Prepared by:

De Vera, Rocelyn C.
1st sem 2011-2012
 GEOS + GRAPHEIN/GRAPHOS
= Earth + to write about or to describe

“Geography is the study of space and its content”

 Spatial Science
Where?
Why is it there?
Why do we care?
GEOGRAPHY
Study of all aspects of the earth’s surface
 *GEOLOGY

Study of humans and the environment and the interactions between

them

Study dealing with man and his interrelationships with his natural
environment, how such interrelationships are spatially distributed and vary
over the earth’s surface, and why the resulting spatial distributions are
patterned the way they are
-Juanico and Agno,1987

A science that deals with the description, distribution, and interaction of

the diverse physical, biological, and cultural features of the earth's surface
-Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary
Geography
 Study of the earth as created by natural forces, and, as
modified by human action.
Durrenberger's article
1.) The HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT
Tradition
 One of the oldest

 Definition of geography:
the study of the inter-relationships between
nature and society

 The idea that the natural environment, especially

climate, creates natural selective conditions that
either bring out the best in humans and create
"superior" cultures or the worst in people and
create "inferior" cultures
2.) The REGIONAL Tradition
 1920s to about the mid-1950s

 Definition of geography:
the study of areal differentiation

 Implied tasks:
the definition and description of regions in order
to differentiate them from other regions and
areas.

 Implied function of a geographer:

to become a walking encyclopedia about everything going
on in a given area
2.) The REGIONAL Tradition
 Fred Schaeffer"Exceptionalism in Geography."
 regional tradition implied the study of inherently
unique or exceptional objects, regions, and science is
about the construction of generalizations that cover
groups of objects

 All of us can construct different boundaries to any

region, and justify our choices logically, and there's no
way universally to choose one set of boundaries over
another.
3.) The SPATIAL Tradition
 Definition of geography:
the study of the spatial distributions of
particular phenomena.

 The particular spatial distributions can be strictly

human phenomena strictly natural phenomena, or
some sort of relationship between society and
nature

 dominance from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s

4.) The PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Tradition
 One of the oldest approaches to geography

 Definition of geography:
the study of Planet Earth as the home of
humanity
1.) The HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT
Tradition
2.) The REGIONAL Tradition
3.) The SPATIAL Tradition
4.) The PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Tradition
Geography
Main Branches
Physical Geography

 the Earth’s natural processes

and their outcomes

 Climate, weather patterns,

landforms, soil formation, plant
and animal ecology, environment
Geography
Main Branches
Physical Geography Human Geography

 the Earth’s natural processes  the natural physical

and their outcomes environments and how
they influence human
activity and vice-versa

 Agricultural production and

 Climate, weather patterns, food security, population
landforms, soil formation, plant change, ecology of human
and animal ecology, diseases, regional planning,
environment… religion, transportation…
Geography
Main Approaches
Physical Geography Human Geography

 Unique combinations of environmental

and human factors  territories with
distinctive landscapes and cultural
attributes

Regional Geography
Geography
Main Approaches
 Systematic
R egion

L ocation

D istance

S pace

P lace

A ccessibility

I nteraction (spatial interaction)

S cale
Large-sized territories that encompass many places, all of which share
similar attributes in comparison with the attributes of places
elsewhere

There are certain unifying themes, language, religion, etc.

Used to distinguish one area from another

Boundaries-transition zones (can change through time, not well marked)

*Group of provinces that have the same cultural and ethnological

characteristics
Types:
1. Uniform/ Formal -share a distinct and readily identifiable set of characteristics
(physical, political, cultural, environmental)
-typically defined by a government or administrative group for the
purpose of defining boundaries

2. Functional -an area that literally functions as a unit, economically, politically and
socially
-any metropolitan area would be a functional region

3. Vernacular -region perceived to exist by its inhabitants as evidenced by the

widespread acceptance and use of a special regional name
 Nominal

Absolute Latitude - imaginary lines going east and west around the globe.
Longitude - imaginary lines that run from the North Pole to the South Pole
Coordinate - expressed using brackets with a comma and latitude always comes first

(14 ̊ 35 ’ N, 120 ̊ 58’ E) (21 ̊ 18 ’ 32’’ N, 157 ̊ 49’ 34’’ W)

Relative in relation to other places (north of, next to, across from, near, far, short drive)
given with at least 2, preferably 3, reference points
*When giving relative location it is best to start on a smaller scale and then zoom in to a larger scale

