1.4) Spatial Concepts

Define major geographic concepts that illustrate spatial relationships (includes absolute and relative location, space, place, flows, distance decay, time-space compression, and pattern

The Spatial Perspective

  1. what?
  2. where?
  3. Why there?
  4. Why care (So what)?
  5. Patterns

What = Place

How do we describe what a location is like?

  1. Place

a. Sense of Place: Factors that contribute to the uniqueness of a location

b. Cultural Landscape/ Built Environment: Physical artifacts that humans created which make up the landscape. Human produced. (It’s only a cultural landscape unless there’s a human imprint)

c. Placelessness: A location without a sense of place. No distinct attributes. (the same everywhere

  1. Location

a. Absolute v. Relative (situation)

b. Toponum →Location’s name- usually reflective of the culture & history of a place. EX: Georgetown, Washington, etc.

c. Site/ Physical Landscape: Environmental features of a location; include climate, water sources, topography, soil, vegetation, and elevation. (physical features)

Site is…

What is at this place?

The physical/human character of a place

  • Climate

  • Water sources (river, ocean, etc)

  • Topography

  • Soil

  • Vegetation

  • Latitude/Climate

  • Elevation

  • Culture

    Places in tropical latitudes, near the equator, get the most direct rays from the sun all year, so these places have hot weather year-round. Places at high latitudes, close to the North and South poles, receive much less sunlight and remain quite cold all year. Elevation, or altitude, also affects climate. Places at high elevations have colder climates than those lower down.

Situation is…

How does this place connect to others?

  • The location of a place relative to other places (relative location)
  • Helps
    • Find an unfamiliar place
    • Understand importance

A site is the exact location of a city. You can find it on a map. The situation of a city relates to its surrounding features, both human-made and natural.

The site of a city has features that are inherent to its location. The situation of the city includes characteristics that are external to the settlement.

The site is the land that the city was built upon. The situation contains the surrounding areas of the city.

Patterns- Spatial Analysis

What patterns can be determined?

  1. Clustering
  • Close together
  • Density- The number of something in a denied area
  1. Dispersal/ Distribution
  • Far apart
  • Distribution- The way something is spread over an area
  1. Patterns & Spatial Associations
  • An indication that two or more) phenomena may b related, associated, or correlated with one another, RELATIONSHIPS
  1. Regionalization
  • The process geographers use to divide and categorize space into smaller areas of analysis

The WHY and Importance

  1. Spatial Interaction: Connections, contacts, movement, and flow of things between places

What geographic concepts do we use to explain the conectedness (or lack thereof) of places, locations, phenomena?

a. Distance Decay

  • The interaction between two places declines as the distance between the two places increases
  • Physical Barriers →Mtns,/Rivers/ Ocns/ Dsts
  • Cultural Barriers → Lang./Religion

b. Time-Space Compression

  • The increasing sense of accessibility and connectivity which seems to bring humans in distant places closer together
  • Globalization
  • Increased tech and transportation

c. Diffusion: The process by which a characteristic spreads across space from one place to another

I. relocation Diffusion

Innovation is carried away from hearth most often via migration and may die out at hearth.

Relocation Diffusion- The spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another.

ii. Expansion Diffusion

  • Hierarchial
  • Contagious
  • Stimulus

Innovation stays strong at hearth while expanding elsewhere

a) Hierarchical Diffusion

The spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places.

EX)

  • paid celeb tweets (Kardashian clan)
  • School ‘cool kids’/ ‘popular kids’
  • Instagram Influencers

b) Contagious Diffusion

The rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population

  • Analogous to the spread of a disease

c) The spread of an underlying principle even though a characteristic itself apparently fails to diffuse

Define major geographic concepts that illustrate spatial relationships