Thinking Like a Geographer - Geography - page 22

as in Africa, choices must be made. Looking at the locations of animals and their habitats and think-
ing geographically about them help clarify the issues and processes that are involved and encourage
informed decision-making.
Summing up
The answer to our geographical question (Where are African lions located and why?) is that lions are
located in the parts of Africa shown on Figure 2-1 mainly because of habitat reduction that is human
in origin. After posing the question, we analyzed geographic information that led to the answer, after
which we pondered the implications of our findings to wildlife conservation elsewhere in the world.
All in all, the focus was on thinking geographically so as to understand where things (African lions)
are located.
Case study #2: Where something should be located
Where should a gas station be located, and why? Those questions are central to our second case study.
Thinking geographically about where something should be located has many important and useful
applications. For example, consider the occupational endeavors called planning. That includes urban
planning, regional planning, and transportation planning, to name just three. All are intimately con-
cerned with the question of where things should be located. The business world also provides lots
of useful applications. Choosing a good location is often an important determinant of whether an en-
terprise succeeds or fails. The questions posed previously call for a business decision based on the
process of thinking geographically.
In this case study, assume that you want to go into the gas station business. Therefore, your relevant
geographic question is “Where should my gas station be located?”
Similar to the first case study, I'd love to have you go around town and acquire pertinent geographic
information. That would include finding prospective sites for your gas station, and identifying the
factors that appear to be contributing to the success of existing gas stations that clearly are doing a
lot of business. The latter is important because it helps you choose the prospective site that offers the
best chance for success. But that's a bit much to ask. So once again, assume that the footwork has
been done, that relevant geographic information has been acquired, and that it has been organized in
ways that include a map (which happens to be Figure 2-2).
The map shows two land parcels that are indicated by “A” and “B”. Assume each has an identical
size, an affordable price, a busy thoroughfare alongside, and that other prospective sites for your gas