Introduction to Cultural Geography - Location and Spatial Analysis

1. Introduction to Cultural & Human
Geography:
Location & Spatial Analysis
Chapter 1
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2. The study of Geography
• The physical study of Earth modified by Humans.
• Physical Geography – Earth’s natural processes &
outcomes – climate, weather, landforms, soils, plant
& animal biomes
• Human Geography – spatial study of
human activities & our relationship
with the Earth environment
• Regional Geography – unique
combinations of environments & human features –
defining characteristics – Examples – Urban or Rural
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3. Location on Earth
• Absolute – Latitude & Longitude grid system
measures location north & south of the Equator &
location east & west of the Prime Meridian
• Relative – location fixed in terms of north,
south, east,
or west
Prime
Meridian
= 0
degrees
Longitude
Equator = 0
degrees
Latitude
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4. Absolute Location: latitude & longitude
Figure 1.15 Latitude & Longitude measure Absolute Location on Earth
Parallels
measure
Location N & S
of the Equator
Meridians
measure Time
or Time Zones
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5. Maps – the Geographer’s tools
• Cartography, the science of map-making using
projections of Earth’s spherical surface onto a flat 2-
dimensional surface. The oldest & still most widely used
map is the Mercator projection-1569 used for sea navigation
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6. Figure 1.14 – Cartogram &
Choropleth Map
demonstrates:
• Global spatial inequality of all
people living on US$10 or less
a day.
• Cartogram distorts spatial
area relative to the spatial
data portrayed on the Map.
Figure 1.13 GIS technology
used to map land cover –
Choropleth Map showing type of
land cover via different colors.
Map Types

7. Spatial Analysis
• Field work tools in geography, land surveys,
personal interviews, archival research, Earth
models such as globes & computer images
• Aerial photographs & satellite imagery of Earth
referred to as “remote sensing”.
• Analysis of quantitative & qualitative spatial data.
Spatial analysis uses concepts of:
• Location, distance, space, accessibility & spatial
interaction.
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8. Distance
• Distance from place to place, an absolute
measure in units – kilometers, or miles
• Distance can be a relative measure in terms of
time, effort, or cost to move goods to market.
• Cognitive distance is how people perceive the
spatial setting in a given situation, personal
judgment about the degree of spatial
separation between points or nodes.
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9. Location – Site
• Site – refers to the physical
attributes of a location;
terrain, soil, vegetation,
water sources, climate
• Ex.: Hawaii has volcanic
soils, tropical vegetation, a
subtropical climate, &
proximity to the tropical
Pacific Ocean.
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10. Location - Situation
• Situation – is the
location of a place
relative to attributes
that aid human
activities; such as
accessibility to
transportation routes,
seaways, rivers, ports!
• New Orleans is situated
on the Mississippi River
Delta with port access
to the Gulf of Mexico &
the Atlantic Ocean.
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11. Landscape
• Ordinary landscapes – or
vernacular landscapes, that people
create in their lives together
• Symbolic landscapes – represent particular
values or aspirations that builders or financers
want to impart to a larger public; monuments,
streets, parks, sculpture
• Important to nation-building,
serve as ideals
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12. 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
• Landscapes
– Ordinary and Symbolic
– Many layers of meaning

13. Space
• Cognitive space measures people’s values, beliefs,
feelings, & perceptions about places & landscapes.
• Cognitive space is also expressed as environments,
paths, landmarks, paths, & other spatial layouts.
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14. Sense of Place
• The feelings evoked among people as a result
of the experiences & memories associated
with a place
• Lifeworld – the sense of place for insiders,
taken-for-granted pattern & contexts of
everyday living; vocabulary, speech patterns,
codes, gestures, & humor.
• Intersubjectivity - shared meanings derived
from everyday activities.
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15. Figure 1.17 Detail of Washington DC
depends on this person’s
experiences and perception
Cognitive images
(mental maps)
– Based on perception
and experience
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16. Figure 1.27 This German town
was once a prosperous
regional center, but lack of
access to a major highway
leaves it isolated and
economically disadvantaged.
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
– No location

17. Accessibility is…
• The opportunity for contact or interaction
from a given point or location in relation to
other locations, or proximity. Affected by:
– Distance between points or locations
– Connectivity via nodes & topological space
• Transportation – streets, highways, rail, air,
waterways. Communication – phone, airwaves.
– Economic, social, & cultural factors; how we
weigh the cost of the distance relative to its
usability and acceptability (socially & culturally).
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18. • 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

19. Spatial Diffusion
• The way things spread
through space & over time
to places & regions,
distance & movement.
• Cultural changes,
religions, technological
innovations, political
movements, disease
outbreaks
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Process of Adoption:

20. Types of Diffusion
• Contagious diffusion - phenomenon spreads
due to proximity of carriers, agents of change,
fixed in location –
• Diffusion of
World’s major
Religions
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21. Types of Diffusion:
• Hierarchical diffusion – cascading effect, from
location to location,
• jumping over people
• & places from:
from 1 innovation center
to another
• Example: The Cell Phone
• Diffused globally
within 20 years
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22. Global diffusion of McDonald’s & Starbucks
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