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Lesson 6 Human Environment Systems

Human-environment systems is an interdisciplinary field that studies the complex interactions between human and natural systems. Human systems include institutions like government policies, agriculture, and industry, while environmental systems include biodiversity, climate patterns, and animal and plant life. The central idea is that human activity shapes the environment and vice versa. One can see how policies and laws affect things like soil erosion, extinction, and pollution. The document also defines key concepts in human-environment systems such as sense of place, mental maps, and spatial distribution and processes. It is criticized for its potentially deterministic views of social issues.

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Karl Andrei Reyes
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119 views14 pages

Lesson 6 Human Environment Systems

Human-environment systems is an interdisciplinary field that studies the complex interactions between human and natural systems. Human systems include institutions like government policies, agriculture, and industry, while environmental systems include biodiversity, climate patterns, and animal and plant life. The central idea is that human activity shapes the environment and vice versa. One can see how policies and laws affect things like soil erosion, extinction, and pollution. The document also defines key concepts in human-environment systems such as sense of place, mental maps, and spatial distribution and processes. It is criticized for its potentially deterministic views of social issues.

Uploaded by

Karl Andrei Reyes
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Human-Environment

Systems
Human-Environment Systems

 Interdisciplinary approaches which


study the complex interactions among
human and environment systems.
Human-Environment Systems

Human systems are the various


institutions and activities humans created
in society. These systems include
government policies, industrial waste
management, agriculture, urbanization,
culture, and tradition.
Human-Environment Systems

On the other hand, environment systems


include the biodiversity of Earth, global
weather systems, landscapes, and animal
and plant life, among others.
Human-Environment Systems
The idea of human-environment systems holds that
society shapes nature and that nature shapes
society.
What we do to the environment affects and changes
us.
One could see how human systems affect environment
systems by looking at our laws and policies.
Key Concepts of Human-
Environment Systems
Key Concepts of Human-Environment Systems

1. Sense of Place
2. Mental Map
3. Primary Landscapes
4. Spatial Distribution and Spatial Process
1. Sense of Place
Itrefers to the development of meaning or
association with a given location.
Itis a sense of belonging or identity, which
is developed through the community that
occupies it, its landscape features, and the
emotions it brings.
2. Mental Map
It refers to the mental representation of things and people of a
given location.
A mental map is formed by the memory’s identification of the
physical characteristics and features of a particular place.
Over time, mental maps change as new experiences of the place
are acquired directly or indirectly from how others would
describe a place or by watching travel shows.
A better focus of the mental map is also reached when objects
and people are associated to the place.
4. Spatial Distribution and Spatial Process
Spatialdistribution refers to the distribution of anything that exists
on Earth that can be mapped out and is observable through spatial
processes.
Spatialdistribution maps out natural and physical aspects such as
temperature, weather, and cities. It observes cultural aspects such as
language, nationality, gender, and religion.
It also studies the distribution of how human systems affect
environmental systems such as soil erosion, animal and plant
extinction due to deforestation, and air pollution due to factory fumes.
4. Spatial Distribution and Spatial Process
Spatial Process is the underlying structure
responsible for the spatial distribution of things.
For example, the physical distribution of mountain
ranges can be attributed to tectonic shifts, while their
cultural distribution can be attributed to
technological systems affecting human needs.
Criticisms and Limitations
Criticisms and Limitations
The human-environment systems theory is
criticized because of its deterministic approach
in understanding social phenomena.
This determinism could be seen in Hardin’s
work, which highlighted population as the main
cause of social issues.
Thank You 

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