Site:
The site is the actual location of a settlement on the earth and is composed of the physical characteristics of the landscape. Things like climate, vegetation type, water availability, soil quality. For example, NYC is located where it is because when people arrived from Europe, there was an abundance of fresh water.
Situation:
The location of a place relative to its surroundings and other place. Factors included in an area's situation include the accessibility of the location, the extend connections with another, and how close an area may be to raw material if they are not located on the site.
Place:
Can refer to a series of concrete attributes or can imply diverse meanings attached to a location.
Space: a two dimensional area that contains a number of places and boundaries that may or may not be clearly defined.
Space Attributes and Significance
1) the relative significance spends on the scale of analysis and the topic of interest
2) Much of the significance of an attribute is establisehd by scale
3) Locations are important – both relative and absolute
Mapping Spatial Distributions
Thematic Maps
Show the distributions, flow, or connection of one or more characteristic. These maps can portray physical, social,political, cultural etc.
Point Pattern Maps each incident is displayed as a point can show whether a distribution is dispersed or clustered
Choropleth Maps
Show the quantity of type of phenomena by area, is a thematic map in which areas are shaded or patterned in proportion to the measurement of the statistical variable being displayed on the map, such as population density or per-capita income.
Spatial Interactiosn & Distance
Spatial Interaction the movement and interconnections between places influenced by accessibility
Distance absolute / euclidean distance travel distance
Travel time
Congitive Distance
Distance Decay
The effects of distance on interaction, generally the greater the distance the less the interaction
Friction of Distance
The increase in time and cost that usually comes with increasing distance
Region:
An Area of land that has common featuers. A region can be defined by natural or artificial features. Languages, government, or religion can define a religion, or forest, wildlife, climate.
Formal Regions: composed of places that have one or more characteristics in common Ex. Countries, states, and cities
Functional Regions: regions construct out of places that interacts: such as silicon valley, a central place and the