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What is spatial pattern?
An analytical tool to measure the distance between two or more physical locations or items
What are different kinds of spatial pattern?
Clustered (things in an area are clumped in one big group)
Peripheral (things in a group form a loose shape)
Grid (things in a group are organized in neat rows
Linear (things in a group are in one straight line)
Radial (things in a group are connected at one center point)
Scattered (things in a group are randomly dispersed in an area)
What is the scale of analysis?
The relative size of the map or lens we choose to observe geographical phenomena
What are the kinds of scale of analysis? Examples?
Global (data taken from the entire world)
Regional (data taken from different regions in the world)
National (data taken from an entire country)
Sub-national (data taken from sections of a country like states or provinces)
Local (data taken from small places inside a country, like counties)
What does MR. HELP stand for?
Movement — relocation in response to a perceived opportunity
Region — any area differentiated from surrounding areas by at least one characteristic
Human-Environment — the effect that humans have on their environment and the effect that the environment has on humans
Location — the position of something on earth’s surface
Place — a specific point on earth with human and physical characteristics that distinguish it from other places
What are the three kinds of regions?
Formal or uniform
Functional or nodal
Vernacular
What is a formal (or uniform) region?
A formal region is an area where everyone shares one or more distinctive characteristics; could be a language, production of a particular font, or an environmental property like the climate
What is a functional (or nodal) region?
A functional region is an area that is organized around a node or focal point; often used to display information about economic areas; a shop could be a region’s node
What is a vernacular (or perpetual) region?
A vernacular region is an area that people believes exists as part of their cultural identity; they come about from a person’s informal sense of place rather than actual geographic models; an example would be the American South
What is environmental determinism?
Nineteenth century German geographers Alexander von Humboldt and Carl Ritter believed that human geographers should apply laws from the natural sciences to understanding relationships between the physical environment and human actions
What is environmental possibilism?
The physical environment may limit some human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to their environment
What is the cultural landscape?
The fashioning of a natural landscape by a cultural group
What are examples of the cultural landscape?
The Netherlands creating polders and dikes to drain the land and keep the North Sea from flooding onto it
US Army Corps of Egineers building a levee around Lake Okeechobee (South Florida) to drain the lake so there would be more farming area; this would lead to consequences for the environment like polluting the water
What is diffusion?
The process by which a characteristic spreads across space from one place to another over time
What are the kinds of diffusion?
Relocation
Expansion
Hierarchical
Contagious
Stimulus
What is relocation diffusion?
The spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another
Migration (immigration and emigration)
Christianity spread when people brought it to new places
What is expansion diffusion?
The spread or trend among people from one area to another in an additive process
Islam has spread throughout the world, but is strongest in the Middle East, which is where it was created
What is hierarchical diffusion?
The spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places
High-end fashion trends often start in global fashion capitals like Paris and Milan, then spread to smaller cities and towns
What is contagious diffusion?
The rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population
The spread of the internet or the spread of diseases
What is stimulus diffusion?
The spread of an underlying principle even though a specific characteristic is rejected
McDonald’s spread throughout the world, but when it got to India, chicken was used in the burgers instead of beef
GIS
Geographic Information System
A computer system that stores organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data
Used to create maps and are a lot more accurate than hand-drawn ones
Information can be stored in different layers, which can then be used to compare with each other; geographers have to calculate if this is coincidence or significant
Recently built houses to steep slopes
Rates of cancer (high and low) to incomes and ethnicities
Location of factories to location of mountains and valleys
GPS
Global Positioning System
A system that determines the precise position of something on Earth through a series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers
Phones with GPS allows for locations to be shared with others
Motorists can use GPS to call for help
GPS devices enable private individuals to contribute to the production of accurate digital maps
What is globalization?
Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope
Globalization of economy
Globalization of culture
Globalization of economy
2008 recession
Started in the US and Europe, then spread to the rest of the world
Led by transnational corporations
They conduct research, operate factories, and sell products in many countries, not just where it’s headquarters and principal shareholders are located
Globalization of culture
Requires a form of common communication
The English language is an example of this
As more people try to possess global culture, more local cultural beliefs are threatened with extinction
This isn’t the case everywhere; sometimes different cultures can flourish together
What is the Industrial Revolution?
