AP Human 1.4-1.7 Vocab

Spatial Approach

Considers the arrangement of the phenomena being studied across the surface of the earth

Space

the area between 2 or more phenomena or things

Location

identifies where specific phenomena are located

Place

refers to the specific human and physical characteristics of a location

Region

A group of places in the same area that share a characteristic

Site

the characteristics at the immediate location

Situation

the location of a place relative to its surroundings and its connectivity to other placesSense of place

Sense of Place

Related to the concept of place

toponyms

place names

time-space compression

the shrinking relative distance

Spatial Interaction

The increasing connection between places

Flow

the patterns and movement of ideas, people, products, and other phenomena

Friction of Distance

indicates when things are farther apart they tend to be less connected

Distance Decay

When things are closer together they tend to be more connected

Patterns

the general arrangement of things

Distribution

the way a phenomena is spread out over an area

Spatial Association

Matching patterns of distribution

Human Environmental Interaction

The connection and exchange between the human and natural world

Natural Resources

items that occur in the natural environment that people can use

Renewable Natural Resources

unlimited and will not be depleted based on use by people

Non-Renewable Natural Resources

Limited and can be exhausted by human uses

Sustainability

Trying to use resources now in ways that allow their use in the future while minimizing negative impacts

Land Use

The study of how land is utilized, modified, and organized by people

built environment

the physical artifacts that humans have created and that form part of the landscape

Cultural Landscape

Anything built by humans

Cultural Ecology

The study of how humans adapt to the environment

Environmental Determinism

The belief that landforms and climate are the most powerful forces shaping human behavior and societal development, ignoring culture

Possibilism

a view that acknowledges that limits on the effects of the natural environment and focuses on human culture

Geographic scale

refers to the area of the world being studied

Aggregation

when geographers organize data into different scales

Global Scale

The entire world

World Regional Scale

Multiple countries of the world

National Scale

1 country

National Regional Scale

A portion of a country

Local Scale

A province, State, City, County, or neighborhood

False Conclusion

inaccurate generalizations

Regions

has boundaries, unifying characteristics, cover space, and are created by people

Formal Regions

united by one or more traits (political, physical, cultural, economic)

Functional Regions

Regions organized around a focal point and are defined by an activity that occurs across the region

Perceptual Regions

defined by an informal sense of place that people ascribe to them (American South, Upstate New York, The middle east)

Subregions

A small area inside of a region