aphg notes

Spatial Perspective

Spatial Perspective

Geography's unique focus on the spatial arrangement of phenomena and the interactions between humans and the physical environment.

Physical Geography

The branch of geography that studies the spatial characteristics of the physical environment, including landforms, climate, and ecosystems.

Human Geography

The branch of geography that studies the spatial characteristics of humans and human activities, such as population distribution and cultural aspects.

Four-Level Analysis

A spatial framework used in geography to analyze phenomena by asking key questions at different levels of comprehension, identification, explanation, and prediction.

Concepts and Processes

Skill category in geography that involves analyzing geographic theories, concepts, and processes in theoretical and applied contexts.

Spatial Models

Representations used in geography to explain spatial patterns and distributions, including spatial and nonspatial models.

Data Driven Models

Formulas and graphs used by geographers to understand patterns and phenomena, such as time-distance decay model.

Spatial Relationships

Skill category in geography that involves analyzing geographic patterns, relationships, and outcomes in applied contexts.

Data Analysis

Skill category in geography that involves analyzing and interpreting quantitative geographic data represented in maps, tables, charts, and graphs.

Source Analysis

Skill category in geography that involves analyzing and interpreting qualitative geographic information represented in maps, images, and landscapes.

Scale Analysis

Skill category in geography that involves analyzing geographic theories, concepts, and models across different geographic scales to explain spatial relationships.

Spatial Patterns

General arrangements of things studied and repeated sequences of events or processes that create them, observed at different scales of analysis.

Reference Maps

Designed for general information about places, including political maps showing human-created boundaries and physical maps showing natural features.

Thematic Maps

Show spatial aspects of information or phenomena, such as choropleth maps displaying spatial data using colors or patterns.

Cartographic Scale

Ratio between the size of things in the real world and on the map, communicated through words, ratios, or lines.

Location

Absolute or relative position of something, with absolute location using latitude and longitude, and relative location describing where something is in relation to other things.

Relative Location

States once had relative locations near water sources, trade routes, or mines, which changed over time, impacting their access to resources or trade.

Absolute Location

Described by latitude and longitude, remains constant despite changes in relative locations.

Distance

Measurement of how far things are from each other, with absolute distance measured in feet, miles, meters, or kilometers.

Elevation

Distance above sea level, impacting climate, weather, and agriculture, usually shown on maps with contours.

Pattern Distribution

Geographers study the spread of phenomena over an area, including clustered, linear, dispersed, circular, geometric, and random patterns.

Projections

Maps distort reality due to the Earth's spherical shape, with different projections preserving area, shape, distance, or direction.

Landscape Analysis

Geographers define and describe landscapes through observation, data collection, and interpretation.

Geospatial Data

Information tied to specific places, gathered through fieldwork, remote sensing, aerial photography, and other modern technologies.

Geospatial Data

Data that is associated with a specific location on Earth, often collected through various technologies like GPS, remote sensing, and GIS.

Qualitative Data

Information that is descriptive in nature and includes sources like photos, satellite images, cartoons, and interviews, aiding geographers in understanding a place.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Computer systems capable of storing, analyzing, and displaying information from multiple digital maps or geospatial data sets, used for various purposes like crime analysis and urban planning.

Remote Sensing

The use of cameras or sensors on aircraft or satellites to collect digital images or videos of the Earth's surface, helping in tasks like land cover assessment and weather monitoring.

Geovisualization

Tools like Google Earth or ESRI 3D GIS that convert geospatial data into interactive maps or 3D visualizations, enabling better understanding of data and solving real-world problems.

Underground Map

A map of the London Underground system, known for its simplified design and layout.

Map Inaccuracies

Despite inaccuracies, maps like the London Underground map are still useful for navigation and providing a general overview.

Distortion in Maps

Maps have distortions due to the challenge of representing a curved Earth on a flat surface.

Geospatial Data Collection

Refers to the collection of data through satellite imagery, a method often used in mapping.

Qualitative Data in Geography

Qualitative data in geography includes personal descriptions of processes and events, providing insights beyond numerical data.

DOLLY Project

A project by geographers at the University of Kentucky that compiles geotagged tweets to analyze spatial sentiments.

Absolute Location

Describes the precise location of a place, such as the coordinates of Paris, France.

Relative Location

Describes the location of a place in relation to other landmarks or regions, like Barcelona's position relative to Madrid and Paris.

Location

Identifies where specific phenomena are located either on a grid system or relative to another location. It includes concepts of absolute and relative location, as well as place, site, and situation.

Place

Refers to the specific human and physical characteristics of a location. It includes site (immediate characteristics) and situation (location relative to surroundings and connectivity to other places).

