absolute location—The actual space a place occupies on the Earth’s surface.
acculturation—The change that occurs within a culture when it adopts a practice from another culture.
agglomeration effects—The cost advantages (external economies) for an individual company gained by locating near similar functional industries or companies.
agribusiness—Commercial agriculture in which large corporations own and operate various steps in the production process with an emphasis on profit.
agricultural density—The number of people living in rural areas per unit of agricultural land.
alliance—An association among countries for the purpose of mutual defense or trade.
animism—The belief that spirits (including ancestral) live within objects such as animals, rivers, rocks, trees, and mountains.
antecedent boundary—A boundary placed before the cultural landscape was developed.
artifact—Tangible pieces of material culture.
assimilation—The process in which immigrants become totally integrated into the host culture.
backwash effect—The negative impact to the peripheral region sometimes caused by increased flows of labor and capital into a nearby high-growth region.
basic sector—Goods and services produced for individuals outside the urban work area.
bid-rent curve—The concept that the concentric circles in Burgess’s concentric zone model are based on the amount people are willing to pay for land in each zone.
biotechnology—The application of scientific techniques to modify and improve plants, animals, and microorganisms to enhance their value.
built environment—The material culture of an environment.
carrying capacity—The number of people an area can support on a sustained basis.
central business district (CBD)—The business area found at the center of every older central city and urban area.
central place theory—A theory developed by Walter Christaller that states that cities exist for economic reasons and that people gather in cities to share goods and ideas.
centrifugal force—A strong, divisive force, such as religious differences or a weak communication systems, at work in a country.
centripetal force—A strong, unifying force, such as a charismatic leader or nationalism, at work in a country.
chain migration—That part of a migrant flow (usually relatives and friends) that follows former migrants to an area.
channelized migration—Repetitive pattern of migration not linked to family or ethnicity (senior citizens moving to the Sun Belt).
charter group—The first group of settlers to establish a new and lasting culture and society in an area.
compact state—A state that is basically round in shape, such as Poland or Bhutan.
colonialism—A system in which a country declares control over a territory or people outside its own boundaries, usually for economic purposes.
commodity chain—A chain of activities from the manufacturing to the distribution of a product.
concentric zone model—The model of urban land use developed by Burgess which demonstrates the invasion and succession processes that occur as the city grows and expands outward.
confederation—A loose association of states organized for the purpose of retaining cohesion, such as the former republics of the USSR.
congregation—An ethnic group’s grouping together in a specific part of the city to support each other and minimize conflicts with those in the non-ethnic group.
consequent boundary—A type of subsequent boundary that is drawn to accommodate existing linguistic, cultural, or religious boundaries.
conservation agriculture—A modern method of farming that balances maximum crop yield with sustainable farming methods and protection of the environment.
creative destruction—The reinvestment of funds in new, profitable ventures and regions that were once used to fund ventures and regions that are now not as profitable.
creole—A simplified mixture of two or more languages that is adopted in areas of cultural diversity.
crude birth rate (CBR)—The number of babies born per 1000 people per year.
crude death rate (CDR)—The number of deaths per 1000 people per year.
crude density—The number of people per unit of land (also called arithmetic density).
cultural barrier—hindrances to cultural diffusion that occur in a society and keep cultural traits from spreading.
cultural diffusion—The process in which culture is spread from one region to another.
cultural landscape—The unique landscape made up of all parts of a culture—both material and nonmaterial.
culture—The cluster of traits that make a group of people special and unique.
culture region—A portion of the Earth’s surface occupied by populations sharing recognizable and distinctive cultural characteristics.
culture hearth—A place where innovations and new ideas originate and spread outward (diffuse) to other regions.
culture trait—A single feature of a culture, such as religion or language.
decolonization—The process by which former colonies gain their independence from the mother country.
deindustrialization—The reduction in industrial activity that occurs when decreased profits and declining business cause a reduction in industrial employment.
demographic transition model—A model that shows the link between population growth and economic development using four or five stages of economic development.
demography—The study of the characteristics of a human population.
density—The number of an item within a unit of area.
dependency ratio—The ratio of people under age 15 and those 65 and older to those age 15 to 65.
dependency theory—A theory of economic development proposed by Andre Gunder Frank based on the periphery’s dependence on the core.
desertification—The transformation of agricultural lands into deserts because of overgrazing and soil erosion.
