Populations, Cities, and Development Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards generated from the Human Geography lecture notes on Populations, Cities, and Development.

Environment & Society

The study of the complex and reciprocal relationships between people (societies) and their natural, built, and socio-economic environments.

Geography

The study of patterns and processes on the earth's surface, derived from Geo (Earth) and Graphe (To write about).

Physical Geography

The study of patterns and processes of the physical world and physical environments, such as landforms, climate, hydrology, geology, and ecology.

Human Geography

One of two branches of geography; the study of patterns and processes of the earth’s human or social environments, including population change, economies, cultures, politics, settlements, and human interactions with the natural environment.

Uneven Development

The nature and causes of global inequalities in economic and social development.

Space

The areal extent of something; a measure of the amount of the earth's surface something occupies.

Absolute Space

Objective, physically real space with measurable extent and definable boundaries, key for map-making, description, and analysis of spatial distributions.

Relative Space

Subjective (perceptual) space that is variable over time.

Spatial

Refers to space on the earth’s surface; synonymous with geographic.

Location

Refers to a particular position in space; a specific part of the earth’s surface.

Toponym

The common name given to a location; a place name.

Place

A location that has acquired particular individual or collective meaning or significance.

Sense of Place

Feelings evoked by, or deep attachments to specific locations (places) such as home, that result from the experiences individuals associate with the location.

Sacred Place

A location with particular significance to an individual or a group, usually (but not necessarily) for religious reasons.

Placelessness

The nature of locations that lack uniqueness or individual character; used for homogenous and standardized landscapes.

Region

A part of the earth's surface that displays internal homogeneity and is relatively distinct from surrounding areas according to certain criteria; a contiguous spatial unit.

Regionalization

The process of classifying locations or areas of the earth's surface into various regions through the generalization of data.

Landscape

The characteristics or overall appearance of a particular area or location, comprising a combination of natural and human influences.

Cultural Landscape

The characteristics or overall appearance of a particular location resulting from human modification of the natural environment.

Distance

A measure of the amount of space between two or more locations.

Perception

The process by which humans acquire information about physical and social environments; a way of interpreting one's lived experience.

Distribution

The spatial arrangement of geographical phenomena.

Density

A measure of the relationship between the number of geographic phenomena and a unit of area; typically expressed as a ratio.

Concentration

The spread of geographic phenomena over a given area, which can be clustered (agglomerated) or dispersed (deagglomerated).

Pattern

The geometric, regular, or other (e.g., random) spatial arrangement of geographic phenomena in a given area.

Diffusion

The process of geographic phenomena spreading over space and through time.

Cultural Diffusion

The process of cultural phenomena (e.g., ideas, innovations, trends, languages) spreading over space and through time.

Relocation Diffusion

One of two basic forms of diffusion, in which the geographic phenomena are physically moved from one area to another, such as through immigration or trade.

Expansion Diffusion

One of two basic forms of diffusion in which geographic phenomena spread from one area to another through an additive process.

Contagious Diffusion

A subtype of expansion diffusion where geographic phenomena spread rapidly throughout an area.

Hierarchical Diffusion

A subtype of expansion diffusion where geographic phenomena spread first to key people or places and then gradually throughout the rest of a population or area.

Spatial Interaction

The nature and extent of the relationship or linkages between locations; related to the distances between locations and the physical and intangible connections between them.

Distance Decay

The effects of distance on spatial interaction; generally, the intensity of interaction diminishes with increasing distance.

Friction of Distance

A measure of the restraining effect of distance on human interaction and movement; generally, greater time and cost are incurred with increasing distance.

Accessibility

A variable quality of a location, expressing the opportunity for interaction with other locations.

Connectivity

The direct and indirect linkages between two or more locations, which can be tangible (e.g., highways) or intangible (e.g., immigrants).

Latitude

Angular distance of a point on the surface of the earth, measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds, north and south of the equator.

Longitude

Angular distance of a point on the earth’s surface, measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds, east and west of the prime meridian.

