Five Themes of Geography
(Mr. Help)
 Movement
 Region
 Human environment
 Location
 Place
interaction
Key Issue #2
Why
is Each Point on Earth
Unique?
Place: A unique location
Region: A unique area
Place
 “Place”
is what makes it unique and different than
any other place
 Since no two places on earth are the same, what is
it that makes them different?
 How to describe “Location” of place:




Toponym (place name) is only useful if people know
where the place name is referring too
Site – climate, topography, access to water, soil,
vegetation, etc. (can be modified by humans)
Situation – find an unfamiliar place or it’s importance
Mathematical (absolute)
Describe the site and situation
of Lower Moreland Township
https://www.google.com/maps/place/
Lower+Moreland,+PA/@40.1353329,75.0549914,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m
1!1s0x89c6b21b569b20f3:0x296c356237
e4432a
Region
 An
area of Earth defined by one or more
distinctive characteristics
 Region derives it’s unified character
through the cultural landscape


The cultural landscape or regional studies
approach in geography began in France
19th century
Carl Sauer (American geographer) defines
it as “an area fashioned from nature by a
cultural group”
Region
 “Region”
is an organizational tool or
method of classifying information
 You can organize by




geographic location
language
religion
Many other ways
 The
“region” depends on the
classification and can change
Types of Regions



Formal – uniform or homogeneous region
where everyone share in one or more
common distinctive characteristic(s)
Functional – is an area organized around a
node or focal point (dominates at the center
(node) and diminishes in importance outward
Vernacular –perceptual region, is a place
that people believe exists as part of their
cultural identity
Spatial Association
 Different
conclusions may be reached
concerning a region’s characteristics
depending on its scale
 Geographers conclude that factors with
similar distributions have spatial
association
Key Issue #3
Why
are Different Places
Similar?
Scale: Local to Global
Space: Distribution of features
Connections between Places
Scale:
Local to Global
Globalization of
economy
Role of transnational
corporations
Globalization of culture
Workers leaving the flooded Western Digital factory in Bang Pa-In,
Thailand. The plant makes a critical part for computer hard drives.
2011
Globalization of Culture
Globalization
How is it changing the world
 While
it is impossible to count all of the
ways globalization is changing the world,
here are three major changes we can
easily observe:



Increased spatial interaction
Cultural homogenization
Economic interdependence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn7IoT_WSRA
Space
Distribution of Features (Three properties)
 Density
is the frequency with which
something occurs in space

Arithmetic density, Physiological density
and Agriculture density
 Concentration
is the extent of a feature’s
spread over space

Objects close together are clustered and
objects relatively far apart are dispersed
 Pattern
is the geometric arrangement of
objects in space
Cultural Identity in Space
 Distribution

More space for ball fields than ballet studios
 Movement


across space
across space
By gender (male/female)
By ethnicity
Why Are Different Places
Similar?

Cultural Identity in Space


Patterns in space vary according to gender,
ethnicity, sexuality.
The cultural landscape has the ability to
communicate to people what the accepted
norm is within a place.
Ex. A bar or park that makes whites feel
welcomed and people of color unwelcomed
(or vice versa)
 Ex. An inviting shopping district to people
practicing alternative lifestyles located in close
proximity to where many same-sex couples live

Why Are Different Places Similar?

Spatial Interaction

The farther away someone is from you, the less
likely you two are to interact.

Trailing-off phenomenon of diminishing contact
with the increase in distance is called distance
decay.

Electronic communications have almost removed
barriers to interaction between people who are far
apart.

Access to the technology is of interest to
geographers.

Core: North America, Western Europe, and
Japan

Periphery: Africa, Asia, and Latin America
Connections between Places
 Connections
are the relationship between
people and objects across the barrier of
space
 Diffusion – process where characteristic
spreads across space from one place to
another over time (originates hearth)

Relocation and Expansion