developed countries (DCs)—Countries such as the United States, Germany, and Australia who have the highest levels of economic development.
developmentalism—The idea that every country and region will eventually make economic progress toward a high level of mass consumption if they only compete to the best of their ability within the world economy.
devolution—The breakdown of central authority in a country.
distance decay—The principle that says migrants try to minimize the friction of distance by moving to locations closer to them rather than farther away.
distribution—The array of items on the Earth’s surface. All spatial distributions have density, dispersion, and some type of pattern.
domino theory—The theory prevalent during the Cold War Era that once a country became communist, its neighbors were likely to soon become communist also.
doubling time—The length of time it takes for a country’s population to double in size if the growth rate stays the same.
dialect—A speech variants of a language, which reflects the local region in which it is spoken.
ecumene—The part of the Earth that is fit for humans to live.
edge city—A new urban complex that consists of a large node of office buildings and commercial operations with more workers than residents.
elongated state—A state that is long and narrow, such as Vietnam or Chile.
enclave—A piece of territory completely surrounded by another territory of which it is not a part.
environmental determinism—The theory that human behavior is controlled by the physical environment.
ethnic enclave—A residential community where the residents either voluntarily live, or are forced to live, in a segregated (separated) fashion due to race, religion, or ethnicity.
ethnic island—A small ethnic settlement centered in the middle of a larger group of the population.
ethnic religion—A religion that is a part of a particular ethnic or political group (Judaism, for example).
ethnocentrism—The belief that one’s own ethnic group is superior to all others.
exclave—An outlier, or piece of a territory, that is completely enclosed within the borders of another country.
exclusive economic zone (EEZ)—An expanse of water up to 200 nautical miles off a country’s coast that is designated for that country’s natural resource exploration and exploitation.
export-processing zones (EPZs)—Small areas of a country with exceptional investment and trading conditions that are created by its government to stimulate and attract foreign investors and business.
federal state—A type of government that gives local political units such as states or provinces within a country a measure of power.
First Agricultural Revolution—The domestication of plants and animals and the resulting start of a sedentary society (also called the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution).
first effective settlement—The first group (charter group) of settlers who establish a new and lasting culture and society in an area.
fixed cost—The cost of land, plant, and machinery that is not variable.
folk culture—A homogenous group of people with a strong family structure who follow a simple, traditional lifestyle of self-sufficiency and independence from the society’s cultural mainstream.
footloose firms—Firms that produce something that requires minimal transport costs.
Fordism—The process (named after Henry Ford, its founder) of using assembly-line techniques and scientific management in manufacturing.
formal region—A region with a high level of consistency in a certain cultural or physical attribute.
forward capital—A capital city that is located away from the core region for economic or political reasons in a symbolic gesture.
fragmented state—A state that has two or more areas of territory separated by another country.
functional region—A region with a node, or center hub surrounded by interconnecting linkages. Usually connections relate to trade, communications, transportation, etc.
gateway city—A city that served as the control center for a former colonial power.
gentrification—The process of renovating an older, run-down neighborhood near the center city by middle-class and high-income families.
geographic information system (GIS)—The marriage of mapping software with a database for the purpose of overlaying various data layers on a basic locational map grid.
gerrymandering—The process of redrawing territorial district boundaries to favor a certain political party.
ghetto—An ethnic enclave where the residents live segregated (separated) by race, religion, or ethnicity in a voluntary or sometimes, forced, manner.
ghettoization—The concentration of a certain group of residents in a certain residential area against their will through legal means or social discrimination.
globalization—The increasing interconnection of all regions in the world through politics, communication, transportation, marketing, manufacturing, and social and cultural processes.
GMO (genetically modified organism)—An organism that is created when scientists take one or more specific genes from one organism and introduce them into another organism thus creating a new version.
gravity model—A law of spatial interaction that states that larger places attract people, ideas, and goods more strongly that smaller places.
