Barrons AP Human Geography

Exurbanite

Person who has left the inner city and moved to outlying suburbs or rural areas.

Absolute distance

The distance that can be measured with a standard unit length, such as a mile or kilometer.

Absolute location

the exact position of an object or place, measured within the spatial coordinates of a grid system

Accessibility

the relative ease with which a destination may be reached from some other place

Acculturation

The adoption of cultural traits, such as language, by one group under the influence of another.

Action spaces

the geographical area that contains the space an individual interacts with on a daily basis

Agglomeration

grouping together of many firms from the same industry in a single area for collective or cooperative use of infrastructure and sharing of labor resources

Agribusiness

The set of economic and political relationships that organize food production for commercial purposes. It includes activities ranging from seed production, to retailing, to consumption of agricultural products.

Agriculture

The art and science of producing food from the land and tending livestock for the purpose of human consumption.

Ancillary activities

economic activities that surround and support large-scale industries such as shipping and food service

Animal husbandry

An agricultural activity associated with the raising of domesticated animals, such as cattle, horses, sheep, and goats.

Animism

Most prevalent in Africa and the Americas, doctrine in which the world is seen as being infused with spiritual and even supernatural powers.

Antecedent boundaries

A boundary line established before an area is populated

Anthropocentric

human-centered, in sustainable development, _____________ refers to ideas that focus solely on the needs of people without considering the creatures with whom we share the planet or the ecosystems upon which we depend

Anthropogenic

Human induced changes on the natural environment

Artifact

Any item that represents a material aspect of culture

Azimuthal projection

a map projection in which the plane is the most developable surface

Backwash effect

the negative effects on one region that result from economic growth within another region

Balkanization

The contentious political process by which a state may break up into smaller countries

Beaux arts

This movement within city planning and urban design that stressed the marriage of older, classical forms with newer, industrial ones. Common characteristics of this period include wide thoroughfares, spacious parks, and civic monuments that stressed progress, freedom, and national unity.

Biotechnology

A form of technology that uses living organisms, usually genes, to modify products, to make or modify plants and animals, or to develop other microorganisms for specific purposes.

Break-bulk point

a location where large shipments of goods are broken up into smaller containers for delivery to local markets

Breaking point

the outer edge of a city's sphere of influence, used in the law of retail gravitation to describe the area of a city's hinterlands that depend on that city for its retail supply

Brick-and-motar business

Traditional businesses with actual stores in which trade retail occurs; it does not exist solely on the internet

Buffer state

A relatively small country sandwiched between two larger powers. The existence of buffer states may help to prevent dangerous conflicts between powerful countries

Bulk gaining industry

Industries whose products weigh more after assembly than they did previously in their constituent parts. Such industries tend to have production facilities close to their markets.

Bulk reducing industry

Industries whose final products weigh less than their constituent parts, and whose processing facilities tend to be located close to sources of raw material

Capital-intensive agriculture

Form of agriculture that uses mechanical goods such as machinery, tools, vehicles, and facilities to produce large amounts of agricultural goods-a process requiring very little human labor.

Carl sauer

Geographer from the University of California at Bed defined the concept of cultural landscape as the fundamental un graphical analysis. This landscape results from interaction betwee and the physical environment. Sauer argued that virtually no land escaped alteration by human activities.

Cartograms

A type of thematic map that transforms space such that the political unit with the greatest value for some type of data is represented by the largest relative area.

Cartography

Theory and practice of making visual representations of the earths surface in the form of maps

Caste system

System in India that gives every Indian a particular place in the social hierarchy from birth. Individuals may improve the position they inherit in the caste system in their next life through their actions, or karma. After many lives of good karma, they may be relieved from cycle of life and win their place in heaven.

Central business district (CBD)

The downtown or nucleus of a city where retail stores, offices, and cultural activities are concentrated; building densities are usually quite high; and transportation systems converge.

Central place theory

Theory proposed by Walter Christaller that explains how and where central places in the urban hierarchy should be functionally and spatially distributed with respect to one another.

Centrifugal forces

forces that tend to divide a country.

Choropleth maps

thematic map that uses tones or colors to represent spatial data as average values per unit area

Christianity

The world's most widespread religion. Christianity is a monotheistic, universal religion that uses missionaries to expand its members worldwide. The three major categories of Christianity are ROMAN CATHOLIC, PROTESTANT, and EASTERN ORTHODOX.

City Beautiful movement

Movement in environmental design that drew directly from the beaux arts school. Architects from this movement strove to impart order on hectic, industrial centers by creating urban spaces that conveyed a sense of morality and civic pride, which many feared was absent from the frenzied new industrial world.

Colonial city

City established by colonizing empires as administrative centers. Often they were established on already existing native cities, completely overtaking their infrastructures.

Colonialism

the expansion and perpetuation of an empire

Commercial agricultural economy

All agricultural activity generated for the purpose of selling, not necessarily for local consumption.

Commonwealth of Independent States

confederacy of independent states of the former soviet union that have united because of their common economic and administrative needs

Compact state

A state that posses a roughly circular shape from which the geometric center is relatively equal in all directions.

Complementarity

The actual or potential relationship between two places, usually referring to economic interactions.

Concentric zone model

Model that describes urban environments as a series of rings of distinct land uses radiating out from a central core, or central business district.

