Key Issue # 3 – Why are Different Places Similar?

• 3 Basic Themes explain spatial similarities:

1. Scale (Globalization – 2 kinds)

2. Space (Distribution – 3 concepts)

3. Connections (Diffusion – 3 kinds)

Scale: From Local to Global• “Think Global, Act Local” (Leaf 1, Renault)• “Think and Act Both Global and Local”,

GlobalizationEconomic “Globalization”– process resulting from

modern forms of connections, i.e. television, telephone, car

• the scale of the world is shrinking• world is more uniform, integrated, and interdependent• “Everybody depends on everybody else”• Global recession caused by “housing bubble” in the U.S.• transnational / multinational corporations connect raw

materials to producers to consumers across the globe• increased regional specialization leads to increased

interdependence; spatial division of labor, i.e. Research Triangle and Silicon Valley

• International banking and the instantaneous transfer of money contribute to economic globalization

• “economic divergence” – places in the world are becoming more and more different in the economic role they play in the global economy. SPECIALIZATION

– Cultural Globalization• uniform landscapes of material artifacts and cultural

values – “cultural convergence”• Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, Disney,

Starbucks, etc.• Religion and language / Christianity and English vs.

Islam and Arabic• Local beliefs and traits threatened with extinction

resulted in religious fundamentalism and terrorism• Most conflict in the world results from struggle between

forces of cultural globalization and desire to preserve local identities – Global vs. Local

How does globalization (convergence) happen?

Connections Between Spaces– Spatial Interaction – when places are connected to

each other through a network• Modern transportation and communication have increased

the speed and frequency of spatial interaction• Transportation networks use “hub-and-spoke” systems to

transport people and things• Where interaction is limited there exist barriers (physical

and cultural)• Distance is the greatest barrier – distance and interaction

are inversely proportional – distance decay and friction of distance

• Electronic communications have removed most barriers – “the death of geography”

• Actually geography matters even more – communications requires connectivity

Space-time compression

Diffusion – process by which characteristics spread across space from a point of origin

1. Place from which an innovation originates is called a hearth

2. Relocation Diffusion – spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another (migration)

3. Expansion Diffusion– Contagious – rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic

throughout a population with uniform coverage– Hierarchical – spread of an idea from persons or nodes of

authority or power to people or places of lesser importance– Stimulus – the spread of an underlying principle rather than a

specific trait of characteristic– Wal-Mart – Contagious & Reverse Hierarchical

Culture hearths – point of origination or innovation, from which culture diffused.

The map beautifully shows just how incredibly connected the world has become – not only via telecommunications but also by physical mobility – and how even the remotest regions are now closely tied to the urban sphere. More than 50% of the world is less than 1 hour from a major city. Less than 10% of the world is more than 48 hours from a large city.

Hub-and-spoke transportation systems create functional regions

Space: Distribution of Features• “Why are people and activities distributed

across space as they are?”• Time : history :: space : geography• Distribution – arrangement of things in space

expressed in density, concentration, and pattern

1. Density – frequency of something in space– arithmetic density – total # of objects in an area (population)– physiological density – people per unit of arable land – if its

high then a country may have trouble feeding its population– agricultural density – # of farmers per unit of farmland – if its

high a country has inefficient agriculture (labor intensive)

2. Concentration - extent of feature spread over space– clustered – close together– dispersed – far apart

3. Pattern – geometric arrangement of objects in space– linear – houses, buildings, subway stations– rectangular – city blocks (grids), townships,

ranges, sections (p.11,13)– circular – rural and urban land use

» Von Thunen’s Rings (p.350)» core-periphery model» Central place theory (p. 406, 410)» Models of urban development (p. 439)

Dispersed

Clustered

URBANIZATION

How has population distribution (concentration) changed from 1900 to 1997?

DISTRIBUTION

RURAL

URBAN

What “story” does this map tell?

Low density

Dispersed

High density

Dispersed

High density

Clustered

back

clustered

dispersed

back

Hierarchical diffusion

Key Issue #4 – Why Are Some Human Actions Not Sustainable?

• Sustainability – using the earth’s resources (renewable and non-renewable) in ways that ensure the availability for future generations

• 3 Pillars of sustainability:– Environmentally friendly – “green”– Economically viable – feed profit incentive– Socially responsible – promotes high quality of life for all

• What can you do to BE sustainable?– Reduce, reuse, recycle– Conserve scarce resources– Consume alternative energy– Be a “new American consumer”