What should every geographer understand

Geographers long have been concerned with the evolving character of places and regions, and geographers concerned with historical developments and processes have made important contributions to our understanding of places past and present. These contributions range from sweeping interpretations of the historical evolution of major regions e.

Studies along these lines go beyond traditional historical analysis to show how the geographical situation and character of places influence not only how those places develop but larger social and ideological formations as well. Studies of the social consequences of linkages between places focus on a variety of scales. One body of research addresses spatial cognition and individual decision making and the impact of individual action on aggregate patterns. Geographers who study migration and residential choice behavior seek to account for the individual actions underlying the changing social structure of cities or shifting interurban populations.

Research along these lines has provided a framework for modeling the geographical structure of interaction among places, resulting inter alia in the development of operational models of movement and settlement that are now widely used by urban and regional planners throughout Europe Golledge and Timmermans, Geographers also have contributed to the refinement of location theories that reflect actual private and public decision making. Initially, much of this research looked at locational issues at particular moments in time.

Work by Morrill on political redistricting, for example, provided insights into the many ways in which administrative boundary drawing reflects and shapes political ideas and practices. More recent work has focused on the evolution of industrial complexes and settlement systems. This work has combined the insights of location theory with studies of individual and institutional behavior in space Macmillan, At the interurban and regional scales, geographers have studied nationwide shifts in the location and agglomeration of industries and interurban migration patterns.

These studies have revealed important factors shaping the growth prospects of cities and regions. An interest in the relationship between individual behavior and broader-scale societal structures prompted geographers to consider how individual decisions are influenced by, and affect, societal structures and institutions e.

Studies have tackled issues ranging from human reproduction and migration decisions to recreation and political protest. Researchers have shown how movement decisions depend on social and political barriers, the distribution of economic and political resources and broader-scale processes of societal restructuring.

They have examined how the increased mobility of jobs and investment opportunities have affected local development strategies and the distribution of public resources between firms and households. Indeed, there is new interest in theorizing the geographical scales at which different processes are constituted and the relationship between societal processes operating at different scales Smith, ; Leitner and Delaney, Geographers recognize that social differences from place to place reflect not only differ-.

Research has shown, for example, that the changing growth prospects of American cities and regions cannot adequately be understood without taking into account the changing position of the United States in the global system and the impact of this change on national political and economic trends Peet, ; Smith and Feagin, Geographic research also has focused explicitly on the spatial manifestations of institutional behavior, notably that of large multilocational firms; national, state, and local governments; and labor unions.

Research on multilocational firms has examined their spatial organization, their use of geographical strategies of branch-plant location and marketing in order to expand into or maintain geographically defined markets, and the way their actions affect the development possibilities of different places Scott, b; Dicken, Research into state institutions has focused on such issues as territorial integration and fragmentation; evolving differences in the responsibilities and powers exercised by state institutions at different geographical scales; and political and economic rivalries between territories, including their impact on political boundaries and on geopolitical spheres of influence.

Observed shifts in the location of political influence and responsibility away from traditional national territories to both local states and supranational institutions demonstrate the importance of studying political institutions across a range of geographical scales Taylor, The importance of spatial representation as a third dimension of geography's perspectives see Figure 3.

Research emphasizing spatial representation complements, underpins, and sometimes drives research in other branches of geography and follows directly from the thesis that location matters. Geographers involved in spatial representation research use concepts and methods from many other disciplines and interact with colleagues in those fields, including computer science, statistics, mathematics, geodesy, civil engineering, cognitive science, formal logic, cognitive psychology, semiotics, and linguistics.

The goals of this research are to produce a unified approach to spatial representation and to devise practical tools for representing the complexities of the world and for facilitating the synthesis of diverse kinds of information and diverse perspectives. How geographers represent geographic space, what spatial information is represented, and what space means in an age of advanced computer and telecommunications technology are critical to geography and to society.

Research linking cartographic theory with philosophies of science and social theory has demonstrated that the way problems are framed, and the tools that are used to structure and manipulate data, can facilitate investigation of particular categories of prob-. By dictating what matters, representations help shape what scientists think and how they interpret their data Sack, ; Harley, ; Wood, Geographic approaches to spatial representation are closely linked to a set of core spatial concepts including location, region, distribution, spatial interaction, scale, and change that implicity constrain and shape how geographers represent what they observe.

In effect, these concepts become a priori assumptions underlying geographic perspectives and shaping decisions by geographers about how to represent their data and what they choose to represent. Geographers approach spatial representation in a number of ways to study space and place at a variety of scales. Tangible representations of geographic space may be visual, verbal, mathematical, digital, cognitive, or some combination of these. Reliance on representation is of particular importance when geographic research addresses intangible phenomena e.

