Defining geography: translates to “Earth Describe- Write”
The study of geography is about places (objective and subjective), Regions
Geographers: study the spatial and temporal distribution of phenomena, processes, and features as well as the interaction of humans with their environments
Human Geography: spatial organization of human activity and of peoples relationships with their environments
Provides a way of understanding relations between places, regions, and space
People and place: people are defined by their sense of place; places all contribute to people’s collective memory and become powerful emotional and cultural symbols
Absolute space is mathematical space defined by coordinate systems
Relative space: takes form of socioeconomic space or of experiential or cultural space
Cognitive space – measured in terms of peoples beliefs, values, feeling, and perception of certain places
Place and Space
“Place is space filled with meaning” – Yi-Fu Tuan
Somewhere that has personal meaning to certain individuals
Place making is the activity (both intentional and unintentional) of giving a space meaning
Sense of Place: often used in relation to those characteristics that make a place special or unique, as well as to those that foster a sense of authentic human attachment and belonging
Sense of place is often employed in relation to certain traits; through different interactions with the environment people develop a sense of place
Scale: map scale, various levels of analysis (local, regional, national, global scale)
Regions: larger sized territories that encompass many places; all or most places have similar attributes, in comparison with the attributes of other places or regions
Lecture 4 – Geographies of Population
Population Geographers: assess change and growth of populations through different data sources; explore the interrelationships and interdependencies between people and places
Census: the count of the number of people in a