Transcript Rubenstein Glamoured Chapter 1

Chapter 1
Thinking
Geographically
An in-depth Social Science
 Many people have
misconceptions
about geography
and think of the
discipline as simply
an exercise in
memorizing place
names.
Where we find Geography?
 Geography exist in the
global issues receiving
attention at this time
things such as
– Population growth
– Terrorism
– Cultural diffusion.
 Diffusion is defined as the
spread of linguistic or
cultural practices or
innovations within a
community or from one
community to another.
Location, Location, Location
 Geography's importance
can also be established
by looking at community
issues, such as:
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Water supply
Pollution
Growth management
Housing
Retail
 Openings
 Closures
Thinking Geographically
 In addition to political rule, boundaries can be drawn
based on various components of culture including
language, religion, values.
Questions to Ponder
 Where would the most
desirable places to live
be located?
 What impacts would
this population
increase cause?
Every Story Can be approached
from a Geographers Perspective
 Consider natural events
and natural disasters. Do
humans choose to live in
harm’s way?
Spatial analysis
 Geography by its nature is a spatial science.
Geographers therefore study space in order
to locate the distribution of people and
objects. Geographers ask two main
questions, “where” and “why.” Spatial analysis
is concerned with analyzing regularities
achieved through interaction. Regularities
result in a distinctive distribution of a feature.
Distribution has three properties:
– Density
– Concentration
– Pattern
World Political Boundaries
(2004)
Fig. 1-1: National political boundaries are among the most significant elements of
the cultural landscape
How Geographers Address
Location
 Maps
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Early mapmaking
Map scale
Projection
Land Ordinance of 1785
 Contemporary Tools
– GIS
– Remote sensing
– GPS
Ptolemy’s view of the world c150AD
Old Islamic Maps
Fulfilling the duties of formal prayers and the pilgrimage,
Muslims need to find the direction and routes leading to al
Ka'ba from virtually any spot on the globe. The Ka'ba is
the house of Abraham in Mecca. And it is the point at
which Muslims must face when they perform prayers.
Left - map of
the world in
1154 by Idrissi
Right - map of
the world made
by the Muslim
geographer
Jihani in the
10th century of
the Christian
era.
Maps of the Marshall Islands
Fig. 1-2: A Polynesian “stick chart” depicts patterns of waves on the sea route between two
South Pacific islands. Modern maps show the locations of these Marshall Islands.
Scale Differences: Maps of
Florida
Fig. 1-3: The effects of scale in maps of Florida. (Scales from 1:10 million to 1:10,000)
Examples of Map Projections
Mollweid - Equal Area Map
http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/mapping
/a_projections.html
Township and Range System in the
U.S.
Fig. 1-4: Principal meridians and east-west baselines of the township system. Townships in
northwest Mississippi and topographic map of the area.
Layers of a GIS
Fig. 1-5: A geographic information system (GIS) stores information about a location in
several layers. Each layer represents a different category of information.
GPS
Uniqueness of Places and
Regions
 Place: Unique location of a feature
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Place names
Site
Situation
Mathematical location
 Regions: Areas of unique characteristics
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Cultural landscape
Types of regions
Regional integration of culture
Cultural ecology
Site: Lower Manhattan Island
Fig. 1-6: Site of lower Manhattan Island, New York City. There have been many changes to
the area over the last 200 years.
Situation: Singapore
Fig. 1-7: Singapore is situated at a key location for international trade.
Djibouti & Lahore
World Geographic Grid
Fig. 1-8: The world geographic grid consists of meridians of longitude and parallels of
latitude. The prime meridian (0º) passes through Greenwich, England.
World Time Zones
Fig. 1-9: The world’s 24 standard time zones are often depicted using the Mercator
projection.
Election 2000: Regional
Differences
Fig. 1-10: Presidential election results by county and state illustrate differences in regional
voting patterns.
Formal and Functional Regions
Fig. 1-11: The state of Iowa is an example of a formal region; the areas of influence of
various television stations are examples of functional regions.
