-understanding how people and places interact, where things come from, and where we're going

-relationship b/w people and environment (ie. head smashed in)

-how wo organize activities based on restraints of environment

reasons:

1)instant global communication

2)rapidly changing international relationships

3)unexpected local changes

4)environmental degradation

*was afghanistan an issue in Canada before 9-11? War doesn't make sense if you don't understand geography.

-a place is two things:

1)an objective location that has uniqueness (physical/economical/biological/cultural/political) and also interdependence with other places

2)a subjective social and cultural construct... personal meaning for individuals and groups

Places provide:

1)structure to people's economic/social lives

2)opportunities/constraints

3)a context in which knowledge and experience is gathered

4)a setting for processes of socialization

-places exert influence because they gain meaning, become symbols, and have social constructions

*Places are NOT static!... they are dynamic (lethbridge used to be a fur trade post)

-dynamism occurs in 1)place properties and 2)place boundaries (ie. former USSR)

-other kinds of boundaries exist... ie. electoral districts

-Unique roles in ever-changing geographies (recssion in US affects entire world)

-linked to wider processes

-Migration and labour market processes (oil fields) (Can. gets ~200,000 immigrants annually)

-Changing world economic and trade relations (NAFTA changed relationships in NA... huge development in region along US/Mexico boarder..... manufacturors moved there... cheap land/labor/environment... impediments b4 NAFTA were taxes/limits)

-Global environmental changes (variability .... deforestation in tropics affects NA and world)

-Gain and Loss reflect place relationships (Silicon Valley... IT students from Can go there... though many resources invested in them... a game of talents... would like to keep them in Can, Can's loss)

**Interdependence is a TWO-WAY process..

-places are containers/settings/moulds

-places are outcomes of place making

-Lethbridge didn't used to look like this.... Cgy/Edm had 15k people each in 1905..

-places are also part of the process....

-places are dynamic, so place making is incomplete and ongoing

-to understand comething like NAFTA, don't use map of Lethbridge, use map of NA..

-where does the process occur? Where can it be explained?

**maps are designed for specific purposes

SCALES OF SPATIAL ANALYSIS

1)WORLD ECONOMY

-periphery/semi-periphery/core

2)WORLD REGIONS

-major clusters of humankind with broadly similar cultural attributes

3) NATIONAL STATES
-subdivided intode jure regions or functional regions

-ie Canada, further divided (Ontario)

4)HUMAN SETTLEMENTs

-world of experience... community/home/body

-a territory that encompasses many places, all or most of thwich share similar attribues in comparison with attributes of places elsewhere

-region concept distinguishes areas (area is just a space)

-regions are defined by specific attributes.... there are homogeneous regions and functional regions

HOMOGENEOUS REGIONS

-differences based on a theme.... spatial differentiation

-ie. agricultural homogeneity... old cotton belt, winter wheat belt, corn belt, etc

FUNCTIONAL REGION

-a spactial system focused on a central core

 (Calgary is core of Southern AB)

-a region formed by a set of places and their functional integration (core regions mostly CBD)

1)The more universal the diffusion of material culture and lifestyles, the more valuable regional and ethnic identities become

-McDonalds exist everywhere... byt make appreaciate local material culture as well

-different kinds of restaurants here ... asian/European/etc

2)The faster the information highway takes people into cyberspace, the more they feel the need for a subjective setting.... a specific place or community that they can call their own

3)The greater the reach of transnational corporations, the more easily they are able to respond to place-to-place variations in labor markets and consumer markets

4)The greater integreation of transnational governments and instiitutions, the more sensitive people have become to local cleavages of race, ethnicity, and religion

PHYSICAL

-deals with earth's natural processes and their outcomes

HUMAN

-reveals how and why geographical relationships are important

REGIONAL

-regions have similar attributes distince from the attributes of other places

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY focuses on:

*1)Spatial organization of human activities

"put everything in it's place"

-how do we organize production over space?

-produce petroleum here, cars there, food, etc.

