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People, Places, and Environments: Introducing Human Geography

Starting Points

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Science, Social Science, Geography

•What do we mean when we say something is a science?

•What do we mean when we say something is a social science?

•Just what is Geography?

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ScienceSci"ence (?), n. [F., fr. L. scientia, fr. sciens, p.pr. of scire “to know.” Cf. Conscience, Conscious.]

Science means knowledge — but knowledge comes from many valid sources —

Experience

Experiment

Faith

Authority

For 400 years, the word science has meant knowledge acquired using a process we call the scientific method.

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The Scientific MethodWhat characteristics should knowledge acquired by the Scientific Method have?

Science should be:• Rational — based on reasoning, logic.

• Objective — free from bias, prejudice.

• Systematic — thorough, methodical, organized.

• Predictive — testable (“repeatable”).

But science should not be:• Dogmatic — science should be open to new ideas.

• Ideological — science should not be based on beliefs or opinions.

• Trivial — science should not be a pointless accumulation of facts.

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Steps to Science1

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The Crucial Step: Testing

If you don’t make

testable predictions

it’s not

science!

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An Example: Science & Not-Science

NOT SCIENCE

•Male alligators can’t breed if temperatures get too high

\ Climate change killed the dinosaurs.

•Flowering plants dominate just as dinosaurs disappear

\ Chemicals found in flowering plants killed the dinosaurs

SCIENCE

•The rare element iridium is found at the boundary between the era when dinosaurs dominate and when they disappear.

\ Whatever increased iridium levels killed off the dinosaurs.

What Killed The Dinosaurs?

Based on SJ Gould’s “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs.” In The Flamingo’s Smile (1985)

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Is Science Always Right?

NO!Science is done by people —and people are only human!

• Sometimes people make mistakes• Sometimes people are reluctant to change• Sometimes people lie• Sometimes people don’t want a “scientific”

answer!

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Science & Social Science

• Science is a way of getting knowledge using the scientific method.

• A social science is a field of study that uses the scientific method to look at the social and cultural environment.

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Geography• Is Geography a social science?

• Yes! And No! And Sometimes!

• Geography is a unique discipline

• Geography connects other disciplines

• Geography emphasizes space

• BUT — Geography isn’t always easy to define!

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Realms of Geography

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Development of Geography

For more information see:

http://www.atamanhotel.com/catalhoyuk/oldest-map.html

The Çatalhöyük map (6,200 BCE)

A “T-and-O” map (1472 CE)

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What is Geography?“Geography is the study of of where things are located on Earth’s surface and the reasons for the location.” (Rubenstein 2008, xv)

“…the scientific study of the location of people and activities across Earth, and the reasons for their distribution.” (Rubenstein 2008, 2)

What do Geographers think about?• Place – location.

• Regions – unique and distinctive areas.

• Scale – similarities at local, regional and global levels.

• Space – mapping regular patterns.

• Connections – relationships among places.

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PLACE: Location• What features make places unique and distinctive? Where are places located? • Important Concepts in location:• Place Names (“toponyms”)• Site (physical [“fixed”] location)• Situation (relative location)• Mathematical location (coordinates)

PLACE: Location – Site & Situation

Site: San Francisco1769• In the Western Hemisphere• In the Midlatitudes• On the West Coast of

North America• Mediterranean climate

(but foggy!)• Peninsula and superb harborToday• In the Western Hemisphere• In the Midlatitudes• On the West Coast of

North America• Mediterranean climate (foggy!)• Peninsula and superb harbor

Situation: San Francisco1769• Outpost of Spain; in New

Spain/Mexico; in Alta California• Primary political relationships:

Monterey; Mexico City; Madrid• Primary trading relationships:

New Spain, PhilippinesToday• In California, USA• Primary political relationships:

Sacramento; Washington DC• Primary trading relationships:

Pacific Rim, Global

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REGIONS: Types of Regions• What are the distinctive characteristics that define a place, and that make one place more (or less) like others?• Important Concepts• Types of Regions:

• Formal (defined using uniform, homo-genous, or dominant characteristics)

• Functional (defined using communication or transportation systems or functions)

• Vernacular (defined by people’s cultural identity or beliefs)

Regions: Formal, Functional, Vernacular

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US TVMarkets

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REGIONS: Cultural Ecology

• Human-Environment Interaction•The environment can limit human activity.•BUT – does the environment make people

behave and develop in certain ways?•Environmental determinism: culture is

mostly determined by the physical environment.•Possibilism: the environment imposes

some limits, but people can adapt and adjust their culture to their environment.

