EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor
Barney Warf
University of Kansas

Associate Editors
Piotr Jankowski
San Diego State University

Barry D. Solomon
Michigan Technological University

Mark Welford
Georgia Southern University

Managing Editor
Jonathan Leib
Old Dominion University
Copyright © 2010 by SAGE Publications, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Encyclopedia of geography, volume I - VI / edited by Barney Warf.

6 v., p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4129-5697-0 (cloth)
1. Geography—Encyclopedias. I. Warf, Barney, 1956-

G63.E554 2010
910.3—dc22 2010009453

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

10 11 12 13 14 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Cover Designer: Ravi Balasuriya
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Volume 4 cover photo: Fishing boats and cargo ship in Guayacan Harbor, Chile. © iStockphoto.com/TimAbbot.
CONTENTS List of Entries
vii

Entries
J 1641

4
K 1647
L 1675
M 1811
N 1971
O 2057
P 2111
 LIST OF ENTRIES

Abler, Ronald Air Pollution. See Atmospheric Arid Topography

Absolute Space Pollution Aristotle
Accessibility Albedo Armstrong, Marc
Acid Rain al-Idrisi Art and Geography
Actor-Network Theory Altitude Asia-Pacific Economic
Adaptation to Climate Change Ambient Air Quality Cooperation
Adaptive Harvest Management American Geographical Society Association of American
Adaptive Radiation Analytical Operations in GIS Geographers
Adiabatic Temperature Anarchism and Geography Association of Geographic
Changes Anaximander Information Laboratories
Aerial Imagery: Data Animal Geographies for Europe
Aerial Imagery: Interpretation Annales School Association of Southeast Asian
African Union Anselin, Luc Nations
Agamben, Giorgio Antevs, Ernst Atmospheric Circulation
Agent-Based Models Anthropogenic Atmospheric Atmospheric Composition and
Agglomeration Economies Change. See Anthropogenic Structure
Aging and the Aged, Climate Change; Atmospheric Energy Transfer
Geography of. See Elderly, Stratospheric Ozone Atmospheric Moisture
Geography and the Depletion Atmospheric Particulates
Agnew, John Anthropogenic Climate Change Across Scales
Agricultural Biotechnology Anthropogeography Atmospheric Pollution
Agricultural Intensification Antiglobalization Atmospheric Pressure
Agricultural Land Use Antipodes Atmospheric Remote Sensing
Agriculture, Industrialized Antisystemic Movements Atmospheric Variations
Agriculture, Preindustrial Applied Geography in Energy
Agrobiodiversity Appropriate Technology. See Atoll
Agrochemical Pollution Sustainable Development; Automobile Industry
Agroecology Sustainable Development Automobility
Agrofoods Alternatives; Sustainable Avalanches
Agroforestry Production Aviation and Geography
AIDS, Geography of. See Aquaculture
Disease, Geography of; Archipelago Barrier Islands
HIV/AIDS, Geography of Architecture and Geography Barrows, Harlan
Air Masses Argumentation Maps Basin and Range Topography
k^^
k^^^ L IS T O F EN T RIE S

Batty, Michael Business Models for Class, Geography and

Bayesian Statistics in Spatial Geographic Information Class, Nature and
Analysis Systems Client-Server Architecture
Behavioral Geography Buttimer, Anne Climate: Dry
Berkeley School Climate: Midlatitude, Mild
Berry, Brian Cadastral Systems Climate: Midlatitude, Severe
Bhopal, India, Chemical CAD Systems Climate: Mountain
Disaster Câmara, Gilberto Climate: Polar
Biblical Mapping Canadian Association of Climate: Tropical Humid
Biodiversity Geographers Climate Change
Biofuels Cancer, Geography of Climate Policy
Biogeochemical Cycles Carbonation Climate Types
Biogeography Carbon Cycle Climatic Relict
Biome: Boreal Forest Carbon Trading and Carbon Climatology
Biome: Desert Offsets Clouds
Biome: Midlatitude Deciduous Carcinogens Clusters
Forest Carrying Capacity Coal
Biome: Midlatitude Grassland Cartograms Coastal Dead Zones
Biome: Tropical Deciduous Cartography Coastal Erosion and Deposition
Forest Cartography, History of Coastal Hazards
Biome: Tropical Rain Forest Castells, Manuel Coastal Zone and Marine
Biome: Tropical Savanna Caverns Pollution
Biome: Tropical Scrub Cellular Automata Cold War, Geography of
Biome: Tundra Census Collaborative GIS
Biophysical Remote Sensing Census Tracts Colonialism
Bioregionalism Centers of Domestication Color in Map Design
Biosphere Reserves Central Business District Columbus, Christopher
Biota and Climate Central Place Theory Commodity Chains
Biota and Soils Chemical Spills, Environment, Common Pool Resources
Biota and Topography and Society Common Property Resource
Biota Migration and Chernobyl Nuclear Accident Management
Dispersal Chicago School Commons, Tragedy of the
Biotechnology and Ecological Childhood Spatial and Commonwealth of
Risk Environmental Learning Independent States
Biotechnology Industry Children, Geography of Communications Geography
Biruni Chinooks/Foehns Communism and Geography
Blaikie, Piers Chipko Movement Community-Based
Blaut, James Chlorinated Hydrocarbons Conservation
Blindness and Geography Chlorofluorocarbons Community-Based
Body, Geography of Cholera, Geography of Environmental Planning
Borderlands Chorley, Richard Community-Based Natural
Borders and Boundaries Chorology Resource Management
Bourghassi, Carmina Choropleth Maps Community Forestry
Bowman, Isaiah Chrisman, Nicholas Commuting
Brownfields Christaller, Walter Comparative Advantage
Built Environment Circuits of Capital Competitive Advantage
Bunge, William Citizenship Complexity Theory
Bush Fallow Farming Civil Society Complex Systems Models
Business Cycles and Geography Clark, Andrew Conference of Latin
Business Geography Clark, William Americanist Geographers
 LIST OF EN TRI E S ^m

Conflation Database Management Systems Domestication Centers. See

Conservation Database Versioning Centers of Domestication
Conservation Zoning Data Classification Schemes Domestication of Animals
Consumption, Geographies of Data Compression Methods Domestication of Plants
Continental Drift. See Plate Data Editing Domino Theory
Tectonics Data Format Conversion Dot Density Maps
Cook, Captain James Data Indexing Drought Risk and Hazard
Coordinate Geometry Data Querying in GIS Drugs, Geography of
Coordinate Systems Datums Dunes
Coordinate Transformations Davis, William Morris Dynamic and Interactive
Coral Reef Dear, Michael Displays
Coral Reef Geomorphology Debt and Debt Crisis
Coriolis Force Decolonization Earle, Carville
Corporate Voluntary Deep Ecology Movements Earthquakes
Environmental Initiatives Deforestation Earth’s Coordinate Grid
and Self-Regulation Deindustrialization Eastman, Ronald
Cosgrove, Denis Delta Ecofeminism
Cosmopolitanism Democracy Ecological Economics
Cost-Benefit Analysis Demographic Transition Ecological Fallacy
Council for Mutual Economic Dendrochronology Ecological Footprint
Assistance (COMECON) Dependency Theory Ecological Imaginaries
Countermapping Derechos Ecological Justice
Counterurbanization Desertification Ecological Mapping
Coupled Human and Animal Desert Varnish Ecological Modernization
Systems Deterritorialization and Ecological Regimes
Coupled Human and Natural Reterritorialization Ecological Risk Analysis
Systems Developing World Ecological Services. See
Creep Development Theory Environmental Services
Crime, Geography of Diamond, Jared Ecological Zones
Crisis Diaspora E-Commerce and
Critical Geopolitics Diastrophism Geography
Critical GIS Difference, Geographies of Economic Base Analysis
Critical Human Geography Differential Heating Economic Geography
Critical Studies of Nature Differential Vulnerabilities to Economies of Scale
Crop Genetic Diversity Hazards Economies of Scope
Crop Rotation Diffusion Ecoregions
Cross-Border Cooperation Digital Divide Ecoshed
Cultural Ecology Digital Terrain Model Ecosystem Decay
Cultural Geography Digitizing Ecosystems
Cultural Landscape Disability, Geography of Ecotone
Cultural Turn Disaster Prediction and Ecotourism
Cyberspace Warning Education, Geographies of
Cyborg Ecologies Disaster Preparedness Egenhofer, Max
Cyclones: Extratropical Discourse and Geography Elderly, Geography and the
Cyclones: Occluded Disease, Geography of Electoral Geography
Distance Decay Electronic Atlases
Dangermond, Jack Distributed Computing Electronics Industry,
Darby, Henry Clifford Distribution of Resource Geography of
Darwinism and Geography Access El Niño
Dasymetric Maps Division of Labor Emerging Markets
m L IS T O F EN T RIE S

Emotions, Geography and Environmental Protection Feminist Environmentalism

Empiricism Environmental Racism Feminist Geographies
Endogenous Growth Theory. Environmental Refugees Feminist Methodologies
See Knowledge Spillovers; Environmental Restoration Feminist Political Ecology
Learning Regions Environmental Rights Fertility Rate
Energy and Human Ecology Environmental Security Fieldwork in Human
Energy Models Environmental Services Geography
Energy Policy Environmental Social Fieldwork in Physical
Energy Resources Movements. See International Geography
Enlightenment Environmental Movements Film and Geography
Enterprise GIS Environment and Development Filtering
Environmental Certification Epistemology Filtration
Environmental Determinism Equator Finance, Geography of
Environmental Discourse Equinox Fisher, Peter
Environmental Entitlements Eratosthenes Fish Farming
Environmental Ethics Error Propagation Fjords
Environmental Footprint. Ethics, Geography and Flash Floods
See Ecological Footprint Ethnicity Flexible Production
Environmental History Ethnicity and Nature Flocculation
Environmental Imaginaries Ethnic Segregation Floodplain
Environmental Impact Ethnocentrism Floods
Assessment Eurocentrism Flow
Environmental Impacts of Euromarket Flow Maps
Agriculture European Green Movements Folding
Environmental Impacts of European Union Folk Culture and
Cities Everglades Restoration Geography
Environmental Impacts of Everyday Life, Geography and Food, Geography of
Manufacturing Existentialism and Geography Food and Agriculture
Environmental Impacts of Exotic Species Organization (FAO)
Mining. See Open-Pit Exploration Footprint Analysis.
Mining Exploratory Spatial Data See Ecological Footprint
Environmental Impacts of Analysis Fordism
Oil Fields Export-Led Development Foreign Aid
Environmental Impacts of Export Processing Zones Foreign Direct Investment
Pipelines Externalities Forest Degradation
Environmental Impacts of Extinctions Forest Fragmentation
Roads Extractive Reserves Forest Land Use
Environmental Impacts of Extreme Geography Forest Restoration
Tourism Exurbs Fotheringham, A. Stewart
Environmental Impacts of War Frank, Andrew
Environmental Impact Factors Affecting Location Frontiers
Statement of Firms Fronts
Environmental Justice Fair Trade and Environmental
Environmental Law Certification Gaia Theory
Environmental Management Famine, Geography of Gama, Vasco da
Environmental Management: Faulting Game Ranching
Drylands Fear, Geographies of Gated Community
Environmental Mapping Febvre, Lucien Gays and Lesbians,
Environmental Perception Feminist Environmental Geography and/of
Environmental Planning Geographies Gazetteers
 LIST OF EN TRI E S m^

Gender and Environmental GIS, History of Greenhouse Gases

Hazards GIScience Green Revolution. See
Gender and Geography GIS Design Environmental Impacts of
Gender and Nature GIS Implementation Agriculture
General Circulation Model GIS in Archaeology Gregory, Derek
(GCM). See Anthropogenic GIS in Disaster Response Gross Domestic Product/Gross
Climate Change; GIS in Environmental National Product
Atmospheric Energy Management Ground Reference Data
Transfer; Climate Change GIS in Health Research and Groundwater
Genetically Modified Health Care Growth Machine
Organisms (GMOs) GIS in Land Use Management Growth Poles
Genocide, Geographies of GIS in Local Government Gully Erosion
Gentrification GIS in Public Policy Guyot, Arnold
Geocoding GIS in Transportation
Geocollaboration GIS in Urban Planning Hadley Cell
Geocomputation GIS in Utilities Hägerstrand, Torsten
Geodemographics GIS in Water Management Haggett, Peter
Geodesy GIS Software Hanson, Susan
Geographical Ignorance GIS Web Services Harley, Brian
Geographical Imagination Glaciers: Continental Hartshorne, Richard
Geographically Weighted Glaciers: Mountain Harvey, David
Regression Global Climate Change. Hate, Geographies of
Geographic Information Systems See Anthropogenic Climate Haushofer, Karl
Geography Education Change Hayden, Ferdinand
Geolibraries Global Environmental Health and Health Care,
Geologic Timescale Change Geography of
Geomancy Globalization Heavy Metals as Pollutants
Geometric Correction Global Positioning System Hegemony
Geometric Measures Global Sea-Level Rise Herbicides
Geomorphic Cycle Global Warming. See Herodotus
Geomorphology Anthropogenic Climate Hettner, Alfred
Geophagy Change Heuristic Methods in Spatial
Geopolitics Globes. See Cartography; Analysis
Geosensor Networks Map Projections High-Performance
Geoslavery Glocalization Computing
Geospatial Industry Golledge, Reginald High Technology
Geospatial Semantic Web Goodchild, Michael Hipparchus
Geostatistics Goode, J. Paul Historical Geography
Geothermal Energy Google Earth Historicism
Geothermal Features Gottmann, Jean Historic Preservation
Geovisualization. See Gould, Peter History of Geography. See
Cartography; Dynamic and Governance Cartography, History of;
Interactive Displays; Three- Governmentality and GIS, History of; Human
Dimensional Models Conservation Geography, History of;
Getis, Arthur Gravity Model Physical Geography,
Ghetto Great American Exchange History of
Giddens, Anthony Greenbelts HIV/AIDS, Geography of
Gilbert, Grove Karl Green Building Home
GIS, Environmental Model Green Design and Homelessness
Integration and Development Hou Renzhi
m^^ L IS T O F EN T RIE S

Housing and Housing Markets Indigenous and Community Jackson, John Brinckerhoff
Housing Policy Conserved Areas Jefferson, Thomas
Hoyt, Homer Indigenous Cartographies Johnston, R. J.
Human Dimensions of Global Indigenous Environmental Journey-to-Work. See
Environmental Change Knowledge Commuting
Human Ecology Indigenous Environmental Justice, Geography of
Human Geography, History of Practices
Human-Induced Invasion of Indigenous Forestry Kant, Immanuel
Species Indigenous Reserves Karst Topography
Humanistic Geography Indigenous Water Management Kates, Robert
Humanistic GIScience Industrial Districts Keystone Species
Human Rights, Geography and Industrial Ecology Knowledge, Geography of
Humboldt, Alexander von Industrialization Knowledge Spillovers
Humidity Industrial Revolution Köppen, Wladimir
Hunger Inequality and Geography Köppen-Geiger Climate
Hunting and Gathering Informal Economy Classification
Huntington, Ellsworth Information Society Kropotkin, Peter
Hurricane Katrina Infrastructure Krummholtz
Hurricanes, Physical Innovation, Geography of Kuhn, Werner
Geography of Input-Output Models Kwan, Mei-Po
Hurricanes, Risk and Hazard Institute of British Geographers Kyoto Protocol. See Climate
Hybrid Geographies Interactive Mapping. See Map Policy
Hybridization of Plant and Animation
Animal Species Intergovernmental Labor, Geography of
Hydroelectric Power Environmental Lahar. See Volcanoes
Hydrological Connectivity Organizations and Initiatives Land Degradation
Hydrology International Criminal Court Landfills
Hydrothermal Energy. See International Environmental Landforms
Geothermal Energy Movements Land Reform
International Environmental Landscape and Wildlife
Ibn Battuta NGOs Conservation
Ibn Khaldūn International Geographical Landscape Architecture
Ice Union Landscape Biodiversity
Identity, Geography and International Monetary Fund Landscape Design
Idiographic International Watershed Landscape Ecology
Image Enhancement Management Landscape Interpretation
Image Fusion Internet. See Communications, Landscape Quality
Image Interpretation Geography of; Cyberspace; Assessment
Image Processing Digital Divide; Landscape Restoration
Image Registration Telecommunications and Landslide
Image Texture Geography Land Tenure
Imaging Spectroscopy Internet GIS Land Tenure Reform
Immigration Interoperability and Spatial Land Use
Imperialism Data Standards Land Use Analysis
Impermeable Surfaces Interviewing Land Use and Cover Change
Import Substitution Invasion and Succession (LUCC)
Industrialization Isard, Walter Land Use and Land Cover
Incubator Zones Island Biogeography Mapping
Indigeneity Islands, Small Land Use History
Indigenous Agriculture Isopleth Maps Land Use Planning
 LIST OF EN TRI E S m^^^

Land-Water Breeze Marcus, Melvin G. Multivariate Mapping

Languages, Geography of Marginal Regions Music and Sound, Geography
La Niña Marine Aquaculture and
Lapse Rate Maritime Spaces. See Oceans
Latent Heat Mark, David M. Nation
Latitude Market-Based Environmental National Aeronautics and
Law, Geography of Regulation Space Administration
Learning Regions Marsh, George Perkins (NASA)
Lefebvre, Henri Marxism, Geography and National Center for
Legal Aspects of Geospatial Masculinities and Geography Geographic Information and
Information Massey, Doreen Analysis
Lewis, Peirce Mass Wasting National Council for
Lewis and Clark Expedition Mather, John Russell Geographic Education
Ley, David Maury, Matthew Fontaine National Geographic Society
LiDAR and Airborne Laser McKnight, Tom L. Nationalism
Scanning Media and Geography Natural Growth Rate
Lightning Medical Geography Natural Hazards and Risk
Lillesand, Thomas Meinig, Donald Analysis
Linear Referencing and Mental Maps Nature
Dynamic Segmentation Mercator, Gerardus Nature-Society Theory
Literature, Geography and Metadata Neighborhood
Livingstone, David Metropolitan Area Neocolonialism
Locality Microwave/RADAR Data Neogeography
Locally Unwanted Land Uses Migration Neoliberal Environmental
(LULUs) Military Geography Policy
Location-Allocation Modeling Military Spending Neoliberalism
Location-Based Services Miller, Harvey J. Neo-Malthusianism
Location Quotients Minerals Network Analysis
Location Theory Mining and Geography Network Data Model
Logical Positivism Mitchell, Don New International Division of
Longitude Mixed Farming Labor
Los Angeles School Mobile GIS Newly Industrializing
Lösch, August Mobility Countries
Love Canal Models and Modeling New Urbanism
Lynch, William Modernity Nitrogen Cycle
Modernization Theory Nomadic Herding
MacEachren, Alan Modifiable Areal Unit Problem Nomadism
Mackinder, Sir Halford Money, Geographies of Nomothetic
Magellan, Ferdinand Monmonier, Mark Nongovernmental
Mahan, Alfred Thayer Monsoons Organizations (NGOs)
Malaria, Geography of Morrill, Richard Nonpoint Sources of Pollution
Malthusianism Morse, Jedediah Nonrenewable Resources
Manufacturing Belt Mortality Rate Nonrepresentational Theory
Map Algebra Most Favored Nation Status Nonvisual Geographies
Map Animation Movimento Sem Terra North American Free Trade
Map Design Multimedia Mapping Agreement (NAFTA)
Map Evaluation and Testing Multispectral Imagery North Atlantic Treaty
Map Generalization Multistakeholder Participation Organization (NATO)
Map Projections Multitemporal Imaging Not in My Backyard (NIMBY)
Map Visualization Multivariate Analysis Methods Nuclear Energy
m^k L IS T O F EN T RIE S

Nutrient Cycles Patches and Corridors in Positionality

Nyerges, Timothy Wildlife Conservation Positivism. See Logical
Path Dependence Positivism
Object-Based Image Analysis Patriarchy, Geography and Postcolonialism
Oceanic Circulation Peasants and Peasantry Post-Fordism. See Flexible
Oceans Peat Production
Offshore Finance Pedology. See Soils Postindustrial Society
Oil Spills Peet, Richard Postmodernism
Okabe, Atsuyuki Penck, Walther Poststructuralism
Olsson, Gunnar Periglacial Environments Poverty
Ontological Foundations of Permaculture Powell, John Wesley
Geographical Data Permafrost Prairie Restoration
Ontology Pesticides Prairies
Open Geodata Standards Pest Management Precipitation, Global
Open Geospatial Consortium Petroleum Precipitation Formation
(OGC) Peuquet, Donna Pred, Allan
Open-Pit Mining Phenomenology Primate Cities
Open Source Geospatial Phosphorus Cycle Prime Meridian. See Longitude
Foundation Photochemical Smog Privacy and Security of
Open Source GIS Photogrammetric Methods Geospatial Information
Open Space Photography, Geography and Producer Services
Organic Agriculture Physical Geography, History of Product Cycle
Organisation for Economic Pickles, John Production of Space
Co-operation and Pilgrimage Psychoanalysis, Geography and
Development (OECD) Place Ptolemy
Organization of the Place Names Public Housing
Petroleum Exporting Place Promotion Public Participation GIS
Countries (OPEC) Plantations Public Policy, Geography of
Organophosphates Plate Tectonics Public-Private Partnerships
Orientalism Playas Public Space
Ortelius Point Pattern Analysis Public Water Services
Other/Otherness Point Sources of Pollution Pyrogeography
Outsourcing Poles, North and South
Overpopulation. See Political Ecology Qualitative Methods
Malthusianism; Neo- Political Economy Quantitative Methods
Malthusianism Political Economy of Resources Quantitative Revolution
Political Geography Queer Theory
Palimpsest Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Panchromatic Imagery (PCBs) Race and Empire
Panopticon Popular Culture, Geography and Race and Nature
Parks and Reserves Population and Land Race and Racism
Parsons, James Degradation Racial Segregation
Participant Observation Population and Land Use Radiation: Solar and
Participatory Learning and Population Density Terrestrial
Action Population, Environment, and Radical Geography
Participatory Mapping Development Radiometric Correction
Participatory Planning Population Geography Radiometric Normalization
Participatory Rural Appraisal Population Pyramid Radiometric Resolution
Pastoral Herding. See Nomadic Portolan Charts Railroads and Geography
Herding Ports and Maritime Trade Raisz, Erwin
 LIST OF EN TRI E S mk

Rank-Size Rule Rill Erosion Soil Conservation

Ratzel, Friedrich Risk Analysis and Assessment Soil Degradation
Real Estate, Geography and Ritter, Carl Soil Depletion
Realism Rivers Soil Erosion
Reclus, Élisée Rock Weathering Soils
Recycling of Municipal Solid Rose, Gillian Soja, Edward
Waste Royal Geographical Society Solar Energy
Redistricting Rural Development Solstices
Refugees Rural Geography Sovereignty
Regional Economic Rural-Urban Migration Space, Production of. See
Development Russian Geographical Society Production of Space
Regional Environmental Space of Flows
Planning Satellites and Geography Spaces of Representation/
Regional Geography Sauer, Carl Representational Spaces
Regional Governance Scale, Social Production of Spatial Analysis
Regional Science Scale in GIS Spatial Autocorrelation
Regional Science Association Schaefer, Fred Spatial Cognition
International (RSAI) Science, Technology, and Spatial Cognitive Engineering
Regions and Regionalism Environment Spatial Data Infrastructures
Regulation Theory Science and Technology Studies Spatial Data Integration
Relational Space. See Relative/ Scott, Allen Spatial Data Mining
Relational Space Sedimentary Rock Spatial Data Models
Relative/Relational Space Sedimentation Spatial Data Structures
Religion, Geography and Segregation and Geography Spatial Decision Support
Relph, Edward Self-Organizing Maps Systems
Remittances Semantic Interoperability Spatial Econometrics
Remote Sensing Semantic Reference Systems Spatial Fix
Remote Sensing: Platforms and Semple, Ellen Churchill Spatial Inequality
Sensors Sense of Place Spatial Interaction Models
Remote Sensing in Disaster Sequent Occupance Spatial Interpolation
Response Services. See Producer Services Spatialization
Renewable Resources Settlement Geography Spatially Integrated Social
Rent-Gap Sexuality, Geography and/of Science
Representations of Space Shifting Cultivation Spatial Multicriteria Evaluation
Research and Development, Shortest-Path Problem Spatial Optimization Methods
Geographies of Single Large or Several Small Spatial Resolution
Resilience (SLOSS) Debate Spatial Statistics
Resistance, Geographies of Situated Knowledge Spatial Strategies of
Resource Economics Smart Growth Conservation
Resource Geography Smith, Neil Spatial Turn
Resource Management. See Smog. See Photochemical Smog Species-Area Relationship
Environmental Management Social and Economic Impacts Spectral Characteristics of
Resource Management, of Climate Change Terrestrial Surfaces
Decision Models in Social Construction of Nature Spectral Resolution
Resource Mapping Social Darwinism Spectral Transformations
Resource Tenure Social Forestry Spit. See Coastal Erosion and
Restoration Ecology. See Social Geography Deposition
Environmental Restoration Socialism and Geography Sports, Geography of
Restructuring Social Justice Squatter Settlements
Retail Trade, Geography of Social Movements State
mk^ L IS T O F EN T RIE S

Steel Industry, Geography of Textile Industry United Nations Conference on

Stereoscopy and Orthoimagery Thales Environment and
Storper, Michael Thermal Imagery Development
Strabo Thornthwaite, C. Warren United Nations Environmental
Strahler, Arthur Three-Dimensional Data Summits
Stratospheric Ozone Depletion Models United Nations Environment
Strip Mining Three Mile Island Nuclear Programme (UNEP)
Structural Adjustment Accident United States Census Bureau
Structuralism Thrift, Nigel United States Geological
Structuration Theory Thunderstorms Survey (USGS)
Subaltern Studies Thünen Model University Consortium for
Suburban Land Use Timber Plantations Geographic Information
Suburbs and Suburbanization Time, Geographies of Science
Sui, Daniel Time-Geography Unsupervised Classification
Suitability Analysis Time-Space Compression Unwin, David
Sunbelt T-in-O Maps Urban and Regional
Supervised Classification Tobler, Waldo Development
Supranational Integration Tomlinson, Roger Urban and Regional Planning
Surface Water Topological Relationships Urban Ecology
Surveillance Toponymy Urban Environmental Studies
Surveying Topophilia Urban Gardens
Sustainability Science Tornadoes Urban Geography
Sustainable Agriculture Tourism Urban Green Space
Sustainable Cities Township and Range System Urban Heat Island
Sustainable Development Trade Urban Hierarchy
Sustainable Development Transhumance. See Nomadism Urbanization
Alternatives Transnational Corporation Urban Land Use
Sustainable Fisheries Transnationalism Urban Metabolism
Sustainable Forestry Transportation Geography Urban Planning and
Sustainable Production Trap Streets Geography
Symbolism and Place Travel Writing, Geography and Urban Policy
Symptoms and Effects of Tree Farming Urban Solid Waste
Climate Change Trewartha, Glenn Management
Triangulated Irregular Urban Spatial Structure
Taphonomy Network (TIN) Data Model Urban Sprawl
Taylor, Griffith Troll, Carl Urban Storm Water
Taylor, Peter Tropical Rain Forests. See Management
Technological Change, Biome: Tropical Rain Forest Urban Sustainability
Geography of Tsunami Urban Underclass
Telecommunications and Tsunami of 2004, Indian Urban Water Supply
Geography Ocean Usability of Geospatial
Teleconnections Tuan, Yi-Fu Information
Television and Geography Turner, Billie Lee, II
Temperature Patterns Typhoons. See Hurricanes, Vagueness in Spatial Data
Temporal GIS Physical Geography of Vance, James
Temporal Resolution Typography in Map Design Varenius
Terrain Analysis Vectorization
Territory Underdevelopment Vernacular Landscapes
Terrorism, Geography of Uneven Development as Expressions of
Text/Textuality United Nations Environmental Ideas
 LIST OF EN TRI E S mk^^

Via Campesina (International Water Needs Wine Terroir

Farmers’ Movement) Water Pollution Wise Use Movement
Vidal de la Blache, Paul Watershed Management Wittfogel, Karl
Video Games, Geography and Watershed Yield Wood, Denis
Viewshed Analysis Water Supply Siting and Woodfuel
Virilio, Paul Management Woodlots. See Forest
Virtual and Immersive Watts, Michael Fragmentation
Environments Wayfinding World Bank
Virtual Geographies Weather and Climate World Cities
Virtual Globes Controls World Court
Vision and Geography Weber, Alfred World Health Organization
Volcanic Eruptions as Risk and Web Geoprocessing Workflows (WHO)
Hazard Web Service Architectures for World Summit on Sustainable
Volcanoes GIS Development
Voronoi Diagrams Wetlands World-Systems Theory
Vulnerability, Risks, and Hazards White, Gilbert World Trade Organization
Whiteness (WTO)
Waldseemüller, Martin Whittlesey, Derwent Wright, Dawn
Walker, Richard Wilderness Wright, John Kirtland
War, Geography of Wildfires: Risk and Hazard Writing
Waste Incineration Wilson, John
Wastewater Management Wind Xeriscaping
Water Degradation Wind Energy
Water Management and Wind Erosion Zelinsky, Wilbur
Treatment Wine, Geography of Zoning
 JACKSON, JOHN
J which he edited until 1968. Its influence was far
greater than its narrow label might suggest.
BRINCKERHOFF Numerous well-known geographers contributed
(1909–1996) to it, as did Jackson himself, sometimes using
pseudonyms. Although its subscription base was
small, it played a significant role in popularizing
Although not officially a geographer, J. B. Jack- views of vernacular landscapes, particularly illus-
son was widely revered as an insightful and pro- trating the human role in imposing meaning on
lific analyst of cultural landscapes. Dominating places that might otherwise escape attention.
mid-20th-century scholarship on this topic, he When most academics disdained the vernacular,
was claimed by several disciplines, including land- he celebrated the ordinary and everyday. He
scape architecture, geography, history, literature, focused on American popular landscapes, drawing
and American studies. on his extensive travels across the United States,
Born in France, Jackson spent much of his early including mundane phenomena such as parking
life in Europe, including school in Switzerland, as lots, bus stations, front lawns, roadside restau-
well as the Washington, D.C., area. Later, he went rants, and strip malls, adapting cultural geography
for 1 year to the Experimental College of the Uni- to the age of the automobile. Roads and highways
versity of Wisconsin and then to Harvard, where merited special focus as linkages among places and
he completed his BA in 1932. In the military as communities. His works blended diverse elements
an intelligence officer during World War II, he of landscape architecture, historical preservation,
acquired cartographic skills and a mastery of aerial and urban planning. Through architecture, he
photo interpretation, which likely fueled his inter- held, people organized space and materialized the
est in landscape formation and meaning. Jack- aesthetic. His insights were peppered with a dis-
son’s understanding of cultural landscapes was dain for modernism and a love of the baroque,
derived from several sources, such as the influen- although his work concentrated on the ordinary
tial French geographer Paul Vidal de la Blache rather than the unusual or spectacular. He empha-
and the American Carl Sauer, whom he met in sized landscapes as largely unplanned, contingent,
Berkeley. He taught numerous courses at Harvard often ambiguous, and usually improvised entities.
and at the University of California at Berkeley His writings helped move the study of cultural
and was widely influential pedagogically. His landscapes from its previous focus on relic rural
later life was largely spent in New Mexico. places to contemporary urban ones, and they
In 1951, Jackson launched the magazine Land- formed the foundation for the notion that land-
scape: The Human Geography of the Southwest, scapes could be read or interpreted like texts.

&+)&
&+)' J EF F ER SON, THOMAS

Jackson’s efforts earned widespread acclaim, Jefferson’s interests were both intellectual and
including conferences held in his honor. In recogni- pragmatic. He was fascinated by many things
tion of his contributions, the Association of Ameri- geographical, including maps and the accurate
can Geographers established the J. B. Jackson Prize, measurement of Earth’s surface, mountains and
awarded to those who disseminate geographical geomorphology, climate and weather, and agri-
ideas to a popular, nonprofessional audience. cultural land use. As president, he directed his
corps of engineers to record the nature of plants,
Barney Warf
birds, snowfalls, and forest clearance. Jefferson’s
volume Notes on the State of Virginia, a study of
See also Cultural Geography; Cultural Landscape;
the climatology of his native state and its rela-
Meinig, Donald; Sauer, Carl; Vernacular Landscapes as
tions to humans, published in 1787, was one of
Expressions of Environmental Ideas
6,000 books in his possession (including 300 on
geography), all of which were donated to the
newly formed Library of Congress in 1815.
Further Readings Jefferson and Hugh Williamson wrote the
Land Ordinance of 1784, which established a
Jackson, J. (1972). Metamorphosis. Annals of the Asso- rectilinear survey format in part designed to
ciation of American Geographers, 62, 155–158. allocate land to Revolutionary War veterans.
Jackson, J. (1984). Discovering the vernacular Later, the Ordinance became the U.S. Public
landscape. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Lands Survey System, the mechanism for the
Jackson, J. (1996). A sense of place, a sense of time. imposition of the Township and Range method
New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. of land surveys widely used west of the Appala-
Jackson, J. (1999). Landscape in sight: Looking at chian mountains. Enormously influential as a
America (H. Horowitz, Ed.). New Haven, CT: cadastral scheme used in demarcating private
Yale University Press. property as well as state and county boundaries,
J. B. Jackson and geography [Special issue]. (1998). the Township and Range system exemplified the
Geographical Review, 88(4), 465–622. values of the European Enlightenment, the impo-
Zube, E. (Ed.). (1970). Landscapes: Selected writings sition of an orderly, systematic frame of mean-
of J. B. Jackson. Amherst: University of ing that rationalized the largely unknown
Massachusetts Press. wilderness to the west.
Jefferson met Alexander von Humboldt several
times in 1804, exchanged maps with him, and
corresponded with him (in French) over several
JEFFERSON, THOMAS years, resulting in the two becoming close friends.
He negotiated the Louisiana Purchase in 1804,
(1743–1826) doubling the size of the United States, and spon-
sored the Lewis and Clark Expedition through
President of the United States from 1801 to 1808 the American West during 1804 to 1806.
and author of the Declaration of Independence, Finally, as one who viewed education as essen-
Thomas Jefferson was also a passionate intellec- tial to a democracy, Jefferson was also an avid
tual, accomplished scholar, philosopher, scientist, supporter of geography in schools. When he was
agronomist, musician, polymath, man of letters, governor of Virginia, he proposed that the disci-
and geographer. In addition to his accomplish- pline be taught in all school academies. In 1817,
ments as president, ambassador to France, and long retired, he drafted a curriculum for public
founder of the University of Virginia, Jefferson education that included geography in all primary
maintained an active interest in the geography of and secondary schools. Jefferson also insisted that
North America, particularly as it pertained to its it be included in the courses taught at the Univer-
exploration and potential settlement. Along with sity of Virginia, which he founded.
Jedediah Morse, he is sometimes called one of the
founders of American geography. Barney Warf
 J UST IC E, GEOGR A P HY O F &+)(

See also Human Geography, History of; Lewis and differentiation and (b) the role of place in geogra-
Clark Expedition; Township and Range System phy and the social sciences (the latter being the
subject of his acclaimed 1991 book, A Question
of Place).
Further Readings Over all, Johnston is the author or coauthor
of 50 books, editor or coeditor of an addi-
Koelsch, W. (2008). Thomas Jefferson, American tional 40 books, and author or coauthor of over
geographers, and the uses of geography. 800 journal articles and book chapters. He has
Geographical Review, 98, 260–279. received numerous honors for his research, includ-
Surface, G. (1909). Thomas Jefferson: A pioneer ing awards from the Royal Geographical Society
student of American geography. Bulletin of the and the Association of American Geographers,
American Geographical Society, 41, 743–750. as well as being awarded honorary doctoral
degrees from the University of Essex, Monash
University, and the University of Sheffield.
Jonathan Leib
JOHNSTON, R. J. (1941– ) See also Electoral Geography; Political Geography

One of the most prolific human geographers of

the past half-century, Ronald J. Johnston is best
known for his research in the areas of political Further Readings
and electoral geography, the history of human
geography, and urban social geography. He is Johnston, R. (1991). A question of place: Exploring
highly regarded for his work in political geogra- the practice of human geography. Oxford, UK:
phy; he was one of the geographers who led the Blackwell.
resurgence and revitalization of the field starting Johnston, R., & Pattie, C. (2006). Putting voters in
in the 1970s. Within political geography, John- their place: Geography and elections in Great
ston’s work has focused primarily on electoral Britain. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
geography, with an emphasis on the British elec- Johnston, R., & Sidaway, J. (2004). Geography and
toral system. Along with Peter Taylor, he authored geographers: Anglo-American human geography
the main foundational text in electoral geogra- since 1945 (6th ed.). London: Hodder Arnold.
phy, Geography of Elections, in 1979. Taylor, P., & Johnston, R. (1979). Geography of
Johnston was born in England. He received his elections. London: Croom Helm.
BA and MA from the University of Manchester
and his PhD from Monash University in 1967.
He is currently a professor in the School of
Geographical Sciences at the University of Bristol.
He has previously served as vice chancellor of the
JOURNEY-TO-WORK
University of Essex, professor and chair of
the department of geography at the University See Commuting
of Sheffield, and a faculty member in the depart-
ment of geography at the University of Canter-
bury in New Zealand.
Johnston is a leading writer on the history of JUSTICE, GEOGRAPHY OF
human geography since World War II. He is the
author of the leading book on the topic, Geogra- Scholars in many different fields have dealt with
phy and Geographers: Anglo-American Human the topic of justice. For some disciplines, such as
Geography Since 1945. In terms of his work in philosophy, political theory, and law, justice is
urban social geography, Johnston is best known one of the central concerns. Some of the most
for his work on (a) segregation and residential widely read contemporary authors from those
&+)) J US T I C E, G E OG RAPHY OF

fields are theorists of justice, such as Iris Young, analysis of an injustice and its spatialities is the
John Rawls, Charles Taylor, and Will Kymlicka. central theme.
Goals in work on justice in the social sciences and Through this work, geographers have been
humanities have included the following: defining able to contribute new thinking to how questions
justice, attaining justice, and denouncing and cor- of justice are approached. For example, even
recting injustices. More than a field in and of given formal legal equality and the legal end of
itself, justice has been an ethic applied in many segregation, geographic work has demonstrated
disciplines, approaches, and methodologies. how race continues to be a significant issue in
How to think about justice has been, in and of countries such as the United States, through dem-
itself, a focus of much work. Whether justice onstrating inequalities in housing markets that
should be conceived individually or collectively, create pools of poverty and electoral gerryman-
whether it is something to be decided through dering that hinders voters from choosing elected
institutional legal means or beyond, and who representatives responsive to their needs. Even
decides when a situation is just or unjust are some what appears as the “straightforward” work of
of the questions addressed by those who engage mapping socioeconomic data from the census or
the theme of justice. Quite often, perceptions of other sources has helped show how poverty and
new injustices or new formulations of what would social exclusion do not work in the same ways
constitute a more just society arise not within the across the board but are spatially concentrated in
so-called ivory tower of academia but outside it, certain regions or types of spaces. Geographic
although the academic world is increasingly work by feminists has demonstrated how spaces
engaged with its surrounding social context. In of social reproduction and care work (domestic
fact, the social sciences have often become more work, child rearing, etc.) have been rendered
attuned to the diverse questions surrounding jus- invisible socially as well as legally and how these
tice due to the actions of social groups in the pub- have historically been highly feminized spaces.
lic sphere (e.g., the civil rights movement pushed Urban geography has demonstrated how the
many researchers to deeper engagement on the architecture and urban planning of a city, in and
question of racial justice). of itself, contributes to the inequalities between
The geography of justice focuses on the spati- groups therein. Work in these fields concerning
alities of the question of justice—how phenomena the geographies of justice focuses on many dif-
such as international development, peace and war, ferent scales, from the body to the neighbor-
racism, sexism, class inequality, environmental hood, to the nation and the globe, to producing
destruction, and more have specific spatialities to or redefining scales as such.
them. Particular spaces or spatial configurations Geographies of justice do not only refer to how
can produce or maintain a situation of injustice. injustice plays out in space or is created through
Additionally, a spatial approach can help correct the production of certain spaces, nor do they focus
an unjust situation. Thus, identifying these spati- only on potential policy shifts that could address a
alities is one of the primary focuses of geographers particular injustice. Rather they also include strug-
working on questions of justice. gles for justice, or battles against injustice, that
There is no clear starting point at which geog- take place through space. These struggles include
raphers began to work on this theme, and justice attention to the spatial strategies of resistance
has been a concern of different geographers in practices, social movements, and other such
many different specialties. Nonetheless, much of actors. Some of these spatial strategies are (a) bat-
the recent work that focuses on questions of space tles over access to space (e.g., antisegregation sit-
and justice inherits from those subfields of geogra- ins); (b) claiming free or autonomous spaces
phy that developed as a response to the different (e.g., youth squatters’ movements); and (c) the
sociopolitical upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s, creation of temporary spaces and scales through
in particular (a) geographies of development, mega protests (e.g., the countersummits of the
(b) feminist geographies, (c) geographies of race, global justice movements).
(d) radical geography, and (e) Marxist geography. Despite the concentration on the theme of jus-
For many of these subfields, the highlighting and tice in the subfields mentioned above, it should be
 J UST IC E, GEOGR A P HY O F &+)*

noted that geographies of justice have spanned, for engage in a cartographic project to further their
the most part, the full gamut of methods and theo- struggles around a particular issue. This trend is
retical tendencies that have formed part of modern the case for the growing number of activist maps
Anglo-American geography. This topic includes dealing with the creation of a new Pan–European
both quantitative and qualitative methods, users Union border and its negative effects for migrant
and practitioners of GIScience, and a wide variety rights.
of theoretical frameworks in human geography From this vast diversity, at least one thing is
(especially from critical theoretical schools), be clear. Geographers of all sorts (both within and
they Marxist, feminist, postcolonial, postmodern, outside departments) are using the gamut of geo-
poststructuralist, various combinations of these, graphical tools to address situations of injustice or
and more. Geographers’ concerns with justice have to create social justice. Given the “spatial turn” in
used both more traditional positivist methods for Anglo-American social sciences and humanities,
their work as well as post-positivist methods and as well as the explosion of spatial, and especially
critiques. Geographic work with justice has thus cartographic, tools to the general public, the use of
also had to challenge some older notions of “aca- geography in the pursuit of social justice seems to
demic objectivity,” at times redefining or ques- be only spreading. While geography is not a pana-
tioning neutral objectivity altogether, in order to cea, from the already existing examples, it proves
maintain the ethical goal of pursuing social justice to be a useful tool for creating spaces of justice.
as a guide for research.
Sebastian Cobarrubias
It should be noted that geographies of justice
are being worked on not only by geographers in
See also Class, Geography and; Countermapping;
many of the subfields of geography but far beyond
Critical Human Geography; Feminist Geographies; Law,
the disciplinary boundaries. Many other fields of
Geography of; Race and Racism; Radical Geography;
the social sciences and humanities have begun to
Resistance, Geographies of; Social Justice; Social
discuss similar issues and have used geographical
Movements
concepts as key tools in addressing situations of
injustice. This could be seen as the result of the
“spatial turn” currently afoot in many academic
fields. In addition to other disciplines though, Further Readings
much work on the geographies of justice has
taken and is taking place outside the university Blaut, J. (1979). The dissenting tradition. Annals of
spaces proper. Much of this can be seen in the the Association of American Geographers, 69,
growing field of countermapping, which includes 157–164.
participatory projects between academic geogra- Castree, N. (1999). “Out there”? “In here”?
phers and community geographers, such as the Domesticating critical geography. Area, 31(1),
geographical expeditions of William Bunge and 81–86.
many experiments in indigenous cartography. Harvey, D. (2001). Spaces of capital: Towards a
There is also the increased use of maps by artists critical geography. New York: Routledge.
to denounce certain situations or to create alter- Peet, R. (Ed.). (1977). Radical geography. Chicago:
native spaces, such as antiwar maps, maps of Marroufa Press.
access to public spaces, and more. Activist or mil- Smith, D. (1994). Geography and social justice.
itant cartography is yet another example of this Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
trend, where social movement networks explicitly
 KANT, IMMANUEL
K He held the view that the world has no preexist-
ing given order (thus breaking from Aristotle) but
(1724–1804) is instead constructed by the rational mind—a
position that aligned him with rationalists such as
Best known as a philosopher primarily concerned Descartes. Thus, instead of the mind revolving
with ethics and epistemology, Immanuel Kant around the world, Kant viewed the world as
was also an important figure in the history of revolving around the mind. Most important for
geography, although this aspect of his career is geographers, he asserted that both time and space
often overlooked. Indeed, he lectured on geogra- are categories created by the mind to make sense
phy and numerous other topics at the University of nature: Time and space are not phenomena
of Königsberg for 40 years (from 1756 to 1797), themselves but only ways to organize observable
a century before it became a university discipline. phenomena and impose order, logic, and mean-
ing on the senses. In his most famous work The
Critique of Pure Reason, published in 1781, Kant
Kant’s Philosophy of Time and Space argued that reason and rationality are functions
Essentially, Kant tried to resolve the debate of a detached, disembodied observer, akin to
between British empiricists and Continental ratio- Descartes’s cogito. In this reading, nature is an
nalists. He was deeply affected by the works of external reality, mind is an internal reality, and
David Hume, which he read for 11 years, and he knowledge is the means of overcoming this
accepted that true knowledge began with the dichotomy.
senses, a position held by the empiricists; however, Kant’s epistemology differentiated between
he departed from Hume in arguing that the mind metaphysics on the one hand and the theoretical
is predisposed to a rational organization of sense and empirical sciences on the other. He defined
data. Thus, he maintained that humans never expe- metaphysics as the analysis of a priori knowledge,
rience things in and of themselves (noumena) but including ethics and theology. Although Kant was
only perceive sense impressions of them (phenom- personally religious, his emphasis on rationality
ena); we can know nothing about noumena and was an important step in the secularization of sci-
lots about phenomena. Since we only know a small ence. The theoretical (or what he called “exact”)
part of the world at large, the domain of noumena sciences included disciplines such as physics and
must always greatly exceed that of phenomena. chemistry, which deploy deductive logic to deci-
In a sense, Kant was one of the first philoso- pher the universal laws of nature independent of
phers to problematize the matter of perception. time and space. The empirical (or what he called

&+),
&+)- K A N T , I MMANU E L

“rough”) sciences, in contrast, were concerned be seen as an intermediary between the view of
with finding patterns and order in the welter of space as absolute (i.e., as a container) and relative
observable phenomena embedded in time and space (i.e., as relations among objects). This argu-
space; whereas deductive sciences were concerned ment not only helped secularize time and space
with similarities among observations, the empiri- but also lodged their genesis within the individual
cal ones were focused on finding the differences mind, thus constituting a critical moment in the
among them. The empirical sciences were essen- ascendancy of bourgeois individualism.
tially those concerned with time and place—that
is, history and geography, respectively, which
Kant put on a par in terms of their significance
Kant’s Contributions to Geography
(i.e., the geographic location is as important as the
historical context). The widespread privileging of Kant made a number of important contributions
time over space occurred much later, during the to the emerging Enlightenment era’s understand-
rise of 19th-century neo-Kantian historicism. ing of space. He held that geography consisted of
Essentially, Kant argued that history and geogra- the study of people and their relations to the
phy were concerned with understanding unique material world—that is, the exterior world out-
events. He further asserted that all causality was side the self, not the interior world of the mind,
inherently a function of phenomena being located which he saw as anthropology. He differentiated
close in time and proximate in space, a primitive between “mathematical geography” (essentially
sort of Tobler’s First Law, which asserts that geodesy and map projections), physical geogra-
everything is related to everything else but near phy, political geography, moral geography (spa-
things are more related than distant things. tial differences in customs), commercial geography
Kant argued that time and space formed neces- (essentially trade), and theological geography
sary conditions for the perception of reality and (i.e., religious views of landscapes).
thus for imposing a conceptual order on the world Most of Kant’s lectures were primarily con-
but they could not, by themselves, measure any- cerned with physical geography: He wrote papers
thing else. In some respects, he essentially upheld a on earthquakes, rivers, the atmosphere, volca-
Euclidean and Cartesian view of absolute space. noes, and the oceans, and 35 sets of student notes
Yet Kant’s view was more complex than this were collected in a textbook called Physical Geog-
notion: While he enshrined Euclidean geometry as raphy (although there is some debate as to their
the architecture of the mind—a structure, like time, accuracy and they have yet to appear in English).
that made experience possible—he also disavowed Geography included the study of races as part of
the Newtonian notion of absolute time and space physical geography, and Kant’s geographical
because it did not allow room for how they are works often exhibited an embarrassing lack of
experienced by people, thus introducing the issue accuracy as well as overt racism and environmen-
of human perception. He did not simply dismiss tal determinism.
time and space as subjective illusions but main- Kant also addressed the possibility of an inter-
tained that time and space are “real” only inas- national confederation of nations in his essay
much as the mind perceives them and makes order “Towards Perpetual Peace” (1795/1991), in
of them. Although space existed a priori—that is, which he argued that war could be made obsolete
prior to experience—it could not be understood through a rigorous system of global laws and
independent of experience. This argument shifted international commerce. Thus, he argued that
the focus from the world as it is in itself (noumena) “the peoples of the earth have entered in varying
to the world as known by human beings (phe- degrees into a universal community, and it is
nomena) and elevated the question of sensory developed to the point where a violation of laws
experience and its relations to reality to an episte- in one part of the world is felt everywhere”
mologically critical level. Experience is the contin- (p. 107). In this respect, he was a foundational
ual synthesis of perception, and time and space are thinker of the doctrine of cosmopolitanism and
thus products of the mind—the tools it uses to ren- marked a turning point where morality could be
der reality legible and meaningful. Such a view can formulated beyond the state form, and he thus
 K A R ST T OP OGR A P H Y &+).

signifies the single most important source for nor-

mative theories of transnational relations. How-
KARST TOPOGRAPHY
ever, Kant wrote on the eve of the hegemony of
the nation-state, and his views anticipated the rise Karst (in German) topography is the name for the
of international organizations in the 20th cen- many landforms that developed on the surface
tury, such as the United Nations. and within soluble rocks as caves and other forms
Finally, Kant publicly asserted that geography characteristic of a part of the Kras region of Slo-
was critical to a general education; his enormous venia, where the landforms developed on and in
stature helped make the discipline respectable. some 400 square kilometers of limestone (calcium
His works were particularly influential with later carbonate) and were first studied many years ago.
neo-Kantian geographers such as Alfred Hettner All rocks can be slightly soluble in water, with the
and Richard Hartshorne. result that various karstic landforms can also
develop more slowly in the somewhat less soluble
Barney Warf
magnesium carbonate of dolomite or dolostone,
as well as quite quickly in evaporate rocks such as
See also Absolute Space; Cosmopolitanism;
rock salt or gypsum. In fact, some solubility can
Enlightenment; Hartshorne, Richard; Historicism;
even occur slowly in silicate rocks such as sand-
Human Geography, History of; Relative/Relational
stone, especially where it is cemented with car-
Space
bonate minerals, or quartzite, basalt, and granite
under favorable conditions and over long time
periods. The processes of karstification of a region
Further Readings involve dissolution of the bedrock as various min-
erals are dissolved in the water. Limestone bed-
Elden, S. (2009). Reassessing Kant’s geography. rock, the most common host rock of karst
Journal of Historical Geography, 35, 3–25. topography, is composed of the mineral calcite,
Hatfield, G. (1991). The natural and the normative: which is subjected to the carbonation reaction in
Theories of spatial perception from Kant to the presence of water with a small amount of dis-
Helmholtz. Cambridge: MIT Press. solved carbon dioxide that makes a weak car-
Kant, I. (1991). Towards perpetual peace: bonic acid. As this slightly acidic water comes in
A philosophical project. In H. Reiss (Ed.), contact with the limestone bedrock, it has the
Kant: Political writings (pp. 93–130). Cambridge, capability of dissolving and carrying away mole-
UK: Cambridge University Press. (Original work cules in solution to make the karst topography.
published 1795) For karst topography to develop best, however,
Livingstone, D., & Harrison, R. (1981). Immanuel the carbonate must be thick, mechanically strong,
Kant, subjectivism and human geography: and well jointed to allow concentrated percola-
A preliminary investigation. Transactions of the tion locations for the infiltrating water to carry
Institute of British Geographers, 6, 359–374. away the solute loads. Chalk rock, for example,
May, J. (1971). Kant’s concept of geography and its is quite a pure form of limestone, but it does not
relation to recent geographical thought. Toronto, form caves or karst well because it is neither
Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto Press. mechanically strong nor well jointed; instead it is
Melnick, A. (1989). Space, time, and thought in soft and crumbly, therefore cave systems cannot
Kant. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer. become established.
Tang, C. (2008). The geographic imagination of Karst topography is terrain formed in soluble
modernity: Geography, literature, and philosophy rocks that bears distinctive characteristic of drain-
in German Romanticism. Stanford, CA: Stanford age and relief unlike most other landscapes.
University Press. Instead, it tends to have a rough surface with
Withers, C. (2007). Placing the Enlightenment: many enclosed depressions; the soil above the
Thinking geographically about the Age of Reason. bedrock tends to be thin and patchy, with exposed
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. bare rock that is etched into a great variety
of irregular shapes, and much of its drainage is
&+*% K A R S T TOPOG RAPHY

Karst topography, viewed from a boat on the Li River south of Guilin, China, October 28, 1983
Source: U.S. Geological Survey.

subterranean where it flows through caves and developed by the very wide variety of nonsolu-
grottos. True karst occurs where solutional pro- tional processes that mimic some of those of true
cesses dominate; in some parts of the world where karst. Thus, granular disintegration of silicate
karst processes create almost all the landforms of rocks, hydraulic plucking and wave erosion of sea
the region, it may be appropriate to refer to it as caves, lava flows that have internal lava tubes or
“holokarst.” On the other hand, fluviokarst caves where the molten rock flowed out, and
occurs where the processes of rivers and solution mass movements that open out chambers under-
are approximately equal in their activities. Large ground and produce hummocky topography on
parts of the Midwestern United States, for exam- the surface can all produce psuedokarstic land-
ple, are dissected by rivers running over and forms. Thermokarst is rather a misnomer in that
through carbonate rocks so that the intervening it is not a karst at all, has no solutional compo-
interfluves can have karst topography developed nent whatsoever, and instead is entirely due to the
on and in them. Glaciokarst is formed in some melting of permafrost and ground ice, although
areas of higher altitude and latitude where soluble its surficial appearance of enclosed depressions
carbonates occur beneath partial covers of ice so may superficially resemble a true karst.
that as the glaciers wax and wane, their meltwa- Bare karst occurs where the soluble bedrock is
ters can assist in the excavation of the subter- exposed directly to the atmosphere, and covered
ranean topography. Psuedokarst landforms are karst has the bedrock beneath mantles of regolith
 K A R ST T OP OGR A P H Y &+*&

sediments and soil. Free karst has drainages that although it should be realized that fine divisions
go unimpeded directly to the ocean, whereas between some landforms may reflect continua of
impounded karst is surrounded by other less form and process such that absolute differentia-
permeable lithologies so that the drainages have tion between types may be somewhat ambiguous
to exit in the karst area with a different sort of at times.
hydrological system. Karst landforms are many and highly varied.
From the standpoint of hydrology and depth in Perhaps the best way to consider these landforms
the Earth, karst is divided into the surface and is by their size scale, as well as whether or not
near-surface zones of the epikarst and the deeper they are on the surface or underground as subter-
subsurface zones of the endokarst. Epikarst is the ranean landforms. In addition, karst landforms
karstic region in the vadose zone above the water can be classified based on whether they are posi-
table where there are air-filled openings as well as tive landforms that resulted from rock having
some water in the openings. Epikarst occurs from been removed from around them or from mate-
the surface and soil of the cutaneous zone, as well rial that was deposited to make them or negative
as the regolith and enlarged fissures of the subcu- landforms wherein material has been removed to
taneous zone. In these zones, close to the surface, leave an opening of some kind.
precipitation is the chief input and evapotranspi- On the surface where the larger landforms
ration an output. At the base of the epikarst, occur, which are most commonly observed as
there is a continuum of percolation involving being of karst origin, perhaps the most common
seepage, trickles, and flows, up to full cave are the sinkholes, or dolines. Five main kinds of
streams. Endokarst, below the epikarst, has the dolines occur, the solution, the suffusion, the col-
vadose zone of unsaturated percolation and water lapse, the subsidence and the stream-sink types.
flow at its very top down into the phreatic zone Solution dolines occur where the dissolving of
of saturated water flow below the water table the bedrock is concentrated at some intersection
wherein water-filled fissures and pores occur, as of joints or some other favorable circumstance
well as fully water-filled caves. Outflow springs where solution was concentrated. Insoluble resi-
from the endokarst and epikarst areas occur at dues can eventually clog the drainage so that a
many different levels on the surface around higher pond doline results. Suffosion dolines are those
topography with caves inside it. formed by the processes of a through wash where
Linear caverns in karst areas are vadose caves, sediments are carried away both in solution as
which are above the water table; shallow phre- well as by suspension so that a depression results
atic, epiphreatic, or water table caves, which that is generally fairly well choked with debris.
occur right at the water table; or phreatic caves, Collapse dolines, such as the famous vertically
which are entirely below the water table. These sided cenotes in the Yucutan in Mexico, are those
basic cave types also have variants in which irreg- where the roof of a cave collapses. Over time,
ular cave passage loops occur, either entirely up with no further collapse, the vertical walls will
and down beneath the water table as deep phre- degrade and become less steep so that bowl- or
atic with loops or phreatic with loops that project cone-shaped dolines can result. Subsidence dolines
a little way above the water table so that they result where a quite soluble rock such as rock salt
become air filled for short distances. In addition, dissolves and allows the settling or subsidence of
there are mixed loop and epiphreatic caves that overlying sediment or rock without any obvious
have substantial parts both above and below the fracturing or breaking of it. Stream-sink dolines
water table. or ponors form where streams flow down into
Because karst landforms are unusual in appear- swallow holes in carbonate rocks and then pass
ance and are distributed all over the world, so underground.
that a huge and confusing lexicon of descriptive Uvalas are compound sinkholes that have
and attempted genetic terms has arisen in many developed a larger depression complex. As the
languages to describe them. Multilingual syn- size increases, a polje (plural polja)—a large, flat-
onyms abound. The following is a brief exposi- floored, and closed depression—is formed. Both
tion of some of the better-understood forms, uvalas and polja commonly have permanent or
&+*' K A R S T TOPOG RAPHY

ephemeral streams in them that disappear into where subterranean stream piracy has diverted
dolines. Polja can be subdivided into a number of water beneath them, or where rivers dissolve their
different types depending on their relationships to way through narrow bands of limestone that
the surrounding geology and hydrological sys- cross their paths. Tufa and travertine deposits can
tems. For example, border polja have rivers com- be produced by rivers in karst areas because water
ing into them from outside nonkarst areas that bodies there are commonly supersaturated with
are controlled by the external water tables so that dissolved carbonate. Any disturbance to the water
lateral planation and alluvial deposition occur in in rapids, waterfalls, or agitated flow through
the polje. Structural polja have downfaulted zones aqueous vegetation or the like on the surface may
of permeable soluble rocks juxtaposed against allow a small amount of carbon dioxide to escape
insoluble rocks. Baselevel polja have regional from the water or a bit of water to evaporate,
water tables that intersect the ground surface which then can cause some calcium carbonate to
inside them so that they flood periodically. precipitate from the water. This carbonate buildup
An eggbox topography forms where the lime- occurs in two main forms: (1) the porous and
stone is thick and the water table deep so that low-density tufa, which commonly has many root
deep solutional sinkholes form close together. A and stem casts inside it where the carbonate came
cone karst develops where the sinkholes coalesce out of the solution and precipitated around water
together, and the region is dominated by project- plants, and (2) travertine, which is compact, of
ing residual relief rather than by closed depres- higher density, crystalline, and commonly banded
sions. The result is a polygonal pattern of ridges and layered where variations in the water have
around separate dolines. Cockpit karst has lower changed the crystallization character or composi-
ridges and residual pepino hills, whereas tower tion somewhat over time. Together, tufa and
karst has huge residual hill towers or mogotes travertine can accumulate in masses large enough
(haystack hills) that can be steep enough or with to constitute dams, mounds, sheets masses, and
vertical and overhanging sides to form a pinnacle many other forms.
karst. An additional discussion of karst includes a
Fluvial aspects of karst topography beyond discussion moving down in scale to the smaller
those mentioned above include blind and half- forms. A general term for many types of these
blind valleys, steepheads or pocket valleys, dry smaller forms includes karren, which are a highly
valleys, meander caves, natural bridges, and tufa diverse group of small-scale features and sculpted
and travertine deposits. Half-blind valleys are forms of the bedrock that are exposed on the sur-
those where a stream develops a swallow hole face of the ground or that appear inside caves.
and downcuts a small amount upstream from the Bare karst forms can be produced by wetting
sink to leave the downstream portion only occa- caused by rain or snowmelt hitting and flowing
sionally still hosting flood waters. A blind valley, over the surface or dripping onto and seeping
on the other hand, is one that is closed off at its into it to carry away dissolved load. The small
lower end by a cliff or steep slope facing upstream, landforms that these processes produce are quite
below which the stream disappears into the sink- common in soluble carbonates but may also be
hole of a cave opening. Dry valleys have no sur- produced on silicate rocks where certain mafic
face stream in them, although they once did until minerals (e.g., amphibole, pyroxene, and some
the original stream that formed them found and micas) can weather more quickly to produce some
exploited some subterranean exit point to aban- solution and granular disintegration from differ-
don them. Steepheads and pocket valleys are ential decomposition that allows development of
those where a river emerges from a cave at the similar appearing landforms. The smaller karst
head of a valley. Meander caves are those where landforms produced by solution can be subdi-
the outer bend of a meander in a karst area under- vided into (a) bare karst forms produced by sur-
cuts a limestone valley side so that a large over- face wetting, (b) bare karst forms produced by
hanging cliff and cave system develops beneath. concentrated surface runoff, (c) partly covered
Karst natural bridges form where cave roofs col- karst forms, (d) covered karst forms, and (e) poly-
lapse upstream and downstream from the bridge, genetic forms or assemblages of karren. In many
 K A R ST T OP OGR A P H Y &+*(

cases, it may be quite difficult to determine as karst corridors and karst streets; (d) clints are
whether or not a form was produced while it was the tabular blocks left between grikes (solution
covered with moist regolith or saprolite above it slots); and (e) solution spikes or spitzkarren are
and later exhumed or whether it was generated the steep projections between grikes.
entirely while partially or fully exposed to the The partly covered karst forms that occur
atmosphere, or some odd combinations of both include (a) solution pits, which are round-
these possibilities. bottomed or tapered forms, and (b) solution pans,
The bare karst forms produced by wetting which are dish- or basinal-shaped depressions
are scale dependent and include the following, in formed on flat rock surfaces resulting from bed-
more or less increasing size: (a) micropits and ding planes or joints, which may have sides that
etched surfaces are produced by precipitation fall- overhang or carry solution flutes above bottoms
ing on gently sloping or flat bare rocks to form covered with organic remains, clay, silt, sand, and
small pits and rills less than 1 millimeter deep and pebbles. These two forms of solution pits and pans
not larger than a few centimeters; (b) solution together are the most common of all karren forms.
ripples and fluted scallops are shallow, ripple-like In addition, other partly covered karst forms are
flutes that form on steep to vertical surfaces per- (a) undercut solution runnels (hohlkarren), which
pendicular to the direction of the water flow over are similar to runnels but become larger with
them; (c) solution flutes or rillenkarren are longi- depth as a result of the damper conditions at their
tudinal hollows that start at the top of a rock bases due to accumulations of soil and/or humus,
crest and run down the steep rock surface with and (b) solution notches (korrosionkehlen), which
either rounded (silicate) or sharp (carbonate) ribs are inwardly curved lateral depressions or recesses
between them; (d) solution bevels are smooth and produced by chemical etching from damp soil
flatish tiny risers and treads in stair-step forms; directly abutting the bedrock.
(e) solution runnels or rinnenkarren are the larger The fully covered karst forms have acidic
solution hollows that result from larger volumes sediment and soil above them in which the mois-
of overland flow; (f) decantation runnels are ture is retained, and this helps them develop as
related to solution runnels that result from the (a) rounded solution runnels or rundkarren, which
dripping of acidified water from point sources are smoothed out by their contact with the cover
upslope that are either in direct contact with the materials; (b) cutters, which are soil-covered solu-
surface or not, or still exist as a present-day source tion slots (grikes) that are wider at the top and
or not, so that the resulting runnels in the rock taper at depth; and (c) solution pipes, shafts, or
can meander and/or reduce in size downslope; wells, which are conical or cylindrical holes that
and (g) decantation flutings are similar to decan- can develop along joints or in an isolated fashion
tation runnels but have water sources at their in unjointed carbonates such as chalk.
heads that are diffuse sheet flows from upslope. Polygenetic karst forms are commonly assem-
On the other hand, the bare karst forms that blages of different karren types. They include the
are instead produced by concentrated surface run- following: (a) karren fields, exposed tracts of kar-
off also include, in order of more or less increasing ren that may be as large as several square kilome-
size, the following: (a) microfissures follow thin ters; (b) limestone pavements, where numerous
small joints up to several centimeters in length but soil-covered or bare solution slots (grikes) separate
less than 1 centimeter in depth; (b) splitkarren or exposed rock surfaces (clints) that can be covered
solution fissures occur along joints, veins, or stylo- with karren forms, which either developed in the
lite solution features formed between bedding subterranean environment or subaerially, or both
plains that are several centimeters to several meters but in sequence; (c) pinnacle karsts and stone for-
long and some centimeters deep; (c) solution slots ests, a spectacular karst landscape with thin and
or grikes and kluftkarren are fairly large solu- pointed rock remnants that can be 45 m (meters)
tional features developed along structural discon- tall and 20 m wide at the base, although some
tinuities such as large and connected joints or tropical forms are known to stand as high as
faults and can ultimately result in quite accessible 120 m, with near-vertical sides and sharp, saw-
and spacious bogas openings in the karst, as well tooth tops; (d) ruiniform karsts, a type of karst
&+*) K A T ES , ROBE RT

wherein the upstanding tabular clints in between Chicago. A year later, he was admitted to gradu-
the well-developed, wide-solution slots are so well ate school in geography at Chicago. Kates began
developed that after extensive soil erosion only a his graduate study in 1958 in an interdisciplin-
few upstanding blocks protrude upward like ary effort to understand floodplain management.
ancient ruined buildings scattered out in a former He became geography’s most vivid example of
cityscape; (e) corridor karsts, which develop where the value of second chances. Not since Gilbert
large solution slots grow bigger and form aligned White, who became his mentor, has there been a
or crisscrossing steep-sided valleys that may geographer who has so notably shaped research
develop into labyrinth karsts or giant grikelands; on nature-society relationships. Most of his
and (f) coastal karrens, which develop in the com- career was spent as a geography professor at
mon carbonates along shorelines so that solution Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.
notches or nips develop in the rock exposed above In considering how societies and individuals
shoe platforms, as well as a dense and pervasive assess and respond to environmental and other
variety of pits, pans, and spikes that may have hazards, Kates has led the way in introducing risk
been partly aided by boring and grazing organisms assessment perspectives and paying attention to
that can assist in producing biokarsts and partly how local rationalities may differ from those of
by wave action, wetting and drying, salt weather- external analysts, both in the United States and in
ing, or some plant activity to produce phytokarst. developing countries. His insights about ending
hunger have been developed from his experience
John F. Shroder
with hazard modeling, looking into what factors
lead to inadequate food supplies and the ways in
See also Carbonation; Caverns; Geomorphology;
which that knowledge can be combined with
Groundwater
action to reduce hunger.
Since he published a classic paper on sustaining
life on Earth in Scientific American in 1994, Kates
Further Readings has been a driving force behind the emergence of
sustainability science as a new transdiscipline. He
Ford, D., & Williams, P. (2007). Karst hydrogeology coled the preparation of a U.S. National Research
and geomorphology. New York: Wiley. Council report (1999) that broke new ground in
identifying the challenges both to science and to
converting science into action, as did a 2001 paper
in Science that established a new quasi discipline of
KATES, ROBERT (1929– ) sustainability science for research and practice.
Kates’s work has earned him major recogni-
Robert (Bob) W. Kates is one of the world’s lead- tion, unmatched by any other geographer in his
ing geographers of the past half-century. He has generation. In 1975, he was elected to the National
said that from the beginning, his grand query was Academy of Sciences; in 1981, he was awarded a
“What is and ought to be the human use of the MacArthur Prize Fellowship; and in 1991, he was
Earth?” Since 1958, Kates has focused on three awarded the President’s National Medal of Sci-
main issues: (1) living with hazard, (2) ending ence in a ceremony at the White House in Wash-
hunger, and (3) sustaining life on Earth. He has ington, D.C. Even so, Kates has, in many cases,
played a major role in the development of sus- taken a path different from that of conventional
tainability as a transdiscipline. geographical scholarship. From the beginning, he
Kates was born in New York City in 1929. In showed an interest in questions that mattered as
his late 20s, he was supporting a young family much to society as to science. Perhaps influenced
by working in industry in the Chicago area, hav- by his early immersion in group research, he has
ing left college without a degree to get married, actively sought challenges that are too large for
when he signed up for a night course at a local any one individual.
university that was taught by one of Gilbert Since receiving his PhD in 1962, he has thrown
White’s graduate students at the University of himself into not only contributing to science but
 K EY ST ONE SP ECI E S &+**

also making his local area better, as he now does loss of several dependent species and critical eco-
in Maine. He shows every day how much he cares system functions.
about a host of colleagues, collaborators, and Paine’s original usage of the term keystone
former students; and he has no priority higher species referred specifically to the high trophic
than his family—his wife, three children, and six position and unique function of a particular pred-
grandchildren. It is no accident that he formu- atory starfish species found in a rocky marine
lated what might be called “the Kates discount intertidal zone. He found that the starfish’s activ-
rate”—the discount rate applied by grandparents ities clearly modified the species composition and
to future benefits for their grandchildren, for physical appearance of the ecosystem, more than
whom those future benefits have a higher value the activities of other predators. The actions of
than the current costs. the starfish clearly served to regulate biodiversity
in the ecosystem.
Thomas J. Wilbanks
In the years since the introduction of the con-
cept, the definition of the term has broadened to
See also Hunger; Natural Hazards and Risk Analysis;
include any species with uniquely strong, positive
Sustainability Science; Sustainable Development; White,
effects on biodiversity regardless of its tropic level;
Gilbert
however, the term still has different meanings to
different people. A general, current definition of a
keystone species encompasses plants, primary con-
Further Readings sumers, or even species that make important phys-
ical modifications to an ecosystem through its daily
Burton, I., Kates, R., & White, G. (1978). The activities. Thresholds are particularly relevant to
environment as hazard. New York: Oxford keystone species because when the density of a
University Press. keystone falls below a given level, the biodiversity
Kates, R. (2001). Queries on the human use of the of the ecosystem is likely to decrease, affecting the
Earth. Annual Review of Energy and the balance and stability of the entire ecosystem.
Environment, 26, 1–36. Keystone species differ from foundation spe-
National Research Council. (1999). Our common cies. While foundation species serve essential eco-
journey: A transition toward sustainability. system functions and affect biodiversity, their
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. impact is primarily the result of their abundance.
Keystone species, however, are generally not rec-
ognized as being abundant in the ecosystems in
which they have a critical role sustaining a bio-
KEYSTONE SPECIES logically diverse environment. Regardless of its
classification, the loss of either foundation or
Keystone species are plants or animals that have keystone species can be detrimental to ecosystem
important effects on a particular ecosystem’s bio- functionality.
diversity and function, despite having a relatively
low abundance. The term keystone originated in
Importance of Keystone Species
the field of architecture to describe a centrally
to Biogeographic Distributions
located wedge-shaped stone that supports an
entire arch. Robert Paine, an American ecologist, Understanding geographic distributions of plants
first introduced the keystone species concept to and animals requires knowledge of both the
ecology in 1966. The meaning of the term in physical environmental variables (such as light,
ecology is analogous to its meaning in archi- temperature, and moisture) and the interactions
tecture; similar to the support function of a among plant and animal species (such as preda-
keystone within an arch, a keystone species is tion and competition) that limit species’ distri-
considered a main supporting component of an butions. In biogeography, the strong biological
ecosystem, without which the system would fail. effects of keystone species provide a compelling
The loss of a keystone species could result in the example of biotic interactions that can influence
&+*+ K EY S T ONE SPE CIE S

species’ geographic ranges. Because keystone He found that the removal of Pisaster led to popu-
species affect competition regimes, ecosystem lation explosion of certain mussels and sea urchins,
stability, biodiversity, species density, predation, resulting in ecosystem diversity lower than condi-
and resource availability, their presence also tions prior to the experiment. Paine’s classic work
indirectly influences where some species are showed that without keystone predators in this
found and where they are absent. Decreases in particular marine ecosystem, the overall balance of
abundance or removal of the keystone species the ecosystem was upset and unpredictable results
may result in changes in the distribution not followed. Though Paine conducted his work in a
only of the keystone species but of other plants marine environment, his findings had important
and animals as well. Such distribution changes implications for many different ecosystems.
could affect the flow of energy and nutrients Several scholars (e.g., J. Estes and others) con-
throughout the ecosystem. To geographers and sider the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) to be a key-
others who study the effects of environmental stone predator because of its important role in
change and human-environment interactions on limiting the density of sea urchins, a primary con-
biogeographic distributions, the keystone spe- sumer of kelp and micro algae in some marine
cies concept should be considered. environments. In the absence of sea otters, the sea
urchin population explodes, and the kelp popula-
tion decreases, resulting in the loss of microor-
Classification and Examples
ganisms that rely on the kelp for habitat and
of Keystone Species
survival. Because of their important role in com-
The keystone species concept has been used munities, changes in the population size of a key-
increasingly by ecologists, biogeographers, and stone species is likely to have broad impacts on
conservation biologists to describe the diversity the way the ecosystem functions.
of important interactions of relatively rare species
whose actions influence a diversity of ecosystem
@ZnhidcZEaVcih
functions. One outcome of this broadened recog-
nition is the development of specialized classi- Keystone plants are those plants whose removal
fications and terminology that describe the could result in the elimination of a series of ani-
multifaceted functions of keystone species. mals and other plants that are collectively depen-
L. Scott Mills and colleagues comprehensively dent on the keystone plant. Often, such dependents
reviewed several categories of keystone species include pollinators and seed dispersers. Whitebark
found in the ecological literature. The most com- pine (Pinus albicaulis) is considered a foundation
mon classifications include keystone predators, and keystone species of both the upper subalpine
keystone plants, and keystone modifiers. forest communities and the alpine treeline ecotone
(ATE) of the North American West. Whitebark
pine facilitates the development of tree islands in
@ZnhidcZEgZYVidgh
the ATE and thus serves an important role in the
A keystone predator is a predator that is found distribution of trees at the treeline. Additionally,
at high levels in the food web. A predator may as recorded by the wildlife biologist Katherine
be a keystone species when it controls the densi- Kendall, its hard, nutritious seeds serve as an
ties of certain competitive dominants or key prey important food source for animals such as grizzly
species. In the absence of a keystone predator, bears and squirrels. Whitebark pine also shares a
other competitors may drive out species or deci- mutualistic relationship with Clark’s nutcracker
mate populations, resulting in a decrease in over- (Nucifraga columbiana)—the sole disperser of its
all biodiversity. seeds, as investigated by the American ecologist
Paine’s work on marine life in intertidal zones Diana Tomback. The removal or loss of white-
provides the classic case of a keystone predator. bark pine from alpine and subalpine ecosystems is
He discovered the important interactions of the likely to substantially affect these species, plus
predatory starfish Pisaster in a rocky intertidal leading to cascading effects on other plant and
zone through experimental removal of the species. animal species in downslope ecosystems.
 K EY ST ONE SP ECI E S &+*,

The largest land mammal in North America, the bison’s grazing patterns, movements, and behavior influenced
the composition of grassland ecosystems 200 years ago. But in the 1800s, human settlement in the region led
to the large-scale slaughter of bison and conversion of much of the grass prairie to agriculture. By 1900, this
keystone species was nearly extinct. Today approximately 450,000 bison exist due to reintroduction efforts, but
more than 95% are in managed private production herds, and the bison’s ecological functions have not been
restored.
Source: Morguefile.