Cognitive Psychological representations of locations that spring from individual knowledge,

experiences and impressions
Geography
Fundamental Concepts
3. Distance
Absolute
 Expressed in terms of km or miles
Geography
Fundamental Concepts
3. Distance
Absolute
 Expressed in terms of km or miles

Relative
 Expressed in terms of time, effort, or cost
Geography
Fundamental Concepts
3. Distance
Absolute
 Expressed in terms of km or miles
Relative
 Expressed in terms of time, effort, or cost

Cognitive
 Degree of spatial separation that people perceive to exist
between two points
 Personal judgement
Geography
Fundamental Concepts
3. Distance
 First Law of Geography
 “everything is related to everything else, but near
things are more related than distant things”
 Waldo Tobler
Geography
Fundamental Concepts
3. Distance
 First Law of Geography
 “everything is related to everything else, but near
things are more related than distant things”
 Waldo Tobler
 Distance-Decay Function
 Reflect peoples behavioral response to opportunities
in time and space
behavior

Distance from center

Geography
Fundamental Concepts
3. Distance
 First Law of Geography
 “everything is related to everything else, but near
things are more related than distant things”
 Waldo Tobler
 Distance-Decay Function
 Reflect peoples behavioral response to opportunities
in time and space

 Nearness principle
 People will tend to maximize utility of places at
minimum effort
 Locate related actiivities as close together as
possible
 Richard Morrill
Geography
Fundamental Concepts
4. Space
Absolute
 Mathematical space described through points, lines, areas,
and planes

Relative
 Expressed in terms of time, effort, cost, profit & produce,
and physical distance

Cognitive
 Described in terms of behavioral space
 Landmarks, path, spatial layout and environment
Geography
Fundamental Concepts
5. Place
 “Place is space filled with meaning”
 Yi-Fu Tuan

 Social and cultural construct

 Somewhere that has personal meaning to an
individual or to groups
All places have features that distinguish them from other places.

1. Physical Characteristics - landforms (mountains, plains, etc.),

bodies of water (oceans, lakes, bay, etc.),
climate

2. Human Characteristics - people, culture, language, religion, buildings and landmarks

- clothing, food, landscapes, bridges, roads
Geography
Fundamental Concepts
6. Accessibility
 Opportunity for interaction from a given location in relation
to other locations

 Aspects:

Distance

Connectivity
Geography
Fundamental Concepts
7. Spatial Interaction
 Interdependence between places and regions can be
sustained only through movement and flows
How goods, ideas, and people move from a point of origin
to a point of destination

Examples:

Migration patterns of humans

Transportation, communication, trade

Roads, tv towers, newpaper stands,
Trucks

Linkages and connections

How do people interact with and
change their
environment?

▪D epend on the environment

▪A dapt to the environment
▪M odify the environment
1. Environmental Determinism
-asserts that environment
determines human action

Dagat=mangingisda patag
2. Possibilism
-human society shapes the
environment to suit
his/her needs
Geography
Fundamental Concepts
6. Spatial Interaction
Complementarity

 Demand and supply

 Factors:
1. Variations in physical environment
2. International division of labor
3. Operation of principles of specialization
Geography
Fundamental Concepts
6. Spatial Interaction
Transferability

 Depends on the frictional and deterrent effects of distance

 Factors:
1. Cost of moving: real money or time
2. Ability of the item to bear these costs

3. Cost of moving makes it too expensive to sell successfully

does not have transferability
Geography
Fundamental Concepts
6. Spatial Interaction
Intervening Opportunity

 Alternative origins and/or destinations

 Occur upon the appearance of a new source of supply

between two points

 Does not necessarily be situated directly between two points

or even along a route between them
Geography
Fundamental Concepts
6. Spatial Interaction
Spatial Diffusion

 The way things spread to other places and regions

 Disease outbreak, technological innovations, political

movements
Geography
Fundamental Concepts
6. Spatial Interaction
Spatial Diffusion

 Expansion or contagious diffusion

 Spreads due to proximity of carriers or agents of change, who
are fixed in their location
 Relocation diffusion
 An initial carrier or group of carriers moves from one location
to another
 Hierarchical diffusion
 Moves without necessarily spreading to places in between
Different levels at which processes occur

Various scales of analysis

local
regional
national
global
R egion

L ocation

D istance

S pace

P lace

A ccessibility

I nteraction (spatial interaction)

S cale