Thinking Spatially

That’s what we use maps for!

MAP PROJECTIONS AND TYPES OF MAPS – THE “WHERE” OF GEOGRAPHY

Map projection is the way we fit earth’s three-dimensional surface onto flat paper or a screen

Problems with distortion

• Shape• Distance• Relative Size• Direction

Goode’s Projection

• Goode’s projection interrupts the oceans and tucks Australia and New Zealand farther west than in reality. Therefore, land masses appear relatively large compared to the oceans.

• Minimized distortion in the shape of the various land masses and the size of one land mass compared to other land masses.

Mercator Projection

Mercator Projection

• Stretches the poles from one length to the size of the equator. The north-south scale is constant, but east-west scale increases to twice the north-south scale at 60 degrees N and infinitely at the poles.

• Shapes are correct for all areas, and map has correct directional relationships.

• Look at the size of Greenland and Antarctica.• Map exaggerates the distance between Chicago

and Stockholm, both in northern latitudes.

Equal Area Projection

Equal Area Projection

• Represents areas correctly, but distorts shapes.

• If South America is 8 times larger than Greenland on the globe, it will be 8 times bigger on the map.

Robinson Projection

Robinson Projection

• Frequently used.• Distorts both size and shape, but not too

much.• The major benefit of the Robinson projection is

that oceans are uninterrupted. This projection is useful in depicting patterns of global interaction.

Equal Area Projection

Map Type – you can display the same information on different maps

• A thematic map depicts a single feature, for example: climate, population, landform or land use.

• Statistical – Demonstrate information - include dot, choropleth and proportional symbol

• Types of maps:– Isoline – connects points of equal value– Choropleth – puts features into classes and then maps classes for

each region– Cartogram – adjusts the size of the country corresponds to the

magnitude of the mapped feature– Proportional symbol – size of the symbol corresponds to the

magnitude of the mapped feature– Dot – each dot represents some frequency

Isoline – connects points of equal value

Choropleth – puts features into classes and then maps classes for each region

Proportional symbol – size of the symbol corresponds to the magnitude of the mapped feature

Cartogram – adjusts the size of the country corresponds to the magnitude of the mapped feature

Dot – each dot represents some frequency

ChartMap

Dot distribution map

Thematic- spatial distribution of one or more specific themes

What kind of map is this?

What kind of map is this?

What kind of map is this?

What kind of map is this?

The acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting the planet is called remote sensing.

Space/Location• Distribution – the arrangement of a feature in

space. Three properties

a. Density – the frequency with which something occurs.b. Concentration – the extent of a feature’s spread over

space. Used to describe changes in distribution.• Clustered• Dispersed

c. Pattern – geometric arrangement of objects in space.

Bottom line: hundreds of decisions are made in the making of a map, including scale, projection, and type. These decision ultimately determine the map’s message.

THINKING SPATIALLY – THE WHY? OF GEOGRAPHY

Where? Why there?

• There are many reasons for the patterns that you will see on maps

• Types of patterns:– Space: Gap or interval between two objects– Connections: Relationships between people and objects

across space• Types of distribution– Density– Concentration– Pattern

Globalization• The spread of ideas

throughout the entire world• McDonalds• “Globalization means that

the scale of the world is shrinking – not literally in size… but in the ability of a person, object or idea to interact with a person, object, or idea in another place.”

Transnational Corporations• A company that is spread throughout the

world. Their headquarters may be in a different place than their manufacturing plants. Their customer service line may be in even another country.

Culture

• The body of customary beliefs, material traits, and social forms that constitute the distinct tradition

• What do people care about?• What do people take care of?

• How can we “think spatially” about culture?

What people care about

• Beliefs• Language • Religion• Ethnicity

What people take care of

• Material possessions– Food– Clothing– Shelter

• Government that protects (or doesn’t protect) things like material possessions– Are the people represented?– What are the benefits of being a citizen?

• MDC: More developed country• LDC: Less developed country

• What makes a country developed?– Education, health care, government, safety

• Name some countries that would be MDCs and name some LDCs

DENSITY AND

DIFFUSION

Density

• Geographers care about “space”. The arrangement of features within space is called DISTRIBUTION

• DENSITY is the frequency with which something is distributed in space

Arithmetic Density

• Most often used• Total number of objects in an area • People per square mile or kilometer

• Why is it important to talk about population density rather than just population?

1 millio

n peopl

e

1 million people

HIGH POPULATION DOESN’T NECESSARILY MEAN HIGH DENSITY

Physiological Density

• The number of people supported by a unit area of arable land– What do we mean by unit area?– What does arable land mean?

• This is more about food and the land’s ability to support a population

• Influences “carrying capacity• Technology can change this

Agricultural Density

• The ratio of the number of farmers to the amount of arable land

• Why would we use agricultural density rather than physiological density?

•What are the pros and cons of each type of density measurement?•Choose three countries and quickly analyze their population density data: Look at all the information you have and tell me what we can learn.

Physiological Density

• The number of people per unit of arable land

• Influences “carrying capacity”

• Technology can override the negative of this figure

Concentration• How a feature is spread over the space—

are houses tight together—CLUSTERED or far apart DISPERSED

Pattern

• How are features arranged on the landscape—are they linear? Grid? Irregular? Urban?

Space time Compression

• Because of technology connections between spaces is faster, the time has been compressed

• Information travels via networks—ABC is one, but transportation is a network. The internet is a network

Space Time Compression

Distance Decay

• Barriers can prevent interaction-physical, geological or cultural.

• Physical distance is a barrier—the further the source the less likely the influence-this phenomenon is distance decay. Technology reduces distance decay

Diffusion

• Diffusion is how a cultural characteristic is spread—the origin is the HEARTH. The radiation of an idea or material cultural element from the hearth can be NODAL.

Log Cabin Quilt

• Each red squarerepresentsa “hearth” and the “logs”radiate from the center

Relocation Diffusion

• Culture is carried as people migrate

HIV was spread as people moved between the nodal points of California, Florida, and New York

Expansion Diffusion

• Three types—• Hierarchical-- moving from a node of power or

authority—could be politic leader or powerful place

• Contagious diffusion—rapid and widespread• Stimulus-expands on an idea or material good

already in existence

Hierarchical

Contagious

Stimulus

Uneven development

• The gap between the people in the core (big rich city) and periphery (outer edge) become bigger and bigger