GEOG 130 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Geomatics, La Ronge, Urban Geography (Journal)
What is human geography? (key question)
The study of geography
Three themes central to any study of the human world:
Relations between humans and land
The human world is the ever-changing product of the
activities of human beings, as individuals and as
group members, working within human and
institutional frameworks to modify pre-existing
physical conditions
Human geographers often focus on the
evolution of the human world with reference to
people, their cultures, and physical
environments
®
As human geographers, we are interested in
landscape both for what it is and for what it
means to live in it
®
-
1)
Regionalization
To facilitate the task of writing about the world,
human geographers often divide large areas into
smaller areas that exhibit a degree of unity
Referred to as regions
®
Building on a long tradition, contemporary
human geography considers regions at a wide
range of scales - from local to global
®
In acknowledge the relevance of different
spatial scales of analysis, human geography
reveals the importance of place in all aspects of
our lives
®
-
Regions are artificial: standard Canadian regions
Justifications for traditional regions:
Easy to understand
◊
Reflect political nature of Canada
◊
Facilitate use of existing statistical data
◊
Represents vernacular (how to perceive
the world/ understood) regions
◊
associated with a core set of physical
features
◊
®
-
Nordicity in Canada: An alternative way of defining
Canadian regions
Based on 10 natural and social factors
®
East-west regions may better reflect population
densities some ecological areas, economies,
etc.
®
Nordicity reflects differences in technologies
required for living and transportation
®
Provides an effective way to break down larger
regions
®
-
2)
Spatial analysis
Understanding the human world requires that we
explain location (why things are where they are)
Typically a geographer uses a spatial analysis
approach to tackle this question through:
Theory construction
◊
Models
◊
Hypothesis testing
◊
Using quantitative methods
◊
®
Primary goal is to explain locational regularities
Secondary goal is often of identifying
alternative locational patterns that might
be more efficient or more equitable (e.g.,
identifying ridings for electrons)
◊
®
-
Spatial science (spatial - "of or 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)
-
Space and place (place - something at a given
location)
-
Spatial distribution - what processes create and
sustain the pattern of a distribution?
-
3)
○
-
Why 'human' geography?
Because human geography studies human beings, it has close ties with
social sciences such as history, economics, anthropology, sociology,
psychology, and political studies
-
The central subject matter of human geography is human behaviour as
it affects the Earth's surface
-
Subfield Related Disciplines
Population Geography Demography
Economic Geography Economics
Cultural Geography Anthropology, Sociology,
History
Social Geography Sociology, Religious Studies,
etc.
Urban Geography Urban Studies, Urban Planning
Medical/Health
Geography
Population Health,
Epidemiology
Political Geography Political Science
Behavioral Geography Psychology, Economics
The goal of human geography
Writing about the human world to increase our understanding of
it
○
'Geography is the only subject that asks you to look at the world
and try to make sense of it. The field never stops being exciting,
that’s what geography is all about - trying to make sense of the
world.' (Lewis, 2002:4)
○
The topics we address in human geography range from economic,
to social, to medical, to environmental..
○
-
The work of human geography
What do human geographers actually do?
○
What questions do they ask?
○
What problems do they strive to solve?
○
Preliminary insights:
Changing political divisions
§
Impacts of globalization
§
Modernization (demographic, cultural, and economic)
§
Changing quality of life
§
○
-
Key geographical concepts
Movement
Spatial interaction: the interconnectedness between places
depends upon
Distance
§
Accessibility
§
Connectivity
§
○
-
Spatial descriptions
Location
Absolute location: a precise system of locating phenomena
in space (e.g., latitude 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
§
○
Site vs. situation
Site: local physical environment; economic and cultural
characteristics and other attributes of a place
§
Situation: refers to external relations and connections of a
place to other places
§
○
Distance
Absolute distance: absolute spatial separation between two
places (e.g., 400 km)
§
Relative distance: non-absolute measurements of
separation between places (e.g., voyageurs' pipes; eight
hours (16 shows) from Winnipeg to Saskatoon)
§
○
Direction
Absolute direction: non-culture bound, based on the
cardinal points (e.g., Saskatoon is northwest of Winnipeg
and southeast of Edmonton
§
Relative direction: culturally dependent and varies by
location (e.g., Winnipeg truly belong in the west or is it
something else? Is La Ronge in the north, the near north?)
