Geography
Core Concepts in Geography - 1/22/26
What is Geography?
Science of knowing where things are and why they are there
Science of knowing how and why things differ between places/locations on the earth's surface
Geographers study everything that is happening somewhere on the earth surface
Location
Spatial patterns, relations, etc.
3 sub disciplines
Physical geography – physical geography: air, water, trees, etc.
Human geography – social sciences, how ppl interact with each other and environment (culture, foods, politics, etc.)
Geographic techniques – use to visualize and analyze location data
Why geography matters
Highly interdisciplinary and holistic
The only discipline concerned with understanding why and how both physical and social phenomena differ from place to place
Core Concepts in Geography
Absolute location (site)
Key question: how do i get there
Based on fix point
Found using latitude and longitude
Geographic grid
Latitude: horizontal, how far north or south u are from the equator
Longitude: vertical, how east or west u are from prime meridian, west= negative, east = positive
Relative location (situation)
The location of a place in relation to another place (not a fixed reference)
“The United States is south of Canada”
Place
Key question: what is it like to live there?
First way to describe: physical appearance – weather/climate, water supplies, soil, mineral resources, terrain, etc.
2nd: cultural characteristics: food, music, language, religions, roads, buildings, government, etc.
No two places are the same
Region
An area that shares similar characteristics
Formal regions: defined formally by government or other structures, states/countries, based on measurable data/clear regions
Functional regions: defined by interaction among places, metropolitan area, suburban communities outside of Chicago tied functionally to Chicago= metropolitan
Vernacular regions: “the south”, no measurable data, “imagination”
Spatial patterns
How things are arranged in space or geographic area
Dispersed – spread out
Concentrated (clustered) - close together
Where and why places are clustered/dispersed
Spatial relationships
Describe where features are “in relation to” other types of features
Example: cancer rates in relation to economy
Equals: a is the same as b
Touches: a touches n
Overlaps: a and b have multiple points in common
Contains: a contains b
Disjoint: a shares nothing with b
Map Projection
A method used to transfer the 3-dimension Earth’s surface to a flat 2-dimensional map
Distortion: shape (and orientation), size (and distance)
No map projection has no distortion
Introduction to GIS - 1/29/26
What is GIS?
Geographic Information systems
Geographic- the physical earth
Information: the information tied to the physical earth
System/science: tech and methods used to store, analyze, and display the info tied to the physical earth
Use to visualize or analyze any location data or geographically referenced data
What can GIS do?
Real world --> GIS data layers
Gis data: location info + attributes --> where + what
Gis is a computer-based tool that links geo graphic info (where things are) with descriptive info
Everything is mappable
It just needs a location: geographic coordinate, gps point, street address, place name, county state
Why do we map data?
Easier to understand patterns, visualize data
Maps can lie
Maps are representations of the world where certain things re highlighted and certain things are removed
Like any source of info, they can be misleading especially when used out of context
Knowing what data source is used is important
It's not just about making maps
Spatial analysis: a way of manipulation spatial data to understand spatial patters, trends, and relationships between objects and extract and additional meaning as a result – answering why and how
Population Geography - 2/3/26
Population Geo
How many people there are
Where in the world do people live and why do they live there?
A division of human geography that focuses on the study of people, their spatial distributions their characteristics, and their density
Population geography involves demography in a geographical perspective
Birth Rates
Annual number of live births per 1000 population
Total fertility Rates
Average number of children born to each woman of childbearing age
Stable: if a woman has 2 children, she can replace her and her partner
Replacement rate = 2.1 --> a woman needs to give birth to 2.1 children to maintain countries population size
The .1 is to counteract infant mortality
If a country’s TFR falls below 2.1, and that country does not experience immigration, that country’s population will ultimately decreases
If a country has low tfr they will have low birth rates
Developing vs Developed
Devloping countries have higher birth rates than developed
Developing countries have higher fertility rates
Crude death rate
The annual number of deaths per 1000 population
Developing countries vs developed countries = not a huge difference
Infant mortality rate
The number of deaths of infants under on year of age per 1,000 live births
Large difference between developed and underdeveloped countries
World population growth
Rate of natural increase if the different > 0
Rate fo natural decrease if the difference < 0
The difference = birth rate – death rate
Used by organizations/governments to see if policies work/help
Demographic transition model
5 stages, each stage signifies a more developed country
Stage 1: high birth rate, high death rate, stable or slow increase
Stage 2: high birth rate, death rate falls rapidly, natural increase = rapid increase
Stage 3: falling birth rate, death rate falls more slowly, natural increase = increase slows down
Stage 4: low birth rate, low death rate, natural increase = falling and then stable
Stage 5: birth rate = ? (yet to be seen), low death rate, natural increase = little change
Migration
The movement of people to a new are or a country to find better work or better living conditions
Push & pull factors
Push factors
Factors that drive people away from wherever they are
Examples: unemployment, war, famine, economic distress, natural disasters, political and religious prosecution, etc.
Pull factors
Attract people to new destinations
Economic opportunities, the promise of religious and political liberty, climate, established ethnic communities, etc.
Population pyramid
Visualizes and compares a populations age and sex composition
Triangle shape = rapid growth --> developing countries
Rectangle shape = stable
Upside triangle = aging/declining
Factors influencing population distribution
Topography and souls
Economic reasons
Political reasons
Cultural reasons
Climate
Population density
Average number of people per unit of area (square mile or square kilometer)
Used to describe the concentration of people in different parts of the world
Population divided by land area
Food and Agriculture – Week 3
Agriculture
Process of growing and harvesting crops and raising livestock to provide food and materials that people can use and enjoy
Subsistence farming vs commercial farming
Subsistence: farming for consumption
Low profit, only leftovers sold
Labor intensive (mainly from family members)
In developing countries (lack of capital, specialized labor, and modern tech)
Agricultural polyculture: small amounts of several different types of food
Commercial
Farming for sale
Modern machines and specialized labor
In developed countries (access to capital, markets, modern tech, and specialized labor)
Agricultural monoculture: a lot of one product
Intensive farming vs extensive farming
intensive
A system of agriculture using large amounts of labor and capital compared to the land area being cultivated to maximize your yield
Large yield per unit of land
Negative impact on the environment
Ex. Dairy farming in Japan or Europe
Extensive
A system of agriculture using small amounts of labor and capital on larger amounts of land
Low yields per unit of land
High yield per unit of labor
Ex. Sheep and cattle in Australia; grain or corn in great plains
How geography influences agriculture
Access to water
Agriculture is the most water dependent
Africa – unreliable water supply
Soil
Rich soil needed fir some
Climate
Temperature
Rainfall – crop grow
Sunlight
Food insecurity and Hunger
We do produce enough food to feed all populations in the world
Food insecurity
The disruption of food intake or eating patterns because of lack of money and other resources
Malnutrition: too many or too food nutrition
Food deserts
Geographic areas without ready access to fresh, healthy, affordable food due to lack of grocery stores within a convenient traveling distance
Examples: trip to farmer’s market for a black woman living in a food desert on the northwest side of Chicago
Food desert vs food apartheid
Causes of food deserts
Racial segregation, discriminator federal urban planning, housing polices against black people
Avoiding opening grocery stores in low-income neighborhoods
Low vehicle ownership and unreliable public transportation
Effects of food deserts
Health consequences (diabetes, obesity, etc.)
Reconceptualized food deserts vs food apartheid
Food desert has been criticized that it implies that these areas are naturally occurring, rather than the result of structural racism and discriminatory policies rooted in white supremacy