case study human geography definition

Human Geography

• Defining human geography
• Cultural geography
• Economic geography
• Feminist geography
• Migration and detention
• Statelessness
• Feminist political geography
• Geopolitics
• Population studies
• Travel and tourism
• Gentrification
• Scholarly communication This link opens in a new window

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Keeping up with the journal literature

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New Books on Human Geography in the Library's Collections

Find new titles about Human Geography in the library's collections.

A short definition for Human Geography

The study of the interrelationships between people, place, and environment, and how these vary spatially and temporally across and between locations. Whereas physical geography concentrates on spatial and environmental processes that shape the natural world and tends to draw on the natural and physical sciences for its scientific underpinnings and methods of investigation, human geography concentrates on the spatial organization and processes shaping the lives and activities of people, and their interactions with places and nature. Human geography is more allied with the social sciences and humanities, sharing their philosophical approaches and methods ( see physical geography for a discussion on the relationship between human and physical geography; environmental geography ).

Human geography consists of a number of sub-disciplinary fields that focus on different elements of human activity and organization, for example, cultural geography , economic geography , health geography , historical geography , political geography , population geography , rural geography , social geography , transport geography , and urban geography . What distinguishes human geography from other related disciplines, such as development, economics, politics, and sociology, are the application of a set of core geographical concepts to the phenomena under investigation, including space , place , scale , landscape , mobility , and nature . These concepts foreground the notion that the world operates spatially and temporally, and that social relations do not operate independently of place and environment, but are thoroughly grounded in and through them. With respect to methods, human geography uses the full sweep of quantitative and qualitative methods from across the social sciences and humanities, mindful of using them to provide a thorough geographic analysis. It also places emphasis on fieldwork and mapping ( see cartography ), and has made a number of contributions to developing new methods and techniques, notably in the areas of spatial analysis , spatial statistics , and GIScience . The long-term development of human geography has progressed in tandem with that of the discipline more generally ( see geography ). Since the Quantitative Revolution in the 1950s and 1960s, the philosophy underpinning human geography research has diversified enormously. The 1970s saw the introduction of behavioural geography , radical geography , and humanistic geography . These were followed in the 1980s by a turn to political economy , the development of feminist geography , and the introduction of critical social theory underpinning the cultural turn . Together these approaches formed the basis for the growth of critical geography , and the introduction of postmodern and post-structural thinking into the discipline in the 1990s. These various developments did not fully replace the theoretical approaches developed in earlier periods, but rather led to further diversification of geographic thought. For example, quantitative geography continues to be a vibrant area of geographical scholarship, especially through the growth of GIScience. The result is that geographical thinking is presently highly pluralist in nature, with no one approach dominating.

Castree, N., Kitchin, R., & Rogers, A. (2013). " Human geography ." In A Dictionary of Human Geography . Oxford University Press. Retrieved 24 Jan. 2022  

Pages under the Human Geography guide include: Cultural geography ; Economic geography ; Feminist geography ; Geopolitics ; Migration studies ; Political geography ; Population studies ; Travel & Tourism ; and Urban geography .

In the Library's collection

Although Human Geography is scattered throughout the collections, there is a main section or call number range for the subject. That is GF . You can browse in that section of the stacks, Berry Level 4 , to see what's there.

Below is the subject search in the online catalog.

• human geography This is the main subject heading for searching the catalog.

Introductory reading(s)

Selected book titles

Other library resource(s)

Journal titles & articles

Articles and other writings about Human Geography can be found in many publications. Our collection includes several journals which look at Human Geography. A short list follows. You can also use the search box at the top of the page to find relevant articles.

• Next: Cultural geography >>
• Last Updated: Apr 12, 2024 10:28 AM
• URL: https://researchguides.dartmouth.edu/human_geography

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the ultimate ap human geography study guide.

Advanced Placement (AP)

In your AP Human Geography class, you'll learn about the dynamics of societies around the world in economic, social, political, and environmental contexts. This course focuses a lot on ideas and models, along with terminology that defines the ways in which we've chosen to inhabit and change our surroundings.

This AP Human Geography study guide is designed to guide you through all the big concepts covered in the course , with an emphasis on cumulative preparation for the AP exam.

How to Use This AP Human Geography Study Guide

This guide will help you review for assessments in your AP Human Geography class by providing links to practice resources and tips on effective study strategies. I'll also give advice that's specific to preparing for the final AP exam.

In the first section, I'll detail a step-by-step process you can follow to create and execute a customized study plan for the test. This process includes taking a diagnostic test, evaluating your weaknesses, studying the content areas you struggled with the most, and taking additional practice tests to check your progress.

To follow up the study plan, I'll list a few key study tips to remember as you revisit the course content and take practice exams. I'll also give you notes for each topic area that you can use to study for in-class tests and review for the AP exam.

Having all this information in one place will hopefully make studying for AP Human Geography much less stressful!

