Human Geography (Asynchronous) - Final Exam Study Guide

What is the definition of geography?

Geography is the study of the earth as the home of human (physical and human/cultural) otherwise known as the why of where.

Geography studies how thing changes through space NOT time

Who is the father of geography?

Erasthothenese coined the term about 2,200 years ago: He is considered the father of geography. He almost correctly calculate the circumference of the planet earth almost 2,000 years ago.

What are the branches of geography?

1. Physical geography (cultural landscape, atmospheric conditions, etc.)

2. Human-Environment Interaction (the people of the planet and how they differ from space to space (different languages; belief systems, religions, structures of power, urban geography)

3. GIScience

What are the two approaches to geography?

1. Regional geography: the world through different regions (how it differs)

2. Systematic Geography: human geography follows this approach as we will study population geography, urban geography, political geography, and economic geography

What are the two types of landscapes?

1. Natural Landscape: may shape how people live, but it does not dictate it (these are physical features, like landforms and how they differ)\

2. Cultural Landscape: The visible imprint of human activity (built environment)

   1. Where we see evidence people you can see cities (built)

Explain the four concepts of human enviroment interaction.

1. Humans modify: humans can modify the physical landscape (ex: geometric shapes (farming communities))

2. Humans adapt: an example of this is ice-fishing in colder climates

3. Nature can modify: an example of this when waters flood cities

4. Nature can adapt to human influence: bird nesting in the power lines

What are the three different scales of analysis?

1. Local scale (Charlotte or NC)

2. Regional scale (southeast US)

3. Global Approach/Scale

Define scale

Scale describes the level of analysis (how zoomed in you are)

Compare the scales of a Map of Illinois and a Map of Midwestern States

The map of Illinois has county level data (as different counties are depicted in diff. colored areas) meanwhile the map of midwestern states has information of a regional scale.

What are the effects of scale?

Processes operating at different levels of scale produce different conditions at these different scales. This means that, depending on which scale is studied, there are different conditions or consequences or affected components that are acted upon.

Ex: Looking at COVID-19 from two different scales:

1. on a local scale we would question which counties in North Caroline were the first to release mask mandates

2. on a national scale we would look at the closing of borders since mask mandates were not conducted on a national level

3. globally we would look at how COVID-19 affected supply chains

What is Geoliteracy and what are the pillars of it?

Geoliteracy is the ability to understand the earth and everything on it.

1. Content knowledge: population geography and learning about where we have certain populations and why some areas have so many resources and so little resources

2. Skills: these can include the ability to read maps

3. Geographic Perspective: this is spatial perspective/spatial science and understanding the world through spatial terms

Why does geography matter?

As we continue to globalize it is so important that we improve our geoliteracy as diseases thrive and grow and we also need geoliteracy to make people better equipped to solve issues on both local and global levels.

What are the two types of location?

1. Absolute location: the exact spot on the planet Earth (lat, long); street address of location

2. Relative location: a way of describing the location of an object in terms of its relation to another location

   1. Ex: McEniry is next door to Prospector (to the east of Prospector)

What is the difference between site and situation?

Site: absolute location concept

1. Site refers to the physical/cultural characteristics of a place

2. Humans can modify site characteristics (Ex: southern tip of Manhattan elongated with concrete)

Situation: relative location concept

1. Refers to the location of something in relation to a larger region

   1. accessibility and connections with other places

   2. (Ex: Singapore is in the middle of southern Asia in a major shipping zone)

What are the site and situation characteristics of North Carolina for example?

1. Site of Charlotte: sandy/clay soils, average elevation of 700ft, english speaking majority, 500,000 population

2. Situation Characteristics of Charlotte: between Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, east of the Catawba River, along I-77, 95 miles north of Colombia, SC)

What is the difference between absolute and relative direction?

1. Absolute direction: based on cardinal points; north, south, east, and west

2. Relative direction: “up north, out west, across campus, over yonder”

   1. un-absolute terms of relation

What is the difference/examples of absolute and relative distance?

1. Absolute (linear) distance: measured distance in miles, kilometers, feet, meters (Euclidean distance)

2. Relative (time, cost) distance: this transforms linear measurements into more meaningful/culturally relevant units:

   1. “Cone is a five minute walk away”

   2. “The airport is a 25 dollar Uber ride away”

   3. “Charlotte is about 14 hours away from Baton Rouge, Louisiana”

What is the difference between a large and small scale map?

1. large scale map: small area with a lot of detail shown

2. small scale map: large area with little detail shown

Explain concepts of the Global Grid.

1. The global grid is a system of reference for locating points of Earth’s surface

2. it is based on angular distance (longitude and latitude lines)

3. key points for determining location:

   1. Equator (0 degrees latitude): divides the N and S hemispheres

   2. Prime Meridian (0 degrees longitude): divides the E and W hemispheres

   3. International Date Line (establishes time globally)

   4. N/S Poles

Explain what latitude/parallels are?

Latitude (parallels): They are parallel to each other

1. They are scientifically derived, so they can be accurately measured by the length of daylight (hours of daylight)

2. Depending on how far north or south you are, there is either significant daylight or significant darkness

3. They run east and west, but they MEASURE how far North and South a location is

   1. They go from (90 degrees North to 90 degrees South)

Explain what longitude/meridians are and what they measure?