@ZnhidcZBdY^[^Zgh energy and nutrient flow through the ecosystem

that results in increased habitat heterogeneity.
Keystone species do not always affect Allen K. Knapp and other ecologists have iden-
other species through competitive or predatory tified the North American bison (Bison bison) as a
activities. Keystone modifiers or ecosystem engi- keystone species of the tallgrass prairie. Their
neers, a term designated by Clive Jones, may indi- grazing reduces the abundance of certain grasses
rectly affect the species of a particular ecosystem that are competitive dominants, along with woody
through habitat modification. Modifiers, by vegetation from the prairies. Without the removal
changing the physical state of an ecosystem, of the woody grass species, the tallgrass prairie
improve the resources available to certain species, would eventually become a forested environment.
increasing their survival rates. The North Ameri- Through their preferential grazing and wallowing
can beaver (Castor canadensis) may be consid- activities, bison increase habitat heterogeneity and
ered a keystone modifier because of the effects of species diversity. Year-round grazing from bison
its damming on hydrology and the resultant and ungulates, along with natural fire regimes, are
&+*- K EY S T ONE SPE CIE S

thought to be key factors in the conservation of the recognition that ecosystems are inherently
the remaining tallgrass prairie of North America. complex. Many ecologists argue that under-
standing interactions among species (and physi-
cal environment) is critical for proper ecosystem
Debates Surrounding the Keystone Species
functioning and biodiversity protection and that
Concept and Ecosystem Conservation
consideration of the abundance of a single species
The keystone species concept is one currently sur- achieves only partial resolutions to problems
rounded by debate. Keystone species are often at associated with ecosystem management, at best.
the forefront of discussions on the prioritization
Lynn M. Resler
of ecosystem and habitat conservation. Within
the realm of conservation, an inherent contro-
See also Biodiversity; Biogeography; Conservation;
versy associated with the keystone species is the
Ecosystems; Extinctions
implication that some species are more important
to ecosystems than others. In light of the limited
resources available for conservation efforts, pro-
ponents of this viewpoint argue that keystone Further Readings
species should be given priority in conservation
efforts. Bruno, J., Stachowicz, J., & Bertness, M. (2003).
Many scholars, however, question whether the Inclusion of facilitation into ecological theory.
qualities of a single species can be so essential to Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 18, 119–125.
an ecosystem as to warrant special status. Single- Estes, J., & Palmisiano, J. (1974). Sea otters: Their
species approaches to conservation, such as pref- role in structuring nearshore communities.
erential targeting of keystone species, may Science, 185, 1058–1060.
underappreciate the complexity of ecosystem Jones, C., Lawton, J., & Shachak, M. (1994).
function. Therefore, conservation approaches Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos, 69,
that emphasize one species may not be successful 373–386.
for long-term biological conservation. Some ecol- Knapp, A., Blair, J., Briggs, J., Collins, S., Hartnett,
ogists (e.g., L. Scott Mills and his colleagues) even D., Johnson, L., et al. (1999). The keystone role
call for the abandonment of the keystone species of bison in the North American tallgrass prairie.
concept altogether because of its vagueness. BioScience, 49, 39–50.
John Bruno, John Stachowicz, and Mark Bert- Meffe, G., & Carroll, C. (Eds.). (2005). Principals of
ness highlighted two primary problems associated conservation biology (2nd ed.). Sunderland, MA:
with placing keystone species at the forefront of Sinauer Associates.
conservation efforts. First, is the difficulty associ- Mills, L., Soulé, M., & Doak, D. (1993). The
ated with positive identification of keystone spe- keystone-species concept in ecology and
cies and the strength of their interactions, which conservation. BioScience, 43, 219–224.
must be tested through experimental removal of Paine, R. (1966). Food web complexity and species
species. Associated with this difficulty is that the diversity. American Naturalist, 100, 65–75.
strength of keystone species interactions with Paine, R. (1969). A note on trophic complexity and
other plants and animals may vary from one envi- community stability. American Naturalist, 103,
ronment to the next. Second, the ramifications of 91–93.
focusing conservation efforts on single species, Paine, R. (1995). A conversation on refining the
possibly at the expense of other species (especially concept of keystone species. Conservation
foundation species) that may also be important Biology, 9, 962–964.
for ecosystem function and biodiversity, is prob- Tomback, D., & Kendall, K. (2001). Biodiversity
lematic. Such narrowly focused conservation losses: The downward spiral. In D. Tomback,
efforts could result in ecosystem collapse or insta- S. Arno, & R. Keane (Eds.), Whitebark pine
bility, even with its keystone species population communities: Ecology and restoration
protected. Adaptation of a systems-based per- (pp. 234–262). Washington, DC: Island Press.
spective to the problem of conservation requires
 K NOWLEDGE, GEOGR A P HY O F &+*.

KNOWLEDGE, The Geography of Education

GEOGRAPHY OF Political and scientific interest in spatial dispari-
ties of education harks back to the first decades
The geography of knowledge deals with spatial of the 19th century. It was the time when social
disparities in the generation, diffusion, and appli- reformers in France and the United Kingdom
cation of various categories of knowledge and believed that poverty, crime, and alcoholism were
skills. Spatial disparities in literacy, educational caused by ignorance and a lack of moral educa-
attainment, professional skills, creativity, and tion and when relations between the degree of a
technology can be traced back to early human nation’s literacy and economic performance were
history. Some of their primary causes are spatial discovered. In the 19th century, scholars in the
concentrations of power and knowledge created social survey movement studied social and spatial
by the spatial division of labor, the hierarchical disparities of illiteracy, the availability and qual-
structure and complexity of organizations, the ity of schools, the skills and salaries of teachers,
asymmetry and spatial range of power relations, and the educational attainment of children with
and the ways in which social systems and net- regard to their family environment (e.g., the avail-
works are coordinated and governed in space. ability of books). Apart from occasional studies
Communication technologies—from the creation of the locations of schools and universities, of
of the first scripts to the invention of paper and school transport, and of drop-out rates and
from the construction of the first printing truancy, human geography neglected spatial dis-
machine to the introduction of digital informa- parities in the provision and consumption of
tion systems—changed spatial disparities pertain- schooling until the mid 1960s. With the expan-
ing to the production, dissemination, and uses of sion and restructuring of school systems in the
knowledge but never abolished the disparities 1960s, spatial and social disparities of educa-
between the centers and peripheries of national tional achievement and education as a means of
or global urban systems with regard to the distri- social stratification, social exclusion, and regional
bution of workplaces for highly and marginally development became a significant topic in geog-
skilled persons. raphy. The first professor specializing in the geog-
Knowledge can be defined as the capacity for raphy of education was Robert Geipel. He started
social action; it influences perceptions and eval- his research on spatial disparities of education in
uations of information and the decision making the early 1960s at the University of Frankfurt and
and actions of persons. Knowledge and power inspired, in more than 30 years, many scholars to
build multifaceted coalitions that reproduce focus on this new field, especially when he was
social and spatial inequalities. A head start in holding a chair at the University of Munich
knowledge, expertise, and technology is an (1969–1994).
important prerequisite for competitiveness. The newly emerging geography of education
All fields of human geography can be enriched began first to study the location criteria, catch-
by exploring the consequences of spatial dif- ment areas and structural changes of the school
ferences in knowledge, expertise, professional and university system, the effects of school clo-
skills, technology, or educational achievement sures for community development in sparsely
and how these disparities can be explained. In inhabited areas, the extracurricular activities of
addition, most political, economic, and social teachers as an interface between school and com-
changes (e.g., colonialism, nation building, glo- munity, the spatial consequences of school
balization, neoliberalization, privatization) have reforms, and the cultural and economic effects of
impacts on the educational system. This emi- universities. Later topics included the movement
nent role of knowledge and education in mod- of pupils through the school system; educational
ern societies leads to numerous possible research attainment and exam scores of students with
topics within geography and entails necessary respect to their place of residence, social origins,
specialization and a large variety of theoretical and ethnicity; spatial disparities of the educational
concepts. achievement of the resident adult population and
&++% K N O W LE D G E , G E OG RAPHY OF

An aerial view of the University of California, Berkeley. One of the preeminent universities in the world,
it ranks at or near the top in fields ranging from engineering and the hard sciences to the social
sciences, arts, and humanities.
Source: Sean Goebel/iStockphoto.
 K NOWLEDGE, GEOGR A P HY O F &++&

their consequences; the spatial distribution of jobs questions and discourses; foster different experi-
for the highly and lowly educated labor force; the ments, practices, and engagements; and have dif-
spatial mobility or circulation of talent; and the ferent scientific reputations. The acceptance and
role of the educational system in the assimilation reputation of scientific results depend, to a large
or seclusion of minorities. Transition rates of var- degree, on where they were generated, shown,
ious age groups to the different types of second- and verified. The platform on which scientific
ary schools and colleges and universities; the results are first presented is often of more impor-
median number of school years completed; the tance for their rapid diffusion than is the quality
drop-out rates; the truancy rates; and other indi- or originality of the findings. Science and the
cators of schooling are used to describe the spa- humanities are replete with examples illustrating
tial dimension of social structures and processes the extremely long time it took for highly creative
and to define inner-urban problem areas. ideas, new research questions, and theoretical
From the 1980s onward, work on the geogra- concepts to be perceived and accepted by the epis-
phy of education extended its research to spatial temological centers of the relevant disciplines.
disparities of the sociodemographic structure of David Livingstone described distinctive geog-
teachers and university scholars (e.g., age, skills, raphies of writing and reception, showing that
gender, ethnic origin, career, and spatial mobil- the generation of knowledge requires a spatial
ity); to relations between educational achieve- context other than the showing of experiments
ment, labor markets, and spatial mobility; and to and that the legitimization of scientific results, in
spatial disparities of vertical social mobility turn, calls for other locations. A spatial diffusion
between generations. At the same time, economic of scientific knowledge does not guarantee that
geographers attached increasing importance to readers will interpret that knowledge as intended
the role of professional skills; the diffusion of by the writer. Darwin’s theory of evolution, for
technical innovations; the spatial distribution of instance, was interpreted very differently depend-
patents, inventions, research input, and output; ing on the country in question.
and the impact of clusters and networks on
knowledge generation. From the 1990s onward,
Geographies of Creativity
the geography of education turned increasingly to
theoretical issues of knowledge generation and Since the late 1980s, it has become widely
dissemination and to the nexus between knowl- accepted that creative ideas emerge and develop
edge and space. in complex, dynamic interactions between the
creator and his or her environments. Creative
individuals are embedded in particular environ-
The Geography of Science
ments capable of either fostering or hindering
The geography of science, which developed since their creativity. Cognitive processes are guided
the early 1980s mainly in the United Kingdom not only by personal capabilities or intrinsic moti-
and the United States, is interested in all steps of vation but also by interactions with the environ-
the generation, dissemination, and application of ment. A creative milieu is not produced solely by
scientific knowledge. Locally produced knowl- the copresence of particular constituents. Much
edge becomes widely disseminated knowledge more decisive are their interrelations and mutual
only if it is shared with others, recognized by modifications. A creative milieu or environment
epistemic authorities of the relevant domain, and represents a certain possibility or potentiality that
proved useful. A spatial context or setting in must be activated through human communica-
which scientific experiments and studies are car- tion and interaction. The potential to communi-
ried out does not only influence the generation of cate with other highly creative persons attracts
knowledge, it also strongly affects the justifica- other creative artists and scientists from elsewhere
tion, legitimization, and dissemination of scien- and thus enhances the attractiveness of a place.
tific results. Places of discovery can have an One cannot predict whether and how often this
impact on scientific results. They present distinct potential for integrating diverse viewpoints and
opportunities of learning. They induce different knowledge bases is activated. This is one of the
&++' K N O W LE D G E , G E OG RAPHY OF

reasons why many scholars hesitate to use the means by which the minorities can protect their
terms creative industry or creative class. culture from intervention by the dominant politi-
cal apparatus, which is normally the state. It
makes a big difference whether an ethnic minor-
Knowledge and Power
ity group may use its mother tongue as language
The close dialectical relationship between knowl- of instruction and whether it has a chance to
edge and power, and the attraction of power influence the way in which its history and culture
centers for intellectuals and experts, may be are presented to its children. Therefore, the edu-
regarded as the main reason for the long persis- cational system and the language of instruction
tence and continuous reproduction of spatial in schools emerged, during the 19th century, as a
disparities of socioeconomic structures. Work focal point of conflict between state building and
places of important decision makers, highly the national emancipation process in multiethnic
skilled specialists, and high-technology indus- states. The language of instruction to be used in
tries show a strong tendency toward spatial con- schools was of paramount instrumental value in
centration, whereas low-skilled, routine activities both state nationalism and nation building. The
in production and administration show a trend unequal treatment, opportunities, and achieve-
toward dispersion and decentralization. The ments of minorities in the school system are a fine
main characteristic of peripheries is that they seismograph for the degree of their vulnerability,
constantly lose the largest part of their highly their collective social status, and their discrimina-
educated people to the centers. tion and chances in the labor market.
The importance of power to the production As educational systems are highly context sen-
and dissemination of various types of knowledge sitive, generalizations about the impacts of educa-
(including orientation knowledge) can hardly be tional policies or school reforms should be checked
overestimated. Orientation knowledge provides very carefully. The ideology and practice of decen-
values and a point of reference, declares what is tralized governance (local control) may re(produce)
good or evil, bestows identity, and forms the glue racial segregation and interdistrict funding ineq-
that keeps a social system together. Since early uities in the United States but bring great benefits
history, it has been in the interest of those in to disadvantaged ethnic groups in European coun-
power to control or influence institutions of knowl- tries. Depending on the context, high per capita
edge production and to manipulate and censor income of a community may increase or decrease
the diffusion of information. Since the 19th cen- the transit rates to universities.
tury, the school system is considered as one of the
Peter Meusburger
most important instruments in the socialization
of the young. In most countries, the mission of the See also Clusters; Education, Geographies of; Geography
schools includes consolidating the nation-state by Education; Information Society; Innovation, Geography
creating and transmitting national identities, ide- of; Knowledge Spillovers; Learning Regions; Science and
ologies, collective memories, and narratives and Technology Studies; Technological Change, Geography of
by assimilating ethnic minorities and immigrants.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, state
authorities used the school system to control and Further Readings
discipline their ethnic minorities, to interfere in
their cultural development, and to separate the Bathelt, H., Malmberg, A., & Maskell, P. (2004).
elites from other strata of society. Clusters and knowledge: Local buzz, global
Schools can also function as sites of ethnic pipelines and the process of knowledge creation.
resistance where historical experience and cul- Progress in Human Geography, 28, 31–56.
tural practices of ethnic groups are cultivated. Hamnett, C., Ramsden, M., & Butler, T. (2007).
To preserve their culture, most ethnic minorities Social background, ethnicity, school composition
are eager to organize the education of their chil- and educational attainment in East London.
dren in a certain way, at least in the first years of Urban Studies, 44, 1255–1280.
compulsory schooling. Schools represent a legal
 K NOWLEDGE SP ILLOV ERS &++(

The most influential analytical framework to

Livingstone, D. (2003). Putting science in its place: study the impacts of knowledge spillovers on
Geographies of scientific knowledge. Chicago: urban growth was developed in 1992 by Glaeser,
University of Chicago Press. Kallal, Scheinkman, and Shleifer,, who distin-
Malecki, E. (2000). Knowledge and regional guished among three different perspectives:
competitiveness. Erdkunde, 54, 334–351.
Meusburger, P. (2008). The nexus between 1. MAR spillovers, referring to the original
knowledge and space. In P. Meusburger, insights of the economists Alfred Marshall,
M. Welker, & E. Wunder (Eds.), Clashes of Kenneth Arrow, and Paul Romer
knowledge (pp. 35–90). Dordrecht, Netherlands:
2. Porter spillovers, named for the famed
Springer.
management scholar Michael Porter
3. Jacobs spillovers, named after the urban
theorist Jane Jacobs

KNOWLEDGE SPILLOVERS The first two approaches stress spillovers

within a sector (intraindustrial spillovers) and the
By knowledge spillovers, economic geographers importance of geographical economic specializa-
usually refer to technical, scientific, or organiza- tion, whereas Jacobs spillovers occur between
tional knowledge that, once discovered, easily sectors (interindustrial spillovers) and are there-
comes to the attention of other individuals due to fore more abundant in a more diversified local
its nonrival and (partially) nonexcludable nature. economy. In addition, the MAR perspective
Nonrivalness implies that additional users bear favors local monopolies, whereas the other two
no extra cost and do not prevent others from pos- see strong local competition as a better incubator
sessing and using the knowledge. Nonexcludabil- of innovative behavior. Although much debate
ity indicates that it is also impossible, or at least surrounds the issue, Jacobs’s perspective has gath-
very difficult, to prevent others from gaining the ered most support from researchers.
knowledge, whether they have contributed to its While the empirical literature on geographic-
production or not. The term spillover is intended ally localized knowledge spillovers is extensive,
to highlight the difficulty of controlling knowl- many central questions remain unsettled. The main
edge and preventing its unintentional dissemina- criticisms revolve around the issues of tacitness—
tion in the economy. Now regarded as the central spillovers as externalities—and the actual nature
factor for economic growth, knowledge spillovers of spillover processes. For example, tacit know-
and their underlying circumstances have received ledge was originally viewed as implying that
increased scholarly attention. individuals know more than they can tell. It was
A common assumption in the geography of therefore not merely difficult but impossible
innovation literature is that knowledge often takes to convey this through formal communication. In
the form of know-how or tacit knowledge, which the more recent literature, a case is now some-
is hard to convey by means other than repeated times made that the main difficulty in transmit-
face-to-face interaction. When spillovers are thus ting much expert knowledge has often more to do
locally bounded, firms tend to locate near their with other factors, such as cognitive rather than
sources, such as universities, research and develop- geographical distance.
ment (R&D) intensive firms, or skilled labor. Another problematic issue is that knowledge
Many empirical studies have therefore examined spillovers usually imply that the diffusion is
the impact of universities or labor mobility on unintended and that the innovator does not receive
regional growth, using various indicators. Patents full compensation. Some scholars therefore use
and patent citations are now most commonly used the term knowledge externalities interchangeably.
in this respect, and in the case of scientific knowl- In many cases, however, the characteristics of
edge, various bibliometric methods are generating positive externalities are not satisfied, or this
increased interest. proves difficult to verify. Finally, the numerous
&++) K Ö P P EN, WL AD IMIR

empirical studies based on knowledge spillover went to the University of Heidelberg for graduate
proxies do not document or even prove their studies. In 1869, Köppen transferred to the Uni-
existence, and other explanations or factors might versity of Leipzig, where he studied climate
be more significant. impacts on plant growth. He earned his doctoral
While the importance of knowledge spillovers degree in 1870.
for the geography of innovation is not likely to Köppen worked for the Central Physical Obser-
falter, improved theories and detailed empirical vatory at St. Petersburg from 1872 to 1874, where
studies are increasingly called for. he published 12 research articles. He moved on to
the North German Sea Watch, a naval observa-
Samuli Leppälä and Pierre Desrochers
tory in Hamburg, in 1875, where he developed a
forecasting service for northwestern Germany
See also Agglomeration Economies; Economic
and nearby waters, described the motion of cold
Geography; Externalities; Innovation, Geography of;
fronts, and studied the upper atmosphere. Along
Knowledge, Geography of; Learning Regions
with Matthew Maury, he produced wind charts
that were valuable to ocean traders and the mili-
tary. The maps were later used by Tor Bergeron
Further Readings during his research on air masses. While at the
naval observatory, Köppen returned to research
Breschi, S., & Lissoni, F. (2001). Knowledge in climatology and botany.
spillovers and local innovation systems: A critical In the mid 1880s Köppen published a map
survey. Industrial and Corporate Change, 10, showing the relationships between temperature
975–1005. regions and vegetation growth. This research
Glaeser, E., Kallal, H., Scheinkman, J., & Shleifer, A. resulted in his first attempt at climate classification
(1992). Growth in cities. Journal of Political in 1900, but his early system did not receive much
Economy, 100, 1126–1152. recognition. Subsequent work led to the develop-
Jaffe, A., Trajtenberg, M., & Henderson, R. (1993). ment of his widely known classification scheme in
Geographic localization of knowledge spillovers as 1918. The system attempted to explain vegetation
evidenced by patent citations. Quarterly Journal distribution using temperature and precipitation
of Economics, 108, 577–598. data. Köppen revised the system multiple times
and published his final version in 1936, although
he kept editing it until his death. Despite later
modification by others, the basic structure has
KÖPPEN, WLADIMIR remained intact. It continues to be one of the most
commonly taught climate classification systems.
(1846–1940) Among Köppen’s other contributions are sev-
eral books. The Climate of Geological Prehistory,
Wladimir Peter Köppen was born on September which he published with Alfred Wegener in 1924,
25, 1846, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Although best added to the Milankovitch theory, which explains
known for his climate classification system, he Earth’s glacial and interglacial periods. It was
was originally trained as a botanist. His scientific one of the first books in the field of paleoclima-
work, which includes 526 published research tology. Köppen also worked with Rudolph Gei-
articles and numerous books written between ger to publish a five-volume set called Handbook
1868 and 1940, is recognized in the fields of geog- of Climatology between 1926 and 1940.
raphy, meteorology, climatology, and botany. He
died on June 22, 1940, in Graz, Austria. Richard R. Brandt
Köppen lived in Russia until he was 20 years
old. He had an early curiosity about the environ- See also Climate: Dry; Climate: Midlatitude, Mild;
ment due to his mother’s interest in botany and Climate: Midlatitude, Severe; Climate: Mountain;
the family’s travels. He started his studies at the Climate: Polar; Climate: Tropical Humid; Climate Types;
University of St. Petersburg in 1864. He later Climatology; Köppen-Geiger Climate Classification
 K ÖP P EN-GEIGER C LIMA T E C LA SSIF IC A T IO N &++*

Further Readings
always in lowercase. The first major division in
Köppen’s system is the distinction between humid
Daintith, J. (Ed.). (2008). Biographical encyclopedia climates and dry climates. The climate zones A,
of scientists (3rd ed.). New York: Taylor & C, D, and E are humid, and the arid B climates
Francis. are divided into two groups using an uppercase
Lewis, J. (1996): Winds over the world sea: Maury letter—steppe (BS) or desert (BW). Within the
and Köppen. Bulletin of the American humid climate group, distinction is made on the
Meteorological Society, 77, 935–952. basis of temperature, progressing sequentially
Oliver, J., & Hidore, J. (2002). Climatology: An from tropical (A, mean temperature of the coldest
atmospheric science. Upper Saddle River, NJ: month q18 nC), to temperate (C, mean tempera-
Prentice Hall. ture of the hottest month 10 nC and mean tem-
perature of the coldest month between 0 nC and
18 nC), to cold (D, mean temperature of the hot-
test month 10 nC and mean temperature of
the coldest month a0 nC), to polar (E, mean tem-
KÖPPEN-GEIGER perature of the warmest month 10 nC), with the
E type climates also divided into two groups using
CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION an uppercase letter—ET indicating tundra and
EF indicating frost climates.
The Köppen-Geiger is a system of global climate The climate zones A, C, and D are further
classification created by Wladimir Peter Köppen divided internally on the basis of the seasonality
and subsequently updated and revised by Köppen of rainfall using lowercase letters. No further sub-
in collaboration with Rudolf Geiger. It is the best- division is made in the case of the ET and EF cli-
known and most widely used global climate clas- mates. The tropical A climates are divided into f,
sification available. rain forest climates, with high temperatures and
Köppen was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in rainfall all year; m, monsoon, with a dry season;
1846, and died 94 years later in Austria after and w, savanna, with the distinction between
making a prolific contribution to science. His monsoon and savanna being based on the relative
early training in botany appears to have exerted dryness of the dry season.
considerable influence on the work for which he The arid (B) climates are separated from the
is best remembered—a global classification of cli- humid climates using a dryness threshold and are
mate. In an interesting twist of fate, his daughter then divided into steppe (BS) and desert (BW),
married Alfred Wegener, the pioneer of continen- also using the dryness threshold, which depends
tal drift, with whom Köppen collaborated on on the mean annual temperature and the sea-
global paleoclimate reconstruction; this project sonal distribution of rainfall. As in the subdivi-
presumably emphasized to him the importance of sion of other climate types, an important principle
a global system of climate classification. In the is whether the most precipitation occurs during
1930s, Köppen collaborated with Rudolf Geiger, the warmer months of the year, when it will be
his junior by 48 years, in writing the Handbuch more effective for plant growth. The dryness
der Klimatologie and in updating and revising his threshold varies depending on the seasonal dis-
climate classification system, which Geiger con- tribution of rainfall. If 70% of the precipitation
tinued to work on after Köppen’s death in 1940. occurs in winter, then the dryness threshold is
The classification is now widely referred to as the calculated as twice the mean annual temperature
Köppen-Geiger classification in recognition of (in nC). Where 70% of the precipitation occurs
Geiger’s contributions. in summer, the dryness threshold is calculated as
In this classification, climates are divided into 28 plus twice the mean annual temperature.
five major categories, designated by the first five Where the seasonal concentration of precipita-
letters of the alphabet and always capitalized (see tion is below 70% in both seasons, the dryness
Table 1). Subsidiary properties of the classifica- threshold is calculated as 14 plus twice the mean
tion are also denoted by letters of the alphabet, annual temperature. Summer and winter are
&+++ K Ö P P EN-G E IG E R CL IMATE CL A SSIF IC A T ION

1st 2nd 3rd Description Criteria

A Tropical Tcold q 18
f Rain forest Pdry q 60
m Monsoon Not (Af) and Pdry q 100 MAP/25
w Savanna Not (Af) and Pdry  100 MAP/25

B Arid MAP  10 × Pthreshold

W Desert MAP  5 × Pthreshold
S Steppe MAP q 5 × Pthreshold
h – Hot MAT q 18
k – Cold MAT  18

C Temperate Thot  10 and 0  Tcold  18

s Dry summer Psdry  40 and Psdry  Pwwet/3
w Dry winter Pwdry  Pswet/10
f Without dry season Not (Cs) or (Cw)
a – Hot summer Thot q 22
b – Warm summer Not (a) and Tmon10 q 4
c – Cold summer Not (a or b) and 1 a Tmon10  4

D Cold Thot > 10 and Tcold a 0

s Dry summer Psdry  40 and Psdry  Pwwet/3
w Dry winter Pwdry  Pswet/10
f Without dry season Not (Ds) or (Dw)
a – Hot summer Thot q 22
b – Warm summer Not (a) and Tmon10 q 4
c – Cold summer Not (a, b, or d)
d – Very cold winter Not (a or b) and Tcold  38

E Polar Thot  10
T Tundra Thot > 0
F Frost Thot a 0

Table 1 Description of Köppen-Geiger climate symbols and defining criteria

Source: Peel, M. C., Finlayson, B. L., & McMahon, T. A. (2007). Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification.
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 11, 1633–1644. Reprinted with permission.
Notes: MAP = mean annual precipitation; MAT = mean annual temperature; Thot = temperature of the hottest month; Tcold =
temperature of the coldest month; Tmon10 = number of months when the temperature is above 10; Pdry = precipitation of the driest
month; Psdry = precipitation of the driest month in summer; Pwdry = precipitation of the driest month in winter; Pswet = precipitation of
the wettest month in summer; Pwwet = precipitation of the wettest month in winter; Pthreshold = variations according to the following
rules (if 70% of MAP occurs in winter, then Pthreshold = 2 × MAT; if 70% of MAP occurs in summer, then Pthreshold = 2 × MAT + 28,
otherwise Pthreshold = 2 × MAT + 14). Summer (winter) is defined as the warmer (cooler) 6-month period of ONDJFM or AMJJAS.

defined as 6-month periods where summer (win- in the case of the D climates, the letter d is used to
ter) is ONDJFM or AMJJAS. indicate areas with very cold winters.
The arid B climates are further subdivided where The most recent world map based on Köppen’s
the letter k is used to denote that the mean annual classification, shown in Figure 1, was compiled using
temperature is 18 °C and h where the mean annual the rules set out in Table 1. The percentage of the
temperature is q18 nC. In the C and D climates, a world’s land surface occupied by each main climate
third letter is used to distinguish on the basis of type is shown in Table 2. In theory, there are 30 cli-
seasonal temperature distribution. In each case, the mate types possible using this system; however, the
letters a, b, and c are used to indicate hot summer, Csc climate does not occur anywhere, and the Cwc
warm summer, and cold summer, respectively, and type occupies only 0.002% of the land area.
 K ÖP P EN-GEIGER C LIMA T E C LA SSIF IC A T IO N &++,

Figure 1 World climate map based on the Köppen-Geiger climate classification

Source: Peel, M. C., Finlayson, B. L., & McMahon, T. A. (2007). Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate
classification. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 11, 1633–1644. Reprinted with permission.

Climate type A B C D E

Land area (%) 19 30.2 13.4 24.6 12.8

Table 2 Percentage of the world’s land area occupied by each of the main climate types
Source: Based on Peel, M. C., Finlayson, B. L., & McMahon, T. A. (2007). Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate
classification. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 11, 1633–1644.

Following the publication of Köppen’s clas- have not appeared to replace the Köppen-
sification in 1918, there was a long and vigor- Geiger classification.
ous debate in the literature over the details of Both research scientists and teachers continue
the various categories and also about the basic to use the Köppen system almost exclusively, and
principles. Köppen developed his classification there have recently been two new world maps of
at a time when there were relatively few data climate using the Köppen-Geiger classification,
available with which to map the world and no drawn using large computer databases and sophis-
electronic tools to assist in analysis and map- ticated analytical methods (Kottek, Grieser, Beck,
ping. It is therefore somewhat surprising that Rudolf, & Rubel, 2006; Peel, Finlayson, &
new global climate classifications produced McMahon, 2007). Arthur Wilcock seems to have
using modern databases and computer resources been correct when he said in his 1968 paper,
&++- K R O P O TKIN, PE TE R

If, on the other hand, one is convinced that there the physiography of Asia, the desiccation of exten-
are in principle strict limits to what can be sive regions, and postglacial climatic change.
achieved by any simple classification, one may Despite his noble birth, from the age of 12
consider it profitless to seek minor improvements onward Kropotkin avoided using his title of prince
at the cost of confusion. (p. 13) and showed great admiration for the hard work,
skills, and moral values of the common people. In
Brian L. Finlayson
European Russia, he observed the suffering of the
peasants and the continuing exploitation of work-
See also Air Masses; Atmospheric Circulation; Biota and
ers, even after the abolition of serfdom in 1861.
Climate; Climate Types; Climatology; Köppen, Wladimir
He documented the brutal conditions endured by
prisoners, peasants, and miners in Siberia; devel-
oped a passionate interest in anarchism, socialism,
Further Readings and communism; and read avidly about the tri-
umphs and eventual annihilation of the Paris
Kottek, M., Grieser, J., Beck, C., Rudolf, B., & Commune. In 1872, he made a 3-month trip to
Rubel, F. (2006). World map of the Köppen- visit the International Workingmen’s Association
Geiger climate classification updated. Meteorol. in Switzerland and learn more about Western
Zeitschr, 15(3), 259–263. European experiences of revolution and social
Peel, M., Finlayson, B., & McMahon, T. (2007). transformation. Returning to Russia, he helped
Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate build the fledgling anarchist communist move-
classification. Hydrology and Earth System ment until he was arrested and imprisoned. He
Sciences, 11, 1633–1644. escaped in 1876 and fled to England, where he
Sanderson, M. (1999). The classification of climates spent most of the next 40 years, intermingled with
from Pythagoras to Koeppen. Bulletin of the shorter periods in France and Switzerland and an
American Meteorological Society, 80, 669–673. 1897 visit to North America. In May 1917, he
Wilcock, A. (1968). Köppen after fifty years. Annals returned to Russia, but he was soon marginalized
of the Association of American Geographers. by the October Revolution and Lenin’s emphasis
58(1), 12–28. on tightly controlling political power.
Kropotkin’s primary contribution to geography
is his vision of an alternative future—decentral-
ized, dispersed, integrated, and powered by renew-
KROPOTKIN, PETER able sources of electrical energy—and a new
geography to counter the capitalist vision of glo-
(1842–1921) balized markets based on free trade and compara-
tive advantage. He rejected the exploitation and
Peter (Pyotr) Alexeyevich Kropotkin was a lead- alienation of labor associated with capitalist mass
ing Russian anarchist, social philosopher, explorer, production, the environmental destruction associ-
and geographer. He was born and died in the ated with large-scale urbanization and the heavy
Moscow region, but he traveled very widely and use of fossil fuels and artificial fertilizers, and the
spent half his life in exile. As a prince in a noble enormous waste of energy associated with global-
family, Kropotkin was selected by Tsar Nicholas I ized commodity trading. Instead, he advocated the
to study in the elite Corps of Pages, a military integration of manual and intellectual labor in vil-
academy for courtiers. On graduation from the lages and small towns, with a mixture of agricul-
Corps, bored with military science and increas- ture, handicrafts, and small industries. Local
ingly disillusioned with the extravagance and pet- territories would be self-governing, cooperatively
tiness of the Court, he volunteered to serve as an organized and moderately self-reliant, and loosely
army officer in Siberia and spent 9 years exploring federated with neighboring communities and
the region, initially as a soldier and later as a civil engaging in interregional trade. As well as contrib-
servant working with the Russian Geographical uting to the anarchist cause and critiques of capi-
Society. Subsequently, he wrote extensively about talist globalization and Soviet authoritarianism,
 K R UMMHO L Z &++.

his work strengthened the Arts and Crafts Move-

ment and helped inspire the movements advocat-
KRUMMHOLZ
ing garden cities, organic farming, community
Krummholz, the crooked trees that are battered
food security, appropriate technology, and biore-
and stunted by harsh microclimates, exist at the
gionalism. Kropotkin’s close intellectual contacts
upper edge of tree growth in mountains. Their
included Élisée Reclus, Patrick Geddes, Ebenezer
name is derived from the German term for
Howard, and William Morris.
crooked or twisted wood. These krummholz, or
Ray Bromley elfin wood, suffer strong winds, low temperatures,
intense radiation, and short growing seasons, and
See also Anarchism and Geography; Reclus, Élisée;
thus they become deformed. The geography of
Russian Geographical Society
krummholz provides clues about microclimates,
species’ distributions, water supplies, and climate
Further Readings change.
Most krummholz are evergreen trees, such as
Kropotkin, P. (1899). Fields, factories and the Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii); how-
workshops. London: Hutchinson. ever, occasionally, deciduous trees, such as the
Kropotkin, P. (1902). Mutual aid. London: quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), will have a
Heinemann. stunted form. In some areas (e.g., the European
Woodcock, G., & Avakumovic, I. (1950). The Alps), the dwarfed and crooked krummholz forms
anarchist prince. London: Boardman. are genetically induced. In other areas (e.g., North
America), the krummholz forms are considered

An ecotone of krummholz
Source: Author.
&+,% K R UM MHOL Z

The windward growth of the flag krummholz becomes battered.

Source: Author.

to be caused by microclimatic factors that have through the waxy coverings or cuticles of their
acted on the tree during its lifetime. needles. If krummholz are not protected by snow
Krummholz extend from the upper edge of a cover during winter, they are exposed to wind-
noncrooked, dense forest, through a transitional driven ice and rock crystals that can pit the tis-
zone or ecotone of increasingly crooked trees, sues and accelerate evaporation. Without
to the treeless tundra (see first photo). Often, insulating snow cover, soil water can freeze, pre-
the ecotone appears as a belt of krummholz, venting roots from uptaking water. Intense
paralleling the contours of a slope. The belt ultraviolet radiation, especially at high eleva-
might be quite wide on a leeward slope, where tions, can damage exposed tissues. In all these
strong, downslope winds, moving first across cases, the growth tissues can be killed and may
the tundra and carrying ice and rock particles, fall off the tree, leaving it weakened and in a
blast into the trees. In contrast, winds moving crooked and stunted form.
upslope through a forest will cause little defor-
mation because they tend to move slower and be
less abrasive. Forms of Krummholz
A variety of factors affect the type and degree
of stunting that occur in krummholz. Short and Although the forms of krummholz can be
cool growing seasons may prevent maturation quite varied (they are as diverse as the diversity of
and acclimatization of tree tissues to be pre- their harsh microclimates), three forms can typi-
pared for winter extremes. Immature tissues cally be found. The first form, the flag krumm-
may not limit water loss to the dry atmosphere holz, is found just upslope from the symmetrical,
 K R UMMHO L Z &+,&

noncrooked trees of the dense forest.

This tree is shorter in height than the
forest trees, and its upper trunk has a
flag form, with growth primarily on
the leeward side (see second photo).
During winter, ice crystals and rock
particles can be bounced along the
snowpack by winds and driven into
the krummholz, damaging the trees’
windward, exposed tissues.
The second form, the flag mat
krummholz, exists upslope from the
flag. Here, the winds have increased.
The trunk is dwarfed, crooked, and
flagged with only leeward growth (see
third photo). The form includes a
prostrate mat that survives beneath
the winter snow. The flag mat krumm-
holz are often widely spaced, and
winds erode snow from between the
trees and deposit it onto the down-
wind trees. This snow deposit protects
parts of the krummholz from damag-
ing winds, provides a layer of insula-
tion against extreme air temperatures,
insulates the soil, and provides pro-
tection from intense radiation.
The third krummholz form is only a
prostrate mat, with no flagged, upright
trunk (see fourth photo). This krumm- The flag mat krummholz has a deformed trunk and a mat that
holz survives close to the ground surface, survives when buried by snow.
where it is most protected from the winds Source: Author.
of the nearby tundra. These mats are
often asymmetrical, with an apex-oriented upwind. radiation, strong winds, frozen soils, and a short
Strong winds erode snow from the mat’s apex, growing season. Their various forms indicate
exposing it to a battering by rock and ice crystals, varying wind speeds, snowpack depths, growing
to low temperatures, and to intense radiation. This season lengths, and both summer and winter tem-
upwind part of the mat is also a snow fence, causing peratures. Snowdrifts, collecting within and down-
winds to deposit entrained snow on the downwind wind of krummholz, contribute meltwater to
portion of the mat, insulating and protecting it. The streams and lakes, long after snow packs in the
mat survives in a larger and wider form, downwind, forest have melted. Krummholz offer thermal
in response to this protection. Most mat tissues cover and visual protection for animals. They pro-
exposed above the winter snow pack are killed. vide perches for birds. Winds in the krummholz
ecotone help keep mammals more insect-free dur-
ing the summer months. The krummholz ecotone,
with both forest and tundra plants and animals,
The Importance of Krummholz
can be seasonally biologically diverse. From tree
Krummholz provide a great deal of information rings, summer air temperatures can be recon-
about their environment. They indicate the pres- structed for the krummholz. Often, krummholz
ence of low air temperatures, intense shortwave will be quite long-lived, yielding a long record.
&+,' K UH N , WE RNE R

The mat krummholz is prostrate and protected by winter snow.

Source: Author.

Finally, krummholz offer a never-ending number

of unique forms that are both pleasing and per- MacDonald, G. (2003). Biogeography: Space, time,
plexing to the human eye and psyche, as krumm- and life. New York: Wiley.
holz exist on the edge. Price, L. (1981). Mountains and man: A study of
process and environment. Berkeley: University of
Kathy Hansen Crawford California Press.

See also Biogeography; Biome: Boreal Forest; Biome:

Tundra; Biota and Climate; Climate: Mountain; Ecotone
KUHN, WERNER (1957– )

Further Readings Werner Kuhn is Professor of Geoinformatics at the

University of Münster (Germany) and has been
Hansen-Bristow, K. J. (1981). Environmental among the most active researchers in geographic
controls influencing the altitude and form of the information science (GIScience) for many years.
forest-tundra ecotone: Colorado Front Range. Until recently, his main research interest was the
Doctoral dissertation, Geography Department, semantics of spatial information, which he studies
University of Colorado, Boulder. in the context of usability of geospatial data and
Hansen-Bristow, K. J., & Ives, J. (1984). Changes in services. He has developed several ideas and meth-
the forest-tundra ecotone: Colorado Front Range. ods, including the algebraic description of seman-
Physical Geography, 5(2), 186–197. tic properties and their mappings, the derivation of
ontologies from texts, and the notion of semantic
 K UHN, WER N E R &+,(

reference systems. Apart from this core subject, example, Max Egenhofer, Barry Smith, David
Werner Kuhn has carried out research in various Mark, Andrew Frank, and others. Through these
other fields, such as visualization, engineering of collaborations, Kuhn has become one of the main
geosoftware, and especially issues related to spatial contributors to the theoretical and methodologi-
cognition. Kuhn has produced a long list of inter- cal foundations of geographical information sci-
nationally respected publications in scientifically ence. Apart from the basic scientific work, he is
leading journals, books, and proceedings. involved in important developments that concern
Kuhn studied geodesy at ETH Zurich and practical issues of geoinformation. For example,
received a diploma in surveying engineering in he contributed to different working groups in the
1982. At ETH’s Institute of Geodesy and Photo- Open Geospatial Consortium, served as Technical
grammetry he received his PhD in 1989, with a Director Europe for this organization, and has
thesis on human interaction with geographic worked closely with various institutions in public
information systems (GIS). In 1989, he was a administration and industry. He was also one of
postdoctoral research assistant at the National the founders of the Association of Geographic
Center for Geographic Information and Analysis Information Laboratories in Europe (AGILE) and
(NCGIA), department of surveying engineering, has chaired and co-organized important inter-
University of Maine. From 1991 to 1996, he held national conferences such as COSIT, GIScience,
a position as research associate in the department and AGILE.
of geoinformation at Vienna University of Tech-
Hardy Pundt
nology, Austria. In 1995, he finished his disserta-
tion on the semantics of geospatial information
See also GIScience; GIS Design; Map Visualization;
and received the venia docendi in GIScience from
Ontological Foundations of Geographic Data; Semantic
the Vienna University of Technology.
Interoperability; Semantic Reference Systems;
Based on his broad experience in an interna-
Topological Relationships
tional context, Kuhn became a professor of geoin-
formatics at the Institute for Geoinformatics,
University of Muenster, Germany, in 1996. Since
2003, he has held a full professorship at this insti- Further Readings
tute, which was the first of its kind in Germany and
introduced the first curriculum in geoinformatics as Brox, C., Bishr, Y., Senkler, K., Zens, K., & Kuhn, W.
an independent subject in Europe in 1999. (2002). Toward a geospatial data infrastructure
Although Kuhn’s early work was primarily for North Rhine-Westfalia. Computers,
on topological data structures and user interfaces, Environment and Urban Systems, 26(1), 19–37.
he turned increasingly to problems of usability Harvey, F., Kuhn, W., Pundt, H., Bishr, Y., &
of geoinformation, mainly in relationship with the- Riedemann, C. (1999). Semantic interoperability:
ories of spatial behavior, before refocusing his A central issue for sharing geographic information.
research group at Münster on the challenge of Annals of Regional Science, 33(2), 213–232.
semantic interoperability. For this purpose, he Kuhn, W. (1997). Approaching the issue of
founded MUSIL (the Muenster Semantic Interoper- information loss in geographic data transfers.
ability Lab) in 2002. Broader areas of interest and Geographical Systems, 4(3), 261–276.
scientific contributions are computer languages, Kuhn, W. (2001). Ontologies in support of activities in
thematic mapping, human-computer interaction, geographical space. International Journal of
metaphors, blendings, and semantic translation. Geographical Information Science, 15(7), 613–631.
Kuhn is an initiator of the Conference of Spa- Kuhn, W. (2003). Semantic reference systems.
tial Information Theory (COSIT) meetings, which International Journal of Geographical
deal with the theoretical foundations of spatial Information Science, 17(5), 405–409.
sciences and geoinformation technology. He works Kuhn, W. (2005). Geospatial semantics: Why, of
with colleagues who create basic theories and what, and how? Journal on Data Semantics,
methods to deal with the geometric, topological, 3534, 1–24.
and semantic aspects of spatial information—for
&+,) K W A N , ME I-PO

KWAN, MEI-PO (1962– ) documented gender differences in individual acces-

sibility that cannot be detected with conventional
integral measures of accessibility or statistical
Mei-Po Kwan is distinguished professor of social approaches. This work has been expanded to take
and behavioral sciences in the department of into account the impacts of information and com-
geography at Ohio State University. She is pri- munication technologies on people’s daily activity
marily associated with the fields of geographic patterns. This work has also led her to a critical
information systems (GIS) and urban, economic, engagement with feminist research methods and
transport, and health geography. an ongoing process of reconciling GIS, critical
Kwan received a PhD in geography from the geographies, and qualitative methodologies.
University of California at Santa Barbara in 1994.
Joe Weber
She is editor of the Methods, Models and GIS sec-
tion of the Annals of the Association of American
See also Accessibility; Critical GIS; Feminist Geographies;
Geographers and has received numerous honors
GIS Implementation; GIS in Transportation; Humanistic
and awards, including the prestigious UCGIS
GIScience; Three-Dimensional Data Models; Time-
Research Award from the University Consortium
Geography; Transportation Geography
for Geographic Information Science and the
Edward L. Ullman Award from the Transporta-
tion Geography Specialty Group of the Associa-
tion of American Geographers. Further Readings
She is an internationally recognized leader in
developing and implementing GIS-based methods Kwan, M.-P. (1998). Space-time and integral
in research involving individual-level data (both measures of individual accessibility: A
quantitative and qualitative), three-dimensional comparative analysis using a point-based
(3D) geovisualization, geocomputation, and femi- framework. Geographical Analysis, 30, 191–216.
nist perspectives. Her varied research programs have Kwan, M.-P. (2000). Human extensibility and
addressed fundamental questions about geographic individual hybrid-accessibility in space-time: A
methods and have influenced the development of multi-scale representation using GIS. In D. Janelle
several areas in geographic information science & D. Hodge (Eds.), Information, place, and
(GIScience) in important ways. Her work has made cyberspace: Issues in accessibility (pp. 241–256).
substantial and broad contributions to the develop- Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.
ment of innovative geographic methods, including Kwan, M.-P. (2002). Feminist visualization:
geocomputational algorithms for implementing Re-envisioning GIS as a method in feminist
space-time accessibility measures that are sensitive geographic research. Annals of the Association of
to individual differences, 3D interactive geovisual- American Geographers, 92, 645–661.
ization of complex human activity travel data, qual- Kwan, M.-P. (2008). From oral histories to visual
itative GIS and narrative analysis, the use of GIS for narratives: Re-presenting the post-September 11
articulating people’s emotional geographies and as experiences of the Muslim women in the United
an artistic medium, network-based 3D topological States. Social and Cultural Geography, 9, 653–669.
data models, GIS-based intelligent emergency Kwan, M.-P., & Guoxiang, D. (2008). Geo-narrative:
response systems, and protection of geoprivacy Extending geographic information systems for
through geographic masking. narrative analysis in qualitative and mixed-method
Her work has focused on individuals’ daily lives research. The Professional Geographer, 60, 443–465.
and the differences that gender, race, and religion
can make on their experiences, mobility, and
opportunities. She was the first to implement the
time-geographic approach with innovative GIS- KYOTO PROTOCOL
based methods on large data sets. Using geocom-
putation and 3D geovisualization, her work has See Climate Policy
 LABOR, GEOGRAPHY OF
L engage in broad intellectual debates within geog-
raphy and with other social sciences.
Studying how people reproduce themselves mate-
rially in different places has been and remains a
Historical Roots
major preoccupation of geographical inquiry.
What people do to “make a living” varies greatly There is a long intellectual history leading to the
across noncapitalist and capitalist economies. placement of labor at the center of geographical
Economic geographers studying capitalist econo- analysis. Early-20th-century geography’s dark
mies have traditionally privileged the role that flirtation with environmental determinism linked
capital and its institutions play in shaping the the ability to engage in productive work to climatic
economic landscape. Labor, too simply defined as conditions. Later, rich descriptions of how people
physical work done for wages, has often been struggle to reproduce themselves by altering and
reduced to a factor of production purchased along adapting to their environments were central to
with equipment and materials to produce new traditional regional geography. The post–World
commodities. Although labor quickly became the War II quantitative revolution ushered in a scien-
primary location factor explored by researchers, tific paradigm that attempted to mathematically
it was not considered an active agent in the trans- model location decisions of firms by reducing
formation of economic landscapes. In the mid labor to one of several least-cost variables; in this
1990s, however, there were calls to consider labor view, labor was not substantively different from
as an active agent shaping economic space. Most other inputs such as land or capital.
significant was Andrew Herod’s call for a new In the 1970s, classical location theory was
labor geography, defined as a radical approach challenged by a new generation of radical geog-
that interprets economic space as actively pro- raphers influenced by theoretical Marxism and
duced by workers as they socially and materially the political events of the 1960s. These radical
reproduce themselves within systems of capitalist scholars were dissatisfied with the theoretical
accumulation (although labor geographies also limits of quantitative models based in neoclassi-
exist in noncapitalist societies). Since then, labor cal economics. Critiques of traditional location
geography has emerged as a significant project theory challenged the abstraction of firms and
within the subdiscipline of economic geography. workers to mere variables and argued that any
Still, in its relative infancy, no single analytical discussion of the location of production must
framework has come to define or dominate labor consider adversarial relations within broader
geography as the project continues to expand and capitalist processes (e.g., the labor process and

&+,*
&+,+ LA B O R , G E OG RAPHY OF

Textile industry strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts (1912)

Source: Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-98168.

industrial restructuring). Throughout the 1980s, capitalist development throughout the 1980s was
the new conceptual position increasingly centered perhaps to be expected. In many advanced capi-
the labor process in analytical frameworks exam- talist economies, a prolonged period of neoliberal
ining local labor market formation and patterns economic restructuring (in varied Reaganite and
of (dis)investment. Local labor militancy in the Thatcherist versions) forced organized labor into
face of industrial transformation was traced to the relative retreat. The evidence strongly suggested
legacies of previous “layers of investment” and that unions were unable to improve the economic
past struggles with capital. Discussions of regional well-being of workers facing extensive labor mar-
economic restructuring at the national scale (e.g., ket deregulation and deindustrialization. Instead,
shifts in investment from the Rust Belt to the Sun- researchers focused on mapping and debating the
belt in the United States) or the global scale (e.g., primary causes of trade union decline. Yet there
the rise of export processing zones) were largely in were a select number of studies in the late 1980s
terms of the “capitalist imperative” to locate or and early1990s that began to identify how labor
create increasingly flexible labor markets as a was responding to economic change and how
response to falling rates of profit. While industrial such actions both enabled and challenged capital
conflict and the emergence of new labor processes in specific locations.
became central to economic geography, explana- In the mid 1990s, Herod was the first geogra-
tory accounts still remained very much focused on pher to advocate an approach that would inter-
the power of capital to restructure economies. pret economic landscapes from the perspective of
working people, a view that noted that capitalist
space is actively produced by workers and their
Contemporary Labor Geography
institutions as well as by firms. The key geograph-
The continued marginalization of workers and ical difference between capital and labor is that
their institutions (e.g., trade unions) in theories of workers reproduce themselves in situ, while more
 LA BOR , GEOGR A P HY O F &+,,

Congress of Industrial Organizations picketers jeering at workers who were entering a mill in Greensboro,
Greene County, Georgia, 1941
Source: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-fsa-8a35773.

mobile capital is able to reproduce itself through- The social production of scale continues to
out the space economy. Workers are therefore preoccupy labor geographers, but there are sub-
forced to organize not only within specific places tle theoretical differences in its conceptualization
but across space as well. A common example and practice. Herod’s initial interest in the “scale
cited by early labor geographers is the existence appropriateness” of labor strategy reflects the
of “master collective agreements” that remove work and influence of Neil Smith. Worker actions
wages and working conditions from competition against capital take place at numerous scales,
over large jurisdictions. Some contracts negoti- ranging from the microlevel (e.g., dissent through
ated at national or even international scales influ- the manipulation of personal appearance or dress
ence investment decisions and regulate capital’s code), the workplace (e.g., seeking union certifi-
ability to exploit uneven economic development. cation), and the local (e.g., partnerships that
The challenge, or what others have termed the cross class lines to attract investment) to the
geographical dilemma, facing workers is that national (e.g., union bargaining with a large
there is a constant tension between workers in employer) and the international (e.g., the forma-
superior bargaining positions with capital and tion of union alliances across national boundar-
those with less power who are forced to under- ies to challenge transnational firms). Workers
mine the “pattern” by lowering wages to attract and their institutions will lean toward workplace,
capital to their communities. As a result, orga- local, national, or international scales of mobili-
nized labor is most often limited to producing a zation depending on the time- and place-specific
local scale of action. contexts.
&+,- LA B O R , G E OG RAPHY OF

Other labor geographers view worker organi- theoretical understanding of the production of
zation as multiscalar. Successful campaigns against scale, to industrial relations. Labor geographers
capital involve simultaneous mobilization at mul- have engaged in broader labor studies for some
tiple scales where workplace, community, national, time and continue to make theoretical and politi-
and international efforts reinforce one another. cal contributions to labor union renewal, an
For some, adopting the multiscalar view still privi- extensive body of literature and practices in
leges labor internationalism as the most significant Anglophonic contexts. The call for multiscalar
scale, despite the “geographical dilemma” limiting approaches to organizing campaigns is very much
international worker solidarity (especially between part of this project. Discovering how new (largely
workers in the global North and the global South). urban) local initiatives such as the Justice for Jan-
Other labor geographers, however, view different itors campaign organizing cleaners in the United
scales of action as nonhierarchical in nature, such States can be supported and extended to the
as when campaigns require both local and national/ global scale is one relevant example. Labor geog-
international participation and call for frame- raphers can make normative analytical and politi-
works that understand labor action as constituted cal contributions by assessing and designing
by complex, interdependent relationships among organizing strategy and public policy.
workers and communities. A second concern is the relatively unproblem-
Apart from the scalar preoccupations of much atic conceptualization of “agency” exercised by
of labor geography, there are other contributions workers as they shape economic landscapes. Labor
to important debates and issues by those inter- geography research is abundantly centered on
ested in excising the agency of workers. Specifi- advanced capitalist labor markets, as less study is
cally, there is an attempt to highlight how working focused on the global South. The concentration on
people engage with social space in ways that established unions in mature industrial relations
shape their lives beyond the immediate work- systems may not accurately capture the growing
place. Linda McDowell’s examination of shifting power asymmetries that exist between capital and
gender and race relations in postindustrial work- workers in unorganized service sectors, immigrant
places and labor markets identifies how workers labor markets, and poor economies.
are implicated in reproducing inequality. Com- Indeed, to make the labor geography project
munity unions—coalitions among labor and non- relevant for the 21st century, several new direc-
labor groups for a common struggle—have also tions need to be developed. For example, some
been researched by labor geographers as a means argue that labor geography may have to revisit
of extending the scope of study beyond immedi- the work of feminist geographers and seriously
ate workplace issues. Extending the inquiry of explore how unpaid labor shapes the economic
labor geography beyond the workplace to investi- landscape. Presently, researchers do consider the
gate the entirety of workers’ lives will be an links between paid and unpaid work, but this is
important future consideration for researchers. largely driven by the need to look more closely at
the full lives of wage workers. An “unpaid labor
geography” is needed that considers how social
The Future of Labor Geography
reproduction in the home and volunteering in the
More than a decade has passed since Herod’s ini- community shape economic space. In other words,
tial call, and although the labor geography project labor geography must more fully engage with
is still relatively new to the confines of economic broader working-class studies, which see workers
geography, there has been some recent reflection as more than “what they do to make a living”
on its future. Among the concerns raised are the and explore the contributions workers make to
need to extend the project to mainstream indus- political and cultural community life. Fortunately,
trial relations and labor studies, questions sur- several researchers are already beginning to
rounding the theorization of worker agency, and strengthen labor geography by exploring these
the limited empirical focus of early studies. gaps in the existing research.
There have been calls to extend the conceptual
tools used by labor geographers, such as the rich Steven Tufts
 LA ND DEGR A DA T IO N &+,.

See also Class, Geography and; Deindustrialization;

Economic Geography; Factors Affecting Location of
LAND DEGRADATION
Firms; Flexible Production; Industrialization; Marxism,
Geography and; Massey, Doreen; Mitchell, Don; Radical Land degradation is one of the most important
Geography; Regulation Theory; Scale, Social Production global issues because it affects all parts of the
of; Smith, Neil world and, more significantly, has severe
impacts on agronomic productivity, the envi-
ronment, food security, and the quality of life.
The term land degradation is a relatively new
Further Readings scientific description of an ancient environmen-
tal problem that has been in existence probably
Castree, N. (2007). Labour geography: A work in
since humans began to use fire to modify land-
progress. International Journal of Urban and
scapes. Essentially, land degradation refers to
Regional Research, 31, 853–862.
natural and/or anthropogenic processes that
Castree, N., Coe, N., Ward, K., & Samers, M.
substantially decrease the utility or potential
(2003). Spaces of work: Global capitalism and the
utility of the biophysical environment, some-
geographies of labour. London: Sage.
times leading to loss or change of features of
Herod, A. (1995). The practice of international labor
the environment that cannot be replaced. In the
solidarity and the geography of the global
context of utility, land degradation results
economy. Economic Geography, 71, 341–363.
whenever there is a mismatch between land
Herod, A. (1997). From a geography of labor to a
quality and land use.
labor geography: Labor’s spatial fix and the
This entry first discusses the definition of land
geography of capitalism. Antipode, 29(1), 1–31.
degradation and explores the distinction between
Herod, A. (2000). Implications of just-in-time
its proximate and ultimate causes. Though the
production for union strategy: Lessons from the
causes of land degradation are many, the underly-
1998 General Motors-United Auto Workers
ing fact is that it is an outcome of the mismanage-
dispute. Annals of the Association of American
ment of land, which involves two interlocking,
Geographers, 90, 521–547.
complex systems: the natural ecosystem and the
Herod, A. (2001). Labor geographies: Workers and
human social system. Any efforts aimed at miti-
the landscapes of capitalism. New York: Guilford
gating or managing land degradation or resource
Press.
management must consider interactions between
Massey, D. (1984). Spatial divisions of labour: Social
the two systems that will determine their success
structures and the geography of production.
or failure. Thus, before describing particular
London: Macmillan.
causes, the entry examines the nature of this inter-
McDowell, L. (1997). Capital culture. Oxford, UK:
action. The entry then discusses in some detail the
Blackwell.
impact of poverty and increasing population on
Mitchell, D. (1996). The lie of the land. Minneapolis:
land degradation.
University of Minnesota Press.
Peck, J. (1992). Labor and agglomeration: Control
and flexibility in local labor markets. Economic Definition and Scope
Geography, 68, 325–347. of Land Degradation
Storper, M., & Walker, R. (1989). The capitalist
imperative: Territory, technology and industrial Land degradation is only one of many terms that
growth. New York: Blackwell. have been used to describe the process of degra-
dation of the biophysical environment; other
common references include degeneration of the
soil, environmental deterioration, exhaustion of
land, and desertification. The latter is often used
LAHAR interchangeably with land degradation, although
its more appropriate usage is strictly in reference
See Volcanoes to the process of environmental degeneration
&+-% LA N D DEG RAD ATION

Continent Total Area Degraded Areaa Degraded (%)

Africa 14.326 10.458 73

Asia 18.814 13.417 71
Australia and the Pacific 7.012 3.759 54
Europe 1.456 0.943 65
North America 5.782 4.286 74
South America 4.207 3.058 73

Total 51.597 35.921 70

Table 1 Estimates of all degraded lands (in million square kilometers) in dry areas
Source: Dregne, H. E., & Chou, N. T. (1994). Global desertification dimensions and costs. In H. E. Dregne (Ed.), Degradation and
restoration of arid lands (pp. 249–281). Lubbock: Texas Technical University Press. Reprinted with permission.
a. Comprises land and vegetation.

Type of Degradation Light Moderate Strong Extreme Total

Water erosion 3.43 5.27 2.24 10.94

Wind erosion 2.69 2.54 0.26 5.49
Chemical degradation 0.93 1.03 0.43 2.39
Physical degradation 0.44 0.27 0.12 0.83

Table 2 Estimates of the global extent (in million square kilometers) of land degradation
Source: Oldeman, L. R. (1994). The global extent of land degradation. In D. J. Greenland & I. Szaboles (Eds.), Land resilience and
sustainable land use (pp. 99–118). Wallingford, UK: CABI. Reprinted with permission.

that occurs particularly (but not exclusively) in Net land degradation = (Natural degrading
the arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas, process Human interference) (Natural
resulting from various climatic variations and reproduction Restorative management).
human activities. For example, the semiarid to
weakly arid areas of Africa are especially vulner-
able to land degradation because they are char- Many scholars of the environment subscribe to
acterized by fragile soils, localized high the general view that land degradation can occur
population densities, and a low-input form of in any part of the world irrespective of its climate,
agriculture. topography, or environmental characteristics so
A universally accepted definition of land deg- long as human demands on the natural resource
radation may not be possible considering the base coupled with natural forces reach certain
many factors thought to be responsible for it. critical thresholds. Indeed, all world regions suf-
Land is considered degraded when it suffers a loss fer from some degree of land degradation (Tables
of intrinsic qualities as a result of one causative 1 and 2) that not only threatens the local quality
factor, to be discussed in the next section, or a of life but in some cases actually threatens the
combination of natural and human forces that viability of the affected areas. As shown in Table 1,
overrun natural regeneration and/or restorative about 70% of the dry land areas worldwide have
management. That is, been affected by land degradation, with Africa,
 LA ND DEGR A DA T IO N &+-&

Ultimate Causes

Land
Degradation

Proximate Causes

Deforestation, overgrazing, salinization, pollution, Increasing population and demographic change,

climate events (e.g., droughts and climate change), crusting, poverty and inequality, war and social unrest,
compaction, hardsetting, leaching, habitat destruction, governance and public policies, social
natural processes (e.g., vulcanicity) change and development, national laws

Figure 1 A schematic showing some of the proximate and ultimate causes of land degradation
Source: Author.

Asia, and the Americas having the highest per- one of these components, without making the
centages of degraded lands. necessary adjustments for compensation so as
to maintain the existing relationship, will
undoubtedly result in degradation. Thus,
humans alone are not responsible for land deg-
Causes and Processes of Land Degradation
radation. Virtually all environments from
Although land degradation has been variously time to time suffer some kind of natural catas-
attributed to “acts of God” or “acts of peas- trophe that degrades land; some environments
antry,” many researchers are in agreement that are especially fragile and highly susceptible to
the problem is most widespread in environments land degradation.
that are exploited by humans; hence, human In most cases, it is possible to follow the pro-
action takes the most blame. However, the main cesses of land degradation, but the cause(s),
matrix of stability in most terrestrial environ- which could be proximate or ultimate in nature,
ments that safeguards the land against degrada- are more complex. Figure 1 provides a schematic
tion is the delicate set of reciprocal interactions of some of the common causes of land degrada-
between humans and factors of the biophysical tion. The causes of land degradation are the
environment, including climate, vegetation, soil, agents that determine the rate of degradation.
and topography. Any unilateral change in any They could be biophysical (e.g., land use and
&+-' LA N D DEG RAD ATION

Picture of a severely degraded landscape due to soil erosion in the semiarid Baringo District of Kenya,
East Africa
Source: Author.

land management, including deforestation and been understood that land degradation is an
tillage methods), socioeconomic (e.g., land ten- environmental issue, its causes are more diverse
ure), or political (e.g., political stability) forces and complex, and they cannot be explained
that influence the effectiveness of the processes solely by examining physical, climatic, chemical,
of land degradation. Proximate causes are those and biological processes and their interaction.
that are directly linked to the problem at the site Historically, different societies have degraded
of manifestation, while ultimate causes are the their lands through one or a combination of the
driving forces behind the proximate causes. Land following processes: deforestation and habitat
degradation is often associated with a chain of destruction, overgrazing, soil problems (erosion,
causation that stretches away in time and space acidification, salinization, crusting, compaction,
from the site of manifestation. hardsetting, leaching, and soil fertility losses),
Understanding the cause(s) and processes of water management problems, overhunting, over-
land degradation is key not only to limiting the fishing, the effects of introduced species, human
consequences of the problem but also to its miti- population growth, increased per capita impact
gation and management. Although it has long of people, and poverty (see photo).
 LA ND DEGR A DA T IO N &+-(

EdkZgin poor, developing countries with fast-growing pop-

ulations, where the vast majority of people are
Poverty is an important factor that highlights
engaged in agriculture. In such countries, there is
the intricate complexity of these processes. It is
enormous pressure to increase agricultural land
rather obvious in many parts of the world that
and to use land resources more intensively. This
land degradation and economic growth, or the
often results in the expansion of crop production
lack of it (poverty), are intractably linked. People
and grazing resources onto erosion-prone land-
living in the lower cadre of the poverty spiral are
scapes such as steep hillsides, semiarid rangelands
in a weak position to provide the stewardship
where rainfall is often unreliable and hence ill
necessary to sustain the land resource base, which
suited for continuous cropping, and semiarid and
in turn moves them further down the poverty
arid environments where irrigation must be used.
spiral—setting a vicious cycle in motion. The
People may also be forced to use marginal lands
extent of the damage inflicted on the land by any
for reasons not directly related to increasing pop-
of these processes ultimately depends on environ-
ulation, such as social unrest, monopolization of
mental settings such as geology, topography, and
the better lands by landlords, or conversion of
climate, which are also regarded as natural pro-
land into nature preserves and parks.
cesses of land degradation.
Exploitation of Marginal Lands
>cXgZVh^c\EdejaVi^dc The exploitation of marginal lands results in
short-term production gains that are not sustain-
Throughout the world, there is a diversity of
able in the long term, resulting in severe land
environmental conditions ranging from areas with
degradation and a decline in water supplies.
rugged topography, with dry climates and sparse
Exploitation of marginal land is not necessarily a
vegetation cover, to areas of low relief and hot,
recipe for degradation—fluctuations in climate as
humid climates with dense plant cover. These dif-
well as changes in the availability of agricultural
ferent environmental conditions in turn influence
inputs and the outbreak of pests and diseases in
the soil types, the intensities of natural processes,
these fragile landscapes expose them to the risk of
and the stability and resilience of different terrains
degradation. Land degradation reinforces pov-
throughout the planet. Terrains with high poten-
erty, which in turn induces land degradation
tial for degradation, such as steep slopes or semi-
because poor people often opt for immediate ben-
arid areas with sparse vegetation cover, are
efits from the land, often at the expense of long-
considered fragile and, therefore, highly suscepti-
term sustainability. Although increasing human
ble to land degradation. In the fragile lands, energy
population often leads to agricultural intensifica-
properties (such as high relief and high rainfall or
tion and land degradation, sometimes there are
low relief and low rainfall) and materials interact
exceptional cases. For instance, in Machakos,
with human activities to cause land degradation.
Kenya, Mortimore, Tiffen, and Guchuki have
The interaction is most detrimental to the natural
shown that a fivefold increase in population
environment where the population is high because
between 1932 and 1990 resulted in better envi-
of the enormous pressure on the natural resource
ronmental management and increase in agricul-
base. Indeed, a rapidly growing human population
tural production rather than soil erosion and
is often considered the ultimate cause of land deg-
other forms of land degradation.
radation; all the other causes associated with
human action are only proximate causes.
Deforestation
Increasing population in different parts of the
world is regarded as the ultimate cause of land Population growth is often accompanied by
degradation because people have been forced to deforestation, a term that includes processes such
adopt intensified means of agricultural produc- as loss of forest cover, woodland, and scrubland
tion and to expand farming from prime lands onto cover, which are directly linked to land degrada-
marginal lands in order to feed their growing tion. Deforestation is one of the proximate causes
numbers. This observation is especially true for of land degradation. The term deforestation is
&+-) LA N DF I L L S

often imprecisely used to imply quantitative loss

of woody vegetation alone, yet there can also be
LANDFILLS
qualitative degradation, for example, replacement
Landfills represent an engineered approach to the
of a species-rich tropical forest with a pine plan-
land disposal of wastes. In many countries, land-
tation or change to a regrowth (secondary) forest.
fills are the primary means for managing munici-
In the tropical rain forest, the natural vegetation
pal solid wastes and other wastes such as
plays an important protective role by minimizing
construction and demolition debris. Specially
splash erosion, preventing the raindrops from
designed landfills are used for the disposal of haz-
compacting the soil, reducing runoff, and provid-
ardous and even radioactive wastes. Landfills
ing shade that maintains high levels of soil mois-
represent an improvement over the open dumps
ture. Deforestation in the rain forest removes the
they replaced and yet create serious problems of
soil surface protection, thereby allowing sunlight
their own, including finding suitable sites, con-
to reach the soil. This can quickly raise the soil
trolling leachate and gas emissions, and long-term
temperature and dry out the soil surface after a
care and monitoring.
few rainless days, creating a thin, hard crust that
encourages runoff and raises the potential for soil
degradation. Forest degradation can alter local or
Waste Management History
regional hydrology or initiate changes in the local
climate by making the climate drier due to an Humans have always faced waste disposal chal-
increase in surface water runoff and a decrease in lenges, and our understanding of past societies
net evapotranspiration. owes much to the refuse piles they left behind.
Historically, open dumps were the preferred
Lawrence Morara Kiage
means of refuse disposal and were simple in oper-
ation, if inelegant in practice. Dumps fostered
See also Arid Topography; Climate: Dry; Desertification;
problems with insects, rodents, odors, and water
Forest Degradation; Population and Land Degradation;
pollution. The first sanitary landfill in the United
Soil Degradation; Soil Erosion
States opened in Fresno, California, in the 1930s
and is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places. It was innovative because wastes were
Further Readings compacted and covered with soil at the end of
each day. After World War II, sanitary landfills
Barrow, C. J. (1991). Land degradation: became the accepted approach to solid waste dis-
Development and breakdown of terrestrial posal. However, sanitary landfills were hardly free
environments. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge of problems. For example, the Fresno Landfill was
University Press. added to the National Priorities Superfund List by
Blaikie, P., & Brookfield, H. (1987). Land the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
degradation and society. London: Methuen. and has undergone an extensive cleanup designed
Dregne, H. E. (Ed.). (1994). Degradation and to clean up contaminated groundwater and pre-
restoration of arid lands. Lubbock: Texas Tech vent migration of dangerous landfill gases. The
University Press. Fresno Landfill was not unique—many of the U.S.
Johnson, D. L., & Lewis, L. A. (2007). Land Superfund sites are former dumps or landfills.
degradation: Creation and destruction. Lanham, The 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery
MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Act (RCRA) promulgated stringent waste disposal
Middleton, N., & Thomas, D. (Eds.). (1997). World standards. RCRA Subtitle C addresses hazardous
atlas of desertification (2nd ed.). New York: wastes and gave the U.S. EPA primary authority
Wiley. to oversee the permitting of facilities for their
Tiffen, M., Mortimore, M., & Gichuki, F. (1994). treatment, storage, and disposal. Subtitle D pro-
More people, less erosion: Environmental recovery vides minimum nationwide standards for the dis-
in Kenya. Chichester, UK: Wiley. posal of nonhazardous wastes, with regulatory
programs administered by state authorities. RCRA
 LA NDF ILL S &+-*

Hazardous waste and garbage mixture in Lowry Landfill, Colorado, 1978

Source: U.S. Geological Survey.

classifies wastes as hazardous and nonhazardous composted, 13% was combusted for energy recov-
based on their origin and chemical characteristics. ery, and 55% went directly to landfills.
Nonhazardous wastes include both industrial
wastes and municipal solid wastes. Municipal
Environmental Issues at Landfills
solid wastes are generated by households and busi-
nesses. Industrial wastes include construction and The long-term settlement of the landfill’s contents
demolition debris, medical waste, and special and the stability of its slopes remains an ongoing
wastes, which are large-volume wastes such as min- concern after closure. Wastes inside a landfill
ing, crude oil, and natural gas wastes that were undergo biological decomposition in a process that
exempted from hazardous waste regulations. With can take years or decades. As oxygen is depleted,
its affluent, consumer lifestyles, in 2006, the anaerobic decomposition produces methane and
United States generated 4.6 pounds per person of carbon dioxide—both significant greenhouse gases.
solid waste each day. While landfill disposal is Landfill gas often contains explosive levels of
prioritized below waste reduction, reuse, recycling, methane as well as volatile organic compounds,
and incineration, it remains the most commonly such as the carcinogens benzene and vinyl chlo-
used technique in the United States. Although ride. Landfill gas is produced for many years after
incineration reduces the volume of wastes, it still waste disposal has ceased and can migrate off-site.
produces significant quantities of ash to be land- Liquids in the waste and infiltrating precipitation
filled. In many cases, landfilling is the least expen- create landfill leachate, a potent pollutant much
sive alternative. In 2006, 41% of municipal stronger than sewage and laden with leached
solid waste in the United States was recycled or organic and inorganic chemicals.
&+-+ LA N DF O RMS

Landfill Design (PCB)–contaminated soil in the poor, mostly Afri-

can American, Warren County, North Carolina,
Under RCRA, landfills are required to prevent resulted in a protracted but eventually successful
groundwater contamination and control gaseous community resistance campaign that was seminal
emissions. RCRA forbids the construction of in the environmental justice movement. Suggested
landfills in floodplains, wetlands, and other solutions to locational conflict include greater use
unsuitable areas. Local and state regulations may of geographic information systems, more partici-
further restrict acceptable locations. RCRA Sub- patory decision-making processes, and shifting
title D (for nonhazardous wastes) specifies that responsibility back to industry.
landfills must have a leachate collection system
and a single-layer composite liner system. A com- Mark D. Bjelland
posite liner consists of a synthetic geomembrane,
typically of high-density polyethylene resting on a See also Brownfields; Carcinogens; Environmental
2-foot layer of compacted clay. Atop the liner, a Impacts of Cities; Environmental Justice; Love Canal;
leachate collection system constructed of filter Not in My Backyard (NIMBY); Recycling of Municipal
soil and gravel and perforated pipes collects and Solid Waste; Urban Solid Waste Management; Waste
conveys the leachate to a treatment system. Daily Incineration
cover may consist of soil or alternatives such as
polymers, spray slurries, or synthetic fabrics.
Other requirements for landfill operators include Further Readings
groundwater monitoring, landfill gas controls,
final capping, and continued monitoring and care League of Women Voters. (1993). The garbage
for 30 years after closure. In addition to the primer. New York: Lyons & Burford.
requirements for nonhazardous waste landfills, Tammemagi, H. (1999). The waste crisis: Landfills,
Subtitle C hazardous waste landfills must have a incinerators, and the search for a sustainable
double liner with leak detection between the lin- future. New York: Oxford University Press.
ers. To control greenhouse gas emissions and
recover energy, some landfills generate electricity
from recovered gases.