Also, egocentric coordinates (left, right, forward, backward,
up and down)
§
○
-
Scale
Has multiple meanings for geographers
Scale is the relationship between size of length of a feature
on the map and the same item on the Earth's surface (e.g.,
1 cm to 100km)
1)
Scale is the territorial extent of something - the
observations we make and the context, we see variation
across scales, such as:
Local
-
Regional
-
National
-
Global
-
2)
○
Map scale
Rations 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
□
○
Scale is a powerful concept because:
Processes operating at different scales influence one
another (e.g., farm operations: local; regional/provincial;
national; global)
□
What is occurring across scales provides context for us to
understand a phenomenon (e.g., epidemics: global,
national, local)
□
People can use scale politically to change who is involved or
how an issue is perceived (e.g., laws jump scales, ignoring
cultural difference - American intellectual property laws)
□
○
-
Regions
A device for selecting and studying areal groupings of the
complex phenomena found on the Earth; a tool for simplification
○
Formal region: defined by a common characteristics, such as a
cultural linkage or a physical characteristic (e.g., German speaking
region of Europe)
1)
Functional region: defined by a set of social political or economic
activities or the interactions that occur within it (e.g., an urban
area)
2)
Vernacular or perceptual regions: ideas in our minds, based on
accumulated knowledge of places and regions, that define an
area of "sameness" or "connectedness"(e.g., the south, the mid-
Atlantic, the middle east)
3)
-
Mental maps
An internal map (in the mind) which represents the sum of a
person's knowledge, perceptions and attitudes towards an area
or place
○
The level of detail varies with familiarity, and perceived
importance
○
-
Space and place
Perception/knowledge of place
Mental maps:□
Maps we carry in our minds of places we have been and
places we have heard of
We may refer to: landmarks, paths, boundaries, as well as
qualities such as accessibility
Activity spaces: □
The places we travel to routinely in our rounds of daily
activity
○
-
Introduction (week 1 & 2 pt.1)
What is human geography? (key question)
The study of geography
Three themes central to any study of the human world:
Relations between humans and land
The human world is the ever-changing product of the
activities of human beings, as individuals and as
group members, working within human and
institutional frameworks to modify pre-existing
physical conditions
Human geographers often focus on the
evolution of the human world with reference to
people, their cultures, and physical
environments
®
As human geographers, we are interested in
landscape both for what it is and for what it
means to live in it
®
-
1)
Regionalization
To facilitate the task of writing about the world,
human geographers often divide large areas into
smaller areas that exhibit a degree of unity
Referred to as regions
®
Building on a long tradition, contemporary
human geography considers regions at a wide
range of scales - from local to global
®
In acknowledge the relevance of different
spatial scales of analysis, human geography
reveals the importance of place in all aspects of
our lives
®
-
Regions are artificial: standard Canadian regions
Justifications for traditional regions:
Easy to understand
◊
Reflect political nature of Canada
◊
Facilitate use of existing statistical data
◊
Represents vernacular (how to perceive
the world/ understood) regions
◊
associated with a core set of physical
features
◊
®
-
Nordicity in Canada: An alternative way of defining
Canadian regions
Based on 10 natural and social factors
®
East-west regions may better reflect population
densities some ecological areas, economies,
etc.
®
Nordicity reflects differences in technologies
required for living and transportation
®
Provides an effective way to break down larger
regions
®
-
2)
Spatial analysis
Understanding the human world requires that we
explain location (why things are where they are)
Typically a geographer uses a spatial analysis
approach to tackle this question through:
Theory construction
◊
Models
◊
Hypothesis testing
◊
Using quantitative methods
◊
®
Primary goal is to explain locational regularities
Secondary goal is often of identifying
alternative locational patterns that might
be more efficient or more equitable (e.g.,
identifying ridings for electrons)
◊
®
-
Spatial science (spatial - "of or 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)
-
Space and place (place - something at a given
location)
-
Spatial distribution - what processes create and
sustain the pattern of a distribution?
-
3)
○
-
Why 'human' geography?
Because human geography studies human beings, it has close ties with
social sciences such as history, economics, anthropology, sociology,
psychology, and political studies
-
The central subject matter of human geography is human behaviour as
it affects the Earth's surface
-
Subfield Related Disciplines
Population Geography Demography
Economic Geography Economics
Cultural Geography Anthropology, Sociology,
History
Social Geography Sociology, Religious Studies,
etc.