Sense of Place

Describes how individuals perceive the characteristics of places based on personal beliefs, leading to emotional ties or placelessness.

Toponyms

Place names used to designate locations, providing insights into physical geography, history, or culture of the place.

Distance Decay

Concept describing the weakening connection between places as distance increases, influenced by factors like transportation and communication improvements.

Sustainability

Geographers focus on sustainability issues related to mass consumption, pollution effects, and climate change, aiming to encourage the use of renewable energy sources and reduce non-renewable fossil fuels.

Land Use

The study of how land is utilized, modified, and organized by people, including the patterns of land use and its impacts on the environment, landscapes, and people.

Built Environment

Refers to the physical artifacts created by humans like buildings, roads, farms, and fences, which form part of the landscape and cultural landscape.

Cultural Ecology

The study of how humans adapt to the environment, emphasizing the role of human culture in shaping responses to the natural environment.

Environmental Determinism

A theory suggesting that landforms and climate are the primary factors influencing human behavior and societal development, largely discredited for oversimplifying environmental influences.

Possibilism

A theory that acknowledges human culture's role in responding to the environment, emphasizing human ingenuity and creativity in overcoming environmental challenges.

Scales of Analysis

Refers to the level of generalization in geography, allowing geographers to study phenomena at local, regional, country, or global scales to understand patterns and processes.

Formal Regions

Regions that are uniform or homogeneous, united by specific traits like political (e.g., Brazil), physical (e.g., Sahara desert), cultural (e.g., southwestern Nigeria), or economic (e.g., Gold Coast of Africa).

Functional Regions

Regions organized around a focal point and defined by activities like political, social, or economic interactions, united by networks of communication and transportation (e.g., pizza delivery areas, states or countries, airports).

Perceptual Regions

Regions defined by the informal sense of place people attribute to them, boundaries vary widely based on individual perceptions (e.g., American South, Middle East, Upstate New York).

Life expectancy

The average number of years a person is expected to live based on statistical data.

Scale of analysis

The level at which geographic data is examined, such as local, regional, national, etc.

Region

An area defined by certain characteristics or features that set it apart from other areas.

Formal region

A region defined by a common characteristic, such as a political boundary or language spoken.

Nodal region

A region organized around a central point or node that influences interactions and connections.

Quantitative spatial data

Data that is numerical and can be measured or counted, used to analyze spatial patterns.

Qualitative data

Data that is descriptive and deals with qualities or characteristics, providing a deeper understanding of phenomena.

Example of networks

Cities interconnected by lights (from remote sensing night image), and these lights follow highways, rail lines, or river routes/transportation that allow urban places to connect.

Reasons for brightness from a remote sensing night image map

places have higher income or more suitable weather (extreme areas like deserts and tundras probably will not have it)

Limitations to qualitative data

opinions from interview may lack accurate information, the author’s lack of understanding of a culture/belief, or only shows part of a landscape. the remote sensing map from night-time only shows areas of the world that have people that can afford electricity.

scale of analysis examples

pattern of more people living in eastern china than western china is at the country level scale of analysis, local or city level can go into specific cities like seeing where people live in Chicago, for example.

chloropleth map example

percentage of people who speak english in an area(s)

dot distribution map example

maps that show one dot standing for one school building or for millions of people who own dogs

what line is at 180 degrees longitude

international date line, roughly follows this line, like the opposite side of the prime meridian

what does the prime meridian run through

greenwich, england

clustered pattern example

clustering of cities along border of US and mexico

linear pattern example

distribution of towns along a railroad line

dispersed pattern example

distribution of large malls in a big city

circular pattern example

distribution of homes of people who shop at same shop

geometric pattern example

squares/blocks formed by roads in midwest

random pattern example

distribution of pet owners in a city

advantages for mercator and why

navigation because direction is shown perfectly (this is because meeting or right angles allows for creation of straight lines)

disadvantages of mercator and why

distance between lines of latitude get larger and this distorts shape of land masses towards poles (they get much larger than they actually are)

advantages of gall-peters

shows size of land masses correctly

disadvantage of gall-peters

shapes of land masses are inaccurate and incorrect.

advantages of winkel tripel/robinson

not major distorted and it looks more like globe its better for general use

disandvantages of winkel tripel/robinson

slight distortion everywhere

example of community based solution

US working with nuba water project so sudanese people are more likely to buy and cooperate

example of site

riyadh - sandy hot climate in saudi arabia

example of situation

riyadh - located in the center of arabian peninsula

example of formal/uniform/homoegenous regions

united by one or more traits, like brazil is js the country, sahara desert being connected by desert trait

example of functional/nodal region

pizza delivery area around pizza shop (node)

example of perceptual region

south thinking they south because more hospitable