A body of thought that emphasizes that humans and nonhumans are linked together in a dynamic set of relations that, in turn, influence human behavior

A situation in which one place or region can supply the demand for resources or goods in another place or region

A subfield within human geography that studies the relationship between people and the natural environment

The collection of structures, fields, or other features that result from human transformation of the natural environment; any landscape created or modified by people

A social creation consisting of the shared meanings, beliefs and practices. Culture is dynamic rather than fixed, and is a complex system that is shaped by people and, in turn, influences them

the tapering off of a process, pattern, or event over a distance

The arrangement of phenomena on or near the Earth's surface

The first, and oldest, theory of cultural ecology maintains that natural factors control the development of human physiological and mental qualities

An area that possesses one or more unifying physical or cultural traits; can be found on a map, but does not have to be contiguous

An area that is unified by a specific economic, political, or social activity and possesses at least one node

The greater interconnectedness and interdependence of people and places around the world

The branch of geography centered on the study of people, places, spatial variation in human activities, and the relationship between people and the environment

A situation in which a different location can provide a desired good more economically than another location

In one sense, the physical environment that is external to people, but also a social construction derived from ideas that people have about the physical environment

The discredited idea that culture is completely independent of (and superior to) nature, and that societies "closer to nature" (non-western cultures) are inferior to "more developed" (western) cultures

An area that people perceive to exist because they identify with it, have an attachment to it, or imagine it in a certain way; location on a map varies, depending upon personal perception

A locality distinguished by specific physical and social characteristics

the first reaction to environmental determinism is the theory that people use their creativity to decide how to respond to the conditions or constraints of a particular natural environment

The study of the cultural, economic, political, physical, or other factors that contribute to the distinctiveness of geographical areas

Acquiring information about something that is located at a distance from you

The physical characteristics of a place, such as its topography, vegetation, and water resources

The geographic context of a place, including its political, economic, social, or other characteristics (this can be thought of as the location of a place relative to other place and the geographical features around it)

A bounded (absolute) or unbounded (relative) area

The degree to which two or more phenomena share similar distributions

The movement of a phenomenon, such as an innovation, information, or an epidemic, across space and over time

The connections and relations that develop among places and regions as a result of the movement or flow of people, goods, or information

Changes in the distribution of a phenomenon from one place or area to another

The process by which places seem to become closer together in both time and space as a result of innovations in transportation and communication that weaken the barrier or friction of distance

The cost of moving a good and the ability of the good to withstand that cost

the diffusion of American brands, values, and attitudes throughout the world

Entity consisting of individuals or businesses that control the production or sale of a commodity or

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The conversion of an object, a concept, or a procedure once not available for purchase into a good or service that can be bought or sold

A belief, associated with the rationality doctrine and cultural superiority, that the spread of Western

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The process through which multinational corporations transfer money from their home countries to

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The idea that global and local forces interact and that both are changed in the process

Traditional Maori dance from New Zealand

The tangible and visible artifacts, implements, and structures created by people

the standardization of eating habits (specifically through the consumption of fast food on-the-go, out of boxes or paper wrappers

A renewed interest in sustaining and promoting the uniqueness of a place

The oral traditions, behavioral practices, and other non-tangible components of a cultural group's way of life, including recipes, songs, or philosophies

the loss of the unique character of different places and the increasing standardization of places and cultural landscapes that is often attributed to the diffusion of popular culture

The number of people under the age of 15 and over the age of 65 as a proportion of the working age

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Land suitable for agriculture

The number of people the Earth can support at a comfortable standard of living given current

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The annual number of births per 1000 people

The annual number of deaths per 1000 people

The out-migration or departure of people from a location

The in-migration or arrival of people at a location

Favorable conditions or attributes of a place that attract migrants

Unfavorable conditions or attributes of a place that encourage migration

The cash, goods, or other in-kind transfers sent by immigrants to family members or relatives in their

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The average number of children a woman is expected to have during her childbearing years (between the ages of 15 and 49), given current birth rates

