chapter 1: notes Flashcards
human geography
Human geography focuses on: How people make places How we organize space and society How we interact with each other in places and across space How we make sense of ourselves and others
geography =
“Description of the Earth”
spatial science
Spatial — “pertaining to space on the earth’s surface” Study of Spatial Variation (physical and human characteristics) Spatial ‘context’ is also key (idea of place and local characteristics)
medical geography
Mapping the distribution of a disease is the first step to finding its cause Dr. John Snow, a noted anesthesiologist in London, mapped cases of cholera in London’s Soho District in 1854 and found a link to contaminated water
cholera
Cholera An ancient disease associated with diarrhea and dehydration Was confined to India until 1816 Spread to China, Japan, East Africa, and Mediterranean Europe in the first of several pandemics (worldwide outbreaks) Second pandemic: 1826–1837: North America Third pandemic: 1842–1862: England and North America What processes create and sustain the pattern of a distribution? The patterns of victim’s homes and water pump locations helped uncover the source of the disease. Cholera has not been defeated completely We expect to find cholera in places that lack sanitary sewer systems and in places that are flood prone
focus of geography
Areal Variation on the Earth’s Surface (looking for differences across space) special systems – interrelated phenomena across space regional geography – sum of phenomena in a particular area
human geography subfields
Subfields: Behavioral Political Economic Cultural Social Urban Medical Population Cultural ecology
Why do Kenyans grow tea and coffee instead of food?
Foreign corporations own the best lands globalized economy thrives on foreign income failure to distribute systems Disempowered women
globalization
a set of processes that are increasing interactions cultural, social, and economic traits are adopted throughout the world Predominantly a recent (late twentieth century on) phenomenon, fuelled by increases in mobility/communication, cultural flows, and economic integration. i.e. fast food (brands/language/religion
globalization examples
Spread of global consumer culture Western movies and TV – fast food disrupting traditional diets Fads and pop culture – Sudoku, Origami, MySpace, Idol series greater international travel/tourism/immigration/illegal immigration Nonmaterial culture also dispersed Language world wide porting events (Olympics) human rights, womens rights, groups, ngo’s Hybridization American culture melds with local cultural traditions
themes of geography
Place Location Movement Region Human-Environment
place (sense and perception)
Sense of place: infusing a place with meaning and emotion. Perception of place: belief or understanding of what a place is like, often based
interrelations between places
Accessibility (degree to which isolation may be overcome) The ease of reaching a particular place Connectivity (total number of ways that a place is linked to other places)
Elements (features) of places have an arrangement or distribution
Density: the measure of the quantity of a feature within a defined area; Dispersion: the amount of spread in space between features; Pattern: the geometric arrangement of features in space (e.g. linear, clustered or random)
site vs situation
Site: Local physical and cultural characterisitics and attributes of a place For example: topography, vegetation, language spoken, common religions, etc. Situation: refers to external relations and connections of a place How is the place located relative to other places and things? What are its connections? How accessible is the place? What are the political, economic, social or other characteristics?
situation of mtl
Near the eastern margin of the manufacturing heartland Along major highway and rail systems connecting Atlantic Canada to the rest of Canada The furthest ocean tankers go before the St. Lawrence is un-navigable
site or situation The median income of Winnipeg
site
absolute vs relative location
Absolute Location: A precise system of locating phenomena in space (e.g. laituude and longitude): provides unique description of location Relative Location: The position of a place or activity in relation to other places or activities: neither precise nor particularly unique
abs or rel? Located in the Southern part of the province of Manitoba
relative
abs or rel 49o 54’ North Latitude, 96o 14’ West Longitude
absolute
abs or rel 780 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon, a little over 215 kilometres east of Brandon, and just over 100 kilometres north of the U.S. border.
relative
movement
Expression of interconnectedness of places Spatial diffusion: the movement of an idea or innovation from its hearth across space and over time (to new areas) Newest technology, colds & flu, new ideas What slows/prevents diffusion? - distance decay - cultural barriers
types of diffusion
expansion and relocation diffusion
expansion diffusion
) Expansion Diffusion – idea or innovation spreads outward from the hearth Contagious – spread adjacently (i.e. person to person) Hierarchical – spreads along hierarchies is a pattern in which the main channel of diffusion is some segment of those who are susceptible to (or adopting) what is being diffused i.e. Biggest to smallest, most powerful to least powerful, most connected to least connected Stimulus – an idea promotes similar (but NOT the same) development
relocation diffusion
movement of individual who carry an idea or innovation with them to a new, perhaps distant locale
formal vs functional region
Formal region: Defined by a commonality typically a cultural linkage or a physical characteristic German speaking region of Europe the area of town where the wealthiest people live Functional region: defined by a set of social, political, or economic activities or the interactions that occur within it Each has at least one node, usually the business, office or entity that coordinates the activity each province and territory in canada an airline market served by grocery store
region exmpls
Artificial construct – as people we create them so we can compare and contrast regions with one another Functional region example: target was here, went away.. When they left, their functional region in Canada went away –newspaper route, as long as the job is being done it is a functional region. It exits a long as the physical activity of it exists Functional regions formed by patterns of interaction b/w separate areas — service areas, commodities, water, people -functional regions: area that can be defined by interactions
types of formal region
1) administrative – formed by political or legal action — census tract, provinces, states 2) thematic – measuring and mappingobservable content (variable/theme) — shows where someproperty exists, ——physical: rainfall, climates, pine trees ——– human: education level, lives in tornado alley