Green Revolution—The development and transfer from the developed world to the developing world, of higher-yield and fast-growing crops through new and improved technology, pesticides, and fertilizers, for the purpose of alleviating world hunger.
gross domestic product (GDP)—The approximate value of all final goods and services produced in a country per year.
gross national product (GNP)—The gross domestic product (GDP) plus the value of income from abroad such as earnings from a US company based abroad.
growth pole—An urban center deliberately placed by a country’s government to stimulate economic growth in the hinterland.
heartland–rimland theory—Halford Mackinder’s theory that the country that dominated the landmass of Eurasia (heartland) would eventually rule the world (rimland).
hierarchical diffusion—The adoption of an official language by the ruler or administration, a language diffused downward into the society.
hinterlands—The surrounding trade area of an urban area.
host society—The dominant culture group in an area receiving a minority group.
human capital theory of migration—The migration theory that states that educated workers often migrate from poor countries to wealthy countries seeking better-paying jobs.
imperialism—The use of military threat, cultural domination, and economic sanctions to gain control of a country and its resources.
import substitution—The production of goods and services internally by the periphery country that were once supplied by the core.
Industrial Revolution—The movement from home-based cottage industries to factory industries with several workers under one roof that the use of machines facilitated in England in the late 1700s.
innovation—A new invention.
intensive subsistence agriculture—A form of agriculture heavily depends on heavy inputs of fertilizer and human labor on a small piece of land for substantial crop yield.
internally displaced person—A person who is forced out of the home region due to war, political or social unrest, environmental problems, etc., but who does not cross any international boundary.
intervening opportunity—The idea that migrants will choose a location closer rather than farther if all other factors are roughly the same.
irredentism—The destabilizing situation that arises when an ethnic group supports and seeks to unite with its ethnic population in another country.
land survey—A method for parceling out land to its occupants (differs according to the charter group’s ethnicity in the United States and Canada).
language family—A group of languages that are related and derived from a single, earlier language.
latitude—The degrees north or south from the equator for a location on the surface of the Earth. Measured in parallels.
least-cost theory—A theory, developed by Alfred Weber, that states that three main expenses—labor, transportation, and agglomeration—must be minimized when locating an industry.
less-developed countries (LDCs)—Countries located on the edge of the world core that are seeking improved conditions for their residents through economic growth.
life course theory of migration—A theory that states that the interaction effects of family life course events (became married, had a child, became divorced) with migration have important repercussions on a society.
lingua franca—A language that is not part of the culture of the country but is one that is informally agreed upon as the language of business and trade.
localization economies—The cost savings for individual industries as a result of grouping together in a certain location.
locational interdependence theory—A theory developed by Harold Hotelling that suggests that competitors in their effort to maximize sales, will try and limit each other’s territory by locating close to each other in the middle of their combined customer base.
longitude—The distance east or west from the Prime Meridian, measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds using lines of identical longitude, called meridians.
long-lots system of land survey—A land survey method used by French and Spanish charter groups in North America in which long lots of land extended outward from river frontage.
maquiladora—A foreign-owned assembly company located in the United States–Mexico border region in order to take advantage of cheaper labor, favorable tax breaks, and lax environmental regulations.
material culture—The artifacts (tangible things) of a culture such as tools, weapons, and furniture.
mediterranean agriculture—A form of specialized agriculture in which crops grown in a Mediterranean climate of warm year-round temperatures and sunny summers (grapes, olives, figs, dates, citrus fruits, etc.) are grown.
megacity—A metropolitan area with a total population of over 10 million people according to the United Nations.
megalopolis—A group of supercities that have merged together into one large urban area.
mentifact—Nonmaterial parts of a culture such as language, religion, artistic pursuits, folk stories, myths, etc.
mental map—A map in one’s mind.
metes-and-bounds land survey system—A land survey system used in North America where natural boundaries such as rivers, trees, and large rocks were used to mark land boundaries.
Meridian—A line of identical longitude.
migration—The movement of humans from one place to another.
Millennium Development Goals—The United Nations mandate of eight development goals designed to eliminate poverty by the year 2015.
model—A simplified generalization of something in real life.
modern commercial agriculture—Large-scale agricultural production for profit using specialized methods, technologies, and genetically engineered seeds.
monoculture—The production of a single crop for commercial markets (corn, wheat, rice, etc.).
monotheism—A religion that worships one god.
multiple-nuclei model—A model of urban land use developed by Harris and Ullman based on separated and specialized multiple nuclei.
multiplier effect—The ratio of non-basic jobs to basic jobs that shows the effect basic job creation has on the creation of non-basic jobs.
nation—A unified group of people with a common culture.
nationalism—A strong love of, and loyalty to, one’s country.
nation-state—A state in which over 90 percent of the population is comprised of a specific culture or group of people.
neo-colonialism—The periphery’s continued exploitation by, and dependency on, the core in modern times even though they are no longer colonies.
neo-Fordism—The evolution of mass production into a more responsive system geared to the nuances of mass consumption by using flexible production systems that allow production processes to shift quickly between various products.