Tangible representations and links among them also provide a framework within which synthesis can take place. Geographers also study cognitive spatial representations—for example, mental models of geographic environments—in an effort to understand how knowledge of the environment influences peoples' behavior in that environment and make use of this knowledge of cognitive representation in developing approaches to other forms of representation.

Visual representation of geographic space through maps was a cornerstone of geographic inquiry long before its formal recognition as an academic area of research, yet conventional maps are not the only visual form used in geographic research. Figure 3. This continuum can be defined by a dimension scale, which ranges from atomic to cosmological, and abstractness level, which ranges from images to line drawings. Due to the centrality of geographic maps as a means for spatial representation, however, concepts developed for mapping have had an impact on all forms of spatial representation.

This role as a model and catalyst for visual representation throughout the sciences is clear in Hall's recent popular account of mapping as a research tool used throughout science, as well as the recognition by computer scientists that maps are a fundamental source of many concepts used in scientific visualization Collins, An active field of geographic research on spatial representation involves formalizing the ''language" for visual geographic representation.

Another important field of research involves improved depiction of the Earth's surface. A notable example is the recent advance in matching computational techniques for terrain shading with digital elevation databases covering the conterminous United States see Sidebar 3. The conventional map is one of many visual representations of space used by geographers and other scientists. As one of a continuum of spatial representations, maps occupy a "fuzzy" category defined by an "abstractness level" horizontal axis and a "scale dimension" vertical axis.

Source: After MacEachren , Figure 4. Verbal representation refers to attempts to evoke landscapes through a carefully constructed description in words. Some of the geographers who have become best known outside the discipline rely almost exclusively on this form of representation.

Geographers have drawn new attention to the power of both verbal and visual representations, exploring the premise that every representation has multiple, potentially hidden, and perhaps duplicitous, meanings Gregory, A current field of research linking verbal and visual forms of spatial representation concerns hypermedia documents designed for both research and instructional applications.

The concept of a geographic script analogous to a movie script has been proposed as a strategy for leading people through a complex web of maps, graphics, pictures, and descriptions developed to provide information about a particular issue Monmonier, Mathematical representations include models of space, which emphasize location, regions, and distributions; models of functional association; and models of process, which emphasize spatial interaction and change in place.

Visual maps, of course, are grounded in mathematical models of space, and it can be demonstrated that all map depictions of geographic position are, in essence, mathematical transformations from the Earth to the plane surface of the page or. The combination of visual and mathematical representation draws on advantages inherent in each see Plate 2. A good example of the link between mathematical and visual representation is provided by the Global Demography Project Tobler et al.

In this project more than 19, digitized administrative polygons and associated population counts covering the entire world were extrapolated to and then converted to spherical cells. Cognitive representation is the way individuals mentally represent information about their environment. Human cognitive representations of space have been studied in geography for more than 25 years.

They range from attempts to derive "mental maps" of residential desirability to assessing ways in which knowledge of spatial position is mentally organized, the mechanisms through which this knowledge expands with behavior in environments, and the ways in which environmental knowledge can be used to support behavior in space.

The resulting wealth of knowledge about spatial cognition is now being linked with visual and digital forms of spatial representation. This link is critical in such research fields as designing interfaces for geographic information systems GISs and developing structures for digital geographic databases. Recent efforts to apply the approaches of cognitive science to modeling human spatial decision making have opened promising research avenues related to way finding, spatial choice, and the development of GIS-based spatial decision support systems.

In addition, research about how children at various stages of cognitive development cope with maps and other forms of spatial representation is a key component in efforts to improve geography education. Digital representation is perhaps the most active and influential focus of representational research because of the widespread use of GISs and computer mapping.

Geographers have played a central role in the development of the representational schemes underpinning GISs and computer mapping systems. Geographers working with mathematicians at the U.

Census Bureau in the s were among the first to recognize the benefits of topological structures for vector-based digital representations of spatial data. It has been adapted to computer mapping through an innovative system for linking topological and metrical geographic representations. Related work by geographers and other scientists at the U. But ancient Greek geographers were particularly influential. They developed very detailed maps of areas in and around Greece, including parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia.

During the Middle Ages , geography ceased to be a major academic pursuit in Europe. Advances in geography were chiefly made by scientists of the Muslim world , based around the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa.

Islamic scholar s also applied their study of people and places to agriculture , determining which crop s and livestock were most suited to specific habitat s or environments. In addition to the advances in the Middle East , the Chinese empire in Asia also contributed immensely to geography. Until about , China was the most prosperous civilization on Earth. The Chinese were scientifically advanced, especially in the field of astronomy. Around , they also achieved one of the most important developments in the history of geography: They were the first to use the compass for navigation al purposes.

Curiosity was awakened; a desire to trade with wealthy Asian cultures motivated a renewed interest in exploring the world. The period of time between the 15th and 17th centuries is known in the West as the Age of Exploration or the Age of Discovery. With the dawn of the Age of Discovery, the study of geography regained popularity in Europe.