A conjunction of major improvements in manufacturing goods and delivering them to market in Europe and North America after 1750
This led to unprecedented wealth, some of which was used to make areas healthier to live in
Led Europe and North America to enter Stage 2 of the Demographic Transition
What is space-time compression?
The set of processes that cause the relative distances between places to contract, effectively making such places grow “closer”
Letters (from horseback to email) and travel (ships to airplanes)
What is a hearth?
The region from which innovative ideas originate; relates to the important concept of the spreading of ideas from one area to another (diffusion)
What is location?
The place where a particular point or object exists; more precise than place
What is absolute location?
A place’s exact place on Earth, often given in terms of latitude and longitude
What is a site?
The exact location of a city
What is situation?
The location of a place relative to other places
What is projection?
A system used to transfer location from Earth’s surface to a flat map
What are the four types of distortion?
The shape of an area can be distorted, so that it appears more elongated or squat than in reality
The distance between two points may become increased or decreased
The relative size of different areas may be altered, so that one area may appear larger than another on a map but is in reality smaller
The direction from one place to another can be distorted
Mercator projection
Good at navigation because it preserves angles
Size and distance are distorted at high latitudes
Goode Homolosine projection
All of the continents are the correct size and in proportion to each other
The distance and direction are not accurate
Robinson projection
Doesn’t eliminate any distortion; it keeps all levels relatively low over most of the map
What is sustainability?
The use of Earth’s renewable and nonrenewable natural resources in ways that do not constrain resource use in the future
Three pillars
Environment
Economic
Social
Environment Pillar
Sustainable use and management of Earth’s natural resources to meet human needs such as food, medicine, and recreation (conservation)
Maintenance of resources in their present condition, with as little human impact as possible (preservation)
Economical Pillar
Natural resources gain a monetary value through exchange in a marketplace
The price of a resource depends on a society’s technological ability to obtain it and to adapt it to that society’s purposes
Earth has many substances that we don’t use because we lack the means to extract them or knowledge of how to use them
There are a lot of things that are potential resources
Society Pillar
Using resources to meet the needs of shelter, food, and clothing
Consumer choices can support sustainability when people embrace it as a value
Society’s values are the basis for choosing which resources to use
HDI
Human development index
Summary composite measure of a country’s average achievements in three basic aspects of human development: life expectancy, education, and per capita income indicators
Very high human development (0.8-1.0)
High human development (0.7-0.79)
Medium human development (0.55-0.70)
Low human development (below 0.55)
What are the types of population density?
Arithmetic
Physiological
Agricultural
Arithmetic density
Total number of objects in an area
Most frequently used
To find it, divide the population by the land area
Allows geographers to compare the number of people trying to live on a given piece of land in different regions of the world
Answers the question of “where”
Physiological density
Number of people supported by a unit area of arable land
Comparing physiological and arithmetic helps geographers understand the capacity of the land to yield enough food for the needs of the people
Agricultural density
Two countries can have similar physiological densities, but very different amounts of food due to different economic conditions
The ratio of the number of farmers to the amount of arable land
Helps account for economic differences
Developed countries have lower agricultural density because technology and finance allow a few people to farm extensive land areas and feed many people
ZPG
Zero Population Growth
A decline of the total fertility rate to the point where the natural increase rate equals zero
Often applied to Stage 4 countries
IMR
Infant Mortality Rate
The total number of death in a year among infants under one year of age for every 1000 live births in a society
An important indicator of a country’s health
TFR
Total Fertility Rate
Compares figures for the average number of children that would be born per woman if all women lived to the end of their childbearing years and bore children according to a given fertility rate at each age
This can go down due to birth control or a woman’s desire to pursue a career or education
CBR
Crude Birth Rate
The total number of live births in a year for every 1000 people alive in a society
CDR
Crude Death Rate
The total number of deaths in a year for every 1000 people alive in a society
NIR
Natural Increase Rate
The percentage of growth in a population in a year
CBR minus CDR
Endemic
Belonging or native to a particular people or country
Epidemic
An outbreak of disease that spreads quickly and affects many individuals at the same time
