Human Geography

Geographical Perspective

►Understanding change over time is critically important

►Immanuel Kant argued we need disciplines focused on the perspectives of time

Immanuel Kant and Geography

“I treat [Geography] not with the completeness and philosophical exactitude in each part, which is a matter for physics and natural history, but with the rational curiosity of a traveler who collates his collection of observations, and reflects on its design.”

Geographical Perspective

► Human geography melds many disciplines Offers insights into subject matter covered by other

disciplines Seeks to understand changing spatial arrangements

over time► Sometimes described as the “why of where”► During the 1980s, campaigns began to reintroduce

geography into school systems► National Geographic Society

Led the campaign to encourage education in geography National Geographic Society introduced the “Five

Themes” of geography

Five Themes

1. Location

2. Human-environment interactions

3. Region—led to regional science

4. Place

5. Movement—mobility of people

► Left out landscape!► The material character of a place

► This class revolves around each theme

Five Themes

► Integration in place How and why people or things found in the

same place influence each other

► Interdependencies between places Nature and significance of patterns and

networks that tie places together

► Interdependencies among scales Tied to geography’s spatial perspective

Geography’s Importance

►Allows unique insights by focusing on spatial organization and material character of Earth’s surface

►Examples where Geography helps: Assess impacts of changing political boundaries

on citizenship Assess where medical facilities should be

located for given population (and in the future!) Develop land-use maps Can answer questions about what future actions

may have on environment and humans

Using Spatial Perspective

►Maps and geography are seen as synonymous Why? What is a map? Map making is as old as geography itself

The First Map??

Using Spatial Perspective

► Maps have been used many ways Geographic

Information Systems (GIS)

Using Spatial Perspective

►Geographers study BOTH the physical and human properties of places Earth's surface, elevation and relief,

atmospheric conditions, etc. Settlement layouts, population patterns,

transport networks, land use, etc.

►Geographers have a special interest in the quality of places

►Location plays a key role (remember absolute & relative?)

Maps and Regions

►Help define and delimit a region►How do we delimit regions?

Example...

Maps and Regions

► All regions have area, location, and boundaries► Formal regions are homogeneous in either

physical or cultural characteristics Physical criteria, e.g., desert basins Cultural criteria, e.g., a region within which a certain

language, say Basque, is spoken by about 90 percent of the people

► Functional regions The product of interactions, and movement of various

kinds Cities with surrounding areas of interaction A spatial system, its boundaries defined by the limits of

that system

Formal RegionFunctional Regions

Maps and Regions

►Perceptual regions—primarily in the minds of people

Maps and The Human Mind

► Our egocentric viewpoints Shaped by our cultural environment? Humans have a built-in cultural bias Examples: Mexico and Egypt

► Mental maps The map a person carries in their mind Derived from visual observation of the real world Developed over years of seeing maps People use them everyday Vague mental maps can lead to major policy mistakes

►Berlin conference in 1884…

Maps and The Human Mind

►Environmental perception Generated from our mental map

►Perceptions of a place never visited may be quite different from reality

Maps and The Human Mind

►Need more than absolute location►Maps offer us a lot of information, but how

can we understand the cultural (or physical?) without being there?

►The map is our window on the world If you could move to any place of your choice,...

where would you like to live?

Human Geography & Terrorism

Actual Tube Routes

Nearby Attractions

Non-executed Attacks

Greater London

Formal Region Cut-off

Discussion Questions

The editor of a city newspaper has appointed you to her staff, and your first job as a geographer is to draw a map of the region within which the paper sells (its market). How will you go about doing this?

When you finish your map, you notice the region is sort of asymmetrical: the paper sells 100 miles north of the city, but only 60 miles to the south. What could explain this variable “reach” of the

newspaper?

Discussion Questions

Imagine yourself living and working in a small, rural town. Your family owns and operates a small department store located at the busiest intersection in town, where the through-road crosses the main shopping street. Now the State Highway Department is building a four-lane highway that will bypass your town by six miles. How will this change your store’s relative location? How will it affect your market? What might you and other shop owners do to counter

the impact of the new highway?