1. Longitude/meridians run north and south, but they MEASURE how far East and West a location is from the prime meridian

2. They are a human creation: 1 degree = 69.17 miles

   1. circumference of the Earth: 69.17 miles x 360 degrees = 24,901 miles

   2. longitude is based on time

Break down the coordinates (lat, long):

1. 30° 27’’ 14.085’ N, 90° 43” 31.535’ W

   1. North: 27 minutes; 14 seconds; 85 miliseconds

   2. West: 43 minutes; 31.535 seconds

How do you tell time from longitude?

1. According to the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT); Prime Meridian

   1. Traveling East: you add 1 hour for every 15° of longitude

   2. Traveling west: you lose 1 hour every 15° of longitude

      1. Earth travels 15° per hour in a 24-hour day

Decide what happens when you travel east and west according to the International Date Line.

1. If it is 5 pm on Monday in NYC, what time is it in Rome? - 6 hours ahead so 11 pm in Rome

2. If it is 2 pm on Monday in London, what time is in Denver? - 7 hours later in Denver - 7 am on Monday

3. If it 4 pm on Monday in Sydney, what time is it in LA? - LA is 6 hours ahead - 10 pm on Sunday (crossed the International Date Line so you go back a day)

Public Space:

Public space is occupied by different people that bring about different characteristics during that time, while these specific people occupy space

What are the three things that determine spatial patterns?

1. How space is arranged

2. How space is used

3. How space is divided (boundaries)

What is the definition of distribution and what things determine how things are distributed in space?

Distribution: physical arrangement of something across space

1. Density: frequency (how many things are occupying the space)

2. Concentration:

   1. low concentration: dispersed

   2. high concentration: clustered

3. Pattern: is there a rhyme or reason, or is there a random distribution

What is the definition of diffusion and what are the three different types of diffusion?

Diffusion: the process by which something spreads across space from its origin

1. Relocation Diffusion: the spread of a feature through the physical movement of people from one place to another (migration)

   1. Ex: the spread of languages (diffusion of Spanish and Spanish speaking people)

2. Contagious Diffusion: the spread of a characteristic throughout the population by contact (ex: gossip spread through social media posts)

3. Hierarchical Diffusion: the spread of an idea from the most connected people or places to the other people and places (leapfrogging)

   1. ex: spread of a trend from very wealthy people to very populated places

Determine the types of diffusion of these examples:

1. Use of Instagram

2. Puerto Rican cuisine in NYC

3. Vietnamese language in Charlotte

4. popularity of plastic surgery

5. slang (BYOB)

1. Use of Instagram - contagious diffusion

2. Puerto Rican cuisine in NYC - relocation diffusion

3. Vietnamese language in Charlotte - relocation diffusion

4. popularity of plastic surgery - hierarchical diffusion

5. slang (BYOB) - contagious diffusion

What is Toebler’s 1st Law of Geography?

Everything is related, but things that are near are more related than things that are far

Explain the concept of distance decay.

Distance Decay: decrease in interaction b/t true things as distance increases

ex: you lose touch with camp friend in favor of school friends you are closer to and therefore interact with more

ex: if you look at two points on ocean temperature you see that the further points the higher the difference in temperatures is versus areas closest to that point in the ocean

Explain the concept of space-time compression.

Space-time compression: a reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another location

1. Example: advancements in technology (travel) have reduced the time it takes for a vacation to another place, so you see high space-time compression.

   1. You also see more accessibility and connectivity between people globally through this reduction in time

Explain the concept of globalization.

Globalization: the expansion of economic, political, and cultural processes and the increase of interconnectedness across borders

1. The scale of the world is shrinking under globalization

Network: set of interconnected nodes without a center (through different economic experiences, different cultural experiences, different political experiences)

Explain the history of globalization.

The beginning of globalization is trade amongst people who live in different locations (the hub of globalization)

Trade, transportation, communication, development, government, corporations

Through trade you get exposure to different currencies, food, art, and markets of different cultures

What are the pros and cons of globalization?

Pros:

• more connected through globalization

• convenience (networking)

• wealth (the more trade is conducted; this raises the money and is expected to raise the wealth (GDP) of other cultures included in the trade

Cons:

• the loss of uniqueness through the slow homogenization and loss of unique cultural markers

• digital divide (you need technology to function)

• uneven development (maintained through the lack of physical connection)

• uniform landscapes (social customs, beliefs, languages are dwindling in their smaller subsections and unique variations)

• intolerance of difference

What are the 12 main regions?

• North America

• Latin America

• Europe

• Russia

• Southeast Asia

• North Africa

• Sub-saharan Africa

• Central Asia

• East Asia

• South Asia

• Southeast Asia

• Japan

• Oceania

What is the name of the line that divides MDCs and LDCs?

The Brandt Line

What are the two sections/categories of countries on either side of the Brandt line?

1. Core (Global North): countries above the brandt line (MDCs)

2. Periphery (Global South): the brandt line is above these regions (LDCs)