GEOG 121 Vocab
Terms
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- Cognitive distance
- Perceived distance often measured in time, money, or difficulty of travel
- Cognitive space
- Space defined and measured in terms of the nature and degree of people's values, feelings, beliefs, and perceptions about a place.
- Distance-decay function/Friction of distance
- The rate at which a particular interaction between two parties diminishes with increasing distance
- Economies of scale
- Cost advantages to manufacturers that accrue from high-volume production, since the average cost of production falls with increasing output
- Formal vs. functional region
- Formal regions are units that have high homogeneity and specific distinguishing features; Functional regions can have more heterogeneity because their coherence comes from a shared political/social/economic structure Ex: Bible belt vs. Corn belt
- Geographical imagination
- The capacity to understand changing patterns, changing processes, and changing relationships among people, places, and regions
- Globalization
- The increasing interconnectedness of different parts of the world through common processes of economic, environmental, political, and cultural change
- Irredentism
- The assertion by the government of a country that has a minority living outside its formal borders that it belongs to the country historically and culturally Ex: Serbian enclave in Croatia
- Lifeworld
- The taken-for-granted pattern and context for every-day living through which people conduct their day-to-day lives
- Neoliberal policies
- Economic policies that are predicated on a minimalist role for the state, assuming the desirability of free markets as the ideal condition not only for economic organization but also for political and social life Ex: all Structural Adjustment Programs
- Ordinary/Vernacular landscapes
- The everyday landscapes that people create in the course of their lives
- Place vs. region
- Place is a specific geographic setting with distinctive physical, social, and cultural attributes, while a region is a larger-sized territory that encompasses many places, all or most of which share similar attributes in comparison with the attributes of places elsewhere
- Risk society
- A contemporary society in which politics is increasingly about avoiding hazards
- Geopolitics
- The state's power to control space or territory and shape the foreign policy of individual states and international political relations *Ratzel believes that geopolitics stems from the interaction of power and territory
- Site vs. Situation
- Site is the physical attributes of a location (terrain, soil, vegetation, water courses, etc.), while Situation is the location of a place relative to other places
- Symbolic landscapes
- Representations of particular values or aspirations that the builders and financiers of those landscapes want to impart to a larger public Ex: the neoclassical architecture of the federal government buildings in D.C. along with the streets, parks, and monuments of the capital constitute a symbolic landscape intended to communicate a sense of power, but also of democracy in its imitation of the Greek city-state.
- Time-space convergence
- The rate at which places move closer together in travel or communication time/costs
- World region
- Large-scale geographic divisions based on continental and physiographic settings that contain major groupings of peoples with broadly similar cultural attributes
- Core regions
- Regions that dominate trade, control the most advanced technologies, have high levels of productivity within diversified economies, and score highly on measures of human development (like life expectancy, average income, fertility rates, etc.) *Within the division of labor, core countries provide high-tech manufacturing and producer services. They do not function as industrial producers or centers for manufacturing. *The core-periphery division follows the North-South divide
- Environmental determinism vs. Possiblism
- Environmental determinism is a doctrine holding that human activities are controlled by the restrictions of the environment, while Possiblism asserts that the human command of technology allows mankind to overcome the restrictions of the environment
- Ethnocentrism
- The attitude that one's own race and culture are superior to others'
- Fast world
- People, places, and regions directly involved, as producers and consumers, in transnational industry, modern telecommunications, materialistic consumption, and international news and entertainment. *There is an increasing division between the "fast" and "slow" worlds.
- Hearth areas
- Geographic settings where new practices have developed, and from which they have subsequently spread
- Hinterland
- The sphere of economic influence of a town or city
- Import substitution
- The process by which domestic producers provide goods or services that formerly were brought from foreign producers *Western Europe became adept at import substitution following the Age of Discovery, resulting in their emergence as the core region of a new world-system
- Law of diminishing returns
- The tendency for productivity to decline, after a certain point, with the continued application of capital and/or labor to a given resource base *In order to compensate for the problems associated with this law, world empires characteristically colonized near lands to provide for their populations.
- Peripheral regions
- Regions with undeveloped or narrowly specialized economies with low levels of productivity *Within the new division of labor, peripheral countries function as industrial producers and manufacturing centers. Only select human services have been outsourced to peripheral countries. *The current periphery regions actually contain the worlds major hearth areas. *Countries in the periphery do not necessarily have to stay in the periphery.
