APHG HUGE REVIEW

absolute location

The exact position of an object or place, measured within the spatial coordinates of a grid system.

cartography

science or art of making maps

cultural landscapes

The products of complex interactions between humans and their environments.

distortion

a change in the shape, size, or position of a place when it is shown on a map

environmental geography

The intersection between human and physical geography, which explores the spatial impacts humans have on the physical environment and vice versa.

formal regions

Also called uniform regions, an area that has striking similarities in terms of one or a few physical or cultural features.

functional (nodal) regions

areas organized around cores, or nodes

GIS

Geographic Information System; a computer system that captures, stores, analyzes, and displays data.

globalization

Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope.

GPS

Global Positioning System; uses a system of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers to determine precise absolute locations on earth.

grid pattern

Also called a rectilinear pattern, reflects a rectangular system of land survey adopted in much of the country under the Ordinance of 1785. Streets form grids and are sometimes labeled "1st", "2nd", "3rd" streets and so on.

Mercator projection

a map projection of the earth onto a cylinder

perceptual (vernacular) regions

places that people believe to exist as a part of their cultural identity

periphery

the outer boundary of a region; Countries that usually have low levels of economic productivity, low per capita incomes, and generally low standards of living. The world economic periphery includes Africa (except for South Africa), parts of South America, and Asia.

Peters Projection

An equal-area projection purposely centered on Africa in an attempt to treat all regions of Earth equally.

place

A specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular character.

physical site characteristic

A location that includes climate, topography, soil, water sources, vegetation, and elevation.

regionalization

the organization of earth's surface into distinct areas that are viewed as different from other areas

Robinson projection

Projection that attempts to balance several possible projection errors. It does not maintain completely accurate area, shape, distance, or direction, but it minimizes errors in each.

Carl Sauer

early 20th century geographer from California, shaped the field of Human Geography by arguing that cultural landscapes (products of interactions between humans and their environments) should be the main focus of geographic study. His study is basic to environmental geography, a field that centers on the interaction of human and physical geography.

scale

The ratio between the size of an area on a map and the actual size of that same area on the earth's surface.

site

the physical and human-transformed characteristics of a place

situation

characteristic that refers to relative location

space

the physical gap or distance between two objects

space time compression

the reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place, as a result of improved communications and transportation systems

spatial perspective

observing variations in geographic phenomena across space

topography

A description of surface features of land.

toponym

Place names given to certain features on the land such as settlements, terrain features, and streams.

"why of where"

Critical to geographers, the explanations for why a spatial pattern occurs

activity space

The space within which daily activity occurs.

agricultural revolution

The time when human beings first domesticated plants and animals and no longer relied entirely on hunting and gathering

arable land

land suitable for growing crops

arithmetic growth

population growth where population increases by the same amount over each time interval

arithmetic population density

The population of a country or region expressed as an average per unit area. The figure is derived by dividing the population of the areal unit by the number of square kilometers or miles that make up the unit

carrying capacity

Largest number of individuals of a population that a environment can support

chain migration

migration of people to a specific location because relatives or members of the same nationality previously migrated there

crude birth rate

The number of live births per year per 1,000 people.

crude death rate

The number of deaths per year per 1,000 people.

demographic momentum

this is the tendency for growing population to continue growing after a fertility decline because of their young age distribution. This is important because once this happens a country moves to a different stage in the demographic transition model.

demographic transition theory

Multistage model, based on Western Europe's experience, of changes in population growth exhibited by countries undergoing industrialization. High birth rates and death rates are followed by plunging death rates, producing a huge net population gain; this is followed by the convergence of birth rates and death rates at a low overall level

demography

Scientific study of human populations.

population density

A measurement of the number of persons per unit land area.

distance decay

the effects of distance on interaction, generally the greater the distance the less interaction

dot maps

Maps where one dot represents a certain number of a phenomenon, such as a population

doubling rate

The length of time needed to double the population

emigration

Migration from a location (Exit migration)

endemic

Native or confined to a particular region or people

epidemiologic transition

The shift from high death rates to low death rates in a population as a result of modern medical and sanitary developments. Also called the "mortality revolution"

ethnicity

Identity with a group of people that share distinct physical and mental traits as a product of common heredity and cultural traditions.

forced migration

Human migration flows in which the movers have no choice but to relocate.