-we have to organize this production so that it is efficient.. competitive advantage

-how do we organize our consumption?

.... this also changes over space/time.... have organized consumption into malls.. then in 90s strip malls, now big boxes are more efficient and competitive

*2)People's Relationships With Their Environments

-how to deal with wastes... we alter environment

-human activities conditioned and constrained by the natural environment

-don't produce tropical fruit in Can... humans adapt to local conditions

3)Local and Global Relationships

*=big ones

Geography is Interdisciplinary....

-Environmental Geography.... Geology/Biology/Climatology

-Anthropology.... Cultural Geography

-Demographic Sociology.... Population Geography

-Medicine and Health... Medical Geography

-Economics.... Economic Geography (big deal in Human Geography)

-Political Science... Political Geography

-Business.... Marketing Geography

-Psychology... Behavioral Geography

-History... Historical Geography

-Religion... Geography of Religion

-Linguistics.... Geography of Language

-Urban Planning Studies... Urban Geography

-began as a descriptive discipline, of mapping new areas, and exploration.... developed since 4000 BC

-Greece, Indus Valley, Nile Valley, China, Mexico

-greeks most important contributions in early stage

 Eratosthenes (273-192BC)

-accurately measured circumference of Earth

-developped a latitude/longitude system

Strabo (prior to 50BC)

-wrote "Geography"

-17 volumes; featured by regional approach to geography... focused on local relationships b/w nature and society (still an issue)

Ptolemy (90AD) 

"Guide to Geography"

-more comprehensive understanding of the world

-geocentric theory

 ***Then came the expansion of geographic knowledge with the great discovery***

cartography - body of knowledge about making visual representations of the Earth's surface in forms of maps

-By 1780 had a basic contour of continents... numerous map making techniques existed

-this year was basically the peak of colonization

-geography was philosophically dominated by ethnocentrism, imperialism, and masculinism

Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804)

-german geographer most important in this era, and now

-need to look at things in their spatial context

-****created disciplines and their classification...

-two important things to knowledge.. time (history) and space

-physical geography is foundation of it all

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859)

-field exploration

-environment and communities

-interactions of all natural and human forces

Friedrich Ratzel (1844-1904)
-Organic theory of the state
-Lebensraum

1860

-important juncture in geography

-it began to be institutionalized (Univeristy taught)

-shaped by Darwin's theories of species adaptation

-entire world thought to be shaped by Environmental Determinism.... can only adapt to what is given... develop production and cultural practices accordingly

-this is not entirely true

 Themes Between 1900-1960

-a systematic discipline: physical vs Human geography

-dichotomy occurred, not just physical .. human also important

-Role of Environment... (still determinism) ie Huntington.. environment organizes production and cultural practices.. not true.. genetically modify to grow everywhere.. etc

-Landscape Geography- foundation of cultural geog... linkage of natural processes and human processes

-Regional Geography

-Spatial Analysis - RS. GIS, etc

POST WWII

-positivism- approach to knowledge based on direct measurement of observable phenomena and scientific method to test hypotheses and construct Universal laws and theories

-social science distinguished from humanities

-1960s quantitative revolution

-see numbers/figures everwhere

-from physical to human

CONTEMPORARY

1)Linked to tradition

-regional, cultural, social, economic, political

2)Linked with Societal Changes

-new philosophies, ideologies, environmentalism, feminism, Marxism, post-modernism

3)Prompted by New Technology 

-new life since 90s... spatial analysis, RS/GIS

4)Applied Geography

-ie. land use studies.. try to make knowledge useful

Subject:

1)spatial organization of human activities

2)people's relationships /w their environments

Basic approaches:

1)observation (surveys)

2)visualization and representation (tables, models, maps)

3)Analysis

-essential tool for geographyers to represent the world

-using lines, polygons, points, grids and other meaningful symbols to portrait spatial relationships

-display boundaries (lines)

-polygons used in displaying soil patches, voting districts

-points used at a specific scale to display cities/settlements at a national scale

