Chapter 1 and 2 Vocab for GEO 135

1. areal differentiation - The geographic description and explanation of spatial differences on Earth’s surface, including both physical as well as human patterns.

2. areal integration  - The geographic description and explanation of how places, landscapes, and regions are connected, interact, and are integrated with each other.

3. choropleth map - A thematic map in which areas are shaded or patterned in proportion to the measurement of the statistical variable being displayed on the map.

4. colonialism - The formal and established rule over local peoples by a larger imperialist government.

5. culture - Learned and shared behavior by a group of people empowering them with a distinct “way of life”; it includes both material (technology, tools, etc.) and non-material (speech, religion, values, etc.) components.

6. decolonialization - The process of a former colony’s gaining (or regaining) independence over its territory and establishing (or reestablishing) an independent government.

7. diversity - The differences between cultures, ethnicities, economies, landscapes, and regions.

8. formal region - A geographic concept used to describe an area where a static and specific trait (such as a language or a climate) has been mapped and described. A geographic concept of areal or spatial similarity, large or small. A formal region contrasts with a functional region.

9. functional region - A geographic concept used to describe the spatial extent dominated by a specific activity. The circulation area of a newspaper is an example, as is the trade area of a large city.

10. geographic information systems (GIS) - A computerized mapping and information system that is able to analyze vast amounts of data through both in its totality but also through layers of specific kinds of information, such as microclimates, hydrology, vegetation, or land-use zoning regulations.

11. geography - The spatial science that describes and explains physical and cultural phenomena on Earth’s surface.

12. geopolitics - The relationship between politics and space and territory.

13. global positioning system (GPS) - Originally used to describe a very accurate satellite-based location system, but now also used in a general sense to describe smart- phone location systems that may use cell phone towers as a substitute for satellites.

14. globalization - The increasing interconnectedness of people and places throughout the world through converging processes of economic, political, and cultural change.

15. glocalization - (which combines globalization with locale) is the process of modifying an introduced globalized product or service to accommodate local tastes or cultural practices.

16. gross domestic product (GDP)/gross national product (GNP) - GDP is the total value of goods and services produced within a given country (or other geographical unit) in a single year. GNP is a somewhat broader measure that includes the inflow of money from other countries in the form of the repatriation of profits and other returns on investments, as well as the outflow to other countries for the same purposes.

17. gross national income (GNI) - The value of all final goods and services produced within a country’s borders (gross domestic product, or GDP), plus the net income from abroad (formerly referred to as gross national product, or GNP).

18. Human Development Index (HDI) - For the past three decades, the United Nations has tracked social development in the world’s countries through the Human Development Index (HDI), which combines data on life expectancy, literacy, educational attainment, gender equity, and income.

19. human geography - The form of geography that concentrates on the spatial analysis of economic, political, social, and cultural systems.

20. latitude - Lines, often called parallels, that run east–west around the globe and are used to locate places north and south of the equator (0 degrees latitude).

21. lingua franca - An agreed-upon common language to facilitate communication on specific topics such as inter- national business, politics, sports, or entertainment.

22. longitude - Lines, called meridians, that run from the North Pole (90 degrees north latitude) to the South Pole (90 degrees south latitude). Longitude values locate places east or west of the prime meridian which is located at 0 degrees longitude at the Royal Naval Observatory in Greenwich, England (just east of London).

23. megacities - Urban conglomerations of more than 10 million people.

24. neocolonialism - Economic and political strategies by which powerful states indirectly (and sometimes directly) extend their influence over other, weaker states.

25. net migration rate - A statistic that depicts whether more people are entering or leaving a country through migration per year. It is usually expressed as a positive or negative number per 1,000 people in the population.

26. physical geography - The form of geography that examines climate, landforms, soils, vegetation, and hydrology.

27. place - As a geographic concept, this is not just the characteristics of a location but also encompasses the meaning that people give to such areas, as in the sense of place. This diverse fabric of placefulness is of great interest to geographers because it tells us much about the human condition throughout the world. Places can tell us how humans interact with nature and how they interact among themselves; where there are tensions and where there is peace; where people are rich and where they are poor.

28. population density - The number of people per areal unit, usually measured in people per square kilometer or per square mile.

29. population pyramid - A graph representing the structure of a population, including the percentage of young and old. The percentages of all different age groups are plotted along a vertical axis that divides the population into male and female. In a fast growing population with a large percentage of young people and a small percentage of elderly, the graph will have a wide base and a narrow tip, giving it a pyramidal shape.

30. prime meridian - Zero degrees longitude, from which locations east and west are measured in a system of latitude and longitude. Currently, the most used Prime Meridian is that established in 1851 at the Naval Observatory in Greenwich, England (in southeastern London). Before that other countries and cultures established their own prime meridians upon which to base their maps and navigation systems.

31. rate of natural increase (RNI) - The standard statistic used to express natural population growth per year for a country, region, or the world based upon the difference between birth and death rates. RNI does not consider population change from migration. Though most often a positive figure (such as 1.7 percent), RNI can also be expressed either as zero or even as a negative number for no-growth countries.

32. region - A geographic concept of areal or spatial similarity, large or small.

33. regional geography - A basic division in geography which focuses on areal units or regions and the particular environmental and human characteristics that distinguish them.

34. remote sensing - A method of digitally photographing Earth’s surface from satellites or high altitude aircraft so that the information captured can be manipulated by computers to translate information into certain electro- magnetic bandwidths, which, in turn, emphasizes certain features and patterns on Earth’s surface.

35. space - An idea in the field of geography that represents a more abstract, quantitative, and model-driven approach to understanding how objects and practices are connected and impact each other.

36. thematic geography - A basic division in geography which focuses on a specific topic or theme as opposed to analyzing a specific place or a region.

37. total fertility rate (TFR) - The average number of children who will be borne by women of a hypothetical, yet statistically valid, population, such as that of a specific cultural group or within a particular country. Demographers consider TFR a more reliable indicator of population change than the crude birthrate.

 population density - The measure of the number of people living per unit of area, often expressed in persons per square kilometer, which helps to understand the distribution of people in relation to available resources and land use. carrying capacity - The maximum number of individuals of a species that an environment can sustainably support, taking into account resource availability, habitat space, and environmental conditions.

• urbanization - The process by which an increasing percentage of a population lives in cities and suburbs, often resulting in significant social, economic, and environmental changes.

• urbanization - The process by which an increasing percentage of a population comes to live in urban areas, often leading to changes in lifestyle, economic activities, and social structures.

• urbanization - The process by which an increasing percentage of a population comes to live in urban areas, often resulting in changes to social, economic, and environmental dynamics.