REGIONS: Modifying the Environment

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Sources: http://www.planetware.com/map/netherlands-land-reclamation-on-the-north-sea-coast-map-nl-nl2.htm; http://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2012/08/17/drought-keeps-oklahoma-pilot-grounded/

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SCALE: Local to Global• Some things work differently, and have different effects at

different scales.

• Globalization of Economy:

• At the global scale, we are increasingly interconnected and

interdependent.

• At the local scale, this has lead to increasing specialization –

places focus on their unique assets (if they have any).

• Globalization of Culture:

• At the global scale, we are becoming more culturally uniform –

fast food, hotels, cars, cell phones, are pretty much the same over

much of the world.

• At the local scale, some groups are fighting to retain their local

culture – sometimes violently.

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SPACE: Distribution (arrangement of things across

space)

• How are things arranged?

• Where are they located?

• Important Concepts:

• DENSITY

• CONCENTRATION

• PATTERN

DISTRIBUTION (arrangement of things across space)

:Density and Concentration• Density:

“How many per?”

• Concentration: “How spread out?”

• Major League Baseball

• Density

• 1952: 16 teams

• 2012: 30 teams

• Concentration

• 1952: All Eastern US

• 2012: Most regions of the US and in Canada

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1952

2012

DISTRIBUTION: Patterns23

Created using Google Earth; data source: http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/seeps/where.html; http://diseasemaps.usgs.gov/wnv_us_human.html

West Nile Virus, 2012

Oils seeps & tarballs along the California coast

24• How are places and regions connected? How do they interact?• Important Concepts:• SPATIAL INTERACTION

• Networks, transportation systems, distance decay (the further away someone is, the less likely the interaction)

• Cultural diversity• Space-time compression (reduction of time it takes for

something to reach another)

• DIFFUSION• Relocation Diffusion (process by which things spread out,

hearth is the origination)

• Expansion Diffusion (additive process) Hierarchical (through a social or physical hierarchy) Contagious (from person to person) Stimulus (spread of an underlying idea)

CONNECTIONS: Spatial Interaction

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Sources: http://www.aviationexplorer.com/us_airways_airlines.htm; http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/948/674/System0211_101web,0.pdf

AMTRAK route map

US Airways route map

CONNECTIONS: Diffusion26

• Relocation diffusion• Physical movement, across space –

people migrate, taking their culture with them.

• Expansion diffusion• Ideas spread through a population.

• Hierarchical – spreading through a hierarchy of people or places.

• Contagious – spreading through contact, like a disease, from person to person.

• Stimulus – spread of an underlying idea, even when the actual idea doesn’t diffuse.

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Maps & Mapmaking• All maps are made for a specific purpose.

• Although they’re not always labeled, all maps have

four characteristics:

• Scale — the relationship between distance on

the map and distance on the ground.

• Projection — a way of showing the round earth

on a flat map.

• Symbols — arbitrary shapes, colors or patterns

that make distributions or arrangements clear.

• Grid system — a system of coordinates; a way of

determining a place’s location.

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Map Scale

• Scale can be expressed in three ways:

• Verbal – “One inch equals one mile.”

• Fraction – “1:63,360”

• Graphic –

• Each has advantages and disadvantages.

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San Diego at Four Scales

1:25,000 1:50,000

1:100,000 1:250,000

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large & SMALL

1:25,000 1:50,000

1:100,000 1:250,000

“Large Scale”

“Small Scale”

Remember — these are fractions!

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The Problem of Projection• The Problem: You can’t go from round

to flat without something being distorted!

• Every flat map is distorted in some way —but we can choose the kind of distortion.• Shape• Area• Distance• Direction

Robinson map projection

Topographical map

Thematic maps

Cartogram map

Geographical Information Systems

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• A variety of symbols are used on maps.

• There are basically four kinds of symbols:• Pictures: • Dots:

• Colors & Patterns:

• Lines: ——— ---------

==========

Symbols

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Symbols: Pictures Pictures — either representative images or arbitrary shapes — can be an effective way of showing where things are located on a map.