-grids.. RS picture from satellite

-arrows... charts.. symbols are also used depending on the features used in the map

-a map's usefulness depends on the objective

-general purpose and specific maps

-Topographic Maps -horizontal and vertical representation the form of Earth's surace using symbols and contour line

contour line: connects points of equal vertical distance above/below sea level

Isoline Maps: lines connecting equal data value

Thematic Maps: shaded with patterns/colors

-maps with proportional symbols... dot maps... choropleth maps

-not real maps; intentional distortion and exaggeration to emphasize particular attributes

**cartograms are also not real maps, as they are distorted*

-A key component of all maps
-Ratio btw. linear distance on a map and linear distance on Earth’s surface
 
-Represented on a map in forms of:
-Words, e.g., one centimeter equals one kilometer
-Representative fraction, e.g., 1/1,000,000
-Ratio, e.g., 1: 1,000,000
-Scale bar, e.g.,
Large scale(small spatial coverage and more detail) maps vs. small scale (larger spatial coverage and less detail) maps

-Map center and bias of map use
Map projection
Maps always have errors due the shape of Earth
Errors in distance, directions, areas
Types Map projections

projection
-Conformal projection (all directions/scales): Mercator projection
-Azimuthal projection (direction correct at one
central point)(used in airports)

-Equal-area (equivalent) projection(direction and distance distorted)

GIS

-GIS technology is a powerful tool for geographers and others

-improvement of decision making

-a wide array of applications.. public sector: military, health, school, transportation, resource, and environmental management

-private sector: marketing, resource, exploration, utility management, navigation

-Landsat satellite images are digital images captured from spectral bands visible and invisible to the human eye

-different kinds of vegetation cover/soils/ and built environments are reflected by different colors in the processed image

-more accurate/better resolution /w black+white -google earth is a online GIS system

Location

Distance

Space

Spatial Interaction (complementarity/transferability/intervening opportunity/spatial diffusion)

-name (nominal description) .. ie. Lethbridge -absolute concept: latitude(angular distance of a point from N/S of equator)/longitude(angular distance of a point from W/E of prime meridian) -this is complicated, as earth is not a sphere -prime meridian is in Greenwich

SITE- physical attributes of a location

SITUATION- location relative to other places

Cognitive Dimension of a Location...

-cognitive images (mental maps).. psychological representation of locations

-always a subjective interpretation

-every map will be different ... different emphasis and goal

-**psychological interpretation of a place is subject to personal meaning

ABSOLUTE- km, m etc RELATIVE- time, effort, cost COGNITIVE- perceived distance b/w two points in a given situation

-determined by the personal judgement about the degree of spatial separation

-what is one used to?... driving to Cgy.. get used to it... physical distance does not change

-FRICTION OF DISTANCE -is the deterent effect of distance on human activities

-distance affects people's behavior

-the friction of distance keeps people from visiting a free health clinic

DISTANCE-DECAY FUNCTION -the rate at which a particular activity or process diminishes with increasing distance

UTILITY OF A PLACE/LOCATION & DISTANCE -usefulness of a place: ALWAYS RELATIVE (good for one thing but not another)

-financial measure, quality of life measures -useless if NET utility is negative

-maximize net utility of a location:

NEARNESS PRINCIPLE... stores maximize visitors when clustered

-also can be absolute/relative/cognitive

TOPOLOGICAL SPACE -nature and degree of connectivity b/w locations

-ie. subway map.. connectivity matters not actual distance -ie. sewage system

ACCESSIBILITY -the opportunity for contact or for interaction from a given location in relation to other locations

-a function of distance, measured both in absolute and relative terms

-communication and transportation... with instant access distance is no longer such a barrier

-utility also can be entranced by good accessibility -when driving usually use absolute... if flying use relative.. ie. how much is the ticket?