Landfill Siting
LANDFORMS
With the implementation of more rigorous design Landform is a generic term that describes the
standards, the number of landfills has decreased shape or form of a particular landscape. Land-
dramatically, and the industry has undergone con- forms vary widely in shape and scale and are
centration. The number of landfills in the United largely classified by the processes that lead to the
States dropped from 7,924 in 1988 to 1,754 in development of each type of landform. In general,
2006. One of the most significant problems for landforms are created by a combination of plate
landfill disposal is that of finding an acceptable tectonics and erosion. Not only is plate tectonics
site. Suitable locations must meet physiographic responsible for producing mountains and volca-
criteria and be politically acceptable in the eyes of noes, but the apparent lack of tectonic activity
local or state permitting authorities, which inevita- can also lead to the formation of vast plains and
bly encounter “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) low-relief landforms. No matter what the tectonic
activists. Given the politicization of locational deci- setting of a particular place may be, all landforms
sions, landfill sites often reflect historic land use are directly shaped and influenced by erosion.
patterns and/or the geography of least political It is the combination of the tectonic setting and
resistance—spatial analysis suggests that low-in- the dominant type of erosion that leads to the
come or minority residents are overrepresented primary classifications of landforms.
near solid waste and hazardous waste landfills. Classification of landforms is largely due to
However, a landfill for polychlorinated biphenyl natural erosive processes, but humans have an
 LA NDF OR M S &+-,

Nearly 370 ft. in diameter, Grand Prismatic Spring in Midway Geyser Basin is the largest hot spring in
Yellowstone National Park and is considered to be the third largest in the world (New Zealand has the two largest
springs). The Hayden Expedition in 1871 named this spring because of its beautiful coloration, and the artist
Thomas Moran made water-color sketches depicting its rainbow-like colors. The colors begin with a deep blue
center followed by a pale blue. Green algae forms beyond the shallow edge. Outside the scalloped rim, a band of
yellow fades into orange. Red then marks the outer border.
Source: Mila Zinkova.

increasingly significant impact on the develop-

Volcanoes
ment and shape of the landscape. The most com-
mon natural processes develop landforms in An example of the complexity of landforms can
coastal, glacial, fluvial (rivers), periglacial, eolian be found in the processes that develop volcanoes
(also spelled aeolian), and karst areas. Landforms and volcanic landforms. The tectonic setting
in all these settings are also greatly influenced by determines the chemistry of the lavas and largely
mass wasting processes such as rockfalls and the shape of the ensuing volcano. Along colliding
landslides. Commonly, there is also a combina- ocean plates or ocean and continental plate sub-
tion of processes, such as both physical and duction zones, composite volcanoes are formed,
chemical weathering, that helps shape each type which are often cone shaped and produced by a
of landform. Also, the type of bedrock or surface combination of variably explosive and flowing
material leads to the degree of resistance to ero- types of eruption. The classic example of the type
sion that each area displays. Examples of each of tectonic setting containing composite volca-
major category of landforms are described as noes can be found in the Cascade Range in the
follows. United States, with Mount St. Helens perhaps
&+-- LA N DF O RMS

Figure 1 Map of the Yellowstone caldera

Source: U.S. Geological Survey.

being the most famous volcano. The chemistry of areas. The chemistry of rift zone volcanism pro-
hot spot volcanoes, such as those found on the duces flowing eruptions, which often flow over
Big Island of Hawaii, is very different from that and cover large swaths of land. An example of
of composite volcanoes, and the flowing erup- rift zone volcanics in the United States can be
tions most often produce large, low-angled, found within the large basalt flows of the Colum-
shield-type volcanoes when the hot spot occurs bia River Basalt Province.
within ocean plates. Hot spots that develop within Once a landform is created, its location and
continental plates can produce subtle volcanoes size largely determine what types of erosive pro-
such as the Yellowstone (Figure 1) or the Long cesses will continue to shape that landform. The
Valley Caldera in California. These landforms Hawaiian island volcanic chain is largely shaped
do not look like the classic volcano but are capa- by a complex interaction of processes, including
ble of producing tremendous climate-changing coastal, fluvial, and mass wasting activity. The
eruptions and large-scale landforms such as cal- Cascades are influenced by glacial, fluvial, and
deras and pyroclastic deposits that can cover large mass wasting processes, and the Columbia Basalts
 LA NDF OR M S &+-.

are more heavily carved by fluvial erosion. The coastline that is slowly subsiding through time.
coastlines of the Hawaiian Islands are greatly Emergent coasts have characteristically steep cliffs
influenced by wave action, which produces land- that are shaped by wave action. Waves that strike
forms similar to other emergent coastal locations. the Pacific Coast are often larger due to the west-
The slopes of the volcanoes are shaped by exces- erly wind direction and the great expanse of the
sive amounts of rain water that concentrates in Pacific. These waves carve the coast into land-
streams and through time carves the deep valleys forms such as marine cliffs, sea arches, sea stacks,
that help make the islands famous. These fluvial and wave cut platforms. Beaches along the Pacific
processes are much more complex than elucidated Coast are often small (if they can be found at all)
here. For example, the porous nature of the vol- and are bounded by steep cliffs, making public
canic bedrock allows water to flow subsurface access difficult. If tectonic uplift continues along
from one drainage area to another. Through time, the Pacific Coast, the wave cut platforms are often
these preferential drainages are eroded into large, uplifted to become marine terraces. In California,
U-shaped valleys. These valleys are particularly these terraces can often be seen in series.
prominent in the wetter areas of the older islands, The Atlantic Coast of the United States is domi-
such as Kauai, Oahu, and Molokai. nated by a low-angle coastline with characteristic
Mass wasting processes on the Hawaiian broad sandy beaches, large estuaries, offshore bar-
Islands also are complex and vary widely in spa- rier islands, and brackish-water sounds that sepa-
tial and temporal scales. For example, small-scale rate the islands from the mainland. The beaches of
landslides are common in the steeper parts of the the Atlantic coast characteristically have distinct
islands and are often induced by heavy rain. How- features shaped by waves, currents, and wind.
ever, on occasion, very large landslides will slough Beginning offshore and traveling inland, the beach
off the sides of the islands with devastating results. features include longshore bars, longshore troughs,
These failures contain many cubic kilometers of the beach, a wave cut berm, and backshore beach
material and are transported miles offshore. These dunes deposited by waves and wind.
landslides greatly reshape the islands, from the Landforms created by glaciers can largely be
broad gentle slopes of the shield volcanoes to the separated into those caused through erosion by
steep, impressive coastlines that are present today. glacial ice and those created by deposition of the
Fortunately, none of these large-scale mass wast- eroded material. Again, the tectonic setting greatly
ing events has occurred in historic times. influences the type of glacier and the landforms
that develop. In tectonically active areas, primar-
ily mountains, alpine or valley glaciers dominate,
Landform Formation and Sculpting Processes
while in tectonically inactive areas, primarily
Landforms can also be defined and described plains, continental glaciers have the greatest influ-
based on the formation processes (primarily tec- ence. Landforms created by erosion vary greatly
tonics) and sculpting processes (primarily ero- between alpine and continental glaciers. Alpine
sion) that shape Earth’s surface. The truly intricate glaciers are responsible for creating much of the
interactions between these processes are too com- high mountain landscapes that people find so
plex for this entry and in many cases are still breathtaking and beautiful. Alpine glacial land-
poorly understood. Again, examples primarily forms are numerous and include arêtes, cols,
from the United States will be used. cirques, horns, hanging valleys, truncated spurs,
The landforms found along the Atlantic and glacial troughs (the classic U-shaped glacial
Pacific coastlines of the United States are dra- valleys—fjords if inundated by seawater), tarns,
matically different. This is largely due to the dif- paternoster lakes, and roches moutonnées. Depo-
ferences in the tectonic setting. The tectonically sitional landforms include terminal, lateral, reces-
active West Coast has a coastline that is emerging sional, and ground moraines; glacial erratic; and
from the Pacific Ocean, and the landforms reflect the features found within the outwash plain of
the generally steep nature of the Pacific Coast. In the glaciers.
contrast, the Atlantic Coast is tectonically pas- Continental glacial landforms are often
sive, and the landforms along that coast reflect a more subdued because of the lower relief of the
&+.% LA N DF O RMS

landscape but also much larger in scale because Karst, Periglacial, and Eolian Landforms
of the continental size of the glaciers. Continental
glaciers scoured the basins that now hold the Karst landforms are named for a region in Slove-
Great Lakes of North America, with Lake Supe- nia and involve landforms that develop in lime-
rior having the greatest surface area of any fresh- stone. These landforms are numerous and often
water lake in the world. Other features, including have duplicate names in a variety of languages.
kettle lakes and prairie potholes, are formed by a Caves are the most common karst features, with
complex process of stagnant ice deposits, which their attendant landforms stalactites, stalagmites,
create depressions in glacial debris that later fill columns, draperies, and other dripstone forma-
with water as the ice melts. Depositional land- tions. Other landforms include sinkholes, dolines,
forms created by continental ice include eskers, and tower karsts. The latter can be spectacular
kames, drumlins, and a variety of moraine land- and are often the subject of artistic paintings and
forms: terminal, lateral, medial, recessional, and the background for movies.
ground moraines. Some of these depositional fea- Periglacial landforms are climatically driven.
tures, such as the drumlin “Bunker Hill” in Bos- These develop in cold, dry climates and are pri-
ton, Massachusetts, have a very important marily the result of freezing and thawing activity.
influence on the history of the United States. In Arctic conditions, ice or sand wedges can
Landforms created by rivers are quite numer- develop, as well as pingos, solifluction lobes, and
ous and complex. Again, they can be related to thermokarst if the permafrost melts and produces
tectonics in that high-relief fluvial landforms are a basin filled with water. Other common land-
distinctly different from those that develop on forms include sorted and unsorted patterned
low-slope topography. High-relief landforms tend ground. These patterns can develop into circles,
to be erosional, while low-relief landforms tend polygons, nets, and stripes depending on the
to be a combination of depositional and erosional increasing slope angle. Other landforms include
landforms. Erosional processes remove material, felsenmeer (sea of rocks), and some authors include
while depositional processes produce landforms nivation hollows among the periglacial landforms.
by depositing the material eroded upstream. As Eolian landforms are landforms produced by
with most other landforms, fluvial landforms are wind. These landforms are largely depositional,
dynamic. They often change rapidly, primarily with the exception of blowouts and yardangs,
during floods, thus possibly making them the which involve the removal of material, and venti-
most important landforms in terms of hazards to facts, which are rocks and boulders that are
humans and their infrastructure. Streams and riv- scoured and shaped by blowing sand. Sand dunes
ers produce distinct patterns on the land. The are the most common type of eolian landform
most common drainage pattern is the dendritic, and include a variety of different types, including
with trellis, radial, and glacial also being fairly Barchan, parabolic, star, seif, and longitudinal
common. High- to moderate-relief fluvial land- dunes. Some of the most spectacular landscapes
forms include ravines and canyons, which differ in North America, such as the Zion and Canyon-
due to age and the volume of water creating the lands National Parks, were produced when
landform. These also often contain rapids and ancient sand dunes were buried, lithified, and
waterfalls created by the differing resistance of subsequently reexposed by fluvial erosion.
the underlying bedrock. Low-slope-angle land-
forms include the river channel or thalweg, levees,
and floodplains. Low-slope rivers also will often
The Role of Scale
meander, which creates point bar deposits, cut
banks, and oxbow lakes. The tectonic setting and The importance of scale was mentioned earlier in
wave action will determine the type of landform this entry. A thorough discussion of variations in
that develops when the river enters the ocean. In scale (such as micro, meso, macro, mega) among
oceans with mild wave action, deltas will develop, all landforms is beyond the scope of this entry;
while in subsiding or sinking coasts, estuaries are however, a brief discussion of the complexities of
a common feature. scale and the concept of polygenetic processes will
 LA NDF OR M S &+.&

Some of the most spectacular landscapes in North America, such as Canyonlands National Park, Utah, were
produced when ancient sand dunes were buried, lithified, and subsequently reexposed by fluvial erosion.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey.

be instructive. Polygenetic processes involve dif- landforms are bordered by stones weighing 2 to
ferent processes, for example, freeze-thaw versus 5 kg and are produced by yearly freeze-thaw
wetting and drying, which produce similar look- cycles. Contained within the mesoscale polygons
ing landforms. Similarly, a single process, for and expressed on the surface of the central area of
example, freeze-thaw, can lead to completely dif- fines are microscale polygons that develop sorted
ferent landforms. A good example of the combi- borders composed of gravel and pebbles. The pro-
nation of scale and polygenetic processes can be duction of microscale landforms is through a com-
found within sorted periglacial patterned ground bination of diurnal needle ice processes and the
in midlatitude high-mountain environments such wetting and drying of the soil. The drying process
as the White Mountains of California. Above opens desiccation cracks and actively sorts the
3,900 m (meters), large-scale (macroscale) sorted gravels. Each scale of these sorted polygons
polygons are relatively common. These polygons involves sorted patterns, but each is created by a
average around 5 m in width and are bordered by combination of different (polygenetic) processes.
boulders weighing around 50 to 100 kg (kilo-
grams). These landforms most likely developed in
Anthropogenic Influences
a permafrost environment and are no longer active
in the present climate. However, contained within Humans have become the dominant geomorphic
the central area of fines within the large-scale agent on Earth, and human activity now moves
sorted borders are numerous active small-scale more material than all the rivers, glaciers, wind,
(mesoscale) sorted polygons. These 1- to 2-m and oceans combined. Human landforms can be
&+.' LA N D R E FORM

subtle or quite visible from space. Subtle land-

scapes include enhanced levees, floodwalls,
LAND REFORM
breakwaters, groins, jetties, and even the leveling
Land reform entails the redistribution of private
of land for construction or, more important,
or public lands. Though it is often broadly associ-
agriculture. Flying over almost any landscape
ated with struggles for social justice, land reform
other than the oceans reveals a distinct and obvi-
is a somewhat amorphous term, embracing a
ous human imprint on the land. Other human
huge range of practices and historical experiences
landforms are not as subtle. These include but
in how land is identified and transferred (by force,
are not limited to open pit mines, excavation pits
legislation, or markets), the accompanying insti-
for construction projects, and quarries. Human
tutional and legal changes, and the ensuing prop-
activity primarily affects our coasts, plains, and
erty relations. Though many industrialized
rivers, but it also affects glacial, periglacial,
countries have highly unequal distributions of
eolian, and karst landforms. For example, the
land, land reform is typically discussed in the con-
development and placement of a road will affect
text of the developing world.
numerous landforms and in many cases disrupt
the natural landform-creating processes. Human
activity will continue to shape the Earth, and
human landforms will continue to be a dominant
Colonial Antecedents
feature of Earth’s landscapes, particularly in the
lower to moderate latitudes. The challenges and struggles associated with
land reform have extensive historical roots in
Forrest D. Wilkerson
the colonial period. For the rural poor in devel-
oping countries, two of the most debilitating
See also Arid Topography; Basin and Range
legacies of European colonialism were the estab-
Topography; Biota and Topography; Carbonation;
lishment of uneven landscapes and commodity
Caverns; Coastal Erosion and Deposition; Coral Reef
export–dependent economies, which went, and
Geomorphology; Delta; Diastrophism; Faulting; Folding;
continue to go, hand in hand. In a broad sense,
Geomorphic Cycle; Geomorphology; Geothermal
colonialism both magnified and hardened the
Features; Glaciers: Continental; Glaciers: Mountain;
inequalities where they already existed (in tribu-
Gully Erosion; Hydrology; Karst Topography;
tary or feudal societies) or established highly
Landslide; Mass Wasting; Periglacial Environments;
unequal distributions of land, for instance, as
Permafrost; Plate Tectonics; Playas; Rill Erosion; Rivers;
extensive export-oriented plantations took over
Rock Weathering; Soil Erosion; Soils; Volcanoes; Wind
the best agricultural land and as more successful
Erosion
small- and medium-scale farmers expanded
within the increasingly competitive economic
systems.
Further Readings Most of the wealth generated by export com-
modities such as sugar, coffee, tea, palm oil,
Brunsden, D., & Thornes, J. S. (1979). Landscape cocoa, cotton, and tobacco flowed back to
sensitivity and change. Transaction of the Institute Europe or was concentrated in the hands of a
of British Geographers, 4, 463–484. relatively small number of large farmers and mer-
Leopold, L., Wolman, M., & Miller, J. (1995). chants. At the same time, import dependence on
Fluvial processes in geomorphology. Mineola, a diverse range of manufactured goods and ser-
NY: Dover. vices became deeply entrenched. This position
Schumm, S. A. (1998). To interpret the Earth: Ten within international trading networks has proven
ways to be wrong. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge to be extremely durable for the world’s poorest
University Press. nations, whose export structures are still pre-
Thorn, C. (1988). Introduction to theoretical dominantly based on a small number of mostly
geomorphology. New York: Springer. low-value commodities with often highly volatile
prices in world markets.
 LA ND R EF ORM &+.(

Land Inequality undertaking land reform in the late 1940s. In

the subsequent decades, land reform was greatly
Land inequality is closely associated with poverty influenced by escalating Cold War tensions.
and hunger in many places. Land inequality also While the idea of appropriating large holdings
has a marked gendered character. On a global may have resonated strongly with many small
scale, according to the Food and Agriculture farmers and landless workers, collectivization
Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, was often viewed with suspicion (if not outright
women make up 51% of the total agricultural fear) by small farmers. Small farmers were thus
labor force, with especially high levels in the frequently seen as a potential bulwark against
world’s poorest countries, but almost everywhere, revolution. In some instances, this brought them
women’s rates of land ownership pale in com- little more than anticommunist propaganda, but
parison with their contribution to agricultural in other instances, significant private property–
production. Geographically, land inequalities are based land reforms accompanied attempts to dif-
especially marked throughout most of Latin fuse or keep revolutionary pressures out of the
America, the Caribbean, and Southern Africa, as countryside.
well as large parts of South Asia and East Africa. For the West, land reform had special impor-
In Latin America and the Caribbean, the world’s tance in East Asia after World War II, with fears
most inequitable region according to a recent of the peasant-led Chinese Revolution both most
United Nations report, 75% of the total agricul- recent and most proximate. The United States
tural population has access to only 10% of all had an important role in encouraging significant
arable land. At the extreme end of the spectrum, redistributive land reforms in Japan, South
in nations such as Brazil, Guatemala, and Jamaica, Korea, and Taiwan, with the hope of creating
a very small percentage of all landholders control modest-sized capitalist farmers and mitigating
more than half of all arable land—an inequality more radical social pressures for transformation.
that is magnified by differences in land quality. These reforms, which were based on producing
In short, the widespread persistence of land for domestic rather than export markets and
inequalities is one starting point for contextualiz- were supported by things such as extension ser-
ing challenges and debates associated with land vices, subsidized credit, and protective trade bar-
reform. Another key starting point, related some- riers, became widely cited as examples of how
what conversely, is the explosiveness of land state-supported capitalist land reforms can gen-
inequalities in igniting social struggle. In the first erate significant gains in agricultural output,
half of the 20th century, land inequalities played income distribution, and the diversification of
a central role in inciting major revolutionary rural economies.
struggles in Mexico, Russia, and China, with dif- The quick and notable successes of the East
ferent processes of land reform ensuing in each Asian land reforms emboldened the case for devel-
case. The land reform following the Chinese Rev- opmental states to facilitate some degree of redis-
olution has been described as the largest appro- tributive land reform to the rural poor. In the eyes
priation and redistribution of property in world of Keynesian economists and planners, this held
history, taking land away from a powerful nobil- the prospect of multiple benefits: enhanced food
ity and transforming it into village collectives. access and employment and income generation for
the poorest segments of rural society; more broadly
distributed income, savings, and capital available
The Post–World War II Period
for investment; and increased demand for farm
The powerful ideological and material implications inputs and nonfarm goods and services.
of land reform were in plain view in the rapid
process of decolonization that followed World
The 1970s
War II. On the one hand, strong international laws
were established to protect the private property Prominent development economists began draw-
relations wrought by colonialism. On the other ing attention to evidence of an inverse relation-
hand, nearly half of humanity lived in countries ship between farm size and output per unit area
&+.) LA N D R E FORM

in the 1970s. That is, while yields might be greater class of successful commercial farmers. The
on high-input monocultures, small- and medium- dynamics of dislocation and consolidation in
sized farms were found to be more productive per countries such as India were also highly gendered.
unit of land than large estates, even though large Land reform was further debilitated by the
farms generally controlled the best-quality land onset of balance-of-payments crises and heavy
and had greater access to inputs, irrigation, and levels of state indebtedness across much of the
credit. A key explanation was that small farms global South in the 1980s, which precipitated the
have more diverse and intensive cropping pat- policy prescriptions of the International Mone-
terns than do large farms, made possible by tary Fund and World Bank, known as structural
greater labor intensity, as labor inputs generally adjustment programs. According to the neolib-
drop off quickly as farm size expands. eral economic logic of structural adjustment,
Unfortunately, gender relations were a severely export growth according to a nation’s compara-
underappreciated dimension of land reform, and tive advantage is necessary to resolve balance-of-
insufficient attention was given to how male- payments problems, with distributional equity
centered land titling processes regularly eroded peripheral to macroeconomic growth. In agricul-
the customary rights held by women, exacerbated ture, this meant that commodity production was
the uneven household divisions of labor and deci- encouraged either in the ruts carved by colonial-
sion-making power, and excluded the female ism or in the new, “nontraditional” sectors,
heads of households. A detailed FAO report in which tended to invigorate large-scale farms. At
1995 described the dismal gender record in blunt the same time, both ideological and fiscal pres-
terms, noting that they have rarely worked to sures called for drastically reduced state support
women’s benefit. for small farmers, in realms such as extension,
research, and marketing, while land reform was
largely pushed off the policy agenda altogether
Barriers to Reform Emerge
amid the widening social inequalities associated
While Keynesian development theorizing legiti- with adjustment.
mized a private property–based and patriarchal
form of land reform “from above,” land reform
Rekindling of Land Struggles in the 1990s
also carried more radical connotations wherever
land struggles were welling up “from below” Following the repression waged against land
against powerful landowning elites and the inter- struggles, the land reform in reverse of the Green
ests of foreign companies. This was especially Revolution, and the policy dictates of structural
true in Latin America. There, the U.S.-backed adjustment, action on land reform reached a low
land reforms under the “Alliance for Progress” point in the 1980s. However, since then there has
barely dented the region’s famous “latifundia- been a resurgence of land struggles and rural
minifundia” (large holder/small holder) divide, social movements. The most prominent example
while land struggles from below became con- of this resurgence is the Landless Workers’ Move-
flated with Cold War tensions, and the activists ment (Movimento Sem Terra [MST]) in Brazil,
routinely found themselves pitted against not which has taken land reform into its own hands
only large landholders but also authoritarian within one of the world’s most unequal agrarian
governments backed by external political and landscapes, coordinating the occupation and cul-
military support. tivation of millions of hectares of unused or
Another powerful barrier to land reform was underused large holdings. Founded in 1985, MST
the rise of the input-intensive techniques associ- is the largest social movement in Latin America,
ated with the Green Revolution. The Green Revo- with an estimated 1.5 landless members. In addi-
lution brought celebrated gains in yield and tion to land reform, MST has established coop-
aggregate production, but it also became notori- erative farms; constructed houses, schools for
ous for acting as a land reform in reverse, as many children and adults, and clinics; and promoted
poor farmers took on unsustainable debt loads indigenous cultures, a healthy and sustainable
and ended up losing their land to an emerging environment, and gender equality. In Brazil, fewer
 LA ND R EF ORM &+.*

than 2% of landowners control

46.8% of the arable land.
There has also been increasing
awareness by rural social move-
ments about the need not only to
work at local or national scales
but also to build coalitions across
borders to better confront the
powerful multilateral institu-
tions and corporate actors that
dominate the global food econ-
omy. The great manifestation of
this is La Via Campesina, which
describes itself as the interna-
tional movement of peasants,
small- and medium-sized produc-
ers, the landless, rural women,
indigenous people, rural youth,
and agricultural workers. For
La Via Campesina, land reform
remains at the crux of building
more equitable and sustainable
rural economies.
The rekindling of latent land
struggles helped push land reform
back into mainstream develop-
ment policy debates in the 1990s.
One of the most notable sites for
the renewal of these debates has
been the World Bank, where some
development economists—largely
ignored through the adjustment
era—had been advocating land
reform since the 1970s based on
empirical evidence of the inverse
farm size/productivity relation-
ship. In practice, the World Bank
has supported nonconfronta- Members of Brazil’s Landless Workers Movement (MST) march
tional, market-based reforms, alongside the financial center of Paulista Avenue in São Paulo, Brazil, on
which are principally a set of August 12, 2009, as part of national daily demonstrations held until
policies and institutional changes August 21 asking for more efforts on agrarian reform by the federal
government.
to make land markets more effec-
tive with respect to things such Source: Mauricio Lima/AFP/Getty Images.
as land taxation, the costs of
land transactions, and access to
capital. Evidence from countries such as Brazil, significantly reduced levels of land inequality.
Colombia, Cambodia, the Philippines, South Rather, it has at best tended to benefit a middle
Africa, and Thailand suggests that market- stratum of commercialized farmers, and at worst,
based land reform has not encouraged land it has had badly regressive outcomes, leaving out
transfers from large holders to smallholders, or smallholders and landless people entirely.
&+.+ LA N DS CAPE AND WIL D L IFE CO NSER V A T ION

Conclusion LANDSCAPE AND WILDLIFE

Land reform policies pursued “from above” CONSERVATION
remain very different from the sort of land reform
demanded—and sometimes claimed—by move- Many geographers study the relationships
ments pushing “from below.” For land reform to between patterns of habitat variation and the
improve the circumstances of landless people and processes through which wildlife species occupy
small farmers, the strength of the latter is crucial. landscapes. An animal’s capacity to move across
But even effective land reform is no panacea. landscapes is a function of both intrinsic factors
Rather, it is a crucial step toward building more related to its behavior and physiology and extrin-
equitable and sustainable rural landscapes, reduc- sic factors arising from the distribution of suit-
ing rural poverty, and enhancing food security in able habitat in space and time. Understanding
many parts of the world. To transform and invig- how animals move between habitats across land-
orate rural economies, land reform must be scapes is important in applied contexts, espe-
accompanied by institutional supports for small cially wildlife management and conservation,
farmers in areas such as appropriate inputs and and theoretical contexts, including evolutionary
technology, infrastructure, credit, extension, mar- ecology.
keting, and gender equity legislation, with the
term agrarian reform distinguishing these more
comprehensive changes.
Research on Wildlife-Landscape Interactions
Tony Weis
Ecologists have studied wildlife ecology and hab-
See also Colonialism; Developing World; Food and itat use for decades. Before the 1970s, most stud-
Agriculture Organization (FAO); Justice, Geography of; ies of wildlife ecology were not spatially explicit
Land Tenure Reform; Movimento Sem Terra; but simply categorized wildlife observations by
Neoliberalism; Peasants and Peasantry; Population and habitat type, not location. This approach reflected
Land Degradation; Population and Land Use; Structural the traditional emphasis in biological ecology on
Adjustment; Via Campesina (International Farmers’ evolutionary processes rather than on spatiotem-
Movement); World Bank poral patterns. However, beginning in the late
1960s, theoretical and technological develop-
ments helped increase attention to the relation-
Further Readings ships between process and pattern. First, the
theory of island biogeography, published in 1967
Borras, S. M., Jr., Kay, C., & Lahiff, E. (Eds.). by the biologists Robert MacArthur and E. O.
(2008). Market-led agrarian reform. London: Wilson, proposed that an island’s size and prox-
Routledge. imity to other landmasses was a robust predictor
Ghimire, K. B. (Ed.). (2001). Land reform and of the number of species in, and other character-
peasant livelihoods: The social dynamics of rural istics of, the island’s biota. Subsequently, other
poverty and agrarian reform in developing researchers showed that habitats that are not
countries. London: ITDG. islands but occur in scattered, discrete patches—
Weis, T. (2007). The global food economy: The battle such as areas of alpine tundra surrounded by
for the future of farming. London: Zed Books. montane forest—are analogous to islands in how
World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, their size and spatial arrangement affect the dis-
and International Fund for Agricultural tribution of species across landscapes. Second, in
Development. (2009). Gender in agriculture the 1980s, the field of landscape ecology flour-
sourcebook. Washington, DC: World Bank. ished with the development of patch mosaic the-
Available from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/ ory, which posits that landscapes consist of a
INTGENAGRLIVSOUBOOK/Resources/ variegated pattern (or mosaic) of areas (or habi-
CompleteBook.pdf tat patches) having distinct environmental condi-
tions. Landscapes change because conditions in
 LA NDSC A P E A ND WILDLIF E C ONSER V A T IO N &+.,

the habitat patches fluctuate through time, a pro- disturbance because human activities produce
cess called patch dynamics. Finally, during the patches of plants that gorillas eat but decrease the
1990s, the development and increased availabil- abundance of chimpanzee food plants. While
ity of geographic information system (GIS) soft- these behavioral and physiological factors may
ware and the global positioning system (GPS) be correlated—for instance, many generalists are
decreased the cost and increased the feasibility of highly vagile—they are distinct and must be con-
spatially explicit wildlife research. sidered individually.
Also, since the 1970s, studies of wildlife-
landscape interaction have become more promi-
Applications to Resource
nent due to a growing concern with human-caused
Management and Conservation
environmental change. Organisms respond to
environmental change—whether cyclic, long Most studies in the geography of wildlife-landscape
term, or rapid—by migrating from habitat patches interaction have intended to inform resource man-
where conditions have become unsuitable to those agement and conservation efforts. Three main
where conditions remain, or have become, suit- themes have emerged. First, biogeographers have
able. Researchers can develop conservation strat- sought to identify spatial configurations of habitat
egies by analyzing habitat spatiality and patch that are optimal for protecting particular species
dynamics, including human disturbance, with or conserving the largest possible range of biodi-
regard to the behavior and physiology of particu- versity. Key concepts in this research relate to the
lar species. size, connectivity, and shape of protected areas. In
Wildlife species vary enormously in terms of 1975, the biogeographer Jared Diamond proposed
behavior and physiology, but five factors are that a single large protected area would protect a
important in determining how patch dynamics greater number of species rather than several small
affect a particular species. First, an animal’s size protected areas, based on island biogeographic
is a basic determinant of habitat requirements; theory. While this idea remains debated, it has
larger animals need larger habitat patches. Sec- influenced many conservation efforts. Island bio-
ond, animals vary in the specificity of their habi- geographic theory also led to the idea of habitat
tat requirements, between specialists that can corridors, or strips of land that allow animals to
tolerate only the range of environmental condi- move between disconnected habitat patches. Cor-
tions in a specific habitat type and generalists ridor effectiveness depends heavily on a species’
that can tolerate environmental conditions in a behavior and physiology. More broadly, a pro-
broad range of habitats. Habitat specificity tected area’s shape determines its effectiveness in
greatly influences a species’ ability to move protecting particular species. For instance, seden-
between patches. For instance, deforestation in tary or territorial animals may be unable to move
the Amazon often isolates birds in remnant forest far enough to locate sufficient habitat in long, nar-
patches because they are unable to cross even row protected areas.
narrow clearings. Third, animals vary in mobility Second, biogeographers have sought to iden-
between sedentary and vagile (ability to move tify optimal approaches to protecting particular
long distances). Fourth, animals vary in territori- species through the analysis of species ecology
ality, between those that aggressively defend a and habitat spatiality. Conservation efforts may
particular area from other individuals of the same include site-specific approaches that protect par-
species and those that do not. If the habitat patch ticular habitat patches and species-specific
occupied by an individual in a highly territorial approaches that provide protection to a species
species becomes unsuitable, the animal may per- regardless of location. Usually, site-specific
ish if nearby, suitable patches are already occu- approaches are more effective for sedentary spe-
pied. Finally, every species is unique ecologically, cies or habitat specialists, while species-specific
so that specific patch dynamics in a particular approaches are better for vagile species and habi-
time and place may differently affect similar spe- tat generalists. Computer-based modeling has
cies. For example, gorillas and chimpanzees in become increasingly important in evaluating the
Gabon’s rain forests respond differently to human potential effectiveness of different conservation
&+.- LA N DS CAPE ARCHITE CTU RE

approaches in the context of global and local

environmental changes.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Finally, nature-society geographers have shown
that human-wildlife conflict often results from Landscape architecture is an academic discipline
variation in habitat distribution in space and time. and an area of professional practice that seem-
Human-wildlife conflict frequently occurs if both ingly defies definition. Demarcating the field is a
people and animals seek to use a habitat patch. difficult endeavor since the breadth of the field
Interspecific competition increases as the number is quite wide, dynamic, and far ranging. This
of available habitat patches decreases. Notably, piece focuses on landscape architecture in the
in many landscapes, humans unintentionally cre- United States and Canada (although landscape
ate habitat patches in locations where, or at times architecture is alive and well in the rest of the
when, few other patches are available for wildlife. world). However, in the United States, the edu-
Thus, human-wildlife conflict may occur fre- cation of a landscape architect focuses primarily
quently in human-created habitats, such as fields on North American and European studies. This
or gardens. For example, chimpanzees in Uganda persistence is unfortunate, as few students learn
raid crops most commonly during periods when much more than a brief history of landscape
food is scarce in adjacent forest patches. architecture in a history survey course akin to
the European Grand Tour of the 18th and 19th
Chris S. Duvall
centuries. A broader, transdisciplinary approach
See also Biogeography; Conservation; Coupled Human is gaining a foothold, however, producing some
and Animal Systems; Diamond, Jared; Extinctions; promising results in terms of producing more
Game Ranching; Island Biogeography; Landscape collaborative and multidisciplinarily savvy land-
Ecology; Patches and Corridors in Wildlife scape architects. The purpose here is to provide
Conservation; Single Large or Several Small (SLOSS) a means by which one can begin to see the wealth
Debate; Spatial Strategies of Conservation; Species-Area of research and practice in which landscape
Relationship; Wilderness architects have been engaged since landscape
architecture gained its professional standing in
the late 1800s.
Further Readings There are numerous similarities between land-
scape architecture and geography. Geography is
Bennett, A. F. (1999). Linkages in the landscape: The generally divided into two areas, physical and
role of corridors and connectivity in wildlife human; unfortunately, these two domains are
conservation. Gland, Switzerland: International often considered oppositional. The same problem
Union for Conservation of Nature. occurs in landscape architecture, which is simi-
Diamond, J. M. (1975). Assembly of species larly organized into two broad arenas, the physi-
communities. In M. L. Cody & J. M. Diamond cal and the human; now—as is also the case in
(Eds.), Ecology and evolution of communities geography—a third arena has emerged, geo-
(pp. 342–444). Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press. graphic information systems (GIS) and other
Malanson, G. P. (2002). Extinction-debt trajectories technologies. The field of landscape architecture
and spatial patterns of habitat destruction. Annals is also divided in other ways, between academi-
of the Association of American Geographers, 92, cians and practitioners, designers and nondesign-
177–188. ers, and technicians and artists. Such divisions
Millspaugh, J., & Thompson, F. (2008). Models for are not always constructive, though they do help
planning wildlife conservation in large landscapes. differentiate the multiple focuses of the everyday
New York: Academic Press. work of a landscape architect. This entry pro-
Naughton-Treves, L. (1998). Predicting patterns of vides a broad sense of landscape architecture:
crop damage by wildlife around Kibale National how it is defined; its history and theory, educa-
Park. Conservation Biology, 12, 156–168. tion and professional practice; and the current
state of the field.
 LA NDSC A P E A R C HIT EC T URE &+..

Definitions One of the first and foremost contemporary

comprehensive histories of landscape architecture
The American Society of Landscape Architects was produced by Norman Newton in his book
(ASLA), the United States’ professional associa- Design on the Land: The Development of Land-
tion, defines landscape architecture as a scape Architecture, published in 1971. Newton
clearly articulated the transformation of a profes-
profession which applies artistic and scientific sion from garden design, a largely private endeavor,
principles to the research, planning, design and to landscape architecture as a public service.
management of both natural and built environ- Another classic book, by Geoffrey and Susan Jelli-
ments. Practitioners of this profession apply cre- coe, The Landscape of Man: Shaping the Environ-
ative and technical skills and scientific, cultural ment From Prehistory to the Present Day (published
and political knowledge in the planned arrange- in 1975; third edition published in 1995), covers
ment of natural and constructed elements on the landscape to the early 1990s. These volumes offer
land with a concern for the stewardship and con- an inclusive and legible history of the built envi-
servation of natural, constructed and human ronment and provide concise descriptions and
resources. The resulting environments shall serve abundant plans, illustrations, and photographs of
useful, aesthetic, safe and enjoyable purposes. gardens and built landscapes from early civiliza-
(www.kansas.net/~tjhittle/ladef.htm) tion to the evolution of the modern landscape.
Landscape architecture is firmly rooted in gar-
The Canadian Society of Landscape Architects den design and landscape gardening, despite the
offers the following: “Landscape architecture is fact that this association is still uncomfortable for
(the profession) committed to the creation of many in the profession today—a denial of the pro-
meaningful and vital outdoor places and to the fession’s roots in the garden and a fear of the
sustainable management of our environment.” feminine in the profession, which is still primarily
Most important, “Landscape architects strive to white, male, and upper middle class. Garden
establish a balance between our use and enjoy- design was not, though, given the same historical
ment of the land with the conservation and health and theoretical attention as architecture, even
of the environment.” And, finally, “Landscape though Vitruvius mentions gardens and design in
architects are committed to improving our qual- The Ten Books on Architecture. Yet it was not
ity of life by applying creative, technical, and sci- until the 18th century that in-depth attention was
entific skills to manage and create environments given to the history of gardens/gardening. The
that are attractive, functional, innovative and term landscape gardener came into usage in the
appropriate.” Landscape architects are thus late 1700s, when Humphrey Repton used the term
involved in the design, planning, and manage- as a professional title. Lancelot Brown is probably
ment of a wide range of spaces, including parks the most well-known of the “landscape garden-
and open space, academic campuses, and residen- ers,” and it was during the 19th century that the
tial estates; they are also involved in developing term came to be used for those who designed and
civic infrastructure, in historic preservation and built gardens (and other landscapes). John Lou-
restoration, and in the reclamation of degraded don, an English garden designer, published his
landscapes (e.g., brownfields, extractive industry Encyclopedia of Gardening in 1822; this was one
sites). of the first illustrated histories of gardens and
paved the way for the late-19th- and early-20th-
century fascination with the history of the garden.
History and Theory
The term landscape architect was first adopted
“What, then, should the term landscape architec- by Frederick Law Olmsted, in 1863, as a profes-
ture be taken to mean? It will be understood here sional title. Olmsted learned of this term from his
to mean the art—or the science, if preferred—of mentor Andrew Jackson Downing (who, in turn,
arranging land, together with the spaces and had borrowed the term from Loudon) and shifted
objects upon it, for safe, efficient, healthful, pleas- its emphasis to the relationship between land-
ant human use” (Newton, 1971, p. xxi). scape and the built environment. New York City’s
&,%% LA N DS CAPE ARCHITE CTU RE

Central Park epitomized this new direction, as it is now considered a classic form of landscape
focused on a landscape as both scenery and setting analysis. His book provided step-by-step instruc-
in an urban environment. The term landscape tions for the planning of human settlements
architect is often attributed to Patrick Geddes that would reverse the existing pattern of destruc-
(1854–1932), a Scottish botanist who made tive development practices. Ann Spirn, one of
unique connections between garden design, public McHarg’s students, produced what has become
park design, and town and regional planning. another classic in landscape architecture and plan-
Geddes is known as one of the founders of mod- ning, The Granite Garden, in 1984, which called
ern town and regional planning, influencing Lewis attention to the importance of the profession in
Mumford, Christopher Tunnard, and others who making and maintaining the urban landscape.
had a profound impact on 20th-century urban In the 1990s, the profession turned its atten-
planning. The term landscape architect became tion to the radical changes in urban, suburban,
established as a professional title by the founding, and rural landscapes. Greenways and brownfields
in 1899, of the ASLA. More widespread use and were the sites of experimentation for this new
knowledge of the term came with the founding, in interest in the repair and restoration of damaged
1948, of the International Federation of Land- sites and toward more productive use of marginal
scape Architects. Landscape Architecture Maga- landscapes. The 1990s and 2000s saw a renewed
zine, ASLA’s flagship journal, was first published interest in housing, representation, and the rela-
in 1910. A brief review reveals the particular prac- tionship between art and landscape. New tech-
tices that predominated in certain eras. nologies (e.g., AutoCAD, Photoshop, Maya)
Public parks (as well as residential estate design presented new opportunities for visualizing and
and planning) have long been a mainstay of the presenting design ideas. Residential work in the
profession. Galen Cranz’s The Politics of Park late 1980s and 1990s fluctuated between the new
Design. A History of Urban Parks in America, “estate era” and work in new urbanist ventures.
published in 1982, provides a means by which to Also, the 1980s ushered in an era of urban park
understand the changing physical design and renovation as people returned to city centers.
social purpose of parks from the late 18th century Since the 1960s, a large part of this profession
through the mid 20th century. Cranz describes has been devoted to international work, with
four eras of park design and planning: (1) the large-resort development continuing to account
pleasure ground (1850–1900), (2) the reform park for a majority of this type of work.
(1900–1930), (3) the recreation facility (1930– According to the U.S. Department of Labor,
1965), and (4) the open space system (1965 and Bureau of Labor Statistics, landscape architects
beyond). The profession grappled with the ques- held about 26,700 jobs in 2008. About 51% of
tion of the 21st-century park in the late 1980s via landscape architects were employed in architec-
the competition for Parc de La Villette (Paris). tural, engineering, and related services. State and
During the second and third decades of the local governments employed approximately 6%.
1900s, landscape architecture began to have a About 21% of landscape architects were self-
profound influence on the American landscape, employed. The job outlook for the profession is
from national parks to larger-scale public works healthy, given that employment is expected to
projects (e.g., parkways and dams). The 1930s increase; this expected growth is attributed to a
and 1940s were the halcyon years of modern land- growing need for the profession’s expertise in
scape architecture. It was during this time that the urban areas because of the growing population
profession grew in its focus to include new towns, and the public’s desire for more attractive public
the further investigation of housing (residential spaces. Also, the profession has increasing value
estates and suburban development), campus particularly in an American landscape where there
design, and the design and planning of state, is an increased need for sustainable design and
regional, and transregional roads and highways. planning (e.g., storm water management, water
The publication of Ian McHarg’s book Design conservation, wetland restoration and manage-
With Nature in 1969 marked the height of a new ment) and a demand for national security for gov-
era of ecological design. McHarg introduced what ernment buildings, landmarks, and monuments.
 LA NDSC A P E BIODIV ER SI TY &,%&

The Current State of Newton, N. (1971). Design on the land: The

Landscape Architecture development of landscape architecture.
Landscape architecture is faced with the task of Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.
design and planning in an increasingly urban Swaffield, S. (Ed.). (2002). Theory in landscape
world. Two formidable concerns for the future of architecture: A reader. Philadelphia: University of
the discipline are ensuring environmental sustain- Pennsylvania Press.
ability from the local to global scales and devel- Treib, M. (Ed.). (1993). Modern landscape
oping viable, dynamic, and responsive strategies architecture: A critical review. Cambridge: MIT
to cope with the changing urban landscape. Also, Press.
a promising new movement, landscape urbanism,
argues that landscape is the most appropriate
organizing principle for the city, one that emerges
from the bottom up. It is a hybrid strategy that is
inspired by landscape ecology and is thus atten- LANDSCAPE BIODIVERSITY
tive to the fluid movements of plants, animals,
and people, as well as ideas, materials, and time. Biodiversity, the variety of biological life, is hier-
archically organized at different scales, from the
Joni M. Palmer
molecular and genetic levels to populations, eco-
systems, and landscapes. Research on landscape
See also Architecture and Geography; Built
biodiversity studies how the interaction between
Environment; Cultural Landscape; Folk Culture and
the distribution of biotic factors and human land
Geography; Jackson, John Brinckerhoff; Landscape
use shapes the distribution of biodiversity at land-
Design; Landscape Interpretation; Urban and Regional
scape scales. Landscape ecology emphasizes the
Planning; Vernacular Landscapes as Expressions of
connection between spatial pattern and ecologi-
Environmental Ideas; Zoning
cal process. Thus, landscapes are viewed as het-
erogeneous compositions of many smaller units,
Further Readings
typically ecosystems. The type, quality, relative
proportion, and spatial distribution of these eco-
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. systems determine the flows of energy, material,
(2009). Landscape architects. In Occupational and species through the landscape and thus affect
outlook handbook, 2010-11 edition. Retrieved the spatial distribution of biodiversity. Abiotic
February 9, 2010, from www.bls.gov/oco/ factors such as soils, topography, and climate fur-
ocos039.htm ther interact with and constrain the biological
Canadian Society of Landscape Architects. (n.d.). interactions between organisms, resulting in com-
Landscape architecture in Canada. Retrieved plex spatial patterns of species distribution in a
February 19, 2010, from www.csla.ca/en/ landscape. These spatial patterns in turn influ-
landscape-architecture-in-canada ence the distribution of abiotic and biotic
Corner, J. (1999). Recovering landscape: Essays in resources within the landscape. Thus, landscape
contemporary landscape architecture. Princeton, biodiversity studies tend to focus on the relation-
NJ: Princeton Architectural Press. ships between pattern (spatial patterns of species
Cranz, G. (1982). The politics of park design. A distribution) and process (processes of species
history of urban parks in America. Cambridge: survival, persistence, growth, and dispersal).
MIT Press. A landscape perspective becomes especially
Jellicoe, G., & Jellicoe, S. (1975). The landscape of critical for biodiversity management as human
man: Shaping the environment from prehistory to impacts on biodiversity increase, since the conse-
the present day. London: Thames & Hudson. quences of human modifications in land use and
McHarg, I. (1969). Design with nature. Garden City, land cover (such as habitat fragmentation) mani-
NY: Doubleday. fest themselves most severely at the landscape
scale yet are often ignored by local ecological
&,%' LA N DS CAPE BIOD IVE RSITY

studies. Landscape biodiversity research therefore proportion of edge-generalist species while being
typically focuses on spatial and temporal scales avoided by edge-sensitive species. Connectivity
that are much larger and longer than those between patches affects metapopulation dynam-
addressed in traditional studies of ecology, pro- ics and determines the overall probability that a
viding an organizing framework that is useful for species will persist on a landscape. Context is
land managers and conservation science. For also critical; for instance, an orchard in the midst
instance, a landscape framework is often used of a forest is more likely to harbor edge-sensitive
while planning the location of protected areas forest birds than if it were located in the center of
and parks, such that a park is not created in isola- a city.
tion but is often surrounded by a buffer area of With the advent of remote sensing and the
limited human use to improve spatial connectiv- development of spatial tools for mapping land-
ity and reduce the impacts of habitat fragmenta- scapes, hundreds of landscape metrics have been
tion. Theories of island biogeography, vegetation developed that quantify different aspects of land-
gradient analysis, and metapopulation dynamics scape spatial structure. Many, if not most, of these
have been influential in landscape biodiversity metrics are correlated, however, and it is not clear
planning, with conservation biologists striving to how their increasingly sophisticated computation
protect and restore large, connected landscapes contributes to biodiversity management. Indices
for the survival of rare and endangered species. of landscape structure and composition are often
Indices of species diversity can be computed at treated as substitutes for species diversity assess-
a range of scales, from the local to the landscape ment. Yet, while simple theoretical models have
level. Alpha diversity refers to the diversity of been developed that relate landscape spatial struc-
species at a particular location, while beta diver- ture to biodiversity distributions in an intuitively
sity describes the turnover in species between appealing manner, it has been challenging in prac-
two locations. Gamma diversity integrates infor- tice to relate the indices of landscape structure to
mation from alpha and beta diversity studies to biodiversity distributions. Thus, the relevance of
describe the levels of species diversity at larger, these metrics for biodiversity planning is unclear.
landscape scales. The composition and structure Several important organizing principles for
of landscapes critically influences gamma diver- biodiversity conservation have emerged as a
sity, and in-depth understanding of this relation- result of using a landscape perspective. Perhaps
ship is critical for biodiversity planning at the the best known of these is the often discussed
landscape scale. The composition of a landscape issue of habitat fragmentation, which can pose a
refers to the number, variety, and relative pro- serious threat to the movement, growth, repro-
portion of the components of a landscape— duction, dispersal, and persistence of species. For
ecosystems, habitats, and ecological communities. example, when old-growth forests are frag-
The structure of a landscape is described by the mented by the creation of road corridors that cut
geometry of these components—their size, shape, through them and make it difficult for organisms
connectivity, and context—which affects the dis- to move among isolated patches, the survival and
tribution of specific species to different extents. persistence of some species become particularly
For instance, area-sensitive species such as large challenging. Awareness of scaling issues is also
carnivores have requirements for large, unfrag- critical for landscape management, as the lessons
mented habitats; edge-sensitive species tend to learned at one spatial or temporal scale cannot
avoid edges where there are sharp atmospheric be automatically transferred to another scale.
gradients and increases in human presence; while The scale of a landscape is often defined based
dispersal-sensitive species are affected when con- on human perceptions, and landscapes typically
nectivity between habitats is affected. Thus, other range in size from tens to hundreds of square
things being equal, patches of greater area con- kilometers. Yet, while this may be the scale most
stitute better habitat for area-sensitive species. suitable for conservation planning or manage-
Habitat shape is also critical, as patches of the ment, it is also critical to recognize that a land-
same size that are more indented or linear have a scape can range widely in size when viewed from
greater edge, consequently harboring a greater the perspective of different species—for example,
 LA NDSC A P E DESIGN &,%(

a tree fungus, for whom a single tree or a clump History of Landscape Design
of trees may provide a landscape, or a large car-
nivore, which may traverse thousands of kilome- Throughout human history, landscape works
ters in its lifetime. such as the Greek and Roman gardens shared a
commonality of an incessant love for greenery
Harini Nagendra and plants. Other than these, the “elements” of
nature (fire, water, air, and earth in the ancient
See also Biodiversity; Island Biogeography; Landscape Occident and metal, water, wood, fire, and earth
and Wildlife Conservation; Landscape Ecology; Land in the ancient Orient) have influenced the design
Use and Land Cover Mapping; Parks and Reserves; of ancient gardens. Japanese gardens are designed
Patches and Corridors in Wildlife Conservation; Single to provide a natural setting, sometimes referred
Large or Several Small (SLOSS) Debate; Spatial to as a mindscape, which draws the mind toward
Strategies of Conservation; Species-Area Relationship meditation. It often reflects the influence of Zen
Buddhism and takes a minimal form, sometimes
using raked pebbles rather than water.
Further Readings In the West, the history of landscape architec-
ture can be traced back to Gilbert Laing Meason
Gutzwiller, K. J. (Ed.). (2002). Applying landscape (1820–1900), a Scot, who was the first to refer to
ecology in biological conservation. New York: buildings found in the paintings of landscapes as
Springer-Verlag. landscape architecture. In the 19th century, J. C.
Noss, R. F. (1990). Indicators for monitoring Loudon, A. J. Downing, and others expounded on
biodiversity: A hierarchical approach. the development of landscape gardening and con-
Conservation Biology, 4, 355–364. tributed to the distinctive style of landscape archi-
Turner, M. G., Gardner, R. H., & O’Neill, R. V. tecture. Other pioneers included Frederick Law
(2001). Landscape ecology in theory and practice. Olmsted (1822–1903), whose works included
New York: Springer-Verlag. Central Park in New York and the Emerald Neck-
lace Park system in Boston; Dan Kiley (1912–
2004), whose works included Miller Garden in
Columbus, Indiana, and the Chicago Botanic Gar-
den; Roberto B. Marx (1909–1994) of Brazil (the
LANDSCAPE DESIGN Ibirapuera Park and the Flamengo Park); and
other landscape masters such as Lawrence Hal-
Landscape design and landscape architecture are prin (1916– ; Yerba Buena Gardens Master Plan),
in their basic forms a manifestation of humans’ Ian McHarg (1920–2001), and Martha Schwartz
passionate care for nature. The two concepts are (1950– ; Dublin Docklands), all of whom were
similar, with landscape design focusing more on great promoters of landscape architecture in the
the artistic merits of design. This entry briefly 20th century.
reviews the history of landscape architecture and
then considers the role that it can play in the
Twenty-First-Century Challenges
future. In an era when we acknowledge the eco-
logical damage and the imbalanced growth that The dawn of the 21st century is marked by four
humanity has inflicted on the Earth, landscape new challenges for the practice of landscape archi-
design has a significant role to play in the pro- tecture. These challenges arise out of the growing
curement of resources and materials and in the emphasis on sustainability and from the desire to
interaction with natural form and elements use landscape architecture to enhance the urban
toward creating livable communities. It also offers experience of life, to explore the therapeutic pos-
solutions for global climate change and warming sibilities of landscape architecture, and to enrich
and peak oil (i.e., the maximum global output our understanding of cultural landscapes.
that occurred recently and the subsequent gradual First, landscape architects are called on to
decline). extend the practice of landscape design to embody
&,%) LA N DS CAPE D E SIG N

A portion of the rock garden at Kongobuji Temple, located in Koyasan (Mount Koya), Japan
Source: Aliza Schlabach/iStockphoto.

the ecological, social, and economic concerns of evolving and therefore demand flexible and adapt-
sustainability in the planning and design of both able mechanisms in the practice of urban land-
indoor and urban spaces. As an example of envi- scape design. This belief is driven by an analysis of
ronmental applications, sustainable landscaping the existing and potential conditions of selected
considers a green roof or a roof garden as a rain- sites, which provide a set of parameters for under-
water reservoir, a heat sink, and an activity venue, standing their design as dynamic material organi-
as well as an event for visual enjoyment. Another zations shaped by a combination of the temporal
example is the keen interest that has gone into the and dynamic forces that shape modern cities, from
research and development of sustainable land- the social and political realms to environmental
scape design strategies and practices, such as arti- infrastructure. In this manner, landscape design is
ficial wetlands and plant and species selection for integrated with urbanism from a theoretical to a
enhancing ecological and biodiversity balance in practical sense. This new focus is significant, as it
both urban and building settings. expands the scope for landscape architecture to
Second, landscape urbanism has appeared, as incorporate urban design. Because of this chang-
early as in the past decade, as an extended belief ing role, many landscape architectural practices
and practice of a contemporary urban theory that have entered the realm of urban design.
holds that landscape, rather than architecture, is Third, human health and performance have
an effective tool to enhance urban experience emerged as a major stream of “therapeutic” land-
in pursuit of a better quality of life. As a new dis- scape design, often referred to as the Healing Gar-
cipline, landscape urbanism perceives cities as den School. Roger S. Ulrich in particular has
natural processes that are constantly changing and put the spotlight on the ability to deploy designed
 LA NDSC A P E EC OLOG Y &,%*

natural environments for human health benefits in

Further Readings
physical, mental, and spiritual recovery. A success-
ful application of this concept has been the use of McHarg, I. L. (1995). Design with nature. New
“healing gardens” for patient recovery in medical York: Wiley.
wards; patients have recovered and have been dis-
charged at a faster rate when they were accorded a
healing garden. Therapeutic landscape design thus
refers to a specific aspect of a healing process for
the body and the mind. Deeper study of the thera-
peutic landscape philosophy has led to a growing LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY
interest in the extension of the healing concept to
the relief of the mind and spiritual relief for identi- Landscape ecology is a relatively young, interdis-
fied workers or user groups such as university stu- ciplinary (or transdisciplinary) field drawn from
dents working under stressful conditions, inviting the subjects of ecology, geography, and landscape
a new term, sustainable campus landscape design. architecture (see Figure 1). It focuses on the rela-
Fourth and finally, cultural landscape is a new tionships between landscape patterns and eco-
concern initiated by world heritage authorities to logical processes across a broad range of spatial
promote an awareness of how human activities and temporal scales. Human interactions are
are intertwined with natural elements. The United strongly emphasized, given the often dominant
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural influence of humanity on landscape composition,
Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage Com- structure, and functionality. In the past 20 to 30
mittee (1992) has defined the cultural landscape years, a variety of pattern indices and modeling
as encompassing (a) an artificial landscape techniques have been developed to study the het-
designed and created intentionally by man or as a erogeneous, dynamic, human-modified ecosys-
result of man working with nature; (b) an organi- tems across the globe. Research has cast light on
cally evolved landscape, including relict land- ecological conservation, natural resource man-
scapes and ones in which the evolutionary process agement, landscape and urban planning, and sus-
is still in progress; and (c) an associative cultural tainable land use in many European, North
landscape, because of its association with reli- American, Oceanic, and Asian countries.
gious, artistic, or cultural considerations. By this
definition, the cultural landscape provides a way
Development of Landscape Ecology
to preserve works of landscape, natural or human-
made, in order to understand human evolving The term landscape ecology was introduced by
relationships with nature. An example of a cul- Carl Troll in 1939. It was defined as the study of
tural landscape often cited is the Bodie State His- causal relationships between ecological commu-
toric Park, northeast of Yosemite National Park nities and their heterogeneous, patchy environ-
in California, also known as a gold-mining ghost ments. The recognition of and emphasis on spatial
town, where the terrain landscape preserves the heterogeneity separated landscape ecology from
history of the mining activities. In essence, cul- other classical ecological fields and inspired tre-
tural landscape is a collection of places; artifacts mendous research interest in this “spatial ecol-
that serve as a trigger of memories of social rele- ogy.” Other basic concepts of landscape ecology
vance and that are being managed and maintained were also formed during this early stage, includ-
as a living or a fossil exhibition, such as Pompeii. ing scale, hierarchy, and landscape dynamics.
In 1982, the International Association of Land-
Stephen S. Y. Lau
scape Ecology was founded. Landscape ecology,
as an emerging academic discipline, began to
See also Architecture and Geography; Cultural draw increasing attention from scholars in the
Landscape; Green Design and Development; Landscape fields of ecology, geography, and sociology as
Architecture; Landscape Interpretation; Parks and well as from designers in landscape architec-
Reserves; Urban Gardens; Urban Green Space ture and urban planning across the world. The
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Figure 1 Landscape ecology

Source: Wu, J. (2006). Landscape ecology, cross-disciplinarity, and sustainability science (Figure 1). Landscape Ecology, 21, 1–4. Reprinted with kind permission of Springer
Science and Business Media.
 LA NDSC A P E EC OLOG Y &,%,

theoretical concepts of landscape ecology evolved Hierarchical views and scaling influence the
rapidly beginning in the 1980s, especially in the recognition of landscape patterns and the
exploration of scale and its consequences for pat- identification of ecological processes.
tern and process recognition. Different sets of
Humans are an important landscape component as
landscape metrics were created and widely imple-
they modify the landscape and adapt to changes.
mented to quantify landscape spatial heterogene-
ity. Modeling techniques flourished, including Landscape patterns, ecological processes, and
neutral models and process-based models. Distur- human activities are dynamic and intertwining
bance and ecosystem succession were extensively phenomena.
investigated and modeled with advanced remote
sensing and spatial analysis techniques. Humans
HeVi^Va=ZiZgd\ZcZ^in
and their activities have been increasingly viewed
as a landscape component rather than simply an Spatial heterogeneity is the foundation of land-
external factor. scape ecology. It sets the latter apart from tradi-
tional ecology, which tends to focus on populations
or communities in small and relatively homoge-
Theoretical Approaches neous areas. Landscape is typically viewed as the
Two landscape ecology approaches are well mosaic of discrete spatial entities at scales ranging
known; one is the society-centered, holistic view from a few hectares to many square kilometers.
of the European tradition, and the other is the The patchy appearance of landscape is a reflec-
ecology-centered, spatial view of the North Amer- tion of spatial autocorrelation, which is a geo-
ican tradition. The former concerns mainly cul- graphic phenomenon of increasing similarity (or
tural landscapes and focuses on landscape dissimilarity) between locations that are close to
planning that increases the beauty and pro- one another.
ductivity of urbanized societies, while the latter The arrangement (or configuration) of hetero-
pays particular attention to natural or human- geneous landscape entities is referred to as pat-
modified ecosystems and concentrates on the tern. Patterns may be generated by dissimilar
deduction, synthesis, and simulation of landscape environmental settings, ecological processes, and
pattern-process interactions. Several scholars natural or human disturbances. The perceived
have advocated that the two distinctive approaches pattern of a predefined landscape may vary
are complementary and, therefore, may be inte- depending on changes in the criteria for patch
grated. Others favor the diversity of research segmentation or in the scale of analysis. Tremen-
methodology and have suggested that while land- dous effort has been devoted to the quantification
scape ecology is a transdisciplinary field, individ- and simulation of landscape spatial patterns since
ual studies may not have to be cross-disciplinary. the 1980s.

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Fundamental Concepts
Understanding the causal relationships between
Despite the differences in the European and
landscape patterns and ecological processes has
North American traditions, the academic disci-
been a top priority since the establishment of
plines associated with landscape ecology have
the discipline of landscape ecology. Patterns for
much in common. Both include the following
landscape are affected by ecological processes,
assumptions:
for example, through trophic relationships such
as grazing effects on landscape composition and
Spatial heterogeneity is fundamental for the
configuration. On the other hand, spatial pat-
perception of landscape.
terns may influence ecological processes, such as
The interactions of landscape patterns and seed dispersal, exotic invasion, and the spread
ecological processes are the basic subjects of of disturbances. Knowledge of pattern-process
investigation. interactions has wide implications for ecological
&,%- LA N DS CAPE E COL OG Y

conservation and restoration. However, caution fire suppression technology. Both direct and indi-
must be taken when investigating and implement- rect human influences may be regulated and
ing the pattern-process relationships, which might planned to achieve landscape sustainability.
be missing due to the mismatch of sampling scales
and the absence of replicate landscapes.
AVcYhXVeZ9ncVb^Xh
Patterns of landscape are temporally dynamic
=^ZgVgX]nVcYHXVaZ
and vary with the redistribution of materials,
The recognition of hierarchy and scale in land- energy, and organisms by natural or human
scape ecology dates back to the 1950s, and the causes. The natural cause of changes in ecological
importance of these concepts has been widely processes may be relatively regular, as in diurnal
accepted since the 1980s. Hierarchy refers to the changes in light availability for plant photosyn-
level of organization, which manifests itself as the thesis, or less predictable, as in disturbance events
nested systems of varying spatial and temporal such as forest fires, insect breakouts, and droughts
domains in sequence. For example, a forest land- or floods. After a disturbance occurs, ecosystems
scape may be viewed as a hierarchy of tree gaps, may restore themselves to their original status
stands, and watersheds from lower to higher lev- through succession without further disturbances.
els. Systems at different levels interact with one However, because disturbances are often repeated
another, with the lower level generating higher- and human modification (such as grazing, log-
level patterns and the higher level constraining ging, and urbanization) is continuous, changes in
lower-level processes. landscape patterns and processes are often ongo-
Scale refers to the dimension of space or time ing, never approaching equilibrium, and difficult
for the landscape pattern or process under inves- to predict.
tigation. From the spatial perspective, scale is
viewed as grain (or spatial resolution, i.e., the
Methodology
smallest unit of sampling or observation) and
extent (i.e., the size of the study area). From the Landscape ecology investigates large-extent spa-
temporal perspective, scale is regarded as time tial patterns and ecological processes. One of the
step (or temporal resolution) and time span, vary- most difficult challenges is the lack of replication
ing from seconds to geological time. Scale is cen- of landscapes for sampling and experimental
tral to landscape ecology, because most landscape design. In contrast with traditional ecology, which
patterns and ecological processes are scale depen- is based primarily on experiments, landscape
dent, which means that changes in the scale of ecology focuses on spatial pattern metrics and
investigation generate different results for inter- simulation models. It also makes use of advanced
preting landscape characteristics. geographic technologies such as remote sensing
and geographic information systems (GIS) for
broadscale ecosystem monitoring and spatial data
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analysis.
Today’s landscapes are the combined results of
historical natural and cultural processes. People’s
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role in shaping landscape patterns and modifying
ecosystem functions has become increasingly Landscape pattern metrics are spatial indices
important, given the advance of society, knowl- that quantify the landscape composition and spa-
edge, and technology. The impacts of human tial configuration of a predefined study area. To
activities on landscape may be direct or indirect. apply pattern metrics, the landscape has to be
The former involve modifying the landscape com- viewed as the integration of discrete spatial units.
ponent or configuration directly, as in clearing Each unit is referred to as a patch. Patches with
grasslands for agriculture. The latter occur similar attributes are assigned to a single class; for
through manipulation of factors that control the example, patches of forested land would belong to
landscape processes, as in the implementation of the forest class instead of the agriculture or the
 LA NDSC A P E EC OLOG Y &,%.

Land Cover
URBAN
AGRICULTURE
SHRUB
FOREST
WATER
WETLAND
BARE

Figure 2 Land cover in Leon County, Florida

Source: Data from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. (2003). Florida vegetation and landcover. Tallahassee,
FL: Author.

residential class. All patches together make up the Patch Analyst 4 extension for ArcGIS Desktop. It
landscape. facilitates the analysis of spatial patterns for the
A variety of size, edge, shape, diversity, and landscape where geographic data are readily
contagion metrics have been developed to mea- available through GIS and remote sensing data-
sure patch-, class-, and landscape-level patterns. bases. In the following illustration, several com-
Size is related to the area of patches. Edge monly used class- and landscape-level pattern
describes the characteristics of the patch perime- metrics were calculated to explore the spatial
ter versus the patch core area. Shape indicates the characteristics of land cover/use in Leon County,
complexity of a patch compared with a circle or Florida. In 2003, seven land cover classes existed
square. All three metrics can be measured at the in this area (Figure 2), including Urban, Agricul-
patch, class, and landscape levels. Diversity mea- ture, Shrub, Forest, Water, Wetland, and Bare,
sures the richness (i.e., the number of patches of a which were aggregated from the original habitat
given class) and evenness (i.e., the distribution of classification of the Florida Fish and Wildlife
area among different classes) of patch classes at Conservation Commission. Patches with areas
the landscape level. Contagion refers to the conti- smaller than 1 acre were extracted and merged to
nuity of patches and may be measured at the class the largest surrounding neighbors before deriving
and landscape levels. the pattern statistics.
Landscape pattern metrics are now incorpo- Using Patch Analyst for ArcGIS, mean patch
rated in GIS software packages, for example, size (MPS), edge density (ED), and area-weighted
&,&% LA N DS CAPE E COL OG Y

Level of Analysis Area (acres) NumP MPS (acres) ED AWMSI Diversity Evenness

Urban 25,427.43 2,359 10.78 34.92 33.37 — —

Agriculture 9,038.34 1,145 7.89 10.53 2.58 — —
Shrub 10,394.10 6,820 1.52 34.32 3.60 — —
Class

Forest 88,977.42 3,541 25.13 96.38 34.18 — —

Water 4,573.53 938 4.88 6.56 3.93 — —
Wetland 31,528.44 3,204 9.84 39.39 10.63 — —
Bare 11,817.72 3,585 3.30 22.45 5.20 — —
Landscape 181,756.98 21,592 8.42 123.07 24.01 1.51 0.78

Table 1 Landscape pattern metrics of land cover in Leon County, Florida

Source: Author.
Notes: Area = class area or total landscape area at the landscape level; NumP = number of patches; MPS = mean patch size;
ED = edge density; AWMSI = area-weighted mean shape index; Diversity = Shannon’s diversity index; Evenness = Shannon’s
evenness index.

mean shape index (MSI) were calculated and criteria for patch segmentation, different solu-
reported for Leon County at both class and land- tions in handling edges and borders, shifts in the
scape levels, while Shannon’s diversity and even- scale of analysis, and mismatches between land-
ness indices were derived at the landscape level scape patterns and processes. Another limitation
only (Table 1). Results showed that (a) Leon of pattern metrics is that they can be applied to
County was dominated by Forest by area; discrete data only. For continuous data, geostatis-
(b) Shrub was the most fragmented land cover tics and graphic approaches provide alternative
type with the lowest MPS, resulting from the solutions.
highest number of patches and a relatively low
number in class area; (c) Forest had the highest
CZjigVaBdYZaVcYEgdXZhh"7VhZYBdYZah
MPS among all land cover types, indicating that
it was more continuous compared with the rest of A neutral model is a computer-based simula-
the land covers; (d) the shape indices of Forest, tion technology that produces a two-dimensional
Urban, and Wetland were high, indicating the (2D) “neutral” map using probability and ran-
irregular shapes of the three land cover types; and domization processes. The term neutral is oppo-
(e) the complicated shape of Forest, Urban, and site to patterns generated through natural or
Wetland contributed to the highest edge density culture processes. To evaluate whether an observed
of the three among all the land cover classes. The natural or culture landscape is significantly differ-
landscape-level metrics would provide more use- ent from random patterns, neutral models simu-
ful information when comparing two or multiple late the landscape configuration multiple times
landscapes or when detecting the temporal (usually 100 to 1,000 realizations) in the absence
changes of a given landscape. of certain ecological and/or human factors and
Pattern metrics have been applied widely to the compare the overall pattern of simulation results
evaluation of landscape heterogeneity as well as with the observed landscape. Neutral models
to the exploration of relationships between spa- facilitate the simulation of artificial landscapes,
tial patterns and ecological processes. The results which to some extent compensates for the lack of
of pattern analysis have practical implementa- replication associated with real landscapes.
tions, for example, wildlife habitat restoration There are three types of neutral models:
through increasing patch connectivity. However, (1) complete randomization, (2) randomization
it is also advised that care be taken when using with the hierarchical approach, and (3) random-
pattern metrics, which may vary due to inconsistent ization with the fractal approach (Figure 3).
 LA NDSC A P E EC OLOG Y &,&&

6 7

COMPLETE RANDOMIZATION RANDOMIZATION WITH THE HIERARCHICAL APPROACH

8 9

RANDOMIZATION WITH THE FRACTAL APPROACH (D = 2.2) RANDOMIZATION WITH THE FRACTAL APPROACH (D = 2.8)

FOREST NONFOREST

Figure 3 Simulated forest landscapes based on three neutral models. Simulations were performed with the
software RULE. Probability of presence of Forest was 0.5 for all simulations. The level of hierarchy was 4 for
randomization with the hierarchical approach and randomization with the fractal approach.
Source: Author.