Vernacular Regions
Fig. 1-12: A number of factors are often used to define the South as a vernacular region,
each of which identifies somewhat different boundaries.
Vernacular Region - Kurdistan
Spatial Association at Various
Scales
Fig. 1-13: Death rates from cancer in the U.S., Maryland, and Baltimore show
different patterns that can identify associations with different factors.
What is Culture?
 Your book defines culture
as a body of customary
believes, material trades,
and social forms that
together constitute the
distinct tradition of a group
of people.
 The Latin root of culture is
cultus, which means to
care for. Example
Agriculture (term for
growing things)
Cultural Ecology
 Geographers also consider environmental factors as well
as cultural factors, when looking at regions.
 This is cultural ecology.
– Basically, this is the geographic study of human-environmental
relations.
 In the 19th Century – some geographers said that human
actions were caused by environmental conditions.
(environmental determinism)
 This is rejected by modern geographers that say some
environmental conditions limit human actions. (possibilism)
 Of course now we are realizing that humans can actually
adjust their environment. (For good or bad)
World Climate Regions
Fig. 1-14: The modified Köppen system divides the world into five main climate regions.
Geomorphology
 This is the branch of
geology that studies
the characteristics and
configuration and
evolution of rocks and
land forms.
Environmental Modification in the
Netherlands
Fig. 1-15: Polders and dikes have been used for
extensive environmental modification
in the Netherlands.
Environmental Modification in
Florida
View
of
Miami
Beach
The barrier
Island Orchid
Island – in
the town I
grew up in.
Fig. 1-16: Straightening the
Kissimmee River has had many
unintended side effects.
Similarity of Different Places
 Scale: From local to global
– Globalization of economy
– Globalization of culture
 Space: Distribution of features
– Distribution
– Gender and ethnic diversity in space
 Connections between places
– Spatial interaction
– Diffusion
Globalization of the Economy
Fig. 1-17: The Denso corporation is headquartered in Japan, but it has regional
headquarters and other facilities in North America and Western Europe.
Globalization of culture
 What are the major Elements of culture?
– Customary beliefs
– Social customs
– Material traits
 Affects of globalization of culture
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Fewer local differences
Enhanced communications
Unequal access
Difficulty in maintaining of local traditions
 There is also globalization of environment
– Sensitive and insensitive environmental modification
Density, Concentration, and Pattern
Housing density in Hong Kong
Fig. 1-18: The density, concentration, and pattern
(of houses in this example) may each
vary in an area or landscape.
Density and Concentration of
Baseball Teams, 1952–2000
Fig. 1-19: The changing distribution of North American baseball teams illustrates
the differences between density and concentration.
Space-Time Compression, 1492–
1962
Fig. 1-20: The times required to cross the Atlantic, or orbit the Earth, illustrate how
transport improvements have shrunk the world.
Spatial Interaction
 Interdependence exists among places based upon the
degree of spatial interaction.
– Spatial interaction is established through the movement of people,
ideas, and objects between regions.
– For example, Travel has changed considerably over the last 500
years.
 In the past, most forms of interaction among cultural
groups required the physical movement of settlers,
explores, and plunders from one place to another.
– Today travel by car or plane is much faster and communication is
instantaneous.
– When places are connected to each other through a network,
geographers say there is a spatial interaction between them.
Airline Route Networks
Fig. 1-21: Delta Airlines, like many others, has configured its route network in a
“hub and spoke” system.
Diffusion
 Diffusion is the process by which a characteristic
spreads across space from one place to another
over time.
– The place of origin of the characteristic is called the
hearth.
 For example – US, Canadian, and many Latin cultures can be
traced back to the European Hearth.
 There are two basic types of diffusion:
– Relocation diffusion
– Expansion diffusion
 Expansion Diffusion includes– Hierarchical diffusion
– Contagious diffusion
– Stimulus diffusion
AIDS Diffusion in the U.S., 1981–
2001
Fig. 1-22: New AIDS cases were concentrated in three nodes in 1981. They spread through
the country in the 1980s, but declined in the original nodes in the late 1990s.