Linguistics
The scientific study of language, including its structure, usage, and development over time. In human geography, it often explores the spatial distribution of languages and their impact on culture and society.
Sequent Occupance
The concept that successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place, contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape. This reflects the layers of human activity over time in a specific region.
Cultural Landscape
The visible imprint of human activity and culture on the physical environment, including buildings, agricultural patterns, roads, and other modifications made by humans.
Ethnic Neighborhoods
Urban areas where people of a specific ethnicity cluster together, forming communities that reflect their cultural heritage, including language, traditions, and architecture. Examples include Chinatown or Little Italy.
Indigenous Communities
Culturally distinct groups of people who are the original inhabitants of a region. These communities often maintain traditional practices, knowledge systems, and a close relationship with their ancestral lands.
Centripetal Cultural Forces
Forces that unify a society and promote stability, such as a shared language, national identity, or common religion.
Centrifugal Cultural Forces
Forces that divide a society and create conflict or instability, such as ethnic differences, religious divisions, or unequal economic development.
Cultural Hearth
The origin or birthplace of a cultural trait, idea, or practice that spreads to other regions. Examples include Mesopotamia for agriculture and the Nile River Valley for early civilizations.
Cultural Relativism
The principle of understanding and evaluating cultural practices and beliefs within their own context, rather than judging them based on the values of another culture.
Cultural Imperialism
The dominance of one culture over another, often through the spread of cultural products, practices, or values, leading to the diminishing or replacement of the local culture.
Acculturation
The process through which individuals or groups adopt aspects of a different culture, typically the dominant culture, while still retaining elements of their original culture.
Assimilation
The process through which individuals or groups fully adopt and integrate into the culture of another society, often losing their original cultural identity in the process.
Mental Map
A person's internalized representation of the world or a specific area, based on their knowledge, perceptions, and experiences.
Formal Region
An area defined by one or more measurable, shared traits, such as climate, language, or political boundaries (e.g., the Sahara Desert or the state of Texas).
Functional Region
An area organized around a central node or focal point, where activities or interactions are connected to that center, such as a metropolitan area or a river basin.
Perceptual Region
A region defined by people's perceptions, feelings, or cultural identity, rather than objective criteria. Examples include "the South" in the U.S. or "the Middle East."
Carrying Capacity
The maximum population size an environment can sustain without degrading its resources or the environment itself over time.
Demographic Transition Model (Stages):
Stage 1
High birth and death rates with little to no population growth; typical of pre-industrial societies.
Stage 2
High birth rates but rapidly declining death rates due to improved healthcare, sanitation, and food production; rapid population growth occurs.
Stage 3
Declining birth rates and low death rates, leading to slowed population growth as societies industrialize.
Stage 4
Both birth and death rates are low, resulting in stable or slow population growth, typical of developed nations.
Stage 5
Birth rates fall below death rates, leading to population decline; associated with aging populations in highly developed countries.
Neomalthusian
A perspective that emphasizes the need to address population growth and its strain on resources and the environment, often advocating for family planning and sustainable resource management.
Pronatalist
Policies or beliefs encouraging higher birth rates, often to address population decline or aging demographics (e.g., government subsidies for families with children).
Antinatalist
Policies or beliefs aimed at reducing birth rates, often in response to overpopulation concerns (e.g., China's former one-child policy).
Push Factors
Negative conditions or circumstances that drive people to leave a place, such as war, natural disasters, or economic hardship.
Pull Factors
Positive conditions or opportunities that attract people to a new place, such as better jobs, safety, or quality of life.
Absolute Location
The precise geographic coordinates of a place, typically given in latitude and longitude (e.g., 40.7128° N, 74.0060° W for New York City).
Relative Location
The location of a place in relation to other landmarks, features, or places (e.g., "Richmond is southwest of Houston").
Sustainability
The practice of meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs, often emphasizing environmental, economic, and social balance.
Thematic Maps
Maps that focus on specific topics or themes, such as population density, climate, or economic activities.
Social Revolution
A significant shift in societal structures or norms, such as the transition from agrarian to industrial societies or movements that change cultural values.
Arable Land
Land that is fertile and suitable for agriculture.
Industrial Revolution
The period of rapid industrialization during the 18th and 19th centuries, marked by technological innovation, urbanization, and economic change, beginning in Europe and spreading globally.
- Diffusion
The process by which cultural elements, ideas, technologies, or behaviors spread from one place or group to another.
Spatial
Relating to the arrangement of places, features, or phenomena on the Earth's surface and how they are distributed, organized, and interact.
Relocation Diffusion
The spread of a cultural trait or idea through the physical movement of people, such as migration bringing new languages or traditions to a region.
Hierarchical Diffusion
The spread of an idea or innovation from individuals or nodes of authority or power to others, such as trends starting in major cities and spreading to smaller towns.
Contagious Diffusion
The rapid and widespread spread of a cultural trait, idea, or phenomenon through a population, similar to the way a disease spreads.
Environmental Determinism
The theory that the physical environment, including climate and geography, shapes human behaviors, cultures, and societal development.
Possibilism
The belief that while the environment sets certain constraints, human culture and ingenuity can overcome environmental challenges and adapt creatively.
Doubling Time
The amount of time it takes for a population to double in size, assuming a constant rate of natural increase.
Demography
The scientific study of population characteristics, including size, distribution, composition, and trends.
Cartography
The art and science of creating maps to represent spatial information visually.
Rural
Areas characterized by low population density, agriculture, open space, and limited infrastructure, often outside urban centers.
Urban
Areas with high population density, infrastructure, and development, typically including cities and towns.
Urbanization
The process by which rural areas are transformed into urban areas, often involving population growth in cities and increased infrastructure.
Overpopulation
A situation in which the population of an area exceeds the capacity of the environment to provide resources and sustain a quality of life.
Physiologic Density
The number of people per unit of arable (farmable) land, providing insight into the pressure placed on productive land.
Arithmetic Density
The total number of people divided by the total land area, measuring overall population density in a region.
Bosnywash
A term referring to the highly urbanized corridor in the northeastern United States, stretching from Boston to Washington, D.C., including cities like
-Boston, Massachusetts, New York City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland, Washington, D.C.
Megalopolis
A large, densely populated urban area formed when several metropolitan areas grow and merge into one continuous region.
Refugee
A person who is forced to flee their country due to persecution, conflict, natural disasters, or other threats to their safety.
Bioengineering
The application of engineering principles to biological systems, often used to address challenges in medicine, agriculture, and environmental management.
Pesticides
Chemicals used to eliminate pests that harm crops or spread disease.
Herbicides
Chemicals used to kill unwanted plants, such as weeds, to protect crops or manage vegetation.
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