AP AP Human GeographyHuman Geography
Geography is not just about...
• Memorizing place names and boundaries. (though you need to learn context through maps)
• Where things and people are located (though you need basic descriptive background)
Geography is about...
• Why things and people are where they are.
• How people, things and places interact with each other.
Fields of Geography
• Physical Geography• Human Geography
Geography comparesdifferent scales
Geography studies realityon the ground, over time
Hayward
Geography studies anythingrelated to place
Making Space into Place
Space is abstract,geometric, empty,like an impersonallocation on a grid
Place is constructed byhuman beings, and givenmeaning through social interaction/memories.
What is a Place (site)?
• ABSOLUTE LOCATION Longitude and latitude
• RELATIVE LOCATION (relationship to other places)
• SENSE OF PLACE (feelings evoked by place)
Bellarmine as a place (site)
• ABSOLUTE LOCATION
• RELATIVE LOCATION • SENSE OF PLACE
Bellarmine as a place
• ABSOLUTE LOCATION (37 N latitude and 123 W longitude)• RELATIVE LOCATION (College park, near railroad Downtown, Southern tip of the San
Francisco Bay, 47 miles S of San Francisco)• SENSE OF PLACE (Jesuit, quad, student hangouts, circular pathways, Bell Market, old
concrete benches, pride, comfort, )
Why Place Matters• All social activity is embedded in place
• Places therefore provide the settings for people’s daily lives .
• Social interaction in turn shapes the place.
Human Geography Today
• Studying the relationship of place to people as…
– Social beings– Consumers– Producers