Download place - Doral Academy Preparatory

UNIT I:
The Nature & Perspectives
of Geography
{

human & physical features

spatial perspective looking at patterns &
distributions

invented by Greeks: Eratosthenes
“geo”: Earth
“graphy”: writing
Definition of Geography

Human Geo: study of the spatial
organization of human activities

how we organize space & place

where & why human activities are located
absolute location: latitude &
longitude; street address
relative location: expressing a
location in relation to another
site
Location
Site: the physical character of a place
Situation: the location of a place relative to other
places
Fig. 1-7: Singapore is situated at a key location for international trade.
Place
place: location with physical & cultural attributes
“sense of place”: infusing a place with meaning
& emotion
The Cultural Landscape

natural landscape modified by human activities

the “Built Environment”
Religion and
cremation practices
diffuse with Hindu
migrants from India to
Kenya.
Spatial analysis: the study of geographic
phenomena
the SPATIAL:
1. Distance
2. Accessibility
3. Connectivity
interaction diminishes as
distance increases

“friction of distance”
closer = more interaction
1. Distance Decay
Distance Decay Curve
(“j-curve”)
place utility: a place’s
usefulness to a particular
person or group
How easy/difficult to overcome
the friction of distance?
2. Accessibility
3. Connectivity
level of
interaction

communication
& transportation

Ex: Telephone Lines, streets,
pipelines, radio, TV, internet
1. Complementarity:
supply & demand
between places
2. Transferability: ability to
acquire item
3. Intervening
Opportunity:
closer location develops
= more interaction
Ullman’s Spatial Model
of Interaction
Diffusion:
- spread of an idea or innovation from its
hearth
Barriers to diffusion?
- physical
- distance decay
- cultural barriers
1. Expansion Diffusion:
spreads outward from
the hearth
a. contagious: spreads
adjacently
b. hierarchical: spreads from
big city to smaller places
2. Relocation Diffusion: permanent
movement of individuals who carry an idea
Paris, France
Kenya
elements common to all spatial
distributions :

Density, Dispersion, & Pattern
Spatial Distribution
quantity within a defined unit
of area

Density
How spread out?

1.
2.
Clustered (Agglomerated) = spatially
close
Dispersed (Scattered) = spread out
Dispersion
The geometric arrangement in
space

Types of Patterns:

Linear, Clustered, & Random
Pattern
Linear Pattern
•typically
depict houses
along a street or
towns along a
railroad
Clustered Pattern
•typically
involve items
concentrated
around a single
node
•Ex: Center City
with surrounding
suburbs
Random Pattern
•An unstructured
irregular
distribution
Levels of Scale
- local
- regional
- national
- global
Scale
1.
Formal (Uniform) region: defined
by a uniform characteristic
Exs: a country’s border
a language region
Types of Regions
2.
Functional (Nodal) region: defined by interactions
Ex: magazine circulation, radio station’s range, a downtown
CBD
3.
Perceptual (Vernacular) Region: ideas or
emotions of an area
the South
the Middle East
Little Italy
1. Globe Grid: based upon latitudelongitude
2. Map Projections: making a flat map of a
round surface
* All maps have distortion!
World Geographic Grid
The world geographic grid consists of meridians of longitude and
parallels of latitude. The prime meridian (0º) passes through
Greenwich, England
Cylindrical Projection
Planar Projection
(Azimuthal)
Conic Projection
The Robinson Projection
Geographic
Information
System (GIS):

computer
programs that
collect layers of
spatial data
Remote
Sensing:
collecting data
through satellites
Neighborhood in Edmonton
City of Edmonton
Small scale: more area, less
detail
Large scale: less area, more
detail
Which is the
small-scale map?
Two Types of Maps:
Reference Maps
-
Show locations
General purpose
Thematic Maps
-
Ex: street maps
“Tells a story”
Uses Data
Pattern,
distribution
Reference
Map
Thematic Maps
TYPES:
Graduated Circle
Dot-Distribution
Isopleth/Isometric (isolines: weather,
topographic maps)
Choropleth (by region: county, state)
Graduated Circle
Map
•
different sizes to
show frequency
Dot Map
Isopleth/Isometric
Map
•
The isoline
connects values
Examples of topographic maps (shows elevation through contour lines)
Choropleth
Map
Thematic
Map
What story
about median
income in the
Washington, DC
area is this map
telling?
mental maps: representations of our
own image of the world
Mental maps
(“cognitive” maps)

Activity Space: the places we travel to in our
daily activities
–
How are activity spaces and mental maps related?
The Gravity Model:
How size & distance affect
interaction
Measuring Spatial Interaction