New Urbanism—An urban design movement that emphasizes the pedestrian-friendly return to earlier close-knit neighborhoods and a sense of community.
non-basic sector—Goods and services produced by urban workers for people employed within the urban area.
nonmaterial culture—Mentifacts (language, religion, artistic pursuits, folk stories, myths, etc.) and socio-facts (educational and political institutions, religious organizations, family structure, etc.) that comprise a culture.
offshoring—The practice of contracting with a third-party service provider in another country to take over or supervise part of the business operations.
organic farming—The process of producing food naturally without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and other inputs.
outsourcing—The production of goods and parts abroad for sale in one’s own country.
pastoralism—A form of subsistence agriculture in which animals are herded in a seasonal migratory pattern.
pidgin—A simplified language created by merging two other languages.
perceptual region—A region defined by feelings and prejudices that may or may not be true. A region derived from one’s mental map.
perforated state—A state that totally surrounds another country, such as South Africa (which surrounds Lesotho) or Italy (which surrounds San Marino).
physiologic density—The number of persons per unit of agricultural land.
place—Another word for location.
place utility—A person’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a place.
placelessness—The loss of a place’s unique flavor and identity due to the standardizing influence of popular culture and globalization.
plantation agriculture—Monocropping, or planting a single crop for profit, is a specialized form of agriculture and is usually located near the former colonial markets.
polyculture—The production of several crops.
population density—The number of persons per unit of land area.
population momentum—The propensity for a growing population to continue growing even though fertility is declining because of their young age distribution.
population pyramid—A model that shows the composition of a population by age and sex. Also called an age-sex pyramid.
polytheism—A religion that worships more than one god.
popular culture—The ever-changing cultural norms associated with a large, diverse group of people who are very influenced by mass media, mass production, and mass merchandising.
possibilism—The theory that the physical environment merely establishes limits of what is possible on the human population.
primate city—A city that is at least twice as large as the next largest city and more than twice as significant (not just the largest city in a country).
primary economic activity—An economic activity that takes something from the ground (farming, mining, forestry, etc.).
projection—A type of map based on representing a round Earth on a flat piece of paper with the resulting inaccuracies determining the best use of the particular type.
prorupt state or protruded state—A state, such as Thailand or Myanmar (Burma), that is round in shape with a large extension.
protolanguage—A reconstructed ancestral language that forms the basis for a language family.
public housing—Government-constructed and regulated low-income housing in urban areas.
pull factor of migration—Factors such as better job opportunities or a more pleasant climate that “pull” or attract a migrant to a new area.
push factor of migration—Factors such as war, high crime, or overcrowding that “push” a migrant to a new region.
quaternary economic activities—Economic activities that deal with information and knowledge processing.
quinary economic activities—The economic activities that deal with the highest-level of decision-making in both the government and private sectors of the economy.
race—A group of people with a common biological ancestor.
rank-size rule—The rule proposed by Zipf that states that if all cities in a country are placed in order from the largest to the smallest, the second largest city would have about ½ the population of the largest city, the third largest city would have about 1/3 the population of the largest city, the fourth largest city about ¼ the population of the largest city, etc.
rate of natural increase (NIR)—the crude birth rate minus the crude death rate.
rectangular-land survey system—A system using rectangular grid divisions to divide new land settlements after The United States won independence from England.
region—An area that displays a common trait such as culture, government, language, landform, etc.
relative location—The location of a place in relation to the location of other places.
relict boundary—An old boundary between countries that is no longer used.
remote sensing—The process of detecting the nature of an area from a distance.
replacement level—The population level necessary to assure the population continues to replace itself.
representative fraction—The scale of a map represented as a ratio or a fraction, such as 1:25,000.
Rostow’s model of economic development—A model of development for countries based on stages of economic growth and modernization. Also called modernization theory.
rural-to-urban migration—The movement of people from the countryside to the city usually in search of economic opportunities (jobs) and a better life (both “pull” factors of migration).
scale—The degree of generalization on a map. Scale can also mean the size of a unit on a map as a ratio of its size on the map to the same units on the Earth’s surface.
secondary economic activities—Economic activities that involve the processing of raw materials into finished goods by manufacturing.
sector model—The model of urban land use developed by Hoyt that shows urban growth in pie-shaped wedges, or sectors, based on transportation improvements.
secularism—The rejection of all religious beliefs and is spreading rapidly in certain areas of the world such as Europe.
segregation—The physical separation of two groups of a population (in the United States this is usually based on race).
sense of place—The special perception we have of a certain place based on our feelings, emotions, and associations with that place.
separatism—The striving to become separate from a larger group.
