Chapter 1: The Power of Geography

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the key concepts of Human Geography, spatial perspectives, regions, and globalization based on Chapter 1.

Physical geography

The study of natural processes and the distribution of features in the environment, such as landforms, plants and animals, and climate.

Human geography

The study of the events and processes that have shaped how humans understand, use, and alter Earth, including social, political, and economic organization.

Spatial perspective

A geographic perspective that refers to where things are located and why they are located there.

Ecological perspective

A geographic perspective that refers to the interactive and interdependent relationships among living things, ecosystems, and human societies.

Location

The position that a point or object occupies on Earth.

Absolute location

The exact location of an object, which may be expressed in coordinates of latitude and longitude.

Relative location

A description of where a place is in relation to other places or features.

Place

A location on Earth that is distinguished by its physical characteristics (climate, landforms, etc.) and human characteristics (languages, religions, etc.).

Site

A term referring to a place’s absolute location and physical characteristics, such as landforms, climate, and resources.

Situation

A term referring to a place’s connections to other places, such as transportation routes, political associations, and cultural and economic ties.

Mental map

An internalized representation of a place such as a school, neighborhood, or town.

Space

The area between two or more things on Earth’s surface.

Distribution

How things are arranged within a given space.

Density

The number of things in a specific area.

Pattern

How things are arranged in a particular space.

Flow

The movement of people, goods, and information from one place to another.

Distance decay

A principle stating that the farther away one thing is from another, the less interaction the two things will have.

Friction of distance

The concept that distance requires time, effort, and cost to overcome.

Time–space compression

The shrinking of relative distance between places due to advances in transportation and communication.

Environmental determinism

A discredited theory that human behavior is largely controlled by the physical environment.

Possibilism

A theory favored by modern geographers arguing that humans are active agents in determining their behaviors.

Sustainability

The use of Earth’s land and natural resources in ways that ensure they will be available in the future, with a focus on renewable resources.

Scale

The area of the world being studied, ranging from global and regional to national, state, and local.

Region

A human construct describing an area of Earth’s surface with certain characteristics that make it distinct from other areas.

Formal region

An area with one or more shared traits, which may be physical (landform, climate) or cultural (language, religion).

Functional region

An area organized by its function around a node, such as a central business area or transportation hub.

Node

The central point of a functional region, such as a business area or transportation hub.

Perceptual (vernacular) region

A region defined by people’s feelings or attitudes about the area.

Globalization

The expansion of economic, cultural, and political processes on a worldwide scale.

Wallerstein’s world system theory

A theory introduced in the $1970s$ to describe spatial and functional relationships among countries and explain uneven economic development.

Core

Countries that are economically and politically dominant, have strong militaries, and control the global market.

Semi-periphery

Countries in the process of industrializing that have both core and periphery processes occurring and the potential to grow into core countries.

Periphery

Countries with less wealth, lower education levels, and unstable governments that export natural resources to core countries.

Sustainable development

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.