- Producer services
- Services that enhance the productivity or efficiency of other firms activities or that enable them to maintain specialized roles *Within the new division of labor, core regions of the world system began to specialize in such producer services as information services, insurance, and market research. This increased global trade.
- Slow world
- People, places, and regions whose participation in transnational industry, modern telecommunications, materialistic consumption, and international news and entertainment is limited *The "slow" world accounts for about 85% of the global population, mostly in periphery countries
- 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 wellbeing
- Technology systems
- Clusters of interrelated energy, transportation, and production technologies that dominate economic activity for several decades at a time *The current technology system is built around a cluster of technological innovations with oil and the internal combustion engine as its energy source.
- World empire vs. World systems
- A world empire is a network of minisystems that have been absorbed into a common political system while retaining their fundamental cultural differences. World systems are interdependent systems of countries linked by economic and political competition
- Agricultural density vs. Nutritional density
- Agricultural density is the ratio between the number of agriculturists and a unit of arable land in a specific area. Nutritional density is the ratio between the amount of land under cultivation and a given unit of area.
- Demographic transition
- The replacement of high birth and death rates by low birth and death rates. The demographic transition model is comprised of four stages, with the first being high BRs and high DRs, the second being high BRs and dropping DRs, the third being low DRs and dropping BRs, and the fourth being equally low BRs and DRs. *Today, most developed/core countries are in Stage 4 of the Demographic Transition Model, and most developing/periphery countries are between Stage 2 and Stage 3, causing high population growth rates in those countries. *The demographic transition model was based on core countries
- Dependency ratio
- The measure of the economic impact of young and old on the more economically productive members of the population *The number of people too young or too old to work (<15 or >65) divided by the number of people working (the "middle cohort")
- Eco-migration
- Population movement caused by the degradation of land and essential natural resources
- Forced migration (Push factors)
- Movement by an individual against his or her will (War, political refuge, dissatisfaction with the amenities offered by the community, ecological degradation, economic dislocation, etc.)
- Voluntary migration (Pull factors)
- Movement by an individual based on choice (Lucrative job opportunities, desire to live near the sea, etc.) *Often, the decision to migrate is a combination of both push and pull factors, and most migrations are voluntary.
- Gross migration vs. Net migration
- Gross migration represents the total number of migrants moving into and out of a place, region, or country. Net migration refers to the loss or gain in the total population as a result of migration.
- Medical geography
- A subarea that specializes in understanding the the spatial aspects of health and illness
- Total fertility rate (TFR)
- The average number of children a woman will have throughout the years that demographers have identified as her childbearing years (15-49) *The replacement-level fertility rate is about 2.1
- Conservation(ism) vs. Preservation(ism)
- Conservationism is the view that natural resources should be used wisely and that society's effects on the natural world should represent stewardship rather than exploitation. Preservationism, on the other hand, is an approach to nature that advocates that certain habitats, species, and resources should remain off-limits to human use, regardless of whether the use maintains or depletes the resource in question.
- Cultural ecology
- The study of the relationship between a cultural group and its natural environment
- Deep ecology
- An approach to nature revolving around two key components: self-realization and biospherical egalitarianism *Deep ecology was born from preservationism, not conservationism
- Demographic collapse
- The phenomenon of near-genocide of native populations
- Ecofeminism
- The view that a patriarchal ideology is at the center of our present environmental malaise
- Ecological imperialism (bioinvasion)
- The introduction of exotic plants and animals into previously segmented ecosystems
- Environmental ethics vs. Environmental justice
- Environmental ethics is a philosophical perspective on nature that prescribes moral principles as guidance for our treatment of it. Environmental justice is a movement reflecting a growing political consciousness, largely among the world's poor, that their immediate environments are far more toxic than those in wealthier neighborhoods
- Political ecology
- The approach to cultural geography that studies human-environment relations through the relationships and patterns of resource use *Is willing to incorporate disciplines of urban planning, retooling of transportation infrastructure, and economics in protecting the environment
- Virgin soil epidemics
- Conditions in which the population at risk has no natural immunity or previous expose to the disease within the lifetime of the oldest member of the group Ex: Disease in the Columbian Exchange
- Dialect
- A regional variation in standard language distinguishable through differences in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary that are place-based in nature
- Language and organization
- Language Family: a collection of individual languages believed to be relate din their prehistorical origin (Indo-European) Language Branch: a collection of languages that possess a definite common origin but have split into individual languages (Romance) Language: A conventionalized system of signs, gestures, marks, or articulate vocal sounds (Spanish)
- Rites of passage