-200km not a suitable measure... if there is no road etc

-all kinds of movement and flows

-involve human activities -essential to sustain interdependence b/w places and regions 4

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS IN SI 1)COMPLEMENTARITY

-demand in one place and supply in another

-it is a pre-condition for spatial interaction

Is Created By:

-difference in environmental and resource endowment.. (AB oil sands)

-division of labour ... ie. Silicon Valley

-Economic Specialization and economies of scale (economies of scale are cost advantages to manufacturers that accrue from high-volume production, since the average cost of production falls with increasing output.

2)TRANSFERABILITY

-pre-condition for SI

-cost of moving an item and its ability to bear costs -increasing transferability and time-space convergence

3)Intervening Opportunity

-alternative origins or spatial destinations -the rate of spatial interactions is :

1)proportional to opportunities at that destination and 2)inversely proportional to opportunities at alternate destinations

4)Spatial Diffusion

-the way things spread through space and time -adopters/knowers and nonadopters/nonknowers/isolated nonknowers

-new technology is high risk... always the pioneer type of person though...

-eventually everyone adopts something 'good' Types of Spatial Diffusion

-expansion diffusion

-relocation diffusion (ie SARS)

-hierarchical diffusion (hip hop... big cities first, then smaller ...Usually not one or another... can be all 3 at same time

-geography is an applied discipline as well as a means of understanding the world A human geographer can focus on:

-international Affairs

-Location of Public Facilities

-Marketing and Location of Industry

-Geography and the Law

-Disease Ecology

-Urban and Regional Planning

-Economic Development

-concept proposed by Immanuel Wallerstein

-an interdependent system of countries linked by political and economic competition among states -places and regions as components of a constantly changing global system

-Today, the world system is highly structured and is characterized by 3 tiers:

Core- US/Japan/Australia etc... advances political and economic competition... backed by tremendous armed forces and allies

Semiperipheral- political/economic influence.. per capita GDP may be low.. but absolute GDP is large ... Mexico, Brazil, India

Peripheral- Ethiopia, Nepal, Bolicia, Laos.... politically subordinant... economically dependent

-For a long history, world relations were characterized by colonialism..... the establishment and maintenance of political and legal domination by a state over a separated and alien society

CORE

-regions that dominated trade, control the most advanced technologies, and have high levels of productivity within diversified economies

PERIPHERAL

-regions with underdeveloped of narrowly specialized economies with low levels of productivity

SEMI-PERIPHERAL

-regions that are able to exploit peripheral regions but are themselves exploited and dominated by core regions

1800

-core was UK/France -SP was USE/Spain/Italy... the neighbors

-P was Can, India, China, East Europe

1900

-USA became core

-SP now Can Japan, etc

-way more periphery .... less external area

2000

-Can is core, Japan, and others

-expansion of SP -no external area

***********core and periphery exist interdependently.. not only on a global scale but also on a regional and local area... periphery can exist within core.. and vice versa

-the world system evolved in successive stages of geographic expansion and integration

PRE-MODERN WORLD

Heath Areas Setting:

-Fertile Crescent (Middle east)

-South Asia (Ganges, Indus Valley)

-China (Huang He)

-Americas (Andes, Mesoamerica)

Mini-System: a society within a single cultural base and a reciprocal social economy

-unified cultural base; exchange based economy

GROWTH OF EARLY EMPIRES

-world empire: politically unified with cultural differences... large region... ie. Roman Empire -Reasons for Empire growth:

1)Law of Diminishing Return (productivity & capital labour...got more people so spread out!) 2)Urbanization

3)Colonization (geographic expansion)

EUROPEAN BASED WORLD SYSTEM

-age of exploration prompted by increasing knowledge in geography -first group of imperial empires (1450-1755)... these were Portugal, Spain, and the Dutch... all in South America FACTORS... -Law of diminishing return

-political competitiveness -evangelical zeal

-inheritance laws

-improved shipbuilding and technology

...All of these things led to territorial expansion, which, when combined with military power, yielded: -domination of trade routes

-gold and silver exploitation

-coerced labor -prohibition of manufacturing in colonies

...Which in turn led to:

-Higher rate of Capital accumulation... which led to INTENSIFICATION OF EUROPEAN CORE (increased ability to penetrate periphery)

-then get reorganization of world system... -leadership cycles and emergence of new hegemonies at global level...

