Unit 1: Thinking Geographically

Space

• Space is defined as the geometric surface of the Earth.
• Objects on the Earth's spatial surface are defined by their location.
• These objects are separated by some degree of distance from other objects.
• Activity space refers to the area where activity occurs on a daily basis.
  • Example: Daily commute from home to school or home to work.

Place

• Place is an area of bounded space of some human importance.
• A place name, technically known as a toponym, is assigned to a location when its human importance is recognized.
• Regions are a type of place.
• Other categories of places:
  • Urban places
  • Places of work
  • Resource locations
  • Transportation nodes
• Attributes of a place change over time.
• Sequent occupancy is considered over the long term, referring to the succession of groups and cultural influences throughout a place's history.

Sequent Occupancy

• Historical layers contribute to the place-specific:
  • Culture
  • Society
  • Local politics
  • Economy

Scale

• Scale is the relationship of an object or place to the Earth as a whole.
• Map scale describes the ratio of distance on a map to the distance in the real world in absolute terms.
• Relative scale or scale of analysis refers to the level of aggregation.
  • In other words, it is the level at which you group things together for examination.