ONE: THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY

1.1       Introduction to Maps

  • Types of maps include reference maps and thematic maps.
  • Types of spatial patterns represented on maps include absolute and relative distance and direction, clustering, dispersal, and elevation.
  • All maps are selective in information; map projections inevitably distort spatial relationships in shape, area, distance, and direction.

1.2       Geographic Data

1.3       The Power of Geographic Data

  • Geospatial and geographical data, including census data and satellite imagery, are used at all scales for personal, business and organizational, and governmental decision making purposes.

1.4       Spatial Concepts

  • Spatial concepts include absolute and relative location, space, place, flows, distance decay, time-space compression, and pattern.

1.5       Human-Environmental Interaction

  • Concepts of nature and society include sustainability, natural resources, and land use.
  • Theories regarding the interaction of the natural environment with human societies have evolved from environmental determinism to possibilism.

1.6       Scales of Analysis

  • Scales of analysis include global, regional, national, and local.
  • Patterns and processes at different scales reveal variations in, and different interpretations of, data.

1.7       Regional Analysis

  • Regions are defined on the basis of one or more unifying characteristics or on patterns of activity.
  • Types of regions include formal, functional, and perceptual/vernacular.
  • Regional boundaries are transitional and often contested and overlapping.
  • Geographers apply regional analysis at local, national, and
  • global scales.

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