gravity model

A mathematical formula that describes the level of interaction between two places, based on the size of their populations and their distance from each other.

immigration

Movement of individuals into a population (In migration)

Industrial Revolution

A series of improvements in industrial technology that transformed the process of manufacturing goods.

infant mortality rate

The percentage of children who die before their first birthday within a particular area or country.

in-migration

the total number of immigrants who arrive in a country in a given time period

internal migration

Permanent Movement within a particular country.

inter-regional migration

Permanent movement from one region of a country to another

intervening obstacles

Any forces or factors that may limit human migration.

intervening opportunity

the presence of a nearer opportunity that greatly diminishes the attractiveness of sites farther away.

intra-regional migration

Permanent movement within one region of a country.

life expectancy

A figure indicating how long, on average, a person may be expected to live

Thomas Malthus

Eighteenth-century English intellectual who warned that population growth threatened future generations because, in his view, population growth would always outstrip increases in agricultural production.

migration

Form of relocation diffusion involving permanent move to a new location.

Natural Increase Rate (NIR)

Population growth measured as the excess of live births over deaths. Natural increase of a does not reflect either emigrant or immigrant movements.

neo-Malthusians

group who built on Malthus' theory and suggested that people wouldn't just starve for lack of food, but would have wars about food and other scarce resources

net-migration rate

Difference between immigrants and emmigrants per 1,000 people

one child policy

A policy implemented by the Chinese government as a method of controlling the population.

out-migration

the total number of immigrants who leave a country in a given time period

overpopulation

The number of people in an area exceeds the capacity of the environment to support life at a decent standard of living.

pandemic

Disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects a very high proportion of the population.

physiological population density

The number of people per unit of area of arable land, which is land suitable for agriculture

population concentrations

Areas of the world with large population density.

population pyramid

A model used in population geography to show the age and sex distribution of a particular population.

pull factors

Factors that induce people to move to a new location. Also called "centripetal factors"

push factors

Incentives for potential migrants to leave a place, such as a harsh climate, economic recession, or political turmoil. Also called "centrifugal factors"

Ernst Ravenstein

Created the laws of migration that state that most migrants move a short distance, move to an urban area, are adults, take the process in steps, and create a migration in the opposite direction

refugees

People who are forced to migrate from their home country and cannot return for fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political opinion.

restrictive population policies

laws which discourage or punish people for having large families. (anti-natal policies)

spatial interaction

the movement of peoples, ideas, and commodities between different places

step migration

Migration to a distant destination that occurs in stages, for example, from farm to nearby village and later to a town and city

sustainability

The ability to keep in existence or maintain. A sustainable ecosystem is one that can be maintained

total fertility rate

The average number of children born to a woman during her childbearing years.

voluntary migration

movement in which people relocate in response to perceived opportunity; not forced.

zero population growth

a condition in which the population of a country does not grow but remains stable. This condition comes about when the birth rate plus immigration equals the death rate plus emigration.

acculturation

(n.) the modification of the social patterns, traits, or structures of one group or society by contact with those of another; the resultant blend

animism

Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life.

assimilation

Adopting the traits of another culture. Often happens over time when one immigrates into a new country.

Buddhism

A religion founded in India by Siddhartha Gautama which teaches that the most important thing in life is to reach peace by ending suffering.

Confucianism

A philosophy that adheres to the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. It shows the way to ensure a stable government and an orderly society in the present world and stresses a moral code of conduct.

contagious diffusion

The spread of a disease, an innovation, or cultural traits through direct contact with another person or another place.

creole

a language that began as a pidgin language but was later adopted as the mother tongue by a people in a place of the mother tongue

cultural determinism

the belief that the culture in which we are raised determines who we are at emotional and behavioral levels. This supports the theory that environmental influences dominate who we are instead of biologically inherited traits.

cultural diffusion

The expansion and adoption of a cultural element, from its place of origin to a wider area.

cultural hearths

the areas where civilizations first began that radiated the customs, innovations, and ideologies that culturally transformed the world

cultural landscape

the visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape.

cultural transmission

the process by which one generation passes culture to the next

culture complex

a unique combination of culture traits for a particular culture group

culture region

a portion of the earth's surface occupied by populations sharing recognizable and distinctive cultural characteristics

culture system

sharing enough cultural traits and complexes to be recognized as a distinctive cultural entity

culture trait

A single element of normal practice in a culture, such as the wearing of a turban