Second Agricultural Revolution—An agricultural revolution starting in the seventeenth century that increased efficiency of crop production and distribution through use of new machinery.
sedentary—The condition where a group of humans is able to live in one location and grow crops and raise animals.
sequent occupance—The concept that successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place, each contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape.
shamanism—A form of tribal, or traditional, religion that reveres a particular person, the shaman, as one with special healing or magic powers.
shifting agriculture—The form of subsistence agriculture in which crops are grown in different fields on a rotating basis.
site—The physical location of a place.
situation—The location of a place based on its relation to other places.
specialty farming—Farming that grows crops to provide small upscale niche markets with fresh produce.
sociofacts—The educational and political institutions, religious organizations, family structure, etc. that make up the nonmaterial aspects of a culture.
sovereignty—The internationally recognized exercise of a country’s power over its people and territory.
space—The extent of area that is occupied by something.
spatial diffusion—The spread of something over time or space.
spread effects—Benefits to the peripheral region that accrue because of economic development in the nearby core region.
state—A country, or a political unit in which the Earth is divided.
step migration—The series of small moves of a migrant to reach a destination.
subsequent boundary—A boundary drawn after a cultural landscape is already in place.
subsistence agriculture—A form of agriculture in which everything that is produced is consumed by that population. Forms of subsistence agriculture include shifting, swidden/slash-and-burn, and intensive subsistence.
suburbanization—The movement of people from urban core areas to the surrounding outer edges of the cities.
supercity—A very large city.
superimposed boundary—A boundary forced on a territory after existing boundaries are already in place.
supranationalism—The association of three or more states for mutual benefit.
sustainability—The principle that we must meet our present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
sustainable development—The concept that it is possible to balance economic growth without jeopardizing the environment and equitable human access.
swidden agriculture—The form of subsistence agriculture in which crops are grown in different fields on a rotating basis. Also called shifting agriculture or slash-and-burn agriculture.
syncretism—The birth of a new culture trait from blending two or more cultural traits.
taboo—A potent form of cultural barrier that prevents certain habits or new ideas from establishing themselves in a society due to already-established prohibitions, customs, and rules.
terrorism—The use of violence in a controlled and intentional way to force attention onto issues.
tertiary economic activities—Economic activities that provide services.
tipping point—The point at which a critical number of minority inhabitants is reached and triggers an outmigration of charter group.
transculturation—An equal exchange of traits or influence between two culture groups occurs.
transhumance—The constant movement of herds in a set seasonal pattern of grazing.
transnational corporations (TNCs)—Global corporations that have facilities and processes spread among several companies in a global assembly line.
truck farming—Commercial gardening and fruit farming in the United States.
uneven development—The huge contrast of wealthy neighborhoods and poor neighborhoods found within urban areas and the continuing uneven allocation of funds to foster this condition.
uniform region—A region with a high level of consistency in a certain cultural or physical attribute (also a formal region).
unitary state—A state with a strong central government that retains most of the political power.
universalizing religion—A religion in which anyone can become a member.
urbanization—The rapid growth of, and migration to, large cities.
urban renewal—The process of identifying properties in inner city neighborhoods that are then acquired, cleared of residents and structures, and handed over to private investors or public agencies for construction of parks, schools, or new housing.
urban sprawl—A separate-use system of residential housing neighborhoods on the outskirts of urban areas that do not contain retail activities. Also called conventional suburban development (CSD).
urban subsistence farming—The cultivation of small city gardens for food in the cities of the developing world.
vernacular region—A popular region that is named for the way people perceive it.
vertical integration—Contracts between farmer and producer in the agricultural industry.
Von Thünen’s Agricultural Land-Use Model—A model of agricultural land use that illustrates the relationship between the cost of land and transportation costs involved in getting a product to market.
world city—A global city that serves as an important linkage or connection point in the global economic system.
world-systems theory—The theory, developed by Immanual Wallerstein, that there is only one world system in which all nation-states historically compete for capital and labor.
zero population growth (ZPG)—A condition in which births plus immigration equals deaths plus emigration for individual countries.