Social geography

Intersectionality

Overlapping identities (race, gender, class, etc.) that shape unequal experiences of power and space

Segregation

Spatial separation of groups based on inequality and power

Place-making

The process of creating and giving meaning to places

Sense of place

Emotional and personal attachment to a place

Heteronormativity

The assumption that heterosexuality is the default and normal

Queer space

Space of safety, belonging, visibility, and resistance for queer people

Indigeneity

Relationship to land, identity, sovereignty, and ongoing colonial struggle

Adultcentrism

Prioritizing adult perspectives while marginalizing youth

Geodemographics

Grouping places by shared social and population characteristics

Spatial justice

Fair distribution of space, resources, and decision-making

David Harvey

Capitalism, inequality, social justice in cities

Jane Jacobs

Community, street life, lived urban experience

Gillian Rose

Identity, difference, othering

Sylvia Walby

Patriarchy across multiple systems

Audre Lorde

Intersectionality and overlapping power

Teresa de Lauretis

Queer theory, critique of fixed identities

Natalie Oswin

Queer space as resistance/dissident space

Petra Doan

Gendered space and trans experiences

Natchee Blu Barnd

Native Space, place-naming

Margaret Pearce

Decolonizing maps and restoring Indigenous names

Michel Foucault

Power, normalization, control in everyday space

Hopkins and Pain

Lifecourse approach

William Bunge

Adultcentrism and youth exclusion

Gould and White

Mental maps and children’s spatial understanding

Susie Weller

Teenage geographies

Gerald Hodge

Aging populations and spatial needs

Stonewall Inn (1969)

Police raid → major queer resistance and activism

Toronto Bathhouse Raids (1981)

Police raids → Canadian queer activism turning point

Civil Marriage Act (2005)

Legalized same-sex marriage in Canada

Indian Act (1876)

Colonial control; forced reserve system

Residential Schools (1870s–1996)

Forced assimilation of Indigenous children

Witness Blanket

Material memory of residential school impacts

REDress Project

Red dresses symbolize missing/murdered Indigenous women

Place-name restoration

Decolonizing space by restoring Indigenous names

Interviews

Show lived experiences and identity

Ethnography

Observing everyday spatial practices

Mental maps

How people (especially children) understand space

Remote sensing

Used to study spatial patterns (e.g., rooftop play)

Statistics

Used to analyze class, income, inequality

Single measure

One variable (e.g., income)

Ranked index

Combined variables into one score

Geodemographics (Class/Poverty)

Grouping populations by lifestyle/location

Core idea of the course

Space is not neutral; power and identity shape it

Essay backup line

Space is produced, contested, and experienced differently based on identity

Best structure

Concept → Theorist → Case → Spatial meaning