THE POWER OF PLACE: The World in Spatial Terms
Spatial
Analysis looks at patterns in distribution of
phenomena (e.g., demographics,
sales, diseases,
UFO sightings)
MAPS!MAPS!MAPS!
Good maps clearly communicate a theme.
Examples:
urban
areas historical
map of the U.S.
flood maps military
Latitude = x-axis = Parallels
- East - West lines of latitude that measure
distance N or S of Equator
- 0 degrees = Equator
- At what latitude does Santa Claus live?
- "Parallels" because distance between lines
of latitude are the same distance; concentric
rings between the Equator and the Poles
Longitude = y-axis = Meridians
- 0 degrees longitude is Prime Meridian
- Longitude measures distance 180 degrees
west and 180 degrees east
- meridians converge at poles; thus, not always
same distance between them
Distance and Direction
Aside from actual distance, what other factors
must be taken into consideration? For example:
Friction
of Distance: the relative difficulty of moving from one place to
another, which increases with km/miles,cost, or time
Map Scale
| LARGE SCALE | 1:50,000 | features - relatively large | more detailed; close-up |
| SMALL SCALE | 1:250,000 | features - smaller | generalized; larger area shown |
It's all relative:
Small scale - Europe
Small scale - the
globe
Large scale - France
Large scale - Africa
Map Projections
A map projection is an attempt to represent
the
3-D world on a 2-D surface.
One by-product of this attempt is referred to as
distortion. Unless a map is showing
a very small
portion of the globe, it has some distortion.
Mercator Projection
Using the Mercator
Projection, which appears to be larger in area,
Greenland or South America?
Which is truly larger?
This map was constructed
to make it seem like one is viewing the
Earth from afar -- note
the attempt to make the features appear
in proper perspective.
Compare/ contrast Russia in this projection
and in the Mercator
projection above.
There
are different ways of presenting information on a
map. The appropriate
choice of symbol, color, shading, border
delineation and more
is an important part of a cartographer's job.
[transparencies: maps]
Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) and
Remote Sensing
TerraServer:a
very interesting site with images from around the
world, perhaps even
your home town!
ESRI's
online demos -- state-of-the-art GIS projects.
Don't forget USGS
and NASA
Also: go to the "Global
Links" page. See "GIS & Remote Sensing."
We will be using GIS
and satellite imagery in class for analysis; however, you will not be required
to learn how to use the technology.
[GIS/RS examples]
Distribution, density, and diffusion
Distribution:
the spatial spread (i.e., pattern) of
phenomena
Examples: Parks
and Monuments in the America Southwest
American
Indian languages
Chernobyl'
Radiation Hotspots
Density:
the frequency of a phenomenon within a
unit of land area;e.g., people per square mile
Global
Demography Project World Population Density Map (1995)
Population
density map of Africa (1995)
Population
density map of Eastern Asia (1995)
Diffusion: the movement of people, objects, diseases,or ideas to new areas (e.g.,migration, contagion,expansion)
What
are some ways technology has contributed to diffusion?
WORLD POPULATION GEOGRAPHY: PEOPLE MATTER
World population growth
"Rethinking
Population at a Global Milestone"
"A
Glimpse Into How the Six Billion Live"
"Challenges
of feeding the world"
Population distribution
by growth rate
World population density
map Where are the areas of highest
density? Compare/contrast areas of
highest growth with areas of
highest density. What do you notice
of interest?
Demography: the study of human population in
terms of numbers, density, growth or decline,
migration, and other factors
[population pyramids]
For more information
on demography, go to http://www.popnet.org
or http://www.prb.org
Migration: the long-term movement of people
into or out of a place
Ancient migration routes
Is this "distribution" or "diffusion"?
Demographic Transition Model
Stage
1, Preindustrial
Stage
2, Transitional
Stage
3, Industrial
Stage
4, Postindustrial
Stage
5, Decline
Can
you name a country to go with each stage?
Population policies
China's "One Child Per
Couple" Policy
World Political Geography: Countries and Governments
Political Geography: the study of how governments influence the human geography of the world and its regions
Countries: basic political units
Nation:
an "imagined community" having
common cultural features, usually linked to a
specific area of land.
What is the difference
between a country and a nation?
Can one country contain
more than one nation?
How or why might that
occur? What might be the resultant effects?
Nationalism: important role in European political development
Governments:
unitary: central
government controls all
federal: authority
divided between central
government and subelements, such as
regions, states, provinces
Country
Groupings: NATO, ASEAN, WTO, EU,
NAFTA, APEC ...
Centrifugal
forces: forces that tend to divide a
country -- such as internal religious, linguistic,
ethnic,or ideological differences
Centripetal
forces: forces that unite and bind a
country together -- such as a strong national
culture, shared ideological objectives, and a
common faith
What
factors might have been key in the breakup of Yugoslavia?
What factors might
be involved in keeping a diverse country such as the U.S.A. together?
