GEOG 1: BASIC GEOGRAPHIC CONCEPTS

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
study of the spatial organization of human activity & of
peoples relationship with the environment.
It is about recognizing & understanding interdependence
among places & regions without losing sight of the
individuality & uniqueness of specific places
Knowledge on human geography can:
help us understand how places affect & are affected by
one another;
provides better understanding of the place we live in;
and
help us locate & map events that happen
1. LOCATION Precise point on the earths surface,can
either be:
a. Nominal actual name of the place
b. Relative uses a reference point; fixed in terms of site
(the physical attributes of the location such as terrain,
soil, & water sources) or situation (the location of a place
relative to other places and human activities).
c. Absolute uses the grid coordinate system (latitude
and longitude)
d. Cognitive refers to the mental perception of a given
place; subjective. The cognitive image or our mental
maps is also the psychological representations of
locations which are created from peoples individual ideas
and impressions of these locations.
Europeans started navigation and came up with the idea of
latitude and longitude.
PARALLEL: imaginary horizontal lines on the earths
global system.
MERIDIAN: imaginary lines running from the poles.
EQUATOR: 0 latitude neither east nor west
LATITUDE: the angular distance of a point on the
earths surface, measured in degrees, minutes and
second, north or south of the equator. Describes how
far north or south of the equator a place is. A circle
joining places of the same latitude is called parallel of
latitude. (1 110 km )
LONGITUDE: the angular distance of a point in the
earths surface, measured east or west from the Prime
Meridian. Measures position east or west of a half circle
drawn from the North to the South Pole, and passing
through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, London,
England. Lines joining places of the same longitudes
are called meridians of longitude.
The position of the Prime Meridian was chosen by an
international conference in 1884.
DATELINE is 15 (30/24hrs). Topographic distortion &
political influences determines the timeline in a
particular place. The reference point used is the
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Topographic distortion & political influences determines
the timeline in a particular place.
Other important concepts: GPS, Champlains astrolabe,
Dava Sobel, Cognitive Image

2. DISTANCE is the measure of how far apart 2 places are.

This can either be:
a. Absolute physical, actual measure whose units may
be in terms of km, m, cm, in, mm etc.
b. Relative distance measured in terms of time, cost
and effort
c. Cognitive - the distance that people perceive to exist
in a given situation
Other concepts:
Psychological Distance & Social Distance
FRICTION OF DISTANCE: the deterrent or inhibiting
effect of distance on human activity. Could be in terms
of time or cost of overcoming distance, that is, the
higher the friction , the harder to overcome distance.
DISTANCE-DECAYFUNCTION: the rate at which
activity or processes diminishes with increasing
distance; as distance increases, movement decreases.
This reflects peoples behavioral response to
opportunities and constraints in time and space. In
short, this is a function of utility(the usefulness of a
specific place or location to a particular person or
group).
Nearness Principle (Richard Morill) people will
seek to maximize the overall utility of a place with
minimum effort; maximize connections among
places at minimum cost; and locate related
activities as close together as possible. Thus,
pattern of behavior, locational decisions, and
interrelations between people and places come to
take on a fairly predictable and organized pattern.
Basic law of geog: everything is related to everything,
but relationships are stronger when things are near one
another and weaken as distance increases.
3. SPACE The container of our activities; the extent of an
area, usually expressed in terms of the earths surface.
From this meaning derives the term spatial; and spatial
relationships are at the heart of geography

TIME - SPACE CONVERGENCE: the rate at which

places move closer together in travel or communication
time or costs. Results from a decrease in the friction of
distance as new technologies and infrastructure
improvements successively reduce travel and
communication time between places.
PERSONAL SPACE

4. ACCESSIBILITY opportunity for contact or for

interaction from a given point or location, in relation to other
locations; ease of movement between places.
Implies proximity or nearness to something.

It is a function of Distance, Connectivity, & Mobility.

Contact and interaction are dependent on channels of
communication and transportation such as highways,
telephone lines etc. It is a function both of spatial
structure and of the transportation system.

accessibility means
propensity for interaction.

