Human Geography Places and Regions in Global Context Chapter 1 Geography Matters Geographic Literacy The National Geographic Roper 2002 Global Geographic Literacy Survey Americans performed poorly on general world locations only 62 knew where Russia was located only 52 knew where Cuba was located only 17 knew where Afghanistan was located Nearly one third of American respondents believed that the United States had a population between one and two billion people Only 23 of global respondents could name four countries that possess nuclear weapons Considering religion 38 of global respondents did not know that Christianity had the most adherents worldwide around two billion people www nationalgeographic com Why Places Matter Geography matters because it is specific places that provide the settings for people s daily lives 1 Places provide certain opportunities and constraints on life Urban versus rural 2 Places also form part of our identities Where we are from is a big part of who we are Why Places Matter Places and regions are highly interdependent Why Places Matter Places are socially constructed Places are socially constructed What and where is the South Why Places Matter Scale Geographic Scales Global Overlap World Regions States De jure legally established territories Supranational Organizations European Union EU North American Free Trade Association NAFTA Association of South East Asian Nations ASEAN Spatial This diagram Scales shows some of the principal scales that are commonly the focus of geographic research Metaphors for scale Scale as a ladder Scale as nested dolls Scale Studying the global at the scale of the local Mercedes in Alabama Why Places Matter Places are dynamic human environment interactions The environment forces people to adapt in certain ways In turn people modify and adjust to their environment in ways that meet their needs This two way interaction produces an always changing landscape Studying Human Geography 1 Observation Interviews participant observation laboratory experiments remote sensing 2 Visualization representation Maps charts narratives diagrams 3 Data analysis Patterns themes comparisons models Spatial and regional Studying Human Geography Geographic Information Systems GIS example Nielsen PRIZM consumer map Location absolute and relative Cognitive Location or mental map Spatial Interaction The effects of changing transportation technologies in shrinking the world in terms of travel time Time Space Convergence Spatial Diffusion Disease outbreaks technological innovations political movements clothing styles All originate in specific places and spread to other places and regions Regions 1 Formal High degree of homogeneity for particular traits Language race ethnicity geomorphology agriculture 2 Functional Variability in traits but overall coherence to structure Political economic social Formal Region Mormon religion Functional Region States Landscapes human products Landscapes 1 Ordinary or Vernacular Everyday mundane lived in landscapes 2 Symbolic Representation of values inspiration imagined community Ordinary landscapes Symbolic landscape Sense of Place Place a space with meaning shared and unshared 1 Lifeworld Taken for granted patterns and contexts for everyday living 2 Intersubjectivity Process building shared meanings that are derived from sharing common patterns and life experiences Sense of Place