Pandemic
A widespread occurrence of an infectious disease over a whole country or the world at a particular time
Infectious disease
Illnesses caused by germs (such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi) that enter the body, multiply, and can cause infection
Degenerative disease
The result of a continuous process based on degenerative cell changes, affecting tissues or organs, which will increasingly deteriorate over time
Population policies
A set of measures taken by a State to modify the way its population is changing, either by promoting large families or immigration to increase its size, or by encouraging limitation of births to decrease it
Higher taxation of married couples that have no, or too few, children
Politicians imploring the populace to have bigger families
Tax breaks and subsidies for families with children
Demographic transition
Process of a change in a society’s population from high CBR and CDR and low rate of natural increase to a condition of low CBR and CDR, low rate of natural increase, and higher total population
Has four stages (and a possible fifth)
Stage 1 of the DT
Low growth
Very high birth and death rates produce virtually no long-term natural increase
Most of human history spent there, but no country is there today
Stage 2 of the DT
High growth
Rapidly declining death rates and very high birth rates produce very high natural increase
Europe and North America entered this stage in 1750, but Africa, Asia, and Latin America didn’t until 1950
Improved medical practices have helped countries move to this stage
Stage 3 of the DT
Decreasing growth
Birth rates rapidly decline, death rates continue to decline, and natural increase rates begin to moderate
People living in Stage 3 societies are more likely to live in cities than the countryside
Europe and North America moved to Stage 3 in the first half of the twentieth century, but many countries in Asia and Latin America took until the second half of the twentieth century
Economic changes might lead people to not want to have as many kids
Stage 4 of the DT
Low growth
Very low birth and death rates produce virtually no long-term natural increase and possibly a decrease
Also called Zero Population Growth (ZPG)
Places might enter Stage 4 as social customs change, like women being allowed to be in the work force
Denmark is a country that has reached this stage (as well as most other European countries)
(Potential) Stage 5 of the DT
Decline
Very low CBR, an increasing CDR, which leads to a negative NIR
Several European countries already have negative NIRs, like Russia and other former Communist countries
This will lead to most a country’s future population being old
Economic causes of migration
Financial issues can hinder a migrant’s journey
Obstacles
Migrants run out of money to complete journey
Prohibitive costs to complete journey
Opportunities
Jobs available in closer location
Situation improves at or near place of origin
Social/Cultural causes of migration
Includes issues like religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, health, or education
Obstacles
Quotas on immigration from certain places
Migrants face discriminatory practices that prohibit migration
Opportunities
Healthcare or education being made available closer to home
Laws being passed so it’s safer to stay closer to home
Political causes of migration
Things relating to government or politics
Obstacles
Missing paperwork
Inability to get passport or visa
Limitations on migration from receiving country
War/political instability
Opportunities
Asylum offered in a closer location
Political situation in original destinations calms down before migrant can make final step
Environmental causes of migration
Natural world
Obstacles
Having to cross the ocean
Crossing a river using a ford
Encountering a large mountain range
Opportunities
Favorable land available closer to place of origin
Forced migration
The movement that refugees, IDPs, and some migrants make — both within their home country and between countries — due to forces beyond their control
African slave trade
Voluntary migration
Occurs when someone chooses to leave home
Immigrants coming to America for better opportunities
Transnational migration (Voluntary)
Leave country of origin and enter another country
Maintain connection to country of origin
Often settle in similar areas of migrants
Leave mark on cultural landscape
Transhumance migration (Voluntary)
Livestock led to highlands in summer, lowlands in winter
Cyclical movement
Migration routes also connected to trade routes
Internal migration (Voluntary)
Permanent move in a country
Economics: job relocation/opportunity
Culture: live near those who share the same cultural traits
Chain migration (Voluntary)
Migration where there’s type of a relationship with a previous migrant
Often familial
Can ease the burden of migration
Step migration (Voluntary)
Series of starts and stops
Can involve intervening obstacles and/or intervening opportunities
Guest workers and remittance migration (Voluntary)
Temporary migrants who often have legal permission to migrate for work or education related reasons
Work in medicine, education, construction, and finance
Often send money back to home country in the form of remittance
Rural to urban migration (Voluntary)
People from rural to urban cities