4-Step Study Plan for AP Human Geography

In this section, I'll go through the steps of a basic study plan for the AP Human Geography exam. Most of the principles will also apply to your studying for tests throughout the class, but full practice tests are only important when directly preparing for the final exam .

You can use shorter topic-specific quizzes to diagnose your weaknesses in different units of the Human Geography course earlier in the school year.

For planning purposes, here's the estimated time required for each step below:

• Step 1: 2.5 hours
• Step 2: 1 hour
• Step 3: 2 hours
• Step 4: 2.5 hours

It should take approximately eight hours to study for the AP Human Geography exam. Of course, you can always extend the time you spend reviewing content if you're rusty on a bunch of different topics or just want to be extra thorough.

Step 1: Take and Score a Full Practice Test

The first step is to take a full AP Human Geography practice test so you can get a better idea of your current score level . When you take the test, time it to the specifications of the real exam so you'll be able to tell if you have any issues with time management.

Keep in mind that on the test, you only have an hour to answer 60 multiple-choice questions ; this comes out to a minute per question. To be on the safe side, though, try to get your time down to around 45 seconds per question. The only way to get used to this pace is to take practice tests under realistic conditions.

While there are no official practice tests available, we've collected some of the best unofficial ones in our guide .

As you take the practice test, circle or make note of any questions for which you feel anything less than totally confident in your answer . Even if you end up getting these questions right, you should reexamine the content later in your review to increase your comfort level with the material.

When you're done, score your test so you can see where you fall in the AP range. You can use this online calculator for a decent score estimation based on how many raw points you earned.

Then, set a goal for improvement , and decide how many hours you'll need to put into your prep.

If you have a couple of months, you should be able to put in 20+ hours of study time. This will be an appropriate amount of studying if you're hoping to improve by more than one AP point.

If you only need to improve by one AP point or are just looking to raise your score within the same range, you might be able to wait until the month before the test to start the rest of the process. In total, you shouldn't need to study for more than 10-20 hours.

Step 2: Go Through Your Mistakes

If you decide to begin the rest of this process now, go through your mistakes on the Human Geography practice test and categorize them . This is how you'll decide which content and skill areas to focus on in your review.

There's no point in studying concepts and terms you've already mastered. If you want to see real improvements, this is the most important stage of the study process. You can't fix your mistakes unless you know what they are first!

Step 3: Study Appropriate Content

After you finish analyzing your mistakes, start looking at notes that correspond to the areas where you had the most trouble on the test . Make sure you're fully absorbing the information as you read.

In this case, flashcards might be useful because there are so many terms to remember for AP Human Geography. If you found the free-response questions especially challenging, practice a few more of those before you move on to the next step.

You can also use some of the sites I'll link to later in this article to review specific topics with short multiple-choice quizzes.

Step 4: Take a Second Full Practice Test

When you feel that you've fully addressed all your mistakes on the first practice test, you can take a second test to see whether your scores have improved . Compare your new score to the goal you set in the first step, and decide whether you want to go through the study process again or are happy with your current score.

If you're satisfied, you can take a break and just do a bit of light review up until the test.

If you haven't improved, reevaluate how you conducted this process and make some changes to your strategy in the next round. Were you in an environment that was too distracting? Did you skim over your notes without really absorbing them? Are you just generally a bit rusty? These are the kinds of things that can cause your progress to stall.

AP Human Geography: 3 Essential Study Tips

Below are a few of the most valuable strategies to keep in mind as you go through your study plan to prepare for the AP Human Geography exam. These tips should also be helpful for your prep for smaller assessments throughout the school year in your AP class.

#1: Know Your Regions

To get full credit for most free-response questions, you'll have to provide specific examples to support your answers . This means being able to identify the characteristics of world regions in terms of their various cultures, demographics, and physical environments.

You'll see a map of the major regions covered by AP Human Geography in the content section of this guide along with a list of seven units. You should be able to locate each region and identify the relationship it has with each of the seven topic areas .

#2: Memorize Terminology

While knowing your way around a map is important, much of AP Human Geography is about your knowledge of terminology. I highly recommend making flashcards or using online flashcards in your prep (I'll put a link to some of these in the upcoming content section!).

Many multiple-choice questions are essentially just asking for definitions, and some free-response questions begin by asking you to define a term that the rest of the question addresses in more depth.

Even if it's not this direct, knowing your way around the language of the field of human geography will make it far easier for you to understand questions without relying on shaky assumptions or inferences.

#3: Pay Attention to Important Models and Theories

Human Geography is mostly considered a humanities subject, but there are some scientific elements to it. These show up in the form of demographic models that are introduced throughout the course.

It's important to know how to read models and understand what they represent. You should also know how they connect to major theories in human geography and what those theories say about the development of society.

I'll give you a link to a comprehensive list of models and theories at the end of the next section.

