Geography 100

Society, Space, Environment: Introducing Human Geography Prof. M.A. Andresen



Saywell Hall10207 andresen@sfu.ca http://www.sfu.ca/~andresen/ 778 782 7628 Office Hours: Mondays 130 220pm; Thursdays 1030 am 1120 am; by appointment

Your Textbook


Knox/Marsten/Nash. Human Geography: Places and Regions in Global Context. Third Canadian Edition, Pearson. Other editions?

Course Structure
One 3-hour lecture (Wednesdays)
We

do have some classes cancelled

Reading week (15 February)

14 March (Conference)

Your Tutor Markers

Cristina Temenos (ctemenos@sfu.ca) and Kelly Baldwin (kab18@sfu.ca)


They will be holding office hours

Cristina Temenos: Wed 10:30am - 11:30am, or by appointment (RCB 7234) Kelly Baldwin: Wed 2pm - 4pm, or by appointment (RCB6144)

Evaluation for the course



5 components: 2 exams and 3 written assignments Midterm exam: 22 February 2012 No make-up exams!! Final exam: 17 April 2012 (Tu 7:00PM - 10:00PM)

Exams


Multiple choice True/False

Written Assignments


Based on key terms listed in textbook Explained in the course outline Later in today's class will be dedicated to the details of this assignment

Questions?

Lecture Outline
Studying Human Geography Basic Tools Fundamental Concepts of Geography
Why Places Matter

The Influence and Meaning of Places The Interdependence of Places The Interdependence of Geographical Scales Interdependence as a Two-Way Process

Continued

Lecture Outline (continued)

Why Geography Matters Geography and Exploration Interdependence in a Globalizing World Geography in a Globalizing World Geography in Canada Pre-Confederation 1870s to 1930s: An Immense Task 1930s to Present: A Geography Truly Our Own Geographers at Work

Chapter 1: Main Points



Human geography provides ways of understanding places, regions, and spatial relationships as the products of a series of interrelated forces that stem from nature, culture, and individual human action. The first law of geography is that "everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things." Distance is one aspect of this law, but connectivity and direction are also important, because contact, interaction, and direction of travel are dependent on channels of communication and transportation.

Chapter 1: Main Points



Geography matters because specific places provide the settings for peoples daily lives. It is in these settings that important events happen, and it is from them that significant changes spread and diffuse. Some of the most important aspects of the interdependence between geographical scales are provided by the relationships between the global and the local.

Chapter 1: Main Points



Places and regions are highly interdependent, each filling specialized roles in complex and ever-changing networks of interaction and change. This matters for the nature of our economy, our social relations, and our political realities

Studying Human Geography

Physical Geography


Physical geography deals with Earths natural processes and their outcomes. Human geography deals with the spatial organization of human activity and with peoples relationships with their environments. Regional geography is the study of the ways in which unique combinations of environmental and human factors produce territories with distinctive landscapes and cultural attributes.

Human Geography


Regional Geography


What is different about geography?



Not necessarily the subject matter, but the questions are different Economists ask: why do countries trade? Geographers ask: with whom (where) do they trade? Sociologists/demographers ask: why do people immigrate? Geographers ask: where do people immigrate to?

Fundamental Concepts of Geography



Region Location Distance Space

Place Accessibility Spatial interaction Scale

Regions


The concept of the region is used to distinguish one area from another. Regions are distinguished on the basis of specific characteristics, or attributes.

Regions


Regions minimize the variation of the chosen attribute within their boundaries and maximize the variation of that attribute between themselves and their neighbouring regions. Regions can be defined on the basis of any attribute or combination of attributes. Consequently, regional boundaries change when the definitional attribute changes A trade region may be (and likely is) different from an investment region

Region
Formal region


One that is uniform in terms of specific criteria

Functional region


An area that literally functions as a unit, economically or administratively, and is usually organized by transport routes focused on a dominant city

Vernacular region


The local region as identified by the regions own inhabitants

Location


Nominal


Expressed in terms of the names given to regions and places

Absolute


Fixed mathematically through coordinates of latitude and longitude

Relative
 

Fixed in terms of site and situation Changes temporally (time of day/year/etc.)

Latitude and Longitude

Global Positioning System (GPS)



A system of satellites that orbit Earth on precisely predictable paths, broadcasting highly accurate time and locational information Many of you may have these in your car They have been found to set off a crime wave because of their value

Site and Situation



Site


The physical attributes of a location its terrain, soil, vegetation, and water sources, for example

Situation


The location of a place relative to other places and human activities We do this here and that over there even though the site may be described as the same or similar

Cognitive Images


Cognitive images, or mental maps, are psychological representations of locations that are created from peoples individual ideas and impressions of these locations. But not just locations, our entire awareness and activity spaces We know some places very well and others not-so well Our cognitive maps then have holes in them

A Cognitive Image of Montreal

Distance


Absolute distance  Distance as expressed as an absolute physical measure (e.g., in kilometres or miles). Relative distance  Distance as expressed in terms of time, effort, or cost.

Distance


Social distance  The distance (in social space) between social groups. Cognitive distance  The distance that people perceive to exist in a given situation.

Distance


The importance of distance as a fundamental factor in determining real-world relationships is a central theme in geography. It was once described as the first law of geography: Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things.

Distance


Distance affects peoples behaviour. The farther people have to travel, the less likely they are to do so.


