Unit 1: Thinking Geographically

Geography

The study of Earth’s surface as the space where humans live, organize societies, and interact with the environment.

Human geography

The branch of geography that focuses on how people create, use, and change places and landscapes, and how those patterns vary across space.

Spatial perspective

A geographic approach that asks “where is it, why is it there, what are the consequences of it being there, and how is it connected to other places?”

Absolute location

A precise position on Earth, usually identified with latitude and longitude.

Relative location

A place’s position in relation to other places (e.g., near/far, north of, connected to) and the relationships implied by that position.

Site

The physical characteristics of a place (such as landforms, climate, vegetation, or built features).

Situation

A place’s interrelatedness with other places—its connections, accessibility, and relative position within wider networks.

Place

A bounded space of human importance with distinctive physical and cultural characteristics.

Toponym

A place-name assigned when a location is recognized as important.

Sequent occupancy

The idea that a place’s cultural landscape reflects layers of history from successive groups and influences over time.

Activity space

The area within which a person’s day-to-day activities occur, shaped by mobility, jobs, services, and transportation.

Mental map

A cognitive image of landscape held in the mind, influencing perception, perceived accessibility, and ideas about regions.

Region

An area defined by shared features; a tool for organizing information rather than a permanently “natural” unit.

Formal (uniform) region

A region with a homogeneous characteristic across its area (e.g., a common language, climate type, or government system).

Functional (nodal) region

A region organized around a central node and the interactions linking surrounding areas to it (e.g., commuter sheds, market areas).

Perceptual (vernacular) region

A region defined by people’s shared perceptions or mental maps; boundaries are subjective but still affect behavior and decisions.

Scale of analysis (relative scale)

The level of aggregation used to examine data (local, city, state, national, global), which can change the pattern you observe.

Map scale

The relationship between distance on a map and distance in the real world (expressed with a ratio/RF, written scale, or bar scale).

Large-scale map

A map showing a small area with high detail; it has a smaller denominator (e.g., 1:50,000).

Small-scale map

A map showing a large area with less detail; it has a larger denominator (e.g., 1:1,000,000).

Map projection

A method of transferring Earth’s curved surface onto a flat map; every projection distorts at least one of area, shape, distance, or direction.

Pattern

The arrangement of something in space (e.g., clustered, dispersed, linear); what you observe on the map.

Process

The mechanism that creates a spatial pattern (e.g., migration, diffusion, urbanization, policy, trade); what you use to explain the pattern.

Spatial distribution

How a feature is arranged across space, commonly described using density (frequency per area), concentration (how tightly packed), and pattern (geometric arrangement).

Density

The frequency of a feature per unit area (often used to describe people per square unit).

Arithmetic density

The number of people (or objects) per unit area of total land.

Physiologic density

The number of people per unit of arable land (land that is farmed or can be farmed).

Agricultural density

The number of farmers per unit of arable land.

Tobler’s First Law of Geography

All places are interrelated, but closer places are more related than farther ones.

Distance decay

The tendency for interaction between places to decrease as distance increases.

Friction of distance

The ways distance inhibits interaction by adding time, cost, effort, or risk.

Space-time compression

A reduction in travel time and experienced (relative) distance due to improved transportation and communication, making places functionally closer.

Accessibility

How easily a place can be reached, influenced by transportation networks, travel time, cost, and barriers—not just miles/kilometers.

Spatial interaction

The movement of people, goods, and ideas between places, shaped by distance, travel time, networks, borders, and cultural/economic ties.

Connectivity

The degree to which places are linked by transportation and communication systems; highly connected places often become centers of trade and migration.

Intervening opportunity

The idea that a nearer, attractive alternative can reduce interaction with a farther destination (e.g., a closer shopping center reduces trips to a distant mall).

Central place theory

Walter Christaller’s 1930s theory that analyzes how cities (central places) are located and serve surrounding market areas at different scales.

CBD (central business district)

The core of many urban landscapes, typically the central area of concentrated business and economic activity.

Diffusion

The process by which a characteristic spreads across space and over time (e.g., languages, religions, diseases, technologies).

Hearth

The point of origin or place of innovation from which diffusion begins.

Relocation diffusion

Diffusion that occurs when people move and carry a trait with them (often linked to migration).

Expansion diffusion

Diffusion that spreads outward from a source while remaining strong at the origin.

Contagious diffusion

A form of expansion diffusion that spreads through direct contact, often rapidly and across adjacent areas or networks.

Hierarchical diffusion

A form of expansion diffusion that spreads through levels of influence/authority, often from larger or more important places to smaller ones.

Stimulus diffusion

A form of expansion diffusion in which an underlying idea spreads but is adapted to local conditions, stimulating new variations.

Thematic map

A map that shows the spatial distribution of a specific topic (e.g., population density, election results, disease rates).

Choropleth map

A thematic map that uses shading/colors for predefined areas; best for normalized values like rates, ratios, and percentages (not totals).

Geographic Information System (GIS)

A computer system for capturing, storing, analyzing, and displaying spatial data; often uses layering to examine relationships among datasets.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

A satellite-based navigation system that provides location and time information, enabling precise positioning and field data collection.

Remote sensing

Collecting information about Earth’s surface from a distance (often via satellites or aircraft), useful for detecting change over time like urban growth or deforestation.