Spatial Concepts
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| absolute location/ˈæbsəluːt ləʊˈkeɪʃn/ | An exact address — latitude and longitude. |
| relative location/ˈrelətɪv ləʊˈkeɪʃn/ | The position of a place described through its relationships with other places, such as direction, travel time or accessibility. |
| space-time compression/speɪs taɪm kəmˈpreʃn/ | The shrinking of the *felt* distance between places. |
| distance decay/ˈdɪstəns dɪˈkeɪ/ | The tendency for interaction or influence between places to weaken as distance or the difficulty of travel increases. |
| spatial pattern/ˈspeɪʃl ˈpætn/ | The arrangement of features or activities across an area, such as clustering, dispersion or a regular distribution. |
| clustered/ˈklʌstəd/ | Grouped closely together rather than spread evenly or randomly across an area. |
| dispersed/dɪˈspɜːst/ | Spread across an area or among separate locations rather than concentrated together. |
Two ways to give a location
- Absolute location 绝对位置 is an exact address — latitude and longitude.
- Relative location 相对位置 describes a place by what is near it ("north of the river").
- Both are useful: GPS needs absolute, but people think in relative.
Distance is not just kilometres
- Absolute distance is measured in kilometres or miles.
- Relative distance is measured in time, cost, or effort.
- Two places close in km can be far apart in time if the road is bad.
Absolute or relative?
Sort each description as absolute or relative location/distance.
"Two hours by train from the city" is an example of...
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Measured in time, not km — that is relative distance.
The world feels smaller
- Space-time compression 时空压缩 is the shrinking of the felt distance between places.
- Faster transport and instant communication cause it.
- Distance decay 距离衰减 means interaction between places weakens as distance grows.
Distance decay means places interact more the farther apart they are.
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Distance decay is the opposite: interaction weakens as distance grows.
The shrinking of felt distance as transport and communication improve is space-time ____.
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Space-time compression collapses relative distance, not absolute distance.
Match each concept to its meaning.
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Absolute = coordinates; distance decay = weaker links far away; compression = smaller felt world.
Do not confuse absolute and relative distance. New York and London are thousands of km apart (absolute) but only ~7 hours by plane (relative). A village 50 km away up a mountain road may take longer to reach — relative distance can flip the ranking.
Patterns in space
- A spatial pattern 空间格局 is how things are arranged on the land.
- Points can be clustered 聚集, dispersed 分散, or linear (along a line).
- Naming the pattern is the first step in explaining why it is there.
Select all true statements.
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The first three are correct; space-time compression changes relative, not absolute, distance.
Because of space-time compression, a video call to a friend overseas is instant, while a letter once took weeks. The absolute distance has not changed at all — only the relative distance, measured in time, has collapsed.
Absolute location/distance is exact (lat-long, km); relative is described by nearby places and measured in time/cost. Space-time compression shrinks felt distance; distance decay weakens interaction over distance. A spatial pattern (clustered, dispersed, linear) is where explanation begins.
Write from an absolute location
- A warehouse is at 34 degrees north and 118 degrees west.
- A driver also describes it as 20 minutes north of the port.
Which description is absolute location?
Latitude and longitude fix a point without referring to another place.
Which is an absolute location?
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Only the coordinates are independent of another place.