The 7 Geographical Concepts
Table of Contents
There are 7 geographical concepts as defined by the K-10 Geographical Concepts Continuum. Based off Geographical Concepts on NESA K-10 Key Learning Areas.
Adrian has rewritten it for you here. Even though you can go on the website. But Adrian needs to actually read it himself so that’s why he is typing it all over again.
Place
THE CONCEPT OF PLACE IS ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PLACES AND WHAT THEY ARE LIKE
- Places can be parts of the Earth’s surface with different identities
- They can be described by location, shape, boundaries, features, environmental, and human characteristics
- Place is influenced by environmental characteristics and resources, relative location, interconnections, culture, economy, and decisions and actions made regarding place over time
- Characteristics of place can be tangible…
- landforms
- people
- or intangible
- scenic quality
- culture
- Environmental characteristics of place are influenced by human and environmental processes
- Sustainability of places can be threatened by…
- natural hazards;
- climate change;
- economic, social and technological change;
- government decisions and politics; and
- resource exhaution.
Space
THE CONCEPT OF SPACE IS ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LOCATION AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION, AND WAYS PEOPLE ORGANISE AND MANAGE THE SPACES THAT WE LIVE IN
- Environmental and human characetristics of places can be influenced by their location
- The effects of location and distance can be reduced (potentially unequally) through transport and communication technologies
- Individual characteristics of places form spatial distributions
- Distributions can have environmental, economic, social and political consequences
- Spaces can be
- perceived;
- structured;
- organised; and
- managed by people
- They can be modified to achieve or fit a particular purpose(s)
Environment
THE CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENT IS ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN HUMAN LIFE, AND THE IMPORTANT INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HUMANS AND THE ENVIORNMENT
- The environment is the product of:
- geological (relating to the earth’s physical structure);
- atmospheric (rtt. atmosphere of the earth);
- hydrological (rtt. properties, distribution and circulation of water);
- geomorphic (rtt. form of the landscape and other natural features of the earth);
- edaphic (rtt. soil);
- biotic (living/biological) and abiotic (physical); and
- human processes.
- The environment supports and enriches life by:
- providing raw materials and food;
- absorbing and recycling wastes;
- maintaining a safe habitat; and
- being a source of enjoyment and inspiration
- Concepts that influence how people perceive, adapt to and use environments
- Culture
- Population density
- Economy
- Technology
- Values
- Environmental worldviews
- Human-induced environmental change (and management, thereof), including cause and effect, consequences of change, and application of geographical concepts and techniques in order to identify appropriate strategies
- The impacts of specific hazards in different environments can be determined by natural and human factors
- Hazards can be managed through prevention, mitigation, and preparedness
Interconnection
THE CONCEPT OF INTERCONNECTION EMPHASISES THAT NO OBJECT OF GEOGRAPHICAL STUDY CAN BE VIEWED IN ISOLATION
- People and organisations in places are interconnected with other places
- Interconnections have significant influences on place characteristics and the changes that occur in these places
- Environmental and human processes (e.g water cycle, urbanisation) are sets of cause and effect interconnections
- These operate between and within places
- They can be organised as networks of interconnections through flow of
- matter
- energy
- information
- actions
Scale
THE CONCEPT OF SCALE IS ABOUT THE WAY THAT GEOGRAPHICAL PHENOMENA AND PROBLEMS CAN BE EXAMINED AT DIFFERENT SPATIAL LEVELS.
- Generalisations (general statement about something) and relationships (way which two or more things are connected) at one level of scale can be different at higher or lower levels
- For example, in regards to studies of vegitation, at the global scale climate is the main concern, but at the local scale, soil, drainage, public policy and irrigation may be the larger factor
- Cause and effect relationships can cross scales
- For example, local events can have global outcomes, such as the burning of the Amazon rainforest, and how that impacts the rest of the world’s air quality
Sustainability
THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY IS ABOUT THE CAPACITY OF THE ENVIRONMENT TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR LIVES AND THE LIVES OF OTHER LIVING CREATURES INTO THE FUTURE.
- Sustainability: a goal, and a way of thinking (on how to progress towards that goal) uwa so philosophical!
- Progress towards sustainability depends on maintenance or restoration of our environment, including functions that sustain life and human wellbeing (economic and social)
- Understanding of the causes of unsustainability requires
- a study of environmental process causing degration of an environmental function (cause and effect);
- human actions that have caused these processes (cause and effect); and
- attitudinal, demographic, social, economic and political causes of human actions.
- There are a variety of contested views on how progress towards sustainability should be achieved, often informed by worldviews or similar case studies outside of NSW and Australia
Change
THE CONCEPT OF CHANGE IS ABOUT EXPLAINING GEOGRAPHICAL PHENOMENA BY INVESTIGATING HOW THEY HAVE DEVELOPED OVER TIME
- Envrionmental change can occur over both short term and long term timeframes
- Environmental, economic, social, and technological change is spatially uneven and affects places differently
- Current processes of change can be used to predict future trends and this information can be used to identify what would be needed to achieve preferred and more desirable futures
Damn, did you get all of that?
Footnotes and Other Notes
Based off Geographical concepts on NSW Education Standards Authority Learning Areas (K-10)