Skylar, how many times do I have to explain homophones to you? YOU'RE. NOT. HELPING.

AP Human Geography Topics and Notes

AP Human Geography covers seven major topic areas, or units. In this section, I'll list each of them followed by notes that cover relevant subtopics. You can use these notes in the content review stage of your final study process and throughout the year as you review for in-class tests.

You might find these notes (from CourseNotes) difficult to get through because they're written in such a way that it's hard to pick out key concepts. There are a lot of long paragraphs with no bolding of important terms. If you find these notes borderline incomprehensible, you should try getting a review book that puts all the content in clearer terms . I think Cracking the AP Human Geography Exam is a good starting point.

As a precursor to the notes, here's a map of all the world regions that are discussed throughout the course. You'll need to consider how these topics apply differently to varying locations around the globe:

Unit 1: Thinking Geographically

• Geography and Human Geography

Unit 2: Population and Migration Patterns and Processes

• The Earth as Humanity's Home
• Fundamentals of Population: Location, Distribution, and Density
• Processes and Cycles of Population Change
• Where and Why People Move

Unit 3: Cultural Patterns and Processes

• Cultures, Environments, and Regions
• A Geography of Languages
• Diffusion of Languages
• Modern Language Mosaics
• Origins and Distribution of Religions
• Religion: Location, Diffusion, and Cultural Landscape
• Religion, Culture, and Conflict

Unit 4: Political Patterns and Processes

• Political Culture and the Evolving State
• State Organization and National Power
• Multinationalism on the Map
• The Changing Global Political Landscape

Unit 5: Agriculture and Rural Land-Use Patterns and Processes

• Livelihoods of Rural Peoples
• Rural Settlement Forms
• Commercial Agriculture
• Global Disparities in Nutrition and Health

Unit 6: Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes

• Civilization and Urbanization
• Urbanization and Location
• Urban Pattern and Structure
• The Changing Nature of the Civic Experience

Unit 7: Industrial and Economic Development Patterns and Processes

• Industrial Activity and Geographic Location
• Resources and Regions: The Global Distribution of Industry
• Concepts of Development
• From Deindustrialization to Globalization

Because terms are so important on this exam, I also recommend checking out this full list of all vocab covered by the course (provided by Quizlet) so you can review all the vocab you'll need to know in one place.

In addition, take a look at this overview of the different human geography theories and models .

When lots of humans get together to form an urban community, they can't help but color on everything. What an adorable species.

Top Resources for Your AP Human Geography Review

Below are some resources you can use to test your knowledge of AP Human Geography content and take practice tests and quizzes.

Official Course and Exam Descriptions

Although there are no official AP Human Geography practice tests available, the College Board has released plenty of sample practice questions you can use in your prep through its free Course and Exam Description (CED) PDFs.

The current CED for 2020 , which has been fully updated for the new test format , contains 15 multiple-choice questions and two free-response questions, as well as a scoring guide.

There's also the 2015 Human Geography CED , which has 23 multiple-choice questions and six free-response questions you can practice with. Just be aware that this guide is not aligned with the new format of the AP exam.

Official Free-Response Questions and Scoring Guides

In addition to Course and Exam Descriptions, the College Board maintains a huge archive of free-response questions that have been asked on the AP Human Geography exam since 2001 . We recommend using these after you've practiced with the sample FRQs in the 2020 Course and Exam Description (see above resource).

Most of these FRQs also come with scoring guidelines and sample student responses so you can get a better sense of how to earn full points on them.

AP Classroom

AP Classroom is a new creation by the College Board that allows AP teachers to keep track of their students' progress through a virtual classroom. Here, teachers can test students' skills by sending them AP Human Geography practice questions on a regular basis.

Highly Rated Review Books

AP Human Geography review books are useful resources that provide access to additional practice questions and tests. They often include diagnostic tests that will help you determine your weak areas accurately and with less legwork on your part.

Especially in a subject like Human Geography that can be a little elusive, books will help you figure out exactly what you need to study and how you should study it.

Some solid review books for this exam include the following:

• The Princeton Review's Cracking the AP Human Geography Exam, Premium 2022 Edition
• Barron's AP Human Geography, Eighth Edition
• REA's AP Human Geography Crash Course

Sporcle Geography Quizzes

As I mentioned in the tips section, it's important to know your world regions for AP Human Geography so you can back up your answers with specific examples .

You don't need to be a complete expert on where every country is located, but these quizzes are both fun and educational, so I recommend checking them out (warning: super addictive!).

• Countries of the World
• Countries of Asia
• Countries of Europe
• Countries of Africa
• Countries of South America
• Countries of North America

Varsity Tutors Diagnostic Tests

Famed test-prep company Varsity Tutors offers four diagnostic tests for AP Human Geography, each with 75 multiple-choice questions . (Be aware that the current test format only consists of 60 multiple-choice questions, so you can skip 15 of these in your practice.)

