Geography 1100 Unit 1 - An Introduction To

Geography

• The Meaning of The Word

– Geo – World (Earth)

– Graphei – To Write

Three Recurring Themes

• Humans and Land

• Regional Studies

• Spatial Analysis

The Goal of Human Geography

• The goal of human geography is to teach us about the world we live in and how we live in the world.

• Geographers often tend to be generalists who are seeking to identify and understand the interconnectedness of things.

Human Geographic Concepts:

• Geographers use a variety of key concepts to interpret and analyze the world.

Human Geographic Concepts: “Space”

• Absolute Space

• Relative Space

Human Geographic Concepts: “Distance”

• Distance

– Distance Decay (Friction of Distance)

– Accessibility

– Interaction

– Agglomeration

– Deglomeration

• Types of Distance

– Absolute (Linear) Distance

– Time Distance

– Economic Distance

– Psychological (Cognitive & Social) Distance

Human Geographic Concepts: “Location”

• Location

– Absolute Location:

• Site – The characteristics of a location

– Relative Location:

• "Situation" – The location relative to other locations

Human Geographic Concepts: “Place”

• Place

– Sense of place

– Sacred space

– Placelessness

– Topophilia

– Topophobia

Human Geographic Concepts: “Region”

• Formal (Uniform) Regions

• Functional (Nodal) Regions

• Vernacular Regions

Human Geographic Concepts: “Distance”

• Distance

– Distance Decay (Friction of Distance)

– Accessibility

– Interaction

– Agglomeration

– Deglomeration

• Types of Distance

– Absolute (Linear) Distance

– Time Distance

– Economic Distance

– Psychological (Cognitive & Social) Distance

Human Geographic Concepts: “Scale”

• Scale –

– Technical

• Small Scale

• Large Scale

– Subjective

– Temporal Scale

– Social Scale

Human Geographic Concepts: “Diffusion”

• Diffusion

– Relocation Diffusion

– Contagious Diffusion

– Hierarchical Diffusion

Human Geographic Concepts: “Perception”

• Perception

– Mental images of other places are changing. We are becoming increasingly aware of the interconnectedness of places.

– Mental maps demonstrate that we all perceive places in different ways.

– The metal maps of specific individuals can greatly impact many other people. (Can impact industrial location)

– Serious problems are created if people in power have distorted mental maps.

– Mental maps and people’s perceptions of places can change.

Human Geographic Concepts: “Development”

• Development

Human Geographic Concepts: “Discourse”

• Discourse