AP Human Geography - Unit 1

Human Geography

a branch of geography that focuses on the study of patterns and processes that shape human interaction with the built environment, with particular reference to the causes and consequences of the spatial distribution of human activity on the Earth's surface

Globalization

The act of becoming global. The spread of information, ideas, etc from one place in the world to another.

Spatial Perspective

observing variations in geographic phenomena across space

Location

The position of anything on Earth's surface.

Absolute Location

Coordinates, Address, Etc.

Relative Location

Location of a place in relation to another place or landmark. (LANDMARK)

Site

The exact location's physical spot. (think construction)

Situation

The areas around the location which contribute to the sense of the place.

Human-Environment Interactions

How people interact/change the place/location.

Place

A specific point on Earth distinguished by particular characteristics. Uniqueness of the point.

Sense of Place

What makes a place unique

Perception of Place

belief or "understanding" about a place developed through books, movies, stories or pictures

Movement

the change from one location to another

Landscape

the overall appearance of an area. Most are comprised of a combination of natural and human-induced influences.

Cultural Landscape

How a culture affects the landscape of an area/shapes the world around it.

Distortion

Inaccuracies in a map due to the translation of a 3D image to a 2D surface.

Absolute directions

relative to a fixed frame of reference and always point in the same direction, regardless of their location. Directions like north/south and east/west are examples of absolute direction.

Scale

The scope

Generally, the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole, specifically the relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on Earth's surface. (Scope of view.)

Reference Maps

Used for transportation and locating places.

Thematic Maps

Used to display data about a location.

Cartograms

Shows data in relation to size

Choropleth Maps

Shows data in relation to color/intensity/shade

Dot Maps

Each dot represents an amount of data. More dots = more of the variable

Isoline Map

Map that uses continuous lines connecting areas of same value. (Topographic Maps do this)

Parallels/Latitude

Lines measuring location on earth that wrap around, don't touch.

Meridians/Longitude

Lines measuring location and time zones (1 hr each 15 degrees) on earth that wrap around and touch at the poles.

Equator

The longest line of latitude at 0 degrees and has a constant amount of sun exposure.

census data

data about the nation's people and economy

Prime Meridian

Runs through Greenwich, England. 0 longitude. Could have been placed anywhere in the world, but was placed there.

International Date Line

An arc that for the most part follows 180° longitude, although it deviates in several places to avoid dividing land areas. When you cross it heading east (toward America), the clock moves back 24 hours, or one entire day. When you go west (toward Asia), the calendar moves ahead one day.

Mental Maps

Image or picture of the way space is organized as determined by an individual's perception, impression, and knowledge of that space

Global Positioning System

Tells you where you are on the earth.

Remote Sensing

Collecting data about Earth's surface from a satellite orbiting the planet.

Geographic Information Systems

Organizes, stores, analyzes, and displays geographic data. Each layer of information is a thematic layer.

Regions

An area or division, especially part of a country or the world having definable characteristics but not always fixed boundaries.

Formal Region

Formally recognized areas determined by a governing body. Sometimes called Uniform Region.

Functional/nodel region

A region around a central node tied by transportation and communication or by economic or functional associations

Perceptual/vernacular region

A place believed to exist as a part of cultural identity. (The South, The North, The Deep South)

Culture

Comprised of shared practices, technologies, attitudes, and behaviors transmitted by a society.

Cultural Trait

The specific customs that are part of the everyday life of a particular culture, such as language, religion, ethnicity, social institutions, and aspects of popular culture.

Absolute distance

Exact measurement of the physical space between two places

Cultural Diffusion

The spread of cultural beliefs and social activities from one group to another.

distance decay

The idea that the further something is away/more inconvenient it is, the less frequent/intense interaction with it will be.

Cultural Barriers

Prevailing cultural attitude rendering certain innovations, ideas or practices unacceptable or unadoptable in that particular culture

Expansion Diffusion

When the idea/thing being spread continues to exist in it's original location as well as spreading to new locations.

Contagious/Viral Diffusion

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

Hierarchical Diffusion

the spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places

Stimulus Diffusion

A form of diffusion in which a cultural adaptation is created as a result of the introduction of a cultural trait from another place

Relocation Diffusion

Diffusion from one place to another where the idea does not stay in the origin and moves with the people.

Distribution

Spread of some data set over a given space

Density

The amount of something in a given space.

Concentration

the frequency or occurrence of some data set

Pattern

a consistent or characteristic arrangement

Enviornmental Determinism

The belief that physical environment determines potential for societal development.

Possibilism

The theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives.

Cultural Ecology

Geographic approach that emphasizes human-environment relationships.

clustering

when objects in an area are close together

land use

Various ways humans use the land such as agricultural, industrial, residential, or recreational

local

relating to or occurring in a particular area, city, or town; located or living nearby

map projection

a way of representing the spherical Earth on a flat surface

natural resources

Materials or substances such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain

relative distance

Distance measured in terms such as cost or time which are more meaningful for the space relationship in question

relative direction

Directions such as left, right, forward, backward, up, and down based on people's perception of places

space

The physical gap or interval between two objects