Why are different places similar???

Scale: From local to global

• Geographers see unique features at a local level;• And see broad patterns at a global level• Older phrase: “Think global, act local”• Modern phrase: “Think and act both global and

local• Explain these phrases and explain the needed

difference in the modern phrase

Globalization of economy

• Globalization – a force or process that involves the entire world and results in making something worldwide in scope> The scale of the world is shrinking> Greater ability for people, objects, or ideas to interact with ones in other places

• World is more uniform, integrated, and interdependent• Led primarily by transnational corporations (TC)—

conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries, not just where it headquarters and principal shareholders are located

What is a “shareholder”???

Global $ TRansfers

Historically

• Very difficult and cumbersome

• $ could be “frozen” for long periods

• Most countries prohibited the removal of large sums

• Communist countries required government approval

• NOT efficient!

Modern

• Technology provides means to move money, as well as other assets, efficiently around the world

What are “assets”???• Electronic superhighways

allow companies to organize economic activities globally

Global Economy

• Each place specializes in a distinctive role based on its local assets• TCs assess the particular economic asset of each

place• Economic differences among places has been

heightened • 2008 recession the first “Global Recession”

Globalization of culture

• Increasingly uniform cultural preferences produce uniform “global” landscapes of material artifacts and of cultural values• Underlying the uniform global landscape is

globalization of cultural beliefs and forms—especially religions and language• Local cultural beliefs, forms, and traits are

threatened with extinction • Yet, cultural differences still exist and flourish in

some places

Opposition to globalization

• Groups have a strong determination to retain its local cultural traditions • Political disputes, unrest, and wars have erupted• Al-Qaeda terrorists attacked the World Trade

Center Towers and the Pentagon—symbols of U.S. domination of globalization trends in culture, politics, and the economy

Space: Distribution of features

• Geographers identify the location of important places and explain why human activities are located beside one another in space• Ask “Where” and “Why”• Organize materials spatially b/c an action at one

point in space can result from something happening at another point• Geographers can study other spaces first hand

Distribution

• Distribution – the arrangement of a feature in space• Three main Properties:1)Density – frequency with which something occurs in space

> Arithmetic Density – total # of objects in an area commonly used in population (Ex. Belgium has 900 people per sq. mile)

- Population divided by land area- High pop does not guarantee high density China is most populated, but not highest density Why???

> Physiological Density - # of persons per unit of area suitable for agriculture What does this tell us???> Agricultural Density - # of farmers per unit area of farmland What about this???> Housing Density - # of dwelling units per unit of area

Distribution

2) Concentration

Concentration – the extent of a feature’s spread

over space> Objects close together

are clustered> Objects relatively far

apart are dispersed

Distribution

3) Pattern – the geometric arrangement of objects in space

> Some features are organized in a geometric pattern—others irregularly

> Grid pattern of streets in U.S. cities (blocks)

* Land Ordinance of 1785

Gender and Ethnic diversity in space

•Read this on pages 34-35

Connections between places

Space-Time Compression – the reduction in time it takes for something to reach another place

> Promotes rapid change

Spatial Interaction

- Historically, people had to physically move to other locations > Advancements in transportation sped up the process over time

- Now, networks have been developed between places> Chains of communication that connect people

• When places are connected thru a network—there is spatial interaction

- Typically, the further away one group is from another, the less likely they will interact> Distance Decay

diffusion

Diffusion – the process by which characteristics spread across space from one place to anotherHearth – the place from which an innovation originates

Ex. Dominant cultural, political, and economic features of the U.S. traced primarily to

hearths in Europe

Relocation diffusion

• Spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another

Expansion diffusion

• Spread of a feature from one place to another in a snowballing process• Three Processes…

1) Hierarchical diffusion

• Spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places> Spread from political leaders, socially elite, or other important members of in a community> Innovations may originate in a place of power

Fashion from New York or Paris

2) Contagious diffusion

• Rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population > Spreads like a wave among fans in a stadium> No regard for hierarchy or need for permanent relocation

3) Stimulus diffusion

• Spread of an underlying principle, even though characteristic itself apparently fails to diffuse* IBM and Apple example on page 39* Webster’s Dictionary: diffusion in which one

people receives a culture element from another but gives it a new and unique form

Diffusion of culture and economy

• Increasingly centered on three core hearth regions:1. North America (New York)

2. Western Europe (London)

3. Japan (Tokyo)• Have large % of world’s advanced tech, capital, and

wealth

Africa, Asia, and Latin America on periphery, outer edge, of global investment (3/4 of world’s pop)

Uneven Development – increasing gap in economic conditions between regions in the core and periphery that results from the globalization of the economy