Complete randomization does not consider spa- rows, a random number generator produced a
tial autocorrelation and determines the presence/ number between 0 and 1 for each of the grid cells.
absence of a land cover based on probability With the assumption that the probability of pres-
alone. For example, in a grid of 16 columns r 16 ence of Forest is equal to 0.5, cells with the
&,&' LA N DS CAPE E COL OG Y

random number q0.5 were assigned to the Forest input of multisource data obtained through
land cover type. This resulted in a binary map of ground surveys, remote sensing, and GIS analysis.
Forest versus Nonforest, relatively random in The process-based models are used to illustrate as
spatial distribution (Figure 3A). well as predict changes in natural and human-
Randomization with the hierarchical approach dominated landscapes.
is simple randomization nested in several aggre-
gation levels. For example, the 16 r 16 grid may
Future of Landscape Ecology
be treated as a hierarchy of four levels, with each
quadrate of the higher level divided into four Landscape ecology has grown steadily into a well-
quadrates at the lower level. Assuming that the recognized interdisciplinary field over the past 25
probability of presence of Forest is equal to 0.75, years. Despite the diversity of research topics,
1, 0.667, and 1 at each descending level, the total landscape ecology developed its own concepts
probability of Forest occupancy is approximately and methods to address the mysteries of the rela-
0.5 at the landscape scale (i.e., the product of the tionships between spatial patterns and ecosystem
four subscale presence probabilities). Simple ran- functions as well as the questions about human-
domization, the same approach as complete ran- environmental interactions. Understanding the
domization, was performed at each level of mechanisms of the changing landscape and mak-
hierarchy given the corresponding subscale For- ing reliable predictions of landscape dynamics
est presence probability. Due to the incorpora- should be the emphasis of future research. In
tion of spatial clustering through the nested addition, the rapidly changing global environ-
system, randomization with the hierarchical ment and human institutions present new chal-
approach resulted in higher self-organized pat- lenges for landscape ecology. Holistic approaches
terns (Figure 3B) than those produced by com- are required to understand the complexity of
plete randomization. landscapes. Effective landscape design and sus-
Randomization with the fractal approach is a tainable land use are also required to achieve
nested randomization that combines hierarchy landscape sustainability in practice.
and fractal dimension (D). In the 2D space, D
Tingting Zhao
measures the resemblance of patches before and
after assigning the locations of new pixels with See also Agroecology; Cultural Ecology; Cultural
Gaussian randomization. The generated patterns Landscape; Ecosystems; Ecotone; Energy and Human
are not correlated when D is 2.5, clustered for Ecology; Human Dimensions of Global Environmental
lower values (e.g., D = 2.2; Figure 3C) and scat- Change; Human Ecology; Industrial Ecology; Invasion
tered for higher values (e.g., D = 2.8; Figure 3D). and Succession; Landscape and Wildlife Conservation;
In the illustration shown in Figure 3, all four Landscape Biodiversity; Landscape Restoration; Political
simulated landscapes were produced with RULE, a Ecology; Remote Sensing; Restoration Ecology;
Microsoft Windows–based software package that Sustainability Science; Urban Ecology; Wilderness;
generates and analyzes landscape patterns. Proba- Wildfires: Risk and Hazard
bility of the presence of Forest is fixed (p = 0.5) for
all simulations. The different approaches of neu-
tral models are responsible for the distinctive land- Further Readings
scape patterns. The simulated landscape tends to
be highly self-organized, with increasing numbers Gardner, R. H. (1999). RULE: Map generation and a
of hierarchy or polarized fractal dimensions. spatial analysis program. In J. M. Klopatek &
Process-based models differ from the pattern- R. H. Gardner (Eds.), Landscape ecological
based neutral model as they focus more on simu- analysis: Issues and applications (pp. 280–303).
lating the mechanisms that drive the changes in New York: Springer.
landscape patterns and processes. A variety of Gustafson, E. J. (1998). Quantifying landscape
models have been developed to simulate disper- spatial pattern: What is the state of the art?
sal, succession, and human behavior. Most of Ecosystems, 1, 143–156.
these models are spatially explicit and require the
 LA NDSC A P E INT ER P R ET A T IO N &,&(

on a large scale, such as one’s backyard, or a small

McGarigal, K., & Marks, B. J. (1995). FRAGSTATS: scale, such as a country or the entire world—is
Spatial analysis program for quantifying landscape known as landscape interpretation. The process
structure (General Technical Report PNW-GTR- includes identifying patterns or structures that
351). Portland, OR: USDA Forest Service, Pacific change over time and space.
Northwest Research Station. The application of landscape interpretation is
Nassauer, J. I., & Opdam, P. (2008). Design in far-reaching, having its roots in geography and
science: Extending the landscape ecology spanning social and vegetation science, conserva-
paradigm. Landscape Ecology, 23, 633–644. tion, planning, management, restoration, and
Patch Analyst 4: http://flash.lakeheadu.ca/~rrempel/ landscape appraisal and ecology.
patch/index.html
Turner, M. G., Gardner, R. H., & O’Neill, R. V.
(2001). Landscape ecology in theory and practice:
Reading the Landscape
Pattern and process. New York: Springer. The foundation of landscape interpretation is the
Urban, D. L., & Keitt, T. (2001). Landscape skill of simply reading a landscape. Two skills are
connectivity: A graph-theoretic perspective. developed in reading the landscape—seeing with
Ecology, 82(5), 1205–1218. the eyes and thinking about what is seen. Few
Wiens, J. A. (2005). Toward a unified landscape disciplines, however, encourage students to study
ecology. In: J. A. Wiens & M. R. Moss (Eds.), the world in this informal fashion. Geography’s
Issues and perspectives in landscape ecology chorological approach values a holistic examina-
(pp. 365–373). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge tion of particular regions and is a fertile ground
University Press. for landscape reading.
Wu, J. (2006). Landscape ecology, cross- The process of landscape interpretation exam-
disciplinarity, and sustainability science. ines three general ideas, namely, structure, func-
Landscape Ecology, 21, 1–4. tion, and change. Structure refers to the spatial
relationships among distinctive components of
the environment, such as energy or resources.
Function is the interactions among spatial ele-
ments, such as the flows of energy within an eco-
LANDSCAPE INTERPRETATION system. Change is the temporal alterations of
structure and function.
Landscape is part of the vernacular of architects, The American geographer Peirce Lewis devel-
artists, earth scientists, geographers, historians, oped more specific principles (which he called
and planners, although the term has a slightly dif- axioms and corollaries) for reading the landscape
ferent use and meaning in each discipline. Geog- in a systematic way. Among these principles is the
raphers, landscape pioneers, initiated the observation that landscape is an indication of cul-
exploration and examination of physical geogra- ture, history, geography, and environmental con-
phy, land, and environment to organize knowl- trols. Human-created structures such as roads
edge about the world. An early definition of and places of worship are evidence that document
landscape was provided by Alexander von Hum- the imprint of culture, providing explanations of
boldt, the famous German geographer who who we were, who we are, and who we will
viewed landscape 200 years ago as the sum of become. For example, in Toronto, Canada, it is
characteristics that make up a region. The roots not uncommon to see a church juxtaposed with a
of landscape interpretation lie in traditional geo- temple and a synagogue. Such a landscape sug-
morphology and plant ecology. gests not only that religion is an important part of
The concept of landscape held an important the culture but moreover that religious diversity is
place in the geography lexicon during the two accepted, with all three religious landmarks
world wars and continues to do so today, although equally important in the lives of Torontonians.
it is now less emphasized. Making meaning to bet- Peirce also argues that the reading of landscapes,
ter understand the external environment—whether whether contemporary or not, must take into
&,&) LA N DS CAPE INTE RPRE TATION

consideration the historical context in which they understandable layouts of space. For navigation
were created. For example, a barn that stands in purposes, the interpretation of a landscape pri-
isolation in a field tells the story of a farming marily uses paths and landmarks. In people’s
community that has since disintegrated in an reproduction of a place, in the form of a mental
urban settlement. Another of Peirce’s principles is map or a sketch map, paths are used to frame the
that reading landscapes is tightly tied up with the boundary and create direction, whereas land-
geography context, as culture and history are marks are added to give more personal meaning
location and place specific. For example, shop- to a location, for example, one’s favorite coffee
ping malls are not located randomly or through- shop or the most frequented gasoline station.
out a city; rather, they are located in specific parts Gender differences are often noted in landscape
of the city with transportation and access to a interpretation. In particular, sketch maps by
residential catchment area. Peirce also insisted males are frequently dominated by paths (e.g.,
that understanding a landscape is closely related roads, highways, trails) that are used to indicate
to knowing its physical environment; thus, some direction and the main travel arteries, with rela-
basic knowledge of physical landscape is needed. tively few landmarks. Females generally focus on
For example, terraces rather than flat farmland landmarks in their drawings of landscape, often
are built in some parts of the world where land- using them to identify neighboring paths.
scapes are too steep for traditional agriculture. A major change occurred in the late 20th cen-
Finally, although landscapes convey messages, tury, with a shift to understanding the “”why,”
they do so in a subtle way. As a reader of the sur- “how,” “what,” and “where” of landscape. Dur-
roundings, one should learn to ask questions ing this time, geography was influenced by dif-
regarding the appearance and form of the land- ferent schools of thought, including behavioralism,
scape, for example, who designed it, why it was humanism, Marxism, feminism, postmodernism,
designed, how the structure adds to the story of the social construction of nature, and postcolo-
the location and to the surrounding landscapes, nialism. As the field changed, geographers shifted
and how the society functions. These questions their focus from fieldwork in natural landscapes
will unearth information that brings to light the to the qualitative examination of social relations
less obvious meanings of landscapes. and land uses, understanding landscapes as com-
plex mixtures of social activities and the natural
world.
Interpretation of the Urban Landscape
Landscape interpretation can occur in several
Interpreting Landscapes With Technology
ways, from making personal meaning and devel-
oping a sense of place to a systematic, more scien- The quantitative approach to landscape interpre-
tific approach. For most of geography’s history, tation aims to examine the distribution and abun-
the discipline focused on collecting and organiz- dance of phenomena and processes at a range of
ing facts about physical space. Geographers spatial and temporal scales. Known as landscape
explored the landscape, measured it, and con- metrics, these quantitative measures distinguish
ducted experiments to study the terrain, by means patterns on maps or remotely sensed images. This
of geomorphological techniques, surveying, or science is related to landscape interpretation and
using topographic maps to examine contours. was termed landscape ecology in 1939 by the Ger-
The classic work of Kevin Lynch provides a man geographer Carl Troll, with roots in regional
systematic way to understand the mental maps of geography and vegetation science. Troll primarily
urban landscapes. Lynch identified five landscape used aerial photographs in his research.
features perceived in all urban spaces: paths, Increasingly sophisticated quantitative measures
boundaries/edges, districts, nodes, and land- of landscape patterns have been applied since the
marks. Lynch suggested that the interrelatedness late 1980s, whose aim is to correlate the processes
of these elements is important to the formation of occurring in the environment or the ecosystem
place legibility, or the fashion in which people with the patterns manifested in the landscape,
interpret elements and combine them to create especially those not easily identified by the human
 LA NDSC A P E QUA LIT Y A SSESSMEN T &,&*

eye. This approach groups measurable variables, Quality Assessment; Land Use Analysis; Meinig,
namely, shape, size of shapes, and textures, to dis- Donald; Mental Maps; Palimpsest; Remote Sensing;
tinguish patterns in the landscape. These research Sauer, Carl; Spatial Cognition; Vernacular Landscapes
strategies are of interest to geographers as well as as Expressions of Environmental Ideas
ecologists in examining the patterns of movement
of sensitive species to predict whether they may
migrate due to fragmentation or increased edges in Further Readings
their current space or whether their habitat size is
sufficient for population growth. Frohn, R. C. (1998). Remote sensing for landscape
Two computerized tools have played a pivotal ecology. Boston: Lewis.
role in recent landscape interpretation research, Lynch, K. (1960). The image of the city. Cambridge:
namely, remote sensing and geographic informa- MIT Press.
tion systems (GIS). Remote sensing provides large MacIlwraith, T. F. (1997). Looking for old Ontario.
quantities of environmental data in the form of Toronto, Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto
satellite images of Earth’s surface. Such data sets Press.
are beneficial for quantitative research for several Meinig, D. W. (Ed.). (1979). The interpretation of
reasons. First, sensors collect data from a dis- ordinary landscapes. New York: Oxford
tance, reducing the amount of human bias intro- University Press.
duced. Second, data can be collected at different Turner, M. G., & Gardner, R. H. (Eds.). (1990).
spatial scales, ranging from the local and regional Quantitative methods in landscape ecology: The
to the national and global, and repeated across analysis and interpretation of landscape
temporal scales, such as seasons or years. Third, heterogeneity. New York: Springer-Verlag.
numerous sensors and spectral ranges are avail-
able that specialize and distinguish data collec-
tion from specific surfaces such as water,
farmland, and urban settlements.
A GIS is a computerized system that stores, LANDSCAPE QUALITY
manages, displays, and analyzes spatial data.
Remotely sensed data in conjunction with related ASSESSMENT
digital information (e.g., the locations of land-
marks) can be added to further the analysis. A Landscape quality assessment means aesthetic
GIS has several functions. First, landscape fea- evaluation of an area of Earth’s surface. The word
tures can be visualized or represented in a GIS. landscape originates from the 16th-century Dutch
The second function of GIS is to predict the con- word landschap, which described paintings of
sequences of potential changes at different spatial inland natural or rural scenery. Originally trans-
and temporal scales. The third function is to eval- lated into English as landskip, the term was grad-
uate the impact of the actions taken and to com- ually replaced by landscape. Landscape refers to
pare the results of alternative solutions. the surface of land and water bodies that may be
The quality and effectiveness of landscape viewed and includes physical landforms, land
interpretation using the outputs of remote sensing cover, and land uses. The adjective quality denotes
and GIS depend on the scale, origin, and reliabil- an aesthetic dimension that derives from the
ity (or accuracy) of the input data (e.g., GIS data human perception of the landscape. The terms
may be incomplete, remote sensing images may landscape quality and scenic quality are equiva-
be affected by cloud cover). lent, scenery deriving from stage backdrops but
now applied also to the physical environment.
Niem Tu Huynh
Scenic quality is the more common terminology
in the United States. Assessment means some form
See also Chicago School; Cultural Landscape; of evaluation or discrimination of landscape qual-
Environmental Perception; Landscape Architecture; ity. The terms values, preferences, amenity, and
Landscape Design; Landscape Ecology; Landscape resources are sometimes substituted for quality.
&,&+ LA N DS CAPE QU AL ITY ASSE SSMENT

Significance with scales such as beautiful-ugly or scenic qual-

ity scales. A study of hospital patients found that
Combining both their physical origins and the those with a view of trees recovered more quickly
cultural overlay of human presence, and often and required fewer analgesics than those without
created over millennia, landscapes reflect the liv- this view.
ing synthesis of people and place vital to local Gordon Orians’s habitat theory postulates a
and national identity. The characteristics and biological imperative for humans to prefer envi-
quality of landscapes help define the self-image ronments likely to afford the necessities of life.
of a region—its sense of place—differentiating it He has found strong preference for the African
from other regions. It is the dynamic backdrop to savanna, containing scattered acacia trees amid
people’s lives. Viewing natural landscapes may extensive grassland, believed to be the environ-
provide tangible health benefits. Many land- ment in which humans evolved. The popularity of
scapes attract visitors, thereby supporting tour- pastoral landscapes of trees and grass, as found in
ism and recreational industries and supporting parks, reinforces his case.
regional economies. Landscape degradation Stephen and Rachel Kaplan apply information-
diminishes quality of life. The iconic value of dis- processing theory to landscape aesthetics, arguing
tinctive landscapes is commonly used in advertis- that in extracting information from the environ-
ing. Many World Heritage Areas (as defined ment, humans seek to make sense of the environ-
under the Convention concerning the Protection ment and be involved in it. They identified four
of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, predictor variables: coherence and legibility,
adopted by the United Nations Educational, Sci- which help one understand the environment, and
entific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO] in complexity and mystery, which encourage its
1972) and national parks are established to safe- exploration.
guard landscapes of outstanding quality. The A robust theory that provides an all-encom-
results of landscape quality assessment may influ- passing framework with which to understand
ence relevant policies. and predict landscape preferences from
microlevel to macrolevel, covering all types of
landscapes, does not yet exist. A range of theo-
Theoretical Basis
retical models is available; these offer explana-
An evolutionary perspective underlies current tions of aspects of landscape preferences but fall
theories of landscape quality: Preferences for well short of a comprehensive and definitive
high-quality landscapes are survival enhancing. explanation.
Far from being casual or trivial, Stephen Kaplan
believes, aesthetics are a guide to human behavior
Development of the
and have far-reaching consequences.
Science of Measurement
Jay Appleton’s prospect-refuge theory postu-
lates that, originally, landscapes were preferred Stimulated in part by legislative mandates, such
that enabled one to see without being seen, that as the U.S. National Environmental Policy Act
provided places (prospects) where one could spy of 1970, which required consideration of
out game or the enemy while also providing places unquantified environmental amenities by recog-
(refuges) in which to hide. Empirical studies pro- nition of scenic quality as an environmental
vide some support to this theory while identifying resource, scenic quality has been measured by
other contributing factors; for example, moun- many studies.
tains and trees (prospects) are preferred, but caves These studies lie along a continuum: from
(refuges) are not. physical studies, which measure characteristics
Roger Urlich’s affective theory postulates that directly from the landscape, through preference
natural settings and landscapes produce emo- studies, which measure the human perception of
tional states of well-being in their viewers. When these characteristics in aesthetic terms, to experi-
landscape aesthetics are measured on a like- ential studies, which identify the feelings and
dislike dichotomy, these states correlate closely experiences of landscape interactions.
 LA NDSC A P E QUA LIT Y A SSESSMEN T &,&,

Cape Bauer, South Australia

Source: Author.

Physical studies involve the description, of the landforms, trees, water, and so on, in the
analysis, and sometimes quantification of the landscape allow, using multiple regression analy-
physical characteristics of the landscape without sis, the development of predictive models of sce-
reference to human perceptions. Forest managers nic quality based on their features.
use Visual Resource Management systems (VMS) Experiential studies examine the aesthetic
and, latterly, the Scenery Management System to experiences gained by the community through
measure scenic quality from the forest’s formal its interaction with the landscape; these are
aesthetic features—that is, its form, line, color, broader than solely visual and include abstract
texture, and variety. VMS is used to predict and qualities, evocative responses, and sense of place
minimize the visual impact of forestry operations. and meanings. Obtaining consistent results can
Preference studies involve people assessing be a challenge.
scenes and rating their scenic quality on a scale
from low to high (e.g., 1 to 10). Typically, they
Applications
use photographs of the region being considered
and ask people to rate them. Many studies have The very act of identifying and measuring scenic
established the efficacy of photographs as an quality opens up possibilities not previously
alternative to field assessment, provided that available. These include mapping and incorpora-
they are standardized (e.g., color, 50 mm, land- tion into planning policies; defining objectives to
scape format, cloud-free conditions, avoiding manage, protect, and even enhance scenic qual-
composition). Separate measures of the components ity; delineating areas for designation as World
&,&- LA N DS CAPE RE STORATION

Heritage Areas and national parks or for use in

tourism and recreational promotion; selecting
LANDSCAPE RESTORATION
routes for roads and power lines; minimizing
developmental impacts; and managing forest In the past two decades, landscape restoration
harvests and forest and fire management. has increasingly become a field of research and
applied science addressing the multifaceted nature
Andrew Lothian
of environmental problems, and it has developed
an integrated theoretical framework. Whereas
See also Cultural Ecology; Cultural Landscape;
maintenance denotes some regular and relatively
Environmental Imaginaries; Environmental Impact
slight work directed at conserving a humanized
Assessment; Environmental Perception; Environmental
environment, restoration consists of a set of
Restoration; Landscape and Wildlife Conservation;
actions designed to improve a degraded or simpli-
Landscape Biodiversity; Landscape Design; Landscape
fied environment. Etymologically, “to restore”
Ecology; Landscape Interpretation; Landscape
derives from the Latin word restaurare and from
Restoration; Political Ecology; Sense of Place
the Old French word restorer, which means “to
repair,” “to rebuild,” or “to renew.” For envi-
ronmental purposes, this term implies the mem-
Further Readings ory or knowledge of previous conditions, the
negative evaluation of recent alterations and the
Appleton, J. (1975). The experience of landscape. present context, and the will and means to rees-
London: Wiley. tablish an ancient equilibrium.
Daniel, T. C. (2001). Whither scenic beauty? Many restoration models and practices have
Visual landscape assessment in the 21st century. been applied to ecosystems. More recently, land-
Landscape and Urban Planning, 54, 267–281. scape restoration has broadened its scope, with
Daniel, T. C., & Vining, J. (1983). Methodological prospects for the sustainable use and management
issues in the assessment of landscape quality. of natural resources. More than the ecosystem
In I. Altman & J. F. Wohlwill (Eds.), Behavior concept, the landscape definition pays particular
and the natural environment (chap. 2, pp. 39–83). attention to the human dimension and integrates
New York: Plenum Press. the actions of and interactions between natural
Kaplan, R., & Kaplan, S. (1989). The experience of and cultural factors. The landscape perspective
nature: A psychological perspective. Cambridge, does not neglect the negative impacts resulting
UK: Cambridge University Press. from the exploitation of natural resources. In
Lothian, A. (1999). Landscape and the philosophy of addition, it places emphasis on emotional, socio-
aesthetics: Is landscape quality inherent in the economic, and cultural elements. It is almost a
landscape or in the eye of the beholder? revolution, insofar as it requires an effort to live
Landscape and Urban Planning, 44, 177–198. today with one eye toward yesterday and the other
Orians, G. H., & J. H. Heerwagen. (1992). Evolved toward tomorrow, to repair the environment, to
responses to landscapes. In J. H. Barkow, recognize the dynamic steady state characterizing
L. Cosmides, & J. Tooby (Eds.), The adapted the structure and functioning of ecosystems, and
mind, evolutionary psychology and the generation to substitute an objective-oriented strategy for a
of culture (pp. 555–580). Oxford, UK: Oxford reference-oriented approach.
University Press. The meaning of landscape restoration varies
Urlich, R. S. (1993). Biophilia, biophobia, and according to the scientific community, the type of
natural landscapes. In S. R. Kellert & E. O. environment to be restored, and the content of the
Wilson (Eds.), The biophilia hypothesis restoration program. For instance, in Switzerland,
(pp. 73–137). Washington, DC: Island Press. the simple repairing of biotopes in a disturbed
Zube, E. H., Sell, J. L., & Taylor, J. G. (1982). watercourse is called revalorization and attends to
Landscape perception: Research, application and biodiversity, spawning areas, or anadromous fish.
theory. Landscape Planning, 9, 1–33. With revitalization work, such as dike shifting or
dam removal, the aim is to reestablish the dynamic
 LA NDSC A P E R EST OR A T IO N &,&.

processes of water and sedimentation and to Rather than a reference-oriented strategy, land-
widen river corridors for flooding or for preven- scape restoration resorts to an objective-oriented
tion of bank erosion. More generally, this distinc- strategy that integrates anthropogenic features
tion underlines the coexistence of structural and and processes. For example, the restoration of
dynamical restoration models and highlights the hedgerows targets at least three objectives. Eco-
frequent temptation to restore and congeal some logical studies have shown the value of planted,
idealized forms rather than the processes neces- spontaneous, and remnant hedgerows. More than
sary for their formation and maintenance. It raises 500 vascular plant species grow and numerous
the question as to whether such labors may actu- fauna communities are observed in English hedge-
ally effect a restoration. After the restoration of a rows, which provide them with habitats, prevent
floodplain lake, how long will it remain connected them from being attacked by predators, and pro-
to the main channel, the water flow, and the bed- vide access to food and a corridor for movement
load transport, which are disrupted by facilities in of some species. Furthermore, the narrow bands
the humanized floodplain? Clearly, the continu- of wooden vegetation modify the microclimate,
ous stability of a biotope is artificial. The progres- reduce soil erosion, protect nutrients, and prevent
sive sedimentation of this lake will need some floods in adjacent cultivated fields. Hedgerows
“restoration” work again. also appear as a significant component of tradi-
Revalorization is a partial process that aims to tional rural landscapes, which residents give mean-
make an area more natural, with the objective of ing to through filters of cultural heritage, sense of
“renaturation” being to give an anthropogenic place, and attractive living space.
environment its natural features back and to Many stakeholders have led landscape restora-
restore its ecological functioning, structure, and tion programs at different levels, particularly non-
equilibrium. In ecological restoration, the origi- governmental organizations (e.g., the World
nal or predisturbance condition is called the “ref- Wildlife Fund and the International Union for
erence state.” It is usually characterized through Conservation of Nature), federal and national
historical investigations. Some restoration actions agencies (e.g., the U.S. Environmental Protection
try to reestablish landscapes. However, in societ- Agency and the French Mountain Land Restora-
ies that have a long tradition of agricultural and tion service), and the managers of natural resources.
grazing activities, it is not easy to identify and Projects are designed for many environments, such
choose a reference landscape. This ethical ques- as rivers, wetlands, riparian corridors, woodlands,
tion opens the debate on different visions of meadows, hedgerows, and so on. Thus, several
nature in expert or vernacular knowledge. Wild partners have selected the landscape level to restore
nature often appears as a vanished quest for a a flooded forest in the north of Mali. While forest
“paradise lost.” The idea of reversibility, which is restoration considers change a menace—because it
inherent in restoration or renaturation work, causes a loss of diversity, coherence, and identi-
raises several conceptual, scientific, and technical ty—and attempts to restore the pristine composi-
problems. Moreover, the wilderness often does tion, structure, and functions of the past, forest
not respond to social demands. Arcadian nature landscape restoration recognizes the multifunc-
supplies many valuable landscapes, characterized tionality of forested areas and aims at finding an
by attractiveness and aesthetic quality, but tends optimal balance of ecological, socioeconomic, cul-
to achieve and fix an ideal/dream state. Func- tural, and spiritual interests for trees and forests.
tional nature is densely occupied and is developed The benefits of landscape restoration derive
to the detriment of naturalness. from a multistakeholders approach, including
Environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural better governance over natural resources, accom-
problems are deeply intertwined. Landscape res- modation of competing land uses, participation
toration recognizes that nature provides socioeco- of local communities, and collaboration with
nomic and cultural benefits in the form of goods environmental educators. Therefore, rather than
and services. Public participation is useful to define following a preestablished, vain, and rigid
society’s needs and wants, to set priorities in res- model, landscape restoration initiatives integrate
toration motives, and to select restoration actions. the specificities of local territories to elaborate
&,'% LA N DS L ID E

sustainable and durable projects for environments significant challenge to people who place property
and societies. and community in the path of potential landslides,
challenging planners, government personnel, and
Yves-François Le Lay
citizens to better understand the complexities of
landslide occurrence in their region in order to
See also Applied Geography; Cultural Landscape;
protect infrastructure, resources, property, and
Environmental Ethics; Environmental Impact
people.
Assessment; Environmental Restoration; Everglades
Restoration; Forest Restoration; Landscape and Wildlife
Conservation; Landscape Biodiversity; Landscape Landslide Classification and Causes
Design; Landscape Ecology; Landscape Interpretation;
Many systems for classifying mass movements
Landscape Quality Assessment; Nature; Participatory
have been created in the past century. The most
Planning; Population and Land Degradation; Prairie
widely used and accepted classification system in
Restoration; Sustainable Development
the United States was presented in 1958 by David
Varnes in Landslides and Engineering Practice:
Special Report 29, with revisions in Landslides:
Further Readings Analysis and Control, Special Report 176 in
1978. Six types of movements are defined in this
Antrop, M. (2005). Why landscapes of the past are system, and each type is further divided based on
important for the future. Landscape and Urban the type of material in which the movement
Planning, 70, 21–34. occurs. Slides (landslides) are one of the six types
Holl, K. D., Crone, E. E., & Schultz, C. B. (2003). of movements defined (Table 1).
Landscape restoration: Moving from generalities The likelihood of a landslide occurring depends
to methodologies. Bioscience, 53, 491–502. on the relationship between shear stress (forces
Lamb, D., & Gilmour, D. (2003). Rehabilitation and driving materials downslope, namely, gravity
restoration of degraded forests. Gland, forces) and shear strength (forces resisting the
Switzerland: International Union for Conservation movement of material). More specifically, a slope
of Nature. remains stable if the shear stress exerted on the
Moreira, F., Queiroz, A. I., & Aronson, J. (2006). slope is less than or equal to the shear strength of
Restoration principles applied to cultural the slope material (a function of normal stress-
landscapes. Journal for Nature Conservation, 14, resisting movement, cohesion, and the internal
217–224. angle of friction). When shear stress on a slope is
greater than shear strength, mass movement
occurs. Factors that either increase shear stress or
decrease shear strength, therefore, increase the
likelihood of a landslide occurring.
LANDSLIDE Factors that can increase shear stress include
the removal of slope material or the oversteepen-
A landslide is defined as the rapid downslope ing of slopes, as can occur with stream erosion or
movement of slope-forming materials—rock, soil, road building; heavy precipitation or snowmelt
debris, or combinations of these materials. In events that increase pore fluid pressure and reduce
regions of the world where steep slopes combine resistance to movement; overloading of slopes;
with heavy-moisture episodes, mass movement and earthquakes. Compositional, textural, and
and landslides are a risk. Landslides are difficult structural properties of rocks and soils and the
to predict and prepare for because a wide variety influence of weathering on these properties are
of factors influence the likelihood of a landslide the dominant factors determining the shear
occurring. Landslides are an important geomor- strength of a slope. Slope material properties
phic process in mountainous regions, fundamen- strongly influence cohesion and the normal forces
tally shaping the hydrology, geology, and ecology acting on slope material. Cohesion-less slope
of a place. This natural phenomenon presents a material, soils with high clay content, and soils
 LA NDSLID E &,'&

Type of Material

Soil

Predominantly Predominantly
Type of Movement Bedrock Coarse Material Fine Material

Falls Rock fall Debris fall Earth fall

Topples Rock topple Debris topple Earth topple
Slides Rotational (few units) Rock slump Debris slump Earth slump
Translational (many units) Rock block slide Debris block slide Earth block slide
Rock slide Debris slide Earth slide
Lateral spreads Rock spread Debris spread Earth spread
Flows Rock flow Debris flow Earth flow
Deep creep Soil creep
Complex Combination of two or more principal types of movement

Table 1 Classification of mass movements

Source: Varnes, D. J. (1978). Slope movement types and processes. In R. L. Schuster & R. J. Krizek (Eds.), Landslides: Analysis
and control, transportation research board special report 176 (p. 11). Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences.

Gros Ventre Slide, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Source: U.S. Geological Survey.
&,'' LA N DS L ID E

The Loma Prieta, California, earthquake on October 17, 1989, near the San Francisco and San Mateo County
coast produced this landslide north of Fort Funston. The slide mass is approximately 2,830 m3 of material and is
30 m high.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey.

and rocks composed of inherently weak materials vegetation on the landslide compared with adja-
or that become weak with change in water con- cent stable slopes. Damming of major streams and
tent and jointed rock formations can all decrease creation of lakes near the toe of slopes is common
the shear strength of slope material, increasing with large-scale landslides, such as the Slumgul-
the likelihood of landslide occurrence. lion earth flow (e.g., Lake San Cristobal) in the
San Juan Mountains of Colorado and the 1911
landslide in Tajikistan, which dammed the
Environmental Consequences
Murghab River, forming Sarez Lake. Some land-
of Landslide Occurrence
slide dams fail soon after formation, while others
Landslides are a dominant geomorphic process in become long-lasting landscape features. These
mountainous terrains, leaving an unmistakable dams dramatically change sediment/water trans-
imprint on the physical geography of mountainous port and complementary depositional/erosional
regions at various scales. Deep-seated mega land- cycles in a watershed. Landslides also alter vege-
slides determine the orientation of slopes in some tative communities, stripping soil and existing
mountainous environments and fundamentally vegetation from slopes to reveal bedrock.
change the organization of fluvial systems. These
mega landslides are often closely connected to tec-
Social Consequences
tonic events. Common landscape features resulting
of Landslide Occurrence
from surface-based landslides include exposed bare
ground at landslide scarps, rounded toe slopes, According to the U.S. Geological Survey, land-
hummocky topography composed of bumpy slides cause approximately $1 billion to $2 billion
mounds and depressions, and abrupt differences in in damages and more than 25 fatalities on average
 LA ND T ENU RE &,'(

annually in the United States. The potential for

landslide occurrence must be considered when
LAND TENURE
humans move into mountainous regions, and the
Land tenure, or rural property rights, can be
danger that people face living in these regions is
defined in several ways. The terms generally con-
well documented. On June 23, 1925, a 1-mile-
cern the ways in which “social relations relate to
wide section of earth northeast of Jackson, Wyo-
land use and ownership.” One popular way to
ming, collapsed, damming the Gros Ventre River
view land tenure is as a bundle of rights within a
and creating Lower Slide Lake (see Grand Teton
society or community. In such a bundle, rights
photo). Known as the Gros Ventre Slide, the
can be added, removed, or divided to create a
dam on Lower Slide Lake failed 2 years later,
very wide variety of rights to land and land-based
flooding the town of Kelly, Wyoming, and killing
resources. While land rights are often thought to
six people and hundreds of head of livestock.
be produced by titles, deeds, registries, and leases,
in reality these are artifacts of a system that
Landslide Research in Geography involves enforcement, dispute resolution, evi-
dence, identity, forms of logic, institutional for-
Research on landslides is extensive. Fields where
mation and operation, and derivation and
landslide research abounds include environmen-
maintenance of authority and legitimacy. The
tal geology, physical geography, geotechnical and
relevance of land tenure to geography lies in its
civil engineering, hazard management and miti-
explicit spatial relevance to Earth’s surface, along
gation, hydrology, and ecology. Primary geo-
with how human elements (based on rights) are
graphic research themes include landslide
arrayed within space. This entry describes the
recognition and mapping, landslide case studies,
fundamental aspect of tenure security, the types
analysis of the economic and social impacts of
of land tenure, and the more accepted land ten-
landslides, and predictive model generation for
ure paradigms.
landslide susceptibility using geographic informa-
tion system (GIS) technology. With rapid devel-
opment occurring in mountainous regions around
Tenure Security
the world and numerous examples of human-in-
duced landslides in recent years, the challenge to Tenure security plays a primary role in the func-
predict landslide occurrence is immense. tioning of land tenure. Essentially, it is a “feel-
ing” regarding how secure one is with regard to
Ashley B. Zung continued access to and use of one’s land. Such
See also Avalanches; Creep; Disaster Prediction and security influences decision making involving
Warning; GIS in Disaster Response; GIS in Land Use investment in and use of lands. Thus, such deci-
Management; Mass Wasting; Natural Hazards and Risk sions, along with transactions (buying, selling,
Analysis; Vulnerability, Risks, and Hazards renting, loaning, and inheriting), are made based
on how secure one’s rights to land are. The logic
is that secure tenure leads to making investments
Further Readings (involving time, effort, and money) that are via-
ble over the long term. Thus, there is a connec-
Landslide Hazards Program. (2008, June). Landslide tion between tenure security and the rational use
hazards program. Retrieved October 15, 2008, and management of resources. Although the con-
from http://landslides.usgs.gov cept of land tenure is seemingly straightforward,
Schuster, R. L., & Krizek, R. J. (Eds.). (1978). much research has been undertaken on the nature
Landslides: Analysis and control (Special Report of tenure security and how it functions, particu-
176). Washington, DC: National Academy of larly in the developing world, due to the issue’s
Sciences. connections to agricultural productivity and the
Sharpe, C. F. S. (1938). Landslides and related phe- use of land as collateral for loans. However, ten-
nomena. New York: Columbia University Press. ure security can be difficult to understand, mea-
sure, and enhance in a consistent and predictable
&,') LA N D T E NU RE

way. This is because tenure security is not very customary). While informal or customary tenure
tangible, and a wide variety of variables, pro- can also be labeled traditional or indigenous,
cesses, and contexts are believed to influence it. there are distinctions. Indigenous tenure has to
Generally, secure tenure implies that claims to do with particular aboriginal groups and may or
land are secure because they are defendable may not be customary or traditional. Traditional
against other claims. tenure is largely historical and can have little to
A fundamental aspect of tenure security is the do with present-day customary tenure. Thus,
means to prove rights to claims by way of evi- customary tenure is a way of approaching ten-
dence. All claims to land are part of a construction ure that is largely unofficial and comprises the
of an evidence-based “argument for claim.” Even many ways in which people have responded to
formal title is only an argument based on evidence procedures for institutionalizing land tenure.
that can be, and often is, contested—as are claims Customary tenure can be anything from ad
based on tribal, ethnic, religious, and other identi- hoc to hybridized with statutory tenure and
ties. The legitimacy of evidence depends not only can include traditional or indigenous elements,
on the interpretation or translation of reality into but it is dynamic and responsive to present-day
evidence but also on acceptance by others (a com- concerns.
munity) that the inferences, interpretations, and
conclusions are logical and legitimate.
The problem of such proving is at the heart of Land Tenure Paradigms
several popular approaches to land tenure, includ-
ing the rights recognition approach (recognition The failure of many past attempts at replacing
of customary or indigenous rights to land), the customary tenure with formal tenure has led
capital/poverty/property rights approach (de- many analysts to conclude that there needs to be
scribed by de Soto and adopted by numerous movement away from the replacement para-
governments and development agencies), and digm toward an adaptation paradigm. Such an
attachments or claims to land based on identity adaptation approach involves not only the recog-
(with the Palestine-Israel example being perhaps nition of customary ways by formal law but also
the most extreme). the evolutionary transformation of customary
The “community” aspect of tenure security law in reaction to exposure to formal law.
intersects with how evidence is treated. In many While the adaptation paradigm highlights the
cases, the community is a local village, which has evolutionary nature of change in both customary
specific internal evidence for a claim that is recog- and formal tenure systems as these adapt to each
nized as legitimate by the community. Evidence at other, this approach is different from the evolu-
this scale can include community membership, tionary theory of land rights. This theory holds
lineage, ethnicity, testimony, land use history, that population increase results in land scarcity,
current occupation, and physical signs of occupa- change in land values, increased uncertainty, and
tion. However, such a community can exist within conflict; as a result, a population demands and
a wider national community in which different the state delivers more secure property rights via
evidence is legitimate under formal law. This evi- title. By using population increase and land scar-
dence can value deeds and titles as well as proce- city as its primary drivers, the theory assumes
dures to obtain and defend them. This difference that the evolution of customary property rights
can be problematic because a local community occurs in isolation from interaction with formal
can be unable to defend a claim (using commu- tenure systems, which is the central theme of the
nity evidence) against others in a national com- adaptation paradigm.
munity (using documentary evidence).
Jon Unruh

Types of Land Tenure

See also Agrofoods; Environmental Entitlements;
The primary categories of land tenure types Environmental Justice; Environmental Rights;
are formal (or statutory) and informal (or Environmental Security; Land Reform; Land Tenure
 LA ND T ENUR E R EF OR M &,'*

Reform; Land Use; Land Use History; Law, Geography approaches to relations about land influence ten-
of; Movimento Sem Terra; Peasants and Peasantry; ure reform. One approach understands land to
Rural Development; Via Campesina (International be a part of the social relations between people,
Farmers’ Movement) society, and land. More traditional or customary
societies favor this approach to land. The other
approach pursues the idea that land is a part of
the economic relations between people, with land
Further Readings viewed largely as a commodity to be bought and
sold—with many types of reform focused on
Bruce, J. W., & Migot-Adholla, S. E. (1994). making such transfer easier. Modern industrial-
Searching for land tenure security in Africa. ized societies favor this second approach. Signifi-
Dubuque, IA: World Bank and Kendall/Hunt. cant efforts in land tenure reform have sought to
de Soto, H. (2000). The mystery of capital: Why move societies from the former to the latter
capitalism triumphs in the West and fails approach. However, the social relations approach
everywhere else. New York: Basic Books. cannot easily be legislated out of existence and
Unruh, J. (2006). Land tenure and the “evidence replaced by market approaches to land. This is
landscape” in developing countries. Annals of the because customarily held land also provides
Association of American Geographers, 96, important forms of livelihood security and insur-
754–772. ance, which are not replaced when land is trans-
formed into a commodity.
Land tenure reform is a priority in many inter-
national development agendas, due to its strong
relevance in reducing rural poverty and food inse-
LAND TENURE REFORM curity. Even so, there is considerable disagree-
ment as to how, when, and for whom such reform
Land tenure reform is broadly understood to be a should occur. While some advocate the granting
reworking or reorientation of policies, laws, and of titles to lands, others favor providing greater
approaches for managing land tenure—in other rights and security of rights to customary forms
words, a restructuring of legal and social relations of tenure. Reform of tenure rules generally
concerning land. This can include replacing or assumes that the prevailing approach does not
consolidating laws or making additions to laws to facilitate certain goals, such as poverty reduction,
accommodate a new approach to land tenure. food security, peace, capital mobilization, credit,
Land tenure reform is distinct from land reform in and so on, and that therefore an improvement is
that land is ordinarily not confiscated from some needed. This need for improvement can emerge
people and redistributed to others as a part of through change in population pressure, the need
land reform. Thus, land tenure reform is closer to for efficiency in landholdings (e.g., family farmers
land policy reform. However, land tenure reform use land more efficiently than large commercial
can be used to achieve forms of land reform holdings), change in economics, growing land
through community-driven land acquisition, mar- scarcity, land market operation, armed conflict or
ket-assisted acquisition, resettlement, or delivery looming conflict, formalization of customary ten-
of forms of equity and justice through markets or ure, and perceived inequity in holdings or the
other incentive mechanisms. The topic is relevant rules under which land is held. While most
to geography because of the spatial nature of land attempts at land tenure reform are intended to
rights and the ways in which space can be remade facilitate improvement in peoples’ lives, this is not
or reconstituted with land tenure reform. always the case. Some instances of land tenure
Approaches to land tenure reform usually mir- reform are purposefully political or ethnic, such
ror the ideological, social, political, and eco- as the “ethnic cleansing” and the laws that sup-
nomic perspectives of those engaged in reform, ported this in the Balkans wars in the 1990s.
which may or may not be at odds with those Many forms of land tenure reform that attempt
of other sectors of society. Generally, two to improve lives seek to enhance tenure security.
&,'+ LA N D USE

The improvement of such security is thought to See also Environmental Entitlements; Environmental
facilitate several problems associated with rural Justice; Environmental Rights; Environmental Security;
property (e.g., food production, credit, land Land Reform; Land Tenure; Land Use; Law, Geography
investment), all of which are seen as productive of; Movimento Sem Terra; Peasants and Peasantry;
use of land resources. But because the starting Rural Development; Via Campesina (International
point of such reform varies between societies, the Farmers’ Movement)
reform process and outcomes can vary as well.
Reforms that take place with regard to private
property, common property, group-held prop- Further Readings
erty, property held by particular ethnic groups,
scarce land, abundant land, and so on can all take Brinkerhoff, J. W., & Crosby, B. L. (2002).
different approaches given the type of improve- Managing policy reform: Concepts and tools for
ment needed. decision-makers in developing and transitioning
In many cases, land tenure reform is brought to countries. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press.
the fore by severe inequity with respect to a num- Ghimire, K. B. (Ed.). (2001). Land reform and
ber of variables connected to landholdings: loca- peasant livelihoods: The social dynamics of rural
tion, amount, value, rule-of-law issues, and the poverty and agrarian reforms in developing
viability and legitimacy of dispute resolution countries. London: ITDG.
mechanisms. This reality is accompanied by the McAuslan, P. (2003). Bringing the law back in:
related notion that prevailing, in-place land mar- Essays in land, law, and development. Burlington,
kets, laws, and enforcement are not able to dis- VT: Ashgate.
tribute or redistribute land from the rich to the
poor, or vice versa; from unproductive to produc-
tive holdings and holders; or from specific groups
that are thought to deserve the return or removal
of their lands. Because land tenure reform is polit- LAND USE
ical, opposition or resistance from some segments
of society is normal. Most often, the source of Land use is a difficult term to define, as it lacks a
such opposition is those who benefit from the cur- standard interdisciplinary definition and is fre-
rent arrangement and will most likely lose land, quently used interchangeably with the term land
wealth, or power as a result of attempts at reform. cover. However, these terms have distinct mean-
The obstacles to tenure reform can be strong and ings. Land cover refers to the physical and bio-
take various forms, since the opposition is gener- logical cover over the surface of Earth, including
ally wealthy and connected to or part of the cur- water, vegetation, bare soil or rock, and ice. Land
rent government structure. However, because the use refers to the ways in which Earth’s surface
need for such reform can be significant, along has been transformed by human activities such as
with the cost of not reforming, significant political farming, industry, transport, and urbanization. A
will (often with assistance or pressure from inter- close connection obviously exists between land
national actors) must often be brought to bear for cover and land use, and they are often treated
successful reform to take place. jointly as land use/land cover. The topic of land
How to proceed with land tenure reform is a use is fundamental to the existence of urban plan-
significant concern. While it is easiest to simply ning, is a basic component of many geographical
import models of land tenure from elsewhere in models of urban and transport phenomena, is
order to pursue reform, often what works in one central to many human-environment interactions,
society does not work or work as well in another. and is an important component of sustainability.
This is because land tenure is significantly based
on history, ideology, and social relations and is
Land Use Regulation
not simply a matter of importing law or policy.
The concept of land use assumes that all land
Jon Unruh can be surveyed and classified according to its
 LA ND U S E &,',

economic use. Social activities or cultural mean- areas. Many rural areas of the United States have
ings are generally ignored. The concept is based very little land use regulation, and sometimes those
on applying classifications to land areas and can regulations are designed to protect what in other
be used at different scales, such as individually communities would be considered LULUs (locally
owned parcels of land or larger administrative unwanted land uses), such as mining and other
overlays. It is an inherently spatial concept as it is extraction activities, solid waste landfills, factory
a statement about what is happening at different farming, and other livestock operations. Since
locations. This concept provides a basic set of these decisions are made at the local level, neigh-
statistics about the allocation of urban and rural borhood-based groups sometimes advocate “not
space to different activities, which can be mea- in my backyard” (NIMBY) and are often effective
sured for jurisdictions at any spatial scale. As at promoting or blocking a land use policy.
there is generally a finite supply of land available Urban land use regulations tend to be use or
in a jurisdiction, an increase in one land use will activity specific, meaning that a number of spe-
require a decrease in other land uses. Evaluating cific uses are codified and regulated, whereas in
changes in land use over time therefore provides a rural areas, uses tend to be embedded within a
means of measuring economic change in an area. larger conceptualization of use. Many rural land
Land use cannot be discussed separately from use regulations allow by right (without requiring
the regulation of land uses. In most jurisdictions, regulatory approval) uses that support a main
land uses are controlled by zoning laws, which use, such as agricultural districts, which typically
govern what activities may be carried out on prop- allow a number of uses that would need special
erties and where different activities may take place. permission in urban areas. Activities that support
This is based on the notion that certain land uses farming, such as fueling pumps, grain and chemi-
are incompatible with others, may reduce prop- cal storage, farmworker housing, and livestock
erty values, cause health and safety problems for housing would typically be heavy industrial or
humans, or result in environmental damage. Land commercial uses in urban areas, but in rural areas
use regulation is therefore aimed at the legal exclu- these are ancillary uses to the farm.
sion of particular land uses (such as industry) from
certain areas (such as residential areas) to prevent
Land Use and Geographic Models
conflicts or for the preservation of environments
such as endangered wetlands. This process, in Land use is fundamental to several geographic
turn, requires classifications based on knowledge concepts, such as the idea of functional or areal
of the potential value of different land uses, the specialization of agriculture, manufacturing, or
effects of land uses on adjacent land uses, and other economic activities, whether at the metro-
even the effects of the relative abundance of differ- politan, regional, or national level. Several mod-
ent land uses within a city on land values (or future els exist to show how land uses may be ordered
land values). Implicit in this is the valuation of by distance from one or more points or the condi-
land uses, whether for increased land value and tions under which land uses may be converted to
taxation or for social desirability. However, land a new use. For example, models of spatial inter-
use zones do not necessarily specify which land action and trade are based on complementarities
uses actually exist in an area but only what future between places based on their areal specialization
uses are planned. Land uses existing before a zon- in different products and desire to trade these
ing law is created may be allowed to continue. In goods. Without areal specialization, there would
that sense, zoning represents a preferred or ideal- be no interaction or trade. Land uses are there-
ized land use classification and map. fore both absolute and relative in location, in that
Land use policy and regulation in the United they depend in part on their proximity to other
States occur primarily at the local level, and they land uses. The phenomenon of space-time con-
express a community’s economic, cultural, and vergence has greatly changed the relative location
political interests. As a result, land use classifica- of land uses in developed countries by decreasing
tions vary in their details from one place to travel costs and times and can be expected to
another. Regulation tends to be greatest in urban trigger transitions to new land uses (as when
&,'- LA N D USE

farmland is developed for residential land follow- Land use is also a fundamental component of
ing construction of a new highway) and alter transportation planning, as standard approaches
areal specializations. At larger spatial scales, assume that travel is a derived demand, or a
international trade and globalization can affect response to a need to carry out an activity at a
land uses on the other side of the world. All land different location. Certain land uses (such as
uses involved in the global economy are con- retail) will attract many trips relative to others
nected, though they continue to be governed at (such as landfills). The abundance and location of
the local level. different land uses is therefore a strong influence
Interest in urban land use emerged at a time on the direction and frequency of travel. Future
when different activities or functions began to be transport needs of a city cannot be assessed with-
conducted outside the home and eventually in dif- out first forecasting future land uses, and plan-
ferent locations within the city. Residential areas ning the type and location of land uses to minimize
became differentiated from industrial workshops the required travel has emerged as a recent objec-
and stores, and similar activities began to be tive of many urban planners.
found in particular districts or neighborhoods.
These spatially distinct homogeneous land uses
became fundamental to constructing models of
Land Use Classifications
urban space as well as zoning regulations.
The concentric zone model viewed cities as series Land use classification in the United States is
of concentric zones or rings, with the center zone based on hierarchical and segregated uses. This
containing the central business district (CBD) and implies that land uses exist as (or can be divided
the social, transportation, and cultural hubs of the into) discrete, nonoverlapping categories and
city. The model is conceptually a descendant of that there exist a few basic types of land use
Johann Heinrich von Thünen’ s concentric farm- that can be subdivided to provide more detail.
land use model based on 19th-century Germany. These types can then be quantified and mapped.
Both are models in which land use is based on dis- There are several different approaches to land
tance from a commercial center. In the Burgess use classification, but the most commonly used
model, various land uses are in competition for are the Anderson land use classification scheme
space based on their ability to pay for higher val- and the Land-Based Classification Standard
ued locations near the center of the city, with the (LBCS) system.
CBD functions having the highest value and there-
fore occupying the most valuable position. Outside
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the CBD, the secondary ring was envisioned as a
transitional land use area with mixed uses, includ- For many years, U.S. government agencies col-
ing manufacturing and low-income or slum hous- lected data about land use, but there was a lack of
ing. Residential density continues to fall as the coordination and uniformity in their classifica-
rings move outward, with residential categories tion schemes. As a result, it was impossible to
(based on density) and income having an inverse aggregate existing data to make a comparison
relationship. The poorest residents of the city live between land use changes from time to time or
nearest the CBD, and the wealthiest reside at the place to place. In 1971, James Anderson (with
furthest edge of the city. Burgess envisioned an others) worked with the U.S. Geological Survey,
expanding CBD, exerting land use conversion pres- National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
sure on the surrounding district; this in turn pushed U.S. Department of Agriculture, Association of
outward on the other districts. In this and later American Geographers, and International Geo-
monocentric formulations (and Von Thünen), graphical Union to develop a national classifica-
changes in transport costs determine changes in tion system for land usage similar to the economic
the relative value, and therefore use, of land at spe- classification codes applied to commercial and
cific distances. More recent polycentric urban industrial activities. Anderson’s classification
models operate much the same but with land use scheme drew heavily on a system developed for
determined by distance from multiple centers. the state of New York but gave special attention
 LA ND U S E &,'.

First Level First Level

Code (1–9) Level II Code (1–9) Level II

1 Urban or 5 Water
built-up 11 Residential 51 Streams and canals
land 12 Commercial and services 52 Lakes
13 Industrial 53 Reservoirs
14 Transportation, communications, 54 Bays and estuaries
and utilities 6 Wetland
15 Industrial and commercial 61 Forested wetland
complexes 62 Nonforested wetland
16 Mixed urban or built-up land 7 Barren land
17 Other urban or built-up land 71 Dry salt flats
2 Agricultural 72 Beaches
land 21 Cropland and pasture 73 Sandy areas other than beaches
22 Orchards, groves, vineyards, 74 Bare exposed rock
nurseries, and ornamental 75 Strip mines, quarries, and gravel
horticultural areas pits
23 Confined feeding operations 76 Transitional areas
24 Other agricultural land 77 Mixed barren land
3 Rangeland 8 Tundra
31 Herbaceous rangeland
32 Shrub and brush rangeland 81 Shrub and brush tundra
33 Mixed rangeland 82 Herbaceous tundra
4 Forest land 83 Bare-ground tundra
84 Wet tundra
41 Deciduous forest land
85 Mixed tundra
42 Evergreen forest land
43 Mixed forest land 9 Perennial
snow or ice 91 Perennial snowfields
92 Glaciers

Table 1 Anderson’s land use classification scheme

Source: Anderson, J. R., Hardy, E. E., Road, J. T., & Witmer, R. E. (1976). A land use and land cover classification system for use
with remote sensing data (Geological Survey Professional Paper 964). Retrieved December 12, 2008, from http://landcover.usgs
.gov/pdf/anderson.pdf.

to the definition of land use categories used by and services). The system was designed so that
other federal agencies so that homogeneity and land uses could also have a third digit if necessary
compatibility could be preserved from the past. for a land use inventory at more detailed levels
The system was specifically designed for use with (e.g., 111 is for single-family home units, 112 is
remote sensing applications, which were becom- for multifamily units).
ing increasingly common at the time. In Anderson’s classification, urban and built-up
Anderson’s land use classification scheme is a land refers to areas of intense human use with a
hierarchical system with coding by digits, in high density of built structures such as cities,
which the first digit designates the broadest towns, villages, and strip developments along
descriptor and ensuing numbers provide a sharper highways. This land can be further subdivided
focus (Table 1). For instance, first digits show the into categories such as commercial, residential,
major category (e.g., 1 = urban or built-up land, 2 industrial, transportation, communication, and
= agricultural), while the second digit shows sub- utilities and also mixed land (in situations where
division (e.g., 11 = residential, 12 = commercial no single dominant land use can be distinguished).
&,(% LA N D USE

Agricultural lands uses are those areas that are

Code Description
used primarily for the production of food and
fiber, including wetlands when they are drained 1000 Residential
for agriculture purposes. Rangeland is those areas 2000 Shopping, business or trade
where vegetation such as grasses and shrubs used 2100 Shopping
for grazing animals are found. Forest land consists 2110 Goods-oriented shopping
of areas where a closed tree canopy makes up at 2120 Service-oriented shopping
least 10% or more of the area or areas that are 3000 Industrial, manufacturing, and waste-related
stocked with trees capable of producing timber or 4000 Social, institutional, or infrastructure-related
other wood products. Water includes all those 5000 Travel or movement
6000 Mass assembly of people
areas within the landmass that are persistently
7000 Leisure
covered with water; these must be at least one
8000 Natural resources-related
eighth of a mile wide if linear or at least 40 acres if
9000 No human activity or unclassifiable activity
extended. Wetland includes areas dominated by
woody vegetation such as mangrove swamps,
shrub swamps, and so on, as well as nonforested Table 2 LBCS—human activities parameter
wetlands. Barren land is land that has limited abil- Source: Land-based classification standards. Reprinted by
ity to support life, where less than one third of the permission of the American Planning Association.
area has vegetation cover (e.g., areas of thin soil,
sand, or rocks). Tundra areas are characterized by
extremely cold climate, a variety of vegetation, Code Description
but low biotic diversity. Finally, the perennial
snow or ice category comprises those areas where 1000 Residence or accommodations
this feature is permanent. 2000 General sales or services
3000 Manufacturing and wholesale trade
4000 Transportation, communication, information
AVcY"7VhZY8aVhh^[^XVi^dcHiVcYVgYHnhiZb and utilities
4100 Transportation services
A new LBCS was developed by the American
4200 Communications and information
Planning Association in 1994. The purpose of the
4210 Publishing
LBCS system is to support planning applications 4220 Motion pictures and sound
at different geographical scales. It is an attempt to recording
synthesize land use according to five parameters: 4230 Telecommunications and
human activities, functions, building types, site broadcasting
development character, and land ownership. 4240 Information services and data
These multiple dimensions allow users to have processing
precise control over land use classifications, and 4241 Online information
each dimension can be defined at different levels services
of detail. The human activities dimension of clas- 4242 Libraries and archives
sification directly describes human use of land 4243 News syndicate
and is shown in Table 2. These classifications are 4300 Utility and utility services
subdividable into secondary and tertiary catego- 5000 Arts, entertainment and recreation
ries, such as shopping (2100) and goods-oriented 6000 Education, public administration, health
shopping (2110). care, institutions
An economic function of land or types of estab- 7000 Construction-related businesses
lishments on land makes up the functional dimen- 8000 Mining and extraction establishments
sion and is shown in Table 3. Function 9000 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
classifications have a fourth subcategory of own-
ership, which provides an added layer of detail to Table 3 LBCS—function parameter
the classification. The structure parameter delin- Source: Land-based classification standards. Reprinted by
eates the type of building or structure on the land, permission of the American Planning Association.
 LA ND U S E &,(&

as shown in Table 4. The site-based parameter

Code Description
indicates the current physical state of the land
(Is it developed? Developing? etc.), as shown in 1000 Site in natural state
Table 5. The final LBCS parameter is ownership 2000 Developing site
of the land, which is shown in Table 6. 3000 Developed site—crops, grazing,
Despite their detail, these land use classifica- forestry, etc.
tions have some limitations. For instance, they do 4000 Developed site—no buildings and no
not allow for vertical zonation of land uses (such structures
as below- and aboveground or on different floors 5000 Developed site—non-building structures
of a building) or changing land uses at different 5100 Developed site with landscaped or
ornamental features
times of the day, week, or year. In some cases,
5200 Developed site with billboards,
vegetation is used as a surrogate for human activ-
signs, etc.
ities. However, even rural land may be used for a
5300 Developed site with roads, train
specific purpose without any change to the vege-
tracks, and other linear structures
tation or the presence of human artifacts, for
6000 Developed site—with buildings
example, wilderness or parklands. While the 7000 Developed site—with parks
LBCS resolves many land use nuances that the 8000 Not applicable to this dimension
Anderson scheme cannot identify, no single 9000 Unclassifiable site development character
scheme can be expected to work for all applica-
tions or in all areas.
Table 5 LBCS—site development parameter
Source: Land-based classification standards. Reprinted by
permission of the American Planning Association.
Code Description

1000 Residential buildings

1100 Single family building
1110 Detached units
Code Description
1120 Attached units
1121 Duplex structures 1000 No constraints—private ownership
1122 Zero lit line, row 2000 Some constraints—easements or other use
houses, etc. restrictions
1130 Accessory units 3000 Limited restrictions—leased and other
1140 Townhouses tenancy restrictions
1150 Manufactured housing 4000 Public restrictions—local, state, and federal
1200 Multifamily structures ownership
1300 Other specialized residential 4100 Local government
structures 4110 City, village, township, etc.
2000 Commercial buildings and other 4120 County, parish, province, etc.
specialized structures 4200 State government
3000 Public assembly structures 4300 Federal government
4000 Institutional or community facilities 5000 Other public use restrictions—regional,
5000 Transportation-related facilities special districts, etc.
6000 Utility and other non-building structures 6000 Nonprofit ownership restrictions
7000 Specialized military structures 7000 Joint ownership character—public entities
8000 Sheds, farm buildings, or agricultural 8000 Joint ownership character—public, private,
facilities nonprofit, etc.
9000 No structure 9000 Not applicable to this parameter

Table 4 LBCS—structure parameter Table 6 LBCS—land ownership

Source: Land-based classification standards. Reprinted by Source: Land-based classification standards. Reprinted by
permission of the American Planning Association. permission of the American Planning Association.
&,(' LA N D USE

Land Use and GIS and a 2006 version is under preparation. Land
uses are mapped at 30 meters’ resolution. Both
The innovation of geographic information sys- LULC and NLCD data sets use a similar, although
tems (GIS) technology allows the integration of not identical, land use classification scheme based
various sources of land use data such as original on Anderson. Because of their different classifica-
land (field) surveys, aerial photographs, satellite tion and formats, LULC and NLCD are not
imagery data, land use and land cover maps, for- directly compatible.
est inventories, and property records (to recon-
Selima Sultana and William Todd Powell
struct ownership history). In this way, GIS
technology has become an important means of See also Agricultural Intensification; Agricultural Land
advancing the understanding of the spatial, tem- Use; Brownfields; Built Environment; Cadastral Systems;
poral, and decision-making apparatus of land use Central Business District; Chicago School; Community-
and land use changes over the past two decades. Based Conservation; Conservation Zoning; Cultural
There are a wide variety of GIS data sets for Landscape; Deforestation; Environmental Ethics;
land use. In the United States, at the local level, Environmental Impact Assessment; Environmental
there are parcel and zoning data sets created by Management; Environmental Protection; Environment
individual cities and counties. Land parcel data and Development; Forest Land Use; GIS in Land Use
(also known as cadastral data) represent the Management; Landfills; Land Use Analysis; Land Use
smallest geographic level, which describes the and Cover Change (LUCC); Land Use and Land Cover
rights, interests, ownership, value, and use of Mapping; Land Use History; Land Use Planning; Locally
land. Because these data are created by individual Unwanted Land Uses (LULUs); Parks and Reserves;
county assessors, their cost and availability vary Political Ecology; Population and Land Degradation;
from one county to the next. Most local govern- Population and Land Use; Population, Environment, and
ments create digital versions of their local zoning/ Development; Rural Development; Rural Geography;
land use regulation maps at a scale of 1:4,800. Soil Conservation; Suburban Land Use; Sustainable
Similarly, zoning data, which reflect legislative Development; Thünen Model; Township and Range
regulations through which a city or county gov- System; Urban Gardens; Urban Land Use; Urban
ernment seeks to control the use of buildings and Sprawl; Watershed Management; Wetlands; Wilderness;
land within its jurisdiction, may be available Wise Use Movement; Zoning
through local planning organizations.
In addition, two national land use data sets are
available for the United States: Land Use and Further Readings
Land Cover (LULC) and National Land Cover
Database (NLCD). Manual interpretation of aer- Anderson, J. R., Hardy, E. E., Roach, J. T., & Witmer,
ial photography (land use maps and surveys) over R. E. (1976). A land use and land cover classifica-
two decades resulted in the vector LULC data- tion system for use with remote sensor data (Geo-
base in the 1980s. Areas of discrete land use are logical Survey Professional Paper No. 964).
mapped using individual polygons, with 37 land Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
use/cover categories. Most of the country is cov- Hamman, Y., Moore, A., Whigham, P., & Freeman,
ered at a scale of 1:250,000. However, there are C. (2004). A vector-agent paradigm for dynamic
some gaps: For example, only the area around urban modeling. Retrieved December 10, 2008,
Valdez is available for Alaska. At a scale of from http://eprints.otago.ac.nz/109/1/18_
1:100,000, the coverage is even more limited. Hammam.pdf
NLCD is a raster data set based on LANDSAT Hanak, E., & Chen, A. (2007). Wet growth: Effects
satellite images developed in the 1990s by a con- of water policies on land use in the American
sortium of federal government agencies. Several West. Journal of Regional Science, 47, 85–108.
versions have been released: The first one was in Wang, X., & Hofe, R. V. (2007). Research methods
1992 (NLCD92), with 21 classes, and covers the in urban and regional planning. New York:
coterminous United States, while NLCD01 has Springer.
2001 data and covers the entire United States;
 LA ND USE A NA LYS I S &,((

LAND USE ANALYSIS other possible uses. The philosophical orientation

of the investigator can influence the approach taken
to attain this understanding. For example, an econ-
Land use analysis is the quantitative and qualita-
omist is likely to examine land prices and financial
tive assessment of how humans use land. It
subsidies in an attempt to understand why devel-
addresses three types of questions concerning the
opers prefer some locations over others for subur-
what, why, and how of land use.
banization. Sociologists may consider family
dynamics and customs to understand how settlers
What Is Land Use? decide to colonize a forest in a manner that maxi-
mizes land for future generations. Geologists might
The first step in land use analysis is to map the examine the soil fertility to explain the spatial dis-
land covers and land uses of a study area. There is tribution of farms. Regardless of the orientation of
an important distinction between land cover and the investigator, analysts usually find it helpful to
land use. use both quantitative and qualitative techniques.
Land cover is the physical cover of the land. For Quantitative techniques include statistical methods
example, two common types of land cover are to examine the association between the patterns in
built and forest. Land cover can be observed and the land use maps and other variables such as
documented via remote sensing using sensors that prices, family structure, and soil fertility. Qualita-
are mounted on satellites, airplanes, or ground- tive techniques include interviews with stakehold-
based platforms. Cartographic methods are neces- ers and historical research concerning the policies
sary to convert the information from the sensors that have guided land use decisions.
into maps of land cover categories. Maps of land Land use analysis faces daunting methodologi-
cover indicate what is on the landscape physically. cal and conceptual challenges. Statistical analysis
Land use is the purpose for which humans use is complicated by the fact that the results can be
the land. For example, common land uses are sensitive to many characteristics of scale. These
residential and recreational. Remote sensing tech- characteristics include the spatial, temporal, and
niques usually do not reveal land use because categorical scales of the data in terms of both
they give information about only the physical extent and resolution. Furthermore, the data are
state of the land. A single land cover type may usually observational, that is, the data are not
have many uses. For example, humans can use obtained from controlled experiments, and so
the forest land cover simultaneously for tourism, large statistical associations do not necessarily
biodiversity conservation, and water quality pro- guarantee cause-and-effect relationships. Qualita-
tection. It is usually necessary to collect social tive analysis faces the same challenges. Some of
data to determine land use, because land use is a these challenges derive from the fact that the land
social phenomenon. use system is a complex web of many interacting
Scientists are constantly developing more sophis- decision makers who are constantly responding
ticated methods to generate maps of land cover to a variety of types of dynamic information. A
and to record the various land uses for each land major challenge for land use analysts is to be able
cover. When maps of land use are available from to state clearly the evidence for a particular
more than one point in time, investigators usually hypothesis for a particular domain at a particular
want to characterize land use and land cover scale and not get lost in the complexity. Some
change. If the land uses are categories, then a tran- scientists use modeling to help gain an under-
sition matrix is commonly used to summarize the standing of the land system. A land-change model
land transitions among the categories over time. is a computerized algorithm that shows the impli-
cations of the many assumptions that it synthe-
sizes. It usually includes a calibration procedure
Why Do Humans Use
during which it examines the past dynamics of
the Land the Way They Do?
the land use system. Then it can project future
The second step in land use analysis is to under- land uses based on either an extrapolation of past
stand why humans choose some land uses over trends or alternative assumptions.
&,() LA N D USE AND COVE R CHANG E (LUC C )

How Should Humans Manage Land? LAND USE AND COVER

The third step in land use analysis is to apply the CHANGE (LUCC)
understanding gained in the previous two steps
to offer guidance on how humans should use Land use and cover change (LUCC) refers to the
land in the future, given particular objectives. alteration of Earth’s terrestrial surface. The
Typically, this is done through participatory terms land use and land cover may seem to be
exercises that involve a variety of stakeholders interchangeable, but they are not equivalent.
at the level of the village, town, state, nation, or Land cover denotes the observed biological and
globe. Land use analysts can facilitate discus- physical attributes of Earth’s terrestrial surface,
sions among stakeholders by offering scenarios such as vegetation, water, earth materials, and
of future land uses. A land use scenario is a story human-made features. Land use signifies the
told in words, numbers, and maps concerning purposes to which the varied resources offered
the manner in which humans could manage land, by the biophysical attributes of land cover are
including the consequences of those manage- exploited by human activities, such as cropping,
ment decisions. Scenario analysis can examine logging, and building construction. Forest, for
the implications of a scenario that assumes a example, is a land cover type that may be
continuation of present land management prac- exploited for land uses as diverse as cultivation,
tices and can contrast the results with alternative recreation, and settlement.
scenarios that might lead to a more desirable Studies of land cover and land use were his-
future. Such scenarios can help stakeholders torically separate; the former was largely studied
envision possible futures and relate those futures by natural scientists, the latter mainly by social
to management decisions. scientists. Connecting the two components are
proximate sources of change in human activities
Robert Gilmore Pontius Jr.
that directly modify the physical environment. A
change in either land use or land cover is not
See also Agricultural Land Use; Built Environment;
essentially the product of the other. Changes in
Conservation Zoning; Environmental Management;
land cover may not directly cause land use
Environmental Protection; Environment and
change, but with further environmental conse-
Development; Forest Land Use; GIS in Land Use
quences, they may ultimately affect land use.
Management; Land Use; Land Use and Cover Change
Conversely, changes in land use are likely to
(LUCC); Land Use and Land Cover Mapping; Land Use
result in some land cover change, but other
History; Land Use Planning; Locally Unwanted Land
forces such as climatic fluctuations and ecosys-
Uses (LULUs); Population and Land Use; Soil
tem dynamics can also drive land cover change.
Conservation; Suburban Land Use; Urban Land Use;
This entry reviews the history of research on
Zoning
LUCC and describes some of the most important
consequences of LUCC, including its impact on
biogeochemical cycles, the hydrologic cycle, bio-
Further Readings diversity, and human health. It then examines
issues related to monitoring, measuring, and
Liverman, D., Moran, E., Rindfuss, R., & Stern, P. modeling LUCC.
(Eds.). (1998). People and pixels: Linking remote
sensing and social science. Washington, DC:
National Academies Press.
Development of LUCC Research
Pontius, R. G., Jr., Boersma, W., Castella, J.-C.,
Clarke, K., de Nijs, T., Dietzel, C., et al. (2008). Concerns over the effects of human activities on
Comparing the input, output, and validation maps the environment may be traced back to when
for several models of land change. Annals of George Perkins Marsh published his book Man
Regional Science, 42(1), 11–47. and Nature in 1864. The consequences of LUCC,
such as deforestation leading to soil erosion and
 LA ND USE A ND C OV ER C HA NGE (LUC C) &,(*

*%

)*

)%

(*

(%
Cd#d[EVeZgh

'*

'%

&*

&%

%
&.-% &.-' &.-) &.-+ &.-- &..% &..' &..) &..+ &..- '%%% '%%' '%%) '%%+
NZVgd[EjWa^XVi^dc

Figure 1 The number of published papers between 1980 and 2007 with land use and/or land cover as
their subject
Source: Created by author using data from ISI Web of Science.

subsequently decreased soil productivity, were number of publications on this topic in the past
debated on. LUCC has in the past several decades decade (Figure 1). The need to have a framework
emerged in the global environmental change for LUCC studies at a global scale, to integrate the
research agenda. In the 1970s, it was recognized social and natural sciences, and to provide greater
that land cover change modifies surface albedo data availability and standardization also spurred
and, thus, surface-atmosphere energy exchanges, the development of various national and interna-
influencing regional climate. In the early 1980s, tional research programs. In 1994, a core project
terrestrial ecosystems as sources and sinks of car- on LUCC was initiated and jointly run by the
bon were highlighted, underscoring LUCC as a International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme
major element of the global carbon cycle. Studies (IGBP) and the International Human Dimensions
focused on LUCC came into the limelight in Programme (IHDP) on Global Environmental
the mid 1990s. This can be seen in the growing Change. The International Geographical Union
&,(+ LA N D USE AND COVE R CHANG E (LUC C )

(IGU) established a study group on land use and =nYgdad\^X8nXaZ

land cover in 1996 to promote LUCC studies in
Changes in land cover, particularly the removal
the world geographical community. In the United
of forests and the growth of impervious surfaces
States, the National Aeronautics and Space
during urbanization, significantly influence
Administration developed a Land Cover and
hydrological processes, causing increases in run-
Land Use Change research program, synthesizing
off, flooding, soil erosion, and sedimentation (see
the results from different regions where impor-
photo). The hydrologic cycle is the matrix in
tant LUCC processes are taking place, such as the
which all other biogeochemical cycles function.
Brazilian Amazon, China, and southeast Asia.
The interactions among LUCC, hydrologic
These programs and many others worldwide have
cycling, and biogeochemical cycling may conse-
made considerable progress and demonstrated
quently increase the frequency and magnitude of
the importance of cross-disciplinary efforts in
extreme weather events, with the potential to
addressing the LUCC issues. Because of its stand-
drastically affect ecosystems through changes in
alone significance and its critical role in other
temperature and precipitation. The combination
aspects of global change, LUCC research contin-
of LUCC and climate change may have profound
ues to gain programmatic support.
effects on Earth’s systems in more significant
ways than either acting alone.
Consequences
Most of the current LUCC is caused by anthro- 7^dY^kZgh^in
pogenic processes such as urban expansion, a Habitat loss is probably the greatest threat of
direct cause of land use change, and alteration of LUCC to biodiversity. It occurs through habitat
fire regimes, an indirect cause leading to land fragmentation, such as road construction and
cover change. Anthropogenically induced LUCC deforestation, or habitat conversion from, for
affects Earth’s systems with many interrelated example, undisturbed forest or grassland to (even-
consequences. tually) urbanized land. Besides, LUCC often
accompanies species introduction, decreasing the
7^d\ZdX]Zb^XVa8nXaZh diversity of native species. Because biodiversity
provides ecosystem goods for basic human needs,
LUCC has significantly influenced the cycling from food and fiber to medicines, and ecosystem
of essential nutrient elements, such as carbon, services such as water purification, crop pollina-
nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus. Extensive clear- tion, climate regulation, and aesthetic beauty, a
ing and burning of natural vegetation and conver- major loss of biodiversity affects ecosystem func-
sion of forests to agriculture have released carbon tioning, threatening the capacity of Earth to sup-
into the atmosphere, which may contribute to port human societies.
global warming. In past centuries, modifications
generally took place in the temperate grasslands
=jbVc=ZVai]
and forests; in the past several decades, forests in
the tropics have encountered greater transforma- LUCC in conjunction with climate change has
tion. The high biomass levels of tropical forests the potential to facilitate the spread of pathogens
comprise a substantial portion of carbon storage; and parasites, rendering human societies vulner-
the impact of tropical deforestation on global able to disease. Vector-borne infectious diseases,
carbon cycling will thus likely be significant. such as malaria in Africa and India, liver fluke in
Intensification of agricultural land use has also southeast Asia, and Lyme disease in the United
profoundly influenced nitrogen and phosphorus States, are particularly sensitive to LUCC because
cycles. For example, high use of nitrogen fertiliz- LUCC influences the availability of suitable habi-
ers results in the leakage of soluble nitrate from tats and hence the abundance of the vector and
agricultural systems, causing soil acidification, may facilitate the migration of vectors capable of
groundwater pollution, and eutrophication of transmitting diseases into previously uninhabit-
streams and lakes. able areas. For example, the spread of irrigation
 LA ND USE A ND C OV ER C HA NGE (LUC C) &,(,

Sabah, Malaysia, February 2007. LUCC such as deforestation influences hydrologic cycling, causing high
sedimentation in rivers.
Source: Author.

systems associated with agricultural intensifica- the dynamic processes of LUCC under different
tion alters the temperature and moisture of an scenarios.
area, which in turn can trigger dramatic increases
in vector populations and transmission rates for
Bdc^idg^c\
malaria. It is important to understand that socio-
economic factors influencing land use patterns Remote sensing data offer an important source
also play a role in disease transmission. The of information for spatially explicit monitoring
changing location of human settlements in rela- of LUCC. Aerial photography is one of the most
tion to vector habitats modifies the exposure of common and economical forms. It came into
people to contacts with the vector. As a result, widespread use in the late 1930s and has been
investigation of the consequences of LUCC used to prepare land use maps in many coun-
requires an interdisciplinary approach integrating tries. Aerial photography allows long-term and
both natural and social scientific methods. detailed monitoring of LUCC because of its rou-
tine acquisition over multiple decades by many
government agencies.
Monitoring, Measuring,
Alternatively, satellite imagery has the advan-
and Modeling of LUCC
tage that a single image covers an extensive area.
Studying LUCC and its causes and consequences The deployment of satellites for monitoring
frequently requires monitoring LUCC, measuring Earth’s surface resources since 1972 has provided
how much change has occurred, and modeling continuous land use/cover data layers for global
&,(- LA N D USE AND COVE R CHANG E (LUC C )

land cover inventories. In some regions, satellite organization of data. Additionally, data may not
imagery is the only practical way to provide be collected according to categories and defini-
timely and reliable assessment of land cover and tions consistently enough to make different sets
identification of rapid LUCC. The extensive spa- comparable. Measuring and quantifying LUCC
tial coverage and frequent temporal intervals that thus require more standardized classification sys-
satellite imagery provides would be difficult to tems that can be applied uniformly over the time
obtain from in situ field surveys. However, since series of analysis.
satellite imagery relies on spectral reflectance,
incorporating ground-based data into analysis of
BdYZa^c\
satellite imagery is essential to improve the qual-
ity of land use/cover data. LUCC modeling, such as predicting future
Satellite images are now available at high, LUCC and simulating possible LUCC conse-
medium, and low spatial resolutions for monitor- quences on human and natural systems, provides
ing LUCC at various scales. The Moderate Reso- insights that can be used to assist policymakers
lution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and land managers in sustainable resource man-
provides daily global observations of land cover agement. Models are required because they help
at 250-m (meters) spatial resolution and is often enhance our understanding of the dynamic pat-
used to characterize land cover and its changes at terns and processes of LUCC that result from the
the global and regional scales. Hyperspatial data complex interactions among physical, biological,
with 1- to 4-m resolution from sensors such as and socioeconomic forces. Advances in geospatial
IKONOS and Quickbird are available for detailed techniques and computational methodologies
monitoring of LUCC at the local scale. have improved the capacity needed to model
LUCC at different spatial and temporal scales in
relation to various human activities. Although
BZVhjg^c\
land use/cover patterns may be obtained from
The conventional way to detect and measure remote sensing data, modeling the dynamic pro-
LUCC is to visually compare a series of land use/ cesses of LUCC requires incorporation of the his-
cover maps of different snapshots derived from torical and contemporary causes of the changes.
remote sensing data or other sources of informa- A combination of various biophysical and social
tion of the same area, but such a comparison may data in modeling, such as interviews with land
disallow the quantification of subtle changes. managers, population data, household surveys,
Change detection is another common approach land use/cover history, soil maps, and ecological
for measuring LUCC. Unlike statistical summa- measurements, is thus needed.
ries that provide data on land use/cover types of Various land use/cover models are available
different years in areas or percentages, change for explanatory or predictive purposes. The com-
detection compares land use/cover databases from bination of agent-based models, used to describe
two different time periods to determine the loca- human decision making, with cellular automata
tion, spatial extent, and nature of changes over models, used to represent biophysical landscape
time. Transition matrices are used to show change, offers a promising approach for future
changes in land use/cover types from one time model development in LUCC.
period to another; the changes in land use/cover
Yi-Chen Wang
from one category to another can then be illus-
trated in maps. This approach offers more quan-
titative insights into LUCC. Care must, however, See also Agent-Based Models; Agricultural Land Use;
be taken to ensure that the differences between Biogeochemical Cycles; Biophysical Remote Sensing;
dates are not due to artifacts of the source data. Climate Change; Environment and Development; Forest
The development and diversity, in recent Land Use; GIS in Land Use Management; Global
decades, of new technologies and methods used Environmental Change; Impermeable Surfaces; Land
to create land use/cover databases suggest that Use; Land Use Analysis; Land Use and Land Cover
there may be great disparities in the quality and Mapping; Land Use History; Locally Unwanted Land
 LA ND USE A ND LA ND C OV ER MA P P ING &,(.