Time Zone

A region of the earth that observes a uniform standard time.

Projection

A process to transform the spherical earth’s surface onto a two-dimensional map; a process to transfer locations from the earth’s surface onto a flat map.

Reference Maps

Maps portraying the absolute locations of places and geographic phenomena using a standard frame of reference such as the global grid.

Thematic Maps

An analytical tool used to illustrate and emphasize the spatial variation of a particular theme or attribute.

Choropleth Maps

Maps that use colour or shading to indicate the intensity of geographic phenomena in a given area.

Isopleth Maps

Maps that use lines to connect locations of equal value with respect to a geographic phenomenon.

Cartograms

Maps where the size and shape of spatial areas are intentionally distorted and replaced by the relative magnitude of the geographic phenomena.

Geographic Information System

A system of computer hardware and software that facilitates the collection, storage, analysis, and display of spatially referenced data through layered maps.

Development

A process that brings about change in economic prosperity and quality of life, improvements in life’s material conditions; measured traditionally by economic criteria, but increasingly in more holistic ways.

More Developed World

Group of countries including Canada, the United States, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, that are characterized by a high standard of living and social well-being.

Less Developed World

A large group of countries characterized by low standards of living and social well-being.

Colonialism

Forceful appropriation of foreign territory; usually established and maintained through military and political structures; creates unequal cultural and economic relations; usually involves displacement of indigenous populations.

Modernization Theory

A theory questioning how newly independent countries would survive economically, assuming countries advance through 5 stages of development: Traditional, Pre-Conditions for Take-Off, Take Off, Drive to Maturity, and High Mass Consumption.

Dependence

In political contexts, a relationship in which one state (or people) is dependent on, and therefore dominated by, another state.

Dependency Theory

A theory that connects disparities in levels of development to the relationship between dependent and dominant states.

World Systems Theory

A set of ideas centred around the notion that the world is an interdependent system of countries linked together by an economic and political competition that shapes relations between core, semi-peripheral, and peripheral countries.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

A monetary measure of the market value of all goods and services produced within a country over a given period.

Gross National Income (GNI)

A monetary measure of the market value of goods and services produced within a country, plus income from investments abroad, over a given period.

Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)

A tool that measures the relative cost of a common market basket of goods and services for comparing cost of living between countries.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A numerical measure of how well basic human needs are being met; a composite index incorporating health (life expectancy), education (years of schooling), and income (gross national income per capita), ranging theoretically from $0$ to $1.0$.

Green Revolution

The 20th century introduction of new technologies (including mechanization, fertilizers, pesticides, new crop strains, and more intensive land use) that dramatically increased agricultural production.

Undernutrition

A dietary condition in which an individual consumes a quantity of food insufficient to sustain normal and healthy life; sometimes referred to as undernourishment.

Malnutrition

An umbrella category of dietary conditions, including undernutrition and overnutrition, in which an individual’s dietary needs are not being met, through too little food, too much food, or the wrong balance of foods.

Aid

Resources (e.g., capital, materials or labour) that are given by one country (or organization) to another to assist in times of crisis or to support development.

Development Aid

Medium- or long-term strategic investments (loans) or grants (cash) given by governments or other agencies to support the economic, social, and political development of countries or regions.

Humanitarian Aid

Typically, a short-term response to a crisis (e.g., drought, war, epidemic or natural disaster) that takes the form of material (e.g., food, medicine, shelter) and logistical support.

Official Development Assistance

The official form of assistance provided by member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) to promote economic development and welfare in less developed countries.

Remittances

A transfer of money from private savings, earnings, etc., by a foreign worker to an individual or family in their home country.

Governance

Consists of the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised, including government selection, formulation and implementation of policies, and respect for governing institutions.

World Governance Indicators

A set of indicators assessing the quality of governance in a country, including accountability, stability, effectiveness, regulatory controls, rule of law, and control of corruption.

Sustainable Development Goals

The Global Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as part of The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to build on the achievements of the MDGs.