A particular variety of a language characterized by distinctive vocabulary, grammar, and/or pronunciation

A place or region where an innovation, idea, belief, or cultural practice begins

A system of communication based on symbols that have agreed-upon meanings

A collection of languages that share a common but distant ancestor

The ability of speakers of different but related languages to understand one another

A language a country formally designates for use in its political, legal, and administrative affairs

The belief that there is no deity

A hierarchical form of social stratification historically associated with Hinduism

A set of beliefs and practices that takes shape when religious notions, symbols, and rituals infuse the political culture of an area, as for example when people share the collective belief that a country's constitution is sacred

The scattering of a people through forced migration

A church with 2000 or more members that follows mainline or Renewalist Christian theologies

The belief in or devotion to a single deity

The belief in or devotion to multiple deities

A branch of Christianity that includes the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements

Behavior, often regularly practiced, that has personal and symbolic meaning

a place that has special religious significance and meaning that makes it worthy of reverence or

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The process by which people come to associate a place or site with sacredness; the making of a

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A process that reduces the scope or influence of religion

The government-sponsored policy of racial segregation and discrimination that came to define South Africa and regulated the social relations and opportunities of its citizens

Occurs when people assign a certain quality or identity to others

Communication that provides insight on social values, attitudes, priorities, and ways of understanding the world

People who share a collective identity that may derive from common ancestry, history, language or religion

The cultural or social characteristics society associates with being female or male

The conventional, binary division of the sexes based on clearly defined masculine and feminine gender roles

A system of ideas, beliefs, and values that justifies the views, practices, or orientation of a group

A situation in which the policies, practices, or laws of an organization or government disadvantage people because of their cultural differences

The mistaken idea that one or more genetic traits can be used to identify distinctive and exclusive categories of people; hence, race is today understood to be a social construction

A basis for personal and social identity that stems from sexual orientation, attitudes, desires, and practices

An event or a circumstance that weakens a state's social and political fabric

An event or a circumstance that helps bind together the social and political fabric of a state

The hostility and rivalry that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union from the mid-1940s to the late 1980s

A form of imperialism in which a state takes possession of a foreign territory, occupies it, and governs it

A supranational organization that has enlarged considerably since its establishment in western Europe and is characterized by a significant degree of both economic and political integration among its members

The process of manipulating voting district boundaries to give an advantage to a particular political party or group

imperialism One state's exercise of direct or indirect control over the affairs of another political society

state A state whose population consists of two or more nations

A sizable group of people with shared political aspirations whose collective identity is rooted in a common history, heritage, and attachment to a specific territory

Supreme authority of a state over its own affairs and freedom from control by outside forces

An internationally recognized political unit with a permanently populated territory, defined boundaries, and a government with sovereignty over its domestic and international affairs

Strong attachment to or defensive control of a place or an area

The part of the downtown where major office and retail activities are clustered

The area enclosed by the legal boundaries of a city

A settlement that provides goods and services for its residents and its surrounding trade or market area

An area characterized by a lack of affordable, fresh, and nutritious foods

A large population center (50,000 people minimum) and the adjacent zones that are socially and economically connected to it, such as the places from which people commute

An area of a city characterized by overcrowding, makeshift or dilapidated housing, and little or no access to basic infrastructure and services such as clean water and waste disposal

A process that occurs when the rate at which land is urbanized greatly exceeds the rate of population growth in a given period of time, leading to the spread of low-density land use

The residential and/or commercial areas that have grown outside the city limits but are connected to the central city, often by commuting patterns

Less formally, land that has been developed for commercial, residential, or industrial purposes. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the territory, usually the central city plus adjacent suburbs, that has at least 50,000 people and a population density of 1000 people or more per square mile

The total monetary value of goods and services produced within a country's geographic borders in a year

The total monetary value of goods and services produced in a year by a country, whether those operations are located within the country or abroad

Implying or attempting to establish a norm; expressing value judgments or telling people what to do (rather than merely describing that which is happening)

Insufficient income to purchase the basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter