human geography: places and regions in global … geography: places and regions in global context...

Chapter 1 Lecture

Human Geography: Places and Regions in Global Context

Sixth Edition

Wendy A. MitteagerState University of New York, Oneonta

Geography Matters

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Key Concepts

• Geography Matters• Place Matters• Geographic Tools• Spatial Relationships• Regional Analysis• Geographical Imagination

Figure 1.3 Influence of place in a center city neighborhood, Boston

Apply your knowledge: Why would a corporate employer value knowledge of geography in prospective employees?


Geography Matters

• Increasing geographic interdependence of the world• Instant global communications• Rapidly changing international relationships• Environmental degradation• Places and Regions

Figure: Chapter 1 Opener Protesting rising food prices in Maputo, Mozambique


Figure 1.1 Destruction caused in Japan by the March 2011 tsunami

Figure 1.2 Quality of life is impacted by this petrochemical plant in California

Places Matter

• Geographic Literacy– Lack of geographic understanding and

knowledge among Americans• Places are dynamic and complex


Places Matter (cont’d)

• Emotional and cultural symbols– Graceland (Memphis)

• Ordinary places with special meaning– Childhood neighborhood

• Sites of innovation, change, conflict

Figure 1.4 Anti-government demonstrators flood Tahir Square, Cairo, Egypt on February 11, 2011


Human Geography

• Spatial organization of human activities• Relationships between people and their environments • How and why relationships are important• Geographers solve a variety of problems on scales from

local to global– Marketing, GIS, international affairs

Figure 1.A Urban planners examine a model of a new town near Stuttgart, Germany


Geographic Methods and Tools

• Observation representation analysis models

• Qualitative and Quantitative data

• Remote sensing• Maps

– Social products– Map Scale

• GIS– Military to private sector Figure 1.5 Landsat satellite image:

Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD area


Figure 1.6 Topographic map of Lugano, Switzerland. Scale of 1:25,000 with 20 meter contours

Figure 1.7 Isoline map of precipitation for the continent of Africa

Geographic Methods and Tools, (cont’d)


Figure 1.9 Located charts are generated by combining graphs, charts, or symbols with base maps




Figure 1.15 Lines of Latitude and Longitude provides a grid pattern on the Earth


Figure 1.11 The Robinson projection: distance, direction, area, and shape are all distorted

Figure 1.12 The Peters projection: controversial “Europeanization” of Earth

Map Projections

• Systematic rendering of the Earth’s surface onto a flat surface

• Equidistant, Conformal, Azimuthal, Equal-area– Distortion of distance, direction, shape, area


Map Projections, (cont’d)

Apply your knowledge: Describe different scenarios that illustrate situations in which the use of different projections would be appropriate.

Figure 1.10 Comparison of map projections


Figure 1.14 Cartogram demonstrating spatial inequality of all people living on US$10 or less a day

Figure 1.13 GIS technology used to map land cover

Maps and GIS


Census data combined with commercial data for market research in NYC

GIS Applications

• Geodemographic research


Spatial Analysis

• Location– fixed coordinates of latitude and longitude– GPS

• Site and Situation– Physical attributes and relative location

Figure 1.16 Denver, Colorado is a major center for cable TV because of site and situation


Figure 1.17 Detail of Washington DC depends on this person’s experiences and perception

Spatial Analysis, (cont’d)

• Cognitive images (mental maps)– Based on perception and experience


• Space– Absolute or relative– Cognitive space– Topological space

(connectivity)


• Distance– Absolute or relative– Cognitive distance– “Everything is related to

everything else”– Friction of distance– Distance-decay

Apply your knowledge: Provide examples of the inhibiting effect distance has on human activity


Figure 1.18 Metro map of Milan, Italy is a topological map showing connectivity between points in the city.


• Accessibility– Opportunity for interaction– Proximity– Distance and connectivity – Airline hub cities are more

accessible than other cities


• Spatial Interaction– Movement and flows

of human activity– Places can

complement each other

– Transferability– Spatial organization of

activity is continually changing

– Time-space convergence

Figure 1.19 The effects of changing transportation technologies, “shrinking”the world



• Spatial Interaction– Intervening

Opportunities determine the volume and pattern of movement and flows

• Spatial Diffusion– The way things spread

through space and over time

– Expansion diffusion– Hierarchical diffusion


Apply your knowledge: Referring to spatial analysis concepts, discuss a national or international environmental issue. Relate complementarity, transferability, intervening opportunities, and diffusion.


Figure 1.21 The Mormon cultural region

Regional Analysis

• Regionalization– Functional regions– Regionalism– Sectionalism– Irredentism


Figure 1.22 Landscapes can be symbolic of national identity as this landscape in Tuscany has for Italy

Figure 1.24 Picturesque landscape in England emblematic of the nation even though much change has occurred

Regional Analysis, (cont’d)

• Landscape– Ordinary and Symbolic – Many layers of meaning


Figure 1.25 Routine encounters in Italy help develop a sense of community

Figure 1.26 Community art helps create a sense of place in San Francisco

Regional Analysis, (cont’d)

• Sense of Place– Insiders and lifeworld– Intersubjectivity

Apply your knowledge: What are the most distinctive characteristics of your region? Describe the landscape and the sense of place.


Figure 1.27 This German town was once a prosperous regional center, but now is isolated and economically disadvantaged

Geographical Imagination

• Allows us to understand geographic change• Places and regions represent the cumulative

legacy of successive periods of change– General effects and unique outcomes


Figure 1.E “SoFi” was redeveloped with exclusive, resortlike condominium towers and became a playground for the young and affluent.

Figure 1.D South Beach, Miami embodies the layered legacy of successive waves of development and change. Art Deco architecture reflects the past.

Geographical Imagination, (cont’d)


Figure 1.28 The consequences of the unprecedented shift of relative wealth and economic power from West to East are highly uncertain.

Future Geographies

Apply your knowledge: What are the likely future changes to the geography of your region?


End of Chapter 1

human geography: places and regions in global … geography: places and regions in global context...

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