-second group of empires now UK and France

-5 technology eras since industrial revolution -UK/France nearly always adopted first...

1790-1840: steam engine, cotton textiles, iron works

1840-1890: steel, machine tools, railroads, steamships

1890-1950: electricity, electrical engineering, telecommunications, scientific management

1950+: tv, computers, aerospace industries, electronics, petrochemicals, nuclear power, just-in-time production

1990+: IT, microelectrics, biotech, advanced materials, robotics, solar energy, just-in-time marketing

- Canals and the Growth of Industrial Regions
-Steamboats, Railroads, and internal development
 -Tractors, Trucks, Road Building, and Spatial Reorganization

-Canada’s transcontinental railroads: 1885 – 1917

- Trans-Canada Highway completed in 1962

Imperialism, colonialism, and incorporation of
the periphery into the capitalist world
• Imperialism: the extension of the power of a nation
through direct or indirect control of the economic and
political life of other territories.

 Periods of colonization
• First colonial wave: before 1830
• Second colonial wave: after 1930

De-industrialization of the periphery
• Colonies become the extended area
•for trade, for supplying foodstuffs, and raw
materials, and
•for marketing manufactured goods

International Division of Labor
Division of labor
•involves the specialization of different people,
regions, and countries in certain kinds of economic activities.

Colonies founded on narrow specializations
•whatever their comparative advantage happened
to be
•that were oriented to and dependent upon the
needs of core countries.

Comparative advantage
• Economic principle whereby places and regions
specialize in activities
•for which they have the greatest advantage in
productivity relative to other regions or
•for which they have the least disadvantage.

•  Economic specialization in the periphery

International division of labour and free
trade
• Raw materials vs. manufactured goods

Gains in the core and losses in the periphery
• Unequal terms of trade
• Trade barriers and free trade

Political independence and
economic dependence

Neocolonialism
•Economic and political strategies by
which powerful states in core
economies indirectly maintain or
extend their influence over other areas
or people.
•Transnational Corporations

Globalization of the world system
• Integration of the economies: stateless money?
• Interdependence of individual places and regions

 Development of Commodity Chains and
Producer Services
• commodity chains: networks of labour and
production processes beginning with the extraction
or production of raw materials and ending with the
delivery of a finished commodity.
• producer services: services that enhance the
productivity or efficiency of other firms' activities or
that enable them to maintain specialized roles.

New international division of labour
• Decline in US manufacturing sector; global industrial
decentralization; hi-tech and producer service
development

Internationalization of finance
• Foreign direct investment (FDI), growth of global trade,
role of IMF and world bank

New technology system
• Containerization, and tele-communication, and flexibility
in investment and trade

Homogenization of international consumer markets

Intensifying differences btw core and periphery

Spatial Justice:
•the fairness of the distribution of society’s
burdens and benefits,
•taking into account spatial variations in
people’s needs and in their contributions to the
production of wealth and social well-being.

Digital divide:
• inequality of access to telecommunications
technology, particularly the Internet.

The Fast World

 -people, places, and regions directly
involved, as producers and consumers,
in:
•Transnational industry
•Modern telecommunications
•Materialistic consumption
•International news and entertainment

The Slow World

-About 85 percent of the world’s population
-Consists chiefly of the world’s impoverished
periphery
-Also extends to parts of the world’s core
countries, including:
•Rural backwaters
•Declining manufacturing regions
•Disadvantaged slums

-Equidistant projection (one direction):

Polyconic projection

-Conformal projection (all directions/scales):

Mercator projection

-Azimuthal projection (direction correct at one central point)(used in airports)

-Equal-area (equivalent) projection(direction and distance distorted)