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GEOG 1: BASIC GEOGRAPHIC CONCEPTS

5. SPATIAL INTERACTION Interdependence between

places and regions can only be sustained through
movements and flows. Spatial Interaction is basically all
kinds and flows that involve human activity.
EDWARD ULLMAN (1912-1976) suggested the following
triad of principles to explain SI:
1. COMPLEMENTARITY occurs when one area has a
surplus of a commodity demanded by a second area.
The mere existence of a resource in a locality is no
guarantee that trade will develop; that resource must
specifically be needed elsewhere. Thus
complementarity arises from regional variations in both
the supply and demand of human and natural
resources. The precondition for interdependence
between places:
a. variation from physical environment & resource
endowments from place to place
b. international division of labor that derives from
the evolution of the worlds economic system.
c. Economic advantages derived from
specialization.
2. TRANSFERABILITY refers to the ease with which a
commodity may be transported between 2 places. Cost
of item vs. cost of travel.
The capacity to move a good from one place to another
at a bearable cost
Distance may be an obstacle. Even though
complementarity exists, the problem of overcoming the
distance separating them that trade cannot begin.
3. INTERVENING OPPORTUNITY alternative origins or
destinations; the presence of a nearer opportunity that
greatly diminishes the attractiveness of sites farther
away.
It is important in determining the volume and pattern of
movement and flows.
6. DIRECTION orientation (NEWS), up, down, left, right,
near far, middle
7. SIZE AND SCALE: when we say large or small, we
speak both of the nature of the place and of other
generalizations that can be made out of it. Refers to the
degree of generalization represented.
Can either be:
a. level of analysis (global, international, regional); b. map
scale (relationship of size of an area on a map and its
actual size in reality, large, medium, small)
8. DISTRIBUTION arrangement of phenomena on earth,
describes how things are arranged on earth; 2 Concepts:
a. PATTERN - gives basis for observation, geometric
arrangement in space (linear, radial, ring, random)
b. DENSITY no. of observation per unit area e.g. pop
density
9. SPATIAL DIFFUSION the process of dispersion or
spread of new ideas, products, objects across time and
space. It is affected by distance, pop density, transport
system, ICT.

Importance: helps to reconstruct the dispersal of cultural

and technological ideas in the past. To predict
Swedish Geographer TORSTEN HAGERSTRAND (1952,
The propagation of Diffusion waves) identified 2 types:
1. Expansion Diffusion a phenomena spread because
of the proximity of the carrier, or agents of change who
are fixed in their location. Originating from a source
affecting a larger area or population.
Contagious diffusion thru direct contact
(language), virtually every village, town and
community is affected by expansion diffusion
shaped by local proximity.
2. Relocation a phenomena is carried to a distant
location and is diffused from there; a phenomenon is
diffused as an initial carrier or group of carriers, and
spreads from there, results from movement of people
3. Hierarchical phenomena is diffused from one
location to another without necessarily spreading to
places in between; diffusion from long distance source;
downward filtering from larger to smaller scale
10. PLACE usually regarded as small-scale areas; Any
portion of the earths surface can be regarded as a place;
Every place is unique, each place has its identifying
features that marks its uniqueness.
The physical & human characteristics of a location
Uniqueness of Places:
Places are dynamic with changing properties & fluid
boundaries that are the product of the interplay of a wide
variety of environmental & human factors.
Places provide settings for peoples daily lives
Places exert a strong influence on peoples well-being,
their opportunities & their lifestyle choices.
Places contribute to peoples collective memory &
become powerful emotional & cultural symbols.
Places are sites of innovation & change, of resistance &
conflict.
Interdependence of Places
Most places are interdependent, each filling a
specialized roles in complex and ever-changing
geographies.
Individual places are tied to wider processes of change
that are reflected in broader geographical patterns.
Interdependence of Geographic Scales
Global & Local Scales. Global events affect local people
in almost all areas of the world (globalization)
Local events could also have global impacts (gulf war,
EDSA Revolution I)
Interdependence as a 2-way process
Places are not just distinctive outcomes of geographical
processes, they are part of the processes themselves.
There is a continuous 2-way process in which people
create & modify places while at the same time being
influenced by the settings in which they live and work.

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GEOG 1: BASIC GEOGRAPHIC CONCEPTS

REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY
Core of Geography in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries
Evaluates the differences among places, based on
recognizing the uniqueness of some places and features
that several places may have in common.
It provides an informed approach to assessing the roles
of global processes and their impacts on people in
different places.
11. REALMS Largest unit into which the inhabited world
can be divided.
Criteria include physical and human/social yardsticks.
(e.g. South America).