The tests have automatic scoring, and each is given a preliminary difficulty level rating. There are also tons of mini-quizzes listed by concept if you want to practice topic-specific questions, as well as flashcards that will help you learn all the course terminology .

Albert Practice Questions

Albert offers quizzes on every AP Human Geography topic, with questions categorized by topic and unit. Quizzes here range in length from just three to as many as 62 questions , and the website keeps a running tally of how many questions you've answered correctly. You'll need to pay for an account to access most of the materials, however.

Chapter Quizzes for Human Geography: Landscapes of Human Activities

If you select a chapter of this book on the left-hand navigation bar, you can scroll down and click on a link for a multiple-choice quiz. These quizzes are helpful review materials, even if your class isn't using this particular textbook.

Recap: Using This AP Human Geography Study Guide

This AP Human Geography study guide has covered a review plan for the AP test, tips for success in studying throughout the year, and a list of all the topics covered in the AP Human Geography curriculum and on the exam.

The steps in a successful AP Human Geography study plan should look something like this:

• Step 1: Take and score a practice test
• Step 2: Go through your mistakes
• Step 3: Study appropriate content
• Step 4: Take a second practice test

Again, you can go through this process multiple times if you don't get the results you want in the first round. Just pay close attention to whether or not you're improving. If not, make changes to amp up the effectiveness of your content review.

Some study tips to keep in mind as you study for the AP Human Geography test and any in-class assessments include the following:

• Know your world regions
• Memorize terminology
• Pay attention to major geographic models and theories

After you're clear on the fundamentals of how to study, you can use the notes and prep resources in the second half of this article to prepare for unit quizzes, midterms, and the final AP exam.

What's Next?

Thinking about self-studying for this AP course—or other AP courses? Find out more about whether AP self-study is right for you and which AP classes are the most manageable options .

If you're still planning out your schedule for the future , check out our guide on which other history classes you should take after AP Human Geography.

You might also be interested in these articles that discuss AP credit policies at colleges and which classes you should take in high school based on your college goals.

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

Samantha is a blog content writer for PrepScholar. Her goal is to help students adopt a less stressful view of standardized testing and other academic challenges through her articles. Samantha is also passionate about art and graduated with honors from Dartmouth College as a Studio Art major in 2014. In high school, she earned a 2400 on the SAT, 5's on all seven of her AP tests, and was named a National Merit Scholar.

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The epistemology of particulars: Human geography, case studies and 'context'

Research output : Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Access to Document

• 10.1016/j.geoforum.2005.08.001

T1 - The epistemology of particulars: Human geography, case studies and 'context'

AU - Castree, Noel

PY - 2005/9

Y1 - 2005/9

U2 - 10.1016/j.geoforum.2005.08.001

DO - 10.1016/j.geoforum.2005.08.001

M3 - Article

JO - Geoforum

JF - Geoforum

• Human Geography
• Physical Geography
• Economic Geography
• Urban Geography
• Political Geography
• The United States and Canada
• Latin America
• Russia and the Republics
• Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica
• Arctic Ocean
• Atlantic Ocean
• Indian Ocean
• Pacific Ocean
• Climate Classification

Types of Case Studies

At least five different types of case studies have been discussed in the geography and social science literature: intrinsic, collective, explanatory, descriptive, and exploratory. In each of these types, there may be single case or multiple case approaches used. An intrinsic case study is defined as research wherein the researcher has a (personal or professional) interest in the project. In this approach, the insider scholar may play the role of a relatively subjective observer (instead of working from a more objective outsider perspective). Collective work refers to the study of a group of interrelated case studies conducted by a single scholar or several researchers working collaboratively. Data from more than one site are often gathered, analyzed, and synthesized collaboratively by a team of researchers using a comparative method of analysis. Explanatory case studies are best used when doing causal investigations since they lend themselves to analysis and, at times, even make contributions to predictive models. Descriptive case studies require that an overarching descriptive or interpretive theory be developed before beginning the study. Finally, exploratory case studies are conducted to gather and analyze foundational data to be used for more expanded work and a set of larger questions to be pursued and carried out after these preliminary pilot data have been assessed.

In human geography , all five of these types of case study approaches have been used in teaching and research. None are mutually exclusive although the use of single case, exploratory, and then explanatory approaches is often the most reliable and valid. For example, a focused case study of Russian immigrants in one metropolitan area (as shown in Figure 1), began with a single case exploratory study and then moved into becoming an explanatory case study in later stages of the project as immigration theory ultimately was tested by a collaborative group of geographers. Key to understanding the application of the theory of heterolocalism in a North American metropolitan area, for example, was a followup study that spatially analyzed religious networks of the same group in the same study area (as shown in Figure 2). This example, and many others published in the discipline's flagship journals in recent years, attest to the usefulness and popularity of the case study approach in conducting geographic research.