Uses (LULUs); Political Ecology; Population and Land use and refer to land cover as one of the most
Degradation; Population and Land Use; Population, obvious and detectable indicators of land surface
Environment, and Development; Spectral Characteristics characteristics and the associated human-induced
of Terrestrial Surfaces; Suburban Land Use; or naturally occurring processes.
Urbanization

The Process of Land Use

and Land Cover Mapping
Further Readings
The primary units for characterizing land cover
Gutman, G., Janetos, A. C., Justice, C. O., Moran, are categories (e.g., forest or open water) or
E. F., Mustard, J. F., Rindfuss, R. R., et al. (2004). continuous variables classifiers (e.g., fraction of
Land change science: Observing, monitoring and tree canopy cover). Secondary outputs of land
understanding trajectories of change on the cover characterization include the surface area
Earth’s surface. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer of land cover types (in hectares), land cover
Academic. change (area and change trajectories), and obser-
Lambin, E. F., & Geist, H. J. (2006). Land-use and vation byproducts such as field survey data or
land-cover change: Local processes and global processed satellite imagery. In applications using
impacts (IGBP Series). Berlin, Germany: Springer. land cover maps, the original land cover catego-
Meyer, W. B., & Turner, B. L., II. (1994). Changes in ries are often associated with specific attributes
land use and land cover: A global perspective. (e.g., average carbon stocks, degree of artificial-
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ity, or function in the hydrological system). In
Rogan, J., & Chen, D. M. (2004). Remote sensing current practice, many national and regional
technology for mapping and monitoring land- observation programs and research institutes
cover and land-use change. Progress in Planning, still do not distinguish between land cover and
61, 301–325. land use. Land use characterizes the arrange-
ments, activities, and inputs people have under-
taken on a certain land cover type to produce,
change, or maintain it. Observation strategies
and methods vary for observing land cover, land
LAND USE AND LAND use, and associated changes. Common and oper-
ational procedures exist for observation of land
COVER MAPPING cover; observing land cover change, land use,
and land use change is more challenging and
Land cover refers to the observed physical layer still a subject of research.
of Earth’s surface. It includes vegetation and Land cover and land use mapping activities can
anthropogenic features as well as bare rock, bare be understood as a process of information extrac-
soil, and inland water surfaces. Reliable land tion governed by the rules of generalization. The
cover mapping is of crucial importance for (a) degree of generalization, and thus the efficiency
understanding and mitigating climate change and of representing reality in a two-dimensional form,
its impacts, (b) sustainable development, (c) natu- is linked to three major factors: (1) the “thematic”
ral resource management, (d) biodiversity conser- component refers to the land classification system
vation, and (e) understanding of ecosystems and and the adopted land cover legend; (2) “carto-
biogeochemical cycling. For example, land cover graphic” standards include the spatial reference
characteristics reveal ongoing processes of defor- system, the minimum mapping unit (MMU), and
estation, desertification, urbanization, land deg- the mapping scale; and (3) the “interpretation”
radation, loss of biodiversity and ecosystem process reflects the characteristics of the source
functions, and water and energy management. In data, the interpretation procedures, and the skill
situ and satellite-based land observation efforts as of their use. These factors affect the map prod-
well as different disciplines (e.g., geography, ecol- ucts—their content, quality, flexibility, and effi-
ogy, geology, forestry, land policy, and planning) ciency for specific applications.
&,)% LA N D USE AND L AND COVE R MA P P ING

incompatible land cover data sets. Many of the

Applications of Land Use
available global, regional, and national mapping
and Land Cover Mapping
products exist as independent data sets. For
Land cover and land use in different regions have example, multiple definitions and thresholds for a
been mapped and characterized at various times, particular land cover type, such as forests, result
and many countries have implemented some kind in different representations of forest class in the
of land monitoring system (e.g., forest, agricul- different land cover maps. The lack of consistency
ture, and cartographic information systems and has triggered the need for harmonization and
inventories). In addition, there are many continen- standardized land cover monitoring. Land cate-
tal and global land cover map products and activi- gories and classifiers must be defined consistently
ties. There is, for example, a quasi-operational to identify land cover changes over time. The
global land cover monitoring system, which inte- United Nations (UN) Land Cover Classification
grates information from three common observa- System (LCCS) classifiers and the related Land
tional scales: (1) moderate-resolution satellite data Cover Macro Language provide a comprehensive
(e.g., MODIS- or MERIS-type satellite sensor), and flexible framework for thematic land cover
(2) fine-resolution satellite data (from Landsat- characterization. LCCS classifiers enable compat-
and SPOT-type satellite sensors), and (3) in situ ibility to be achieved between existing data sets
observations (or very high-resolution remote sens- and for future monitoring of data. An indepen-
ing data). Continuity of observations and consis- dent accuracy assessment using a sample of
tency of land cover characterization is required ground or other reference data is an integral part
for all these scales. of any land cover and land use monitoring effort.
Extensive information on land cover has There is a need for both maps (static and
been produced in many regions of the world. The updated) and dynamic land monitoring products
varying purposes, data sources, accuracies, spa- at different spatial and temporal scales as part of
tial resolutions, and thematic legends of these an integrated global land monitoring system
efforts have resulted in a suite of more or less (Table 1). These outputs require different sets of

Spatial Frequency of
Name Resolution Product Update Maturity

Mapping of land cover

Land cover maps 250 m–1 km Annual Preoperational
Fine-scale land cover and land 10–30 m 3–5 yrs. Preoperational (for land cover)
use maps
Global land cover reference sample In situ/1 m 1–5 yrs. Preoperational (CEOS,
database GOFC-GOLD)

Monitoring of dynamics and change

Global land cover dynamics and 250 m–1 km Intra-annual/ Preoperational (for several
disturbances long-time processes)
Fine-scale land cover and land use 10–30 m series Preoperational (for land cover)
change 1–5 yrs. Preoperational (for some change
Monitoring areas of “rapid change” 1–30 m 1–2 yrs. or less processes)

Table 1 Characteristics of land cover and land use mapping and monitoring products that are useful for
observing land cover as an essential climate variable
Source: Townshend, J. R., Latham, J., Arino, O., Balstad, R., Belward, A., Conant, R., et al. (2008). Integrated global observations
of the land: An IGOS-P theme (IGOL Report No. 8, GTO 54). Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Retrieved February 8, 2010, from the FAO Web site at www.fao.org/gtos/igol/docs/IGOS-theme-report-final-draft.pdf.
 LA ND USE HIST O RY &,)&

observations and monitoring approaches. There

global Earth observation system of systems
is also a need to ensure synergy with other obser-
(GEOSS): Progress, activities, and prospects. IEEE
vation products (e.g., fire, biophysical parame-
Systems Journal, 2, 414–423.
ters, snow cover) that are directly related to land
Strahler, A., Boschetti, L., Foody, G. M., Fiedl, M.
cover and land use characteristics.
A., Hansen, M. C., Herold, M., et al. (2006).
Ongoing global mapping efforts (i.e., MERIS-
Global land cover validation: Recommendations
based GLOBCOVER and those using MODIS data)
for evaluation and accuracy assessment of global
provide consistent and validated land cover data
land cover maps (Report of the Committee on
and land cover change indicators worldwide at mod-
Earth Observation Satellites [CEOS], Working
erate spatial resolution (250-meter to 1-kilometer
Group on Calibration and Validation [WGCV]).
spatial resolutions). Land cover and land use
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of
change estimates require multitemporal fine-
the European Communities.
resolution satellite observations. Archived image
Townshend, J. R., Latham, J., Arino, O., Balstad, R.,
data (e.g., global Landsat data) and methods are
Belward, A., Conant, R., et al. (2008). Integrated
available to implement a global land cover change
global observations of the land: An IGOS-P theme
monitoring system. Global assessments of histori-
(IGOL Report No. 8, GTOS 54). Rome: Food and
cal forest change processes based on multiple data
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
sources are available from regional and national
programs (e.g., the European CORINE, Brazilian
PRODES) and international initiatives, such as
the Forest Resources Assessment of the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. LAND USE HISTORY
Martin Herold
Land use history—the story of human use of
Earth’s surface and its resources—reflects the
See also Aerial Imagery: Interpretation; Biophysical
record of anthropogenic manipulation of the
Remote Sensing; GIS in Land Use Management;
natural environment. In preagricultural times,
Landscape Interpretation; Land Use; Land Use Analysis;
this impact was largely confined to fires. The
Land Use and Cover Change (LUCC); Spectral
first major land use changes took place with the
Characteristics of Terrestrial Surfaces
transition from hunting and gathering commu-
nities to agricultural societies. Further changes
can be associated with the adoption of new farm-
Further Readings ing techniques and crops as well as with social
and historical developments. Starting with the
Di Gregorio, A. (2005). UN land cover classification Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, how-
system (LCCS): Classification concepts and user ever, land use has become one of the dominating
manual for software Version 2. Retrieved August forcing factors of environmental change, gradu-
20, 2009, from www.glcn.org ally affecting natural ecosystems on a global
Franklin, S. E., & Wulder, M. A. (2002). Remote scale. Land use interferes with the climate sys-
sensing methods in medium spatial resolution tem as well as with biogeochemical and hydro-
satellite data land cover classification of large areas. logical cycles and has become a major topic in
Progress in Physical Geography, 26, 173–205. the context of global change. It has been related
Herold, M., Latham, J. S., Di Gregorio, A., & to many environmental problems, such as cli-
Schmullius, C. (2006). Evolving standards in land mate change, desertification and soil erosion,
cover characterization. Journal of Land Use biodiversity loss, and emission of greenhouse
Science, 1, 157–168. gases. Thus, knowledge of land use history is
Herold, M., Woodcock, C. E., Loveland, T. R., crucial to evaluate the impact and consequences
Townshend, J., Brady, M., Steenmans, C., et al. of past land use practices on the environment
(2008). Land cover observations as part of a and to use this information to project future
developments.
&,)' LA N D USE HISTORY

Research Topics and Methods intrinsically complex, and there are few global-
scale estimates of long-term changes in land use.
Land use practices are essential to sustain human The following three examples illustrate the posi-
life and are determined by environmental settings tion of land use history in the intersection of cli-
of the landscape (e.g., climate, soil type), social mate and human society and its importance for
and cultural conditions, and human needs and present and future environments.
skills (e.g., farming techniques). Land use history
therefore reflects both environmental and human :Vgan6\g^XjaijgZ
development and their interactions through time. Approximately 10,000 yrs. (years) ago, seden-
Studies of historical land use changes are helpful tary farming independently evolved in Central
to identify past human-environment interactions, America, China, and the Middle East. From the
to investigate the resilience of ecosystems, and to latter, it gradually spread into Europe, Northern
predict and assess impacts for future scenarios, Africa, and Western Asia. Shifting cultivation
especially in terms of sustainability. Major developed as an alternative cultivation method in
research questions include the coevolution of nat- regions with conditions unsuitable for permanent
ural environments and human societies, the sus- agriculture, especially the tropics. It is debatable
tainability of former land use practices, and how whether this early human land use could have
past land use may have significantly altered pres- interfered with the climate system by the release
ent-day environments by irreversible changes. of greenhouse gases, which may have prevented a
Research in land use history covers several sci- natural cooling trend that would have otherwise
entific disciplines, ranging from historical and started 8,000 yrs. ago. Some of the critical aspects
agricultural geography to archaeology and paleo- necessary to verify this hypothesis in models are
ecology, and involves both natural and social sci- related to land use history—for example, reliable
ences. Land use history can be investigated using estimates of the area of deforestation, the amount
several approaches. Recent changes can be docu- of livestock grazing, or the loss of soil carbon
mented by remote sensing techniques such as sat- caused by long-term land degradation.
ellite images or aerial photographs. Further back
in time, information is provided by written BZY^ZkVa:jgdeZ
sources, location names, historical maps, and
early land surveys. Beyond these historical Around AD 700, increasing population in Cen-
sources, natural archives such as peat deposits, tral Europe caused a continuous decline in forest
colluvial soils, and lake sediments can be used to cover as woodlands were cleared for agriculture
reconstruct past environmental conditions and, (Figure 1). During an extreme rainfall event in the
thus, land use history. Pollen, charcoal, and mac- 14th century, increased runoff from the deforested
rofossil analyses of such sediments provide valu- land caused devastating floods and soil erosion.
able information about the past composition of The cascading effects (e.g., famines caused by
vegetation. Decreasing tree pollen and the appear- reduced agricultural production) and additional
ance of weed and cereals in the pollen spectra catastrophes such as the bubonic plague and war-
indicate human cultivation. Minerogenic layers in fare resulted in a significant decrease in population
such sediment sequences can point to periods of and thus land use. This lasted for more than a cen-
greater soil erosion. Additional indications of for- tury before the situation stabilized in the 16th cen-
mer land use practices include specific geomor- tury, partly due to an increase in agricultural
phologic and pedologic features such as terraces, productivity through the adoption of new tech-
irrigation ditches, and plough horizons. niques, for example, elimination of the fallow
period in a three-field crop rotation, selective
manuring, and introduction of new crops.
Examples of Land Use History
:jgdeZVcHZiiaZbZci^cCdgi]6bZg^XV
The magnitude of land use varies depending
on the time period and the geographical area Starting in the 18th century, much of Eastern
under consideration. Thus, land use history is North America was cleared for agriculture and
 LA ND USE HIST O RY &,)(

100 100

arable land

80
10
Average soil erosion (mm\a)

Land cover / land use (%)

grass land,
fallow land 60

40

0.1
20

wood land
0.01 0
600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
Age (years AD)

Figure 1 Land use change (shaded areas) and soil erosion (red line) in Central Europe (excluding the Alps)
Source: Bork, H., & Lang, A. (2003). Quantification of past soil erosion and land use/land cover changes in Germany. In A. Lang,
K. Hennrich, & R. Dikau (Eds.), Lecture notes in Earth sciences: Vol. 101. Long term hillslope and fluvial system modeling:
Concepts and case studies from the Rhine River catchment (pp. 232–239). New York: Springer. Reprinted with kind permission of
Springer Science and Business Media.

grasslands by the European settlers. In Massa- persistent impact on modern vegetation, soils,
chusetts, 60% to 80% of the land was under and climate have been demonstrated in several
cultivation around the mid 19th century. Natural studies.
reforestation due to the abandonment of farms
began around AD 1850 and continued into the Dirk Enters
20th century, owing to the relocation of agricul-
ture to the Midwestern states and rural popula- See also Agricultural Land Use; Centers of
tions moving into cities. Whereas the forest cover Domestication; Deforestation; Domestication of
was closely linked to agriculture during the pre- Animals; Domestication of Plants; Environmental
vious centuries, the situation changed in the History; Environmental Impact Assessment;
1950s, when woodlands partially decreased again Environment and Development; Global Environmental
as a result of residential and industrial develop- Change; Historical Geography; Land Use; Land Use
ments. These landscape changes represent broad- Analysis; Political Ecology; Population and Land
scale disturbances of presettlement ecosystems; Degradation; Population and Land Use; Population,
the effects of land use on soil erosion rates and Environment, and Development; Urban Land
eutrophication of aquatic systems as well as the Use; Wilderness
&,)) LA N D USE PL ANNING

Further Readings without compensating the landowner at fair mar-

ket value and it cannot act arbitrarily to favor
Dearing, J. A., Battarbee, R. W., Dikau, R., one landowner or entity over another.
Larocque, I., & Oldfield, F. (2006). Human- Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution can also
environment interactions. Regional Environmental affect land use planning. It declares that federal
Change, 6, 1–16. law prevails over state laws unless federal law
Foster, D. R., Motzkin, G., & Slater, B. (1998). violates the U.S. Constitution. The federal gov-
Land-use history as long-term broad-scale ernment can invoke Article 6 for land use plan-
disturbance. Ecosystems, 1, 96–119. ning issues that affect land across states or
Ruddiman, W. F. (2007). The early anthropogenic promote the public interest, such as power
hypothesis. Reviews of Geophysics, 45, transmission line easements, placement of toxic
RG4001. waste dumps, and other facilities that are
deemed in the national interest and for which
the federal government can override state and
local decision making. A prime example of this
power is the siting of the high-level nuclear
waste repository in Yucca Mountain, Nevada,
LAND USE PLANNING by the federal government despite strong oppo-
sition in Nevada. After years of controversy, the
Land use planning is a process by which land uses Obama administration announced in March
are allocated through legal and political decision 2010 that the U.S. Department of Energy was
making; it is a process by which space is made, withdrawing its pending license for the Yucca
and it reflects and distributes power over land Mountain repository.
and people. Land use planning in the United
States takes place within a legal framework that
reflects the nation’s founding as a republic that State and Local Authority
stood against feudal traditions, instituting the free
holding of land by individuals, regardless of back- The U.S. Constitution delegates all powers not
ground and/or status. There are several nested necessary to the functioning of the federal gov-
and tiered layers of law and regulatory delegation ernment to the states. Authority is then delegated
of powers over land use by government, which from states to cities and counties, which are
structure how land use can be planned. This entry granted authority over land use by the states.
focuses on land use planning in the United States, The U.S. Constitution does not mention local
which is illustrative of land use planning pro- governments; local governments are the legal
cesses in many other societies. creations of states, which then delegate author-
ity to them. Over time, cities gradually devel-
oped independent status from state legislatures,
though the extent and type of municipal land
Constitutional Requirements
use authority depends on whether the city is a
The Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution con- general-law city or a home rule (charter) city.
tains two important amendments that shape that Many states have both types of cities. General-
country’s land use planning: the Fifth and the law cities are bound by the state’s general law,
Fourteenth. The Fifth Amendment includes a regardless of whether the subject concerns a
clause that prohibits the taking of private prop- municipal matter. In this case, state law describes
erty for public use without just compensation. the city’s form of government, management
The Fourteenth Amendment requires states to structure, personnel matters, election rules, tax-
provide equal protection and due processes to ation, contracting, and so forth. State statutes
protect life, liberty, and property for all citizens prescribe the powers and duties of general-law
under law. These requirements mean that the cities. If something is not allowed by state law, a
state cannot condemn land for public purpose city cannot do it.
 LA ND USE P LA NNIN G &,)*

Home rule (charter) cities look to the state’s uses will have a very different character from
constitution and statutes to determine what they those that harbor single-family neighborhoods.
may not do. Such cities have the inherent author- How land is zoned also directly affects local rev-
ity to do just about anything that qualifies as a enues, in the form of a range of taxes. Zoning
public purpose and is not contrary to the consti- and land use are thus the key components of a
tution or laws of the state. They have inherent city’s powers of exclusion and inclusion, of its
powers, that is, powers possessed by a city with- wealth and social composition.
out having been specifically granted by the state. As such, the power over land use creates a
They are free to choose their form of govern- very strong relationship between local decision
ment; for example, they can choose whether the makers and economic interests. This relation-
city has a strong mayor who appoints agency ship, dubbed by Logan and Molotch as the
directors, whether there is a large or small city “urban growth machine,” is one in which, for
council, whether elections are held by district or local government, land is the principle asset
at large, and what the terms of office are, among through which elected officials shape the charac-
other powers. These rules are codified in a char- ter and revenue stream of the locality. It relies
ter that is approved by vote of the local citizens. on coordination and planning with local busi-
Amendments must also be approved through ness interests whose activities on the land create
election. not only local wealth, through taxes and fees,
Each state has its own tax system, but local but also jobs and prosperity. Local institutions
taxes typically include property taxes, sales taxes, are therefore characterized by a close relation-
and taxes and/or fees for services such as police, ship between politicians and businessmen to
fire, and schools, among others. States and locali- enhance the commercial public and private
ties also receive intergovernmental transfers from interests of localities. Cities—and increasingly
the federal government. The U.S. Constitution counties—to remain prosperous, compete for
and the relationship of cities to their state provide revenue-generating land uses and plan their land
the foundation for land use planning in the coun- for the uses they consider will yield the highest
try. Outside cities, counties also engage in land revenues. Thus, planning becomes increasingly a
use planning, which is also constrained by the function of economic development policy.
U.S. Constitution and state mandates. Counties face many of the same pressures and
also plan land use in unincorporated areas.
Counties also have additional responsibilities, as
they are the state’s designated representatives at
Planning, Zoning, and Local
the local level, providing health and welfare ser-
Economic Development
vices in addition to planning services. They, too,
The Industrial Revolution of the 19th century compete for revenue-generating development
caused unprecedented and unorganized urban through their land use designations and become
growth. Housing was located in or adjacent to an additional competitor in the race for eco-
industrial facilities, building heights and densi- nomic development.
ties were unregulated, and the urban environ-
ment was frequently insalubrious. As a result,
between 1900 and 1916, land use planning tools
Environmental Issues
began to be developed, including zoning that seg-
regated uses to protect human health and to cre- Over the course of the 20th century, with the rise
ate orderly economic development patterns. of the environmental movement, the question of
Zoning, as an allocation of space, determines land use has at times been seen as intrinsic to
what uses go where and what adjacencies are environmental preservation and quality. Ten-
created. Zoning is also therefore a tool that local sions about how much authority the federal gov-
governments can use to define the character of a ernment should exert in land use planning for
community and its development path. Commu- environmental protection and orderly land devel-
nities that zone much of their land for industrial opment versus state and local authority have
&,)+ LA N D USE PL ANNING

characterized the relationships among these levels means whereby the ecosystems on which endan-
of government since the federal government gered or threatened species depend may be con-
reserved the public domain. Rather than planning served. The ESA has evolved into a land use law,
rules, the federal government has created incen- though indirectly, by providing environmental
tives to encourage thoughtful planning of critical groups with a powerful tool to challenge projects
resources. For example, the federal Coastal Zone that might endanger the existence of species and
Protection Act in 1972, reauthorized in 1996, their habitats. This has led to the development of
provides annual grants to states to develop coastal plans to ensure the survival of species. In Califor-
zone management programs. nia, this process is reinforced by the California
At the state level, such tensions have also Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which
been prevalent. California’s 1972 Coastal Pro- requires environmental impacts statements for
tection Act went further and created a new all new developments.
agency in charge of land use planning along the The ESA has, in some places, become a forc-
coastal zone, up to 1 mile inland, with regional ing mechanism for large-scale land use planning,
agencies throughout the state. The authority of determining which lands will remain in perma-
this agency has been contested ever since. Envi- nent open space and which lands can be devel-
ronmental concerns also led to the creation of oped. These are often complex, lengthy, and
the landmark 1973 Oregon statewide land use expensive negotiation processes whose ultimate
planning law: Oregon Land Use Act (Senate Bill success depends on many factors, including the
100). Under that program, all cities and coun- constellation of local economic interests, elected
ties adopted 19 comprehensive plans that met officials, and the permit process, which involves
mandatory state standards. They address land layers of government agencies and officials. Nev-
use, development, housing, transportation, and ertheless, short of Oregon-style statewide plan-
conservation of natural resources. The law was ning, habitat conservation planning under the
contested in 2004, when Measure 37 was ESA has been a step toward regional planning
approved, requiring compensation for property but occurring only where there are endangered
owners whose property value was reduced by species.
local zoning for agricultural land protection or In addition to the ESA, there are other emerg-
one of the other 19 planning goals. Measure 37 ing considerations that are starting to affect the
was passed, based on the claim that Senate Bill traditional local purview over land use planning.
100 infringed on private property rights, and In places facing possible water shortages, state
more than 7,000 claims for compliance pay- legislatures have begun to look at the relationship
ments or land use waivers were filed, totaling between land development, water availability,
more than $250 million. It became clear that if and the water intensiveness of land use. Regula-
local governments’ land use authority were cur- tions are beginning to emerge to ensure sufficient
tailed, there would never be enough revenues to water supplies for new development by scaling
pay for the alleged takings. In 2007, voters over- the land use appropriately. Climate change is also
turned Measure 37, realizing that it would a new factor that may encroach on local author-
severely restrict the state and local governments’ ity, as agencies begin to better understand the
ability to zone land and that haphazard eco- relationship between urban form (land use) and
nomic growth would result. greenhouse gas emissions.
Another result of the 1970s environmental
movement was the passage of the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) in 1973. Originally intended
Conclusion
by Congress to protect charismatic animals such
as golden eagles and grizzly bears, with rapid There is an intimate relationship between land
population growth and urbanization in places use and local economic interests that is longstand-
such as Southern California, a biodiversity ing in the United States and that is inscribed in
hotspot, the ESA has affected local land use plan- private property protections under the U.S. Con-
ning. The ESA’s purposes include providing a stitution. Elkin describes the United States as the
 LA ND-WA T ER BR EE ZE &,),

Commercial Republic, reflecting these close ties.

However, the unanticipated impacts of human
LAND-WATER BREEZE
activities, such as the depletion of water resources,
impacts on biodiversity, and climate change, are The land-water breeze is a localized land-
creating new dimensions to land use planning atmosphere phenomenon that arises due to the
that cannot be readily addressed within the exist- differential heating of water and land surfaces.
ing framework. In addition, changing revenue This differential heating creates local atmospheric
sources and structures are also beginning to affect circulations (i.e., breezes) that can strongly
land use decision making, as land use has histori- affect weather and climate in coastal regions.
cally been the foundation for local government– The land-water breeze and the differential
funding streams. At this historical juncture, land heating of land and water surfaces are recog-
use planning rules and conventions are inade- nized factors in explaining temperature pat-
quate for changing climatic conditions and the terns and the differences between coasts and
changing demographic profile of the nation. Yet inland locations.
constitutional constraints, entrenched views of A water breeze, more often called a sea breeze,
private property rights, and the belief in local is a cool breeze blowing off an ocean or body of
control over local land use will make future evo- water onto the adjacent land. This breeze is cre-
lutions complex and difficult. ated by the temperature contrast between the cool
body of water and the warm land surface. The
Stephanie Pincetl temperature contrast is usually greatest during
warm, sunny afternoons in spring or summer, as
the ocean temperature remains cool but the incom-
See also Agricultural Land Use; Community-Based
ing solar radiation heats the land surface. The
Conservation; Community-Based Environmental
increased temperature and radiation at the land
Planning; Conservation Zoning; Environmental Impact
surface results in the warming of the air (atmo-
Assessment; Environmental Management;
sphere) above the land. Because warm air is less
Environmental Planning; Environmental Protection;
dense than cool air, the warm air expands and
Land Use Analysis; Land Use and Cover Change
rises. This upward movement of air creates a local
(LUCC); Land Use and Land Cover Mapping; Land Use
increase in air pressure aloft as the air “piles up”
History; Locally Unwanted Land Uses (LULUs);
and creates a pressure gradient aloft between the
Population, Environment, and Development; Regional
land and ocean locations (Figure 1). Air flows
Environmental Planning; Rural Development; Rural
from the local high pressure to the local low pres-
Geography; Soil Conservation; Urban and Regional
sure. The removal of air above the land surface
Planning; Urban Land Use; Urban Sprawl; Watershed
then creates a local surface low pressure, and the
Management; Wetlands; Wilderness; Zoning
flow of air toward the ocean creates downward-
moving air and a high pressure near the surface.
Surface air flows from the high pressure over the
ocean to the low pressure over the land, carrying
Further Readings the cooler ocean air with it, resulting in the water
or sea breeze. This local circulation forms a con-
Andrews, R. N. L. (2006). Managing the vection cell or convection loop.
environment, managing ourselves (2nd ed.). In the land breeze, the situation is reversed. Land
New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. breezes occur mainly on cool, clear nights during
Elkin, S. L. (1987). City and regime in the the fall and winter, when radiational cooling is
American republic. Chicago: University of strongest and water temperatures are fairly warm.
Chicago Press. At night, the land surface and the atmosphere
Logan, J. R., & Molotch, H. L. (2007). Urban above it will cool off due to radiational cooling,
fortunes (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of while the ocean temperature remains relatively
California Press. constant. As the air above the land surface becomes
denser, the atmospheric column contracts, forming
&,)- LA N GUAG E S, G E OG RAPHY OF

Land Breeze Water Breeze

L H H L

Pressu
es re surf
surfac aces
Pressure

H L L H

Cold Warm Warm Cold

Figure 1 Land-water breeze: surface and aloft circulation

Source: Author.

sinking air and a local area of high pressure. Again,

the upper air (aloft) is affected by the heating and
LANGUAGES, GEOGRAPHY OF
cooling of the surface. As the air sinks over the Language (in contrast to speech) may be under-
land, a low pressure is created aloft, and a high- stood in several ways: (a) as a means of organizing
pressure center forms over the water. Air aloft thought; (b) as a way of communicating, that is,
flows onshore, which creates further vertical sink- producing and sharing meaning; and (c) as a vehicle
ing over the land. The onshore flow produces ver- for bringing the world into consciousness, that is,
tical rising over the ocean, creating a local low of converting sensations into perceptions. Language
pressure. The land breeze is produced by offshore is a system of symbols through which cognition is
flow between the land high and the ocean low structured, and it is intimately wrapped up in indi-
pressure. vidual and collective identity. It is impossible to
Jennifer S. Arrigo understand the world without it. Language is thus
simultaneously a psychological, social, and cultural
See also Atmospheric Circulation; Atmospheric Energy phenomenon. In many countries (e.g., Belgium,
Transfer; Atmospheric Moisture; Atmospheric Pressure; Canada), languages have deep political significance
Oceans; Temperature Patterns; Wind as well and may be the source of ethnic strife.
Because languages are unevenly distributed across
space, they are also inherently geographical.
Because languages are semantically and histori-
Further Readings cally related to one another, it is common to
group them into families of varying sizes. Lin-
Simpson, J. E. (1994). Sea breeze and the local winds. guists and cultural geographers typically maintain
New York: Cambridge University Press. that there are roughly eight major language fami-
lies as well as several others termed isolates.
 LA NGUA GES, GEOGR A P HY O F &,).

Indo-European Languages English is unquestionably the world’s dominant

language in commerce, trade, scholarly publica-
By far the largest and most widespread of the tions, airlines, international finance, and tourism.
major language families is the Indo-European, a The rise of the nation-state as well as the inven-
group first identified by the famous linguist Wil- tion of printing had enormous effects on the social
liam Jones, a British judge stationed in India, in the and spatial structure of language. One dialect—
18th century. Starting with the migrations of the typically that of dominant elites, whether in Tus-
so-called Aryans around 1500 BC to 2000 BC, cany, London, Madrid, or Paris—became privileged
perhaps as a result of their domestication of the over others, expanding into national languages,
horse, Indo-Europeans moved in two directions annihilating local differences in vocabulary and
from their homeland near the Caucuses Moun- pronunciation but integrating diverse groups lin-
tains. (Indeed, names such as Ireland and Iran are guistically into a common group. The newly printed
derived from the name of this tribe). One group languages were fundamental for the emergence of
moved east into Northern India, their languages a national consciousness because they geographi-
becoming the basis of the Sanskrit-based Indic lan- cally connected speakers of, for example, local
guages, such as Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, Gujarati, varieties of “Englishes,” “Spanishes,” and “Ger-
Bihari, Marathi, Sinhala, and Nepali. Others mans” and made known to them the existence of
remained in the Middle East, where their languages others who shared the same language group. These
eventually became the Iranic family, including newly printed languages forged dialects together
Farsi (formerly Persian), Kurdish, Armenian, and into national languages. Printing thus constituted a
Pashto in Afghanistan. The other major branch of prime dimension in the time-space compression
Indo-Europeans moved into Europe, where they that created modern nation-states.
diverged into several groups. The languages of these
groups include the Latin-based Romance languages
(Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Afro-Asiatic Languages
Romansch, and Romanian), which arose during A second major language family is Afro-Asiatic,
the disintegration of the Roman Empire. Greek which extends across the Middle East and North
and Albanian form separate categories in their Africa (Figure 2). This group includes most of the
own right. Farther north, the Germanic languages extinct or nearly extinct languages of the ancient
include German, Dutch, the Scandinavian tongues, Middle East, such as Canaanite, Phoenician, Assyr-
and English. Celtic, an early branch once wide- ian, and Aramaic (of which pockets survive). The
spread throughout Western Europe, today consists dominant branch of the Afro-Asiatic family is
of Scottish and Irish Gaelic, Welsh, Breton in West- Semitic, which includes Arabic (with numerous dia-
ern France, and extinct tongues such as Cornish; lects) and Hebrew, nearly extinct as a spoken lan-
this branch is in danger of disappearing. In Eastern guage until it was revived by the Zionists at the end
Europe and Russia, the Slavic branch includes Pol- of the 19th century. Other branches include Berber,
ish, Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, widespread in the Mahgreb, and Kushitic, the dom-
Serbo-Croatian, and Bulgarian. The Baltic group inant family of Ethiopia (i.e., Amharic) and Somali.
of Lithuanian and Latvian is another branch.
With the expansion of Spanish, Portuguese,
French, and British colonialism, Indo-European
Ural-Altaic Languages
languages were carried throughout much of the Ural-Altaic, also sometimes called Finno-Ugric,
world, becoming dominant throughout the New constitutes a third family. The origins of this
World, Australia, and New Zealand (Figure 1). group, probably near the Altai mountains of
Today, about half of the world speaks an Indo- Mongolia, are lost in prehistory. It is likely that
European tongue of one sort or another. English, speakers of these languages are descendants of
in particular, empowered and diffused by the Brit- several waves of migration that generated popula-
ish and American empires, has become the lingua tions that continue to speak loosely related tongues
franca of more people than any other tongue stretched across Eurasia (Figure 3). Finnish and
(when second-language speakers are included). Estonian constitute one example; Hungarian, the
&,*% LA N GUAG E S, G E OG RAPHY OF

Figure 1 Indo-European languages. This group (identified in black shading) is the world’s largest and most
widespread, encompassing half the world’s population.
Source: Author.

Figure 2 Afro-Asiatic languages. Dominated by Arabic, this group (identified in black shading) includes Hebrew
and many extinct or nearly extinct tongues of the Middle East.
Source: Author.
 LA NGUA GES, GEOGR A P HY O F &,*&

Figure 3 Ural Altaic or Finno-Ugric languages. A diverse group that stretches from Finland to Japan (identified
in black shading), there is no consensus about how cohesive it is.
Source: Author.

language of the Magyar who settled in Eastern under the Bantu or Niger-Kordofanian language
Europe in the 8th century, is another. A third family, which includes thousands of tongues (Fig-
branch is the Turkic languages, which all ema- ure 4). Arising from the migrations of agricultur-
nated from the Turkish migrations into Central alists from Central Africa around the time of
Asia and Anatolia in the 9th and 10th centuries; Christ, this family includes languages as diverse
the remaining Turkic languages include Turkish, as Mande in Western Africa, Kikuyu in Kenya,
Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Uzbek, Turkmen, Kyrghiz, and Tswana, Nbele, and Zulu in Southern Africa.
and Uighur in Western China. Yet another branch Along the eastern part of the continent, Swahili
is Mongol and Manchu, formerly spoken in Man- has long formed a lingua franca, a trade language
churia but now extinct, as are the indigenous that combined words of different languages,
tongues of Siberia, such as Samoyed and Tungic, including some from Arabic.
Finally, although it is controversial, many linguists
assign Japanese and Korean to this family as well. Asian Languages
In Eastern Asia, the Sino-Tibetan language family
African Languages
is the most commonly spoken group (Figure 5).
Africa south of the Sahara desert is a complex Common to this group is the use of tones (although
mosaic of tongues from several language families. these are found in some African languages, too), in
In addition to the Afro-Asiatic languages in the which pitch forms part of the meaning of the word.
north (Arabic, Berber) and in the Horn of Africa This family includes Chinese, which embraces a
(Amharic, Somali), it has smaller families such as variety of languages that are not mutually intelli-
the Nilo-Saharan and, in Southwest Africa, the gible but use a common writing system (a feat only
famous click languages of the Khoisan family made possible with a pictographic writing system,
(e.g., !Kung). However, the bulk of the many not an alphabet). Chinese includes Mandarin, the
languages spoken throughout this vast region fall dominant language of Northern China (and the
&,*' LA N GUAG E S, G E OG RAPHY OF

Figure 4 Bantu or Niger-Kordofanian languages. Dominant in sub-Saharan Africa (identified in black shading),
this is a vast collection of loosely related tongues.
Source: Author.

Figure 5 Sino-Tibetan languages. One of the world’s largest groups (identified in black shading), it includes
multiple forms of Chinese as well as Tibetan and Burmese.
Source: Author.
 LA NGUA GES, GEOGR A P HY O F &,*(

Figure 6 Malayo-Polynesian languages. In addition to Malay and Tagalog, this group (identified in black
shading) includes Malagasy in Madagascar, Maori, and Polynesian tongues such as Hawaiian.
Source: Author.

most commonly spoken language at home in the speak Indo-European languages but the Dravidian
world) and close to a national tongue (Szechwanese tongues Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.
is a dialect), as well as Cantonese and less well- The Indochinese peninsula is home to two distinct
known ones such as Shanghainese, Wu, Hakka, language groups, Austro-Asiatic (Vietnamese,
and Fukienese or Taiwanese. This group also Cambodian) and Thai-Kadai (Thai, Lao). The
includes Tibetan and, because of Tibetan migra- Aboriginal peoples of Australia and Papua New
tions down the Irrawaddy River, Burmese. Guinea, who constitute 1% of the world’s popula-
A sixth major family is the Malayo-Polynesian, tion, speak 20% of the world’s languages in an
a diverse group that extends across much of south- enormously diverse group often called Indo-Pa-
east Asia into the islands of Polynesia and Micro- cific. The Americas were home to a huge range of
nesia (Figure 6), thus including Hawaiian and New indigenous languages prior to the mass demo-
Zealand’s Maori. Originating among tribes in Tai- graphic and cultural extermination unleashed by
wan, this group includes the Malay languages of the Europeans: More than a dozen families existed
Malaysia and Indonesia (each with countless dia- in North America (e.g., Iroquoian, Siouan, Salis-
lects) and the numerous tongues of the Philippines, han, Athabascan, Mayan) and in South America
of which Tagalog is the best known. Around AD (Andean, Chibchan, Macro-Carib). Finally, iso-
500, Indonesian sailors crossed the Indian Ocean late languages such as Basque, with no surviving
and settled in Madagascar, making the language relatives, and Kartvelian tongues such as Geor-
Malagasy part of this family. gian, continue to survive.

Other Language Families Language Death

Several other families are worth noting. Southern Today, there are roughly 5,000 to 6,500 languages
India is home to a sizable population who do not remaining in the world. Most, however, have very
&,*) LA N I Ñ A

few speakers, often numbering only in the dozens, the world, for reality is more complex than any
and are not written. The total number was much language can admit. A broad consensus emerging
larger in the past and has been steadily declining from these various perspectives is that all world-
for centuries. The rise of the nation-state often led views are inherently and necessarily partial, con-
to a deliberate homogenization of cultures and tingent, and situated in context. Such lines of
dialects, and today, globalization and national thought have enormous implications for the ways
school systems have contributed to the decline. In in which truth is conceived (e.g., as a mirror of the
the Americas, disease, genocide, government-run world or as part of a situated worldview) and how
boarding schools in the United States, and cultural explanation is justified. Language is thus a deeply
assimilation annihilated large numbers of lan- epistemological phenomenon, for humans do not
guages. Today, 96% of the planet speaks one of simply use language, they are in turn shaped by it.
the top 20 languages, and many observers predict
Barney Warf
that 50% of all languages will disappear within
the next century (one every 2 weeks). This decline
See also Cultural Geography; Discourse and Geography;
represents a crisis in cultural diversity that deprives
Epistemology; Humanistic Geography; Literature, Geo-
humanity of the rich ways of viewing the world
graphy and; Olsson, Gunnar; Ontology; Postmodernism;
inherent in the multiple different languages.
Poststructuralism; Text/Textuality; Writing

Language and Geographic Analysis

Finally, in addition to the geography of languages, Further Readings
geographers have long been interested in the role
of language in the representation of space. Because Comrie, B., Matthews, S., & Polinsky, M. (Eds.).
language structures and mediates thought, it plays (1996). The atlas of languages. New York: Quarto.
an enormous role in how discourses about the Dalby, A. (2003). Language in danger: The loss of
world are organized. Language as a structured linguistic diversity and the threat to our future.
symbolic system has figured prominently in phi- New York: Columbia University Press.
losophy for decades, including varied analyses by
authors such as Ludwig Wittgenstein, Benjamin
Whorf, Jurgen Habermas, and various poststruc-
turalist authors (e.g., Jacques Derrida), who inter- LA NIÑA
pret the world through the lens of discourse. In
this light, language is not simply a medium for La Niña refers to anomalously cool central to east-
communicating but an obstacle as well, a force ern equatorial Pacific surface waters. These climate
that enters into the making of social and spatial events occur every 2 to 7 yrs. (years) and last any-
reality. For humanistic geographers, language is a where from about half a year to 3 yrs., with peak
window into the structure of human consciousness strength in the boreal winter season. La Niña is
and spatial perception, for language shapes how also often synonymous with the “high” phase of
human beings give meaning to space and their the Southern Oscillation, with the El Niño com-
sense of place. Language became a central topic in prising the “low” phase. During the high phase,
the intersections between geography and literary sea-level pressure is higher than normal over the
criticism, including the analysis of landscape as Eastern Pacific (e.g., Tahiti) and lower than nor-
texts. For Gunnar Olsson, the limits of language mal over the Maritime Continent (e.g., Darwin,
amounted to the limits of understanding. Feminists Australia). La Niñas have a large impact on certain
have emphasized the gendered nature of language regional climates but have not been extensively
and how it helps to reify or to challenge gender studied in geography or the atmospheric sciences.
roles and performativity. For followers of Michel While El Niño (“little boy”) has been part of
Foucault, language is constitutive of ideology and the Peruvian vernacular for centuries, La Niña
discourse and thus is always intimately associated (“little girl”) was coined by George Philander in
with power and the social production of subjects. the mid 1980s, implying its opposite nature. This
For postmodernists, languages always oversimplify definition coincided with a La Niña event from
 LA NI Ñ A &,**

October 1984 to September 1985, which fol-

lowed on the heels of the very strong 1982–1983
El Niño and marked the first cold period since the
mid 1970s. Recent La Niña events, as defined by
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration, have occurred in 1988–1989, 1995–1996,
1998–2001, and 2007–2008.
La Niñas often follow strong El Niños. Accord-
ing to the delayed-oscillator theory, “warm”
eastward-traveling Kelvin ocean waves and
“cold” westward-traveling Rossby ocean waves
are generated by westerly wind stress from the El
Niño, and when these waves reflect at the bound-
aries of the Pacific and recross the ocean, their
damped signal forms the subsequent La Niña. In
general, La Niñas tend to be weaker than their
climatological brothers, with the largest tempera-
ture anomalies reaching about 2.0 nC (Oceanic
Niño Index). The basic climate system of the equa-
torial Pacific is warm, deep waters in the west and Figure 1 Example of an atmospheric Rossby wave
cool, shallow waters in the east with easterly sur- train (anomalous high- and low-pressure centers and
face winds. Since La Niña simply amplifies this jet streams) associated with La Niña
base state, it is much more difficult to get strong
Sources: Google Earth and the National Oceanic and
anomalies than when there is a reversal of the sys- Atmospheric Administration.
tem during an El Niño. La Niñas also affect the
biogeography of the Pacific. The shoaling of the
Eastern Pacific Ocean mixed layer is accompanied wetter (cooler) conditions than normal. Japan
by vigorous upwelling. More nutrients are brought and West Africa are anomalously cool, and south-
to the ocean surface during La Niña, causing east Africa is wet and cool. Conversely, parts of
widespread primary productivity blooms, which equatorial Africa are drier than normal. In boreal
support a diverse marine ecosystem. summers, there is no La Niña signal in the extrat-
La Niñas change the global atmospheric circu- ropical Northern Hemisphere, but West Africa
lation. While El Niños theromodynamically remains cool, the Caribbean becomes cool and
increase the instability of the tropical atmosphere, wet, and most of South Asia is cooler than nor-
La Niñas concentrate convection over the Mari- mal, with India also becoming wetter than nor-
time Continent, which receives copious rainfall. mal. Also in this season, the South Pacific island
Thus, the zonal atmospheric circulations, or nations experience warm conditions, the west
Walker Circulation, are dynamically altered, with coast of South America is cool, and Argentina,
much of the Pacific dominated by subsidence and Uruguay, and Southern Brazil become dry. Just as
dry conditions. These changes in the Pacific are El Niño and La Niña are near mirror images in
communicated to the rest of the globe through the Pacific Ocean, many of the teleconnections
“teleconnections”—a combination of variations are seen as opposites as well. However, some sci-
in the meridional Hadley Circulation, “atmo- entists dispute this linearity assumption. Finally,
spheric bridge” mechanisms, and atmospheric generalities about the impacts of La Niña are
Rossby wave trains (Figure 1). problematic because every event is different. Fig-
In boreal winter over the United States, the ure 2 shows the evolution of global precipitation
southern states are anomalously dry and warm, and temperature anomalies during the strongest
the northeast is wet and cool, a band from the La Niña in the satellite era.
Pacific coast of Alaska to the Northern Great For reasons not yet completely understood, the
Plains is cool, and the Ohio Valley is wet. Also in El Niño-La Niña cycle undergoes decadal-scale
this season, northeast Brazil tends to experience variability tied to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation
&,*+ LA N I Ñ A

SURF TEMP Mar–Apr–May 88 PRECIP Mar–Apr–May 88

SURF TEMP Jun–Jul–Aug 88 PRECIP Jun–Jul–Aug 88

SURF TEMP Sep–Oct–Nov 88 PRECIP Sep–Oct–Nov 88

SURF TEMP Dec–Jan–Feb 88–89 PRECIP Dec–Jan–Feb 88–89

−3 −1.5 0 1.5 (deg.C) 3 −6 −3 0 3 (mm day–1) 6

Figure 2 Surface temperature and rainfall anomalies, based on 1951–1980 and 1987–1996 data, respectively,
averaged over 3-month seasons during 1988
Sources: Global Precipitation Climatology Project and Goddard Institute for Space Studies, NASA, Surface Temperature Analysis.
 LA P SE R A TE &,*,

(PDO). Recent trends in the PDO suggest that the

mid 2000s could mark a regime shift into a 30-yr.
LAPSE RATE
period where La Niñas will dominate over El Niños
and may explain the lingering 2007–2008 La Niña. Lapse rates are the average changes in temperature
The last time the PDO pendulum swung to La at different levels in the atmosphere. Four different
Niña was between the 1950s and 1970s (before rates are environmental, normal, dry adiabatic,
the term La Niña existed). There is also some con- and wet adiabatic. Each is applied in specifically
troversy as to whether global warming may lead to different situations. The changing temperatures
a permanent La Niña–like state. In 1996, Amy affect the humidity and the climatic patterns. Types
Clement and coauthors first postulated that if a of lapse rate, their applications, their relationship
uniform heating was imposed on the surface of the to cloud formation and atmospheric lifting, and
ocean, upwelling could regulate the warming. the environmental hazards are discussed here.
Known as the ocean dynamical thermostat mecha- The environmental lapse rate is the actual
nism, the Eastern Pacific (where upwelling occurs) change in air temperature with altitude at a spe-
should warm less fast than the Western Pacific, cific place at a specified time. The temperature
and the zonal temperature and pressure gradients depends on current micro- and macro-meteoro-
should increase. This would lead to stronger logical conditions. In general, temperatures are
easterlies, inhibiting westerly disturbances and the expected to decrease with altitude through the
formation of El Niños. This theory has been cor- troposphere, the lowest temperature zone of the
roborated by some climate models and observa- atmosphere. However, temperature variations
tions but not others, so further study is needed. occur, and the actual situation makes the envi-
Even though the global impacts of La Niñas are ronmental lapse rate. For example, this might be
equal in scope to the impacts of El Niños, La Niñas measured with a thermometer as a balloon rises
have not received the same attention in the scien- vertically from the surface through the air.
tific community. A search for “El Niño” in journal The normal lapse rate is the mean of the envi-
article titles and abstracts from a large publication ronmental lapse rates. Considered to be 6.5
database uncovered 9,573 records, but “La Niña” nC/1,000 m (meters) or 3.5 nF/1,000 ft. (feet), this
could only muster 1,645. This disparity must be value is used both to estimate the temperature at
rectified with greater research emphasis on La a higher elevation, such as for an airplane flying
Niña, especially since it may play an important overhead, and to compare temperatures between
role in Earth’s climate in the near future. locations at different elevations, for example, San
Francisco, California, near the coast, and Denver,
Scott Curtis
Colorado, about a mile higher.
The normal lapse rate is closely related to
See also Climate Change; El Niño; Oceanic Circulation;
the greenhouse effect. Because the troposphere is
Oceans; Precipitation, Global; Teleconnections;
predominantly heated by the absorption of ter-
Temperature Patterns
restrial radiation, more of this Earth radiation is
trapped near the surface than reaches the higher
Further Readings levels. So temperatures near the surface are gen-
erally warmer than in layers aloft, and this aver-
Clement, A. C., Richard, S., Cane, M. A., & Zebiak, age temperature differentiation is the normal
S. E. (1996). An ocean dynamical thermostat. lapse rate.
Journal of Climate, 9, 2190–2196. The dry adiabatic lapse rate applies to temper-
Philander, S. (1985). El-Niño and La-Niña. Journal ature changes in an unsaturated parcel of air
of the Atmospheric Sciences, 42, 2652–2662. that is physically changing elevations. The atmo-
Ropelewski, C. F., & Halpert, M. S. (1989). spheric pressure surrounding a parcel of rising air
Precipitation patterns associated with the high decreases, so it expands and cools. Thus, the rate
phase of the Southern Oscillation Index. Journal of temperature change is greater than the normal
of Climate, 2, 268–284. lapse rate. The dry adiabatic lapse rate is about
10 nC/1,000 m, or 5.5 nF/1,000 ft.
&,*- LA P S E R ATE

air temp. = −3°C

dew pt. temp. = −3°C
WET ADIABATIC elevation = 4000 m
LAPSE RATE

air temp. = 2°C DRY ADIABATIC

dew pt. temp. = 2°C LAPSE RATE
elevation = 3000 m
DRY ADIABATIC
Parcel is warming and relative
LAPSE RATE
humidity is decreasing
air temp. = 22°C
dew pt. temp. = 2°C air temp. = 27°C
elevation = 1000 m dew pt. temp. = −3°C
elevation = 1000 m
wind NORMAL LAPSE RATE

ESLT = 28.5°C ESLT = 21.5°C ESLT = 23°C ESLT = 33.5°C

sea level

Parcel of air rises and cools at dry adiabatic lapse rate

Parcel reaches dew point temperature and cools at wet adiabatic lapse rate
Net condensation ends as parcel begins warming at the dry adiabatic lapse rate
Parcel at same original elevation has warmer temperature and lower relative humidity
Equivalent sea level temperature (ESLT) of parcel directly above on the mountain

Figure 1 Lapse rates example diagram

Source: Author.

As unsaturated air cools, the relative humidity equivalent sea-level temperature results from cal-
rises, and the temperature approaches the dew culations to remove the impact of elevation and
point temperature. Once cooled to the dew point convert the temperature to zero elevation units.
temperature, net condensation exceeds net evapo- The dry adiabatic lapse rate applies while the tem-
ration, and latent heat stored by the moisture is perature remains above the dew point temperature
released to the environment in a warming effect. moving up the mountain. On reaching the dew
Thus, a parcel of rising saturated air will not cool point temperature, when the air becomes saturated
as rapidly as rising unsaturated air. The result is and the net condensation begins building clouds,
the wet adiabatic lapse rate of 5 nC/1,000 m or the temperature drops at the wet adiabatic lapse
3.0 nF/1,000 ft. This rate depends on the amount rate as it continues to rise. Air moving back down
of condensing moisture. the leeward side of the mountain will warm at the
dry adiabatic rate (Figure 1).
If condensation has occurred on the windward
Application of Lapse Rates
side of the mountain, the subsiding air on the lee-
Typically, a mountain example is used to model ward side will be warmer and drier than the air at
the temperature changes of the air. The normal the same elevation on the windward side, because
lapse rate is used if temperatures are being com- of the moisture removed by condensation and the
pared from one location to another or to eliminate latent heat released to the air. The lower humidi-
the impact of elevation on the temperature. The ties and higher temperatures on the leeward side
 LA P SE R A TE &,*.

of a mountain range produce a rain shadow effect, parcel behavior. Atmospheric stability depends
which accounts for some regions’ arid and semi- on the relationship between the environmental
arid climates. lapse rates and the adiabatic lapse rate. A parcel
of air forced to rise for any reason will move
through air layers, which changes the tempera-
Lapse Rates, Air Parcel Movement,
ture at the environmental lapse rate. If this local
and Atmospheric Hazards
temporal rate is less than the dry adiabatic lapse
Lapse rates are very important for understanding rate, the rising air will be warmer than the sur-
cloud formation, because the rate of temperature rounding air. It will resist vertical movement and
change in the moving air affects the level at which thereby will be stable. However, if the environ-
condensation begins. Four processes cause air to mental lapse rate is greater than the dry adiabatic
rise: (1) convergence occurs when winds meet, as lapse rate, the rising air will end up warmer and
at the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and lighter than the surrounding air. This situation
the polar front; (2) convection makes air rise yields instability and invokes continued lifting of
because of density differences; (3) air rises at fron- the air. Extreme instability is associated with
tal boundaries as the warmer, lighter air overrides strong thunderstorms and tornado development.
the cooler, heavier air; and (4) orographic lifting Intermediate situations may yield conditional
forces air over a topographic barrier, such as the instability (Figure 2).
mountain in the previous illustration. Regardless In some situations, the environmental lapse
of the cause, the rising air will cool as the decreased rate may show a temperature increase with height.
atmospheric pressure results in expansion. Such a layer is a temperature inversion, and due
The lapse rates are averages, but in the absence to the stability provided by these warmer layers,
of actual measurements, they are helpful in pre- atmospheric mixing becomes limited. Pollutants
dicting atmospheric conditions and modeling air may become concentrated below this warm layer

Absolute Stability
Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate Wet Adiabatic Lapse Rate
8,000 8,000
7,000 7,000
6,000 6,000
Altitude (m)

Altitude (m)

5,000 5,000
4,000 4,000
3,000 3,000
2,000 2,000
1,000 1,000
0 0
−70 −60 −50 −40 −30 −20 −10 0 10 20 30 −70 −60 −50 −40 −30 −20 −10 0 10 20 30
Temperature (°C) Temperature (°C)

Environmental Rising Air Environmental Rising Air

Environmental Lapse Rate 4°C

Figure 2 Atmospheric stability and instability (Continued)

&,+% LA P S E R ATE

Absolute Instability
Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate Wet Adiabatic Lapse Rate
8,000 8,000
7,000 7,000
6,000 6,000
Altitude (m)

Altitude (m)
5,000 5,000
4,000 4,000
3,000 3,000
2,000 2,000
1,000 1,000
0 0
−70 −60 −50 −40 −30 −20 −10 0 10 20 30 −70 −60 −50 −40 −30 −20 −10 0 10 20 30
Temperature (°C) Temperature (°C)

Environmental Rising Air Environmental Rising Air

Environmental Lapse Rate 11°C

Conditional Instability Generalization

8,000
7,000 Conditional
Instability
6,000
Absolute
Altitude (m)

5,000 Stability
Absolute
4,000 Instability
Altitude (m)

3,000
2,000
1,000
0
−70 −60 −50 −40 −30 −20 −10 0 10 20 30
Low Temperature (°C) high
Temperature (°C)

Environmental Rising Air Dry Wet

Environmental Lapse Rate 8°C Environmental Lapse Rate Values

Dew Point Temperature 1°C

Figure 2 (Continued)
Source: Author.

rather than thoroughly dispersed. Air quality Lapse rates control the patterns of condensa-
advisories, alerts, and warnings may be issued, tion, air movement, and air quality. Although lapse
directed especially at persons with respiratory rates may be variable, their inclusion in atmo-
problems and other health risks (Figure 3). spheric models aids prediction and forecasting.
 LA T ENT HE AT &,+&

LATENT HEAT
Latent heat is the energy absorbed or released in
the form of heat by a substance when it changes
its physical state (i.e., solid, liquid, or gas). The
change associated with the solid-liquid transition
Altitude (m)

Inversion Layer is called the latent heat of fusion (melting), and

the change associated with the liquid-gas transi-
tion is called the latent heat of evaporation (boil-
Mixing Layer ing). The International System of Units (SI) for
latent heat is joules per kilogram or kilojoules per
kilogram (kJ/kg). Because 1 cal/g (calorie per
Temperature (°C)
gram) = 4.185 kJ/kg, for pure water, the latent
heat of melting of 65 cal/g = 272 kJ/kg and the
Environmental
latent heat of evaporation at 10 nC of 425 cal/g =
Rising Air
1.78 r 103 kJ/kg. It is important to note that the
amount of latent heat involved in a process
depends on the temperature at which the process
Figure 3 Temperature inversion is occurring.
Source: Author.

Latent Heat in the Ocean Heat Budget

The temperature differences that result between Latent heat in the ocean results from evaporation
moving air and air at rest contribute to the com- at the ocean surface. As water changes from liq-
plexity and variability of local weather conditions. uid in the ocean to vapor in the atmosphere, the
ocean loses energy in the form of the latent heat
Miriam Helen Hill of vaporization, and the atmosphere gains heat
when the vapor condenses. Since water vapor
See also Adiabatic Temperature Changes; Atmospheric pressure depends on temperature, sea surface
Moisture; Atmospheric Pressure; Climate: Mountain; temperature is an important parameter in deter-
Clouds; Precipitation Formation; Radiation: Solar and mining the latent heat flux. The oceans effectively
Terrestrial; Temperature Patterns capture a major portion (about 50%) of the sun’s
radiated energy and transfer much of it to the
atmosphere as latent heat of vaporization and as
Further Readings radiation. The rate of heat flow is expressed in
joules per second (J/s) per square meter, or watts
Ackerman, S., & Knox, J. A. (2006). Meteorology: per square meter (W/m2) (1 W = 1 J/s).
Understanding the atmosphere (2nd ed.). Belmont, The analysis of atmospheric modeled data for
CA: Brooks/Cole. the 1958–2001 period in the Mediterranean Sea
Aguado, E., & Burt, J. E. (2009). Understanding reveals that the time-mean latent heat is nega-
weather and climate (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, tive for the whole domain, with a mean value
NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. of 88 W/m2. Its temporal mean ranges from
Ahrens, C. D. (2008). Meteorology today: An 20 W/m2 in the Alborán Sea (Western Mediter-
introduction to weather, climate, and the ranean) to 125 W/m2 in the Levantine basin,
environment (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole. Aegean Sea, and Gulf of Lions. Regarding its
Lutgens, F. K., Tarbuck, E. J., & Tasa, D. (2009). seasonal cycle, the minimum value ( 125 W/m2)
The atmosphere: An introduction to meteorology is detected by mid November and the maximum
(11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ( 51 W/m2) by mid May. The amplitude of the
seasonal cycle is 37 W/m2. In terms of total heat
&,+' LA T I T UDE

45°N

42°N

39°N

36°N

33°N

30°N
10°W 0° 10°E 20°E 30°E

Figure 1 Spatial distribution of the temporal mean of latent heat (in watts per square meter) over the
Mediterranean Sea using 44 years (1958–2001) of atmospheric model data. The main regional subbasins are
indicated.
Source: Adapted from Ruiz, S., Gomis, D., Sotillo, M. G., & Josey, S. A. (2008). Characterization of surface heat fluxes in the
Mediterranean Sea from a 44-year high-resolution atmospheric data set. Global and Planetary Change, 63, 258–274.

budget, which takes into account all the com- Further Readings
ponents (latent heat, sensible heat, long-wave
radiation, and shortwave radiation), there is a Gill, A. E. (1982). Atmosphere-oceans dynamics
practical cancellation ( 1 W/m2) of the heat flux (International Geophysics Series, Vol. 30). New
components for the whole period mentioned York: Academic Press.
above (see Figure 1). Ruiz, S., Gomis, D., Sotillo, M. G., & Josey, S. A.
In conclusion, latent heat is one of the most (2008). Characterization of surface heat fluxes in
variable terms in the global heat budget, and it is the Mediterranean Sea from a 44-year high-
crucial at short (e.g., heavy precipitation) and resolution atmospheric data set. Global and
longer timescales (e.g., interannual variability). Planetary Change, 63, 258–274.
New international long-term experimental pro- Zemansky, M. W., & Dittman, R. H. (1981). Heat
grams aim at better quantification and under- and thermodynamics. New York: McGraw-Hill.
standing of the hydrological cycle, and particularly
of latent heat. Estimates of latent heat will
improve with increasing high-resolution in situ
and remote data (ship campaigns, buoy stations,
and satellite measurements) and will be useful for LATITUDE
both numerical weather prediction models and
climate models.
Latitude is the angular distance of a position from
Simón Ruiz the equator to the nearest pole. However, latitude
can acquire different meanings if inappropriately
See also Adiabatic Temperature Changes; Atmospheric applied to other locations on Earth.
Energy Transfer; Atmospheric Moisture; Differential Often expressed in degrees from the equator
Heating; Lapse Rate; Temperature Patterns (positive north and negative south), latitude can
 LA W, GEOGR A P HY O F &,+(

be expressed in a variety of units (radians, grads, the angular distance along a line of longitude
semicircles, arc seconds, or mils) and formats ( / from the equator to a point on Earth.
or N/S, to indicate the hemisphere; degrees: min- Other latitudes have been defined on Earth,
utes and fractional minutes; or degrees: minutes: including astronomic, auxiliary equidistant, geo-
seconds and fractional seconds). Since one minute magnetic, magnetic, and transverse. Surveyors
of latitude is equal to one nautical mile latitude, use the word for the y value in a traverse defined
tick marks are used on charts as a local graphic in a plane coordinate system.
scale. Without reference to a specific geodetic The importance for geography is that these
datum, latitude values will point to different latitudes are represented by significantly different
places on Earth. angles, making their appropriate selection and
If Earth were perfectly spherical, then the gen- use critical for positioning and analysis.
eral definition for geographic latitude might suf-
Peter H. Dana
fice—that is, the angle from the equatorial plane
for a line from the center of mass of the spherical
See also Datums; Earth’s Coordinate Grid; Equator;
Earth to a position. Earth and its gravity field are
Geodesy; Longitude
slightly elliptical in shape. The distance from the
center of Earth to the equator is about 21 km
(kilometers) longer than the distance from the
center to either pole. A consequence of this flat- Further Readings
tened spherical shape, an ellipsoid of rotation, is
that the force of gravity is only exactly toward American Society of Civil Engineers. (1994). The
the center of mass of Earth along the equator or glossary of mapping sciences. Bethesda, MD:
at either pole. Everywhere else, the plumb bob, Author.
the bubble level, or the horizon at sea, the refer- National Geodetic Information Center. (1986).
ences for local level, are affected by the ellipsoidal Geodetic glossary. Rockville, MD: Author.
gravity surface that is perpendicular to a line from Snyder, J. P. (1987). Map projections: A working
a position toward but slightly away from the cen- manual (USGS Professional Paper No. 1395).
ter of the Earth. The angle between the equatorial Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
plane and a line perpendicular to the ellipsoid Torge, W. (1991). Geodesy (2nd ed.). New York:
surface that passes through a position is the geo- deGruyter.
detic latitude.
There are other latitudes. If one measures posi-
tion with respect to a sphere that has the same
surface area as a reference ellipsoid, the north-
south angle is the authalic latitude. Geocentric LAW, GEOGRAPHY OF
latitude is the angle, similar to geographic lati-
tude for a sphere, between the equatorial plane Work on the geography of law focuses on the
and the center of the ellipsoid. There is a para- relationships of law and legal questions to the
metric (or reduced) latitude, defined as the angle study of spatial phenomena. Initially developed
between the equatorial plane and a line from the by a community of scholars working across their
center of the ellipsoid perpendicular to a surface respective disciplines, it took shape as a subdisci-
defined by a sphere tangent to the ellipsoid along pline in its own right in the 1990s, usually referred
the equator or the latitude on a sphere for which to as legal geography, with a modest if growing
the parallel has the same radius as the parallel of presence in English language geography. In the
geodetic latitude on the ellipsoid through the broadest terms, work in this tradition posits that
same point. Conformal latitude is a transforma- there exists a serious and substantial link between
tion of geodetic latitude that allows a conformal law (reflected in legislation, court decisions,
mapping using spherical geometry. Isometric lati- administrative tribunals, etc.) and the geographi-
tude is proportional to the parallels on an ellip- cal shape of the social, political, and cultural
soidal Mercator projection. Rectifying latitude is worlds. This is seen in many different ways, from
&,+) LA W , GEOG RAPHY OF

the legal organization of international relations scholarship, critical legal studies has both unset-
down to municipal ordinances governing urban tled existing claims about rights and proposed
zoning and districting, the placement of public more radically open-ended approaches to under-
parks and monuments, and the organization standing rights under the law.
of labor protests and panhandling. While the The break with classical understandings of law
research themes taken up are not radically differ- initiated by this movement was in turn extremely
ent from those in other areas of geography, it is important for the community of legal scholars
the emphasis on the long-ignored connection and geographers, who, from the late 1980s,
between law and space that sets apart this field. started to bring the two disciplines into an inter-
disciplinary dialogue. If legal scholarship was
concerned with rights and the law in a fairly
Origins
abstract sense, legal geographers were more con-
The interface of law and geography has been of cerned with examining what Nicholas Blomley
interest since at least the 19th century, when dubbed the “law-space nexus,” the ways in which
geographers, legal thinkers, and ethnologists geographical space figures in the legal field and
sought to determine the influence that climate, the ways in which law, in turn, shapes space.
environment, and social organization might have Property law, for example, posits a set of power-
on the laws governing different “primitive” and laden spatial relationships between owners, who
“advanced” peoples. For the most part, however, claim a kind of exclusive jurisdiction over a par-
law has developed independently of the social sci- cel of land, and nonowners, who enjoy a far more
ences, geography included. Modern legal thought, limited set of rights to the properties they may
driven by positivist and normative perspectives, lease, rent, or otherwise use. Governing a society
has long understood law as an autonomous and in which private property is seen in these terms
internally coherent sphere of human knowledge. requires not just the requisite legal texts but also
In this sense, it is often held at an intellectual dis- a range of geographical strategies, from land sur-
tance from the material world in which it is veys to cadastral maps, zoning laws, antitrespass-
applied, leaving it “uncontaminated” by politi- ing ordinances, and so on.
cal, social, or cultural concerns. This is not a On a broader scale, international legal texts
view that encourages cross-disciplinary collabo- such as the Geneva Convention on refugees estab-
ration, and while geographers do often engage lish and reinforce an organization of global space
with other disciplines, law has not traditionally in which citizens are defined as people who belong
been one of them. to a particular nation-state. Those caught outside
In the 1960s and 1970s, however, scholars of their state risk being left in a kind of geographi-
law began to rethink the discipline’s isolation cal netherworld, as Viktor Navorski, played by
from the social sphere. This body of work, typi- Tom Hanks in the 2004 movie The Terminal, dis-
cally dubbed “critical legal studies,” sought covers. Indeed, the legal geographies of refugee
to challenge orthodox understandings of law, flows can be seen in the proliferation of “state-
which invariably portrayed the latter as some- less” and “lawless” spaces around the world,
how “above” society and removed from politics the most prominent being in Guantánamo Bay,
and culture. Critical legal studies sought to show Cuba, where several hundred “enemy combat-
how, despite claims to the contrary, law natural- ants” were—from 2001 until the U.S. Supreme
izes and normalizes particular kinds of social Court’s ruling (Boumediene et al. v. Bush,
and political relationships and distributions of June 12, 2008)—held in a legally defined state of
power. In the U.S. context, this notion is seen in limbo, neither fully part of nor fully apart from
terms of rights: The way in which the law and U.S. legal jurisdiction. Seen as disruptive to the
the courts address rights to abortion, sexual dis- settled geographies of nation-states, refugees,
crimination, privacy, or free speech are under- enemy combatants, and other displaced persons
scored by culturally and socially specific ideas present a legal-geographic paradox of sorts, expos-
about what makes for a “good” society. By ana- ing the geographical fault lines and limits of the
lyzing legislative texts, jurisprudence, and legal international legal system.
 LA W, GEOGR A P HY O F &,+*

