6th Ed., Copyright Pearson, 2013

1. Geography Matters – Chapter 1
• What is Human Geography?
• Study of the spatial organization of
human activity and our relationship
with the environment
• Place – The way we use & interpret
the Earth environment for our culture
• Geographic Tools/Technology – Maps a
used to study spatial relationships of
Location, Culture, & Environment
• Regional Analysis & Planning
• The process of
Figure 1.3 Influence of place in a center
city neighborhood of Boston, MA
What do you notice about the landscape?

2. Major Issues in Human Geography
& Human Development
Globalization: Increasing geographic interdependence of
the world, characterized by:
• Instant global communications between Places & Regions
• Rapidly changing international relationships – economic & political,
often causing social upheaval & harm to many, warfare, famine,
upside is global diffusion of innovations that improve quality of life
• Environmental degradation & concerns about Global Food security
Figure: Chapter 1 Opener Protesting rising food prices in Maputo, Mozambique, Africa
Read about this Human Rights/Labor situation on page 2 & 3 in the text.
The United Nations Human Development Index- http://hdr.undp.org/en/

3. Figure 1.1 Destruction caused in
Japan by the March 2011 tsunami
Figure 1.2 Quality of life is impacted
by proximity of oil refineries in
Wilmington, California, Los Angeles
County
Place – the cultural & physical attributes of an area.
How People Interpret & shape the Physical Environment
• Geographic Literacy
– Lack of geographic understanding and knowledge among
Americans, do you find this to be true?
– Places are dynamic and complex impacted by ever-changing
environmental & human interactions. Natural Hazards &
Manmade hazards: How does Japan prepare for the inevitability
of Tsunami? Why is this residential neighborhood so close to a
refinery?

4. Places hold Cultural Meaning
• Emotional and cultural symbols
– Ex: Graceland (Memphis, TN) – home of Elvis Presley
• Ordinary places with special meaning
– Childhood neighborhood imbued with cognitive maps
& memories
• Sites of innovation, change, conflict, social &
political upheaval
• “Arab Spring” in
• Morocco &
• Egypt
Figure 1.4 Anti-government demonstrators flood Tahir Square, Cairo,
Egypt on February 11, 2011

5. Human Geography is the study of the:
• Spatial organization of human activities across Earth:
• Agriculture, Human Quality of Life, Access to Natural Resources –
Water & Food, Fuel, Housing, Urban Development, Technology
• How and why relationships are important - Influence of Major
Elements of Culture; Language & Religion, political organization,
continual evolution & devolution of Nation-States.
• Geographers solve a variety of problems from local to global scales
using tools such as Mapping technology; Geographic Information
Systems (G.I.S.), allows us to represent & analyze spatial data.
Used in:
Environmental analysis
City Planning
Business & Marketing
Diffusion of Diseases
Figure 1.A Urban planners examine a model of a new town near Stuttgart, Germany

6. Geographic Methods and Tools
• Observation representation analysis models
• Qualitative (observed) & Quantitative (mathematical)
data
• Remote sensing
• Maps
– Social products
– Map Scale
• GPS - Global Positioning Systems
– President Reagan opened
– Use of GPS from the
– Military to private sector
Figure 1.5 Landsat
satellite image:
Washington, DC and
Baltimore, MD area

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Figure 1.6 Topographic map of Lugano,
Switzerland. “Topo” meaning topography or
lay of the land, & a “graphic” representation
of Earth’s surface in elevation.
Scale of 1:25,000 with 20 meter contours –
Lines of equal Elevation representing height
above sea level on the land.
Figure 1.7 Isopleth Map of precipitation for
the African continent
Isopleth – lines of equal spatial data –
Precipitation in both Centimeters & Inches
Geographic Methods and Tools, (cont’d)

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Figure 1.9 Located charts are generated by combining
graphs, charts, or symbols with base maps
Geographic Methods and Tools – Maps
Elements of
Maps:
Title or Theme -
Where is it on this
map? Why is it so
small?
Scale – Distance on
the map to distance
on the land. Not
shown on this map.
Spatial Data – Arrows
showing historical
movements of Human
Trafficking for Profit
from 1500 to 1840
Legend – Uses color
to illustrate different
forced African
diaspora, precious
metals, & spices &
Opium.

9. Absolute Location
Figure 1.15 Latitude & Longitude measure Absolute Location on Earth
Parallels
Meridians

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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
• Systematic rendering of the Earth’s surface
onto a flat surface from the Globe to a Flat
Surface
• Equidistant, Conformal, Azimuthal, Equal-area
– Distortion of distance, direction, shape, area

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Map Projections, (cont’d)
Figure 1.10 Comparison of map projections

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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
Go to: http://Nationalatlas.gov & create
this map & print the legend.
Map Types

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Census data combined with commercial data for market research in NYC –
layers of spatial data used to create distinct maps for a specific purpose.
GIS Applications
• Geodemographic research

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Spatial Analysis
• Absolute Location
– fixed coordinates of latitude and longitude
– GPS – Global Positioning System – triangulation of
latitude & longitude via 3 Satellites
• Site and Situation
– Physical attributes and relative location
– The high elevation topography of Denver, CO &
relative location near other major urban areas
Figure 1.16 Denver, Colorado is a major center for cable TV because of site and situation

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Figure 1.17 Detail of Washington DC
depends on this person’s experiences
and perception
Spatial Analysis, (cont’d)
• Cognitive images (mental maps)
– Based on perception and experience

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• Space
– Absolute or relative
– Cognitive space
– Topological space
(connectivity)
Spatial Analysis, (cont’d)
• Distance
– Absolute or relative
– Cognitive distance
– “Everything is related to
everything else”
– Friction of distance
– Distance-decay

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Figure 1.18 Metro map of Milan, Italy is
a topological map showing connectivity
between points in the city.
Spatial Analysis, (cont’d)
• Accessibility
– Opportunity for interaction
– Proximity
– Distance and connectivity
– Airline hub cities are more
accessible than other cities

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• 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, (cont’d)

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• Spatial Interaction
– Intervening
Opportunities
determine the
volume and pattern
of movement and
flows. Used in
Economic
Geography to
analyze trade of
goods &
transportation.
• Spatial Diffusion
– The ways & frequency of
ideas & innovations
spread through space
and over time. Diffusion
of Religion Expansion
diffusion – Give an
Example
– Hierarchical diffusion –
a phenomena originates from
a major node, such as an
Urban center & spreads to
other regions
Spatial Analysis, (cont’d)

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Figure 1.21 The Mormon cultural
region in the Great Basin Region of the
U.S.
Regional Analysis
• Regionalization
– Functional regions
– Regionalism
– Sectionalism
– Irredentism
• Regions
Areas with major
defining characteristics:
The Mormon Cultural
Region – SW U.S.

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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, (cont’d)
• Landscape
– Ordinary and Symbolic
– Many layers of meaning

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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
Regional Analysis, (cont’d)
• Sense of Place
– Insiders and life world
– Inter-subjectivity
Inter-subjectivity – the sense that we know what we know, our daily
interactions with each other at home, school, work, and places.

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Figure 1.27 This German town was
once a prosperous regional center, but
now is 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

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Figure 1.E “SoFi” was redeveloped with
exclusive, resortlike condominium
towers and became a playground for
the young and affluent.
Figure 1.D South Beach, Miami
embodies the layered legacy of
successive waves of development and
change. Art Deco architecture reflects
the past.
Geographical Imagination, (cont’d)

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End of Chapter 1