Often drawn by economics and housing services
Intraregional migration
The movement within the same region of the country
Interregional migration
The movement from one region of a country to another
Political effects of migration
Historical
Forced migration
Removal of Native Americans, leading to many deaths and reduction of their land
Current
Today migrants seeking political safety are asylum seekers
Economic effects of migration
Migrants often take important jobs that the native population can’t or choose not to
Migrants might migrate seasonally or temporarily if unable to do so permanently
Often send home remittances
Doctors, scientists, and computer programmers may migrate to make more money
Known as brain drain
Cultural effects of migration
Some countries place quotas on number of immigrants admitted from certain countries
US created diversity lottery for people coming from countries that historically sent few people to the US
Policies created impact on cultural diversity of US
Migrants may be blamed for social ills and may face persecution because of their ethnicity or nationality
Anti-immigrant sentiment comes from fear that migrants will change cultural (religious, lingual, culinary, etc.) traditions
IDP
Internally Displaced Person
Persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence to avoid the effects of armed conflict and situations of violence
Gravity model
A model used to estimate the amount of interaction between two cities
Distance decay
The theory that states that as the distance between two places increases, the interaction between those two places decreases
Example: If you live in a rural area, it’s unlikely that you travel to a bigger city 100 miles even if it offers bigger and better goods and services
Folk culture
Culture traditionally practiced by a small, homogeneous, rural group living in relative isolation from other groups
Popular culture
Culture found in a large, heterogeneous society that shares certain habits despite differences in other personal characteristics
Material culture
The physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their culture (neighborhoods, cities, schools, churches, offices, etc.)
Identity
How people make sense of themselves and how they see themselves at different scales
Assimilation
The process through which people lose originally differentiating traits, such as dress, speech particularities or mannerisms, when they come into contact with another society or culture
Example: moving to a new country and no longer speaking your native language or carrying on your traditional customs
Appropriation
A situation where a dominant social or cultural group takes an expression, idea, or product from an oppressed cultural group and uses it for its own benefit
Example: Using a Native American tribal name as an American sports team (Redskins, Blackhawks, etc.)
Reterritorialization
When people within a place start to produce an aspect of popular culture themselves, doing so in the context of their local culture and making it their own
Indonesian hip hop
Origin and diffusion of English
Modern English evolved from the language that three tribes called the Angles, Jutes, and Saxons spoke
The Angles came from a corner of Germany, which influenced the language
When Vikings invaded England, their language got added to English
England was invaded by the Normans in 1066, which caused French to mix with English
English diffused to other countries when the British started making colonies
The US has also helped to bring English to the Philippines
Origin and diffusion of romance languages
Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, and Romanian
All came from the Latin spoken during the Roman Empire
A lot of words came from Vulgar Latin, which is what the commoners spoke
After the Roman Empire fell, people migrated and that led to the eventual split and diffusion of all the different languages
Origin and diffusion of Indo-European
Germanic, Romance, Balto-Slavic, and Indo-Iranian
All of these languages have common roots for some words
Proto-Indo-Europeans are our ancestors
Nomadic Warrior Hypothesis
Created by Marija Gimbutas
Protos believed to be Kurgans that lived in between Russia and Kazakhastan
Kurgans were nomadic herders, so it would explain how the language diffused to Europe, Siberia, Iran, and South Asia
Sedentary Farmer Hypothesis
Colin Renfrew argues that Protos lived before the Kurgans in Turkey
Said they would have gone to Greece, then to Italy, Sicily, Corsica, the Mediterranean coast of France, Spain, and Portugal
From the Mediterranean coast, to the British Isles
Also would have gone north towards Romania and east to Ukraine
Religion diffusion
Religions have diffused from cultural hearths to other regions of the world due to exploration, persecution, and migration
Ethnicity
The identity with a group of people who share a common identity with a specific homeland or hearth
Hispanic-Americans
Polish-Americans
Race
The identity with a group of people who share a biological ancestor
Black
White
Ethnocentrism
When someone uses their own culture as the center and evaluates other cultures based on it
Most of the western world believes eating bugs to be disgusting, but in some cultures it’s normal and good
Genocide
Deliberate extermination of a racial or cultural group
The Holocaust
The Rwandan Genocide