Emphases Research Directions

Law, then, is an important way in which the A sizable body of scholarship has been devoted to
world is given spatial shape, from the global to examining how law frames space, that is, how
the local, and scholarship on the geography of geography is embedded within legal reasoning
law is appropriately diverse in its concerns and and how legislatures and courts make (sometimes
approaches. Nonetheless, a few common trends unconscious) claims about the relationship
are apparent. First, legal geography is deeply between people and place when they draft, exam-
concerned with power and with the spatial orga- ine, and overturn laws. At the international scale,
nization of relations of power and rule. In par- this idea is seen in legal struggles to govern trade
ticular, law is seen not simply as oppression but and human migration into the European Union
as a way of producing commonsense arguments or at the United States/Mexico border. In such
about the world that naturalize the operations cases, the law is a key forum through which spa-
of power in and across geographical space. In tial borders, barriers, and limits are both pulled
this regard, it connects to a wide range of work down and reestablished. At finer scales, too, court
in the social sciences where power is a focal rulings and legislative texts provide valuable
point of analysis. As in critical legal studies, a insights into how ideas about community and
good deal of work here is explicitly critical in identity are inscribed in legalized common sense.
nature, often adopting Marxist or poststructur- In the United States, for instance, courts have
alist interpretative tools. Second, work in legal been called to evaluate the legality of the electoral
geography has focused largely on urban and districts created after each census, leading to often
“local” spatial scales of analysis, such as the aesthetic judgments about the “natural” shape
community, the region, and the city. Other spa- of communities and the relationship between
tial scales, though, often emerge in analyses of geography and identity. Like citizenship, commu-
the nested and overlapping jurisdictions that nity is a profoundly geographical category, one
typically govern the law’s application, such as in that is often hard to separate from a territorial
decisions over whether federal, state, or provin- unit of space. Here, the law is a powerful medium
cial legal authorities have jurisdiction over work- where some claims about what constitutes a com-
place safety. Third, while the past two decades munity are deemed legitimate while others are
or so have seen a proliferation of case studies not—the sort of judgment that people might well
that deal with the geography of law, relatively make on a day-to-day basis but that, when legally
little work has been done on the subfield’s meth- enshrined, carries numerous implications for
odological frameworks. This void contrasts political and social life. Other work has sought to
sharply with other areas of human geography, analyze laws and legal reasoning relating to the
economic and social geography in particular, development and restoration of parks, monu-
where the same period has witnessed a relative ments, and other elements of the built environ-
explosion in debates over these questions. The ment, tracing the legal landscape often at work
subfield, in short, is fluid and dynamic, provid- within the geographical landscape of the built
ing little in the way of orthodoxy or canonical environment.
texts through which to anchor the reader. Geographers and anthropologists have also
The remainder of this entry proceeds by identi- scrutinized the lived geographies of law, the ways
fying three broad approaches that have found in which law, geography, and power are experi-
their place within the geography of law. These are enced in everyday life. Struggles over community-
neither exhaustive nor mutually exclusive catego- policing tactics and the spatial spread of legal aid
rizations, and scholars who do the work described clinics and health care services point to how law,
below might not all describe themselves as legal space, and power operate within a sociospatial
geographers (although some certainly would). context. Ethnographic accounts of police work
Rather, the discussion is meant to offer a prelimi- chronicle how law enforcement authorities use a
nary sense of the field and its approaches to the series of geographical strategies to police and con-
intersections of law, politics, society, and space. trol the populations under their purview, while
&,++ LEA R N I NG RE G IONS

work on gypsies and refugees has sought to map Geospatial Information; Political Geography; Privacy
how these populations negotiate their passage and Security of Geospatial Information; Public Space;
from place to place and contend with law enforce- Refugees; Resistance, Geographies of; Social Geography;
ment authorities. Also, scholarship addresses the Social Justice; Urban Geography; Urban Policy
geographies of privacy, wiretapping, and the legal
governance of sidewalk spaces, labor strikes, and
the like. Here, courts, legislators, and city coun- Further Readings
cils have sought to govern the kinds of privacy
and autonomy that should be accorded to people Blomley, N. K. (1989). Text and context: Rethinking
in public spaces, creating a set of geographical the law-space nexus. Progress in Human
claims about where, exactly, the public and the Geography, 13, 512–534.
private are found that affect public life and auton- Blomley, N., Delaney, D., & Ford, R. (Eds.). (2001).
omy in important ways. The legal geographies reader: Law, power, and
Finally, research has focused on geographies of space. London: Blackwell.
resistance. In many instances, the spatial conse- Boumediene et al. v. Bush, 128 S. Ct. 2229 (2008).
quences of the law have provoked popular move- Curry, M. R. (2000). The power to be silent:
ments (strikes, protests, occupation) designed to Testimony, identity, and the power of place.
disrupt its intended application and to highlight Historical Geography, 28, 5–16.
the disruptions and violence that take place when Holder, J., & Harrison, C. (2003). Law and
the law is used to disrupt or destroy complex pat- geography. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
terns of social relations. Resistance to the gentrifi- Mitchell, D. (2003). The right to the city: Social
cation of lower-income neighborhoods, for justice and the fight for public space. New York:
instance, highlights how law in the form of urban Guilford Press.
planning policy and policing techniques has
prompted the creation of social and political
movements designed to challenge the spatial strat-
egies of state control to which these communities
are often subjected. In this way, the law has LEARNING REGIONS
emerged as a repressive and controlling force and,
in turn, as a site of resistance. The concept of learning regions reflects the rapid
economic development in places such as the
“Third Italy” (that country’s high-technology
Conclusion zone centered on Emilia-Romagna), which drew
attention to the importance of cooperation
The geography of law offers a rich and complex
between small- and medium-sized establishments
way of thinking about the relationship between
(SMEs) in industrial districts and between firms
law and space, providing valuable insights into
and local authorities at the regional level in
the shifting juridical-spatial parameters of the
achieving international competitiveness. Theoret-
social, political, and cultural worlds. Ongoing
ically, the idea reflects the view of post-Fordist
research, in turn, has sought to draw the field of
societies as learning economies, where innovation
legal geography out of the Anglo-American con-
is seen as a socially and territorially embedded,
text and into other national and institutional con-
interactive learning process that cannot be under-
texts. Also, increasing attention is being paid to
stood independently of its institutional and cul-
the connections between law, space, and environ-
tural contexts.
ment, a departure from the traditional focus on
Although these contributions share a common
law, space, and society.
emphasis on the important role of innovation as
Henry Sivak contextualized social processes of interactive
learning, they also disclose interesting differences.
See also Citizenship; Crime, Geography of; Geoslavery; One such difference can be identified between the
Immigration; Justice, Geography of; Legal Aspects of American and European approaches. Learning
 LEA R NING R EGIO N S &,+,

regions in a North American context are closely system primarily incorporates the research and
associated with the knowledge infrastructure of development (R&D) functions of universities,
leading universities and research institutions, public and private research institutes, and corpo-
which play an essential role in a knowledge-based rations, reflecting a top-down model of innova-
economy, producing, attracting, and retaining tion. A broader conception of innovation systems
highly skilled workers (e.g., Silicon Valley). In includes all aspects of the economic structure and
contrast, the focus of learning regions in a Euro- the organizational and institutional context
pean context is more on the role that social capi- affecting learning and innovation in a region.
tal and trust play in promoting formal and This type of regional innovation system may be
informal interfirm networks and the process of denoted as a “territorially embedded regional
interactive learning (e.g., the industrial districts in innovation system,” in which firms base their
the Third Italy). As the differences in these inter- innovation activity mainly on localized learning
pretations of learning regions demonstrate, the processes stimulated by geographical, social, and
concept can be fuzzy, and its use both theoreti- cultural proximity, without much direct interac-
cally and practically is rather flexible. To provide tion with knowledge-creating organizations (i.e.,
an analytically more precise understanding, the R&D institutes and universities).
next section of this entry identifies three impor-
tant building blocks of the concept.
Learning and Innovation
in Regional Economies
Building Blocks of the
According to the perspective on learning regions
Concept of Learning Regions
as regionally based development coalitions, they
The concept of learning regions has been used in should be looked on as a way to formulate long-
at least three different ways. The notion was term, partnership-based development strategies
originally introduced by economic geographers initiating learning-based processes of innovation
in the mid 1990s, when they used it to emphasize and change. In the promotion of learning regions,
the role played by cooperation and collective the interlinkages of learning organizations rang-
learning in regional clusters and networks to pro- ing from work organizations inside firms to dif-
mote the innovativeness and competitiveness of ferent actors of the community, or “regional
firms and regions. The second approach origi- development coalitions,” are highlighted. Of
nates from the writings of evolutionary and insti- strategic importance in this context is the capac-
tutional economics, where innovation is seen as a ity of people, organizations, networks, and
socially and territorially embedded, interactive regions to learn. The concept of a learning region
learning process, making knowledge the most can thus be used to describe a region character-
fundamental resource and learning the most ized by innovative activity based on localized,
important process. The third approach, which interactive learning and cooperation promoted
conceptualizes learning regions as regionally by organizational innovations to exploit learning-
based development coalitions, was developed by based competitiveness. This view implies a broad
organizational researchers taking their knowl- understanding of a regional innovation system
edge of how to form intrafirm and interfirm with a strong focus on competence building in
learning organizations and applying it at the addition to learning and innovation. Thus,
regional level as a bottom-up, horizontally based knowledge and innovation should not simply be
cooperation among different actors in a local or equated with R&D. Innovative activities have
regional setting. much broader knowledge bases than just science-
When learning regions are defined in this way, based R&D, and there are many examples of
they resemble a regional innovation system, incor- nations and regions demonstrating rapid eco-
porating the elements of a bottom-up, interactive nomic growth and a high living standard with an
innovation model. The innovation system con- industry competing on the bases of non-R&D-
cept can be understood in both narrow and broad based incremental innovations (e.g., Denmark
ways. A narrow definition of the innovation and the Third Italy).
&,+- LEF EB V RE , HE NRI

The attractiveness of the concept of learning

regions to planners and politicians lies in its prom- Morgan, K. (1997). The learning region: Institutions,
ise of economic growth and job generation as well innovation and regional renewal. Regional
as social cohesion. As such, learning regions may Studies, 31, 491–504.
be analyzed as a response and a challenge at the Piore, M., & Sabel, C. (1984). The second industrial
regional level, especially for regions with weak divide: Possibilities for prosperity. New York:
territorial competence bases, to contemporary Basic Books.
changes in the global economy, underlining the Rutten, R., & Boekema, F. (Eds.). (2007). The
strategic role played by social capital’s emphasis learning region. Foundations, state of the art,
on the social and cultural aspects of regions facili- future. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
tating collective action for mutual benefit. Thus, it Storper, M. (1993). Regional “worlds” of
is not accidental that this approach to learning production. Regional Studies, 27, 433–455.
regions was used by the European Union as part Woolcock, M. (1998). Social capital and economic
of new policies to promote the less developed development: Toward a theoretical synthesis and
regional economies within it. policy framework. Theory and Society, 27,
151–208.
Bjørn Asheim

See also Agglomeration Economies; Clusters;

Competitive Advantage; Flexible Production; High
Technology; Industrial Districts; Innovation, Geography LEFEBVRE, HENRI
of; Knowledge, Geography of; Knowledge Spillovers; (1901–1991)
Los Angeles School; Regional Economic Development;
Research and Development, Geographies of;
Most well known to geographers today on
Technological Change, Geography of; Urban and
account of his elaboration of the spatial character
Regional Development
of contemporary capitalism, Henri Lefebvre also
has an honored place in what is called cultural
studies due to the interdisciplinary nature of his
Further Readings writings. Born in Hagetmau in the Pyrenees, Lefe-
bvre became a professor of both philosophy and
Asheim, B. (1996). Industrial districts as “learning sociology and ultimately a prominent French
regions”: A condition for prosperity? European intellectual whose life spanned almost the entirety
Planning Studies, 4(4), 379–400. of the 20th century (1901–1991). The expansive
Asheim, B. (2000). Industrial districts: The character of his life parallels his prolific output as
contributions of Marshall and beyond. In the author of more than 60 books, many of which
G. Clark, M. Feldman, & M. Gertler (Eds.), The still await translation from French into English.
Oxford handbook of economic geography Although the breadth of topics covered in his
(pp. 413–431). Oxford, UK: Oxford University works is staggering, two of this self-proclaimed
Press. Marxist philosopher’s most enduring themes cen-
Asheim, B., & Gertler, M. (2005). The geography ter on everyday life and the production of space.
of innovation: Regional innovation systems. In To understand Lefebvre’s life—and his life’s
J. Fagerberg, D. Mowery, & R. Nelson (Eds.), The work—is to understand the key problems of the
Oxford handbook of innovation (pp. 291–317). 20th century as a whole. Moved by the large and
Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. violent struggles that coincided with his early life,
Florida, R. (1995). Towards the learning region. namely, World War I and the Russian Revolu-
Futures, 27(5), 527–536. tion, Lefebvre came to be regarded as a lifelong
Lundvall, B.-Å. (2008). National innovation systems: committed activist. He shared ideas with propo-
Analytical concept and development tool. Industry nents of surrealism and existentialism such as
& Innovation, 14(1), 95–119. André Breton and Jean-Paul Sartre, and during
World War II, he became a resistance fighter in
 LEF EBV R E, HEN RI &,+.

the south of France. After the war, he worked as economic but also social, political, ideological,
a taxi driver in Paris, gaining the significant and philosophical. The subject matter of the three
knowledge of city life that is expressed in his the- volumes of the Critique blends literary and cul-
oretical writings. He cultivated an often turbulent tural analysis with philosophy and the social, eco-
relationship with the French Communist Party nomic, and historical changes of the postwar
from 1928 until his expulsion in 1957, soon after- period. This eclectic approach is continued and
ward publishing an autobiography titled La even taken to its limits in the posthumously pub-
somme et le reste [The sum and the rest] in 1959. lished volume titled Rhythmanalysis (1992), a
His friendship with the Situationists, including term that Lefebvre attributes to the work of Gas-
Guy Debord, ended in a dispute over the owner- ton Bachelard in the second volume of the Cri-
ship of ideas. Still, Lefebvre was regarded as one tique. Partly written in collaboration with his wife,
of the intellectual godfathers of the upheavals of Catherine Régulier, this group of essays has been
May 1968, and he published The Explosion (1968), considered a fourth volume of the Critique. In the
a depiction of the events of that year. He also claim made throughout the essays for a less ana-
came to heavily denounce the structuralism of lytical approach to the rhythms of everyday life,
Louis Althusser, who reciprocated Lefebvre’s feel- Lefebvre anticipates the attention given to mobil-
ings of contempt. ity by recent scholarship in geography. His Cri-
Although his life’s work is located at the inter- tique directly influenced Michel de Certeau’s book
sections of geography, sociology, literary criti- The Practice of Everyday Life and remains a semi-
cism, and urban studies, Lefebvre initially moved nal text in the field of cultural studies as a whole.
to the Sorbonne in Paris during the 1920s as a Concurrently with the Critique, Lefebvre also
student of philosophy. There, he soon formed elaborated on the spatial character of capitalism,
part of a group of rebellious young philosophers giving particular attention to cities and the urban.
whose chief target of attack was Henri Bergson, a Critics have often taken the heart of his spatial
noted philosopher of temporality. Whereas both endeavor to be The Production of Space (1974),
thinkers were intent on reconciling philosophy where he outlines a dialectical understanding of
with lived experience, in contrast to Bergson, space as shaped and reshaped through represen-
Lefebvre underscored the encounter between phi- tational spaces, spaces of representation, and spa-
losophy and the ideas of Karl Marx. In The Sur- tial practices. Ultimately, for Lefebvre, space is
vival of Capitalism (1973), Lefebvre remarks that crucial not only to capitalism but also to the con-
although Marxian thought is not comprehensive testation of capital. In taking on the concept of
enough on its own, it is “indispensable,” as is space, he once again returns to a topic that he
evidenced by the titles of two of his works that states was insufficiently explored by Marx. Nev-
have seen English translation: Dialectical Materi- ertheless, his ideas on space and the urban were
alism (1939) and The Sociology of Marx (1966). not always well received, as is evidenced by his
It was Marx’s notion of alienation that first cap- conflict with Manuel Castells, his former assis-
tured Lefebvre’s attention, as demonstrated by tant in Nanterre, France, and author of The
his early work titled La conscience mystifiée Urban Question. History, however, has looked
(Mystified Consciousness, 1936, cowritten with favorably on this direction of Lefebvre’s work, as
Norbert Guterman and still untranslated). This can be seen in its revival, particularly in Anglo-
early work on a topic that he believed Marx had phonic criticism, by geographers such as David
not sufficiently explored brought Lefebvre to out- Harvey and Edward Soja. Among English lan-
line his most extensive and most ambitious proj- guage readers, one of his most widely read pieces
ect: a critique of “everyday life.” on urban space is “The Right to the City” (1968),
No fewer than three volumes of Lefebvre’s which continues to be an important work for
Critique of Everyday Life were published during geographers, among them Don Mitchell, who
his lifetime (1947, 1961, and 1981). In all of them, published a work with the same title in 2003.
he considers the topic from a characteristically In totality, Lefebvre’s work is an explicitly
interdisciplinary approach, continuing to flesh political project that reconciles Marx’s critique of
out the Marxist concept of alienation as not only capital with the textures of everyday life and the
&,,% LEGA L A SPE CTS OF G E OSPATIAL INF OR MA T ION

spatial concerns of the geographer. Although 3. Intellectual property rights

studying his life and work may not be enough to
4. Copyright
understand 20th-century events and thought, it is
indispensable. 5. Spatial data privacy

Benjamin Fraser 6. Evidentiary admissibility of GIS products

See also Castells, Manuel; Critical Human Geography;

Everyday Life, Geography and; Harvey, David;
Liability
Marxism, Geography and; Production of Space; Liability laws apply to organizations that use, sell,
Representations of Space; Soja, Edward; Spaces of or give geographic information as well as to pur-
Representation/Representational Spaces veyors of GIS software. U.S. courts have held GIS
providers liable and determined that they should
bear some financial responsibility for damages if
Further Readings their actions result in mistakes that damage or
harm others. Evolving case law deals with GIS
Aronowitz, S. (2007). The ignored philosopher and such as aeronautical and navigational maps, sub-
social theorist. Situations, 2(1), 133–156. jecting them to product liability laws. State and
Elden, S. (2004). Understanding Henri Lefebvre: local agencies that sell geographic information at a
Theory and the possible. London: Continuum. profit most likely face greater liability than agen-
Fraser, B. (2008). Toward a philosophy of the urban: cies that disseminate the information at cost,
Henri Lefebvre’s uncomfortable application of release information according to Freedom of Infor-
Bergsonism. Environment and Planning D: Society mation Act (FOIA) rules, or provide data for free.
and Space, 26(2), 338–358.
Lefebvre, H. (1991). The production of space
Public Access and Data Ownership
(D. Nicholson-Smith, Trans.). New York:
Wiley-Blackwell. (Original work published Property rights are at the heart of issues related to
1974) law as these rights are related to the ownership of
Merrifield, A. (2006). Henri Lefebvre: A critical geographic information. In the case of geographic
introduction. New York; London: Routledge. information, the owner of the data set also owns
Shields, R. (1999). Lefebvre: Love and struggle: the copyright to the information; thus, ownership
Spatial dialectics. London: Routledge. confers exclusivity of use and control of the infor-
mation. The U.S. federal government cannot legally
copyright the data it collects; furthermore, the
FOIA requires that data sell for no more than the
cost required to reproduce them. In contrast, U.S.
LEGAL ASPECTS OF state and local governments can legally own data,
GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION and some have used the sale of geographic infor-
mation as a means to generate revenues. Records
whose dissemination may pose a threat to national
Legal aspects of geospatial information refers to security may be withheld from use outside their
the legal requirements and restrictions governing originally intended purposes; however, the legal
the use of geographic information, including process permits individuals or organizations to
information generated through geographic infor- petition for the release of withheld information.
mation systems (GIS). There are six key legal
issues associated with geospatial information:
Intellectual Property Rights
1. Liability (contract and tort)
Intellectual property rights apply to several dif-
2. Public access to, use, and ownership of ferent fruits of intellectual labor: (a) original
geoinformation and geographic data works of authorship, (b) functional inventions,
 LEGA L A SP EC T S OF GEOSP A T IA L INF OR MA T IO N &,,&

(c) trademarks, and (d) trade secrets. Among these, Law regarding data privacy appears to be trend-
it is the first, original works of authorship, that is ing toward diminution of privacy rights. Gener-
most applicable to GIS. Traditional criminal law ally, legal decisions regarding Fourth Amendment
related to intellectual property rights is designed to protections against unreasonable search and sei-
handle rights associated with tangible objects, such zure have held that there is a difference between
as the physical written word; thus, it is ill prepared what occurs inside our homes (where we may
to address GIS data and information. Today, the expect protection of our privacy) and what occurs
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in public space. Codes of ethics represent an extra-
under the auspices of the United Nations since legal safeguard for data privacy; however, they do
1974, is addressing the unique issue of digital intel- not have the weight of law.
lectual property under its “Digital Agenda.”

Evidentiary Admissibility of GIS Products

Copyright
One last issue is how GIS products fare as evi-
Copyright is the legal means to protect intellec-
dence in courts of law. Evidence is material
tual property rights of original works of author-
offered in a court of law to persuade a jury about
ship, including GIS data and products. Copyright
the truth or falsity of a disputed fact. All federal
protection automatically resides in original works
courts in the United States abide by the rules of
of authorship, with no mark or notice required.
evidentiary admissibility published in the Federal
While publication is not a prerequisite for copy-
Rules of Evidence, and states follow similar sets
right protection, copyrighted work must be in a
of published rules.
tangible and identifiable physical form. Paper
There is a key contradiction in the admissibil-
maps were first covered by copyright protection
ity of GIS products: On the one hand, if GIS
as pieces of literature or art, under the Berne Con-
information is considered as purely a representa-
vention of 1886. Today, digital mapping media
tion of facts, then its admissibility is assured; on
and GIS data sets and software also meet this
the other hand, the classification of GIS products
standard. In the United States, a copyright is valid
as literary or artistic works under copyright laws
as long as its last author survives and remains
raises problems. The ease with which digital data
valid for an additional 70 years. The copyright on
may be altered, leaving no evidence of any
a work “made for hire” lasts for 75 years from its
changes, is another problem.
date of publication or for 100 years from the date
GIS information easily clears the first eviden-
it was created, whichever comes first.
tiary hurdle—that evidence must be relevant to be
deemed admissible; however, because GIS prod-
Privacy and Confidentiality ucts may be copyrighted as literature or art and
thus may be easily altered, GIS evidence is gener-
Data privacy and confidentiality are growing in
ally treated as “hearsay” and thus is generally not
importance in the GIS communities. The ability
admissible. There are exceptions; for example,
of GIS to combine previously unrelated databases
when the GIS evidence qualifies as a business
with specific locational information provides
record, developed in the course of regular business
improved means for tracking the whereabouts of
practice, it may be admissible. GIS evidence may
individuals. Concerns about privacy and confi-
also be treated as an exception to hearsay rules if it
dentiality stress the dangers of government-held
is determined to be authentic. To authenticate GIS
data, citing Orwellian “big brother” scenarios.
products, the developer must do the following:
The ability to match and integrate separate and
disparate digital databases collected by govern-
Show the input procedures used to get the data
ment poses a threat to our privacy, especially
into the computer
when they can be integrated with and augmented
by private data sets, such as those owned by insur- Show which tests were used to ensure the accuracy
ance companies or credit-reporting bureaus, in a and reliability of both the computer operations and
for-profit setting. the information that produced the data
&,,' LEW I S , P E IRCE

Demonstrate that the computer record was

generated in the regular course of business and that
LEWIS, PEIRCE (1927– )
the business did indeed rely on it
Peirce Lewis is a noted cultural geographer who
Legal issues in GIS have changed dramatically has played a key role in developing ways of
over the past decade, encompassing a growing understanding landscape. Lewis completed his
number of concerns that are increasing in com- BA (summa cum laude, 1950) in philosophy and
plexity and interrelatedness. GIS professionals are history at Albion College. He subsequently
wise to consult applicable statutes and case law earned both his MA (1953) and PhD (1958) in
to ensure that their operations comply with all geography from the University of Michigan.
applicable laws. After completing a National Science Foundation
fellowship at the University of Washington, he
Nancy J. Obermeyer joined the faculty in the geography department
at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) in
See also Business Models for Geographic Information
1958. Over the next 40 years, not only did his
Systems; Geoslavery; Privacy and Security of Geospatial
name become synonymous with one of the coun-
Information; Law, Geography of; Usability of Geospatial
try’s leading geography programs, but the qual-
Information
ity of his work also cultivated widespread appeal
and international recognition. Lewis’s 1985 pres-
idential address to the Association of American
Geographers (“Beyond Description”) articulates
Further Readings his discontent with mere geographic description.
His work has consistently probed great depths,
Cho, G. (1998). Geographic information systems and always seeking to better understand space, place,
the law: Mapping the legal frontiers. New York: and landscape. As a testament to the high quality
Wiley. of his scholarship, he was honored with numer-
Obermeyer, N. J., & Pinto, J. K. (1994). Managing ous awards and fellowships, including a Guggen-
geographic information systems. New York: heim (1986) and a Woodrow Wilson (1987)
Guilford Press. (See especially Chapter 13, “Legal fellowship. Furthermore, as befits a consummate
Issues in GIS”) professor, Lewis’s career has shown remarkable
Onsrud, H. J. (1992). Evidence generated from GIS. balance. He has repeatedly been recognized for
GIS Law, 1(3), 1–9. teaching excellence, including being the recipient
Onsrud, H. J. (1999). Liability in the use of of the highly coveted Lindback Award (1981),
geographic information systems and geographic Penn State’s most distinguished teaching award.
datasets. In P. Longley, D. Maguire, & D. Rhind In 1995, he retired from academia, yet he has
(Eds.), Geographical information systems: continued to build on his impressive career. Fol-
Vol. 2. Management issues and applications lowing on the heels of the 2003 J. B. Jackson
(pp. 643–652). New York: Wiley. Award for New Orleans: The Making of an
Onsrud, H. J., & Lopez, X. (1998). Intellectual Urban Landscape, in 2007, the Association of
property rights in disseminating digital geographic American Geographers bestowed on the former
data, products, and services: Conflicts and association president (1983) the Lifetime Achieve-
commonalties among European Union and United ment Award.
States approaches. In I. Masser & F. Salge (Eds.), For over five decades, Peirce Lewis published a
European geographic information infrastructures: series of seminal works on topics such as the
Opportunities and pitfalls (pp. 153–167). London: American landscape, the cultural geography of
Taylor & Francis. North America, human-environmental interac-
World Intellectual Property Organization. (n.d.). tion, cartographic analysis, geography and chil-
What is WIPO? Retrieved February 1, 2010, dren’s literature, and regional geomorphology.
from www.wipo.int/about-wipo/en/gib.htm Yet the one component that stands out is his
relentless pursuit of understanding the forces that
 LEWIS A ND C LA R K EXP EDIT IO N &,,(

shape the landscape. During the earlier stages of

his career, Lewis’s attention was focused primar-
LEWIS AND CLARK
ily on the natural environment and the principles EXPEDITION
of geomorphology. One of his most influential
mentors, Pierre Dansereau, helped cultivate Lew- Historical convention of long standing has it that
is’s appreciation of changes in the physical land- the expedition of Meriwether Lewis and William
scape. Later, the writings of Carl Sauer, J. B. Clark was dispatched by President Thomas Jeffer-
Jackson, and Henrie Glassey (an American folk- son in 1804 to explore the newly acquired terri-
lorist) became more central to his career, as his tory of Louisiana. In fact, the exploration of
professional gaze shifted toward cultural phe- Louisiana was a secondary part of the mission of
nomena. Lewis’s work has repeatedly stressed the Lewis and Clark. Their primary objective, made
importance of looking for patterns that signal the clear by Jefferson in a number of letters and other
meanings the landscape holds. No work exempli- documents, was to locate a commercially practical
fies his uncanny ability to interpret the landscape water route across the North American continent.
more than his 1979 signature piece, Axioms for In other words, Lewis and Clark were sent to find
Reading the Landscape. This publication not only the fabled Northwest Passage. That their expedi-
helps readers understand how to appreciate the tion (1804–1806) coincided with America’s acqui-
built environment, but it gives clues to reveal the sition of the vast territory of Louisiana—the entire
messages it is sending us. western portion of the Mississippi’s drainage
Lewis’s drive for understanding landscape basin—was simply fortuitous (see Figure 1).
change (both natural and cultural) has remained By the time Jefferson was elected president in
steadfast throughout his career. Contrary to his 1800, he had already made three aborted attempts
unassuming personality, Peirce Lewis’s work has to have some kind of water route between the
inspired and empowered geographers at all stages Mississippi and the Pacific explored. His thinking
in their careers. Fledgling graduate students share was simple and consistent with geographical the-
an equal admiration with seasoned professors for ory of the later Enlightenment: All major rivers
the quality and insightfulness of his publications. had a common source area where their headwa-
Many of today’s leading scholars can trace the ters interlocked. Since a short portage linked the
evolution of their geographic thought back to headwaters of the primary eastern branch of the
Peirce Lewis. Mississippi (the Ohio) and the headwaters of a
major river flowing to the Atlantic (e.g., the Poto-
Jeffrey S. Smith mac), the Jeffersonian concept of symmetrical
geography held that a short portage ought also to
See also Cultural Geography; Cultural Landscape; link the headwaters of the Mississippi’s major
Jackson, John Brinckerhoff; Meinig, Donald western tributary (the Missouri) and a stream,
such as the Columbia, flowing to the Pacific. Jef-
ferson impressed on Lewis that his mission had a
single overriding objective: to locate this hypo-
Further Readings thetical short portage between the upper Mis-
souri and upper Columbia, thereby ending a
Lewis, P. (1972). Small town in Pennsylvania. Annals centuries-long search for a water route through
of the Association of American Geographers, or around North America. Jefferson well knew
62(2), 323–351. that the country that discovered such a water
Lewis, P. (1985). Presidential address: Beyond route would possess enormous commercial
description. Annals of the Association of advantages, including control over the Indian
American Geographers, 75(4), 465–478. trade of the interior. To Jefferson, controlling
Lewis, P. (2003). New Orleans: The making of an commerce was the most important step to con-
urban landscape (2nd ed.). Richmond: University trolling territory, so the mission he set for Lewis
of Virginia Press. and Clark was, first, commercial but with an
unwritten imperial objective as well.
&,,) LEW I S AND CL ARK E X PE D ITION

Figure 1 A map of Lewis and Clark’s track across the western portion of North America, from the Mississippi
to the Pacific Ocean

Although Lewis, a long-time family friend of Jef- of scientific observation, and acquiring supplies in
ferson’s, was selected to lead the expedition, he Pittsburgh, Lewis traveled down the Ohio River in
prevailed on the President to add a co-commander, the summer of 1803, picking up Clark near the falls
William Clark, Lewis’s former commanding officer of the Ohio; the two recruited army and other per-
in the U.S. Army in Ohio and a close friend. Clark sonnel and went into winter encampment across
agreed, and after acquiring geographical informa- the Mississippi from St. Louis, at that time the
tion from Jefferson’s library, learning the rudiments jumping-off point for western travel.
 LEWIS A ND C LA R K EXP EDIT IO N &,,*

Source: Lewis, S. (Copyist), & Harrison, S. (Engraver). (1814). A map of Lewis and Clarks track. In P. Allen, N. Biddle, W. Clark,
& L. Meriwether (Eds.), History of the expedition under the command of Captains Lewis and Clark. Washington, DC: Library of
Congress, Geography and Maps Division.

After a winter spent preparing their command on the Jeffersonian notion of a short connection
for an arduous journey, the Lewis and Clark between the upper Missouri and the upper Colum-
expedition started up the Missouri River on May bia Rivers. By late fall of 1804, the expedition
14, 1804. Clark’s estimates indicate that they had reached only as far as Central North Dakota.
planned to reach the Pacific and travel back to St. They built Fort Mandan near the Knife River vil-
Louis within one traveling season. This highly lages of the Mandan and Hidatsa Indians. This
inaccurate calculation was, of course, predicated area had been, for 1,000 years, the central point
&,,+ LEW I S AND CL ARK E X PE D ITION

of Indian trade on the upper Missouri and was a miserable winter in the cold and damp of the
well-known location for white traders as well, Pacific Northwest.
who had been contacted by French traders out of The return trip, beginning in the spring of
Canada in the 1730s, and a favored destination 1806, was spent in sorting out some of the puz-
for St. Louis traders since the 1770s. Through the zles in western geography that still remained:
first leg of their journey, then, Lewis and Clark Where was the connecting link between the Mis-
were traveling through well-known territory. souri and Columbia rivers? Where was the com-
Beyond the Mandans, all was conjecture. During mon source area of the western streams? The
their winter sojourn with the Mandans and Hidat- captains split their command in an attempt to
sas, they learned much of the country to the west, solve these riddles and, in early August 1806,
and Clark prepared a map based on information rejoined near the confluence of the Yellowstone
from the Indians. This map—accurate in its basic and Missouri, reaching St. Louis on September
form but wildly out of scale—showed the source 23, 1806. There, they began the work of compil-
of the Missouri River only about 200 mi. (miles) ing the journal notes and maps of their 28-month
from the Pacific and just across a final dividing journey. Clark’s final map showed their answers
ridge from the Great River of the West, the to the remaining puzzles of western geography.
Columbia. During the summer and fall of 1805, But the connecting link still involved a long over-
the explorers would learn how inadequately they land journey of more than 140 mi. and included a
had been able to convert Indian information on difficult mountain crossing between Clark’s Fork
distances and direction into a Euro-American of the Columbia and the Missouri. And the com-
frame of reference. mon-source area that Clark postulated was a pure
Leaving the Knife River villages, the expedition geographical myth that bedeviled Western car-
traveled up the Missouri River, past the mouth of tographers for another four decades. On his final
the Yellowstone, past the Missouri’s Great Falls, map, Clark showed the sources of the Missouri,
and thence to the Three Forks of the Missouri, Yellowstone, Big Horn, Platte, Arkansas, Rio
where they took the westernmost branch—the Grande, Multnomah (a fictitious river based on
Jefferson River—which was believed to lead to mistaken impressions of the Willamette), and
the fabled short portage between Atlantic and Snake—all within an area of about 70 mi.2. The
Pacific waters. Certainly, the greatest disappoint- later explorations of the Rocky Mountain fur
ment of the entire expedition came in August traders would, by the 1840s, clear up this massive
2005, when Lewis crested the Continental Divide misconception. In the meantime, it colored Amer-
at Lemhi Pass in southwestern Montana and, icans’ views of the West and shaped the first
instead of seeing open plains with a huge river phases of western exploration by the fur trade
flowing toward the Pacific, saw only the immense between 1807 and 1836.
Bitterroot Mountains, their tops covered with For all the misconceptions that remained in
snow. A long and tortuous trek—down to the the final reports of Lewis and Clark, they were
Salmon River, which was deemed impassable, the first to have traversed the American West
over Lost Trail Pass to the Bitterroot River and and returned with voluminous reports—not just
then over the Bitterroot Mountains—brought the on mountains and rivers but also on vegetation
expedition again to navigable waters. In Septem- and soil and wildlife and indigenous peoples. On
ber 1805, they reached the Clearwater River, a their information, the first wave of American
tributary of the Snake that flows to the Columbia entrepreneurs entered the West—Manuel Lisa’s
and, thence, to the ocean. Jefferson’s short por- Missouri Fur Company and John Jacob Astor’s
tage had turned into an overland trip of 640 mi. American Fur Company. To paraphrase Bernard
through some of the most difficult terrain in DeVoto, Lewis and Clark gave the West to the
North America. The expedition finally reached American people, a West with which the mind
the Columbia’s estuary in November 1805 and, could deal. Their expedition marked the end of a
in December, built their winter encampment— three-century-long search for a Northwest Pas-
Fort Clatsop—near Pacific shores just south of sage. But it culminated in data that could be used
present-day Astoria, Oregon. Here, they spent a by real people in settling and using a real area,
 LEY , DA V I D &,,,

and in that sense, the expedition—based on the the racialized microgeographies of daily life in an
tenets of Enlightenment science—ultimately African American neighborhood in Philadelphia.
became successful in the context of American By the time he completed his doctoral studies,
utilitarianism. Ley was offered a job as an assistant professor in
Vancouver, Canada, in the department of geogra-
John Logan Allen
phy at the University of British Columbia, where
he still works today. In the years that followed,
See also Exploration; Jefferson, Thomas
Ley worked collaboratively with other social
geographers to build humanistic geography. With
Jim Duncan, he explored the relationship between
Further Readings landscape, aestheticization, and interpretive
frameworks and authored key texts in social
Allen, J. L. (1991). Lewis and Clark and the image of geography. Neighbourhood Organizations and
the American Northwest. New York: Dover. the Welfare State (published in 1994 with Shlomo
Jones, L. (2002). The essential Lewis and Clark. New Hasson) examined the struggles among inner-city
York: HarperCollins. neighborhood groups.
Moulton, G. M. (Ed.). (1983–2003). The journals of Ley quickly became an active citizen, student,
the Lewis and Clark expedition (13 vols.; includes professor, and researcher in Vancouver and began
Atlas [Vol. 1] and Index [Vol. 13]). Lincoln: a program of research on the urban and cultural
University of Nebraska Press. Available from geographies of the city that evolved throughout
http://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu his career. The focus of Ley’s research changed as
Moulton, G. M. (Ed.). (2003). The journals of the he studied the shifting cultural and economic
Lewis and Clark expedition (Abridged). Lincoln: forces in the city and suburbs, from the changes
University of Nebraska Press. bound up in processes of gentrification to the sig-
nificant demographic shifts driven by interna-
tional migration to Vancouver in the late 20th
century. His 1996 book on gentrification, The
LEY, DAVID (1947– ) New Middle Class and the Remaking of the Cen-
tral City, straddles the subdisciplines of urban
David Ley is a well-known humanistic geogra- and social geography, tracks the changing demo-
pher whose research has dealt with several topics, graphics in six Canadian cities as greater numbers
including symbolic landscapes, critiques of struc- of women enter the work force, and “follows the
tural Marxism, gentrification, immigration, and hippies” who search for particular urban lifestyles
urban neighborhoods. and landscapes. Ley’s most recent book, Million-
After completing a bachelor’s degree at Oxford aire Migrants: Trans-Pacific Life Lines, examines
University, Ley crossed the Atlantic Ocean by transnational linkages among wealthy migrants
ship to begin graduate study in geography at the in Vancouver, Toronto, and East Asia.
University of Pennsylvania with Peter Gould. Ley published many key papers in the fields
Whereas Gould favored quantitative approaches of urban and social geography and later in
to geographic analysis, Ley found himself leading the field of migration as he charted population
others on a divergent path of qualitative research. change through immigration and mapped poverty
On the forefront of humanist geography, geogra- in Canadian cities. An oft-cited paper, “Between
phy that centers on human experience and inter- Europe and Asia: The Case of the Missing
pretation, Ley’s doctoral dissertation, The Black Sequoias,” combines his interest in social and
Inner City as Frontier Outpost: Images and urban geography and migration with a close read-
Behaviour of a Philadelphia Neighbourhood, ing of a community struggle over zoning that
was published in 1974 by the Association of brings to the forefront the classed, racialized, and
American Geographers (AAG) and became a cultural dimensions of neighborhood conflict.
“classic” in geography, celebrated in recollec- Ley was the first codirector of the Vancouver
tions published 25 years later. The book explores Centre of the Canadian Metropolis Project, one
&,,- LI DA R AND AIRBORNE L ASE R S C A NNING

node in a larger global network designed to fuel

research on immigration through collaboration
LIDAR AND AIRBORNE
between scholars, policymakers, and immigra- LASER SCANNING
tion service providers. Ley is a fellow of the Royal
Society and holds a Canada Research Chair in Light detection and ranging (LiDAR), also known
geography. He became a Pierre Trudeau Fellow as airborne laser scanning, is an active remote sens-
in 2003 and was given the Lifetime Achievement ing technology that measures distances between
Award by the AAG in 2009, to name but a few of the sensor and points on the surface and stores the
the many honors he achieved during the course geographic location of those ground points.
of his career. Ley trained many geographers who
themselves now teach at universities in Canada,
the United States, Australia, and Britain. Measurement Method
Alison Mountz LiDAR systems use pulses of light amplified by
stimulated emission of radiation (laser). The time
See also Gentrification; Existentialism and that lapses between emitting a laser pulse, the
Geography; Humanistic Geography; Phenomenology; reflection of the pulse off of a surface, and its sub-
Postindustrial Society sequent return to the sensor is used to determine
the distance to the surface from the sensor in the
equation: Distance = (Rate r Time)/2, where Rate
is equal to the speed of light and Time is the
Further Readings aforementioned lapse of time for a pulse to return
to the sensor. A global positioning system (GPS)
Bourne, L., & Ley, D. (Eds.). (1993). The changing and an inertial measurement unit are used to mea-
social geography of Canadian cities. Montreal, sure the position of the sensor and attitude (angle)
Quebec, Canada: McGill-Queens Press. of the aircraft. The position and angle of the air-
Clarke, C., Ley, D., & Peach, C. (Eds.). (1984). craft are in turn used with the distance measure-
Geography and ethnic pluralism. London: Allen ment to geographically reference the points where
& Unwin. laser pulses reflected off of a surface.
Duncan, J., & Ley, D. (Eds.). (1993). Place/culture/
representation. London: Routledge.
Hasson, S., & Ley, D. (1994). Neighbourhood Characteristics of LiDAR Sensors
organisations and the welfare state. Toronto,
Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto Press. Features of LiDAR sensor systems that may vary
Ley, D. (1974). The black inner city as frontier include the platform used to carry the sensor, the
outpost: Images and behavior of a Philadelphia wavelength of light used for the lasers, whether
neighborhood (Monograph Series, No. 7). pulses are discrete or continuous, and scanning
Washington, DC: Association of American characteristics. Most platforms that carry LiDAR
Geographers. systems are either small manned airplanes or heli-
Ley, D. (1983). A social geography of the city. New copters. Some systems are suitable for satellite
York: Harper & Row. deployment. Fields such as forestry and surveying
Ley, D. (1995). Between Europe and Asia: The case use LiDAR technology packaged for in situ,
of the missing sequoias. Ecumene, 2, 185–210. ground-based measurements.
Ley, D. (1996). The new middle class and the LiDAR sensors often use near-infrared light
remaking of the central city. Oxford, UK: Oxford because it reflects well off of vegetation, in par-
University Press. ticular, and also strongly off of human-made and
Ley, D. (2010). Millionaire migrants: Trans-Pacific other surfaces. Often, LiDAR data are separated
life lines. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. into ground and vegetation canopy returns dur-
Ley, D., & Samuels, M. (Eds.). (1978). Humanistic ing postprocessing of the data. Applications such
geography. Chicago: Maaroufa Press. as coastal mapping use infrared lasers (which
reflect off of the water surface) and green lasers
 LIGHT NIN G &,,.

(which travel through water to an extent) in com-

bination to map shallow areas.
LIGHTNING
Discrete-return LiDAR uses short laser pulses
The lightning flash is one of the most visually
to collect surface information. One pulse may
remarkable, yet scientifically elusive, of all atmo-
strike multiple surfaces, and each surface it strikes
spheric phenomena. Though the earliest lightning
could reflect back a portion of the emitted energy.
observations go back thousands of years, perhaps
A multiple-return LiDAR system measures the
the biggest breakthrough in our understanding of
multiple moments of reflection in the path of one
the lightning flash came in the mid 18th century,
laser, as opposed to recording only the last return.
when Benjamin Franklin suggested—and later
Continuous LiDAR measures the full waveform
proved in his famous kite experiment—that light-
of each laser pulse by continuously recording the
ning was an electrical phenomenon. Such a dis-
intensity of reflection during the laser’s travel.
covery set the stage for subsequent research into
Profiling LiDAR sends a pulse down at nadir
lightning formation, lightning detection, light-
to provide a linear trace, or profile, of surface
ning safety, and even the use of lightning as a
elevation data. Scanning LiDAR consists of optics
source of energy.
to allow the angle of the pulse exiting the sensor
To the weather enthusiast, lightning offers
to change, and as the system scans back and forth,
incredible visual displays, sometimes referred to
the specific angle of the pulse is used in combina-
as Nature’s fireworks. To the scientist, lightning
tion with distance, GPS, and inertial measure-
detection provides a wealth of information on
ments to determine the coordinates of the surface
atmospheric processes, thunderstorm formation,
reflection point. The frequency of scanning deter-
and interactions between the land surface and the
mines the density of LiDAR return points with
atmosphere, and it can be used to inform fore-
respect to the footprint of the laser pulse on the
casters and hazard mitigation specialists. Unfor-
surface. Furthermore, high-angle pulses and
tunately, lightning is also a deadly phenomenon
topography can affect the quality of a given
and can cause severe damage to built structures,
return.
trees, and airplanes, as well as disrupt power grids
Grant Fraley and ignite fires.

See also Aerial Imagery: Data; Aerial Imagery:

Interpretation; Biophysical Remote Sensing; Imaging Lightning Formation
Spectroscopy; Multispectral Imagery; Panchromatic
Imagery; Photogrammetric Methods; Remote Sensing; 8adjY:aZXig^[^XVi^dc
Remote Sensing: Platforms and Sensors; Stereoscopy and
An understanding of lightning formation begins
Orthoimagery; Thermal Imagery
with an understanding of electrical charge in the
atmosphere. In the absence of clouds and major
weather systems (i.e., “fair-weather” conditions),
Further Readings Earth’s atmosphere contains a preponderance of
positively charged ions (an ion is simply a charged
Anderson, J., Martin, M., Smith, M.-L., Dubayah, particle), while Earth’s surface contains a prepon-
R., Hofton, M., Hyde, P., et al. (2006). The use of derance of negatively charged ions. This global-
waveform Lidar to measure northern temperate scale distribution of charge is largely the result of
mixed conifer and deciduous forest structure in thunderstorms, which act to remove negative
New Hampshire. Remote Sensing of Environment, charge from the atmosphere and deposit it on
105(3), 248–261. Earth’s surface. Since air is a poor conductor of
Chow, T., & Hodgshon, M. (2009). Effects of lidar electricity, an exceptionally large electrical field
post-spacing and DEM resolution to mean slope must be established for lightning to occur. Under
estimation. International Journal of Geographical fair-weather conditions, Earth’s electrical field is
Information Science, 23(10), 1277–1295. relatively weak, but in a thunderstorm environ-
ment, the strength of the electrical field increases
&,-% LI GH T NING

Time-lapse photography captures cloud-to-ground lightning during a nighttime thunderstorm in Norman,

Oklahoma.
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

by many orders of magnitude until an electrical charge on Earth’s surface that existed under fair-
current can move freely between the cloud and weather conditions. When a lightning flash occurs
another conducting surface. between the cloud and the ground, negative charge
The most popular theory for the development is transferred back to the ground.
of electrical charge in thunderstorms is the nonin-
ductive charging mechanism. Since thunderstorms
A^\]ic^c\;aVh]Zh
grow to altitudes where temperatures are below
freezing, they become composed of liquid water, There are three primary types of lightning
ice crystals, and hailstones. Each of these particles flashes: those that occur within the cloud (i.e.,
has a slightly different arrangement of electrons, intracloud), between clouds (i.e., cloud to cloud),
meaning that as they collide with each other in the and between the cloud and the ground (i.e.,
turbulent air currents found within a thunder- cloud to ground). Approximately 80% of all
storm, electrons will be transferred between them. lightning flashes occur either within the cloud or
This transfer of electrons results in an accumula- between clouds. Other types of optical and elec-
tion of positive charge near the upper portions of tromagnetic phenomena, both on the ground
the thunderstorm (where ice particles are kept (e.g., St. Elmo’s Fire) and in the upper atmo-
aloft) and an accumulation of negative charge in sphere (e.g., sprites and jets), have been observed
the middle and lower portions of the thunder- in association with lightning flashes.
storm (where small, but heavier hailstones settle). To the naked eye, a lightning flash appears as a
Secondary charging mechanisms help strengthen continuous flash of light. However, high-speed
the electrical field as electrons are continuously photography and laboratory experiments have
transferred between colliding thunderstorm parti- revealed that a single lightning flash is actually
cles. On the ground, an accumulation of positive composed of a series of flashes each lasting just
charge builds as negative charge near the lower a few millionths of a second. In a typical cloud-
portion of the thunderstorm repels the negative to-ground flash, negative ions (electrons) begin
 LIGHT NIN G &,-&

moving downward through the cloud toward the radiation emitted during the first few microsec-
ground. To facilitate this process, electrons may onds when a flash strikes the ground or a ground-
branch out and take multiple paths downward— based object. The first sensors became operational
this creates the “forked” appearance of many in 1979 and covered only small portions of the
lightning flashes. As the flow of electrons moves United States. In 1989, these regional networks
downward, a stepped leader is formed that merged into the present-day National Lightning
attempts to establish a conductive channel for Detection Network, based in Tucson, Arizona.
electrons to flow through and neutralize the charge This network consists of more than 100 sensors
difference between the cloud and the ground. As that record the time and location of all cloud-to-
the channel nears the ground, a spark occurs on a ground flashes, as well as other characteristics
conducting surface (e.g., the top of a tree), creat- (e.g., magnitude of the electrical current, number
ing a conduit for electrons to flow through. Once of return strokes). Some regional lightning net-
the lightning channel is established, the current works in the private sector continue to operate
flows upward toward the cloud, creating a bril- their own direction finders for specialized research
liant flash known as a return stroke. Depending and monitoring purposes. Lightning sensors have
on the strength of the electrical field, multiple also been placed aboard satellites to provide
return strokes may occur in an effort to dispel the global coverage of cloud-to-ground and intra-
negative charge from the cloud. cloud lightning (a map produced by the National
A less frequent type of cloud-to-ground flash is Atmospheric and Space Administration [NASA]
the positive flash, which transfers positive charge showing the global distribution of lightning
from the cloud to the ground. These flashes often flashes can be found at http://virtualskies.arc
originate in thunderstorms that are horizontally .nasa.gov/research/tutorial/lightningMap.html).
tilted, exposing the positively charged upper
regions of the cloud to the ground. Positive flashes Lightning Impacts
may also emanate from the sides of the cloud,
Lightning is the leading cause of thunderstorm-
striking the ground a considerable distance from
related fatalities in the United States, killing an
the main body of the thunderstorm. This type of
average of 100 people annually from 1959 to
flash is often referred to as a “bolt from the blue,”
2006. Since the 1930s, lightning fatalities and
since it occurs away from the thunderstorm under
fatality rates have steadily declined due to a
generally clear skies.
decreasing rural population, improvements in
forecasts and warnings, better medical response to
Lightning Detection
victims, and mitigation efforts through public
Prior to the advent of modern lightning detection education. Fatality rates are often much higher in
equipment, the occurrence of lightning was typi- less developed countries (6 fatalities per million
cally inferred by the sound of thunder—the sound population) in comparison with more developed
wave produced by a lightning flash as it rapidly nations (from 0.1 to 1 per million). People engaged
heats and expands the air around it. Weather in outdoor recreational or work-related activities
observers would mark the presence of thunder- are the most vulnerable to the hazard. Uniquely,
storms in their logbooks if audible thunder was males are far more likely to be killed by lightning
detected. The first attempts to measure the elec- than females, with males comprising nearly 85%
trical field in the vicinity of thunderstorms took of lightning fatalities in the United States. Victims
place in the early 1950s and used sferics, or radio struck directly or indirectly by lightning often suf-
waves, to measure electromagnetic radiation pro- fer from injuries to the cardiac and neurological
duced by the lightning flash. systems (cardiac arrest being the most common
One of the biggest shortcomings of early cause of death) as well as psychological effects
lightning detection methods was that they could that include neurocognitive deficits, memory
not pinpoint the true location of the lightning problems, and even depression. The spatial distri-
channel. This changed in the 1970s with the bution of lightning fatalities and injuries is com-
development of magnetic direction finders. These mensurate with population and cloud-to-ground
ground-based instruments are able to “sense” the lightning densities. Casualties tend to occur most
&,-' LI GH T NING

often during warm-season afternoons, when thun- processes and weather systems that drive them.
derstorms are at their climatological maximum Still other studies use lightning data to explore
and people are more likely to be outdoors. various properties of the atmosphere. Improve-
Lightning routinely causes damage to per- ments in the spatial and temporal resolution of
sonal, commercial, and public property and is a lightning data have allowed for such investiga-
major source of property, agricultural, and casu- tions from the macroscale down to the microscale.
alty insurance losses. Though lightning losses Examples include the use of lightning data to
are often isolated and rarely achieve the tallies understand the role of aerosols and other small
reported for other weather hazards such as torna- particles in thunderstorm composition, rainfall,
does and hurricanes, the cumulative insured losses and cloud electrification as well as the atmospheric
from lightning are considerable, with an estimated processes occurring in severe thunderstorms, trop-
$5 billion in insured losses annually. Lightning ical cyclones, and winter storms (e.g., “thunder-
regularly disrupts electricity generation, transmis- snow”). Lightning data have been used in
sion, and distribution. The hazard is a major macroscale studies to examine the relationship
cause of local and regional electrical and telecom- between atmospheric circulation patterns and the
munication blackouts and inflicts losses of mil- frequency and intensity of convection in subtropi-
lions of dollars annually on utility infrastructure cal and midlatitude environments.
and sales. Lightning-initiated wildland fires result Among geographers who use lightning data sets,
in annual timber and property losses of millions the role of land use in initiating and altering the
of dollars, with millions of dollars more spent frequency and character of lightning flashes has
on fire prevention and suppression in the more been a popular research topic in recent years. In
developed countries. The National Interagency particular, there has been a significant growth in
Fire Center estimates that approximately 12,000 the number and scope of studies examining the
wildland fires are initiated by lightning each lightning climatology of urban areas, both in the
year in the United States, affecting an average of United States and abroad (e.g., South America,
5 million acres annually. Western Europe, Australia). These studies are part
of a much larger initiative aimed at examining
how the urban environment affects atmospheric
Geographical Studies of Lightning processes across multiple scales. Relatively fewer
The spatial and temporal distribution of lightning studies have investigated the distribution of light-
flashes and the utility of lightning data sets have ning over mountainous terrain and the relation-
been explored in a variety of geographical studies. ships between slope angle, aspect, elevation, and
The general goal of these studies is to inform lightning frequency. Continued improvements in
researchers and those with lightning-oriented inter- lightning detection networks and a longer time
ests of the patterns of lightning within a range of series will likely lead to more studies of lightning
meteorological and hazard scenarios. Geographers over complex terrain. Additionally, the continued
are in a unique position to provide this informa- development of satellite-based lightning sensors
tion using advanced visualization and mapping will provide a longer time series of lightning cover-
techniques (i.e., geographic information systems, age over the oceans and higher latitudes. This
or GIS) that allow inferences into mechanism, cau- information will be of value to studies examining
sation, and other process-based inquiries. the global distribution of lightning and its trends
The spectrum of geographically based light- over time, particularly in the context of global and
ning studies is rather broad and contains many regional climate change. Continued development
overlapping categories and components. Most of of GIS technologies will be of tremendous benefit
these studies employ a descriptive approach, to climatological studies of lightning as well as
where patterns in lightning frequency are mapped studies exploring the relationships between light-
and explained across various space and timescales ing and other aspects of the Earth system (e.g.,
(i.e., a lightning climatology). Some studies use land cover, demographics) across space and time.
this information to explore the possible mecha- Christopher M. Fuhrmann
nisms for the resulting distributions and the and Walker S. Ashley
 LILLESA ND, T HOMAS &,-(

See also Natural Hazards and Risk Analysis; director of Wisconsin’s Environmental Remote
Thunderstorms; Vulnerability, Risks, and Hazards; Sensing Center (ERSC). For many years he also
Wildfires: Risk and Hazard chaired UW’s Environmental Monitoring gradu-
ate program.
Lillesand taught numerous courses in photo-
grammetry, visual image interpretation, photo-
Further Readings graphic and electro-optical remote sensing
systems, digital image processing, environmental
Curran, E. B., Holle, R. L., & López, R. E. (2000). monitoring, and graduate research methods. He
Lightning casualties and damages in the United advised a total of 76 MS and PhD students over
States from 1959 to 1994. Journal of Climate, 13, the course of his academic career. Many of these
3448–3464. have become leaders in key positions in academia,
MacGorman, D. R., & Rust, W. D. (1998). The government, and the private sector. The scope of
electrical nature of storms. New York: Oxford Tom’s highly interdisciplinary research activity
University Press. has ranged from statewide and regional land
Orville, R. E. (2008). Development of the National cover classification and change detection to appli-
Lightning Detection Network. Bulletin of the cations of remote sensing in forestry and agricul-
American Meteorological Society, 89, 180–190. ture, civil engineering, long-term ecosystem
Orville, R. E., & Huffines, G. R. (2001). Cloud-to- science, climate change, and water resources man-
ground lightning in the United States: NLDN agement. Sponsors of his research have included
results in the first decade, 1989–98. Monthly the National Atmospheric and Space Administra-
Weather Review, 129, 1179–1193. tion (NASA), the National Atmospheric and Oce-
Stallins, J. A., & Rose, L. S. (2008). Urban lightning: anic Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department
Current research, methods, and the geographical of Agriculture (USDA), the National Science
perspective. Geography Compass, 2/3, 620–639. Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-
neers (USACE), the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS), the Department of Energy (DOE), and
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
LILLESAND, THOMAS among others. He has also been active in U.S.
remote sensing policy issues.
(1946– ) Lillesand has authored or coauthored more
than 200 professional publications. He is the
Thomas M. Lillesand has long been a major fig- senior author, along with Ralph Kiefer and Jona-
ure in the development of remote sensing tech- than Chipman, of Remote Sensing and Image
niques, applications, and policies. He is a professor Interpretation, published in 1979 and now in its
emeritus of the Nelson Institute for Environmen- sixth edition. This book has been translated into
tal Studies, the department of forest ecology and several languages, making it one of the most used
management, and the department of civil and remote sensing texts and references in the world.
environmental engineering at the University of Over the years, Lillesand has provided frequent
Wisconsin, Madison (UW). service as a consultant and scientific advisor to
Lillesand grew up in Wisconsin and obtained numerous governmental agencies, as an expert
degrees in civil engineering from the UW (BS, witness, and as a leader in professional organiza-
1969; MS, 1970; PhD, 1973). He began his career tions. For example, he served on the Science Advi-
as a remote sensing educator in 1973, as a faculty sory Panel for the Earth Observing System (EOS)
member at the State University of New York Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Cen-
(SUNY), Syracuse, College of Environmental Sci- ter. He was appointed by Secretary of Commerce
ence and Forestry. From 1978 to 1982, he taught Malcolm Baldridge to represent the American
at the University of Minnesota and directed that Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
university’s Remote Sensing Laboratory. He (ASPRS) on the Land Remote Sensing Satellite
joined the faculty at UW in 1982 and was the Advisory Committee and has provided both U.S.
&,-) LI N EA R RE FE RE NCING AND D YNA MIC SEGMENT A T ION

House and Senate subcommittee testimony on

four occasions dealing with the policy and man-
LINEAR REFERENCING AND
agement of the U.S. Landsat satellite program DYNAMIC SEGMENTATION
and defining the basic research requirements
underpinning U.S. commercial opportunities in Dynamic segmentation is a computer-based data-
geospatial science and technology. Lillesand has base management system using the principles of
also chaired and served on numerous key com- relational algebra and topological integrity to
mittees for ASPRS. He has served as an officer minimize error and maximize efficiency of map
within three ASPRS Regions and as director of analysis and display. Linear features are stored as
the Remote Sensing Applications Division. He nodes and arcs and provide only the minimum of
served as the national president of ASPRS from geometric properties for proper display on maps.
1998 to 1999. He has received several national When these linear features, such as roads and
awards for his professional accomplishments, railways, have multiple attribute tables, dynamic
including the Alan Gordon Memorial Award for segmentation is used to query and display such
Scientific Achievements in Remote Sensing and attributes. Examples include the number of acci-
Image Interpretation, the Talbert Abrams Award dents at different parts of the pavement or speed
for excellence in Authorship and Recording of limits that differ within the same segment. Since
Scientific Development in Photogrammetry, the geometric nodes and arcs are the foundation of
Earle J. Fennell Award for Outstanding Contri- linear features stored in a geographic information
butions to Education in the Mapping Sciences, system (GIS), dynamic segmentation becomes
and the SAIC/Estes Memorial Teaching Award. quite useful to represent attribute data that do not
He is a fellow in ASPRS, a certified photogram- sync perfectly with the geometric range of the lin-
metrist, and a certified mapping scientist in the ear features.
area of remote sensing. Utilities and transportation networks often have
Lillesand retired in 2006, after 33 years as a information without geographic coordinates. Usu-
teacher, researcher, and advisor, but continues to ally, this information is based on a fixed reference
serve as president of the Board of Trustees of the point along a route. The data stored are referred to
ASPRS Foundation. He also consults on a part- as a linear referencing system. For example, high-
time basis, primarily as an expert witness. way accidents often are coded based on the nearest
intersection and the network distance from the
Nicole Simons intersection (i.e., the driving distance from the acci-
dent location to the nearest intersection). Tables
containing such information are known as mile-
See also Remote Sensing
post tables. Using a map, one can dynamically cal-
culate the coordinate information and display
accident sites. Since dynamic calculations can be
Further Readings done using computer memory, the storage of such
information permanently is deemed redundant. In
Bolstad, P., & Lillesand, T. (1992). Semi-automated addition, since highway maps and other linear
training approaches for spectral class definition. maps are stored and updated independently of the
International Journal of Remote Sensing, 13(6), accident tables, there is no need to separately
3157. change the accident coordinates whenever a high-
Chipman, J., & Lillesand, T. (2007). Satellite-based way map is updated (since, in the milepost table,
assessment of the dynamics of new lakes in there are no accident coordinates to begin with).
Southern Egypt. International Journal of Remote This approach restricts the propagation of error
Sensing, 28(19), 4365–4379. and is important since geometric coordinate error
Lillesand, T., Kiefer, R., & Chipman, J. (2008). cannot be eliminated. Another benefit is that line
Remote sensing and image interpretation (6th ed.). segments need not be broken into smaller pieces.
Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Actual breaks are limited to intersections with other
lines or change of direction in the line segment.
 LIT ER A T UR E, GEOGR A P HY A N D &,-*

Logical Data Model (poems, novels, myths, etc.) unfold at particular

locations. Rather, there are five broad fields of
Network data, which are used extensively in the literary geographical concern:
transportation and utility domains, have bene-
fited immensely from graph theory—a branch of 1. Literature as a humanistic and meaningful
mathematics that studies the properties of nodes narrative of place
and arcs. A graph, G = (V, E), consists of a finite 2. Literature as an object of historical
set of vertices, V, and edges, E (joining the Vs). geographical analysis
When the edges are directed and the vertices are 3. Literature as a site of ideological critique
weighted, they represent a network. The geomet- 4. Literature as an exposition of postcolonial
ric coordinates of the vertices allow the network geographical imaginations
to be mapped in relation to Earth’s surface. How-
5. Literature as an expression of particular
ever, the properties of the network are indepen-
spatialities and their attendant “structures of
dent of the actual coordinates and are a function
feeling”
of the number of edges the vertices enclose (the
mathematical branch of low-dimensional topol- Within these fields, the relation between text and
ogy deals with the properties of graphs). context is taken seriously, because it is in this site
Milepost tables use this topological property of that the historical, social, political, and philo-
the network, allowing storage of complete infor- sophical significance of literature is most acute—
mation without map duplication. precisely because the geographical and historical
GIS software that incorporates dynamic seg- contexts of literary production and consumption
mentation includes Environmental Systems affect and determine that significance.
Research Institute’s ArcGIS software and Caliper As Andrew Thacker has noted, literary texts
Corporation’s TransCAD software. represent social spaces. For example, from the
Aniruddha Banerjee enclosed, gendered spatialities and formal social
marriage circuits of Jane Austen’s predominantly
See also Map Algebra; Network Analysis; Spatial
rural England to the modernist urban encounters
Analysis; Topological Relationships; Triangulated
and fragmentary perspectives of James Joyce’s
Irregular Network (TIN) Data Model
Dublin, literature inscribes a whole history of
sociospatial relations and images of geographical
reality. At the same time, social spaces shape lit-
erary forms. Thus, there are particular spatial
Further Readings histories to writing communities and their reader-
ships, in which social, economic, and political
Shekhar, S., & Chawla, S. (2003). Spatial databases: contextual relations feed into the production of
A tour. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. distinct literary forms. Geography shapes literary
history, as literatures are both expressions of par-
ticular cultures, nationalities, and languages and
at the same time sites of passage, translation, and
LITERATURE, communication between different cultures, iden-
tities, and beliefs.
GEOGRAPHY AND Geography has also fed into the study of narra-
tive (diegetics) within literary criticism. Since the
The study of literature from a geographical per- “spatial turn,” literary studies often employ spatial
spective takes as its premise the recognition that languages and metaphors to better explicate the
questions of space, place, and spatiality are con- ways in which narrative functions and has its own
stitutive of, rather than merely supplementary to, “textual space,” extending from the materiality
the kinds of meaning, significance, and communi- and locational specificity of the book to the struc-
cation that literature produces. This idea exceeds tured space of the page itself. Spatial meta-
the simple recognition that literary narratives phors have thus become ubiquitous within literary
&,-+ LI T ER A T U RE , G E OG RAPHY AND

criticism. Border, boundary, margin, orientation, relation not only to the historically distinctive
mapping, (de)territorialization, and so on have representations of fictional and “real” space
come to be constitutive of literary sense. (actual or imagined landscapes, nations, cities,
ruralities, etc.) but also to the spatial contexts
that condition the production and consumption
Humanistic Geography: Narratives of Place
of an object named literature. In this way, geo-
The first sustained geographical engagement with graphical literary study does not provide access to
literature was through humanistic geographers of “language” in a pure form but to writings in the
the 1970s and 1980s such as Yi-Fu Tuan, Doug- plural, in their varied geographical and historical
las Pocock, and Anne Buttimer. They sought to specificity. Literature, in the widest possible sense,
study literature as a way of thinking about the involves the production, dissemination, and con-
more subjective ways in which people experience sumption of novels, stories, tales, and myths of
particular places and render them meaningful. In whatever genre (picaresque, religious-moralistic,
reaction to the dominance of quantitative meth- colonial, gothic, crime, avant-garde, romance,
ods of sociospatial analysis, particular novelists etc.). Within this context, literature arises as an
and literary representations of places were stud- aesthetic category, defined through complex
ied from a nonmathematical horizon of meaning, social assemblages: authors, editors, publishers,
memory, and identity. Humanistic research on a technologies of paper and ink, reviewers, critics,
given author or novel would, on the one hand, and historians. However, beyond the scope of
seek to communicate how literature carried a particular scholarly aesthetic definitions of litera-
sense of “authentic” geographical awareness of ture, there is also the more banal, but no less
the lives, worldviews, and practices associated important, everyday production of literature
with a specific milieu or a particular place. On found in the writing of letters, e-mails, Internet
the other hand, and reflecting perhaps a naive blogs, diaries, and so on. Different print cultures
acceptance of literature as a taken-for-granted can be geographically examined as the contested
creation of artistic “genius,” it would also claim and evolving locus through which positions such
for literature universal capacities for the illumina- as “author” and “reader” come to be articulated.
tion of humanity not found in social scientific Focusing on a particular literary form, critics
research. This approach can be traced historically such as Franco Moretti and Pierre Bourdieu
to J. K. Wright’s 1947 presidential address to the describe the spatial histories of the novel. The
Association of American Geographers, “Terrae novel form developed primarily in the 18th- and
Incognitae: The Place of the Imagination in Geog- 19th-century European contexts, where industrial-
raphy,” in which he called for greater geographi- ization, the development of the bourgeoisie, the
cal engagement with literary criticism and the rise of nation-states, and imperialistic and colonial
humanities more broadly. encounters unfolded within the wide economic and
For Marxist geographers, however, humanistic social transformations of urban capitals such as
geography, focusing primarily on “the text” and Paris and London. While these cities exerted a
the privileged insight that an authorial voice hegemonic publication and print culture, condi-
lends, lacked the requisite level of criticality. tioning practices of reading and expectations (liter-
Beyond the cultural turn, this criticality in rela- ary canons and genres, library stocks), literature is
tion to literature can be seen in the three subse- not thereby tied in any concrete and definitive way
quent fields of research, encompassing questions to its sites of origin. Literature travels; texts are
of textuality, the historicality of literary texts, translated, styles imitated, and ideas disseminated.
and the politics of representation more broadly. Books are thus mobile commodities that trace out
important social lives.
The Object of Historical-
Geographical Literary Analysis Literature as a Site of Ideological Critique
In explicating the geographic work of literature, As commodities, the consumption of literature can
historical geographers seek to unpack texts in be analyzed as part of the uneven distribution of
 LIT ER A T UR E, GEOGR A P HY A N D &,-,

cultural capital more broadly. For Bourdieu, this to how the separation between truth and fiction
ideological class stratification is historically and is enacted or dissimulated and with what particu-
geographically produced. In this way, the aes- lar ideological effects.
thetic appreciation of the form of literature is
scripted along particular class boundaries and
The Exposition of Postcolonial
types of education. Furthermore, many geogra-
Geographical Imaginations
phers have turned to the specific content of liter-
atures, critiquing particular representations and Perhaps the most important field for ideological
imaginations that are culturally repressive, ideo- critique is circumscribed by the postcolonial critic
logically hegemonic, and normalizing. For these Edward Said. As Said noted, literature is not a
geographers, literature figures as a crucial site for neutral aesthetic phenomenon but a site where
the (re)production of particular geographical politics, language, geography, and culture are
ideas, consciousnesses, identities, and cultures inextricable, where different geographical imagi-
(nationalities, races, classes, genders, etc.). Liter- nations and ideologies are historically produced,
ature can thus be framed as a conservative site reproduced, and contested. Greek dramas and
for the reproduction of particular values. But, for myths, travel writings, colonial novels of romance
the same reason, it can carry a transgressive func- and exploration—all have historically shaped the
tion of resistance, critique, and democratic ways in which different cultures and places are
expression. rendered visible, encountered and imagined,
With critical resources from the “cultural turn” desired and feared. Said coined the term Oriental-
(the widespread acknowledgment of the central- ism to describe Western literary practices of con-
ity of culture and ideology in all social systems), structing and relating to cultural Others, in
geographers study how particular geographical particular the imagined space of the Orient. Many
imaginations are disseminated, reproduced, and geographers, such as Derek Gregory, have taken
framed through certain types of language, form, Said’s key literary-historical texts and work to
narrative, and style. By unpacking the work of expose the continuing legacies of Orientalist rep-
narrative and employing concepts from literary resentations within contemporary media forms.
theory, geographers can grasp the structured ways In relation to the historical-geographical analy-
in which meaning is articulated through habitual sis of key texts, Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe
media forms. Thus, certain forms of textual rep- (1719) and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
resentation perform particular relations of power, (1899) have proved exceptional resources for
from popular novels to mundane nonfiction texts, geographers interested in the geographical history
including the encyclopedic entry, which replicates and desires of nation building, the formation of
a specifically structured narrative space to com- Empire, and the imperialistic practices, morali-
municate authoritatively. In this way, it is impor- ties, and racisms that are bound up with particu-
tant to unpack the complex and ambiguous lar geographical imaginations. An example is the
relation between truth and fiction that literature prevalent geographical binary found in numerous
inevitably throws up. Spaces, places, and particu- literatures of the “Dark Continent” of Africa,
lar geographic communities (classes, cultures, contrasted and constituted in relation to the
nationalities, genders, races, historical events, “light” of European civilization, reason, religion,
etc.) are framed through literature. Texts often and industry. More broadly, this field is inter-
(problematically) reduce social geographical com- ested in raising questions on the politics of repre-
plexity within narratives. These representations senting and speaking “for” other cultures through
inevitably run up against notions of truth: the dominant colonial languages and literatures (e.g.,
accuracy of representation, the level of their real- English and French).
ity. They also come up against their opposite:
where a text is dismissed as “purely fictional,” as
Expressions of Spatiality
that which is merely imagined and desired. In
reality, it is incredibly difficult to separate these, As Raymond Williams noted, it is possible to ana-
and a critical geographic perspective is attentive lyze distinct “structures of feeling” attendant on
&,-- LI T ER A T U RE , G E OG RAPHY AND

Paris. Literature here acts as an important regis-

tration of the everyday practices, beliefs, and
identities that accompany the broader shifts of
historical-geographical materialism. The cultural
critic Walter Benjamin provided further theoreti-
cal rigor for geographers seeking to make sense of
these relations between literature and the spaces
of modernity, particularly Paris. Within this hori-
zon, James Joyce is another author whose texts,
particularly Ulysses, have proved particularly
fruitful in explicating the nature of modernist ren-
derings of urban experience and the significance
of geographical imaginations in the construction
of narratives. Indeed, it was hoped by Joyce that
one could reconstruct the city of Dublin from
Ulysses. What these works signify is the pedagogic
value of literature for grasping geographical con-
figurations, consciousness, and the changing hori-
zons of perception of space and time.
José Luis Romanillos

See also Cultural Geography; Cultural Landscape;

Discourse and Geography; Geographical Imagination;
Historical Geography; Humanistic Geography;
Modernity; Postcolonialism; Sense of Place; Symbolism
and Place; Text/Textuality; Writing

Chromolithograph of a cooking scene from Robinson

Crusoe, showing a man dressed in furs cooking meat
over a fire while a native carries supplies Further Readings
Source: Bettmann/CORBIS.
Bourdieu, P. (1993). The field of cultural production:
Essays on art and literature (R. Johnson, Ed.).
Oxford, UK: Polity Press.
varying historico-geographical experiences of the Brosseau, M. (1994). Geography’s literature. Progress
city, “nature,” the country, and other spaces. in Human Geography, 18(3), 333–353.
These structures of feeling correspond to different Harvey, D. (2003). Paris, capital of modernity.
spatialities, shaped and experienced in important London: Routledge.
ways by different kinds of literary representation Moretti, F. (1998). Atlas of the European novel
(poems, novels, religious texts, etc.). Spatiality 1800–1900. London: Verso.
here can be thought as the co-constitutive rela- Phillips, R., & McCracken, S. (Eds.). (2006). The
tions between society and space. As both society spatial imaginary. New Formations, 57.
and space are constantly shifting and rewriting Pocock, D. (Ed.). (1981). Humanistic geography and
their coordinates, different literatures emerge that literature: Essays on the literature of place.
register particular historico-geographical spatiali- London: Croom Helm.
ties. In this context, David Harvey has produced Said, E. (1994). Culture and imperialism. London:
a particularly clear geographical analysis of Vintage.
the works of Honoré de Balzac—situating his lit- Williams, R. (1985). The country and the city.
erature within the shifting spatialities of the London: Hogarth Press.
urban, capitalistic experience in 19th-century
 LIV INGST ONE, DA V I D &,-.

