MONA DOMOSHRODERICK P. NEUMANN

PATRICIA L. PRICETERRY G. JORDAN-BYCHKOV

C. 2012 W.H. FREEMAN & CO.

The Human MosaicA Cultural Approach to Human Geography

12th Edition

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: A CULTURAL APPROACH

Chapter 1

GEOGRAPHY:The study of spatial patterns and of differences and similarities from one place to another in environment and culture.

What is geography?

The study of spatial variationHow – and why – things differ from place

to place on the surface of the earthThe study of how observable spatial

patterns evolved through time

What is Culture?

Culture The specialized behavioral patterns,

understandings, adaptations, and social systems that summarize a group of people’s learned way of life. (whew!)

Buildings (architecture, materials) Farming Patterns (subsistence vs.

corporate) Language Ways of earning a living

Culture

(1) A total way of life held in common by a group of people, including such learned features as:

Speech Ideology Behavior Livelihood Technology Government

Culture

(2) The local, customary way of doing things—a way of life; an ever-changing process in which a group is actively engaged; a dynamic mix of symbols, beliefs, speech, and practices.

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY:The study of the relationships between people

and the places and spaces in which they live.

What is Culture? (cont.)

Culture is transmitted by: Imitation Instruction Example

Culture is NOT biological, it is LEARNED

The visible and invisible evidence of culture are all parts of spatial diversity

Structure of Culture

Any Culture can be viewed in three subsystems: Ideological

Mentifacts – “ideas, beliefs, knowledge” Technological

Artifacts – “stuff” Sociological

Sociofacts – “expected/accepted behavior”

Spatial variation: predominant religion

Why spatial variation exists: earthquakes

What is geography?

Geography is a spatial scienceSpatial behavior of peopleSpatial relationships between placesSpatial processes that create or maintain those behaviors and relationships

SPACE• Term used to connote the objective, quantitative,

theoretical, model-based, economics-oriented type of geography that seeks to understand spatial systems

and networks through the application of social science.•Or…

•A scientific approach to cultural geography

How to Understand Human Geography:

Space and Place

PLACE• Term used to connote the subjective, idiographic,

humanistic, culturally oriented type of geography that seeks to understand the unique character of individual regions and places, rejecting the principles of science

as flawed and unknowingly biased.

•Or…•An approach that focuses on

each individual situation

How to Understand Human Geography:

Space and Place

FIG 1.15

Example of Model Building:The Latin American City (Fig 1.3)

•Region•Mobility

•Globalization•Nature-Culture

•Cultural Landscape

Themes in Human Geography

A GROUPING OF LIKE PLACES OR THE FUNCTIONAL UNION OF PLACES TO

FORM A SPATIAL UNIT.

FormalFunctionalVernacular

Region

Regions

Formal, or uniform, regions Areas of essential uniformity in one or a

limited combination of physical or cultural features

The characterizing features are most clearly defined at the core (node)

The characterizing features lessen in dominance toward its periphery

WHEAT-FARMING FORMAL REGIONS

(FIGURE 1.2)

Formal RegionsInhabited by people who share one or more cultural

traits.

Regions

Functional, or nodal, region A spatial system defined by the

interactions and connections that give it a dynamic, organizational basis

Also follows core/periphery patterns Example: Deerwood has both Brainerd and

Aitkin papers Example: Minnesota

DENVER, COLORADO

(FIGURE 1.5)

Functional RegionFunctions as a unit politically, socially, or

economically.

East v. West/North v. South in Germany (Fig. 1.6)

“THE VALLEY”

(SAN FERNANDO, NORTHWEST L.A.)

(FIGURE 1.7)

Vernacular RegionA region perceived to exist by its

inhabitants.

