A geographical space is a place inhabited or transformed by man.
From the Latin spatium , space is a term with multiple meanings. It may be the extension that contains the existing matter , the part that a sensitive object occupies or the capacity of a land or place.
Geographic , on the other hand, comes from geographicus and refers to that belonging to or related to geography (the science that is dedicated to the description of the Earth ).
The notion of geographical space , then, is used by geography to name the space organized by a society . It is an extension in which human groups coexist and interrelate with the environment.
What is a geographical space
It is any place that is inhabited, modified or transformed by humans with the aim of obtaining some benefit, of satisfying our various needs, such as food, housing, clothing and leisure, as well as the results of such transformations over time.
Geographic space is a social construction that can be studied in its various manifestations (such as natural landscape, urban landscape, industrial landscape, etc.).
The French geographer Jean Tricart (1920-2003) defined geographical space as the “epidermis of the planet Earth” , which can be analyzed according to its spatial system (location) or its environmental system (ecology).
History and organization
It is important to highlight that every geographical space is the result of history, since each society has its own way of organization and leaves its traces on the landscape. Geographic space, therefore, depends on the historical process.
In certain places it is possible to see a superposition of geographical spaces, with vestiges that date back to prehistory and various marks that were generated throughout history .
Geographic spaces may overlap.
The geographical space controlled under an administrative order is known as territory and can be made up of various entities, such as municipalities, counties, provinces or regions.
It is worth mentioning that for a geographical space to exist there must be, first of all, a natural space that serves as a point of settlement and development for a society. Over the years, actions such as felling trees, pruning, diverting water currents and constructing buildings, among many other ways in which human beings modify everything in their path, natural space becomes becomes geographical.
Geographic space, nature and economy
Geographic space is not something static; On the contrary, given our nature and the fact that we never stop having needs, the transformations that we carry out in it are continuous and changing, which responds directly to the inevitable cultural evolution. It arises from the relationship between two essential elements for our lives: nature and society. These two, in turn, give rise to the economy.
Natural elements are the set of all creations of nature, such as seas, rivers, relief, vegetation, various animal species and natural disasters; social include organized groups of people (people), religion, culture and politics; The economic ones are the result of the imposition of the social on nature, and represent the main cause of modifications to the natural space.
The main economic activities carried out by societies are livestock farming, agriculture, banking, mining, fishing, industry, commercial networks, transportation and the provision of services .
Although the three elements just mentioned are always found, not all geographical spaces are the same, since each of these variables can present an endless number of particularities. Furthermore, in each space there may be a different percentage of nature, society and economy; In other words, the predominance of each element also varies in each particular case.