• Case Study Approach
• Capital’s Consumption Spatiality
• Capital and Space: Capital’s Crisis-Spatiality
• Capital and Space: Capital’s ‘Normal’ Spatiality
• How Does Capital Work?: Mechanisms of Capital
• Capital and Space
• Business Service Geographies – Global Cities, Service Offshoring, and the Second Global Shift
• Business Services – the Body and Emotional Labor
• Explaining the Growth of Business Service Firms

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Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography

Qualitative research is the collection of information about human behaviour and perception. It is about focusing in depth to find out why and how certain activities and events occur.

In research we aim to be rigorous in the scientific processes, which means aiming to be thorough, exhaustive and accurate. This requires ensuring that a study is replicable, by being transparent about the steps that were taken to obtain the findings that are presented. It also means being able to justify why you took each step in your research. Triangulation is a technique used to instill rigour. Triangulation is the use of multiple research methods for data collection to reveal insight about a specific topic.

Key Considerations

Positionality:  Who you are, where you are, and how you ask your questions will influence the responses you elicit from participants in your study.

Reflexivity:  This is a process of considering your own positionality and the effects that your positionality will have on your research. It entails throughly considering the benefits and drawbacks of your positionality, and how this in turn can benefit or hinder your research.

S ample: A sample is a set of data. In the case of qualitative data methods covered in this section, your sample is composed of those who are taking part in your study. The number of people who participate will be your sample size. When you reach a point of saturation, it means that you are starting to collect the same ideas over and over from your sample.

Interview:  An interview is a method of inquiry in which you ask your participants a set of questions.  It can be semi-structured or and structured and can use different mediums (e.g., phone, email, in-person). A semi-structured interview is one in which you have an idea about the types of questions you ask but the order and way you ask the question may vary.  A structured interview is a specified set of questions that is asked in the same order using the same words during each interview.

Focus group:  This is a method in which you have a heterogeneous population come together in one room to discuss a certain topic of interest. Typically a facilitator organizes the focus group and will guide the conversation to keep the topic of conversation on track. The strength of this method is the opportunity for free flow of conversation; comments tend to stimulate new ideas and discussion topics. The challenge associated with this method is that it is possible for a few assertive people to dominate the conversation.

Participant observation:  This refers to when a researcher embeds him- or herself in the research context by becoming an active participant.

S urvey:  This method uses a set of written questions that the participants then answer directly on paper or online.

Oral history:  This is the process of gathering and listening to people tell their stories and share knowledge. Traditionally oral histories were passed down through generations, building the knowledge bases of communities. Oral histories are often recorded so that both the information, as well as the voices and character of the story telling, can be preserved.

Participatory mapping:  Sometimes called sketch mapping, this is asking a set of questions and having the participants draw how they view the world in a map form. It is typically done using a piece of paper, but could be done using digital free drawing applications.

Journaling:  When a researcher or a participant documents his or her thoughts feelings or ideas on a topic on a regular basis, it is referred to as journaling. Journaling is a free-flow writing exercise.

Content analysis:  This method collects content in multimedia formats from the media, policy documents and other outlets and then codes the material for common themes and ideas.

Qualitative data analysis: Qualitative data is collected via the methods described above and then is often transcribed and thematically coded. This means a researcher will read the transcript to identify common themes. There are multiple strategies to code qualitative data, either by formulating codes prior to collection it and reading transcripts, or by the researcher identifying common themes that emerge from the data.

Obtaining informed consent:  Ethically, researchers are required to inform the participants of what data they are collecting, why, and how the data will be used and shared. Depending on the study, researchers may wish to maintain anonymity of the participants; however, in some studies they may wish to have their real names be used.

Further resources

• Iain Hay (2000) Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography

British Columbia in a Global Context Copyright © 2014 by Geography Open Textbook Collective is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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1.7 Regional Analysis

7 min read • january 6, 2023

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Region Types

What is Regional Analysis?

Regional analysis is the study of a specific region or area, with the goal of understanding its characteristics and patterns. This can involve examining the physical, social, economic, and cultural factors that shape the region and the way it functions.

In geography and other social sciences, regional analysis often involves creating maps and other visualizations to represent the data and patterns being studied. These maps may be created at different scales, depending on the focus of the analysis and the data being used. For example, a regional analysis of economic patterns might involve creating maps of income or employment data at the city or county level, while a regional analysis of physical characteristics might involve creating maps of elevation or land cover at the state or country level.

What is Regional Analysis Used For?

Regional analysis can be used for a wide range of purposes, including planning, policy making, and decision making. It is a useful tool for understanding the unique characteristics and patterns of a specific region and for identifying opportunities and challenges in that region.

It is IMPORTANT to note that regions can be recognized on a global, national, or local level. 