Result of interaction of human societies and natural

environment a functional interaction revealed by
transport routes, farms, & other features on the
landscape.
It must represent the most comprehensive and
encompassing definition of a great cluster of
humankind in the world today.
12 WORLD REALMS
1. Europe
7. Subsaharan Africa
2. Russia
8. South Asia
3. North America
9. East Asia
4. Middle America
10. South-East Asia
5. South America
11. Australia
6. North Africa/West Asia
12. Pacific
12. REGIONS An area on the earths surface marked by
certain properties of commonality or functionality.
Classifying tool.
Scientific devices that allow us to make spatial
generalizations, based on artificial criteria established
for the purpose of constructing them.
Makes studying the earths surface manageable by
grouping those areas that are similar and connected &
looking for patterns of organization.
Regions are mental constructs.
PROPERTIES
1. Area/Spatial Extent not abstractions, they exist &
occupy space on the Earths surface.
2. Boundaries not self-evident & must be determined on
the basis of criteria established for that purpose.
3. Location
4. Hierarchically arranged
5. Dynamic

2. FUNCTIONAL Formed by a set of places and their

interrelated activities, that is, interconnections rather than
uniformity. It literally functions as a unit, economically or
administratively, and is usually organized by transport
routes, focusing on a dominant city.
- dynamic geographic entities interacting with other regions
in national and global geographic patterns.
3.VERNACULAR this is the local region identified by the
regions own inhabitants.
PROBLEMS OF THE REGIONAL APPROACH
Not scientific?
Regionalizing is subjective and arbitrary
Defining a region few have clearly defined
boundaries
Scale too small or too large
Globalization changes the conception of local
diversity
GEOGRAPHYS 5 THEMES:
1. Location:
Where is it? Why is it Located there?
2. Place:
What is it like?
3. Human-Environment Interaction:
How do people interact with and change their
environment?
Depend; Adapt; Modify
4. Movement:
How are people and places linked by communication,
and the flow of people, ideas, and goods?
5. Region:
What are their unifying features and how do they form
and change over time?

COMMON PARADIGMS
1. Environmental Determinism simple model of naturesociety relation where nature or the environment shapes or
limits the society. The physical environment controls human
actions, molds human behavior and conditions cultural
development.
2. Cultural Possibilism as opposed to determinism, man
is the active component while nature is passive. It holds
that man can manipulate nature for his advantages.

TYPES
1. FORMAL Essential uniformity / homogeneity /
sameness, determined by combination of physical & human
geographic features. It is one that is uniform in terms of a
specific criteria. Example, world regions based on climate;
Businesses & governmental bodies use formal regional
division to define their marketing & administrative areas.

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GEOG 1: BASIC GEOGRAPHIC CONCEPTS

Image of the City

Kevin Lynch
A collective image map or impression map of a city, a collective picture of what people extract
from the physical reality of a city
There are five basic elements which people use to construct their mental image of a city:
1. PATHWAYS major and minor routes of circulation to move about; the city has a network of major
routes and a neighborhood network of minor routes; a building has several main routes which people
use to get to it and from it. An urban highway network is a network of pathways for a whole city; the
footpaths of a college are pathways for the campus
2. DISTRICTS a city is composed of component neighborhoods or districts; its center, uptown, midtown,
its in-town residential areas, train yards, factory areas, suburbs, college campuses, etc. Sometimes they
are distinct in form and extent ex. Wall Street area on Manhattan. Sometimes they are considerably
mixed in character and do not have distinct limits like the midtown of Manhattan
3. EDGES The termination of a district is its edge. Some districts have no distinct edges at all but
gradually taper off and blend into another district. When two districts are joined at an edge, they form
a seam. A narrow park may be a joining seam for two urban neighborhoods.
4. LANDMARKS The prominent visual features of the city; some are very large and are seen at great
distances; some are very small and can only be seen up close (e.g. street clock, a fountain, small statue
in a park); they help in orienting people in the city and help identify an area; they should be distinct but
in harmony with other elements in the setting. They are distinct visual object.
5. NODES a center of activity; distinguished from a landmark by virtue of its active function; it is a
distinct hub of activity. Times Square in New York City is both a landmark and a node.
These five elements of urban form are sufficient to make a useful visual survey of the form of a city.
They are the skeletal elements of a city form. Upon this framework hangs a tapestry of
embellishments.

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