Geography master review

Human Geography

Spatial organization of human societies, economies, culture, and power.

Environmental Geography

Human–environment relations, impacts, feedbacks.

Space

Abstract location defined by coordinates.

Place

Space given meaning + lived experience.

Sense of Place (Tuan)

Emotional attachment to place.

Placelessness (Relph)

Homogenization \u2192 loss of unique identity.

Landscape

Visible expression of human + natural processes.

Cultural Landscape (Sauer)

Landscape shaped by culture over time.

Scale

Levels of analysis (local, regional, national, global).

Spatial Interaction

Movement of people, goods, info.

Distance Decay

Interaction declines with distance.

Time–Space Convergence

Travel/communication time decreases.

Globalisation

Intensified global flows & interdependence.

Time–Space Compression (Harvey)

Technology shrinks perceived distance.

Network Society (Castells)

Power organized through networks, not borders.

World-Systems Theory (Wallerstein)

Core exploits periphery; semi-periphery buffers.

Uneven Development (Neil Smith)

Capitalism structurally produces inequality.

Core–Periphery Model

Dominant core; dependent periphery.

Dependency Theory

Underdevelopment produced by extraction from core states.

Commodity Chains

Path of goods from extraction \u2192 production \u2192 waste.

Post-Development (Escobar)

Development imposes Western values.

Geoeconomics

Power via trade, sanctions, currency.

David Harvey

Time–space compression; right to the city; critique of capitalism.

Doreen Massey

Relational space; global sense of place.

Henri Lefebvre

Production of space (space is socially produced).

Yi-Fu Tuan

Topophilia (place & lived experience).

Edward Said

Orientalism (Western construction of the East).

Carl Sauer

Cultural landscape theory.

Neil Smith

Uneven development; gentrification as class strategy.

Saskia Sassen

Global cities as command hubs.

Manuel Castells

Network society; flows > borders.

Paul Robbins

Political ecology as power + environment.

Arturo Escobar

Post-development, critique of Western dominance.

Erik Swyngedouw

Urban metabolism; socio-nature of cities.

Urbanisation

Growth of urban population.

Primate City

City dominant in economy + culture (Paris, Bangkok).

Megacity

10 million residents.

Metacity

20 million.

Gentrification (Neil Smith)

Middle-class reinvestment displaces working class.

Urban Sprawl

Low-density, car-focused expansion.

Counterurbanisation

City \u2192 rural migration.

Reurbanisation

Return to city cores after decline.

Central Place Theory (Christaller)

Hierarchy of settlements based on services.

Multiple Nuclei Model

Cities develop multiple centres, not one CBD.

Transit-Oriented Development

Dense, transit-focused neighbourhoods.

Planetary Urbanisation (Brenner)

All space tied to urban networks + extraction.

Anthropocene

Human-dominated planetary epoch.

Political Ecology

Power + inequality shape environmental outcomes.

Environmental Justice

Fair distribution of environmental risks.

Tragedy of the Commons

Overuse of shared resources under free access.

Carrying Capacity

Max population environment can sustain.

Ecological Footprint

Area required to sustain consumption.

Climate Migration

Movement due to ecological stress (drought, sea-level rise).

Carbon Colonialism

Global South offsets emissions for Global North.

Climate Apartheid

Rich adapt; poor displaced.

Hydropolitics

Power struggles around shared water (e.g. Nile).

Virtual Water

Hidden water in traded goods.

Food Security

Reliable access to nutritious food.

Food Sovereignty

Local control of food systems.

Food Deserts

Poor access to fresh food in urban areas.

Land Grabbing

Large foreign acquisition of farmland in Global South.

Urban Metabolism (Swyngedouw)

Cities = flows of energy, water, waste.

Right to the City (Harvey)

Citizens should shape & benefit from urban space.

Spatial Justice

Equitable access to housing, transport, public space.

Green Gentrification

Eco-investments raise property value & displace poor.

Digital Surveillance Urbanism

Smart tech used to track and govern populations.

GIS

Spatial analysis software (human settlement, inequality, hazards).

Remote Sensing

Satellite imagery for land-use + urban form.

Spatial Autocorrelation (Tobler)

Near things are more similar than distant things.

MAUP

Zone boundaries change statistical outcomes.

Ecological Fallacy

Group data wrongly applied to individuals.

Qualitative Methods

Interviews, ethnography, focus groups.

Quantitative Methods

Census, surveys, regression, spatial stats.

Mixed Methods

Combining qualitative + quantitative.

Participatory Mapping

Local knowledge input into spatial planning.

Positionality

Researcher identity shapes interpretation.

Reflexivity

Awareness of how knowledge is constructed.

Migration

Long-term change in residence.

Push Factors

Poverty, conflict, climate, joblessness.

Pull Factors

Safety, jobs, education.

Forced Migration

Involuntary movement (war, climate).

Climate Refugee

Displaced due to environmental change (no legal status).

Ravenstein\u2019s Laws

Migration often stepwise + urban-focused.

Gravity Model

Interaction $\propto$ population, inversely $\propto$ distance.

World Systems Model

Core, semi-periphery, periphery.

Central Place Theory

Settlement hierarchy + service thresholds.

Demographic Transition Model

Population change stages.

Gravity Model (migration)

Flows $\propto$ population / distance.

Urban Structure Models

Concentric / Sector / Multiple Nuclei.

Neoliberalism

Deregulation, privatization, cuts to welfare.

Debt Colonialism

Loans used as geopolitical control.

GDP

Economic output measure (not social).

HDI

Life expectancy + education + income.

Gini Coefficient

Measures inequality.

Post-Development

Challenges Western \u201cuniversal\u201d growth.