Toponyms are place names. They can be the names of countries, states, cities, streets, and other geographical locations. The study of toponyms is called toponymy. Toponyms can be derived from a variety of sources, including the names of indigenous peoples, the names of colonists or settlers, the names of geographical features, and the names of historical or cultural events. Some toponyms are descriptive and reflect the physical or historical characteristics of a place, while others are more arbitrary and have no particular meaning.

Here are a few examples of toponyms :

• New York City - named after the Duke of York, who later became King James II of England
• Mount Everest - named after Sir George Everest, the British Surveyor General of India
• Rio de Janeiro - Portuguese for "River of January," named by Portuguese explorers who discovered the bay on New Year's Day in 1502
• Tokyo - derived from the Japanese words "tō" (meaning "east") and "kyō" (meaning "capital")
• Istanbul - formerly known as Byzantium and Constantinople, named after Emperor Constantine the Great
• Afghanistan - derived from the Sanskrit word "avagāna," meaning "land of the Afghans"

In human geography, the term " site " is often used to refer to the specific location of a settlement or other human activity. The physical characteristics of a site , such as its topography, climate, and natural resources, can influence the way in which people use and develop the area. For example, a site with a favorable climate and access to water resources may be more attractive for human settlement than a site with a harsh climate and limited resources.

The concept of site can also be used to refer to the cultural, social, and economic factors that shape and are shaped by the location of a settlement or activity. For example, the site of a major city might be influenced by its proximity to transportation networks, its access to natural resources, and its cultural and historical significance. The site of a factory or other industrial facility might be influenced by its proximity to raw materials, transportation, and labor.

Here is an example of site :

• The site of a hydroelectric dam might be a narrow valley with a fast-flowing river, steep cliffs, and access to a road network. The physical characteristics of the site , such as the river and cliffs, are important for the construction and operation of the dam, as they provide the necessary water flow and support for the dam structure. The access to a road network is also important for transporting materials and equipment to the site .

In human geography, the term " situation " refers to the location of a place or phenomenon in relation to its surroundings. It can include both the physical characteristics of a place, such as its topography, climate, and natural resources, as well as the cultural, social, and economic factors that shape and are shaped by its location.

The situation of a place can influence its function and the way in which it is used. For example, the situation of a city on a major river might make it an important transportation hub, while the situation of a city in a mountainous region might make it a center for tourism. The situation of a place can also be shaped by its history and culture, as well as by larger political and economic forces.

Here is an example of situation :

• The situation of a small village might be in a remote, mountainous region with limited access to transportation and few natural resources. The village might be isolated from major urban centers and have a limited economy based on subsistence farming and forestry. The situation of the village, in a remote and resource-poor region, might influence its development and the way of life of its residents. On the other hand, the village's situation in a mountainous region might also offer opportunities for tourism and outdoor recreation.

The concept of situation is often used in combination with the concept of site to understand the complex factors that influence the location and development of human settlements and activities.

Formal Region

A formal region is a geographical area that is defined by a specific characteristic or set of characteristics that are uniform across the region. Formal regions are often based on physical or cultural features that are easily identifiable and can be clearly defined.

Examples of formal regions include:

Political regions, such as countries, states, and provinces, which are defined by administrative boundaries

Statistical regions, such as census tracts, which are defined by specific demographic or economic data

Climatic regions, such as the Köppen climate classification system, which are defined by temperature and precipitation patterns

Vegetation regions, such as ecoregions, which are defined by the type and distribution of plant life

Cultural regions, such as language regions or dialect areas, which are defined by shared cultural characteristics such as language or customs.

Formal regions are often used as a way to organize and study geographical phenomena and to understand patterns and trends within a specific area.

Functional Region

A functional region is a geographical area that is defined by the flow of goods, services, information, or other resources between the places within the region. Unlike a formal region , which is defined by a specific characteristic that is uniform across the region, a functional region is defined by the relationships and connections between the places within the region.

Examples of functional regions include:

Economic regions, such as a metropolitan area or a trade region, which are defined by the flow of goods, services, and economic activity between the places within the region

Transportation regions, such as a travel shed or a commuting zone, which are defined by the flow of people or goods between the places within the region

Communication regions, such as a media market or a news region, which are defined by the flow of information between the places within the region

Functional regions can be thought of as networks or systems, with the places within the region connected by the flows of goods, services, information, or other resources. The concept of a functional region is often used in economic and transportation planning, as well as in the study of social and cultural phenomena.

Vernacular Region

A vernacular region , also known as a perceptual region or a folk region, is a geographical area that is defined by the common perceptions, experiences, and cultural identity of the people who live within the region. Vernacular regions are not based on objective, measurable characteristics, but rather on the subjective experiences and cultural meanings of the people who live within the region.

Vernacular regions often have a strong sense of regional identity and may be marked by distinctive cultural traditions, customs, and ways of life. They can be based on a variety of factors, including geography, history, language, ethnicity, and shared cultural experiences.