- The ceremonial acts, customs, practices, or procedures that recognize key transitions in human life such as birth, menstruation, and other markers of adulthood, such as marriage
- First Agricultural Revolution
- A transition from hunter-gatherer minisystems to agriculturally-based minisystems that were both more extensive and more stable. *Occurred between 9000 and 7000 BC. *Took place independently in several heath areas GRADUALLY *Allowed for the development of specializations such as pottery making and jewelry
- Cosmopolitanism
- An intellectual and aesthetic openness toward divergent experiences, images, and products from different cultures
- Derelict landscapes
- Landscapes that have experienced abandonment, misuse, disinvestment, or vandalism
- Ethology
- The scientific study of the formation and evolution of human customs and beliefs Ex: an ethologist would explain graffiti in a high-density urban area as a claim to territory, a response to overcrowding, or an expression of identity
- Existential imperative
- The tendency for people to define themselves sin relation to their material world and their capacity to achieve a form of spiritual or psychic unity between themselves and their material worlds
- Humanistic approach
- An approach that places the individual - especial individual values, meaning systems, intentions, and conscious acts - at the center of analysis
- Modernity
- A forward-looking view of the world that emphasizes reason, scientific rationality, creativity, novelty, and progress
- Post-modernity
- A view of the world that emphasizes an openness to a range of perspectives in social inquiry, artistic expressionism, and political empowerment *Postmodern urban design is a style characterized by a diversity of architectural styles and elements, often combined in the same building or project
- Proxemics vs. Semiotics
- Proxemics is the study of the social and cultural meanings that people give to personal space. Semiotics is the practice of writing and reading signs. *In either case, it is true that within one place, different spaces can send different messages to different people.
- Topophilia
- The connections between, or connectivity of, particular points in space
- Vulgaria
- Ex: An SUV in a megachurch parking lot, surrounded by box stores
- Place marketing
- Making artificial changes to a place to encourage place-consumption *Can occur through mall-ification, Disneyfication, and creating "vulgarias" *Tourism is the worlds largest non-agricultural employer
- Agglomeration diseconomies vs. Agglomeration effects
- Agglomeration diseconomies are the negative economic effects of urbanization and the local concentration of industry. Agglomeration effects are the more positive cost advantages that accrue to individual firms because of their location among functionally related activities.
- Ancillary activities
- Ex: Maintenance and repair, recycling, security, and business services
- Autarky
- Insignificant contributions to the flows of imports and exports that constitute the geography of trade *Typically, the countries that exhibit a high degree of autarky from the world economy are peripheral countries because they do not contribute significantly to global trade
- Backwash effects and Creative destruction
- Backwash effects are the negative impacts on a region (or regions) of the economic growth of some other region. Creative destruction is the withdrawal of investments from activities that yield low rates of profit in order to reinvest in new activities. *Backwash effects and creative destruction help explain why regional economic development is so uneven
- Conglomerate corporations
- Companies that have diversified into various economic activities, usually through a process of mergers and acquisitions
- Cumulative causation
- A spiral buildup of advantages that occurs in specific geographic settings as a result of the development of external economies, agglomeration effects, and localization economies
- Elasticity of demand
- The degree to which levels of demand for a product or service change in response to changes in price
- Flexible production systems
- The ability of manufacturers to shift quickly and efficiently from one level of output to another, or from one product configuration to another
- Geographical path dependence
- The historical relationship between the present activities associated with a place and the past experiences of that place
- Growth poles
- Economic activities that are deliberately organized around one or more high-growth industries
- Localization economies
- Cost savings that accrue to particular industries as a result of clustering together at a specific location *Similar to agglomeration effects and cumulative causation
- Fordism vs. neo-Fordism
- Fordism is comprised of principles for mass production that are based on assembly-line techniques, scientific management, mass consumption based on higher wages, and sophisticated advertising techniques. Neo-Fordism is comprised of economic principles in which the logic of mass production coupled with mass consumption is modified by the addition of more flexible production, distribution, and marketing systems
- Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary Activities
- Primary: economic activities concerned directly with natural resources Secondary: economic activities that process, transform, fabricate, or assemble the raw materials derived from primary activities Tertiary: economic activities involving the sale and exchange of goods and services Quaternary: economic activities that deal with the handling and processing of knowledge and information
- Spread effects
- The positive impacts on a region of the economic growth of some other region
- Vertical disintegration
- The devolution of large, functionally integrated firms within a given industry to networks of specialized firms, subcontractors, and suppliers
- World city
- A city in which a disproportionate part of the worlds most important businesses is conducted *Todays world cities are distinguished by the worlds most powerful organizations, international NGO and IGO headquarters, major corporate headquarters, and specialized and advanced business services.
