AP Human Geography Note Cards

Geographic Scale

The relationship of an object or place to the Earth as a whole.

Activity Space

The area wherein daily activities occur.

Place-Name (Toponym)

A name assigned to a location when human importance is recognized.

Regions

A type of place that can be categorized as formal, functional, or vernacular.

Sequent Occupancy

The concept that over time, different groups and cultural influences succeed each other in a given place.

Absolute Location

Defines a location using coordinates such as latitude and longitude.

Friction of Distance

The idea that distance inhibits interactions between two points.

Distance Decay

The principle that the farther away different places are, the less likely they are to interact.

Formal Regions

Areas defined by a common characteristic or uniformity.

Functional Regions

Areas centered around a node or focal point with a specific function.

Vernacular Regions

Regions based on the perception or mental map of the residents.

Absolute Density

The number of people per square unit of land.

Physiologic Density

The number of people per unit of arable land.

Agricultural Density

The number of farmers per unit of arable land.

Hearth

The point of origin or innovation in spatial diffusion.

Expansion Diffusion

A pattern where a phenomenon originates at a central place and expands outward.

Hierarchical Diffusion

Diffusion that originates from a first-order location and moves to subordinate locations.

Contagious Diffusion

Diffusion that begins at a point of origin and spreads outward to nearby locations.

Relocation Diffusion

The spread of ideas or innovations when people migrate.

Cultural Hearth

A localized area where a culture originates.

Cultural Synthesis (Syncretism)

The blending together of two or more cultural influences.

Site and Situation

Site refers to the physical characteristics of a place; situation refers to its relation to other places.

World City

A metropolitan area that serves as a global center for finance, trade, and commerce.

Megalopolis

The merging of multiple urbanized areas through suburban growth and expansion.

Primate City

A city that is the largest in its country, often significantly larger than the next largest city.

Gentrification

Economic reinvestment in existing real estate that can displace low-income residents.

Urban Sprawl

The spread of urban development into previously rural areas.

Deindustrialization

The decline of manufacturing industries in a particular region, leading to economic shifts.

Commodity Chain

The process from production to consumption of goods, capturing the journey of a product.