For country-by-country info go to The CIA World Factbook at http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
World Economic Geography: Wealth, Poverty, and Development
Economics: the study of the production,
distribution and consumption of goods and
resources
Capitalism:
an economic system in which
goods and services are produced and sold by
private individuals, corporations, or gov'ts in
competitive markets. The means of production
are owned by those investing capital, to whom
workers sell their labor
State
capitalism: the capitalist economic
system in which the gov't, rather than private
individuals or corps. controls production and
distribution
Economic sectors
primary:
based on raw materials (mining,fishing,
farming, timber)
secondary:
manufacture (processing of food,
metals; construction; equipment; clothing)
tertiary:
service sector (marketing, tourism,
transportation)
quaternary:
information (computers,high-tech
advances in special sectors, such as
telecommunications)
Which of these occur
mainly in the core countries? periphery?
Global economy: dominance of capitalism
Multinational
corporations: make goods or
provide services in several countries but direct
operations from HQs in one country
What would be the advantages
to this? What might be some disadvantages?
Global info services: Internet,telecomms
 |
Poverty: low income and deprivation of minimally acceptable material requirements; the absence of basic capabilities that enable people to function fully as human beings |
Sustainable
Human Development: a level of
development
in which resources are exploited
at
a rate that is sustainable for future
generations
Measurement of Wealth, Poverty, and Economic and Human Development
Some
measurement methods: consumer goods,
income,
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross
National
Product (GNP)
What might be problematic
or inaccurate in using some of these for evaluating certain countries?
Human
Development Index (HDI): a measure of
human development based on income, life
expectancy, adult literacy, and infant mortality
Human
Poverty Index (HPI): a measure of human
poverty, linked to HDI, that indicates levels of
personal deprivation
Interested in poverty
and development issues?
United Nations: http://www.un.org
United Nations Development
Program: http://www.undp.org (good
data source)
World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org
World Trade Organization:
http://www.wto.org
| Western View | Non-western View |
| modernization | dependency |
| structural adjustment | marginalization |
| priority of global over local .. | dual sectors |
New International Division of Labor
Why is development so important? What is the link between development and poverty?
Impact of civil wars, disease, environmental
stress on human development
Refugee Camp in Rwanda
Remember Chapter 1 and the quick history of the global order? During Medieval Times (Phase 4), what impact did repeated invasions have on Western Europe? "Western Europe remained disorganized and backward as the result of continuous invasions from the east." (p. 18) Do you see some possible correlation between strife and level of development?
Cultural Geography and World Regions
Culture:
the ideas, beliefs, and practices that a
group of people hold in common, including
language, religion, social activities, and the
design of products
Language
How has colonization affected the migration of languages and religions?
Religion
Major world religions
Religion and society
Race:
e.g.,
black, white, Asian
Ethnicity: e.g., Serb, Croat
Class: e.g., Hindu castes:brahmin, untouchable
Gender
Culture
Hearth: a small region of the world that
acted as a catalyst for developments in
technology, religion, or language and as a
base for their diffusion
Cultural "Fault Lines"
A tragically poignant
example
Physical Geography and World Regions: Environmental Variations
Physical Geography: the study of natural environments and their world distribution
Natural
processes
atmosphere
Earth's interior
erosion and weathering
living organisms
Climate
Temperature:
Earth
strives for a net energy balance of zero
Excess heat in the tropics --> toward poles
Cold at poles ---> toward the Equator
Sea Surface Temperature
Precipitation
convection:
warm air rises--> condensation-->
cloud formation -->precipitation
orographic precipitation: associated with
mountains; rain shadow effect
World Climatic Environments
Tropical: year-long high temps,may vary in
rainfall; N<-->S distribution; convection
Midlatitudes: seasonal temp. contrasts;
W<-->E distribution; frontal systems 
Polar: year-long cold
Climate change: global temperature changes
over tens of thousands of years (ice ages)
Tectonic
Plates
Pangea
Surface Changes
Weathering: the action of atmospheric forces
(through water circulation and temp. changes)
on rocks at Earth's surface; breaks rocks into
fragments, particles, and dissolved chemicals
Erosion: the wearing away of rocks at Earth's
surface by running water, moving ice, wind,
and sea to form valleys, cliffs and other
landforms
Deposition: the dropping of particles of rocks
carried by rivers, wind, or glaciers
Ecosystem: the total environment of a
community of plants and animals, including
heat, light, and nutrient supplies
Biome: a world-scale ecosystem type
What seems to be the relationship between
climate types and natural vegetation zones? What patterns do you
notice?
| Bradshaw biomes: | desert |
| forest | polar  |
grassland  |
ocean |
HUMAN IMPACTS (anthropogenic)
farming (forest depletion,erosion)
Industrial Revolution
increased rate, scale of human intervention
commercial crops
pollution
floods
population --> demands on resources
global warming
ozone hole
desertification
What kinds of energy
are renewable? Non-renewable?
How many people can Earth
support?
Thomas Malthus
Carrying capacity - depends on many factors
Landscapes and Regional Geography
Landscape:
a total regional environment; a
cultural interpretation of interactions between
natural environments and human history