EUROPE
MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC
QUALITIES
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Western extremity of Eurasia
Lingering world influence
High degrees of specialization
Manufacturing dominance
Urbanized population
High standards of living
REGIONS OF THE REALM
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Western Europe
British Isles
Northern (Nordic)
Europe
Mediterranean Europe
Eastern Europe
See pg 64
PHYSICAL
LANDSCAPES
• Alpine System
• Western Uplands
• Central Uplands
• North European
Lowland
• See pg 44
RELATIVE LOCATION
• At the heart of the land hemisphere
• Maximum efficiency for contact with
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the rest of the world
Every part of Europe is close to the
sea.
Navigable waterways
Moderate distances
RELATIVE LOCATION
AGRARIAN REVOLUTION
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Began in Europe in the 1750s
Based on new agricultural innovations
Enabled increased food production
Enabled sustained population increase
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
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Developed in the UK between 1750-1850
Led to Colonialism
Evolved from technical innovations that
occurred in British industry
Proved to be a major catalyst towards
increased urbanization
SPATIAL INTERACTION
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Movement across geographic space
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Involves contact of people in two or more
places for the purposes of exchanging
goods or ideas
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Principles
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Complementarity
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Transferability
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Intervening opportunity
COMPLEMENTARITY
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Two places, through an exchange of goods,
can specifically satisfy each other’s demands.
One area has a surplus of an item demanded
by a second area.
Germany
Italy
COMPLEMENTARITY
TRANSFERABILITY
• The ease with which a commodity may
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be transported or the capacity to move a
good at a bearable cost
Rivers, mountain passes/tunnels, road
networks are very good in Europe
Advances in transportation technology
Europe’s small size an advantage
INTERVENING OPPORTUNITY
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The presence of a nearer source of supply
or opportunity that acts to diminish the
attractiveness of more distant sources and
sites
Would Austrian beer
be cheaper to import
into Italy than German
beer?
URBAN TRADITION
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Urbanization – see world map (next slide)
Related concepts
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Metropolis – central city & its suburban ring. See
La Defense, pg 53.
CBD – downtowns Europe, oldest parts and
usually in the middle of the city; skyscrapers &
most prestigious residences.
Primate cities, see next slides
POPULATION DENSITY
EUROPE
Population Density: 256 persons per square mile
Urbanization: 75% overall (when East & West are combined)
METROPOLITAN COMPLEXES
Older Core
or
Central City
Outer Suburban
City
A Metropolis is the central city and its suburban ring. Suburbs of Europe are
more concentrated with population and people live more in apartments than in
single family houses.
PRIMATE CITIES
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A country’s largest city
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Jefferson’s criteria:
- Always disproportionately larger than the second
largest urban center -- more than twice the size
- In Europe, they are esp. expressive of the national
culture
- Usually (but not always) the capital
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Examples: Paris, London, Athens, etc –
many on list of cities on pg 53.
EUROPEAN versus AMERICAN CITIES
Similarities:
•Central core
•Suburban ring
•But European
has a Greenbelt
EUROPEAN versus AMERICAN CITIES
Differences:
•High suburban
density
•Apartments
•Public
transportation
•Land scarcity
•Centralized urban
planning
EUROPE’S
POPULATION IMPLOSION
• Falling share of the world’s population
• Fertility at an all-time low e.g. Germany,
Italy, etc.
• Fewer young people
• Smaller working age population
• Immigration partially offsetting losses
Supranationalism
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A venture involving three or more states
Political, economic, and/or cultural cooperation
to promote shared objectives. See next slide.
New “Euro”Currency,
adopted in 2002 (pg 57)
European
Supranationalism
•EU – 1991, but
actually dating
back to 1958
(then called
EEC).
•EU Members,
pg 58.
•Non-members
•Prospective
Members
Supranationalism Problems
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Loss of autonomy
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Disparities in levels of economic
development, esp. btw East & West.
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Cultural barriers
What does the future
hold for Europe?
•Unification?
•Instability?
•Especially in light of the
creation of new States,
see map, pg 58