Human Geography Chapter 1

The opportunity for contact or interaction from a given point or location, in relation to other locations.

form of economic and social organization characterized by the profit motive and the control of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of goods by private ownership.

The distance that people perceive to exist in a given situation

Psychological representations of locations that are made up from people's individual ideas and impressions of these locations.

Space defined and measured in terms of people's values, feelings, beliefs, and perceptions about locations, districts, and regions.

The rate at which a particular activity or process diminishes with increasing distance.

Cost advantages to manufacturers that accrue from high-volume production, since the average cost of production falls with increasing output.

groups of areal units that have a high degree of homogeneity in terms of particular distinguishing features, such as religious adherence or household income. (p. 32)

The deterrent or inhibiting effect of distance on human activity. (

(sometimes referred to as nodal regions) regions within which, while there may be some variability in certain attributes (religious adherence, income), there is an overall coherence to the structure and dynamics of economic, political, and social organization. (p. 32)

Uses census data and commercial data (such as sales data and property records) about the population’s small districts in creating profiles of those populations for market research. (p.7

The capacity to understand changing patterns, changing processes, and changing relationships among people, places, and regions.

Integrated computer tools for the handling, processing, and analyzing of geographical data

a system of satellites, which orbit the earth on precisely predictable paths, broadcasting highly accurate time and locational information. (p.23)

the increasing interconnectedness of different parts of the world through common processes of economic, environmental, political, and cultural change. (p. 10)