Revision: Fundamentals of Human Geography >> Human Geography - Nature and Scope Geography Commerce (English Medium) Class 12 CBSE

Human geography is defined as “the relationship between the physical/natural and the human worlds, the spatial distribution of human phenomenon and how they come about, the social and economic difference between different parts of the world.”

According to Ratzel “Human geography is the synthetic study of relationship between human societies and earth’s surface.”

According to Ellen C. Semple “Human geography is the study of the changing relationships between the unresting man and unstable earth.”

According to Paul Vidal de la Blache “Conception resulting from a more synthetic knowledge of the physical laws governing our earth and of the relations between the living beings which inhabit it.”

• “Human geography is the synthetic study of relationship between human societies and earth’s surface”.   Ratzel
  Synthesis has been emphasised in the above definition.
• “Human geography is the study of the changing relationship between the unresting man and the unstable earth.”   Ellen C. Semple
  Dynamism in the relationship is the keyword in Semple’s definition.
• “Conception resulting from a more synthetic knowledge of thephysical laws governing our earth and of the relations between the living beings which inhabit it”.  Paul Vidal de la Blache
  Human geography offers a new conception of the interrelationships between earth and human beings.

• Human Geography studies the relationship between the physical environment and the socio-cultural environment created by humans.
• Humans create cultural landscape (houses, cities, roads, industries, farms, ports, etc.) using natural resources.
• Environmental Determinism – In early times, humans were controlled by nature due to low technology and adapted to natural conditions.
• Possibilism – Nature provides opportunities, and humans use technology to modify and utilise nature for development.
• Neodeterminism (Stop and Go Determinism) – A middle path; humans can develop but within environmental limits without damaging nature.
• Excessive human control over nature has led to problems like global warming, ozone depletion, and environmental degradation.
• Different schools of thought in Human Geography:
  a) Welfare approach – Focus on health, housing, education.
  b) Radical approach – Studies inequality and poverty using Marxist ideas.
  c) Behavioural approach – Focus on human perception and lived experiences.