Confederation

a form of an international organization that brings several autonomous states together for a common purpose

Deindustrialization

loss of the industrial activity in a region

Extensive agriculture

An agricultural system characterized by low inputs of labor per unit land area.

Human development Index (HDI)

Measure used by the United Nations that calculates development not in terms of money or productivity but in terms of human welfare. The HDI evaluates human welfare based on three parameters: life expectancy, education, and income.

Industrial Revolution

The rapid economic and social changes in manufacturing that resulted after the introduction of the factory system to the textile industry in England at the end of the 18th century

Megacities

Cities, mostly characteristic of the developing world, where high population growth and migration have caused them to explode in population since World War II. All megacities are plagued by chaotic and unplanned growth, terrible pollution, and widespread poverty.

Multiple nuclei model

HARRIS AND ULLMAN Type of urban form wherein cities have numerous centers of business and cultural activity instead of one central place.

Relative location

the position of a place in relation to another place

Self-determination

the right of a nation to govern itself autonomously

Semi-periphery

Those newly industrialized countries with median standards of living, such as Chile, Brazil, India, China, and Indonesia. These countries offer their citizens relatively diverse economic opportunities but also have extreme gaps between rich and poor.

Sustainability

Concept of using the earths resources in such a way that they provide for people's needs now without diminishing earths ability to supply for future generations.

Topographical Map

Maps that use isolines to represent constant elevations.

Buddhism

System of belief that seeks to explain ultimate realities for all people-such as the nature of suffering and the path toward self-realization.

Centripetal forces

forces that tend to unite or bind a country together

Conglomerate corporation

a firm that is comprised of many smaller firms that serve several different functions

Connectivity

the degree of economic, social, cultural, or political connection between two places

Contagious diffusion

The spread of a disease, innovation, or cultural traits through direct contact with another person or another place.

Coordinate system

a standard grid, composed of lines of latitude and longitude, used to determine the absolute location of any object, place, or feature on the earth's surface.

Core

National or global regions where economic power, in terms of wealth, innovation, and advanced technology, is concentrated.

Core-periphery model

A model of the spatial structure of development in which underdeveloped countries are defined by their dependence on a developed core region.

Cottage industry

an industry in which the production of goods and services is based in homes, as opposed to factories

Creole

A pidgin language that evolves to the point at which it becomes the primary language of the people who speak it.

Cultural complex

The group of traits that define a particular culture

Cultural ecology

Study of interactions between societies and the natural environments they live in

Cultural extinction

Obliteration of an entire culture by war, disease, acculturation, or a combination of the three.

Cultural geography

The subfield of human geography that looks at how cultures vary over space.

Cultural hearth

Locations on earth's surface where specific cultures first arose.

Cultural imperialism

the dominance of one culture over another

Cultural landscape

Human modified natural landscape specifically containing the imprint of one particular culture/society

Cultural trait

The specific customs that are part of the everyday life of a particular culture, such as language, religion, ethnicity, social institutions, and aspects of popular culture.

Culture

A total way of life held in common by a group of people, including learned features such as language, ideology, behavior, technology, and government.

Custom

Practices followed by the people of a particular cultural group.

Dairying

An agricultural activity involving the raising of livestock, most commonly cows and goats, for dairy products such as milk, cheese, and butter.

Deglomeration

the dispersal of an industry that formerly existed in an established agglomeration

Denomination

A particular religious group, usually associated with differing Protestant belief systems.

Desertification

the process by which formerly fertile lands become increasingly arid, unproductive, and desert-like

Development

The process of economic growth, expansion, or realization of regional resources potential.

Dialect

Geographically distinct versions of a single language that vary somewhat from the parent form.

Diaspora

People who come from a common ethnic background but who live in different regions outside of the home of their ethnicity

Distance decay effect

The decrease in interaction between two phenomena, places, or people as the distance between them increases.

Domestication

The conscious manipulation of plant and animal species by humans in order to sustain themselves.

Domino theory

the idea that political destabilization in one country can lead to collapse of political stability in neighboring countries, starting a chain reaction of collapse

Dot maps

Thematic maps that use points to show the precise locations of specific observations or occurrences, such as crimes, car accidents, or births.

E-commerce

web-based economic activities

Earth system science

Systematic approach to physical geog. Looks atheist interaction between the earths physical systems and processes on a global scale

East/west divide

geographic separation between the largely democratic and free-market countries of Western Europe and the Americas from the communist and socialist countries of Eastern Europe and Asia

Economic backwaters

Regions that fail to gain from national economic development.

Ecotourism

A form of tourism, based on the enjoyment of scenic areas or natural wonders, that aims to provide an experience of nature or culture in an environmentally sustainable way.

Ecumene

The portion of Earth's surface occupied by permanent human settlement.

Edge city

City that is located on the outskirts of larger cities and serves many of the same functions of urban areas, but in a sprawling, decentralized suburban environment.

Electoral College

a certain number of electors from each state proportional to and seemingly representative of that state's population. Each elector chooses a candidate believing they are representing their constituency's choice. The candidate who receives a higher proportion of electoral votes within a state receives all the electoral votes for that state.

Electoral vote

The decision of a particular state elector that represents the dominant views on that elector's state.

Elongated state

A state whose territory is long and narrow in shape.

Enclaves

any small and relatively homogenous group or region surrounded by another larger and different group or region

Envionmental geography

Intersection between human and physical geography.explores the spatial impacts humans have have on the physical environment and vice versa.