Chapter 1 Lecture

Human Geography: Places and

Regions in Global Context
Sixth Edition

Geography Matters

Wendy A. Mitteager
State University of New York, Oneonta

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

Places Matter
Geographic Literacy
Lack of geographic understanding and
knowledge among Americans

Places are dynamic and complex

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 (contd)

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

Geographic Methods and Tools, (contd)

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, (contd)

Figure 1.9 Located charts are generated by combining

graphs, charts, or symbols with base maps

Geographic Methods and Tools, (contd)

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

Map Projections
Systematic rendering of the Earths surface onto
a flat surface
Equidistant, Conformal, Azimuthal, Equal-area
Distortion of distance, direction, shape, area

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, (contd)

Figure 1.10 Comparison of map projections

Apply your knowledge: Describe different scenarios that illustrate

situations in which the use of different projections would be appropriate.

Maps and GIS

Figure 1.13 GIS technology used to map

land cover

Figure 1.14 Cartogram

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

GIS Applications
Geodemographic research

Census data combined with commercial data for market research in NYC

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

Spatial Analysis, (contd)

Cognitive images (mental maps)
Based on perception and experience

Figure 1.17 Detail of Washington

DC depends on this persons
experiences and perception

Spatial Analysis, (contd)

Distance
Absolute or relative
Cognitive distance
Everything is related to
everything else
Friction of distance
Distance-decay

Space
Absolute or
relative
Cognitive space
Topological
space
(connectivity)

Apply your knowledge: Provide examples of the inhibiting

effect distance has on human activity

Spatial Analysis, (contd)

Accessibility

Opportunity for interaction

Proximity
Distance and connectivity
Airline hub cities are more
accessible than other cities

Figure 1.18 Metro map of Milan,

Italy is a topological map
showing connectivity between
points in the city.

Spatial Analysis, (contd)

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 Analysis, (contd)

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.

Regional Analysis
Regionalization
Functional regions
Regionalism
Sectionalism
Irredentism

Figure 1.21 The Mormon cultural

region

Regional Analysis, (contd)

Landscape
Ordinary and Symbolic
Many layers of meaning

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, (contd)

Sense of Place
Insiders and lifeworld
Intersubjectivity

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

Apply your knowledge: What are the most distinctive

characteristics of your region? Describe the landscape
and the sense of place.

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 1.27 This German town was

once a prosperous regional
center, but now is isolated
and economically
disadvantaged

Geographical Imagination, (contd)

Figure 1.D South Beach, Miami

embodies the layered legacy
of successive waves of
development and change. Art
Deco architecture reflects
the past.

Figure 1.E SoFi was

redeveloped with exclusive,
resortlike condominium towers
and became a playground for
the young and affluent.

Future Geographies

Figure 1.28 The consequences of the

unprecedented shift of relative wealth
and economic power from West to East
are highly uncertain.

Apply your knowledge: What are the likely future changes

to the geography of your region?

End of Chapter 1