Urban Geography Urban Studies, Urban Planning
Medical/Health
Geography
Population Health,
Epidemiology
Political Geography Political Science
Behavioral Geography Psychology, Economics
The goal of human geography
Writing about the human world to increase our understanding of
it
○
'Geography is the only subject that asks you to look at the world
and try to make sense of it. The field never stops being exciting,
that’s what geography is all about - trying to make sense of the
world.' (Lewis, 2002:4)
○
The topics we address in human geography range from economic,
to social, to medical, to environmental..
○
-
The work of human geography
What do human geographers actually do?
○
What questions do they ask?
○
What problems do they strive to solve?
○
Preliminary insights:
Changing political divisions
§
Impacts of globalization
§
Modernization (demographic, cultural, and economic)
§
Changing quality of life
§
○
-
Key geographical concepts
Movement
Spatial interaction: the interconnectedness between places
depends upon
Distance
§
Accessibility
§
Connectivity
§
○
-
Spatial descriptions
Location
Absolute location: a precise system of locating phenomena
in space (e.g., latitude 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
§
○
Site vs. situation
Site: local physical environment; economic and cultural
characteristics and other attributes of a place
§
Situation: refers to external relations and connections of a
place to other places
§
○
Distance
Absolute distance: absolute spatial separation between two
places (e.g., 400 km)
§
Relative distance: non-absolute measurements of
separation between places (e.g., voyageurs' pipes; eight
hours (16 shows) from Winnipeg to Saskatoon)
§
○
Direction
Absolute direction: non-culture bound, based on the
cardinal points (e.g., Saskatoon is northwest of Winnipeg
and southeast of Edmonton
§
Relative direction: culturally dependent and varies by
location (e.g., Winnipeg truly belong in the west or is it
something else? Is La Ronge in the north, the near north?)
Also, egocentric coordinates (left, right, forward, backward,
up and down)
§
○
-
Scale
Has multiple meanings for geographers
Scale is the relationship between size of length of a feature
on the map and the same item on the Earth's surface (e.g.,
1 cm to 100km)
1)
Scale is the territorial extent of something - the
observations we make and the context, we see variation
across scales, such as:
Local
-
Regional
-
National
-
Global
-
2)
○
Map scale
Rations 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
□
○
Scale is a powerful concept because:
Processes operating at different scales influence one
another (e.g., farm operations: local; regional/provincial;
national; global)
□
What is occurring across scales provides context for us to
understand a phenomenon (e.g., epidemics: global,
national, local)
□
People can use scale politically to change who is involved or
how an issue is perceived (e.g., laws jump scales, ignoring
cultural difference - American intellectual property laws)
□
○
-
Regions
A device for selecting and studying areal groupings of the
complex phenomena found on the Earth; a tool for simplification
○
Formal region: defined by a common characteristics, such as a
cultural linkage or a physical characteristic (e.g., German speaking
region of Europe)
1)
Functional region: defined by a set of social political or economic
activities or the interactions that occur within it (e.g., an urban
area)
2)
Vernacular or perceptual regions: ideas in our minds, based on
accumulated knowledge of places and regions, that define an
area of "sameness" or "connectedness"(e.g., the south, the mid-
Atlantic, the middle east)
3)
-
Mental maps
An internal map (in the mind) which represents the sum of a
person's knowledge, perceptions and attitudes towards an area
or place
○
The level of detail varies with familiarity, and perceived
importance
○
-
Space and place
Perception/knowledge of place
Mental maps:□
Maps we carry in our minds of places we have been and
places we have heard of
We may refer to: landmarks, paths, boundaries, as well as
qualities such as accessibility
Activity spaces: □
The places we travel to routinely in our rounds of daily
activity
○
-
Introduction (week 1 & 2 pt.1)
Document Summary
Three themes central to any study of the human world: The human world is the ever-changing product of the activities of human beings, as individuals and as group members, working within human and institutional frameworks to modify pre-existing physical conditions. Human geographers often focus on the evolution of the human world with reference to people, their cultures, and physical environments. As human geographers, we are interested in landscape both for what it is and for what it means to live in it. To facilitate the task of writing about the world, human geographers often divide large areas into smaller areas that exhibit a degree of unity. Building on a long tradition, contemporary human geography considers regions at a wide range of scales - from local to global. In acknowledge the relevance of different spatial scales of analysis, human geography reveals the importance of place in all aspects of our lives.
