APHUG 1.3

A set of vocabulary flashcards summarizing fundamental geographic terms related to distance, spatial interaction, and urban theory.

Situation

A place’s interrelatedness with other places.

Absolute Distance

The linear space between two points measured in standard units such as miles or kilometers.

Relative Distance

How distance is perceived in terms of connectivity or time, often influenced by technology and infrastructure.

Linear Absolute Distance

Exact straight-line mileage or kilometer measurement separating two locations.

Distance Decay

The principle that interaction between two locations declines as the distance between them increases.

Tobler’s Law

Geographic rule stating that all places are related, but nearer places are more closely related than distant ones.

Friction of Distance

The inhibiting effect that longer distances have on human interaction and movement.

Space-Time Compression

The reduction in time it takes to interact across space due to advances in transportation and communication.

Human-Environmental Interaction

The reciprocal relationship in which humans affect the environment and the environment influences human activities.

Spatial Interaction

The flow of products, people, services, or information among places in response to localized supply and demand.

Central Place

Any node of human activity, typically functioning as a focal point of economic exchange.

Central Place Theory

Walter Christaller’s 1930s model explaining city locations and economic exchange patterns using nested hexagonal market areas.

Hexagonal Market Area

Geometric zones in Central Place Theory that show non-overlapping service regions fitting together without gaps.

Core–Periphery Relationship

A spatial model describing how dominant ‘core’ areas exert control over less developed ‘peripheral’ areas in cultural, economic, or political contexts.

Central Business District (CBD)

The commercial and often geographic core of an urban area, analogous to the political core if it hosts a national capital.