Human Geography — Place diffusion, Desert (extended) Cheat Sheet

The core ideas of Human Geography — Place diffusion, Desert (extended) distilled into a single, scannable reference — perfect for review or quick lookup.

PiqCue — piqcue.com/human-geography-part-2/cheatsheet

Quick Reference

Globalization

The increasing interconnectedness of the world through flows of capital, goods, people, ideas, and technology across national borders, leading to greater economic integration, cultural exchange, and political interdependence.

Urbanization

The process by which an increasing proportion of a population comes to live in cities and towns, driven by rural-to-urban migration, natural population growth in cities, and the reclassification of rural areas as urban.

Cultural Diffusion

The spread of cultural traits, ideas, practices, or innovations from one society or region to another through migration, trade, media, or other forms of contact.

Migration

The movement of people from one place to another, whether voluntary or forced, temporary or permanent. Migration is driven by push factors (conflict, poverty, environmental degradation) and pull factors (economic opportunity, safety, family reunification).

Spatial Inequality

The uneven distribution of wealth, resources, services, and opportunities across geographic space, occurring at scales from local neighborhoods to global regions.

Place and Sense of Place

Place refers to a location with meaning attached to it by human experience, emotion, and memory. Sense of place describes the subjective emotional bonds and identity people develop with specific locations.

Demographic Transition Model

A model that describes population change over time as societies develop economically, moving through stages from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates.

Geopolitics

The study of how geographic factors such as location, territory, resources, and borders influence political power, international relations, and state behavior.

Gentrification

The process by which higher-income residents move into lower-income urban neighborhoods, leading to rising property values, physical renovation, and often the displacement of original residents.

Sustainability and Human-Environment Interaction

The study of how human societies use, modify, and depend on natural environments, and how development can meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

Key Terms at a Glance

Absolute Location:The exact position of a place on Earth's surface, typically expressed using latitude and longitude coordinates.

Carrying Capacity:The maximum population size that an environment can sustain indefinitely given the available resources, food, habitat, and water.

Census:A systematic count and survey of a population, typically conducted by a government at regular intervals to gather demographic, economic, and social data.

Core-Periphery Model:A model of spatial organization in which power, wealth, and development are concentrated in core regions while peripheral regions remain dependent and less developed.

Cultural Landscape:The visible imprint of human activity and culture on the natural landscape, including buildings, field patterns, roads, and monuments.

Demographic Transition:The shift from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as a country develops economically and socially.

Devolution:The transfer or delegation of political power from a central government to subnational or regional authorities.

Diaspora:The dispersion of a people from their original homeland, often maintaining cultural ties and identity in their new locations.

Environmental Determinism:The theory that the physical environment, rather than social conditions, determines culture and human development.

Ethnic Enclave:A geographic area with a high concentration of a particular ethnic group, often featuring businesses and institutions catering to that community.

Fertility Rate:The average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime. The total fertility rate (TFR) is a key measure in demography.

Gentrification:The renovation and improvement of a neighborhood by wealthier newcomers, often resulting in rising costs and displacement of existing residents.

Gerrymandering:The manipulation of electoral district boundaries to favor a particular political party or group.

GIS (Geographic Information Systems):Computer-based systems for capturing, storing, analyzing, and displaying geographically referenced data.

Globalization:The increasing integration and interdependence of national economies, cultures, and populations through cross-border flows of goods, services, technology, and people.

Get study tips in your inbox

We'll send you evidence-based study strategies and new cheat sheets as they're published.

We'll notify you about updates. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.