The invention of the printing press in the mids helped spread geographic knowledge by making maps and chart s widely available. Improvements in shipbuilding and navigation facilitate d more exploring, greatly improving the accuracy of maps and geographic information.

Greater geographic understanding allowed European powers to extend their global influence. During the Age of Discovery, European nations established colonies around the world.

Improved transportation , communication , and navigational technology allowed countries such as the United Kingdom to successfully govern colonies as far away as the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Africa. Geography was not just a subject that made colonialism possible, however. It also helped people understand the planet on which they lived. Not surprisingly, geography became an important focus of study in schools and universities.

Geography also became an important part of other academic discipline s, such as chemistry , economics , and philosophy. In fact, every academic subject has some geographic connection. Chemists study where certain chemical element s, such as gold or silver , can be found. Economists examine which nations trade with other nations, and what resource s are exchanged. Philosophers analyze the responsibility people have to take care of the Earth. Emergence of Modern Geography Some people have trouble understanding the complete scope of the discipline of geography because, unlike most other disciplines, geography is not defined by one particular topic.

Instead, geography is concerned with many different topics—people, culture, politics , settlements, plants, landform s, and much more. What distinguishes geography is that it approaches the study of diverse topics in a particular way that is, from a particular perspective. It looks at these different distributions and arrangements at many different scales. Geography seeks to understand where things are found and why they are present in those places; how things that are located in the same or distant places influence one another over time; and why places and the people who live in them develop and change in particular ways.

But exploration no longer simply means going to places that have not been visited before. It means document ing and trying to explain the variations that exist across the surface of Earth, as well as figuring out what those variations mean for the future.

The age-old practice of mapping still plays an important role in this type of exploration, but exploration can also be done by using images from satellite s or gathering information from interviews. Discoveries can come by using computers to map and analyze the relationship among things in geographic space, or from piecing together the multiple forces, near and far, that shape the way individual places develop. Studies of the geographic distribution of human settlements have shown how economic forces and modes of transport influence the location of towns and cities.

For example, geographic analysis has pointed to the role of the U. Interstate Highway System and the rapid growth of car ownership in creating a boom in U. The geographic perspective helped show where Americans were moving, why they were moving there, and how their new living places affected their lives, their relationships with others, and their interactions with the environment.

Geographic analyses of the spread of disease s have pointed to the conditions that allow particular diseases to develop and spread. When cholera broke out in London, England, in , Snow represented the deaths per household on a street map. Using the map, he was able to trace the source of the outbreak to a water pump on the corner of Broad Street and Cambridge Street.

The geographic perspective helped identify the source of the problem the water from a specific pump and allowed people to avoid the disease avoiding water from that pump. Investigations of the geographic impact of human activities have advanced understanding of the role of humans in transforming the surface of Earth, exposing the spatial extent of threats such as water pollution by manmade waste.

For example, geographic study has shown that a large mass of tiny pieces of plastic currently floating in the Pacific Ocean is approximately the size of Texas.

Because the study of geography is so broad, the discipline is typically divided into specialties. At the broadest level, geography is divided into physical geography , human geography , geographic techniques , and regional geography. Physical Geography The natural environment is the primary concern of physical geographers, although many physical geographers also look at how humans have altered natural systems.

Some disciplines within physical geography include geomorphology , glaciology , pedology , hydrology , climatology , biogeography , and oceanography. Geomorphology is the study of landforms and the processes that shape them. Geomorphologists investigate the nature and impact of wind , ice, rivers, erosion , earthquake s, volcano es, living things, and other forces that shape and change the surface of the Earth. Glaciologists document the properties and distribution of glaciers and iceberg s. Data collected by glaciologists has demonstrated the retreat of Arctic and Antarctic ice in the past century.

Pedologists study soil and how it is created, changed, and classified. Soil studies are used by a variety of professions, from farmer s analyzing field fertility to engineer s investigating the suitability of different areas for building heavy structures.

University of the People is committed to making a change towards sustainability as well. As a fully online university that also uses only free, open-source textbooks, University of the People cuts the need for printed and shipped materials, the need for fuel usage for transport of people and materials to campuses, and promotes quality education for people all over the world, no matter their physical location.

Being an educated global citizen starts with the study of geography. Global citizens are conscious-minded of the world around them, understand others, and work towards making the entire globe a better place. That all starts with the study of geography! So, once again, why is geography important?

At the end of the day, geography will help you become a better overall global citizen. Apply Now. Request Info. Ask a student. UoPeople Arabic. Business Administration. Master's Degree MBA. Bachelor's Degree.

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From the Association of American Geographers web site. Are you curious about places? If so, geography channels this interest into a rigorous study of the makeup of places and what makes them tick. Do you like to study maps? The geographer's first inclination is to put information on a map in order to see how it looks spatially.