formal/functional/perceptual regions
Formal regions – proven to exist. Through collection of data… i.e. climates. countries and cities can be proven to exist. Physical features can be proven (river systems). languages,/culture. Economic regions. Functional regions. They have a use. Based around something, connected to thing round them by some form of transportation… ie water pipeline (has an area it is based around, transported to homes), electricity – from powerplant transported to homes, delivery, phone coverage Perceptual regions – opinions about regions. No clear boundaries, all based on sterotypes, no types, attitudes about a place. Not necessarily real. i.e. stereotypes about area of town, countries, American south stereotypes
perceptual region
Perceptual Region: ideas in our minds, based on accumulated knowledge of places and regions, that define an area of “sameness” or “connectedness.” e.g. the South –mid atlantic, middle east
natural vs cultural landscape
Natural Landscape: the physical setting for human activity, help to shape how people live (e.g. climate, resources and terrain) Cultural Landscape: the visible expression of human activity or influence on the environment
nature-culture dualism
Nature Physical environment external to people Culture Culture distinguishes people from nature This sets up nature and culture to be opposites 18th century: this dualism was used to argue that culture makes people superior to nature societies were ranked by their culture Cultural ecology: studies the relationship between people and the environment
culture
Culture is an all-encompassing term that identifies not only the whole tangible lifestyle of peoples, but also their prevailing values and beliefs Culture is: a social creation dynamic complex Both tangible (physical ie clothes) and non tangible (language)
sequent occupance
Layers of imprint in a cultural landscape that reflect years of differing human activity Athens, Greece: ancient agora surrounded by modern buildings
environments as controls
Environmental Determinism – environment shaped/controlled human culture and actions (1800s, now rejected) overly simplistic similar settings do not produce similar behaviour Contributes to judging other cultures based on your own culture
possibilism
environment sets limits but people decide how to respond to the environment – people develop culture – environmental possibilism replaced determinism
reference vs thematic maps
Reference Maps Show locations of places and geographic features absolute locations (do not change) Thematic Maps Tell a story about the degree of an attribute, the pattern of its distribution, or its movement. relative locations (modified and change over time)
dot maps, graduated symbol, chorpleth maps, isopleth maps
Graduated circle represents quantity of the theme (does not provide specific location) Dot maps represent the theme -not good for populationdata Isopleth maps use lines to get averages for an area – -can cross county lines, follows actual population Choropleth maps shade areas to represent numerical data by the intensity of the colour -shade full area, does not cross into different areas
cartograms
Cartograms are maps with areas scaled to show some other value than shear size.
absolute and relative direction
Absolute Direction: non-culture bound, based on the cardinal points (ie Saskatoon is northwest of Winnipeg and southeast of Edmonton) Relative Direction: culturally dependent and vary by location (e.g. does Winnipeg truly belong in the west or is it something else? Is La Ronge in the north, near north?)
absolute vs relative distance
Absolute Distance: absolute spatial separation between two places (i.e. 400 km) Relative Distance: non-absolute measurements of separation between places (e.g. eight hours from Winnipeg to Saskatoon)
isochrone
Iso = line of equal (something) Chrone = time
mental maps
maps we carry in our minds of places we have been and places we have heard of landmarks, paths, parks, “happy places”, “scary places”, etc Mental maps include terra incognita, unknown lands that are off limits
activity spaces
the places we travel to routinely in our rounds of daily activity Activity space is the most well known part of mental map…. Routes you take etc
GIS geographic information system
: a collection of computer hardware and software that permits storage and analysis of layers of spatial data.
vector, raster and attribute data
Vector data – real things on a map i.e. roads. Points and lines are used Raster data – same as vector except use pixels Attribute data – things associated with map but are not physically on the map….. Qualitative or quantitative - These three things make up a GIS
data collection
Data Collection Data must have some spatial characteristic Primary data: Secondary data: collected by someone else; often use data collected by government or other agencies (i.e. census data) Data Management A variety of different data types can be stored in the same database, and related to each other Data Analysis gis is designed to answer some question
qualitative v quantitative
Qualitative data in depth answers and responses from open ended questions i.e. Tell me about your quality of life in Winnipeg. What makes it good or bad? Quantitative data Test and verify hypothesis and develop models numerical or ‘count data’ How good is your quality of life (QOL) in Winnipeg? 1 = poor QOL,…, 5 = excellent QOL
GIS tasks
create thematic graph Overlay/relate different sets of information create buffer areas around features Calculate distances Create a dynamic link between the map and the database
gis applications in health
Determining distribution of diseases Analysing spatial trends mapping populations at risk Assessing resource allocation (health care) Planning and targeting interventions forecasting epidemics Monitoring intervention over time
remote sensing
A method of collecting data by instruments that are physically distant from the area of study (via satellites, planes, weather balloons, etc.)
scale
Scale is the spatial extent of something. scale gives us a way of showing (in reduced form) all or part of the world (cartographical scale)
observational scale
Also, the observations we make and the context we see varies across scales, such as: - local - regional - national - global This is observational scale
cartogrphical scale
ratio between the size of an area on a map and the size of the area in real life; Small scale maps show a greater area (more generalized), large scale maps show less area (in more detail) Scale of 1/10000, everything is 1/10000 the size that it is in real life. Larger scale than something that is 1/1mil
observational scale
the level of analysis used in a project or study From small scale (level of an individual – body scale) to large scale (global level) reverse scale from cartographic
geography =
“Description of the Earth”
