Perceptual regions evolve over time. For example, the Middle East gained its name as a perceptual region from the European perspective. The Near East, Middle East, and Far East were historically identified by their locations relative to Europe. Perceptions of the boundaries of these regions have changed over time, but the Near East tended to be countries along the eastern Mediterranean Sea (those “near” Europe), the Middle East was around the Persian Gulf, and the Far East included Asian countries that face the Pacific Ocean (those “far” from Europe). Perceptions of these regions differ somewhat today, but again, having a sample of people draw “the Middle East” on a map would lead to a consensus on its boundaries.
It is important to keep in mind that the boundaries between all types of regions are typically fuzzy. Just as there is no specific day that divides the Middle Ages from the Renaissance, there is rarely a fixed line that separates one region from another.
Go to ArcGIS Online to complete exercise 1.5: “Places and regions.”
Origin, spatial interaction, and spatial diffusion
Places, regions, and the spatial patterns of human features do not lie in isolation. Rather, patterns of human activity evolve through the movement and interaction of people and cultures from different locations. This movement and interaction helps explain why unique spatial patterns, places, and regions form.
Origin
Many spatial phenomena can be viewed in terms of origin and diffusion. The origin is a starting point, a location where something begins. It is often referred to as a culture hearth. A disease outbreak, a new musical style, a new technology, or a new idea will begin in a specific part of the world. While its exact origin point is still debated, the deadly flu pandemic of 1891 originated in one of several possible locations: Kansas in the United States, China, or France. From its origin point, it then diffused throughout the world, killing around 50 million people. Hip-hop originated in the Bronx, New York, in the 1970s before becoming a global phenomenon. The major monotheistic religions of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism originated in the Middle East before spreading around the world.
Origin points must have the right conditions for a new phenomenon to form, and these conditions are typically related to human actions. For example, new disease outbreaks are more likely to occur in places with poor sanitation and weak health care systems (figure 1.32) than in places where sanitation and health care are adequate. New social and technological innovations are likely to form in societies that are open to new ideas and that already have the technological prerequisites for the innovation. For instance, some countries foment new ideas through the protection of free speech, whereas other countries stifle innovation through heavy censorship and limits on open debate. In addition to having an open society, innovations cannot materialize unless technological prerequisites are in place. The Wright brothers’ airplane could not have been built without technical knowledge of structures and materials, motors, and basic physics.
Thus, it is important to remember that the origin of new phenomena comes from the combination of multiple influences. This combination is typically the result of spatial interaction, the movement of ideas and things between places; and spatial diffusion, the spreading of an idea or thing across space over time.
Spatial interaction
Spatial interaction takes place when two or more areas are linked by a network. Transportation and communications linkages tie places together and allow for people, ideas, and things to move between them. The more spatial interaction one place has with other places, the more it will be exposed to new ideas and technologies. A place with air and seaports, road networks, and government policies that facilitate the movement of goods and people will tend to be more innovative and be the origin point for new ideas and technologies. The same holds true for communications network connections. Places that are linked by telephone and internet connections allow for the quick movement of information, which fosters creativity and the formation of new ideas (figure 1.33). Thus, spatial interaction results from connectivity and accessibility. Transportation and communications networks connect locations, allowing people, ideas, and things to have access to different places.
Figure 1.32.Live poultry market in China. Geographers and others see parts of Asia as being the most likely origin point for an avian flu pandemic. High population densities, poor sanitation, and close interaction between chickens and humans create ripe conditions for disease. Photo by Fotokon. Stock photo ID: 186029792. Shutterstock.
Figure 1.33.Internet café in Indonesia. People access the internet with cell phones and laptop computers at a café in Indonesia. Communications networks are an essential component of spatial interaction. When places are connected in this way, ideas and innovation spread. Photo by Lano Lan. Stock photo ID: 344025836. Shutterstock.
Spatial interaction is strongly influenced by distance. This influence is described by Tobler’s first law of geography, which states that “everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things.” The same concept can be described as distance decay, whereby there is more interaction between places that are close together than between places that are far apart (figure 1.34).
For instance, Mexican cities along the US border will be more like US cities, while Mexican cities in southern Mexico are less similar. Northern cities have more signage in English, people use more Spanglish terms, and the latest consumer goods from the US are more prevalent than in southern Mexican cities. This is because of greater spatial interaction—good connectivity and accessibility via roads and border crossings as well as TV and radio signals. This is also because of a greater diffusion of US culture and goods, especially through relocation and contagious diffusion. As one moves south from the US border, the influence of the English language and of American products and culture becomes less pronounced.
The same can be seen with Mexican influence in US cities along the southern border, where Mexican language, food, music, and other cultural features are more prevalent. Moving north, Mexican cultural influence declines as distance increases from the border.
Figure 1.34.Distance decay. Image by author.
Geographers also study spatial interaction in terms of core and periphery. Core areas include concentrations of things such as political power, economic activity, specific cultural characteristics, or population density. The periphery includes surrounding areas that have spatial interaction with the core. Often, the core is seen as having an advantageous position relative to the periphery. For instance, a political core makes laws that govern the periphery under its control, while an economic core creates wealth by using labor and natural resources from its periphery. At a global scale, core and periphery have been used to describe how wealthy countries (i.e., the core) exploit poor countries (i.e., the periphery) by extracting natural resources.
Core and periphery can also be seen in terms of regions, whereby the core of a region constitutes a heavy concentration of regional characteristics, while the periphery is the area where the characteristics gradually diminish. For instance, Louisiana may be considered part of the core of the South, but Texas can be seen as part of the periphery, as southern music, food, and dialects gradually fade as one moves west.
With advances in communication and transportation technologies, some geographers refer to space-time compression. This is the idea that the world is “shrinking” as relative distance declines with changes in technology. New ideas now travel instantly to different places via communications technology, and people and goods move rapidly by car, ship, and airplane. As places become “closer” together, change brought about through spatial interaction happens more quickly. Global pop music stars now influence youth fashion around the world at the same time rather than just in smaller local or regional markets. Similarly, the 2008 financial crisis that