EUROPE I
(CHAPTER 1: 42-58)
MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC
QUALITIES
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Western extremity of Eurasia
Lingering world influence
High degrees of specialization
Manufacturing dominance
Numerous nation-states
Urbanized population
High standards of living
REGIONS OF THE REALM
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Western Europe
Eastern Europe
British Isles
Northern Europe
Mediterranean Europe
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PHYSICAL
LANDSCAPES
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Alpine System
Western Uplands
Central Uplands
North European
Lowland
RELATIVE LOCATION
• At the heart of the land hemisphere
• Maximum efficiency for contact with the
rest of the world
• Every part of Europe is close to the sea.
• Navigable waterways
• Moderate distances
RELATIVE LOCATION
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AGRARIAN REVOLUTION
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Began in Europe in the 1750s
Based on new agricultural innovations
Enabled increased food production
Enabled sustained population increase
VON THUNEN’S
ISOLATED STATE
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A classic model in geography
Fashioned in 1826 to explain the economic
patterns developing in Europe
Based on four concentric land use rings
surrounding a market place
Land use was a function of transportation
costs.
The Isolated State became the foundation for
modern location theory.
VON THUNEN’S
ISOLATED STATE
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INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
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Developed in the UK between 1750-1850
Evolved from technical innovations that occurred
in British industry
Proved to be a major catalyst towards
increased urbanization
Produced a distinct spatial pattern in Europe
INDUSTRIAL LOCATION
THEORY
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Alfred Weber published his work in 1909.
Examined the influences that affect industrial
location
Focused on activities that occur at specific
points
Identified agglomerative and deglomerative
forces
AREAL FUNCTIONAL
SPECIALIZATION
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Particular peoples and particular places
concentrating on the production of particular
goods
Roman Empire
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Parts of North Africa - granaries
Elba produced iron ore.
Southern Spain mined and exported silver and lead.
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SPATIAL INTERACTION
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Movement across geographic space
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Involves contact of people in two or more places
for the purposes of exchanging goods or ideas
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Principles
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Complementarity
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Transferability
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Intervening opportunity
COMPLEMENTARITY
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Two places, through an exchange of goods, can
specifically satisfy each other’s demands.
One area has a surplus of an item demanded by
a second area.
Germany
Italy
COMPLEMENTARITY
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TRANSFERABILITY
• The ease with which a commodity may be
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transported or the capacity to move a good
at a bearable cost
Rivers, mountain passes, road networks
Advances in transportation technology
INTEREVENING OPPORTUNITY
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The presence of a nearer source of supply or
opportunity that acts to diminish the
attractiveness of more distant sources and sites
Would Austrian beer
be cheaper to import
into Italy?
URBAN TRADITION
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Urbanization
Related concepts
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Primate city
Metropolis
CBD
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POPULATION DENSITY
EUROPE
Population Density: 256 persons per square mile
Urbanization: 73%
CITY
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The term is a political designation.
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Refers to a municipal entity that is governed by
some kind of administrative organization
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The largest cities (especially capitals) are…
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the foci of the state
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complete microcosms of their national
cultures
PRIMATE CITIES
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A country’s largest city
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Jefferson’s criteria:
- Always disproportionately larger than the second
largest urban center -- more than twice the size
- Expressive of the national culture
- Usually (but not always) the capital
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Examples: Paris, London, Athens
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METROPOLITAN COMPLEXES
Older Core
or
Central City
The “Burbs”
Outer Suburban City
EUROPEAN versus AMERICAN CITIES
Similarities:
•Central core
•Suburban ring
EUROPEAN versus AMERICAN CITIES
Differences:
•High suburban density
•Apartments
•Public transportation
•Land scarcity
•Centralized Urban planning
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EUROPE’S
CHANGING POPULATION
• Falling share of the world’s population
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Fertility at an all-time low
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Fewer young people
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Smaller working age population
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Boom & bust age-dependent
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Immigration partially offsetting losses
EUROPE I
(CHAPTER 1: 42-58)
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