Geography 5 Midterm 1

Absolute

Objective/real; does not vary from person to person.

Relative

Subjective/perceptual; varies from person to person or between groups.

Space

Areal extent; how much area does something take up.

Absolute Space

Objective, real measurable space.

Relative Space

Perceptual, variable, dependent on relationships and activities.

Place

Attributes and values we associate with a particular location, unique to each person.

Placelessness

Opposite of a place; no emotions or associations with a location.

Economic Approach to Place

The spatial distribution of social and economic activities.

Social and Humanistic Approach to Place

Locale, or the settings for everyday routine social interaction provided in a place.

Cultural Approach to Place

The sense of place or identification with a place endangered by living in it.

Absolute Location

Mathematical location; unique and independent, usually defined by coordinated systems.

Relative Location

Dependent on the relationship of other things; expresses interdependence.

Site

Absolute location concept; actual location of a place/settlement including physical characteristics.

Situation

Relative location concept; information about a location relative to other locations.

Absolute Direction

Uniform and valid everywhere on Earth; North-South-East-West.

Relative Direction

Refers to general reference; left, right, up, down, back, forward.

Absolute Distance

Spatial separation between two points on Earth using standardized metric.

Relative Distance

Transformed distance into some other measure more contextually relevant, like travel time or cost.

Isochrones

Lines of equal travel time.

Psychological Distance

Which feels closer; subjective perception of distance.

Cultural Distance

Differences in cultural perceptions between locations.

Dimensionality

Many features are spatially 3-D but can be modeled at a lower dimension.

Density

Number of something in a defined area.

Distribution

Pattern of events over a space; dispersed vs. concentrated.

Spatial Associations

Two distributions of features spatially corresponding with each other.

Tobler's Law

Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related to distant things.

Distance Decay

Level or likelihood of interaction decreases with distance.

Accessibility

Relative ease with which you can reach a destination.

Connectivity

A measure of the degree of connections or relationships between people across the barrier of space.

Network

The areal pattern of connections between places.

Spatial Diffusion

Dispersion of an idea or items from a center of origin.

Regions

An area distinguished by a unique combination of trends or features as compared to surrounding areas.

Administrative Regions

Politically determined, hierarchical organization, uniform membership.

Statistical Regions

Used for the purpose of collecting and aggregating data.

Thematic Regions

One or more variable or theme; imprecise or vague boundaries.

Functional Regions

Areas defined by connections; usually has a core surrounded by a margin.

Cognitive/Perceptual Regions

How people informally organize places in their mind; usually shaped by culturally shared beliefs.

Maps

A pictorial model of reality; Earth's surface and distribution of features.

Why Maps?

Navigation, visualization, and measurement.

Scale

The relationship between the size of an object on a map and the actual size of the feature.

Small Scale vs. Large Scale

Small scale has a large amount of area with less detail; large scale has a smaller amount of area with more detail.

Cartographic Scale Elements

Representative fraction, graphic scale, verbal scale.

Reference Maps

Maps that show features without representation.

Political Maps

A type of reference map that shows political boundaries.

Topographic Maps

Maps that usually show contour lines to represent height.

Thematic Maps

Maps that present a graphic theme illustrating a fact.

Graduated Circle Maps

Maps where the area of a circle is proportional to the number of entities.

Isopleth Map

A map of lines that connect points of equal value of the mapped entity.

Choropleth Map

Maps where areas are designated by a color or fill pattern proportional to the number of entities.

Cartograms

Maps that use statistical data to transform space to appear in proportion to the values.

Mental Maps

Internal models or representations of an area developed by an individual.

The Globe Grid

The geographic coordinate system consisting of longitudes and latitudes.

Map Projection

The method of representing the curved surface of the Earth on a flat surface.

Conformal Projection

Projections that preserve angles and shapes but distort area.

Equivalent Projection

Projections that preserve proportions of areas but distort shape.

Equidistant Projections

Projections that preserve distance in one direction or along lines.

Remote Sensing

Collection of information about Earth's surface through aerial photography or satellite imagery.

Primary Data

Data collected through field or lab measurements, interviews, and observations.

Secondary Data

Data collected by someone else, such as archives and national surveys.

GISystem

A tool that allows users to create interactive queries and analyze spatial information.

GIScience

The science underlying geographic ideas, concepts, applications, and systems.

Spatial Interaction

Contact between places and how activity in one place influences another.

Friction of Distance

Factors that can hinder spatial interaction, such as travel mode and cost.

Facilitators of Spatial Interaction

Elements that make spatial interactions easier, such as networks.

Networks

Nodes and connecting links along which spatial interaction is facilitated.

Technology

Facilitator of interaction that changes patterns and reduces friction.

Telecommuting

Alters shopping and errand patterns.

Amazon

Affects daily travel patterns.

Social Media

Affects interpersonal interaction over time.

Space-Time Compression

The phenomenon of reducing the time it takes for spatial interactions.

Globalization

Trends towards greater connectivity among places around the globe.

Physical Barriers

Impediments to interaction such as mountains, rivers, country borders, and distance.

Socio-Cultural Barriers

Barriers related to language, culture, race/ethnicity, and cultural practices.

Psychological Barriers

Personal barriers such as fear, risk, age, and distaste.

Behavioral Geography

Attempts to understand human activity in space, place, and environment.

Individual Activity Space

Where people go on a typical day or week, shaped by various factors.

Space Time Path

Diagram describing where we are at any given time and how fast we move.

Descriptive Models

Models that describe spatial and temporal trends and their causes.

Normative Models

Models that determine the best approach to solve a technical problem.

Predictive Models

Models that forecast future events.

Parsimony

The principle of keeping models simple.

Gravity Model

Consumer behavior reflects that more people in a place increases potential customers.

Retail Gravity Model

Predicts the distance from city to market boundary based on population.

Huff Model

Measures attraction based on population and distances between locations.

Demography

Study of human populations, including size, composition, and distribution.

Pillars of Demography

Fertility, mortality, and migration.

Population Geography

Application of demography to study human beings in relation to earth conditions.

Crude Birth Rate

Annual number of live births per 1,000 people.

Total Fertility Rate

Average number of births a woman would have during her childbearing years.

Age-Specific Fertility Rate

Number of births per 1,000 women in an age group per year.

Replacement Fertility Rate

Number of births per woman needed to keep the population stable.

Crude Death Rate

Annual number of deaths per 1,000 people.

Infant Mortality Rate

Number of deaths to children under 1 year old per 1,000 live births.

Life Expectancy at Birth

Average number of years a person is expected to live based on current death rates.

Population Pyramids

Illustrates age and sex distribution in a region or country.

Dependency Ratio

Ratio of dependants younger than 15 and older than 64 to the working-age population.

The J Curve

Describes exponential growth at an increasing rate.

Biotic potential

Ability of a population to increase under ideal environmental conditions.

Logistic Growth (restricted)

Increase until population size reaches carrying capacity.

Carrying Capacity

Number of people an environment can support without environmental degradation.