Human Geography: Concepts and Approaches

The Concept & Approaches to Human Geography

• Geography explains basic definitions
• The discipline address the 'what, where, when, why and how' questions
• Human geography is a distinctive field
• Skills in human geography is acquired via methods and specializations

What is Geography?

• Geography studies the Earth's surface as the home of the human race
• The word comes from the Greek 'Geographia', which literally means 'earth description'
• The discipline analyzes patterns of human or natural activities in space
• Everything society does relates to space
• Geography describes the organization of space
• It explains the cause of that organization via factors and processes
• Geography explains landscape changes
• It studies place, space or the environment
• The essence of geography consists of spatial variation over the Earth's surface with the distinctiveness of places and interactions between people and their environments

Central Questions

• 'What' refers to any phenomenon or activity such as crime, disease, industrial or agricultural activity, air and water pollution in place or space
• 'Where' refers to places, spaces, or locations of activity of a phenomenon being studied
• These places, spaces, or locations vary in size, for example village, town, region, country, earth
• Geographers study any activity that occupies space, like the geography of cities or countries
• 'Why' deals with the reasons for activities in certain places or areas
• 'When' refers to time
• 'How' deals with the way activities or phenomena are studied
• A simple activity requires a simple approach, while a complex activity requires a complex approach
• Geography has its own approach with methods like GIS, Maps, Cartography, and scientific methods

Human geography definitions

• It is the part of geography concerned with spatial differentiation and organization of human activity, including interrelationships with the physical environment
• Another view is a study of human groups and societies in their relationships to the physical environment
• It also involves man-environment interaction and modification brought about by Mankind's attempt to use environmental resources, as well as the opportunities and constraints involved in this interaction
• Geography examines mankind's impact on the environment, whether positive or negative
• It looks at factors behind the changes in the environment, a set of biological and physical facts in space
• Human geography is the study of human society in relation to the earth background

Methods of Studying Human Geography

• Study patterns stemming out of man-environment interaction
• There are two key methods: systematic and regional

Systematic Approach

• This involves analyzing features or themes of the world or place, feature by feature
• Examples include population, migration, industrialisation, agriculture, urbanisation, etc
• Systematic approach analyzes the structure, characteristics, distribution, and changes of each feature or theme

Regional Approach

• Regional approach is the synthesis of all features in each region
• A region is any unit of space characterized by a distinctly different combination of many features such as language, agriculture type or economy
• It is a bounded area possessing some sort of unity of organizing principles that distinguish it from other regions
• The division between systematic and regional methods is based on a difference in approach to geographic studies
• The two branches are interdependent and often applied together

Methods to Regional Geography

• Physical aspects involve understanding the nature and distribution of material resources on which any human society draws much of its existence
• These are resources and materials from which food is produced, society is built, or products manufactured, using non-animal energy
• The importance of any resource depends on how a society perceives it, which changes with time and knowledge
• Cultural aspects involve knowledge through innovation and dispersion
• Ideas encompass concepts and beliefs, and values are the motivation on which human societies base their decisions and actions
• Innovation, adaptations, and adoption of concepts provide new ways of doing things

Key Systematics in Geography

• Economic Geography studies spatial organization of economic activities like transport, manufacturing
• Social geography studies spatial organization of social activities like population, health, and political aspects
• Physical Geography studies spatial organization of the physical environment like soils, and water
• Agricultural geography studies spatial organization from the point of view of agriculture, land uses theories and policies, evolution of agricultural systems
• Manufacturing/Industrial geography studies spatial organization from the point of view of manufacturing activities

Key systematic in economic geography

• Transportation geography studies and develops theories of transportation development, network formation and transport, and its relationship with economic development
• Tourism geography studies spatial organization from the point of view of tourism and recreation
• Population geography studies spatial organization of population census and density
• Medical geography studies spatial organization from the point of view of health
• Settlement geography studies spatial issues about human habitation

Key Systematic in Physical Geography

• Political geography studies interaction between political processes and geographical space
• Historical geography studies the history of places and how they differ from each other
• Geomorphology studies earth's materials, structure and activities in the earth crust, landforms
• Climatology studies weather and climate
• Pedology or soil geography studies variations and distribution of soils and factors leading to that
• Biogeography studies plants and their environments
• Hydrology studies water distribution and its management