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