AMSCO AP Human Geography Chapter 2: Spatial Concepts and Geographic Analysis

Region

Region

formed by a group of places that share characteristics in the same area

Site

the physical characteristcs at the immediate location: soil type, climate, labor force, human structures

Situation

the location of a place relative to other places

Sense of place

when a place has emotional ties to people: so basically, if a place has no meaning to anyone, it has placelessness

Toponym

The name of a place. Also a way to designate locations: like Myrtle Beach, the Appalachian Mountains, Denali

Time-space compression

the shrinking "time distance" between locations because of improved methods of transportation and communication

Spatial interaction

the contact, movement, and flow of things between locations: like roads

Distance decay

when things are farther apart, they tend to be less well connected: like US and China vs the US and Mexico

Patterns

the general arrangements of things being studied

Distribution

the way a phenomenon is spread out or arranged over an area to describe patterns: examples of distribution patterns- linear, geometric, dispersed, circular, or random

Human-environment interaction

the connection and exchange between humans and the environment: how humans influence the physical world- this leads to analyzing things like sustainability and pollution issues

Natural resources

items that occur in the natural environment that people can use: air, water, oil, fish, soil, and minerals

Renewable natural resources

natural resources that are theoretically unlimited and won't be depleted based on use by people: solar energy, biomass, wind, falling water, waves/tide energy

Non-renewable natural resources

natural resources that are limited and can be exhausted by human uses

Sustainability

trying to use resources now in ways that allow their use in the future while minimizing negative impacts on the environment

Cultural landscape

Anything built by humans

Environmental determinism

the belief that landforms and climate are the most powerful force shaping human behavior and societal development while ignoring the infulence of culture

Possibilism

a view that acknowledges limits on the effects of the natural environment and focuses more on the role that human culture plays: (kinda environmental determinism but +the culture aspect)

Global scale

Scale shown- the entire world: examples- global earth at night image, world population density map

Regional scale

Scale shown- multiple countries of the world: examples- north america, south asia

National scale

Scale shown- one country: example- the united states, thailand

National regional scale

Scale shown- a portion of a country or a region(s) within a country: example- the midwest, eastern china

Local scale

Scale shown- a province, state, city, county, or neighborhood: example- Tennessee, Moscow

Aggregation

when geographers organize data into different scales such as by census tract, city, county, or country

Regions

Areas that share common characteristics: formal regions, functional regions, perpetual regions

Formal regions (AKA uniform regions or homogeneous regions)

they are political (Brazil in South America), physical (the Sahara), cultural (southwestern Nigeria, set apart because they speak a different language), or economic (Gold Coast of Africa, which exports gold)

Functional regions (AKA nodal regions)

These regions are organized around a focal point and defined by an activity, usually political, social, or economic

Perceptual regions

Regions defined by the informal sense of place that people create in their minds