LIVINGSTONE, DAVID race, class, and science that shaped Shaler’s late-
19th-century career and offers, through Shaler, a
(1953– ) vital portrait of the Cambridge scientific commu-
nity during the 1870s and 1880s, when Darwinism
The history of geography was in some ways rewrit- shook the intellectual landscape.
ten in David N. Livingstone’s influential volume Livingstone’s close attention to historical con-
The Geographical Tradition (1992), which consti- text has been matched by a concern for situating
tuted both an important new disciplinary history scientific actors in their spatial and geographi-
and an attempt to write geography’s history dif- cal settings. In a series of papers during the 1990s,
ferently. Setting his work apart from textbook Livingstone pushed geographers and historians to
accounts and “in-house” disciplinary histories, consider how particular geographical arrange-
Livingstone’s book related the development of ments of scientific knowledge and knowledge-
geography more closely to its broader social and making practices were critical to what science is
intellectual contexts than had previous works, and how it has worked. Whether conceptualized
from Enlightenment challenges to classical author- in terms of specialized architectural spaces, the
ity, to the colonially acquisitive age of reconnais- research field, or other local settings for scientific
sance, to the age of statistics and the modern activities, in terms of national scientific cultures
government and academic institutions of the late and institutions and varied national receptions of
20th century. Drawing on wider debates in the his- scientific ideas, or through the spatial relations
tory of science, Livingstone demonstrated that and patterns of circulation that make such scien-
geographical knowledge could be understood as a tific spaces possible, notions of a geography of
cultural product of, and political resource for, the science, and the geography of geographical knowl-
times and places in which it was produced. He edge in particular, have emerged as cutting-edge
thus took up key questions raised in the post- fields, at both the subdisciplinary and the interdis-
modern turn in the history and philosophy of ciplinary levels. Livingstone elaborated some of
science—revolving around the demythologization these ideas in a slim volume, Putting Science in Its
of science as the objective, disinterested pursuit of Place (2003), an elegant formulation of the geog-
knowledge—and explored their implications for raphy of scientific knowledge as framed by three
the “messy” and applied contexts associated spatial categories: (1) sites (archetypal sites, ven-
with the Western geographical tradition. ues of science), (2) regions (regional differences in
Built on theoretically informed and rigorous his- scientific culture, uneven development of science),
torical scholarship, Livingstone’s work helped open and (3) circulation (movement, mapping, scien-
geography’s history to more reflexive and, at times, tific travel, spatial relations, diffusion). Bringing
critical interpretations, and it did so by adding to, together scholarship in the history of science with
rather than detracting from, the historical richness the history and geography of geographical knowl-
of the field. Livingstone brought to these questions edge, Livingstone has also edited, with Charles
analytical skills honed in unraveling the complex Withers, recent collections such as Geography and
interrelations of 19th-century science and religion. Enlightenment and Geography and Revolution.
In works such as Darwin’s Forgotten Defenders David Livingstone is a professor of geography
(1987), which focuses on some 19th-century and intellectual history at Queen’s University Bel-
theologians, and The Preadamite Theory and the fast, where he earned his PhD in 1982. His hon-
Marriage of Science and Religion (1992), Living- ors include the Order of the British Empire for
stone challenged the “conflict model” of relations service in geography and history, membership in
between science and religion, incorporating a broad the Royal Irish Academy, and a fellowship in the
sense of the intellectual diversity present in strains British Academy.
of Christian and evolutionary thought. In the
North American context, Livingstone also contrib- Scott Kirsch
uted a major scientific biography of the Harvard
physiographer Nathaniel Southgate Shaler. This See also Enlightenment; Human Geography, History of;
work (1987) explores the interplay of regionalism, Modernity
&,.% LO C A LI TY

currency in the 1980s and early 1990s but very

Further Readings
quickly became embroiled in a wider debate about
Livingstone, D. (1984). The history of science and the
theory and methods in human geography. Con-
history of geography: Interactions and
cerns were expressed by some radical geographers
implications. History of Science, 22, 271–302.
that the study of locality equated with empiricism:
Livingstone, D. (1987). Darwin’s forgotten defenders:
It seemed to signal a retreat from geographic theo-
The encounter between evolutionary theory and
ries grounded in Karl Marx’s historical material-
evolutionary thought. Edinburgh, UK: Scottish
ism. Although proponents of the locality concept
Academic Press.
vigorously countered such criticisms, they could
Livingstone, D. (1987). Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
not fully dispel the view that a fascination with
and the culture of American science. Tuscaloosa:
locality amounted to an empiricist obsession with
University of Alabama Press.
the detailed characteristics of specific places rather
Livingstone, D. (1992). The geographical tradition:
than with interrogating wider theoretical proposi-
Episodes in the history of a contested enterprise.
tions about the capitalist space economy.
Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
The appearance of the concept of locality in
Livingstone, D. (1992). The preadamite theory and
human geography texts in the mid 1980s can be
the marriage of science and religion. Philadelphia:
attributed to an interdisciplinary research pro-
American Philosophical Society.
gram funded by the Economic and Social Research
Livingstone, D. (1994). Science and religion:
Council in the United Kingdom. The Changing
Foreword to the historical geography of an
Urban and Regional System (CURS) program was
encounter. Journal of Historical Geography, 20,
designed with broadly three aims in mind:
367–383. 1. To conduct detailed empirical research of
Livingstone, D. (1995). The spaces of knowledge: economic, social, and political change in a variety
Contributions toward a historical geography of of localities across the United Kingdom: The
science. Society and Space, 12, 5–35. localities (seven in all) were selected on the basis
Livingstone, D. (2003). Putting science in its place: of the uniqueness of certain characteristics, such
Geographies of scientific knowledge. Chicago: as relative location, labor market, rural/urban
University of Chicago Press. mix, size, economy, and politics, as well as the
Livingstone, D. (2008). Adam’s ancestors: Race, presence of relevant locally based research teams.
religion and the politics of human origins. Although at the outset, there was a clear empha-
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. sis on difference and the uniqueness of each local-
Livingstone, D., & Withers, C. (Eds.). (1999). ity, the research teams nonetheless shared in
Geography and enlightenment. Chicago: common a broader appreciation of the impor-
University of Chicago Press. tance of theory and conceptualization.
Livingstone, D., & Withers, C. (Eds.). (2005).
2. To interrogate wider propositions about the
Geography and revolution. Chicago: University of
restructuring of the British space economy at a
Chicago Press.
time of rapid economic, social, and political
change: The research teams were eager to test cer-
tain theories about spatial restructuring that had
emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, such as the
LOCALITY approach to uneven development set out by
Doreen Massey in her analysis of the geography of
Although human geographers sometimes disagree industrial restructuring. It was argued that locali-
over the specific meaning of concepts such as place, ty-specific events and outcomes could not be read
space, region, and territory, few would question directly from global and national processes
the centrality of such concepts to the discipline. because “place makes a difference.” This asser-
Not so with the concept of locality, which is com- tion was supported by a definition of locality as
monly taken to mean a distinct place or location in those locally emergent properties that result from
which events occur. This concept gained a certain a putative combination of the particular class and
 LOC A LI TY &,.&

political relations of a place and wider rounds of studies to engage in wider epistemological and
investment and economic restructuring. ontological preoccupations with space and place.
Nonetheless, the debate about locality was impor-
3. To engage proactively with economic and
tant for shaping at least two important new devel-
political change in such a manner as to inform
opments in the discipline. First, prompted by a
policymakers and activists about the most practi-
memorable analogy from Neil Smith about a hot-
cal means of contesting and coping with the local-
air balloon and the “gestalt of scale,” the locality
ized social and economic consequences associated
question led to a flurry of theoretical interventions
with the transformation of the United Kingdom
around the production of spatial scale, leading
from a manufacturing to a service economy: A
eventually to a “scale debate” in human geogra-
particular target of action here was the neoliberal
phy. The question of scale triggered some of the
policies of the Conservative government led by
most exciting work to emerge in the discipline in
Margaret Thatcher, which were seen by many rad-
the 1990s and 2000s. Research conducted on
ical geographers to be blaming the victims of spa-
scales of labor activism, the rescaling of the state,
tial restructuring, that is, workers caught up in the
and the relationship between locality-based growth
restructuring of industrial localities once heavily
coalitions and the politics of economic develop-
dependent on industries such as steel, engineering,
ment can be attributed at least in part to the theo-
automobile manufacture, shipbuilding, and coal.
retical fallout of the locality debate.
However, the research teams did not confine them-
Second, the locality concept engendered some
selves to male-dominated industrial labor markets;
challenging new theoretical work on sociospatial
they were also interested in the emergence of new
relations. Here, Doreen Massey’s work continues
economic forms and the diversity of labor market
to be influential in its emphasis on the idea that
processes. The teams were especially interested in
space should not be seen as some sort of residual
identifying examples of “proactive localities” or
dimension of social and economic life or as sim-
collective action drawing on the resources and civic
ply a container for other processes that are com-
capacities of the localities in question.
positional in structure yet essentially placeless.
Rather, space shapes and gives meaning to wider
The results of the CURS program were pub-
(regional, national, global, etc.) natural and social
lished in a series of journal articles and edited
processes that are, in turn, place shaping.
collections, each of which highlighted specific
In hindsight, the appearance of the locality con-
processes such as labor market restructuring, pol-
cept marked a tipping point in the transition from
icy and politics, household strategies, and work
territorial to relational views of spatiality, with
and everyday life. While some common intellec-
the latter becoming dominant by the 2000s. How-
tual themes did emerge, there was little evidence
ever, the debate about locality continues to be
that, collectively, locality studies shared in com-
relevant, not so much for how it once shed light
mon praxis and theory; and this was despite the
on local-scale geographies of economic restructur-
efforts of Doreen Massey and Philip Cooke (the
ing but rather for what it now reveals about the
latter was the research program coordinator),
circumstances under which certain intellectual
both of whom strove to impose some theoretical
themes and debates endure in the discipline while
coherence retrospectively on the locality concept.
others are quickly discarded. Time will tell whether
Indeed, such efforts only intensified criticisms of
the locality concept will make a return to geogra-
the project, creating space for some important
phy and, if so, in what forms and under what
theoretical contributions from geographers, many
sorts of circumstances. The pendulum of spatial
of whom were not members of the original local-
intellectual thought might yet swing back toward
ity research teams.
locality (as well as to its sister concepts of place,
territory, and scale), at the expense of the current
interest in globalization (and corresponding ideas
The Significance of Locality Studies
of site, relational space, and flat ontology).
Human geographers eventually moved on from
locality studies, with many shunning empirical case Andrew E. G. Jonas
&,.' LO C A LLY U NWANTE D L AND U SES (LULUs )

See also Chorology; Cultural Landscape; Idiographic; government. Justification for public intervention
Massey, Doreen; Palimpsest; Place; Regional Geography; comes through portrayal of local resistance to a
Regions and Regionalism; Relative/Relational Space; public good as parochial and self-serving, typi-
Scale, Social Production of; Smith, Neil; Territory cally under the assumption that there is a geo-
graphic dichotomy between parochial economic
self-interest and regional public goals.
Further Readings However, beginning in the late 1970s, a critique
of this common understanding emerged from envi-
Cooke, P. (1987). Clinical inference and geographic ronmental and local activists addressing the subset
theory. Antipode, 19, 69–78. of LULUs involving health threats. They suggested
Jonas, A. (2006). Pro scale: Further reflections on the that the term NIMBY presupposed acceptance of
scale debate in human geography. Transactions of the need for the LULU, implying that the facility
the Institute of British Geographers, 31, 399–406. should be located somewhere, just not in “my”
Massey, D. (1991). The political place of locality backyard, when the facility should be viewed as
studies. Environment and Planning A, 23, 267–281. unacceptable anywhere. Such resistance has been
Smith, N. (1987). Dangers of the empirical turn: The particularly noticeable in low-income neighbor-
CURS initiative. Antipode, 19, 59–68. hoods and communities of color where waste
repositories have been proposed. Thus, a more
appropriate term for resistance to the LULU in this
instance would be NIABY, or not in anybody’s
LOCALLY UNWANTED backyard. The latter suggests elimination of the
facility up front rather than accommodation of the
LAND USES (LULUS) offending practice and/or its waste by-products.
Recognition of environmental LULUs and the
The acronym LULU stands for locally unwanted organized resistance to them has increased since
land use—a facility whose siting is resisted by local the 1950s due to the post–World War II intro-
residents. Typically consisting of hazardous waste duction of chlorinated hydrocarbons in the pro-
repositories, landfills, power plants, highways, duction process, which are linked to health
and other projects that may pose an environmen- problems (e.g., at Love Canal and other Superfund
tal or health risk, LULUs may also be prisons, waste disposal sites). Another issue concerns the
low-income housing, shelters, treatment centers, spatial separation of the site of production from
and other facilities perceived as lowering property residential areas, an idea dating from the late 19th
values and posing a security risk. A LULU may century, in which homes are often portrayed as a
also be a facility that is resisted due to racial preju- refuge from the consequences of factories and
dice. LULUs are closely linked to the more com- other sites of work. Such separation is now under
mon acronym NIMBY (not in my backyard), a attack as the continued expansion of the forces of
term referring to the common position taken by production, and the ensuing negative externalities
local residents when faced with a LULU. of production (e.g., noise, waste, and pollution),
Geographers and planners take a particular has invaded these residential sanctuaries.
interest in LULUs, because resistance to them Michael K. Heiman
illustrates the dynamics of political conflict in
urban space. While geographers are more inclined See also Externalities; Love Canal; Not in My Backyard
to address the structural conditions giving rise (NIMBY); Urban Solid Waste Management
to the LULUs and the NIMBY response, it gener-
ally falls to planners to suggest ways to overcome
Further Readings
this resistance through measures such as public
participation in decision making, risk communi- Heiman, M. (1990). From “not in my backyard!” to
cation, “fair-share” allocation, mediation, com- “not in anybody’s backyard!” Journal of the
pensation, negotiated settlement, and, when all American Planning Association, 56, 359–362.
else fails, outright preemption by higher levels of
 LOC A T ION-A LLOC A T ION MODELING &,.(

being protected by a fire station. Given the facil-

Popper, F. (1981, April). Siting LULUs. Planning, 47, ity and demand types, the location-allocation
12–15. problem involves selecting facility sites (location)
Schively, C. (2007). Understanding the NIMBY and and prescribing which demand is served by what
LULU phenomena: Reassessing our knowledge facility (allocation). Of interest is accomplishing
base and informing future research. Journal of the location and allocation in such a manner that
Planning Literature, 21, 255–266. system service is as good and/or efficient as pos-
sible. System service then is characterized in
terms of economic efficiency.
A location-allocation model is a mathematical
LOCATION-ALLOCATION representation of a planning problem consisting
of decision variables associated with location and
MODELING allocation choices, the objective(s) to be opti-
mized, and the constraining conditions that must
Though often used to refer to more general loca- be satisfied. The model is specified in algebraic
tion-theoretic constructs, location-allocation terms as a series of linear and/or nonlinear func-
modeling is a specific class of spatial optimization tions. Some prominent location-allocation mod-
model where two simultaneous decisions are els include the simple plant location problem, the
being made about where a facility should be sited p-median problem, the capacitated plant location
(location) and what entities/areas should be served problem, and the transportation p-median prob-
by the facility (allocation). Geographers have lem. Of course, there are many other location-
made important and sustained contributions to allocation models, some extensions of these basic
this area of research, developing and extending problems.
mathematical models, devising effective solution There are two primary variants of location-al-
techniques, and applying models to public and location models, distinguishable by their spatial
private sector planning problems. Prominent representation of potential facility locations. One
geographers working in the area include Charles variant allows facilities to be located anywhere in
ReVelle, Gerard Rushton, Michael Goodchild, continuous space. Facilities are therefore consid-
and Richard Church, among others. ered to be feasible at any location in space. Travel
A location-allocation model locates a multiple through space is often assumed to occur in a read-
number of facilities and allocates the demand ily defined manner, such as Euclidean or rectilin-
served by these facilities so that access and/or sys- ear distance. In contrast, the other primary variant
tem service is as efficient as possible. This defini- assumes that facilities are only allowed at discrete
tion recognizes the significance and necessity of locations. That is, facilities are limited to a finite
optimizing a system on the whole in a coordinated set of potential sites. As a result, travel through
fashion, in contrast to one-at-a-time addition of a space is assumed to take place through a transpor-
facility when multiple facilities are sited. tation network consisting of nodes and arcs. Other
Many different types of facilities are possible in distinctions of location-allocation models include
a location-allocation model. In retail, a facility capacitated versus uncapacitated facilities, sto-
could be an outlet, store, warehouse, restaurant, chastic versus static demand, and complete versus
and so on. Facilities associated with emergency partial assignment of demand to a facility.
services could include not only fire and police sta- Depending on the location-allocation model of
tions but also ambulances, warning sirens, disas- interest, the problem solution may be accom-
ter relief centers, and so on. Potential facilities plished by applying an exact or heuristic approach.
could be schools, libraries, or even public pools An exact solution approach is one where an opti-
and salt pile storage sites for road maintenance. mal solution is guaranteed by the method. That
Depending on the type of facility, examples of is, it is possible to prove that the solution is the
demand to be served could be stores receiving best possible and no other solution exists that is
merchandise from a warehouse, neighborhoods better. Examples of exact approaches include enu-
being serviced by a school, or homes/businesses meration, linear programming, and integer-linear
&,.) LO C A T I O N-BASE D SE RVICE S

programming. A heuristic solution approach, on

the other hand, is one where feasibility is usually Cooper, L. (1963). Location-allocation problems.
ensured (all constraints satisfied), but there is no Operations Research, 11, 331–343.
guarantee of its quality. More specifically, a heu- Hakimi, L. (1964). Optimum locations of switching
ristic is a strategy-based approach that typically centers and absolute centers and medians of a
employs rules-of-thumb procedures to obtain a graph. Operations Research, 12, 450–459.
solution, preferably of high quality. Examples ReVelle, C., & Swain, R. (1970). Central facilities
of successful heuristics applied to location- location. Geographical Analysis, 2, 30–42.
allocation models include alternating heuristic,
interchange, simulated annealing, tabu search,
genetic algorithms, and so on. A general finding
is that exact approaches typically require consid- LOCATION-BASED SERVICES
erable computational effort and can be limited in
the size of problems that can be solved, whereas Location-based services (LBSs) have emerged pri-
heuristic approaches are often capable of deriving marily due to the availability of, and the possibility
good solutions quickly but with uncertainty about of coupling, “location,” “mobility,” and “con-
solution quality. text” information. Of these, location and mobility
Location-allocation models continue to have play central roles, and context describes the envi-
practical relevance in planning, policy, and deci- ronment for the process of decision making in
sion making but are also viewed as important LBSs. LBSs are different from conventional geo-
because they can be used to represent other loca- graphic information systems (GIS) in that they fea-
tion-theoretic constructs, such as coverage mod- ture mobility and the possibility of position
els. Nevertheless, location-allocation models determination while mobile. In other words, spa-
have proven to be challenging to solve in practice. tial decision making in LBSs is based on mobility
Part of this difficulty is attributable to the com- and position, which involves dynamic locations of
plexities of dealing with geographic space and people and objects. An example of LBS is a naviga-
spatial relationships, but it is also the result tion system in which a user’s location (“location”)
of large problems being associated with better- is continuously (“mobility”) computed for the pur-
quality, more detailed spatial information man- pose of finding routes (“context”), among other
aged using geographic information systems (GIS). things. LBSs, in general, could provide answers to
The continuing challenges in location-allocation questions such as the following:
modeling will be its use in new application con-
texts, the extension of existing models to account u Where am I located at any given time with
for enhanced problem realities, the development respect to another given location?
of heuristics to solve larger planning problems u Where are the locations of given people/objects
more quickly and efficiently, and further develop- with respect to my current location?
ment of exact approaches for model solution. u Where is the nearest location of a specific
person/object with respect to my current
Alan T. Murray
location?
u Is my location within a given proximity to a
See also Models and Modeling; Quantitative Methods;
certain person/object?
Spatial Optimization Methods

As is clear from the above questions, LBSs must

be able to provide “location” and “mobility”
Further Readings information and use them in a “context” to rea-
son and make decisions.
Church, R., & Murray, A. (2008). Business site Figure 1 highlights the types of features LBSs
selection, location analysis and GIS. New York: support and the types of technologies they use.
Wiley. The green circle highlights the features typically
supported by LBSs, which include localization,
 LOC A T ION-BA SED SER V ICE S &,.*

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m
Mobility
siti

rele tion
m
Geopo

ss
Localization Accessibility

LBS
Spatio-Termporal Visualization

Ma
Modeling and
Analysis

p
S

p
GI

Scalability

i ng
Infra
structure

Applications

Figure 1 LBS features and technologies

Source: Author.

mobility, accessibility, visualization, scalability, user’s current location. The visualization feature is
and spatiotemporal modeling and analysis. The for presenting location and context in a meaning-
localization feature is for finding a user’s location, ful way to the user. The scalability feature guaran-
which could be requested at fixed intervals or on tees solutions with acceptable response times
the fly. It is worth noting the difference between regardless of how much information is being com-
position and location, as well as their relation to puted for decision making. For example, a task in
localization in general. By position, we refer to one location may require a much larger amount of
coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) as com- data for computation and visualization than
puted by a positioning technology. By location, would be needed in another location. The spa-
we refer to a place to which the position belongs. tiotemporal modeling and analysis support effi-
For example, the coordinates of a car as deter- cient reasoning and decision making at a given
mined by a navigation system give the position of location and within a user-specified context.
the car and the road segment constituting the loca- The blue circle in Figure 1 highlights the com-
tion of the car. The access feature is for accessing mon technologies on which LBSs are based. Each
information and functionality remotely from the category of technologies is for implementing one
&,.+ LO C A T I O N QU OTIE NTS

of the features in the green circle. Geopositioning location-based experiences. An example in

technologies are for implementing the localiza- health care is the work by Elizabeth LaRue and
tion feature—that is, finding the position and her colleagues called COMPANION; members
location of people and objects. The types of geo- of the network can assist a member suffering
positioning technologies used in LBSs include from depression. Another example of LBSN is
global positioning system (GPS), radio frequency the recent work by Hassan Karimi and his col-
identification (RFID), and Wi-Fi, among others. leagues, where a framework for social naviga-
Most such technologies provide position infor- tion network (SoNavNet) can assist members of
mation that, depending on the application/service the network with navigation, points of interest,
at hand, could be converted to location. Mobile and route recommendations that are based on
devices are used for implementing the mobility members’ experiences.
feature and include primarily personal digital
Hassan A. Karimi
assistants (i.e., handheld computers) and cell
phones, especially smart phones. Wireless com-
See also Dynamic and Interactive Displays; Global
munication allows LBS users to access data and
Positioning Systems (GPS); Mobile GIS; Mobility
other relevant resources remotely from various
sources, such as LBS providers and third-party
vendors. Mapping is a predominant form of visu-
alizing information. Infrastructure refers to the Further Readings
underlying set of platforms and components
required for the LBS. One example of such a LBS Karimi, H. A., & Hammad, A. (Eds.). (2004).
platform would be the Android system by Google. Telegeoinformatics: Location-based computing
GIS, general purpose and specialized, is used for and services. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
spatiotemporal modeling and analysis and for Raper, J., Gartner, G., Karimi, H. A., & Rizos, C.
developing or customizing tools to support LBS (2007a). Applications of location-based services:
decision making. A selected review. Journal of Location Based
While LBS applications and services share com- Services, 1, 89–111.
mon features and technologies, the implementa- Raper, J., Gartner, G., Karimi, H. A., & Rizos, C.
tion of each LBS application or service may (2007b). A critical evaluation of location based
require a unique infrastructure as well as specific services and their potential. Journal of Location
sets of spatial and nonspatial data to meet the Based Services, 1, 5–45.
requirements of the underlying application or ser-
vice. For example, an LBS used for advertising
coupons for customers requires a different infra-
structure and different sets of spatial and nonspa-
tial data from an LBS that is used for education. LOCATION QUOTIENTS
Since the early developments in LBSs, applica-
tions and services based on LBSs have been emerg- Location quotients are a simple, widely used tech-
ing continually and rapidly. Currently, such nique, primarily in economic geography, to mea-
applications and services include the health, envi- sure how specialized the structure of the economy
ronment, education, and marketing domains, of a given study region is in comparison with a
among others. reference region (typically the country). They
A recent trend has been to merge LBSs with compare regional structural composition with
social networks (SNs), resulting in a new research that of the reference region by assessing an indus-
thrust called location-based social networks try’s share of a total regional economy relative to
(LBSNs). LBSNs are social networks that can its share nationally. Usually, location quotients
provide location-based information without use employment data, although they can be used
computation but, instead, through the experi- with any other kind of relevant information, such
ences of those who are trusted members in as output. Thus, in its simplest terms, a location
the network and who are willing to share their quotient (LQ) can be defined as
 LOC A T ION QUOT IEN TS &,.,

3FHJPOBM JOEVTUSJBM FNQMPZNFOU> quotient of 1.0 is assumed to be driven by regional

5PUBM SFHJPOBM FNQMPZNFOU exports; high location quotients are thus associ-
-2 ‰ ; ated with economic multiplier effects. A quotient
/BUJPOBM JOEVTUSJBM FNQMPZNFOU>
5PUBM OBUJPOBM FNQMPZNFOU equal to 1.0 indicates that the region and the coun-
try are equally specialized; that is, the region is
In mathematical terms, neither importing nor exporting output in that
sector. A quotient less than 1.0 indicates a region
FJS >FUS that is less specialized than is the country; that is,
-2 ‰ <
FJC >FUC its degree of specialization is unlikely to meet local
where demand, and it is likely importing output in the
industry. Obviously, if regions are more special-
eir = employment in industry i in region r,
ized in some sectors (LQ  1.0), they will be less
etr = total employment in region r, specialized in others (LQ  1.0). The choice of
eib = employment in industry i in reference reference region (e.g., a county vs. state or coun-
region b, and try) is important, for it can affect the outcome
etb = total employment in reference region b. significantly. Such an approach assumes that local
productivity equals that of the country as a whole;
For example, to compare how specialized the if the region enjoys a comparative advantage in
economy of New York City is in banking in rela- the industry under question, it may be more pro-
tion to that of the United States (base region), say ductive than the country as a whole.
that we are given the following hypothetical data: Location quotients can be mapped at a variety
of spatial scales and over time to yield a simple
eb,ny = Employment in banking in New York City portrait of how regional diversity and complexity
= 350,000. change geographically and temporally. Maps of
et,ny = Total employment in New York City comparative advantage, for example, use location
= 3,000,000. quotients. Obviously, such a measure is relatively
eb,us = Employment in banking in the United States crude, and more sophisticated measures of
= 12,000,000. regional specialization exist. Nonetheless, loca-
tion quotients are widely used in many urban
et,us = Total employment in the United States
planning and economic analysis circles because
= 120,000,000.
they yield a convenient and readily understand-
able portrait of regional specialization.
Thus, New York’s location quotient in banking
would be Barney Warf

LQb,ny = 350,000/3,000,000 = 0.1166 = 1.166. See also Comparative Advantage; Economic Base
Analysis
And the location quotient in banking for the
United States would be

LQb,us = 12,000,000/120,000,000 = 0.10 = 1.00. Further Readings

Thus, New York City’s location quotient in bank- Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. (n.d.).
ing indicates that it is more specialized (by 16%) Understanding location quotients. Retrieved May
in this industry than is the country as a whole. 13, 2009, from www.economicmodeling.com/
A location quotient greater than unity indicates resources/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/emsi_
that the region is more specialized in a particular understandinglq.pdf
industry than is the country and is likely exporting Leigh, R. (1970). The use of location quotients in
the output of the industry; that is, it reflects a urban economic base studies. Land Economics,
comparative advantage or economic base. Employ- 46(2), 202–205.
ment in excess of that necessary to yield a location
&,.- LO C A T I O N THE ORY

LOCATION THEORY wealthy Prussian landlord, bought a 1,146-acre

estate at Mecklenburg in 1810 and compiled data
in 1821 for The Isolated State, the first model of
Location theory refers to a conceptual perspective land markets, which subsequently had important
widely used in economic geography during the effects on studies of early land use (see Figure 1).
1950s and 1960s, primarily during the reign of In 1909, Alfred Weber (1868–1958), younger
the philosophy of logical positivism. Location brother of the famed sociologist Max Weber,
theory exemplified geography as a spatial science, inspired the first industrial location theory. Webe-
primarily concerned about abstract laws applica- rian analysis centered on transportation costs,
ble under all circumstances. arguing that firms located where the sum of trans-
Location theories in various forms shared a com- porting inputs and outputs was minimized, lead-
mon focus on the centrality of models as bridges ing them to be resource or market oriented. Walter
between the empirical world and the theoretical Christaller (1893–1969) wrote his enormously
world of prediction and explanation. Models distill influential dissertation Central Places in Southern
the essence of the world, revealing causal properties Germany, in 1933, which founded central place
via simplification. A good model is simple enough theory, the conception of city systems in terms of a
to be understood by its users, representative enough hierarchy of market areas distributing goods and
to be used in a wide variety of circumstances, and services. This view of city systems posits them as
complex enough to capture the essence of the phe- retail centers (central places) that distribute goods
nomenon under investigation. Typically, models and services to their surrounding hinterlands. Each
were developed, tested, and applied using quantita- good has a threshold, or minimum market size,
tive methods. This approach to geography relied on and a range, or maximum distance consumers will
a Cartesian view of absolute space, generally in the travel to purchase it. A hierarchy of goods and ser-
form of an isotropic plain in which space is reduced vices leads to a hierarchy of central places, with
to distance and spatial variations only occur lower-order ones nested within the hinterlands of
through transport costs. Essentially, location theory higher-order ones. Assuming an isotropic plain, a
reduced geography to a form of geometry, a view hexagonal network of market areas should emerge.
in which spatiality is manifested as surfaces, nodes, Central place theory became the basis of most
networks, hierarchies, and diffusion processes. In urban geography in the late 1950s and 1960s.
short, this theory presented a view of space devoid Finally, August Lösch (1906–1945) contributed to
of social relations. location theory with the publication of The Eco-
Location theory developed close ties to neo- nomics of Location in 1939.
classical economics, spatializing economic rela- Location theorists developed and applied a vari-
tions through the use of cost-minimization and ety of models to understand economic and demo-
profit- and utility-maximization models. Often, it graphic phenomena such as urban spatial structure,
began with the assumption, and reached the con- the location of firms, the influences of transporta-
clusion, that unfettered markets were Pareto-op- tion costs, technological change, migration, and
timal in nature. In some cases, location theory the optimal location of facilities. One group, grav-
turned to cognitive psychology and behavioral ity models, originated in Newtonian physics and
geography to incorporate probabilistic models of became a highly successful way of modeling spa-
behavior under uncertainty in studies of spatial tial interaction and predicting (though not neces-
cognition, decision theory, and suboptimality. sarily explaining) patterns of interurban migration.
This line of thought has been central to the disci- Gravity models are widely used in studies of com-
pline of regional science, a hybrid of economic muting and shopping, for traffic planning, and for
geography and spatial economics. models of transportation and communication.
Although it arose in popularity in the 1950s Similarly, network and graph theory became a use-
and 1960s, location theory drew on an older ful way of mathematically describing the essential
tradition of German economic geography that properties of networks of any kind, noting the
extended to the early 19th century. For example, accessibility of different nodes. It became a useful
Johann Henreich von Thünen (1783–1850), a way of approaching transportation problems (e.g.,
 LOC A T ION T HEO RY &,..

information, and diseases) moved through time and

space. Diffusion was held to be either contagious or

Office price (rent)

hierarchical. The use of so-called Monte Carlo
models introduced probability theory into models
Retail of the innovation adoption process. Originally
designed to maximize the adoption of new tech-
niques for development purposes, the topic is useful
Office for epidemiologists and in marketing, where it is
applied to analyses of consumer behavior.
Residential There is no doubt that location theory made
A B
great contributions to human geography. It popu-
0
Distance from centre larized the use of rigorous quantitative techniques
Shopping zone
Commerical
such as multiple regression, log-linear modeling,
(office) zone factor analysis, discriminate functions, and entropy
maximization and minimized armchair specula-
Residential zone tion by asserting the importance of testable hypoth-
eses. Its models have found a wide array of
applications, including traffic planning and retail
trade analysis, and shaped development strategies
during the heyday of modernization theory. Loca-
Figure 1 The von Thünen model, developed in the tion theory uncovered a great deal of structure,
early 19th century, has long played a central role in pattern, and regularity in human spatial behavior,
models of land use and continues to be useful today
shedding considerable light on how markets func-
as a means of explicating how land markets
tion and allowing alternative scenarios to be envi-
maximize rents (profits). Although originally
construed as means of analyzing agricultural land use sioned and assessed. Coupled with GIS, this
patterns, it also has broad applicability to urban land approach raised the analytical sophistication of
markets, as illustrated by the varying uses competing economic and urban geography significantly.
for high-rent land at the urban core and progressively Ultimately, however, location theory declined in
lower-rent land with distance toward the periphery. popularity as logical positivism fell from favor. Its
Source: Figure 8, p. 50, from A Dictionary of Geography, central problems included the fetishization of
Second Edition, by Susan Mayhew. Copyright © Susan quantitative approaches; its increasingly unrealis-
Mayhew 1992, 1997, 2004. Reprinted with permission of tic assumption of an objective, value-free observer;
Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
and its silence concerning social relations and
social structures. The ontology of location theory
is essentially atomistic; that is, it reduces the social
the famous “traveling salesman” problem). Increas- to the individual through a process often called
ingly sophisticated mathematics invoked linear methodological individualism and, in so doing,
programming algorithms to develop location-allo- tears variables from their social context. The focus
cation models, a convenient way to find optimal on models led location theorists to ignore wider
locations (e.g., for factories or stores) by minimiz- issues of class, gender, power, and struggle, posit-
ing transport costs subject to some constraint (e.g., ing instead an antiseptic, ahistorical, and sterile
total travel costs or time). Combined with geo- world of social order but not social change. Because
graphic information systems (GIS), this approach it did not take subjectivity seriously, it deprived
is widely used in engineering and site location stud- itself of any way to include human consciousness
ies, such as for public services. in all its complexity and richness. Location theory
A somewhat different category of location theory thus focused on appearances rather than causes,
concerned the process of spatial diffusion. Intro- forms rather than processes, naturalizing the status
duced by the famous Swedish geographer Torsten quo and leaving itself incapable of being critical.
Hägerstrand, this approach was concerned with the
ways in which innovations (e.g., new technologies, Barney Warf
&-%% LO GI C A L POSITIVISM

See also Applied Geography; Central Place Theory; Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege and the British
Diffusion; Economic Geography; Factors Affecting philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell,
Location of Firms; GIS in Transportation; Gravity they were also inspired by Ludwig Wittgenstein’s
Model; Growth Poles; Hägerstrand, Torsten; notion that philosophy’s role was to provide a
Innovation, Geography of; Input-Output Models; logical clarification of thought. As such, metaphys-
Logical Positivism; Lösch, August; Models and ical speculation, that is, knowledge not grounded
Modeling; Nomothetic; Quantitative Methods; in logic and empirical evidence (such as religion), is
Quantitative Revolution; Regional Science; Spatial automatically deemed unscientific. The growth of
Analysis; Spatial Interaction Models; Thünen Model; logical positivism in the United States came about
Tobler, Waldo; Transportation Geography; Urban during the 1930s. Many of the scholars behind the
Geography; Weber, Alfred movement in Europe immigrated to the United
States, where their ideas were well received. For
example, in the late 1930s, Feigl, Frank, Carnap,
Further Readings and Hempel relocated to the University of Iowa,
Harvard University, the University of Chicago, and
Harrington, J., & Warf, B. (1994). Industrial the City College of New York, respectively.
location: Principles, practice, and policy. London:
Routledge.
Tenets of Positivism
Nickel, S., & Puerto, J. (2005). Location theory:
A unified approach. Amsterdam: Springer. Positivism differs from logical positivism in that
the former originated from Auguste Comte during
the period from 1798 to 1857 and aims to distin-
guish science from both metaphysics and religion.
The two terms, however, are often used inter-
LOGICAL POSITIVISM changeably. Logical positivism distinguishes math-
ematics and logic, and the analytical statements
Logical positivism (often simply called positiv- that can be formed from them, from empiricism.
ism) has long been, and still remains, an enor- Positivism, more so than logical positivism, can be
mously influential philosophy in geography and based on empirically accessible experiences of the
many other disciplines. It is commonly associated world. Logical positivists hold that scientific knowl-
with the scientific method, which holds that sci- edge does not rise solely from experience (i.e., posi-
entific knowledge can be attained only through tivism differs from empiricism). Logical positivists
rigorous logical analysis and empirical evidence. privileged mathematics in scientific decision mak-
It remains the dominant guiding epistemology of ing as the surest way to analyze data. Logical posi-
natural and physical scientists, although it has tivism recognizes only two types of scientific
profoundly affected the history and contents of reasoning. The first is based on statements that can
many social sciences as well. be verified empirically (a posteriori). The second is
based on analytical statements of logic and mathe-
matics that are deemed to be true or false by their
Historical Origins
mere definition and deduction (a priori).
Although its history can arguably be traced as far Logical positivism encompasses two important
back as classical Greece, logical positivism for- concepts dealing with the structure of scientific
mally originated in the 1920s in Austria and Ger- theories: the differences between observational
many. Among its founding leaders were Rudolf and theoretical statements (where truth is the cor-
Carnap, Moritz Schlick (founder of the Vienna respondence between them) and between syn-
Circle), Hans Reichenbach (founder of the Berlin thetic and analytical statements. These differences
Circle), Carl Hempel, Otto Neurath, Victor Kraft, are used to explain deductive reasoning in scien-
Kurt Grelling, Philipp Frank, and Herbert Feigl. tific theorizing.
While the early logical positivists combined the Positivists attempt to construct universal laws of
logical concepts of Ernst Mach with the ideas of explanation based on generalizations of empirical
 LOGIC A L P OSIT IV IS M &-%&

patterns. For example, if Consumer A lives closer

Positivism in Geography
to a mall than Consumer B, then he or she is more
likely to shop at that mall than Consumer B. Simi- Logical positivism’s greatest influence in geography
larly, people tend to migrate more frequently over is associated with the quantitative revolution of the
shorter distances than over longer ones. Because 1950s and 1960s, which included a heavy emphasis
distance imposes costs on consumers and migrants, on laws and theories by geographers and a predilec-
they collectively will tend to travel less frequently tion for empirically based models. Traditional geog-
the farther away they live. From such observa- raphy consisted almost entirely of regional
tions, distance decay becomes an observed “law” description. The maturation of the logical positivist
of consumer and migrant behavior. All these movement in the 1950s confronted geographers with
notions combine to create “a Truth,” as opposed the task of deciding in which direction to take the
to “one truth” among many. discipline, a conundrum exemplified in the adversar-
Advancements in logical positivism were based ial stands of Richard Hartshorne and Fred Schaefer.
on two distinctions. First, analytical statements of Hartshorne advocated descriptive (traditional) geog-
truth are true a priori, that is, by their definition raphy, while Schaefer pushed for a new, scientific
and association with logic, the formal sciences, geography. Schaefer attacked Hartshorne’s empiri-
and mathematics. Logical knowledge from math- cist emphasis on regional distinctions and instead
ematics, for example, is reducible to formal logic. favored nomothetic, lawlike statements to explain
Second, empirical statements of truths are empiri- and predict spatial patterns. This attack encouraged
cally proven through hypothesis testing. Empiri- geographers to rethink the direction of the discipline
cal knowledge includes physics, biology, in a way that made it more theoretical and mathe-
chemistry, and the other natural sciences. matical. As geography became more quantitatively
Since the rise of logical positivism, a significant based during the quantitative revolution of the 1950s
advance was the rise of Karl Popper’s principle of and 1960s, it became heavily grounded in scientific
falsification: Popper argued that science proceeds rules of knowledge collection (e.g., random sam-
not by verifying hypotheses but by falsifying pling) and hypothesis testing. Statistical techniques
them. Only statements that can be falsified empir- and abstract scientific models and theories evolved
ically are held to hold scientific value, and science rapidly in number and sophistication.
proceeds not by verifying true statements but by The positivists were largely responsible for the
eliminating false ones. Logical positivists are well- introduction of numerous models into human geog-
known for their emphasis on verification in that raphy, particularly the urban and economic parts
ideas or propositions go through a finite proce- of the discipline, including various quantitative
dure to determine if they are true or false. Meta- models of migration (gravity models), diffusion of
physics and religion do not follow the same innovations, central place theory, location-alloca-
procedures of “truth telling.” tion models, network analysis and graph theory,
Critics argue that the verifiability criterion multivariate statistical techniques, and input-out-
adopted in logical positivism is itself nonverifiable. put models. However, it is now recognized that
Another criticism of logical positivism was that quantitative analysis and positivism are not synon-
observations are inevitably couched in theoretical ymous (e.g., one can be a nonpositivist quantitative
terms. That is, data are always theory laden (but analyst, such as a quantitative Marxist).
not theory determined); the strict separation of Positivist thinking is often associated with neo-
facts and values is thus difficult, if not impossible, classical economic modeling in geography. In this
to sustain. There is also concern that truth changes regard, techniques have traditionally been bor-
as scientific paradigms shift: Positivism’s reliance rowed from other disciplines and used to explain
on the correspondence theory of truth ignores the spatial processes and relationships. For example,
cultural and historical contexts in which true the bid-rent curve, which originated in von Thünen’s
claims are established. As knowledge has increas- famous land use model, is an example of simple,
ingly come to be seen itself as a social construction, quantitative economic modeling. Waldo Tobler
positivism’s portrayal of Truth as external to the may have been the first to create a law (“Tobler’s
social world came under mounting criticism. First Law”) in geography based on gravity models,
&-%' LO N GI T U D E

using mathematical procedures to show that all Location Theory; Models and Modeling; Morrill,
phenomena are interrelated and that nearer things Richard; Nomothetic; Quantitative Methods;
are more closely related than are distant things. Quantitative Revolution; Regional Science; Schaefer,
Tobler’s model has its inspiration in Newton’s law Fred; Spatial Interaction Models; Tobler, Waldo
of universal gravitation and has helped create sta-
tistical procedures unique to geography, known as
geostatistics. Positivism was also instrumental in Further Readings
the growth of disciplines such as regional science.
Friedman, M. (1999). Reconsidering logical positiv-
ism. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
The Decline of Positivism in Geography
Harvey, D. (1969). Explanation in geography. New
Positivism is considerably less popular in geography York: Edward Arnold.
today than it was several decades ago. Several Johnston, R., & Sidaway, J. (2004). Geography and
schools of thought challenged its hegemony, includ- geographers: Anglo-American human geography
ing behavioralism, Marxism, and humanism. The since 1945. London: Edward Arnold.
notion that positive spatial science could provide Mayhall, C. (2002). On logical positivism. Florence,
realistic models was attacked because so many over- KY: Wadsworth.
simplified models ignored historical context, social Schaeffer, F. (1953). Exceptionalism in geography.
relations, power and conflict, and the dynamics of Annals of the Association of American
individual behavior. Marxists alleged that positiv- Geographers, 43, 226–249.
ism’s emphasis on positive rather than normative
standards led it to be overly apolitical, antiseptic,
and incapable of critically addressing pressing social
problems. Quantitative models were held to be able
to describe the world but not explain it, focusing on LONGITUDE
patterns but not processes. Positivism’s emphasis
on prediction as the hallmark of science was also Longitude is the angular distance around Earth
criticized; prediction in the social sciences has from a reference plane that defines a prime
always been problematic, and even in some physi- meridian. A meridian is synonymous with a line
cal sciences (e.g., ecology, geology), prediction is of of longitude. Some conventions apply to angular
limited value. The growth of humanistic thought expressions of longitude. One is that the angle is
led to a further critique of positivist models in geog- expressed counterclockwise with respect to the
raphy as inappropriate when applied to the behav- view from the North Pole to the South Pole.
ior of thinking human beings, with critics noting Sometimes, the angle from the zero meridian is
that the domains of emotion and subjectivity were stated as a value from 0n to 360n. The other con-
not captured by quantitative analysis: In short, pos- vention is to express the longitude as a negative
itivism did not provide an adequate account of the value from 0n to 180n west from the prime and
human subject and consciousness. Finally, the posi- as a positive value from 0n to 180n east of the
tivist assumption of a value-free, objective observer prime. Longitude can be expressed in a variety of
(the myth of “immaculate perception”) was severely units (radians, grads, semicircles, arc seconds, or
criticized; postpositivist thought emphasizes the mils) and formats ( / or E/W, to indicate the
embeddedness of knowledge within its social con- hemisphere; degrees: minutes and fractional min-
text. Nonetheless, despite these criticisms, logical utes; or degrees: minutes: seconds and fractional
positivism still lingers in human and especially seconds).
physical geography, and it has had enormous The determination of longitude on the surface
impacts on the trajectory of geographic inquiry. of Earth is difficult because there is no physical
meaning to any prime meridian. The prime merid-
Brian Ceh
ian has been variously located in Amsterdam,
See also Empiricism; Epistemology; Gravity Model; Athens, Beijing, Djakarta, Berlin, Bern, Brussels,
Human Geography, History of; Input-Output Models; Copenhagen, the Canary Islands, Helsinki, Istanbul,
 LOS A NGELES SC HO O L &-%(

Lisbon, Madrid, Moscow, Oslo, Paris, Rio de

Janeiro, Rome, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Tokyo,
LOS ANGELES SCHOOL
Washington, and other places. It was not until the
1884 Meridian Conference that Greenwich, Eng- In the late 20th century, an unusually large and
land, was selected as a suitable common prime fecund group of loosely affiliated, Marxist-inspired
meridian for the 22 attending countries, a decision urban and economic geographers began to form in
based on the dominance of British charts in navi- Southern California, particularly at the University
gation. The Greenwich prime was defined as the of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Uni-
center of the Royal Observatory transit telescope. versity of Southern California. This group, includ-
Since then, most geodetic datums in use place the ing notables such as Michael Dear, Edward Soja,
actual zero line of longitude a few tens of meters Allen Scott, Michael Storper, and Mike Davis,
east or west of the original transit instrument. Even played a key role in shaping urban political econ-
a datum used within Britain, such as the Ordnance omy and injecting space into debates about the
Survey of 1936, places the zero line of longitude changing structure of capitalism. In particular, it
several meters away from the original Greenwich was instrumental in theorizing the urban division of
meridian. Without reference to a specific geodetic labor under post-Fordism or flexible production
datum, longitude values will point to different and, more broadly, in injecting space into the heart
places on Earth. of all social analysis, helping dethrone historicism.
Since the establishment of an implied zero The so-called Los Angeles School upheld the
meridian in the 1960s by the Bureau Interna- greater conurbation of the region as the prototype
tional de L’Heure, modern geodetic datums fix of postindustrial, polycentric urbanization under
the zero line of longitude not with a single point advanced, globalized capitalism. This view was in
or line but based on a network of observatories contrast to the Chicago School of the early 20th
around the world with longitudes whose offset century, which was located within, and concen-
from zero is defined. Geodesists may base their trated on, the epitome of industrialized, unicentric
zero line of longitude on the International Earth urbanization embedded within a largely national
Rotation Service’s International Terrestrial Ref- market. In many ways, the school arose as an
erence Frame (ITRF), which is updated to a attempt to make sense of the bewildering changes
new version every few years to account for con- unfolding across the region as Los Angeles was
tinental drift. Modern global geodetic datums, repeatedly reconfigured by massive social, techno-
such as the World Geodetic System of 1984 logical, and spatial changes, which were generat-
(WGS-84), are occasionally reset to ITRF, ing a new urban regime of accumulation. Rather
slightly changing the location of the zero line of than an exception to long-held norms of urban
longitude. analysis, Los Angeles became the new template for
understanding other cities. Thus, for Soja, in a line
Peter H. Dana
used often in his works, “it all comes together in
L.A.”; that is, Los Angeles is the exemplar of con-
See also Datums; Earth’s Coordinate Grid; Equator;
temporary capitalism in all its gory complexity. As
Latitude
the ideas of the Los Angeles School became increas-
ingly important in the discipline, other urban areas
began to be dissected in similar terms. While it
Further Readings does not constitute a homogeneous whole—some
doubt even the existence of such a school—certain
Cross, P. A. (1990). Position: Just what does it mean? commonalities run throughout.
Journal of Navigation, 43(2), 246–262. Central to this line of thought was the primacy
Howse, D. (1980). Greenwich time and the discovery of production systems as the core of urban analysis,
of the longitude. Oxford, UK: Oxford University in contrast to the privileged status of individual
Press. decision making and residential space in both social
Sobel, D. (1998). Longitude. London: Fourth Estate. ecology and neoclassical economic analyses. Scott’s
work laid the ground conceptually for the idea of
&-%) LO S A N GE L E S SCHOOL

an urban division of labor organized around the beyond simple stereotypes about the Los Angeles
input-output transactions of firms, which range region as a “set of suburbs looking for a city.” To
from densely clustered, vertically integrated net- quote Dear and Dahmann (2008), “In modernist
works in the inner city to more dispersed, capital- urbanism, the impetus for growth and change
intensive firms on the periphery. The historic shift proceeds outward from the city’s central core
into flexible production—a phenomenon identified to its hinterlands. But in postmodern urbanism,
rather early by some in the Los Angeles School— this logic is precisely reversed” (p. 269). Thus,
marked a significant transformation of firm orga- Los Angeles incorporated a diverse mix of archi-
nization and associated labor markets, ushering in tectural types, immigrant communities (notably
broad-based changes in residential space, such as including many Latinos and Asians rather than
gentrification, and mounting social and spatial the traditional black-white chasm), political prac-
inequality, including homelessness. Intimately tices, cultural configurations, and lifestyles.
intertwined with this perspective was an account In offering this set of interpretations, the Los
of the state, via various urban planning practices, Angeles School did much more than simply sub-
as it accommodated the shifting imperatives of stitute one model of urbanization for another
capital and sought to reign in the anarchy of the (i.e., a Sunbelt version rather than a Midwestern
market. In this way, the Los Angeles School’s view one); rather, it redefined the meaning of the urban
became an important stepping stone in the incor- and recast the nature of urban theory itself.
poration of regulation and regime theory, with
Barney Warf
close ties to subsequent work on world cities.
Moreover, this view noted, urban areas had
See also Chicago School; Dear, Michael; Flexible
become increasingly globalized—that is, situated
Production; Industrial Districts; Scott, Allen; Soja,
within a worldwide division of labor or, more
Edward; Storper, Michael; World Cities
specifically, as a part of a global “necklace” of
city-regions that propelled the international econ-
omy forward. Subsequent work elaborated on the
role of interpersonal contact, face-to-face com- Further Readings
munications, and tacit knowledge in the creation
of dense pools of firms locked into tightly bound Davis, M. (2006). City of quartz: Excavating the
networks. Firms and neighborhoods throughout future in Los Angeles. New York: Verso.
Los Angeles, from the dream factories of Holly- Dear, M. (Ed.). (2001). From Chicago to L.A.: Making
wood to the aerospace complex of Orange County sense of urban theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
to the immigrant clusters of Koreatown, were Dear, M. (2003). The Los Angeles School of
thus all simultaneously local and global, posi- urbanism: An intellectual history. Urban
tioned between and across two scales that were Geography, 24(6), 493–509.
more complementary than mutually exclusive. Dear, M., & Dahmann, N. (2008). Urban politics
For more culturally inclined scholars such as and the Los Angeles School of urbanism. Urban
Michael Dear, Los Angeles exemplified postmod- Affairs Review, 44, 266–279.
ernism as an ideological stance and cultural prac- Dear, M., & Flusty, S. (1998). Postmodern urbanism.
tice, in contrast to the modernism of Chicago. Annals of the Association of American
Los Angeles was a pastiche, a complex text to be Geographers, 88(1), 50–72.
deconstructed, often with neologisms. The play Scott, A. (1993). Technopolis: High-technology industry
of capital over space, and its relations with labor, and regional development in Southern California.
generated a fragmented quilt of local communi- Berkeley: University of California Press.
ties, a leapfrogging checkerboard that defies easy Scott, A. (2005). On Hollywood: The place, the
generalization, and called for approaches that industry. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
embraced the heterogeneity, hybridity, and frac- Scott, A., & Soja, E. (1996). The city: Los Angeles
talized nature of urban space. Stepping aside from and urban theory at the end of the twentieth
the convenient models of urbanism bequeathed century. Berkeley: University of California Press.
by traditional urban analysis implied moving
 LÖSC H, A UGU S T &-%*

importance of the prior work of Christaller

Scott, A., & Storper, M. (1986). Production, work, (1893–1969). Lösch generalized Christaller’s
territory: The geographical anatomy of industrial work and explained it with formal economic
capitalism. Boston: Allen & Unwin. logic. The contributions of both geographers
Shearmur, R. (2008). Chicago and LA: A clash of stand in mutual support of each other.
epistemologies. Urban Geography, 29(2), 167–176. Lösch developed his hypotheses in the logical
Soja, E. (1996). Thirdspace: Journeys to Los Angeles positivistic style of the location analysis school
and other real-and-imagined places. Oxford, UK: pioneered by Johann Heinrich von Thünen
Blackwell. (1783–1850). Lösch’s conjecture was that spatial
Storper, M., & Scott, A. (Eds.). (1992). Pathways to patterns of settlement can be described, and their
industrialization and regional development. interaction and location explained and predicted,
Boston: Routledge. based on their productive activities and their
trade. He concluded, as had Christaller earlier,
that in a spatial equilibrium, there would be a
hierarchy of places. Higher-order places would
LÖSCH, AUGUST produce goods and services that required greater
numbers of people distributed over larger trade
(1906–1945) areas for their support. Lower-order places offer
goods and services that require fewer people to
The economist August Lösch was a major con- be sustained. Lower-order places, with their
tributor to the formation of the body of knowl- smaller trade areas, are embedded among fewer
edge combining geography and economics. With higher-order places and their larger trade areas.
the geographer Walter Christaller, he made Christaller’s system of central places begins at
important contributions to the intellectual thread the highest order, while Lösch’s system begins at
of location theory extending back to J. H. von the lowest order.
Thünen and carrying forward to the formation of Trade areas would arise in the shape of hexa-
the multidisciplinary field of regional science. gons if the landscape were isotropic. Hexagons
Lösch’s childhood years were spent in Heiden- are the most compact of packable shapes.
heim, Württemberg, Germany. He studied eco- Christaller had shown that nodes of development
nomics in Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, are expected to arise on the apices, arcs, or inte-
Germany, with Walter Eucken (1891–1950) and rior of the trade area boundaries, depending on
later studied economics under the mentorship of the initial assumptions of the model and charac-
Joseph Schumpeter (1883–1950) at Harvard teristics of the landscape. Lösch demonstrated
University. Among Schumpeter’s students were that the locations of Christaller’s nodes were spe-
the economists James Tobin, Robert Heilbroner, cial cases of a more general geometry. Lösch’s
Shigeto Tsuru, Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, generalization predicted that surrounding a cen-
Abram Bergson, Paul Samuelson, and Robert trally located place, wedge-shaped zones of inten-
Solow; the latter two received the Nobel Prize in sive higher development would arise, alternating
Economics. with zones of comparatively sparse development.
Schumpeter was important in August Lösch’s Because all places were geospatially connected,
intellectual development. Schumpeter wrote trade and people would naturally flow between
on the interdependence between demographic the zones, but with the development advantage
change, trade, economic development, and cycles going to the zone that was “place rich.”
of economic growth and on the importance of
entrepreneurship in creating technical and finan- Grant Thrall
cial innovations. Lösch’s research dealt with the
geospatial patterns of population, trade, and See also Applied Geography; Central Place Theory;
economic development. His most well-known Christaller, Walter; Location Theory; Logical
contribution was The Spatial Organization of Positivism; Models and Modeling; Thünen Model;
the Economy (1940). He acknowledged the Urban Hierarchy
&-%+ LO V E C ANAL

exposure through geographic isolation by fencing

Further Readings
the disposal site, posting warning signs, and main-
Lösch, A. (1937). Population cycles as a cause of
taining long-term trusteeship of the land. When
business cycles. Quarterly Journal of Economics,
that trusteeship broke down, situations such as
51, 649–662.
Love Canal emerged.
Lösch, A. (1954). The economics of location. New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press. (Original work Historical Geography of Love Canal
published in German in 1940)
Love Canal, in the southeastern corner of Niagara
Falls, was the site of William T. Love’s failed
attempt to generate hydroelectricity by connecting
the upper and lower Niagara River, bypassing the
LOVE CANAL Niagara Falls. Less than 1 mile of the canal was
built before Love’s financial backers dropped out,
Love Canal, with its shocking images of toxic and he lost the site to mortgage foreclosure. In the
chemicals seeping into suburban basements and 1920s, the canal was used as a municipal waste
the emergency evacuation of a neighborhood, dump, and in the early 1940s, it was leased and
played a critical role in raising awareness of the eventually purchased by Hooker Chemical and
dangers of industrial wastes. Love Canal was an Plastics Corporation (later Occidental Chemical
abandoned canal in Niagara Falls, New York, Corporation) for chemical waste disposal. Between
where approximately 22,000 tons of chemical 1942 and 1952, Hooker Chemical drained the
wastes were dumped in the 1940s and 1950s. canal and dumped wastes containing at least 200
After the dump’s closure, a public elementary different toxic chemicals, including organic sol-
school, streets of modest single-family houses, vents classified as known or probable carcinogens,
and a public housing complex were built on and such as benzene, trichloroethylene, and tetrachlo-
around the former canal. Over time, drums of roethylene. In 1952, the dump was closed and cov-
chemical wastes began protruding through the ered with soil; in 1953, it was sold to the Niagara
soil, chemicals ponded on the surface, and chok- Falls School Board for $1, along with a stern warn-
ing odors filled basements and neighborhoods. ing that chemical wastes were buried at the site.
When it grabbed national headlines in 1978, Love
Canal dramatically increased the public’s fear of
Discovery of Contamination
chemical wastes, sparked the grassroots antitox-
ics and environmental justice movements, and led Soon after residents moved into the neighbor-
to the creation of stringent state and federal laws hood, there emerged isolated complaints of chem-
to address past contamination. ical odors or residues in basements and yards,
along with minor explosions and spontaneous
fires. Heavy precipitation in 1976 and 1978
Hazardous Waste Management
brought rising water tables, spreading the buried
Before Love Canal
chemical wastes. Environmental monitoring con-
The first half of the 20th century witnessed explo- ducted by the State of New York and U.S. Envi-
sive growth in the chemical industry as new ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirmed
chemicals were developed and production vol- the presence of hazardous chemicals in basements.
umes increased dramatically. Unfortunately, Media attention, the frequent presence of envi-
some of the new organic chemicals were highly ronmental sampling crews, and a paralyzed real
toxic and persistent in the environment. In the estate market led to calls for government inter-
absence of federal hazardous waste regulations, vention. Leading the call for help was neighbor-
the chemical industry often chose inexpensive hood resident and grassroots activist Lois Gibbs,
waste disposal solutions such as open dumping who circulated a petition, collected anecdotal evi-
or liquid-waste lagoons. Aware of toxicity issues, dence of serious health effects, and pressured
companies often attempted to control human reluctant politicians and government officials into
 LOV E C A N AL &-%,

Evacuated Love Canal neighborhood

Source: Lawrence Potts.

addressing the contamination. In August 1978, Substances and Disease Registry concluded that
the State of New York declared a public health Love Canal residents were not at higher risk for
emergency and ordered the permanent relocation cancer but were at significantly higher risk for
of 239 families living along the canal. In 1979, low–birth weight children, birth defects, and
the Love Canal Homeowners Association, led by other adverse reproductive outcomes.
Lois Gibbs, succeeded in convincing officials to
expand the relocation order. President Jimmy
Influence of Love Canal on
Carter declared two federal emergencies, which
Hazardous Waste Policy
provided funds for the relocation of more than
550 additional families in a wider 10-block area. The 1970s were a decade of significant progress
By 1989, the residential relocations and the envi- in regulating hazardous chemicals, including
ronmental investigation and cleanup had cost the amendment of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,
state and federal governments $140 million. After and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in 1972 and passage
16 years of extensive litigation, the Occidental of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
Chemical Corporation agreed to reimburse $129 (RCRA) and the Toxic Substances Control Act
million in costs. Contaminants at the site were (TSCA) in 1976. The RCRA established a system
contained with a synthetic liner and clay cap, and of regulations specifying the proper tracking,
in 2004, the cleanup was declared complete. A storage, transportation, treatment, and disposal
follow-up health study conducted by the State of hazardous wastes from “the cradle to the
of New York and the U.S. Agency for Toxic grave.” Despite these efforts, a gap remained—past
&-%- LY N C H , WIL L IAM

contamination. Legislation addressing past con-

tamination had foundered on controversies such
LYNCH, WILLIAM
as victim compensation and assigning liability. (1806–1865)
Given the recent passage of the RCRA and TSCA,
the Love Canal incident was a source of consider- William Francis Lynch was an officer of the U.S.
able political embarrassment and galvanized pub- Navy who, in 1848, led the first successful expe-
lic concern over abandoned waste sites. Spurred dition to explore and map the Dead Sea and
on by Love Canal and similar sites such as the established, for the first time, the depth of its
Stringfellow Acid Pits in California and Valley of surface below sea level.
the Drums in Kentucky, Congress passed the Com- Curiosity about the Dead Sea can be traced
prehensive Environmental Restoration, Compen- back to our earliest written sources for the
sation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) in 1980. The region. Stories to explain the landscape and its
two primary features of the original CERCLA were bizarre mineral features found their way into the
its $1.6 billion cleanup fund (the Superfund) and Bible (Genesis 19) in the form of the story of the
its strict, joint, several, and retroactive liability destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomor-
provisions. CERCLA’s stringent liability regime, a rah, located in the valley that is now the Dead
direct response to Love Canal, created unintended Sea. And while the many visitors to the Holy
problems of excessive litigation and stigmatization Land often showed great curiosity about this
of a whole class of potentially contaminated for- lake, the legend grew that one could not enter it
mer industrial sites known as brownfield sites. In and live. Indeed, as late as 1816, two British
addition to shaping hazardous waste legislation, naval officers, Charles Irby and James Mangles,
Love Canal left its mark on the environmental traveled around the lake but were unwilling to
movement. Lois Gibbs went on to found the Citi- set out on it, plumb its depth, or seek explana-
zen’s Clearinghouse for Hazardous Waste (renamed tions for its minerals and salts. It is against this
the Center for Health, Environment and Justice), background of uncritically accepted biblical his-
an influential nongovernmental agency that sup- tory, growing geological curiosity, but persisting
ports communities in their efforts to address toxic fearful legends that it was a place of death that
hazards and promote environmental justice. we have to view the first recorded explorations
of the lake. The first was in 1835 by an Irish
Mark D. Bjelland
citizen, Christopher Costigan, who died shortly
See also Brownfields; Chemical Spills, Environment, and after rowing round the lake, leaving no notes.
Society; Environmental Justice; Landfills; Point Sources The second was in 1837 by the Royal Navy’s
of Pollution Thomas Molyneux. He plumbed the lake, made
notes, but died only weeks later.
In contrast, both in equipment and labor power,
Further Readings Lynch’s was a far more careful affair. He studied
the Sea of Galilee, followed the Jordan River
Blum, E. D. (2008). Love Canal revisited: Race, class, south, and then made a careful survey of the Dead
and gender in environmental activism. Lawrence: Sea, producing the first modern map and the first
University Press of Kansas. chart. All the while noting the region’s geology,
Colten, C., & Skinner, P. (1996). The road to Love flora and fauna, and agricultural capability, the
Canal: Managing industrial waste before EPA. whole account was interspersed with notes on the
Austin: University of Texas Press. customs and activities of all he met. In memory of
Fletcher, T. (2003). From Love Canal to the two earlier explorers, whose route he con-
environmental justice: The politics of hazardous sciously followed, he named the northern point of
waste on the Canada-U.S. border. Peterborough, El-Lisan “Point Costigan” and the southern one
Ontario, Canada: Broadview Press. “Point Molyneux”—the latter has disappeared
Levine, A. G. (1982). Love Canal: Science, politics, with the reduction in the lake’s area, but the for-
and people. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. mer, renamed Cape Costigan, survives on Survey
of Israel maps.
 LY NC H, WILLIAM &-%.

Lynch’s orders were to explore and survey the (1849), which contains much of his theological
Dead Sea with the object of promoting scientific thought, and the Official Report of the United
knowledge of the area and advancing the reputa- States’ Expedition to the River Jordan and the
tion of the navy. However, while he fulfilled these Dead Sea (1852), which has the character of a
orders admirably, his hidden agenda was his real logbook; they need to be read together to appre-
driving force, as becomes clear from his publica- ciate that remarkable journey.
tions. In the face of increasing concern over the
Thomas John O’Loughlin
Bible’s historical accuracy and challenges to it
from geology and the fossil record, Lynch believed
See also Biblical Mapping
that his work showed that, at least, geology could
not undermine the scriptures and that, indeed,
further investigation might yield the ruins of the
destroyed cities of Genesis 19. His work must, Further Readings
therefore, be located not only within the history
of geological exploration but also within the his- Andrew, C. (2005). Sailors in the Holy Land: The
tory of Bible versus science debates. On his return 1848 American expedition to the Dead Sea and
home, Lynch published two distinct accounts of the search for Sodom and Gomorrah. Annapolis,
his journey: Narrative of the United States’ Expe- MD: U.S. Naval Institute Press.
dition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea
 MACEACHREN, ALAN
M unknown characteristics of the data, and are
designed for a single or small number of users.
(1952– ) This contrasts in each of these dimensions with
the more traditional use of maps for communica-
Alan MacEachren is an American cartographer, tion. MacEachren is the author of the influential
an author, and a professor of geography at Penn- 1995 book How Maps Work, which links maps
sylvania State University. He is a pioneer in car- to cognitive linguistics, spatial cognition, and
tography and geographic information science philosophy.
(GIScience) research, known particularly for pop- More recently, MacEachren has focused on
ularizing the term geographic visualization and the theory and practice of geovisual analytics,
setting its research agenda and more recently for which extends geovisualization to modeling,
establishing and directing the GeoVISTA Center reasoning, analyzing, and representing the large-
at Penn State and launching the research initiative volume heterogeneous databases that are encoun-
of geovisual analytics. tered by those working in health, environment,
MacEachren argues that geovisualization (as it national security, and other fields using georefer-
has come to be known) is more than the intro- enced data. The geovisual-analytic approach, part
duction of computing technology in the creation of a larger interdisciplinary “visual analytics”
of dynamic maps and visual representations; it research initiative, integrates statistical, psycho-
also considers the complex cognitive processes of logical, and decision-science concepts, with an
representation users and the development of tools explicit focus on facilitating time-sensitive ana-
and theories that enable problem solving and lytical reasoning to solve problems related to
knowledge construction. MacEachren presented spatial data. Geovisual analytics is a major
the process of geovisualization as a complement research theme at the GeoVISTA Center, which
to cartographic communication, which had long MacEachren and his colleagues in geography and
been the dominant paradigm for understanding information sciences at Penn State founded in
map use. His landmark (Cartography)3 diagram, 1998. The center has become an interdisciplinary
first published in 1994, categorized maps by research hub, focusing on spatial representation,
three dimensions: (1) the level of interactivity, multivariate spatial analysis, collaborative deci-
(2) the primary purpose/use, and (3) the degree sion making, human factors, and many other
to which the map is designed for individual or GIScience issues. The expansion of geographic
multiple users. Maps for geovisualization, for information technology to support its use by
example, are typically highly interactive, reveal multiple individuals, groups, and institutions

&-&&
&-&' M A C K I ND E R, SIR HAL FORD

simultaneously is of particular interest to Mac- 40 years, Mackinder created a map of the world
Eachren and his colleagues. with three main areas: (1) the Heartland or pivot
area, analogous originally to much of the Asian
Robert Edsall
part of Russia but later extended to include most
of the Soviet Union; (2) the inner crescent or rim-
See also Cartography; Geovisualization; GIScience
land, the European and Asian areas surrounding
the Heartland; and (3) the outer crescent, or every-
thing else. Mackinder argued that the Heartland
Further Readings was the key to world power, that whoever con-
trolled the Heartland could control the world. He
Dykes, J., MacEachren, A., & Kraak, M. J. (Eds.). based this argument on two factors: first, that
(2005). Exploring geovisualization. Amsterdam: over the sweep of history, those who had attacked
Elsevier. and tried to conquer Europe had come from the
MacEachren, A. (1995). How maps work: Heartland and, second, because of its physical
Representation, visualization and design. location on the Earth’s surface, the Heartland was
New York: Guilford Press. impenetrable from attack on three sides, the east
MacEachren, A., Gahegan, M., Pike, W., Brewer, I., (Gobi Desert), the south (the Himalayas), and the
Cai, G., Lengerich, E., et al. (2004). Geo- north (Arctic Ocean), thereby making it the great-
visualization for knowledge construction and est defensive position on the planet. He argued
decision-support. Computer Graphics & that a naval power (i.e., Britain) would not be able
Applications, 24(1), 13–17. to take over the Heartland. He suggested that the
MacEachren, A., & Kraak, M.-J. (1996). Exploratory only way into the Heartland was through Eastern
cartographic visualization: Advancing the agenda. Europe and that, therefore, controlling Eastern
Computers & Geosciences, 4(4), 335–343. Europe was the key to world domination.
Despite its long-lasting influence within politi-
cal geography specifically and policy circles gen-
erally, there are major criticisms of Mackinder’s
model. First, there have been critiques of his
MACKINDER, SIR HALFORD model specifically—for example, that a great
defensive position in an inhospitable area with
(1861–1947) few people does not translate into an offensive
strategy for world domination; that the growth
Sir Halford Mackinder was a leading political in importance of airpower, nuclear weapons,
geographer of the early 20th century, best remem- and missile systems makes his model obsolete;
bered today for his “heartland” model of global and that the Heartland model’s Eurocentric-
geopolitics. Mackinder was a leader in the found- focus making the rest of the world irrelevant is
ing of academic geography in Britain. He was problematic.
appointed the first geographer at Oxford in 1887 Beyond these specific issues, several critiques
and started its School of Geography in 1899. In of Mackinder have been offered in recent years
addition, he helped the University of Reading in by students of critical geopolitics concerning
1892 and served as director of the London School such grand global geopolitical models that seek
of Economics from 1903 to 1908. Mackinder to “objectively” and from a “scientific, rational,
combined his academic career with political pur- neutral” perspective explain where power resides
suits, serving as a Member of Parliament from in the world and how it operates. First, Mack-
1910 to 1922 and chair of the Imperial Shipping inder’s model is based in large part on the world’s
Committee from 1920 to 1939. physical geography—that is, how oceans and
Mackinder is remembered primarily for creat- continents fit together. Such models ignore the
ing political geography’s most famous global billions of people who populate the world. As
geopolitical model, the heartland model. First well, by placing Europe in the center of his maps,
developed in 1904, and refined over the next Mackinder made it appear “natural” that Europe
 MA GELLA N, F ER DINA ND &-&(

was the center of global power. In addition,

Mackinder is purporting to present a global
MAGELLAN, FERDINAND
model of power offering a detached “view from (1480–1521)
above the clouds,” or a “god’s eye view” of the
world and how it operates. However, while pur- Ferdinand Magellan, or in Portuguese, Fernão
porting to provide a dispassionate view of the de Magalhães, is well known as the first naviga-
world, Mackinder’s main interest was in making tor whose ships circumnavigated the globe (Fig-
sure that the Germans did not challenge the Brit- ure 1). Magellan was responsible for planning
ish for global supremacy, with his main concern the journey, seeking financing, and surviving
being that Germany would gain control over the subarctic winter of the straits in South
Eastern Europe. Thus, this supposedly scientific, America that bear his name; he was one of the
dispassionate “god’s eye” view of how the world first Europeans to set foot in the Marianas
works was in reality a warning to Britain to look Islands and the Philippines. With Rui Falero, a
out for Germany and a possible alliance between scholar on celestial navigation, he convinced
Germany and Russia (thereby equating control- the Spanish king Charles I (later Emperor
ling Europe with controlling the world). Given Charles V) and his Flemish advisors that the
Mackinder’s own political views championing the Spice Islands, also known as the Western
British Empire and its continuation as the leading Islands, the Moluccas, or la especiería, lay west
global power, these warnings are not ultimately of the line of demarcation of the Treaty of
surprising. Tordesillas (1494) and thus were a Spanish, not
Despite these problems, some Western policy- Portuguese, possession. Albuquerque had con-
makers in the post–World War II era saw Mack- quered the Malaysian port of Malacca in 1511,
inder as a soothsayer for “predicting” the explored the islands to the east, and used the
geographic contours of the Cold War. Mackinder Moluccas to initiate trade with China. In Spain,
and his ideas still have defenders today, for exam- Americo Vespucci, Díaz de Solis, and members
ple, the influential late-20th-century and early- of the Council of Indies agreed with Magellan’s
21st-century defense strategist Colin Gray; and certainty that a strait opened to the South Sea.
Mackinder’s ideas have been extended to the In the 16th century, these contested territories
domination and control of outer space, what one represented a highly desirable possession
writer has referred to as “astropolitik.” because of the abundance of clove, nutmeg, and
cinnamon to be obtained there.
Jonathan Leib The 16th-century Dominican historian Barto-
lomé de las Casas wrote in his History of the
See also Geopolitics; Human Geography, History of; Indies one of the most detailed descriptions of
Political Geography Magellan, including an account of his meeting
with the Spanish chancellor Xevres while he was
present at Valladolid. In this meeting, he came
with a globe in his hand to describe with great
Further Readings certainty a new route to the Pacific that would
place the Spanish Empire at a great advantage
Blouet, B. (Ed.). (2005). Global geostrategy: relative to the Portuguese. With the intervention
Mackinder and the defense of the West. London: of the Archbishop of Burgos, the one who had
Frank Cass. negotiated with the Catholic monarchs on behalf
Mackinder, H. (1904). The geographical pivot of of Columbus, Magellan left with four ships, more
history. Geographical Journal, 23, 421–437. than 230 men, and four court officials. The jour-
Mackinder, H. (1919). Democratic ideals and reality. ney, as recorded in the several accounts by its
London: Constable. participants, was treacherous. Some of the men
Ó Tuathail, G. (1996). Critical geopolitics. took part in a mutiny at San Julián Bay, and most
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. of them eventually died because of starvation,
thirst, and scurvy.
&-&)
Figure 1 Historical map of Battista Agnese in 1544 from the Portolan Atlas, showing the route Magellan took around the world and the route from
Cadiz, Spain, to Peru, with overland portage across the Isthmus of Panama
Source: mapsorama.com.
 MA HA N, A LF R ED T HA YE R &-&*

After securing the first Spanish contact in the Further Readings

Philippines and the first conversion to Christian-
ity, Magellan died on Mactan Island after a failed Bergreen, L. (2004). Over the edge of the world:
attack on a local native king. As with Columbus, Magellan’s terrifying circumnavigation of the
the glory accounted in his biographies was largely globe. New York: HarperPerennial.
due to the efforts of others; in the case of Magel- Martin, T. (1971). Magellan historiography.
lan, only two vessels returned to Europe, the Vic- Hispanic American Historical Review, 51,
toria, under the command of Juan Sebastian 313–335.
Elcano, and the Trinidad, with Esteban Gómez in Pigafetta, A. (1995). The first voyage around the
charge. world (1519–1522) (T. Cachey, Ed.). Rome, Italy:
Magellan’s journals, personal records, and let- Marsilio.
ters written during his journey are lost. The most
important narrative that has been translated into
several languages is Antonio Pigafetta’s Primo
viaggio intorno al mundo, with maps well known
for their inaccuracy. In addition, there are other
firsthand accounts of the expedition, including MAHAN, ALFRED THAYER
Francisco Albo’s Diario ó Derrotero del Viage de
Magellanes. This account is useful for historians (1840–1914)
and geographers because it identifies the position
of the “Unfortunate Islands” and it established A late-19th-century American naval strategist and
that Amsterdam Island in the Indian Ocean was historian, Alfred Thayer Mahan is best known
“discovered” by the Victoria. Also important are for his geostrategic writings on the geopolitical
the anonymous Leiden narrative in Portuguese, importance of sea power.
printed in Coimbra as Um Deroteiro Inédito, and Born in New York in 1840, Mahan gradu-
the Roteiro of “the Genovese pilot,” which is ated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served
known for the details of Magellan’s death. Impor- as a captain in the U.S. Navy. In 1885, Mahan
tant in any discussions about Magellan’s contri- was appointed a lecturer at the Naval War Col-
butions is the Spanish cosmographer Diego lege. Mahan’s lectures served as the basis for
Ribero’s 1529 map that shows the extent of the his most influential work, his 1890 book, The
Pacific Ocean, which Magellan named. Influence of Sea Power Upon History. Mahan
Magellan’s contributions are key to the history argued that global geopolitical success was
of geography and trade in many ways. For the based on a country’s sea power through its con-
history of cartography, besides improving map trol of the oceans. Highlighting the importance
accuracy and demonstrating the great distances of commerce and economic power, Mahan
between Europe and the Pacific islands, his jour- argued that a state needed a large powerful navy
ney stimulated the production of terrestrial globes to protect and control commercial sea lanes. In
that eliminated the edges of the world. With fur- Mahan’s view, a country’s potential sea power
ther exploration and conquests, the economies of was based on a variety of factors, including its
the empire were strengthened. Magellan’s expedi- coastal physical geography (e.g., the length and
tion to the Spice Islands initiated the Spanish nature of its coastline and harbors), the size of
exploration of the Pacific Ocean, whose islands its population, and its national and governmen-
became a central stopping point in the newly tal “character.”
expanded trade of the Indies with the new route Mahan’s argument about the primacy of sea
from Manila to Acapulco. power was influential in policy circles both in
the United States and abroad. His rise to prom-
Santa Arias inence occurred in the late 19th and early
20th centuries during the height of European
See also Columbus, Christopher; Exploration; Human imperialism and as the United States was itself
Geography, History of in the process of becoming an overseas empire.
&-&+ M A LA R IA, G E OG RAPHY OF

Mahan’s work both influenced and was influ-

enced by American and European actions. As
MALARIA, GEOGRAPHY OF
part of his call for American control of the seas,
Mahan advocated the U.S. takeover of Hawaii, Malaria is an infectious, vector-borne disease
the Caribbean, the Philippines, as well as Pan- caused by the plasmodium parasite, which is
ama to build a canal connecting the Atlantic spread from person to person by the anopheles
and the Pacific Oceans. Mahan also promoted mosquito. Acute symptoms of the disease include
the buildup of the American Navy, as epito- high fever, chills, headache, and fatigue, with
mized in President Theodore Roosevelt’s con- common complications such as coma, anemia,
struction of the “Great White Fleet.” His and liver damage. Historically, malaria was
notoriety extended beyond policy circles to widespread globally, but today it is confined
the general public through the many articles mainly to the tropics, where it continues to exact
he wrote for popular American magazines of a high toll on human health and development,
the time. with approximately 1 million deaths annually,
Beyond the United States, Mahan’s writings countless infections and complications, and asso-
also had important policy impact in the early ciated social and economic burdens. The vast
20th century. Mahan’s work and policy pro- majority of malarial infections and deaths occur
scriptions were important in England, Germany, in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in tropical
and Japan, influencing naval buildups in these South and Central America, and South and
countries as well. Mahan is also credited with Southeast Asia. The geography of malaria can be
coining the regional designation term Middle understood as the interaction between three
East in 1902. interrelated geographies: (1) that of the anophe-
Mahan died in 1914 and is best remembered les mosquito, the vector for the disease; (2) that
today within the history of early-20th-century of the plasmodium parasite, the direct cause of
geopolitics for his emphasis on the importance of malaria; (3) and that of human resistance to
sea power as juxtaposed to Halford Mackinder’s malaria, whether innate, acquired, or developed
land-based geopolitics. through culture and technology.
Since anopheles mosquitoes are the only means
Jonathan Leib of transmitting the parasite from one person to
another, their distribution has been the key fac-
tor shaping the geography of malaria. While
See also Geopolitics; Human Geography, History of;
there are several hundred species of anopheles
Military Geography
mosquitoes, only about 40 are considered effi-
cient vectors for malaria due to their ability to
withstand the parasite and its anthropophilic
feeding characteristics (i.e., a tendency to favor
Further Readings human over animal blood). Thus, in some locales
where climatic conditions would seem to favor
Glassner, M., & Fahrer, C. (2004). Political the presence of malaria, the absence of an effi-
geography (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley. cient vector has left them malaria free. Neverthe-
Mahan, A. T. (1915). The influence of sea power less, malaria vectors are found in a wide array of
upon history, 1660–1783 (25th ed.). Boston: landscapes, from tropical forests and savannas,
Little, Brown. (Original work published 1890) to coastal marshes, to agricultural areas and cit-
Ó Tuathail, G. (1996). Critical geopolitics. ies. The most dangerous malaria vector, Anoph-
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. eles gambiae, endemic to central Africa, sustains
Smith, N., & Nijman, J. (1994). Mahan, Alfred the world’s highest rates of malarial infection
Thayer. In J. O’Loughlin (Ed.), Dictionary of and mortality.
geopolitics (pp. 156–158). Westport, CT: Malaria parasites spend the sexual phase
Greenwood Press. of their life cycle inside the anopheles mos-
quito. Insofar as the mosquito is cold-blooded,
 MA LA R IA , GEOGR A P HY O F &-&,

the survival and reproduction of the parasite are and eliminating the parasite in the bloodstream
sensitive to ambient temperature. Different spe- through doses of quinine and other drugs. After
cies of the parasite are better equipped to handle 1945, international philanthropies and develop-
low temperatures. Plasmodium falciparum, the ment institutions shifted to promoting house
deadliest form of the parasite, is less resistant to spraying with DDT, a potent insecticide, as the
cold and as a result has always been most preva- principal control strategy. Under the auspices of
lent in the tropics. Another species, Plasmodium the World Health Organization, the Global
vivax, is capable of withstanding cooler and Malaria Eradication Program was partially suc-
highly seasonal climates, which historically has cessful, with noteworthy achievements in Latin
allowed for a broader geographical reach into America and Asia. Over time, however, mosqui-
temperate zones such as the Southern United toes and parasites developed resistance to DDT
States, Southern England, Italy, and northwest- and synthetic drugs, respectively, thus undermin-
ern Argentina. ing the bases of the eradication program. Other
Finally, differences in human resistance to financial, political, and logistical obstacles led
malarial infection help explain the heterogeneous to the near abandonment of malaria eradication
geography of the disease. Genetic factors offer programs.
complete or partial resistance to infection for As a consequence, malaria experienced a
some ethnic groups. Most famously, the sickle- marked recrudescence from the 1970s onward. In
cell trait, found in about 20% of people in sub- some areas, such as the Amazon basin, the resur-
Saharan Africa, reduces the severity of malarial gence of malaria has accompanied agricultural
symptoms. Many ethnic groups, including most colonization: Migrants, lacking immunity, enter
Africans, have genetic immunity to P. vivax infec- areas where malaria is endemic, while at the same
tion. In addition, partial yet impermanent resis- time transforming local land use and land cover
tance to malaria can also be acquired through (i.e., through deforestation) in ways that favor
exposure to infection. In areas where the preva- development of the local malaria vector (Anophe-
lence of malaria is epidemiologically “stable,” les darlingi). A similar dynamic has been observed
such as sub-Saharan Africa, environmental condi- in Malaysia and Africa. Since both vector and
tions are optimal for year-round transmission of parasite are sensitive to environmental change,
the parasite, but rates of immunity after child- many scientists predict that global warming will
hood are very high. As a result, in such “endemic” expand endemic malaria zones, both poleward
regions, children suffer the vast majority of deaths (i.e., away from the tropics) and to higher eleva-
from endemic malaria. tions. Today, GIS and remote sensing are central
Today, there are many places where malaria to research modeling the potential effects of envi-
could exist, or has existed in the past, but does ronmental change on malaria transmission.
not now. This differential geography can be Malaria undermines the development pros-
explained mostly by the success or failure of pects of the countries where it is endemic; as
efforts to control the disease. Prior to the 20th Sachs and Malaney (2002) note, “Where malaria
century, when a modern scientific understanding prospers most, human societies have prospered
of malaria crystallized, cultural interventions that least” (p. 680). The disease imposes a high eco-
reduced the severity of malaria were uninten- nomic and social burden due to the costs of pre-
tional. In particular, wetland drainage for agri- vention, drug treatment, and medical care; lower
culture—such as in England in the 1700s or the labor force productivity; and macroeconomic
United States in the 1800s—eliminated the breed- impacts from lower levels of tourism, trade, and
ing areas for malaria vectors. From the early 20th foreign investment. There is also a circular rela-
century, malaria control became a public health tionship between malaria and underdevelopment,
imperative for colonial powers and developmen- since desperately poor countries are ill equipped
talist states. For several decades, it depended on to address their public health problems. Recent
a combination of strategies that included envi- philanthropic and multilateral aid programs have
ronmental sanitation (mainly draining wetlands), renewed and refocused efforts to bring malaria
vector control, improving housing conditions, under control, employing strategies that take into
&-&-
Area where malaria
transmission occurs
Areas with limited risk
of malaria transmission
No malaria
0 1,500 3,000 6,000 Kilometers
This map is intended as a visual aid only and not as a definitive source of information about malaria endemicity.

