Fellmann11e ch1

Human Geography

Jerome D. FellmannMark BjellandArthur GetisJudith Getis

Human Geography

Chapter 1

Introduction

Image Copyright 2003 by Jon Malinowski, All rights reserved.

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© Thinkstock/Masterfile

Human Geography 11e

What Is Geography?

• “Description of the Earth”• Spatial Science• Study of Spatial Variation

Human Geography 11e

Evolution of the Discipline

• Ancient Period– Eratosthenes– Strabo– Herodotus– Ptolemy– Idrisi

• Non-Western Contributions• Modern Period

Human Geography 11e

Focus of Geography

• Areal Variation on the Earth’s Surface• Spatial Systems• Regional Geography

Human Geography 11e

Focus of Geography

– Areal Variation on the Earth’s Surface• Examines relationships between human societies and

the natural environments that they occupy and modify

– Spatial Systems• Link physical phenomena and human activities in one

area of the earth with other areas

– Regional Analysis• Studies human-environmental-”ecological”-

relationships and spatial systems in specific locational settings

Human Geography 11e

Human Geography

• Subfields:– Behavioral– Political– Economic– Cultural– Social– Urban– Medical– Population

Human Geography 11e

Core Geographic Concepts

• The Geographer’s Questions• Space and Place

– Absolute and relative space– Sense of place and “placelessness”

• Spatial Behavior, Relationships, and Processes

• Fundamental Characteristics of Places

Human Geography 11e

Core Geographic Concepts

• Space and Place– Absolute

• Physically real with measureable extent

– Relative space• Perceptual and variable over time

– Sense of place• The attachment we have to specific locations

– Placelessness• Uniformity; elimination of uniqueness

Human Geography 11e

Fundamental Characteristics of Places• Location, Direction, and Distance• Size and Scale• Physical & Cultural Attributes• The Changing Attributes of Place• Interrelations between Places• The Rational Structure of Place

• Density• Dispersion• Pattern

• Place Similarity & Regions• The Characteristics of Regions• Types of Regions

Human Geography 11e

Location

• Absolute Location• Relative Location• Site vs. Situation

Human Geography 11e

• Absolute Location– Identification of place by some precise and

accepted system of coordinates

• Relative Location– The position of a place in relation to that of other

places or activities

• Site – Physical and cultural attributes of a place

• Situation– Expression of relative location with particular

reference to items of significance to the place in question

Human Geography 11e

Location

• Site vs. Situation

Human Geography 11e

Direction

• Absolute Direction• Relative Direction

Human Geography 11e

Distance

• Absolute Distance• Relative Distance

Human Geography 11e

Physical & Cultural Attributes

• Natural Landscape– Climate, soil, water

resources, minerals and terrain features

– Provides the setting within which human actions occurs

• Cultural Landscape– Visible expression of

human activity

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Human Geography 11e

Places

• Changing Attributes of Place• Interrelations between Places

– Accessibility and Connectivity – Spatial Diffusion and Globalization

• The Rational Structure of Place– Density– Dispersion– Pattern

Human Geography 11e

Places• The Rational Structure of Place

– Density• a measure of the number of anything within

a defined unit area• Number of items in relation to the space in

which they are found

– Dispersion• The amount of spread of a phenomenon

over an area

– Pattern• The geometric arrangement of objects

Human Geography 11e

Place Similarity & Regions• The Characteristics of Regions• Types of Regions:

– Formal• Uniform regions; uniformity in one or a

limited combination of physical or cultural features

– Functional• Give an organizational basis

– Perceptual• Reflect feelings and images

Human Geography 11e

Perceptual Regions

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Human Geography 11e

Maps

• Map Scale• The Globe Grid• How Maps Show Data• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)• Mental Maps

Human Geography 11e

Mental Maps• Our understanding of

distributions• Our view of spatial

reality• images about an area

or an environment developed by an individual on the basis of information or impressions received, interpreted, and stored

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Human Geography 11e

Systems, Maps, and Models

• Spatial System– The content of area is interrelated– Component parts ar104e

interdependent

• Model– Simplified abstraction of reality– Clarifies causal relationships