Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 3
The human dimension:
people in their places
Human geography has moved through a series of changes in
approach and content to a point where it is now extremely diverse.
These qualities raise challenges of focus and defi nition but also
introduce a rich range of topics, innovations, and subject matter.
The study of human geography once had a clear and unambiguous
meaning. It was concerned, in particular, with the ways in
which people occupied the surface of the Earth: the patterns of
settlement that emerged, the human landscapes that evolved, the
movements of human populations that occurred, and the 'order'
that became apparent. When the question arose of explanation to
clarify issues such as why cities were located in particular places or
why there were high concentrations of population in some parts
of the world and great voids in others, the answers were usually
sought fi rstly in the natural environments and secondly in history.
These initially served the purpose but became constraints upon
human geography and its relative paucity of good theory. Whereas
the subject matter and the questions were valid, the sources of
explanation were far from complete and excluded huge areas that
have now become central concerns of human geographers.
Changing approaches: rocking the traditional boat
One of the early grand theories, environmental determinism,
exemplifi ed the emphasis on the natural environment in