Examples of vernacular regions include:

The American South, which is often defined by its distinctive culture, history, and way of life

The Rust Belt, a region in the northeastern and midwestern United States that is defined by its industrial history and economic decline

The Bible Belt, a region in the southern United States that is known for its strong religious traditions

The concept of a vernacular region is often used in cultural geography and the study of regional identity.

Toponym: name given to a place on Earth

Ex: “The house of 653 Trechdell Dr.”

Site : physical character of a place (climate, water sources, vegetation)

Ex: On a hill, fertile garden, near a river

Situation : location of a place relative to other places

Ex: “My house is next to the YMCA and Tusculum Elementary.”

Formal region : area where everyone shares one unique characteristic

Ex: The characteristic can be a common language, climate, political party 

Functional region : area organized around a hub

Ex: The hub can be the center of the city that attracts people

Ex: Downtown is the hub of most cities

Ex: TV stations have a main hub where all signals are emitted

Vernacular region : area that emerges from a sense of place, people believe the area exists because of culture

• Ex: Southern USA is a vernacular region
• Ex: People have different definitions of the South including which states are “in the South”
• Ex: Definitions are within the same general area

We’ve laid out the foundation of Human Geography. You’re now ready to go on and explore the rest of the course!

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15 Cultural Diffusion Examples (Human Geography)

Cultural diffusion refers to the spread of cultures around the world. It can happen through migration, media, trade, colonialism, and similar practices.

Common types of cultural diffusion include contagious diffusion , relocation diffusion , and hierarchical diffusion .

Real-life examples include the spread of iron smelting in ancient times and the use of automobiles in the 20th century.

Anthropologists typically define three categories of diffusion mechanisms: direct diffusion, forced diffusion, and indirect diffusion. The six major types of cultural diffusion are: expansion, relocation, hierarchical, contagious, stimulus, and maladaptive diffusion.

Cultural diffusion is a term commonly used in sociology and human geography (including the AP Human Geography course).

Cultural Diffusion Examples

• Direct diffusion (such as during migration) occurs when two cultures are very close, resulting in trade, intermarriage, and possibly warfare. Examples include the cultural diffusion between the US and Canada, Sweden and Norway, England and Scotland, Argentina and Chile, and so on.
• Forced diffusion (such as forced Christianization) occurs when one culture conquers another and forces its culture on the conquered people. An example would be forcing a subject population to accept Christianity, such as the forced Christianization of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. There is substantial cultural lag in this model.
• Indirect diffusion occurs when traits are passed from one culture to another through a third, mediating culture. An example would be the spread of Spanish food to Germany through France.

Expansion diffusion occurs when a cultural item remains strong in the area it was conceived in while it spreads to other cultures.

Relocation diffusion occurs when a cultural item migrates into a new culture, leaving the original culture behind.

• Hierarchical diffusion occurs when a cultural item spreads from larger to smaller places. Social elites often play a role in hierarchical diffusion.
• Contagious diffusion occurs when a cultural item spreads through person-to-person contact within a given population without regard to hierarchies.
• Stimulus diffusion occurs when one cultural item spreads because of its attachment to another cultural item.
• Maladaptive diffusion occurs when a cultural item spreads to a new area but is not adapted for that area.

Case Studies of Cultural Diffusion

1. expansion diffusion.

In expansion diffusion, cultural items spread through a population from one area to another so that the total number of users and the areas of occurrence increase. For example, French wine is one of the most important parts of French culture but has also spread across the globe.

Examples of expansion diffusion include the spread of smelting and war chariots in ancient times, the spread of Latin in medieval times, and the spread of new technologies in modern times.

This type of cultural diffusion can be further divided into three sub-categories: (1) hierarchical diffusion, (2) contagious diffusion, and (3) stimulus diffusion.

2. Relocation Diffusion

The individuals or groups thereby bring the idea or practice to their new homeland. Religions typically spread this way. The spread of Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism was often a result of relocation diffusion.

Relocation diffusion usually occurs when there is a large enough number of migrants. When the culture of the newly relocated population spreads in the new homeland, relocation diffusion occurs between the two cultures.

An example is the migration of Christianity with European settlers who came to America. Another example would be the relocation of diseases through the migration of disease carriers. For religions, another example would be Hinduism, which originated in central Asia but is now predominantly found in India.

3. Hierarchical Diffusion

Hierarchical diffusion occurs when ideas are transferred from one important person to another or from one urban center to another, bypassing other people or territories.

We can see hierarchical diffusion by observing the acceptance of new modes of dress or foods. The cultural item spreads from the social elites downward. We can see examples of hierarchical diffusion in all advertisements that involve celebrities.

An example would be the spread of sushi restaurants from Japan in the 1970s. In the United States, the first sushi restaurants appeared in the major cities of Los Angeles and New York.

Only gradually, during the 1980s and 1990s, did sushi become more common in the less urbanized parts of the country (Domosh et al., 2011, p. 11).

Another example would be the spread of fashion from Paris. Brands like Celine, Saint Laurent, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior, Balzac, etc., all come from Paris. Brands like these, to a large extent, determine what becomes fashionable and when.  

4. Contagious Diffusion

Contagious diffusion differs from hierarchical diffusion because it is not a top-down process. It involves the spread of cultural items like a contagious virus, moving throughout society without regard to hierarchies.

Hierarchical and contagious diffusion often work together. It can be understood through the analogy of the spread of a virus. Some diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, can spread both hierarchically and contagiously.

That means they can first spread in urban centers, then move to rural areas, while at the same time having no regard for social hierarchies (Domosh et al., 2011, p. 11).

This type of cultural diffusion necessarily requires person-to-person contact. This can be physical or not, frequent or infrequent, and so on. Not being influenced by social hierarchies is not a necessary characteristic of contagious diffusion.

Examples of contagious diffusion include the spread of any cultural item where people often apply the term viral. Examples include viral videos, viral images, and viral memes.

Another example would be the spread of religion. As we saw before, religions can spread through relocation diffusion but can also be contagious. For example, when missionaries spread religion through face-to-face contact with others, often converting locals from their ethnic religions .

5. Stimulus Diffusion

Stimulus diffusion occurs when culture changes as it spreads to new areas. The further a culture or a cultural item spreads, the more it changes.

This type of cultural diffusion can be seen as the foundation for the theories of hyperdiffusionism. Hyperdiffusionism postulates that all major inventions and cultures can be traced back to a single culture (Fritze, 1993, p. 70).

For example, Grafton Elliot Smith asserted that knowledge concerning copper production spread from Egypt to the rest of the world. He claimed that all major inventions originated in ancient Egypt (Gaillard, 2004, p. 48). This theory has since been abandoned.

Sometimes a specific trait is rejected, but the underlying idea is accepted, resulting in stimulus diffusion.

An example would be the domestication of reindeer by the Siberians. The Siberians domesticated reindeer only after they observed that other cultures had domesticated cattle.

They had no use for cattle, but the idea of domesticating herds of animals appealed to them, and they began domesticating reindeer, an animal they had long hunted (Domosh et al., 2011, pp. 11-12).

Definition of Cultural Diffusion

Cultural diffusion denotes the spread of cultural items within or between cultures. Such items include ideas, styles, religions, technologies, languages, fashion, etc.

The term (from Latin diffundere – “to pour out, to spread”) was first introduced in anthropology and sociology by the German ethnologist and archaeologist Leo Frobenius in his work Der westafrikanische Kulturkreis (Frobenius, 1897).

According to this theory, the evolution of human cultures does not follow a monolinear evolutionary logic but a multilinear one: cultures develop their separate sets of knowledge and then interact with each other.

A basic assumption of these research approaches is that cultural innovations are rarely invented everywhere at the same time.

Such innovations are typically born in one culture and then spread to other cultures. Accordingly, similarities between different cultures are typically a result of their contact with each other.

The theory of cultural diffusion developed in the nineteenth century as a reaction against evolutionism and played an important part in German-language ethnology. In the English-speaking world, this theoretical approach became known as the German School (Heidemann, 2011).

Cultural diffusion denotes the spread of cultural items within or between cultures. Such items include ideas, styles, religions, technologies, languages, fashion, and so on. Social scientists generally identify three mechanisms through which cultural diffusion takes place and six types of cultural diffusion.

Domosh, M., Neumann, R. P., Price, P. L., & Jordan-Bychkov, T. G. (2011). The Human Mosaic: A Cultural Approach to Human Geography . W. H. Freeman.

Fritze, R. H. (1993). Legend and Lore of the Americas Before 1492: An Encyclopedia of Visitors, Explorers, and Immigrants . ABC-CLIO.

Frobenius, L. (1897). Der westafrikanische Kulturkreis . Petermanns Mitteilungen.

Gaillard, G. (2004). The Routledge Dictionary of Anthropologists . Psychology Press.

Heidemann, F. (2011). Ethnologie: Eine Einführung (1. Aufl.). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Tio Gabunia (B.Arch, M.Arch)

Tio Gabunia is an academic writer and architect based in Tbilisi. He has studied architecture, design, and urban planning at the Georgian Technical University and the University of Lisbon. He has worked in these fields in Georgia, Portugal, and France. Most of Tio’s writings concern philosophy. Other writings include architecture, sociology, urban planning, and economics.

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Chris Drew (PhD)

This article was peer-reviewed and edited by Chris Drew (PhD). The review process on Helpful Professor involves having a PhD level expert fact check, edit, and contribute to articles. Reviewers ensure all content reflects expert academic consensus and is backed up with reference to academic studies. Dr. Drew has published over 20 academic articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education and holds a PhD in Education from ACU.

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