Note how important the legend is. Without one, the symbols would be meaningless.

Produced online, using the National Atlas of the USASource: http://nationalatlas.gov/

Mineral Production Sites in the Salt Lake

Region

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Symbols: Dots

Dots — plain, colored, or varying in size or shape — are another effective way of showing distributions.

Source: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqscanv/

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Symbols: Color & Shading

This is a shaded relief map — a map in which elevation is indicated using colors.

Like all map symbols, color is useful — but if you don’t know what the colors actually mean, a map like this can be very misleading.

This map was produced using ICEMAPS2 online: http://icemaps.des.ucdavis.edu/icemaps2/ICEMapInit.html

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Symbols: Isolines

Isolines are lines that connect points on a map with equal values.

The name of the isoline varies depending on what you’re mapping:

TEMPERATURE – isotherms

AIR PRESSURE – isobars

ELEVATION – contour lines

Twelve Month Average Temperatures, January-December

2010

ºF

Adapted from: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/regional_monitoring/us_12-month_avgt.html

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Symbols: Colors vs. Lines There are many ways to

show data on a map.

Sometimes colors and shading patterns are effective.

At other times, using various kinds of line symbols may be a better choice.

Consider these maps of San Diego bay. Which is easiest to understand at a glance? Which is probably best if you need to know an exact elevation?

These maps were produced using Global Mapper (www.globalmapper.com) and digital elevation models from http://www.gisdatadepot.com/

Shaded relief

Contour lines

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• Cartesian coordinates (named for French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes (1596-1650)) are an example of a grid or coordin-ate system.

• Using the horizontal (“x”) axis and vertical (“y”) axis, we can specify the position of any object.

0102030405060708090

100

0 1 2 3 4 5

3, 90

1, 21

2, 28

4, 21

Grid Systems

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Grid Systems:Latitude & Longitude

• Using parallels of latitude we determine the angular distance (in degrees) north or south of the equator, from 0º to 90º North or South

• Using meridians of longitude we determine the angular distance (in degrees) east or west of the prime meridian, from 0º to 180º East or West

important lines of longitude

Prime Meridian: 0 degrees (runs through Greenwich, England)

International Dateline: 180 degrees

Time Zones: every 15 degrees of longitude equals one hour

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FIGURE 1-11 TIME ZONES The United States and Canada share four standard time zones:• Eastern, near 75° west, is 5 hours earlier than GMT.• Central, near 90° west, is 6 hours earlier than GMT.• Mountain, near 105° west, is 7 hours earlier than GMT.• Pacific, near 120° west, is 8 hours earlier than GMT.The United States has two additional standard time zones:• Alaska, near 135° west, is 9 hours earlier than GMT.• Hawaii-Aleutian, near 150° west, is 10 hours earlier than GMT. Canada has two additional standard time zones:• Atlantic, near 60° west, is 4 hours earlier than GMT.• Newfoundland is 3½ hours earlier than GMT; the residents of Newfoundland assert that their island, which lies between 53° and 59° west longitude, would face dark winter afternoons if it were in the Atlantic Time Zone and dark winter mornings if it were 3 hours earlier than GMT.

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Other Grids• There are a number of other grid systems in use that you may encounter:

• Township & Range

• Used in most of the US for land surveys

• Divides land into 36 mi2 “townships”

Sources: http://gis.pima.gov/survey/; http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1395/report.pdf; http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/factsheets/fs07701.html;

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The “All-Purpose” Map• All maps are made for a

specific purpose — to show things the map maker thinks are interesting or worthwhile.

• “All-purpose” or “general use” maps are also made for a specific purpose — to be useful to the widest possible number of users.

• To do this, general purpose maps have to include a lot of information. To do that they use a lot of different symbols — colors, lines, pictures, etc.

http://interactive2.usgs.gov/learningweb/images/mapsshow4_topo.jpg

Is this a map? • No!

• This is a NASA Space Shuttle photograph (taken October 3, 1994).

• This is an example of remote sensing. Data acquired from orbit can be used to study changes in land use, population growth, or other phenomena.

• But a photograph is not a map — the image is not projected, the scale may vary from top to bottom or side to side, there is no legend, etc.