- Blue revolution
- The introduction of new production techniques, processing technology, infrastructure, and larger motorized boats into peripheral country fisheries
- Ejidos
- Communal lands given to groups of landless peasants who could farm collectively or as individuals but could not rent or sell the land
- Famine
- Acute starvation associated with a sharp increase in mortality *Famines can occur when overall levels of food availability are adequate.
- Farm crisis
- The financial failure and eventual foreclosure of thousands of family farms across the US Midwest *Occurred at the hand of agribusiness farmers
- Food regime
- A specific set of links that exists among food production and consumption,capital investment, and accumulation opportunities *Within the food regime exists the food chain, which articulates the complex connections between agricultural producers and food consumers
- Intertillage
- The practice of mixing different seeds and seedlings in the same swidden
- Land reform
- The redistribution of land by the state with the goal of increasing productivity and reducing social unrest
- Transhumance
- The movement of herds according to seasonal rhythms: warmer lowland areas in the winter, cooler highland areas in the summer
- Second vs. Third Agricultural Revolution
- The second agricultural revolution centered around dramatic improvements in output that coincided historically and geographically with the Industrial Revolution. This was the first ever manufacturing of food. The difference between the second and third revolutions is mostly a matter of degree, so that by the late twentieth century, technological innovations have virtually industrialized all agricultural practices. The third agricultural revolution included the replacement of human labor with mechanization, chemical farming, and a high amount of food manufacturing.
- Centrifugal vs. Centripetal forces
- Centrifugal forces (like multiple languages or religions, disillusionment with the government, or civil war) tend to pull the state apart, while centripetal forces (like shared history, shared icons, and a strong sense of nationalism) strengthen and unify the state.
- Global civil society
- The set of institution, organizations and behavior situated between the state, the business world, and the family. Specifically, this includes voluntary and non-profit organizations, philanthropic institutions, and social and political movements.
- Federal vs. Unitary state
- In a federal state, power is allocated to units of local governments, but in a unitary state, power is concentrated in the central government
- Nation, State, and Nation-state
- A nation is a group of people often sharing common elements of culture such as religion, language, history, or political identity. A state is an independent political unit with territorial boundaries that are internationally recognized by other states. *With globalization and the increasing importance of trade-facilitating organizations, states are becomes sites of flows and connections. A nation-state is an ideal form consisting of a homogeneous group of people governed by their own state.
- Central place and Central place theory
- A central place is a settlement in which certain products and services are available to consumers. Central place theory seeks to explain the relative size and spacing of towns and cities as a function of people's shopping habits. *A fundamental tenet of central place theory is that the smallest settlements in an urban system will provide only those goods and services that meet everyday needs (like groceries) and that those small settlements will be situated relatively close to one another because consumers, assumed to be spread unevenly throughout the countryside, will not travel far for such items. On the other hand, people will be willing to travel farther for more expensive, less purchased items.
- Counterurbanizatoin
- Counterurbanization, the net loss of population from cities to smaller towns and rural areas, is due in part to the increased accessibility of those smaller towns and rural areas.
- Gateway city
- A city that serves as a link between one country or region and others because of its physical situation *Gateway cities tend to be port cities, the were typically established by Europeans in their colonies to funnel mineral and agricultural resources from continental interiors to Europe, and are control centers providing access into and out of particular countries or regions. They have NOT become the urban centers of the world's core.
- Primacy vs. Rank-size rule
- Primacy is a condition in which the population of the largest city in an urban system is disproportionately larger than the second- and third-largest cities. Rank-size rule, on the other hand, is a statistical regularity in city-size distributions in an urban system. *The urban system of the United States is best characterized as a functional hierarchy (following rank-size rule)
- Shock city
- A city that is seen as the embodiment of surprising and disturbing changes in economic, social, and cultural life. Ex: Manchester and Chicago
- Cycle of poverty
- The transmission of poverty and deprivation from one generation to another through a combination of domestic circumstances and local, neighborhood conditions
- Gentrification and Invasion and succession
- Gentrification is the invasion of older, centrally located working-class neighborhoods by higher-income households seeking the character and convenience of less expensive and well-located residences. Invasion and succession is a process of neighborhood change whereby one social or ethnic group succeeds another
- Redlining
- The practice whereby lending institutions delineate "bad-risk" neighborhoods on a city map and then use the map as the basis for determining loans