If you live on campus (forgetting about cost, for the moment) why travel down the hill for groceries when we have a store up here?

Friction of distance  The deterrent or inhibiting effect of distance on human activity Distance-decay function  The rate at which a particular activity or phenomenon diminishes with increasing distance

Distance-Decay Function

The importance of direction



Despite its importance We are actually quite poor at estimating distance We do tend to be quite good at direction though

...direction


We tend to have a directional bias in our travel behaviour Try to go the wrong way somewhere It is very difficult...you must justify it (less times, less effort, etc.) Because of the nature of our built environment we tend to have specific journeys to work, school, crime, etc. that has directional bias

Topological Space


The connectivity of people and places is often important: whether they are linked together, how they are linked, and so on. These attributes of connectivity define a special kind of space known as topological space. Topological space  The connections between, or connectivity of, particular points in space

Topological Space

Cognitive Space


Space defined and measured in terms of the nature and degree of peoples values, feelings, beliefs, and perceptions about locations, districts, and regions. Can be described in terms of behavioural space landmarks, paths, environments, and spatial layouts.

Place


A concept with two levels of meaning:



1) an objective location that has both uniqueness and interdependence with other places 2) a subjective social and cultural construct somewhere that has personal meaning for individuals or groups

Place Making


Any activity, deliberate or unintentional, that enables space to acquire meaning

Place and a metaphor



One of the best metaphors for understanding the concept of place is to think of it as a flag There are objective markings and colours: the Canadian flag is red and white with a maple leaf on it There are subjective meanings: the emblems of the US flag have cultural significance to Americans But there is also a temporal component: the context of places changes throughout the day, days, weeks, months, and years The flag blowing in the wind catches this temporal changes

Accessibility


The opportunity for contact or interaction from a given point or location in relation to other locations. Accessibility is often a function of economic, cultural, and social factors. Therefore, it varies from place to place This has consequences that geographers are interested in

Spatial Interaction


All kinds of movement and flows involving human activity.



People, goods, money

Principles of spatial interaction:  Complementarity  Transferability  Intervening opportunities  Spatial diffusion

Spatial Diffusion


One of the most important aspects of spatial interaction is spatial diffusion, the way that things spread through space and over time.

Spatial Diffusion

Patterns of Spatial Diffusion

Expansion, Relocation, and Hierarchical diffusion

Diffusion of the HIV-1 virus

Scale


The general concept:  that there are various scales of analysis (local, regional, national, global);  that they are linked; and  that processes operating at one scale can have significance at other scales.

Why Places Matter

Geographic knowledge is important because the world is increasingly characterized by:
   

instant global communications unfamiliar international relationships unexpected local changes growing evidence of environmental degradation

Why Places Matter



Places are dynamic, with changing properties and fluid boundaries that are the product of the interplay of a wide variety of environmental and human factors.

The Influence and Meaning of Places



Places exert a strong influence on peoples physical well-being, their opportunities, and their lifestyle choices. Places contribute to peoples collective memory and become powerful emotional and cultural symbols. Places are the sites innovation and change, of resistance and conflict.

The Influence and Meaning of Places

Places are settings for social interaction that:  structure the daily routines of peoples economic and social life  provide both opportunities and constraints in terms of peoples long-term social well-being  provide a context in which everyday, commonsense knowledge and experience are gathered  provide a setting for processes of socialization  provide an arena for contesting social norms

The Interdependence of Places



Most places are interdependent, each filling specialized roles in complex and everchanging geographies. This interdependence means that individual places are tied into wider processes of change that are reflected in broader geographical patterns.

The Interdependence of Geographical Scales



In todays world, some of the most important aspects of the interdependence between geographical scales are provided by the relationships between the global and the local scales.

Interdependence as a Two-Way Process



Places are dynamic phenomena. Places are not just distinctive outcomes of geographical processes; they are part of the processes themselves.

Interdependence as a Two-Way Process



There is a continuous two-way process in which people create and modify places while being influenced by the settings in which they live and work. Place making is always incomplete and ongoing, and it occurs simultaneously at different scales.

Interdependence in a Globalizing World



Today, in a world that is experiencing rapid changes in economic, cultural, and political life, geographical knowledge is especially important and useful. The study of geography provides an understanding of the crucial interdependencies that underpin all peoples lives.

Globalization


Globalization is a process and a condition that involves the increasing interconnectedness of different parts of the world through common processes of economic, environmental, political, and cultural change.

Will globalization render geography obsolete?

Far from it. In fact:


The more universal the diffusion of material culture and lifestyles, the more valuable regional and ethnic identities become. The faster the information highway takes people into cyberspace, the more they feel the need for a subjective settinga specific place or community they can call their own. Continued

Will globalization render geography obsolete? (continued)

Far from it. In fact:


The greater the reach of transnational corporations, the more easily they are able to respond to place-toplace variations in labour markets and consumer markets and the more often and more radically that economic geography has to be reorganized. The greater the integration of transnational governments and institutions, the more sensitive people have become to localized cleavages of race, ethnicity, and religion.

Geographers at Work
 

Canadian geography graduates are employed in a wide range of occupations. The skills that geographers possess are varied and include the abilities to integrate data from both the physical and social sciences, to use statistics, and to write. A human geographer can work in:
     

Urban Planning Teaching Public Administration Marketing and Location of Industry Non-Governmental Organizations Environmental Impact Analysis