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Source: http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=STS068&roll=202&frame=17

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GPS

•The Global Positioning System in use today lets people accurately find their location just about anywhere on the face of the earth.

•GPS is everywhere – in cars, in scientific experiments, in cell phones.

Contemporary ToolsPinpointing Locations: GPSGlobal Positioning System (GPS)

System that accurately determines the precise position of something on Earth

GPS in the U.S. includes three elements

1. Satellites placed in predetermined orbits

2. Tracking stations to monitor and control satellites

3. Receiver that can locate at least four satellites, figure out its distance from each, and use the information to calculate its precise location

Applications Turn-By-Turn directions in vehicles

Navigational aid to pilots and ship captains

Provide location for social media applications in a smartphone

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Geographic Information Systems

A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer-based system for acquiring, analyzing, processing, and displaying spatial data — that is, information such as location (where a particular point is located) and various characteristics (for example, elevation, vegetation, population, hydrology, slope, etc.).

Using a GIS, we can analyze and display an enormous amount of information — we can produce new and better maps.

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Using a GIS• A GIS can be used for a wide range of applications

— urban planning, emergency response systems, resource management, etc.

• Using a GIS it is possible to

• Produce maps using whatever scales, projections, symbols or color schemes best display the information.

• Store, retrieve and analyze the data associated with various locations

• Model and analyze site characteristics.

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GIS Example: Timber Harvest for Kachemac Bay

• The following variables were used to produce this analysis:

• land-cover classification

• site harvest history

• infestation by spruce bark beetles

• proximity to existing roads

• proximity to power lines

• percent slope

• slope aspect (orientation)

• proximity to anadromous streams

• concentration of bear and moose

• designated wetland areas

• land use

• land ownership

Source: http://www.csc.noaa.gov/lcr/kachemak/html/gishtml/forharmo.htm

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Mathematical Models: Examples

Simulation of earth’s magnetic field over a period of 80,000 years.

http://www.psc.edu/research/graphics/gallery/geodynamo.html; http://www.nersc.gov/research/annrep00/sh_BER_10.html; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17119217

Climate model, showing possible future changes.

Etiological model of a chronic disease.

Why Are Some Human Actions Not Sustainable?

Sustainability and Resources

Geographers observe two major misuses of resources:

Humans deplete nonrenewable resources.

Humans destroyed otherwise renewable resources through pollution of air, water, and soil.

Three Pillars of Sustainability

1. Environment Pillar

Sustainable development can only exist if conservation is embraced more fully than wasting resources or preservation

of all resources.

Preservation (nature not for human use) vs. Conservation (use with moderation)

Why Are Some Human Actions Not Sustainable?

Sustainability and Resources

Three Pillars of Sustainability

2. Economy Pillar

Efforts to set prices of commodities and goods based not only on supply and demand but also on costs to the environment.

3. Society Pillar

Modifying the wants of cultures in regards to shelter, food, and clothing to objects that are sustainable

Why Are Some Human Actions Not Sustainable?

Earth’s Physical Systems

Geographers classify natural resources as part of four interrelated symptoms.

Abiotic system is one composed of nonliving or inorganic matter.

Atmosphere: thin layer of gas surrounding Earth

Hydrosphere: all water on and near Earth’s surface

Lithosphere: Earth’s crust and layer just below the crust

Biotic system is one composed of living organisms.

Biosphere: all living organisms on Earth

Why Are Some Human Actions Not Sustainable?

Interactions in the Biosphere

People are now the most important agents of change on Earth.

Human modification of the abiotic systems has ongoing ramifications.

Examples

Atmosphere contains pollutants, humans have trouble breathing.

Without water, humans waste away and die.

Excessive extraction of resources from lithosphere limits availability of materials for building and fuel for energy.

Excessive erosion or depletion of nutrients limits biosphere’s ability to provide food for humans.

Why Are Some Human Actions Not Sustainable?

Modifying the Environment

Few ecosystems have been as thoroughly modified as those of the Netherlands and Florida.

Netherlands

Much of the Netherlands would be underwater, if it weren’t for polders- a piece of land that is created by draining water from an area.

Dutch have become world leaders in reducing the causes of global warming and industrial pollution.

Florida

Unsustainable modifications made to ecosystem, as a result of draining portions of the Everglades and water pollution from cattle grazing