Regions

Vernacular, or perceptual, regions Less rigorously structured than the formal

and functional regions Reflect feelings and images rather than

objective data Little Italy, Chinatown, gang ‘turf’ Boundaries depend on the perception of

the individual

Vernacular Region

Twins’ Territory

Brainerd Lakes Region cab.blog.gustavus.edu

brainerddispatch.com

Palestinian Student’s View of the World

Figure 3.20

3-10

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Mobility

MOBILITY:THE RELATIVE ABILITY OF PEOPLE, IDEAS, OR THINGS TO MOVE FREELY THROUGH SPACE.

DIFFUSION:THE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE, IDEAS, OR THINGS

FROM ONE LOCATION OUTWARD TOWARD OTHER LOCATIONS.

MOBILITY THROUGH DIFFUSIONRelocation diffusionExpansion diffusionHierarchical diffusionContagious diffusionStimulus diffusion

Mobility

FIG 1.9

Diffusion of HIV in Ohio (Fig. 1.9)

Time-Distance DecayAbsorbingPermeable

Barriers to Diffusion

CIRCULATION:Implies an ongoing set of

movements of people, ideas, or things that have no particular

center or periphery.

•Migrations

Diffusion or Circulation?

BINDING TOGETHER OF ALL THE LANDS AND PEOPLES OF THE WORLD INTO AN INTEGRATED

SYSTEM DRIVEN BY CAPITALISTIC FREE MARKETS

CULTURAL DIFFUSION IS RAPID INDEPENDENT STATES ARE

WEAKENED CULTURAL HOMOGENIZATION IS

ENCOURAGED

Globalization

Human Development Index (Fig 1.11)

REFERS TO THE COMPLEX RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PEOPLE AND THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Nature-Culture

Schools of Thought in Nature-Culture

• Environmental Determinism: • Cultures are shaped directly or indirectly by the

physical environment.

• Possibilism: • Humans, not the physical environment, are the

primary active force; any environment offers a number of different possibilities for cultures to develop; choices among these possibilities are guided by cultural heritage.

Schools of Thought in Nature-Culture

• Environmental perception:• Culture depends more on what people perceive

the environment to be than on the actual character of the environment; perception is colored by culture.

• Humans as modifiers of the earth:• Humans mold nature.

L: Chongqing (Chungking) and R: San Francisco(Figure 1.13)

Post-Katrina New Orleans (Figure 1.14)

Environmental Perception

Cultural Landscape

All the built forms that cultural groups create in inhabiting the Earth (visible imprint) Roads Cities Houses Parks Commercial buildings

Cultural Landscape cont.

Reflects a culture’s: Needs Values Attitudes towards the Earth

Contains valuable evidence about the origin, spread, and development of cultures

Cultural Landscapes cont.

Ecological eventsNot all early societies lived in harmony with

their environment!!!! Hollywood misconceptions Real examples of ecological disasters

Pleistocene overkill Roman granary of North Africa Easter Island Modern issues

Modern Issues

In the past people have misused the land Dust Bowl Over-farming Deforestation

FIG 1.16, 1.18, 1.20

Some Cultural LandscapesYunnan Province, China (Fig. 1.16)

Yokohama, Japan (Figure 1.19)

Cultural Landscape cont.

Symbolic Landscape Landscape that expresses the values,

beliefs, and meanings of a particular culture

Chinatown, San Francisco (Fig. 1.17)

Prague (Figure 1.20)

Cultural Landscape cont.

3 principles of CL:Settlement formsLand-division patternsArchitectural styles

Settlement forms

Spatial arrangement of buildings, roads, towns, and other features

Nucleation – a dense settlement form

Dispersed – people are more spread out

Settlement Forms

Grid layout vs. Organic

Westmoreland, Imperial Valley, California (Fig. 1.22)

Land-division patterns

Reveal the way a culture has divided the land for economic, social, and political uses

Towns in the U.S. Residential areas Industrial areas Government areas

Land-division patterns

Architecture

Exterior materialsDecorationLayoutIs there a purpose to the the design?

Examining architecture of a culture reveals a lot about the people

American Ranch House (Figure 1.21)

Canadian Log House (Figure 1.23)