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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

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