. each flow produces a counter flow
5. Most international migrants are young males
D. Migration Patterns
Step migration: smaller, less extreme moves
Ex.: farm to village—to small town—to major city
Chain migration: an established linkage or chain for future migrants (creates a “migration field”)
– Migrants provide information, money, place to stay, a job for other family/friends