Figure 1 Malaria transmission areas, 2008

Source: World Health Organization, 2008. All rights reserved.
 MA LT HUSIA NIS M &-&.

consideration the geographically variable charac- however, such a victory of—as he saw it, “rea-
ter of the disease. son” over “nature”—was trumped by a “passion
between the sexes,” which was particularly
Eric D. Carter
indomitable in the lower classes. With “positive”
checks, however, the relative fixity of food sup-
See also Anthropogenic Climate Change; Disease,
plies compared with population itself limited
Geography of; Medical Geography
population growth in the form of famine, disease,
and human misery. This latter check was regarded
by Malthus as an inescapable law of nature lead-
Further Readings ing to population “equilibrium” and is perhaps
the essential core of what we call Malthusianism,
Packard, R. (2007). The making of a tropical disease: even as it is used today.
A short history of malaria. Baltimore: Johns Malthus penned his essay in the midst of the
Hopkins University Press. rapid population growth associated with indus-
Sachs, J., & Malaney, P. (2002). The economic and trialization and capitalization of agriculture in
social burden of malaria. Nature, 415, 680–685. Britain, as well as the violent social upheavals in
Singer, B., & Caldas de Castro, M. (2001). France and America. He aimed his canons at rad-
Agricultural colonization and malaria on the ical utopians such as William Godwin and the
Amazon frontier. Annals of the New York Marquis de Condorcet, who believed that human
Academy of Science, 954, 184–222. reason and scientific advancement could tran-
Warrell, D., & Gilles, H. (Eds.). (2002). Essential scend so-called natural laws and who conse-
malariology (4th ed.). London: Arnold. quently helped establish Britain’s first welfare
legislation. Malthus argued that social interven-
tion in natural laws via social welfare would only
temporarily stave off human misery, while encour-
aging population growth and lead to an even big-
MALTHUSIANISM ger calamity in the future. Consequently, he
suggested, it was more humane in the long term
Malthusianism in contemporary usage refers gen- to allow the poor to starve, though his critics
erally to the problems of food and resource scar- cynically countered that this was a liberal con-
city created by and the limits imposed on human struction meant to preserve the status quo, and
population growth. It refers to the work of the hence his bourgeois lifestyle.
English cleric Thomas Robert Malthus, particu- It is also notable that preventive checks for
larly his Essay on the Principle of Population, first Malthus did not include birth control. Neverthe-
published in 1798. Although debates about the less, a number of 19th-century social reformers
relative merits and demerits of Malthusian thought appropriated Malthus’s ideas for decriminalizing
are now fairly sterile, they are nonetheless relevant birth control. These reformers were called neo-
to discussions of international development, pop- Malthusians; adding the prefix neo to Malthu-
ulation geography, food security, and migration. sianism in this early context (it has been used in
The following sums up the history, influence, and different ways since) suggested a version of Mal-
limitations of Malthusian thought. thusianism that accepted technological interven-
Malthus’s “principles” of population were, tion in supposed natural laws, something Malthus
first, that human population grows geometrically himself would have repudiated as a threat to
(e.g., 1, 2, 4, 16 . . . ) and, second, that its ability social order. Neo-Malthusianism retained all
to feed itself grows only arithmetically (e.g., 1, 2, other basic tenets of Malthusianism. It had a wide
3, 4 . . . ). Malthus allowed only two ways around range of political purposes depending on its vari-
this essential contradiction. With “preventive” ous proponents, not the least of which were pop-
checks, families, when faced with an inability to ular movements toward eugenics throughout
support their offspring adequately, should inten- Europe and the United States in the late 19th and
tionally restrict their own fertility. For Malthus, early 20th centuries.
&-'% M A N UF A CTU RING BE L T

Malthus’s ideas, in some form or another, global population even as projected into the
experienced something of a revival in the mid future but that current local food shortages reflect
20th century, particularly as they were incorpo- distributional or pricing inequities resulting from
rated into international policy discussions. The unfair terms of international trade and lending,
preeminent economist John Maynard Keynes, for economic liberalization, and political corruption.
example, trumpeted Malthus in his critiques of Critics also see the global environmental crisis as
European reconstruction plans after World War I. a consequence of overconsumption in the devel-
Malthusian doctrine was also frequently deployed oped world, not population growth in the devel-
after World War II by certain critics of interna- oping world. In 1974, the geographer David
tional food aid and the diffusion of Western agri- Harvey suggested that the population-resource
cultural practices. For example, Garrett Hardin’s theory was an ideological construct, rather than
notorious “lifeboat ethics” argument of 1974 was unquestionable science, that works to preserve
largely an extrapolation of Malthus’s argument this unevenness. Furthermore, Malthusian limits
against helping the poor on an international scale. to population are derived from theoretical beliefs
The biologist Paul Ehrlich also notoriously revived that such a limit must exist somewhere and then
Malthusian thinking and applied it to nonfood mistaken for the empirical reality that they are
environmental resources, including clean air and supposed to model. Consequently, Malthusian
water, timber, and mineral resources, in his 1968 limits are a product of human endeavor, not a
book The Population Bomb (republished exten- limit on it.
sively afterward). At the end of the Cold War,
Kolson Schlosser
literatures concerning relationships between pop-
ulation, resources, and violence, variably termed
See also Carrying Capacity; Developing World;
environmental security, resource wars, or green-
Hunger; Neo-Malthusianism; Population and Land
war, also took a predominantly neo-Malthusian
Degradation; Population, Environment, and
approach.
Development; Population Geography; Poverty
Malthus remains a contested figure more
than 170 years after his death. Neo-Malthusians
typically contend that even if Malthus himself
underestimated the agricultural potential of the Further Readings
Americans and could not possibly have foreseen
20th-century developments in agroscience, the Greene, R. (1999). Malthusian worlds: U.S.
ultimate finitude of natural resources suggests a leadership and the governing of the population
theoretical ceiling somewhere. They often point crisis. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
to current global food and environmental crises Harvey, D. (1974). Population, resources, and the
as evidence. They argue that although Malthus ideology of science. Economic Geography, 50,
may have operated with a crude understanding 256–277.
of equilibrium theory, more advanced ecological Malthus, T., & Gilbert, G. (1999). An essay on the
understandings of dynamic equilibrium suggest principle of population. New York: Oxford
that the Malthusian predictions could still be University Press.
realized.
Few scholars seriously contest that there exists
some theoretical limit to population, but critics
argue that this limit is not a presocial, inescapable
natural law but rather a social construction born MANUFACTURING BELT
out of human economic, political, and cultural
life. Promethean versions of this critique suggest The North American Manufacturing Belt emerged
that population growth is a problem inevitably between 1830 and 1880, and well into the 1970s,
addressed by economic and technological prog- industry located in this zone dominated manufac-
ress. Distributionist versions of this critique point turing employment in the continent. This made
out that adequate food supplies exist for the the belt one of four broad industrial regions that
 MA NUF A C T UR ING BE L T &-'&

together dominated world industrial production shares of national employment in specific indus-
through most of the 20th century. The belt was tries: In New York, it was garment production; in
identified in academic literature in the 1930s and Philadelphia, textile production; and in Chicago,
has been the subject of considerable research, slaughterhouses and meat packing. Other local
mainly focused on its dynamics, geography, and specializations included fruit and vegetable can-
subsequent decline and restructuring in the late ning in Baltimore; musical instruments in Boston;
20th century. furniture in Grand Rapids; tobacco in Louisville;
glass, iron, and steel in Pittsburgh; and agricul-
tural implements in Springfield, Ohio. A high-tech
Dynamics and Geography
region emerged in New England associated with
When industrialization first gripped Canada and the American system of production, featuring
the United States, manufacturing took the form of interchangeable parts production and focused on
many small establishments located in the Atlantic the U.S. armories in Springfield, Massachusetts.
coast states and along the St. Lawrence River. The belt developed a distinctive geography: An
These early enterprises were closely entwined with array of industrial regions comprising outer-ring
rural activities and added factory work to an cities and industrial towns clustered around met-
industrializing countryside. Subsequent migra- ropolitan centers. Metropolitan centers provided
tion and urbanization, westward frontier expan- finance, wholesale, warehouse, and transport ser-
sion, and railroad and telegraph construction vices for manufacturers and served as innovation
fueled industrial development within a westward- centers and information nodes. As early as 1880,
expanding industrial belt. In the American South, 15 regional metropolises and 50 other industrial
there was a relative retardation of industrial devel- cities, all located in the belt, dominated U.S.
opment because of weaker urbanization, limited manufacturing. A similar pattern emerged in
investment in transport and communications Canada, where Toronto and Montreal, along
infrastructure or farm mechanization, and a very with the many industrial cities, such as Hamilton
different labor market. By 1870, industrial activ- and London, that constitute the Windsor-Quebec
ity already covered the area subsequently known corridor, housed around 70% of national manu-
as the Manufacturing Belt, marked by Minneapo- facturing employment for most of the 20th cen-
lis and St. Louis in the west, Toronto and Mon- tury. These industrial cities were distinctive: Their
treal in the north, and Louisville, Cincinnati, and layout and pattern of development contrasts
Baltimore in the south. In the period from 1860 to strongly with the newer metropolitan centers of
1880, however, manufacturers in this region the South and the West, such as Los Angeles,
became functionally integrated into a continental Phoenix, Houston, Denver, or Calgary. Special-
geography of labor, market, and resource supply ized industrial districts emerged within the
regions. By 1880, specialized establishments sup- metropolitan cores. Some were keyed to major
plied products to wide market territories within assembly operations, as at the Baldwin Locomo-
the continent, factories depended on the skilled tive Works in Philadelphia, which subcontracted
workers of well-developed urban labor markets, parts production to adjacent suppliers in a way
while their suppliers included not only mines, that enabled large-scale assembly of locomotives.
lumber mills, cotton gins, and grain elevators Others featured the rental of machines and fac-
located outside the belt but also factories located tory spaces to numerous enterprises, as in the
in other industrial cities. Thus, the belt was formed Philadelphia textile industry. Yet others were the
through a process of regional specialization. result of regulations concerning polluting indus-
A spatially differentiated process of cumulative tries and water rights, or localized agglomeration
causation, operating on a continental scale, pro- economies, such as those related to New York or
duced local and regional specializations within the Toronto garment manufacture. Historical geog-
belt on the back of initial advantages. Clear signs raphers have been reinterpreting the dynamics,
of manufacturing specialization are discernible patterns, and causes of the suburbanization of
even in 1880. The leading metropolitan centers manufacturing within metropolitan areas. This is
for manufacturing each had disproportionate largely because industrial facilities and associated
&-'' M A N UF A CTU RING BE L T

residential areas tended to be scattered 10 to 40 offices located in metropolitan centers. High

kilometres around major centers before the resi- levels of trade union membership marked the
dential growth engulfed them. The belt featured industries of the belt. Together, these processes
diverse industrial and urban locales set in a dom- restructured the activities that made up the belt
inant landscape of farms and forests, including and its relations with peripheral regions, intensi-
satellite industrial towns, company towns, single- fying production relations in some parts of the
industry resource towns with processing indus- belt and closing plants in other places in a his-
tries, and small-factory villages. Workshops torical example of creative destruction that
remained important even with the development nevertheless reconfirmed the belt’s locational
of factory organization, machinofacture, and advantages for many manufacturers.
wage work. Thus, the belt’s internal diversity
complicates the metro-centered region model.
Beginning in the 1880s, a second industrial
Decline and Restructuring
revolution associated with steel, electrical energy,
and university-trained engineers altered the In the early 1980s, the decline of manufacturing
spatial dynamics of North American industry. employment in the belt relative to the U.S. Sun-
New industries emerged, such as the automobile belt was widely recognized and attributed to a
industry, which relied on the Manufacturing combination of government investments in the
Belt, labor skills, innovation centers, capital, and Sunbelt states and new realities for U.S. corpora-
suppliers. These industries tended to locate tions under globalization. Massive government
production inside the belt. General Electric investments in manufacturing capability during
and Westinghouse developed plants at Lynn, World War II augmented the belt’s industrial pro-
Schenectady, and Pittsburgh, while Ford and GM file but also located new production facilities for
localized automobile production in southern military equipment in the U.S. West and South.
Michigan. Corporations emerged and restruc- These facilities became home to some of the
tured their operations, closing older production growth industries under the next industrial revo-
facilities and deindustrializing some regions. lution technologies: computing, telecommu-
While Canada’s Maritime provinces faced dein- nications, and aircraft. Subsequently, federal
dustrialization at the hands of companies head- government investments in freeways and housing,
quartered in Montreal and Toronto, leading new migration patterns, and new amenities such
U.S. firms established factories in Ontario, thus as air conditioners contributed to postwar growth
turning Canada into the first “branch plant in the Sunbelt states. In a massive restructuring of
economy”—a term coined in Canada in the the U.S. space economy during the 1980s and
1920s. San Francisco emerged as the center of a 1990s, corporations closed older plants, invested
substantial but distant industrial region. Some in new ones, or subcontracted production, some-
industries that supplied processed materials—oil, times to factories located in Asia, Mexico, or the
steel—to manufacturers, and that had developed Caribbean. U.S. Steel was transformed into USX,
first within the belt, relocated to take advantage whose interests focused on construction and land
of new resources. Steel production migrated development as steel mills were closed in the face
westward and also developed in Birmingham, of growing imports of cheap steel. The North
Alabama. Oil production in Texas and Califor- American auto industry was restructured through
nia outstripped the output in Pennsylvania. A competition from foreign makes, investments in
new social organization of innovation and pro- new assembly plants, and vertical disintegration
duction came to characterize the belt. University- of the supply chain. As corporations adopted
trained engineers, backed by specialized research global network production systems, Manufactur-
labs, institutes, and universities, supplanted ing Belt states struggled to retain their former
skilled workers as the innovators and controllers share of North American employment in manu-
of factory production. Accountants, engineers, facturing. John Deere, General Electric, IBM,
and lawyers professionalized the management of General Motors, and Ford are some of the few
companies operating many factories from head major U.S. corporations with headquarters in the
 MA NUF A C T UR ING BE L T &-'(

Mittal Steel’s Cleveland Works, May 20, 2005. Low-priced foreign steel has crippled an already
fragile industry that had been dealing with high labor and materials costs for years. From 1997
to 2004, 45 steel manufacturers (about 40% of those operating in the United States) went
bankrupt. More than 85,000 jobs were lost from Western Pennsylvania through West Virginia,
Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois, according to the United Steelworkers Union.
Source: AP Photo/Mark Duncan.
&-') M A P A LGE BRA

Manufacturing Belt surviving from the heady Further Readings

days of innovation in the early 20th century. The
results in the belt are diverse. They register as Bluestone, B., & Harrison, B. (1982). The deindustri-
abandoned brownfield sites, pockets of high alization of America: Plant closings, community
unemployment, outmigration, and struggles abandonment. New York: Basic Books.
to retain or develop new identities after factory Cassetti, E. (1984). Manufacturing productivity and
closings. They also figure as investments in a new Snowbelt-Sunbelt shifts. Economic Geography,
economy: office towers, shopping malls, subur- 60(4), 313–324.
ban housing, and some new factories. Together, Cooke, P. (1997). The rise of the Rustbelt. London:
these landscapes are witness to the latest rounds UCL Press.
of creative destruction that reshape economy and Essletzbichler, J. (2004). The geography of job
society in North America. creation and destruction in the U.S. manufacturing
The Manufacturing Belt was perceived as a sector, 1967–1997. Annals of the Association of
distinct region, and one that was significant American Geographers, 94(3), 602–619.
because of both its scale and its density, but the Kerr, D. (1987). The emergence of the industrial
belt as a regional entity is also problematic. The heartland, 1750–1950. In L. McCann (Ed.),
belt is a product of analysis of the geography of Heartland and hinterland: A geography of Canada
manufacturing employment and investment in (pp. 70–107). Scarborough, Ontario, Canada:
U.S. census returns. It is defined by the density of Prentice Hall.
mills and plants, manufacturing workers, trans- Lewis, R. (2001). A city transformed: Manufacturing
port infrastructure, and power sites relative to districts and suburban growth in Montreal, 1850–
other parts of the U.S. space economy. It was 1929. Journal of Historical Geography, 27(1),
initially treated as a U.S. entity rather than a con- 20–35.
tinental phenomenon. It was conceived as a sys- Meyer, D. (1983). Emergence of the American
tem of cities but has been broadened to include Manufacturing Belt: An interpretation. Journal of
industrial towns and an industrial countryside. Historical Geography, 9(2), 145–174.
Much of the research into the belt has focused on Muller, E., & Groves, P. (1979). The emergence of
industrial districts and dynamics within its met- industrial districts in mid-nineteenth-century
ropolitan centers. As the service sector expanded, Baltimore. Geographical Review, 69, 159–178.
manufacturing employment lost its cachet as the Page, B., & Walker, R. (1991). From settlement to
pivot of economic performance, so this is a his- Fordism: The agro-industrial revolution in the
torical sector whose fortunes have waned: The American Midwest. Economic Geography, 67,
region is now better known as the Rust Belt or 281–315.
the Snowbelt. Yet the Manufacturing Belt con- Sawers, L., & Tabb, W. (1984). Sunbelt, Snowbelt:
tinues to manifest in the higher population densi- Urban development and regional restructuring.
ties, older infrastructure, dense rail network, and New York: Oxford University Press.
other features of the Snowbelt states; in the regu- Winder, G. (1999). The North American
lar division of the United States into geographic Manufacturing Belt in 1880: A cluster of regional
entities that permit rapid identification of the industrial systems or one large industrial district?
Manufacturing Belt states; and in studies of its Economic Geography, 75(1), 71–92.
“other”: the Sunbelt states and cities. In these
ways, the belt remains an important reference
point in the political economy of the United
States and Canada.
MAP ALGEBRA
Gordon M. Winder
Map algebra (also called cartographic modeling)
See also Deindustrialization; Economic Geography; is a set of operators, operations, and rules gov-
Industrialization; Industrial Revolution; Uneven erning the manipulation and analysis of spatial
Development data using the raster data model. The raster data
 MA P A NIMA T IO N &-'*

model represents geographic objects and fields into local, focal, and zonal groups is rather arbi-
by tessellating space as cells, each of which is trary. The search for a generic set of operations
associated with a value indicating the identity, for both raster and vector data remains a chal-
rank, or quantity of the phenomenon that occu- lenge for researchers in GIS.
pies it. Map algebra treats raster layers as vari-
Xingong Li
ables in algebra and calculates new raster layers
by applying one or a sequence of operations using
See also GIScience; Quantitative Methods; Spatial
expressions.
Analysis
Map algebra decomposes spatial analytic tasks
into elementary operations that can be flexibly
recombined. Elementary operations in map alge-
bra are grouped into local, focal, and zonal cate- Further Readings
gories based on the spatial scope of the operations.
Local operations calculate on the cell-by-cell Berry, J. K. (2007). Map analysis: Understanding
bases values in the output raster layer using cell spatial pattern and relationships. San Francisco:
values of the input raster layers at the same loca- GeoTec Media.
tion. Focal operations calculate output cell values DeMers, M. N. (2002). GIS modeling in raster. New
using the input cell values within their respective York: Wiley.
neighborhoods. A neighborhood is a set of cells Tomlin, D. (1990). Geographic information systems
that bear certain relationships to the center of the and cartographic modeling. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
neighborhood. Zonal operations calculate output Prentice Hall.
cell values using the input cell values within the
same zones. A zone is a set of cells sharing the
same measurement value. A zone may comprise
one contiguous grouping of cells or of multiple
groupings of cells. MAP ANIMATION
Map algebra operations have been expanded
on since their inception in the late 1970s and
Map animation, in its simplest form, is the dis-
early 1980s. While the original spatial scope was
play of a series of static thematic maps sequen-
confined to two-dimensional space, it has been
tially to convey changes in a specific phenomenon.
later extended to three-dimensional spaces, in
Geographers and cartographers use maps to dis-
which two-dimensional cells are replaced by
play geographic information in an interesting way
three-dimensional voxels. A similar extension was
to show patterns of change in specific phenom-
also made for spatio-temporal data sets, where
ena. This entry first presents a brief history of
the third dimension is time. Map algebra opera-
map animation and then examines the concept of
tions for vector fields, where cell values are vec-
visual variables used for animating maps. Map
tors (magnitude plus direction) rather than scalar
animation types are reviewed according to cate-
measurements, were also developed. Spatial anal-
gories emphasizing change, location, or an attri-
ysis in the vector data model does not have an
bute. Given the increasing use of computing
algebra counterpart, mainly because the analysis
technologies and the World Wide Web, online
units in the vector data model are not spatially
interactive map animations are highlighted.
uniform. Recent research, however, has shown
that the map algebra approach is also viable for
the vector data model.
History of Map Animation
Although map algebra is a powerful spatial
analysis language widely used in spatial analysis Before computers and their related technologies
with geographic information systems (GIS), its became commonplace, geographers and cartog-
operations do not comprise a set of atomic opera- raphers had used techniques such as hand draw-
tions on which all complex raster analyses can be ings of each map, and a camera recorded each
based. Also, the classification of the operations map frame of the animation. Despite these early
&-'+ M A P A NIMATION

technological challenges, geographers advanced Animation Categories

the technology for animating maps. Norman
Thrower, as early as in the 1950s, promoted the Map animations that emphasize change may dis-
possibility and promise of animating maps for play demographic shifts in the U.S. population
showing the distribution of the conversion of center after each decennial census count. Anima-
forests to agricultural land, the spread of popu- tions that emphasize location may display the
lations over time, and the change in political world map and the global locations of active vol-
boundaries. One of the earliest computer map canoes over a certain time period. Animations
animations was a three-dimensional portrayal of that emphasize attribute differences in the Earth-
a population growth model of Detroit, Michi- Sun Geometry would display the Earth’s seasonal
gan, by Waldo Tobler in 1970. relative position to the sun. Many of these anima-
Further developments in map animation were tions are helpful didactic tools to teach and visu-
inhibited by the high costs of reproducing graphic/ alize the changeability of a dynamic process,
color images, the high cost of computer hard especially when the phenomenon is much larger
disk space, and the lack of animation software than the human scale.
development. However, with continuing techno-
logical advances, the increase in the number of
users, and the decline in the cost of computing
Technological Advances and
equipment such as hard disk storage, comput-
Interactive Map Animation
ing technology use has blossomed in the past
20 years, and map animation has become much Software tools such as Adobe Flash technology
easier to design, use, and distribute. The techno- and Microsoft PowerPoint have made it much
logical advances in computing power and speed easier to animate a series of static maps. With
and animation software have allowed geogra- the advent of the World Wide Web, the current
phers to break through the early limitations of robustness of broadband Internet connections,
cost and time to display a plethora of informa- and inexpensive hard disk space, animated
tion on maps. weather forecast radar maps and online interac-
tive map animations have become commonplace.
These online animations allow users to virtually
visit interesting places across the world. Mark
Animations and Their Visual Variables
Harrower provides a good example of an interac-
David DiBiase and his colleagues in the early tive map animation of a Wisconsin Lakeshore
1990s showed how specific visual variables for Nature Preserve. Users can easily maneuver
static maps can aid in the development of map around the Preserve site and zoom in for detailed
animations. Animating maps requires knowledge views and even see photographs of meadow or
and programming of visual variables that involve forest patches within the preserve.
duration, rates of change, and the order the maps Map animations have been increasingly inte-
are displayed in. Duration is the length of time a grated with geographic information systems (GIS)
map is displayed. The rate of change is defined by and satellite remote sensing so that graphic pro-
m/d, where m is the magnitude of the change and grams such as ArcGIS, Google Earth, and NASA
d is the duration of each frame. By either increas- World Wind can display multiple layers of geo-
ing the magnitude or decreasing the duration, the graphic data and multiple scales of imagery to
animation would speed up, or by decreasing the enhance the visual dynamism of the animations.
magnitude or increasing the duration, the rate of With all these technological advances in ani-
change would decrease. The order is the sequence mating maps, the question is whether the map
in which the map frames are displayed. In Figure 1, animation effectively engages the user. Map ani-
A shows the slower and the faster rates of change mations need to follow the proper map design
related to geographic position, and B shows a principles and display the visual variable slowly
series of maps with increasing rate of change enough for the user to understand the interaction
related to circle size. or change. When map animation is effectively
 MA P A NIMA T IO N &-',

6 Frame 1 Frame 2 Frame 3 Frame 4 Frame 5

Slow
Rate of
Change

Fast
Rate of
Change

7
Frame 1 Frame 2 Frame 3 Frame 4 Frame 5

Slow
Rate of
Change

Fast
Rate of
Change

Figure 1 Visual variable rates of change for (A) geographic position and (B) circle size
Sources: Slocum, T., McMaster, R. B., Kessler, F. C., & Howard, H. (2005). Thematic cartography and geovisualization (2nd ed.,
p. 377). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Copyright ¡ 2005. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Inc.;
Adapted from DiBiase, D., MacEachren, A. M., Krygier, J. B., & Reeves, C. (1992). Animation and the role of map design in
scientific visualization. Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 19(4), 205. Reprinted by permission of the ACSM.
Note: Rate of change is defined as m/d, where m is the magnitude of the change and d is the duration of each frame. For these
cases, duration is presumed to be constant in each frame.

used, the advantages of this expanding aspect of Further Readings

geography can impress the user with the dyna-
mism of real-world phenomena and effectively
Dent, B. D., Torguson, J. S., & Hodler, T. W. (2006).
convey its meaning.
Cartography: Thematic map design (pp. 280–297).
Kin M. Ma Boston: McGraw-Hill.
See also Map Design; Map Visualization
&-'- M A P DESIG N

been developed in the visual arts and apply to

DiBiase, D., MacEachren, A. M., Krygier, J. B., & projects both in cartography and in other visual
Reeves, C. (1992). Animation and the role of map design fields (including graphic design, painting,
design in scientific visualization. Cartography and and architecture).
Geographic Information Science, 19(4), 201–214.
Harrower, M. (2003, Winter). Tips for designing ;^\jgZ"<gdjcYGZaVi^dch]^eh
effective animated maps. Cartographic
Perspectives, 44, 63–65.
First and foremost of the design priorities is the
Lakeshore Nature Preserve. (2009, July). Lakeshore
establishment of a visual hierarchy to convey the
nature preserve interactive map (a detailed
relative importance of the various elements on the
interactive map of lakeshore nature preserve on
map image. A hierarchy should be planned before
the shore of Lake Mendota in Wisconsin).
the map is constructed, as it will determine scale and
Retrieved July 17, 2009, from www.lakeshore
symbol choices. Important information on your
preserve.wisc.edu/imap/LakeshoreNaturePreserve
map should stand out as figure, while contextual,
.html
less important information should recede (visually)
Slocum, T. A., McMaster, R. B., Kessler, F. C., &
to the background, or ground. Figure can be achieved
Howard, H. H. (2009). Thematic cartography and
by closure, by placing the figure entirely on the map
geovisualization (3rd ed., pp. 389–407). Upper
image. Figure by differentiation is achieved by set-
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
ting the figure apart from other elements—say, by a
Thrower, N. (1959). Animated cartography. The
darker color or by richer detail. Figure can also be
Professional Geographer, 11(6), 9–12.
achieved by contour, that is, using drop shadows,
stippling, or other techniques to make the figure
appear closer to the reader (Figure 1).

K^hjVa7VaVcXZ
MAP DESIGN The map image can be thought of as a two-di-
mensional plane balancing on a fulcrum at the
Maps remain the primary means of communicat-
visual center, slightly toward the top of the image
ing arguments and exploring information in geog-
from the geometric center of the image. The addi-
raphy. Clear and compelling map design can propel
tion of darkness to the plane adds visual weight
research in geography, while poor design can hin-
that needs to be counterbalanced across the ful-
der it. Good map design results from careful plan-
crum by similarly dark, or weighty, elements. Not
ning and consideration of choices that are made
every square inch of a map image needs to be
throughout the cartographic process. Some of these
filled; some blank space is not only acceptable
choices are informed by cartographic theories of
but appreciated. A map image should have such
abstraction and representation, while others are
“negative” space distributed evenly.
informed by psychological theories of vision and
perception, and still others are informed by artistic
>ciZgcVa8dch^hiZcXn
theories of harmony and balance. These choices
apply to both the map itself and the map image, Stylistic similarity of symbols, type, color, size,
defined here as the completed map document: a and other elements provides for cleanliness and
printed page, a journal illustration, an interactive organization of the graphic. The level of detail of
animated Web application, or a visualization sys- line work and iconicity of symbols, for example,
tem designed for data analysis and exploration. should be generally similar across the map and
across themes. A particular form of internal con-
sistency is interparallelism, which holds that
Aesthetic Considerations:
straight-line elements on the map (e.g., “leader”
Lessons From Visual Design
lines, which connect labels to symbols; the labels
Effective cartographic design remains a subjective themselves; or schematized representations of lin-
and artistic endeavor. Many principles of aesthet- ear features) should be parallel to each other
ics, visual harmony, hierarchy, and balance have whenever possible.
 MA P DESIGN &-'.

6 7 8

Town Town Town

Town
Town
Town Town

Town

Town Town
Town
Town
Town

9 : ;
Town

Town

Town

Figure 1 Figure-ground relationships: (A) poor figure-ground contrast; figure created using (B) closure and
detail, (C) differentiation, and (D), (E), and (F) contour, with varying emphasis
Source: Author.

H^bea^X^in information to fit the audience and the purpose of

the map. Cartographic abstraction includes strate-
A vital and somewhat counterintuitive carto-
gies for data simplification through selection,
graphic guideline is that “what matters is not
aggregation, generalization, and classification and
what you put on a map but what you take off.”
subsequent strategies for data symbolization
In our age of easy-to-obtain data, maps are often
through cartographic modeling, colors, icons, line
generated with a glut of information that clutters
work, and labels.
the image, obscures the message, and confuses
readers. Simplicity is almost always favored in
I]Z7VhZBVe
visual design over complexity, even in informa-
tion communication and visualization. Often overlooked, the design of the base map
sends subtle clues about the focus and accuracy
of the map as a whole. In the creation of the base
Cartographic Abstraction in Design
map, the cartographer determines the scale, pro-
A large part of the art of cartographic design that jection, orientation, and extent of the map. The
occurs before pen is put to paper (or mouse to level of detail of the base map depends on its scale
mouse pad) is finding appropriate ways to abstract and message; features on the base map such as
&-(% M A P DESIG N

coastlines, rivers, street networks, and labels as a rainbow of hues, is often used on weather
should be generalized to remove unnecessary maps but is best reserved for qualitative data such
information that would mislead or detract from as land use categories, ethnicity, or climate zones.
the main purpose of the map. Perceptual limitations influence color choices:
Most humans can differentiate no more than
HZaZXi^dcVcY<ZcZgVa^oVi^dcd[I]ZbZh seven or eight different values of the same hue, a
color appears darker if it is surrounded by light
For both reference maps and thematic maps, colors (and vice versa), and color-blind users can-
appropriate selection of the information to not differentiate certain color pairs. The display
include on a map focuses the attention of the device chosen may also influence color choices:
reader and allows associations to be made. Once Color printers tend to produce different (more
the themes have been selected, attribute general- saturated) colors from RGB projectors, and a
ization such as classifying data into categories, color map likely to be photocopied needs to be
aggregating data into spatial units, or eliminat- designed so that the color encodings remain logi-
ing details may also be appropriate to clarify the cal in black-and-white.
message. These techniques are often highly sub-
jective and can greatly influence the arguments Type
presented by the map.
Like color, type has several dimensions: font,
size, stance, orientation, case, style, color, letter
HnbWda^oVi^dcHigViZ\^Zh spacing, and several others. Well-established
Appropriate symbolization is also subjective, guidelines for the use of these dimensions to
but convention provides most of the necessary encode information on maps are found in cartog-
design answers. Conventions can be defied on raphy texts; only a sampling of these is reviewed
occasion to highlight unusual data or facilitate here. Fonts on a map give a map style and spirit
analytical reasoning, but in general, cartographers and should be used judiciously; fancy fonts are
and graphic designers use symbolization conven- hard to read, and standard fonts appear dull. Con-
tions that are intuitive to most readers. In most vention holds that water features or other features
scientific uses, simple geometric symbols are representing flow are labeled using italic fonts,
favored over complex pictorial symbols, which while stationary features are labeled with upright
are more often used for tourism, advertising, or fonts. Space can be included between letters on
children’s maps. Two aspects of symbolization— maps to indicate the extent of an areal feature;
color and type—are complex and ubiquitous and typically, point and linear features’ labels should
are considered in particular below. not be “letter spaced” in this way. Type can be
colored to allow the reader to connect the label
Color with the symbol, which may be colored similarly,
though some color combinations (black on yel-
Graphic designers describe color using (at least) low) are more legible than others (red on green).
three dimensions: hue, saturation, and value. Hue
refers to the color’s wavelength (red vs. green);
saturation refers to the intensity of a color (elec-
Elements of a Map:
tric blue vs. slate blue); value refers to the dark-
Are They All Always Necessary?
ness of a color (pink vs. red vs. maroon). Color
schemes can be used to encode kinds of relation- While the attention of a reader of a map image
ships: A sequential color scheme, varying only in should be directed toward the map itself, by
value, typically represents quantitative or other examining existing effective map images, a reader
ordered data, while a diverging scheme, which will note the presence of several elements apart
starts with a dark value of one hue and proceeds from the map itself, often on the map images.
through a light neutral color to a dark value of a Some of these elements provide explanation and
different hue, is used to highlight opposing quali- context, while others provide balance, identity, or
tative extremes. A spectral scheme, which appears visual interest.
 MA P DESIGN &-(&

I^iaZ every 79 km, or 1:100,000 rather than 1:99,621,

unless precise measurements are vital).
An economical and careful choice of words in
a title provides succinct reference about the mes-
9^gZXi^dcVa>cY^XVidg
sage of the map. A title is not always necessary:
The title of the legend, for example, often doubles The “north arrow” should be used only in cir-
as the title of the map (e.g., “Median Household cumstances where the convention of north-up is
Income”). The title should be positioned and sized violated or where the area mapped is unfamiliar
on the map image to draw the eye at first glance to the audience. A directional indicator is also
and then lead the eye to the focus of the map. sometimes used as a logo for the cartographer or
the mapping company and can thus serve as a
AZ\ZcY stylistic means of establishing an artistic identity.
Like scales, north arrows are often inaccurate
Careful design of the map legend is both vital
except at specific locations, particularly on small-
and underappreciated. A legend is not always nec-
scale maps. If a north arrow is used, it should be
essary (see Google Earth, USGS topo maps), but it
as small as is practical.
is almost always needed on thematic maps and on
reference maps if the symbols on the map are not
obvious. Symbols in the legend should match the I]ZCZViA^cZ
symbols on the map exactly. Elements within the A thin line or linear design (e.g., a pair of lines
legend should be spatially organized according to or a border design) is typically used to frame the
the same visual design principles, described above, map. This provides closure to the map and gives
that govern the map image as a whole. an impression that one is looking through a win-
dow onto a scene. This “neat line” is used on
>chZiBVeh print maps and those on computer screens (e.g.,
One or more inset maps can also be used to GIS and Web maps).
provide context and to fill blank spaces on the
map. Inset maps are used for a variety of pur-
Map Design in the 21st Century
poses: They can provide detail, orient the reader,
show a complementary theme, relate noncontigu- Decades before interactive mapping came into
ous areas (e.g., Alaska and Hawaii), or diagram use, cartographers developed guidelines for “opti-
nonspatial attributes (e.g., a histogram or popula- mal” design, depending on the purpose and audi-
tion chart). Inset maps are usually set off from the ence of the map. Today, many of those guidelines
main map with a visual separator, such as a line have been relaxed as map readers themselves have
or a box, and if they are of different scales from become cartographers. What was once a costly
the main map, this should be made clear. and time-consuming process—resulting in one
printed map that was difficult to change once
HXVaZ>cY^XVidg created—is now more fluid and less labor inten-
sive, often resulting in ephemeral maps meant for
A bar scale, representative fraction, or verbal
use by a single person at one specific time. Of
scale (“1 centimeter to the kilometer”), like other
course, thousands of maps are created daily to be
map elements, is not always necessary, and on
printed and displayed to a wide public audience,
small-scale maps, a scale indicator may not hold
and in these cases, traditional map design skills
true across the map. A scale indicator should be
are paramount. However, even a map that is rap-
present if measurement of distance is important
idly and individually created in GIS or on Web
for the use of the map or if the scale would not be
mapping applications is still the result of myriad
obvious to the intended audience. In this case, the
subjective and artistic choices of its creator, and
scale indicator should be as small as is practical,
the success of a map remains heavily dependent
and the measurements indicated should consist of
on good map design practice.
round numbers with appropriate units (e.g., a
tick mark every 100 km [kilometers], rather than Robert Edsall
&-(' M A P EV A L U ATION AND TE STING

See also Cartograms; Cartography; Choropleth Maps; alternative nor a better way to provide insight
Isopleth Maps; Map Evaluation and Testing; Map into geographic patterns, relationships, and
Generalization; Map Projections; Map Visualization trends. Electronic databases have taken over the
traditional role of maps as a geographic data store-
house, but new map roles emerged in digital envi-
Further Readings ronments, for example, as a geographic interface
to additional information (“clickable maps”).
Brewer, C. (2005). Designing better maps: A guide A potential problem is that today maps are
for GIS users. Redlands, CA: ESRI Press. not as effective and efficient as they could be. In
Dent, B., Torgerson, J., & Hodler, T. (2008). the past, the production of maps was cumber-
Cartography: Thematic map design (6th ed.). some and time-consuming. Maps were made by
Boston: McGraw-Hill. specialists (cartographers), who applied a user-
Krygier, J., & Wood, D. (2005). Making maps: A centered approach in map design. This approach
visual guide to map design. New York: Guilford starts with a careful analysis of the purpose and
Press. use of the map, as well as the prospective user
MacEachren, A. (1994). Some truth with maps. (group). Based on that view, decisions are made
Washington, DC: AAG. regarding geographic contents, map scale, map
Robinson, A., Morrison, J., Muehrcke, P., Kimerling, projection, and level of accuracy. Thereafter,
J., & Guptill, S. (1995). Elements of cartography cartographic symbols are designed and combined
(particularly pts. 5 and 6). New York: Wiley. into a map in such a way that geographic infor-
Slocum, T., McMaster, R., Kessler, F., & Howard, mation is properly communicated. The carto-
H. (2008). Thematic cartography and graphic “grammar” applied in those design
geovisualization (3rd ed., chaps. 9–11). Upper activities is largely based on knowledge obtained
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. from systematic map-use research, informing
Tufte, E. (1983). The visual display of quantitative about the ways in which map users perceive com-
information. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press. binations of cartographic symbols and attach
geographic meaning to them. Such a user-
centered design approach should still be followed
today, when maps are often made for noncartog-
raphers, as may be the case with maps in various
MAP EVALUATION thematic atlases and maps on TV, on the Web,
or in newspapers.
AND TESTING Because of the emergence of new map types
(e.g., dynamic and interactive displays) and
A map is an abstraction and simplification of because maps are often generated by nonspecial-
geographic reality to scale, created by selecting ists, scientific map evaluation and testing are still
the most pertinent information, translating it into very much required, not only to arrive at more
graphic symbols, and, usually, projecting it on a efficient and effective maps but also to improve
flat medium (paper or a computer screen). More the hardware and software with which maps can
maps are now made and used than ever before. be generated.
Technology allows their quick and easy produc- Two broad categories of map-use research may
tion, even by the map users themselves, who may be distinguished: perceptual/cognitive and func-
generate the maps they need, for example, within tional. The first type of research is mainly done to
a GIS or with applications such as Google Maps find out in general how maps, or their elements,
or Windows Live Maps on the Internet. work in geographic problem solving. Functional-
The main reason for the abundant use of map map-use research is more specific and based on
displays is that they are a very efficient means for the clear assumption that a map is made for a
the communication, analysis, synthesis, and particular purpose and that it is important to find
exploration of geographic information to solve out whether and to what extent a particular map
people’s geographic problems. There is neither an meets that purpose (usability research).
 MA P GENER A LIZ A T IO N &-((

Map evaluation and testing may have both a again, but there is a potential problem of subjects
qualitative and a quantitative character. Qualita- feeling inclined to interpret and rationalize their
tive research is particularly required when new problem-solving behavior. Moreover, test sub-
products have to be tested and when there is no jects may be steered too much into directions pre-
knowledge available on how people use these dicted by the investigator.
products to answer geographic questions. Think, These problems do not occur if information is
for instance, of small map displays in mobile geo- obtained by participant observation while the
applications on smart phones and handheld com- map is being used. Verifiable data may be col-
puters. There is also a need for quantitative lected with special recording equipment that also
measures telling us, for instance, how long it takes makes it possible to carefully analyze the observa-
for a person to execute a particular map use task tions at a later stage. Examples of possible record-
and how many map users arrive at the “correct” ing techniques are video, registration of eye
answer. movements and brain activities, and screen log-
Several tools are available to collect the required ging. One problem with these techniques is that
test data. Four main categories of techniques of the analysis of the outcomes cannot provide com-
map evaluation and testing may be distinguished: plete in-depth information on the cognitive pro-
interview, questionnaire, observation, and prod- cesses that take place in the minds of the subjects.
uct analysis. An interview with map users may After all, we want to know not only what the
take two different forms: structured and unstruc- map users are actually doing but also why they
tured. During an unstructured or in-depth inter- are doing it and what they are thinking when
view (which may also be executed with a focus things go right or wrong. For this purpose, the
group representing map users), questions are for- think-aloud method, in which map users are
mulated spontaneously, albeit within an interview asked to verbalize their thoughts when executing
framework. The advantage of unstructured inter- particular problem-solving tasks, is appropriate.
views is that a lot of in-depth information can be
Corné P. J. M. van Elzakker
gathered when little is known of the geographic
problem-solving process under investigation. But
See also Dynamic and Interactive Displays; Heuristic
their disadvantage is that it is difficult to compare
Methods in Spatial Analysis; Map Animation; Map
the answers obtained from different users. Com-
Design; Map Projections; Participant Observation
parability of data is afforded by structured inter-
views and written questionnaires directed toward
the functioning of map displays.
To obtain useful and comparable results Further Readings
through questionnaires and interviews, it is
recommended to have the users actually execute Commission on Use and User Issues of the
one or more tasks with the help of the designed International Cartographic Association (ICA),
map(s). The outcomes of these tasks, which could Bibliography: www.univie.ac.at/icacomuse
be answers to geographic questions, and also
maps generated by the users themselves, can be a
subject of product analysis. In evaluating existing
map displays, cartographic experts use the same
cartographic knowledge that is applied in the MAP GENERALIZATION
user-centered map design approach referred to
above. Such evaluation, performed by experts, is The capacity to comprehend the physical world
called heuristic evaluation. depends on our capacity to model it. Given the
Information about the functioning of map dis- complex interplay of multiscale processes (both
plays cannot only be derived by analyzing the human and physical), it is critical that we model
outcomes of task execution. It is also important it at multiple levels of detail and that we have
to investigate the map-use process itself. Inter- the capacity to understand and model the interac-
views and questionnaires may be applied here tion of these processes between scales. In many
&-() M A P GENE RAL IZATION

respects, a map is a model: Within a set of con- and update. The new model is one in which
straints, it seeks to reveal scale-dependent pat- updates are made once, and if the right multi-
terns that arise from the complex interplay of scale model underpins the data model, any
those processes. change at the fine scale can automatically
Traditionally, it has been the preserve and “trickle through” the smaller scales, making
responsibility of the cartographer to abstract and changes and updates where necessary.
visualize the world in all its forms, at various lev- This entry expands on conventional approaches
els of detail, both topographic and thematic. to automated mapping, beginning with a discus-
Attempts to automate the cartographic design sion of model and cartographic generalization.
process (the craft and the science of the human Through illustration, the entry highlights the
hand) have highlighted the complexity and chal- importance of evaluation and analysis techniques
lenges of modeling and visualizing the world. This to support map generalization.
task has been made even more complex as a result
of the introduction of technology that has created
a fundamental paradigm shift in how we use,
Model and Cartographic Generalization
explore, and interact with geographic informa-
tion. Where once the map reflected all that we Many national mapping agencies (such as Brit-
knew, now the digital image has become a look- ain’s Ordnance Survey or the U.S. Geological
ing glass to the digital database—one that stores Survey) continue to print paper maps at national
geographies of the world, at multiple levels of coverage, at a variety of fixed scales. Figure 1
detail, and supports functionality far beyond that shows a part of the city of Portsmouth, Eng-
of the static page. It is this paradigm shift that has land, at three scales: detailed 1:25,000 scale
spawned new visualization methodologies and (Figure 1A), 1:50,000 scale (Figure 1B), and
exploratory data analysis techniques. But tech- 1:250,000 scale (Figure 1C)—all products of
nology has not obviated the need for good design, Ordnance Survey.
that is to say, efficient and effective ways of con- The idea is that in a highly automated environ-
veying as many ideas as possible, in the shortest ment, we can capture a detailed representation of
time and with the least amount of ink—both the real world. This is referred to as the primary
beautifully and hideously illustrated in the books digital landscape model (DLM) and is typically
of Tufte. mapped at 1:10,000 scale. Then, through the pro-
Attempts to mimic the cartographic hand cess of map generalization, we create generalized
have had mixed success. Various approaches views of the world—maps that enable us to com-
(most recently, agent-based modeling) have prehend larger and larger geographical extents
tried to deal with the fact that design is a com- but in increasingly less detail (Figures 1B and C).
plex decision-making process. We need the The process of map generalization can be achieved
“eyes of the cartographer” to evaluate designs, through a combination of two very complemen-
and various cartometric techniques have been tary methodologies—cartographic and model
developed to measure content, generate candi- generalization. The process of model generaliza-
date designs, and evaluate map output. Ideas tion involves modeling between fundamentally
concerned with data modeling and database different phenomena. For example, instead of
design have gravitated toward the concept that conveying pavements, trees, individual buildings,
we should store and maintain geographic infor- and gardens, we convey major roads, forests, and
mation at the finest level of detail and, through cities. These higher-level concepts comprise the
the process of generalization, create multiple features found in the primary model. The process
representations at different scales (i.e., multiple of model generalization creates what are termed
levels of detail). This paradigm has replaced secondary DLMs.
ideas that echo past approaches to map series In the process of cartographic generalization,
production—in which a set of independent data- we apply a set of techniques that resolve relatively
bases were created, each of a predefined and subtle ambiguities to maximize the quality and
fixed scale, each requiring its own maintenance clarity of the finished map—something that a
 MA P GENER A LIZ A T IO N &-(*

Figure 1 Part of Portsmouth, England, represented at (A) 1:25,000, (B) 1:50,000, and (C) 1:250,000 scales
Sources: Authors. Mapping from Ordnance Survey © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved.
&-(+ M A P GENE RAL IZATION

Observed
World

Object generalization

Secondary Models
Primary Model
Digital landscape Model generalization Digital landscape
model (DLM) models (DLMs)
high resolution lower resolution

Cartographic generalization

Digital cartographic
models (DCMs)
visualized models

Figure 2 The first abstraction of reality creates the primary DLM, from which digital cartographic models
(DCM) can be produced—either directly from the DLM or via the process of model generalization and the
creation of secondary landscape models.
Source: Authors.

cartographer would describe as “the application relationships that exist between various geo-
of cartographic licence.” The process of carto- graphic phenomena. These ideas tie directly to
graphic generalization—applied to either the issues of data modeling and database design. It is
primary or the secondary model—produces the common sense to interpret a dense region of build-
finished product. These ideas are summarized in ings as being a town or a city. But in an automated
Figure 2. context, we need to make this notion explicit
within the model. Furthermore, we need to make
explicit the range of scales (or levels of detail) at
which it is appropriate to display a particular
Model Generalization
set of phenomena. In this way, and in combina-
Automating the process of model generaliza- tion with knowledge of the user’s task, the
tion has proved challenging and requires us to system knows when to represent the city as a dot
explicitly model the taxonomic and partonomic (e.g., with the word “Edinburgh” next to it) and
 MA P GENER A LIZ A T IO N &-(,

when to represent the city in all its detail (such as Evaluation

in Figure 1A). It would take a huge amount of
effort to create all the conceptual linkages that The considerable research effort that has gone
exist between all these scale-dependent phenom- into developing techniques such as those in Fig-
ena. Thus, a lot of effort has been invested in try- ure 4 reflects the subtle and complex conditions
ing to automate the process whereby phenomena under which these techniques are applied.
are automatically grouped together—this is termed Research in both model and cartographic gener-
data enrichment. By illustration, we can say that alization has reminded us that cartography has
we are all familiar with the concept and the func- much to do with design and is a complex deci-
tion of a hospital. At a detailed level, we know it sion-making process. For example, when is it
to be made up of wards, outpatient facilities, appropriate to displace a set of features in order
accident and emergency centers, parking lots, to improve their legibility? At what point is it
and laboratories. Algorithms have been devel- necessary to collapse a set of features (group
oped that automatically “gather up” these vari- them together) and represent them in some other
ous features to be able to collectively and form of symbology? At what point is the map so
generically represent this feature at smaller scales. distorted that a particular technique can no lon-
Figure 3 shows the application of this algorithm ger be applied? What is the optimal order or
in the context of a retail park (shopping mall) in grouping of these techniques? When is it no lon-
Southampton, England, in which all the individ- ger sufficient to apply cartographic generaliza-
ual buildings and shared spaces have been col- tion and instead it is necessary to apply model
lectively grouped together (Figure 3A) to be able generalization techniques (in which we display a
to symbolize the retail park at a smaller scale fundamentally different set of phenomena)?
(Figure 3B). These sorts of questions have highlighted the
importance of methods of evaluation. Evalua-
tion is required at two key stages. The first is in
the analysis of the various phenomena being
Cartographic Generalization
mapped. This analysis is used to control both
The cartographer applies a set of techniques that model and cartographic generalization processes.
improve the legibility of the final product. For The second form of evaluation is assessing the
any map, the symbology has to be of a size dis- final map’s quality. Attempts to automate car-
cernible to the human eye, and this often means tography have identified many qualities of the
that a feature is represented larger than its geo- map that we wish to measure. We might want to
graphical extent. For example, on A to Z road measure the density of features in order to assess
maps, the roads are distorted in width to fit the what space is available for displacement. We
name of the street down their center. This increase might want to preserve specific Gestalt proper-
in road width is at the expense of showing the ties among features—such as the orientation pat-
blocks of buildings that lie between the roads. tern of a set of buildings or the twisting nature of
Separate from this process of exaggeration is that a mountain pass. All these qualities need to be
of displacement. Where a collection of important measured since preservation of these qualities is
features are close together, it is necessary to mar- often critical to the interpretation of the feature.
ginally displace the features in order to discern Thus, the sinuous nature of a river might indi-
their presence. Sometimes features are enhanced cate a flat delta, or a large expanse of densely
because of their importance (such as tourist fea- packed buildings might indicate a city. Tech-
tures), and sometimes we symbolize features to niques have been developed to model continuous
overcome space constraints. Figure 4 shows seven regions (modeling the merging of adjoining
techniques typically used to improve the legibility regions), collections of discrete objects (i.e., using
of a map; all these techniques come under the Voronoi diagrams), and the qualities of networks
heading of cartographic generalization, each is (i.e., using graph theory).
shown with an example before and after applica- By way of example, Figure 5 shows a space-
tion of the method. exhaustive tessellation of space, using a Voronoi
&-(- M A P GENE RAL IZATION

Classification
Primary
Secondary
Access Points

0 0.125 0.25
Km

Figure 3 Modeling the function associated with a collection of buildings to derive secondary digital landscape
models (example is a retail park in Southampton, England)
Sources: Authors. Mapping from Ordnance Survey © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved.
 MA P GENER A LIZ A T IO N &-(.

Operator Before After

Smoothing
Reduce angularity of the
map object

Collapse
Reduce dimensionality
of map object (area to point,
linear polygon to line)

P P
Displacement
Small movement of map
objects in order to minimize
overlap

Enhancement
Emphasize characteristics
of map feather and meet
minimum legibility
requirements

Typification
Replacement of a group of
map features with a
prototypical subset

Text placement
SchoolP P
Nonoverlapping
Sch
unambiguous placement of A276 A276
text

Symbolization
Change of symbology Railway Stn
according to theme Station
(pictorial, iconic), or reduce
space required for symbol

Figure 4 Definition of generalization operator, initial data, and result after application of the technique
Source: Authors.

diagram based on the center point of a collection (c) identify regions where specific cartographic gen-
of buildings. In this particular instance, we have eralization techniques can be applied, and (d) ana-
grayscale coded the cells according to the amount lyze the quality of the overall solution in preserving
of space taken up by the building within its respec- the varying densities across the region after gener-
tive cell. This information was used to (a) model alization. In effect, these evaluation techniques
the extent of the city, (b) identify the character- mimic the “eyes of the cartographer” and are a
istic grouping of buildings (pattern analysis), critical component of any automated solution.
&-)% M A P GENE RAL IZATION

Modelling Density with Voronoi

0 0.05 0.1
Km
0.000014 - 0.03 0.03 - 0.09 0.09 - 0.17 0.17 0.28 0.28 - 2.27

Figure 5 An example of the use of Voronoi modeling as a form of cartometric analysis to both govern the
choice of the solution and evaluate the quality of the final product
Sources: Authors. Mapping from Ordnance Survey © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved.

Conclusion revealed just how challenging and creative the art

and science of cartography are. While there is
In attempting to automate cartography, early value in exploring this subject from a visual and
research focused on eliciting the rules that cartog- cartographic perspective, it has also proved useful
raphers lived by but found that they live by exem- to see the map as a model—an abstraction that
plars, which makes it very difficult to model. visualizes specific concepts and relationships
Furthermore, it became clear that the human among a set of geographic phenomena. It is this
decision-making process was highly context realization that is leading to much greater focus
dependent—full of exceptions. This has frustrated on the data model that underpins the automated
developments in automation. Research continues creation of maps at multiple levels of detail.
to focus on ideas of a “cartographic syntax,” a
framework that makes explicit the linkage William Mackaness and Omair Chaudhry
between the features of the map, their context,
and the emergence of meaning among those fea- See also Cartography; Database Management Systems;
tures. Research has also produced a set of tech- Geographic Information Systems; Geovisualization; Map
niques that in varying degrees mimic the human Design; Map Evaluation and Testing; Map Visualization;
hand and the human eye. All this research has Representations of Space; Voronoi Diagrams
 MA P P R OJ EC T IO N S &-)&

Further Readings MAP PROJECTIONS

Buttenfield, B., & McMaster, R. (1991). Map Projections are manipulations of Earth’s coordi-
generalisation: Making rules for knowledge nates that are undertaken to represent the spheri-
representation. New York: Longman. cal Earth’s surface as a flat plane. Projections are
Dykes, J., MacEachren, A., & Kraak, M.-J. (2005). required to map the Earth on paper; the type of
Exploring geovisualisation Amsterdam: Elsevier. manipulation and the resulting output form a
Galanda, M., & Weibel, R. (2003). Using an energy projection. Many diverse projections have been
minimization technique for polygon made, and they differ dramatically in appearance
generalization. Cartography and Geographic and properties. Most significantly, the properties
Information Science, 30(3), 259–275. of projections must correctly be matched with the
Mackaness, W., & Beard, M. (1993). Use of graph purpose of the map, or else the map message may
theory to support map generalization. Cartography be distorted or inaccurately presented. Although
and Geographic Information Systems, 20, 210–221. projections apply mathematical formulas to posi-
Mackaness, W., & Ruas, A. (2007). Evaluation in the tion coordinates systematically, simple illustrative
map generalisation process. In W. Mackaness, models are described here to clarify the output of
A. Ruas, & L. Sarjakoski (Eds.), Generalization of the manipulations and to present classifications
geographic information: Cartographic modelling of projection types. Also, the resulting properties
and applications (pp. 89–112). Amsterdam: Elsevier. or characteristics of the projections and some spe-
Mackaness, W. A., Ruas, A., & Sarjakoski, L. cific projections and their strengths and weak-
(2007). Generalisation of geographic information: nesses are discussed.
Cartographic modelling and applications. Projections build from a coordinate system and
Amsterdam: Elsevier. a datum. Most often, the coordinate system used
Muller, J., Lagrange, J., & Weibel, R. (1995). GIS is latitude and longitude, and this system provides
and generalisation methodology and practice. a graticule or grid of intersecting lines, parallels
London: Taylor & Francis. and meridians, within which the data coordinates
Mustière, S., & van Smaalen, J. (2007). Database are plotted. In that Earth is neither perfectly
requirements for generalization and multiple smooth nor perfectly spherical, a datum provides
representation. In W. Mackaness, A. Ruas, & L. a standardized definition of its shape as a model.
Sarjakoski (Eds.), Generalization of geographic So the datum describes Earth’s shape around
information: Cartographic modelling and which the graticule is constructed, and the projec-
applications (pp. 113–136). Amsterdam: Elsevier. tion manipulates this grid to portray the curved
Robinson A., & Sale, R. (1995). Elements of Earth’s surface on a flat sheet.
cartography (6th ed.). New York: Wiley.
Ruas, A. (1998). A method for building displacement
in automated map generalization. International Visualization of Projections
Journal of Geographical Information Science,
12(8), 789–803. The mathematical manipulations of projections
Ruas, A., & Duchene, C. (2007). A prototype are best understood by imagining a clear globe
generalization system based on the multi agent with the graticule printed on its surface, a light
system paradigm. In W. Mackaness, A. Ruas, & bulb used to illuminate the globe, and a large
L. Sarjakoski (Eds.), Generalization of geographic sheet of paper on which to project the lines from
information: Cartographic modelling and the globe using the light bulb. The positioning of
applications (pp. 269–284). Amsterdam: Elsevier. the paper and the placement of the bulb in rela-
Sheppard, E., & McMaster, R. (Eds.). (2004). Scale tionship to the globe provide for diverse configu-
and geographic inquiry: Nature, society and rations of the projected grid. This example depicts
method. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. the categorization of projections.
Tufte, E. (1983). The visual display of quantitative The first of the variables in these models is the
information. Cheshire, CT: Graphic Press. placement of the light bulb, providing different
viewpoints. For the gnomonic position, the light
&-)' M A P P R OJE CTIONS

bulb is in the center of the globe. The placement the properties of the projection. Major properties
of the bulb against the side of the globe makes include equal area or equivalence, and shape or
the stereographic position. The light bulb can conformality. No projection can be both equiva-
also be placed at infinity for the orthographic lent and conformal. Minor properties include dis-
projection. tance and direction.
A second variable is the shape formed from the An equivalent projection means that the size
paper. The result provides a developable surface of small areas is comparable throughout the
for the projection and drawing of the grid lines. map. These projections are suitable to show dot
The paper can be left as a flat surface to be pla- distributions and the location of individual fea-
nar. It can be wrapped into a cylinder to make the tures where the distribution or relationship
category of the projection cylindrical. A third between the features is the central concern.
configuration is to form a cone from the paper. Unfortunately, this capability is not inherent in
This approach yields the development surface many map projections.
classified as conic. A conformal map displays the shape of small
A third variable is the aspect or the orientation areas by maintaining the angles within the grati-
of the paper or the developable surface to the cule. These projections are particularly good for
globe. Regular orientations result in the simplest thematic maps communicating the characteristics
lines and are standardized based on the form of political units, such as choropleth maps. Sizes
made of the paper. For a planar projection, the are progressively distorted.
paper is placed at a pole. For a cylindrical projec- The property of distance entails measurement
tion, the paper is wrapped around the equator. from the central point of the projection rather
The conic version places the point of the cone at a than the accuracy of measurement between any
pole. Rotating these placements 90n is a trans- two points. The property of direction means that
verse orientation. An oblique orientation is any the measurement of directions will match those
other placement. on Earth’s surface; however, once again, this
Additional variations involve the configuration quality ranges from correct to limited to absent
of the surface of the paper to that of the globe. depending on the projection.
The paper and the globe are tangent where they Because of the inherent distortion in convert-
touch. This point is especially significant, because ing the curved surface of the Earth into a flat
only where this occurs will the scale or size rela- representation, no projection and no map accu-
tionship of mapped features on the paper and the rately portray these four properties. Many projec-
globe be identical. Tangency may be absent, may tions are devised that strive to improve one
occur at one point, or may form a circle or ellipse, property while sacrificing the others to varying
or two circles or ellipses. Usually, the regular ori- extents. These projections are called compromise
entation of the planar projection has tangency at projections, because they forgo accuracy of one
the pole, and the cylindrical projection has tan- or more properties for improved qualities on
gency along the equator. However, the paper may other properties.
be formed so that it intersects the globe. This
form is described as secant. The advantage of cre-
ating a projection based on a secant developable
Sample Projections
surface is the increase in the area of tangency and
the enhanced closeness of all points to being at Many projections have been devised. A few of the
the same scale as the globe. better-known ones and their strengths and weak-
nesses are discussed here to help illustrate the
concepts that have been described and the impor-
tance of matching the use of the projection with
Projection Properties
the properties that are inherent to it. Cartographic
Projections inevitably involve distortion because tradition requires identification of the projection
the curved Earth’s surface cannot be made flat. used to produce a map to be included in the leg-
The characteristics maintained by projections are end or documentation.
 MA P P R OJ EC T IO N S &-)(

Figure 1 Mercator projection

Source: Author.

The most common projection is the Mercator aspect. Meridians are straight and evenly spaced.
projection, named after its creator, Gerardus Mer- The greatest strengths are the rectangular shape,
cator (Figure 1). It uses a cylindrical developable conformality, and ability to show true direction
surface with tangency at the equator. Secant varia- with a straight line drawn on the map. The weak-
tions are also used. The Mercator projection is ness is misrepresentation of the area at high lati-
conformal and shows true direction, thus it is used tudes, thus exaggerating the size of areas such as
for navigation charts. Parallels are straight but Greenland and leading to misperceptions about
become more widely spaced with increased lati- the spatial relationships of distances between
tudes. The poles cannot be shown with the regular points at different locations across the map.
&-)) M A P P R OJE CTIONS

Figure 2 Mollweide projection

Source: Author.

The Mollweide projection, created by Carl of the polar areas than the Robinson projec-
Mollweide in 1805, is an equal-area projection tion. The central meridian and the equator are
(Figure 2). The parallels are both straight and straight, but other parallels and meridians are
parallel, placed to provide equivalence, and the curved. The National Geographic Society substi-
meridians other than the central meridian are tuted this projection for the previously used Rob-
curved. Most shapes, directions, and distances inson projection. Although no projection
are distorted, especially near the map edges. properties are maintained and the distortion is
Strengths include the compact elliptical shape, somewhat less than the Robinson, the overall
which enables the polar areas to be represented. shape is less pleasing.
Weaknesses include the progressive shape distor- The Plate Carrée projection is a compromise
tion and inaccurate lengths of the parallels. projection based on plotting the latitude and lon-
The Robinson projection is a compromise pro- gitude coordinates as a simple grid (Figure 5). It is
jection (Figure 3). Developed for Rand McNally also called a rectangular projection; but in the
by Arthur Robinson, a noted academic cartogra- traditional form, the grids are squares. All paral-
pher, it was used for about a decade by the lels and meridians are straight lines. The strength
National Geographic Society for their world is the ease of use; however, the weakness is the
maps. The parallels are straight and parallel, and failure to maintain projection properties. Many
the meridians, except for the central meridian, are Web site maps display data in this format, which
curved. Although no projection properties are is inappropriate for density and pattern consider-
maintained, the straight parallels, the curved ations. This projection is easily and best applied
meridians (except for the central meridian), and to small areas such as city maps, where the distor-
the attempt to reduce distortions result in a pleas- tions will be sufficiently limited to make them
ing and realistic appearance. insignificant.
The Winkel Tripel projection (Figure 4) is The sinusoidal projection is an equal-area pro-
another compromise projection combining two ear- jection (Figure 6). The shape of these projections
lier projections and has somewhat less distortion is variable, and this one is noted for its ornament
 MA P P R OJ EC T IO N S &-)*

Figure 3 Robinson projection

Source: Author.

Figure 4 Winkel Tripel projection

Source: Author.
&-)+ M A P P R OJE CTIONS

Figure 5 Plate Carrée projection

Source: Author.

Figure 6 Sinusoidal projection

Source: Author.
 MA P P R OJ EC T IO N S &-),

Figure 7 Albers equal-area projection of North America

Source: Author.

shape. The sinusoidal projection is often inter- It is conic and uses the secant method with two
rupted to use multiple central meridians to show standard parallels. Meridians are straight, con-
the continental areas better. Parallels are straight, verging at the poles, and parallels are curved,
of appropriate lengths, and evenly spaced. Merid- forming concentric circles on the full cone. The
ians are sine curves coming to a point at the two parallels make it best adapted to middle-
poles. The right-angle intersection of parallels latitude areas with wide east-to-west extent, so
and meridians is absent, with the angle of inter- it is often used to map the United States, but it is
section increasing toward the map edges. Thus, less suitable for showing all of North America.
shapes are distorted away from the central merid- The Lambert conformal conic projection is
ian or meridians. used to show the shapes of middle-latitude
Some map projections are better adapted to regions such as North America (Figure 8). The
mapping regions rather than the entire world. The cone-shaped developable surface uses the secant
Albers equal-area projection, for example, is satis- method with two standard parallels. Meridians
factory for mapping North America and good for are straight, converging at the poles, and parallels
showing the size relationships of areas (Figure 7). are curved, forming concentric circles on the full
&-)- M A P P R OJE CTIONS

Figure 8 Lambert conformal conic projection of North America

Source: Author.

cone, with progressively closer spacing toward Awareness of the type of projection applied aids in
the poles. The suitable mapping areas are similar map reading and interpretation and may help iden-
to those of the previously described projection. tify those occasions when the ease of map produc-
Earth can be depicted as round, elliptical, square, tion leads to inappropriate cartographic design.
dodecahedral, heart shaped, or double heart
shaped, and even as an armadillo, the orthoapsidal Miriam Helen Hill
projection. As the form is altered, the sizes and
shapes of the ocean and land areas depicted are See also Cartography; Cartography, History of;
stretched and twisted. Mapmakers must be aware Coordinate Geometry; Coordinate Systems; Coordinate
of the accuracy and limitations of the projection as Transformations; Datums; Dot Density Maps; Goode,
they make their design choices; software programs J. Paul; Map Design; Mercator, Gerardus;
offer diverse options with data tests for suitability. Waldseemüller, Martin
 MA P V ISUA LIZ A T IO N &-).

Further Readings and mapping participants. In particular, the

development, diffusion, and integration of geo-
Campbell, J. (2001). Map use and analysis (4th ed.). graphic information systems (GIS), remote sens-
Boston: McGraw-Hill. ing (RS), cartography, and the Internet have
Dent, B., Torguson, J., & Hodler, T. (2009). revolutionized maps, mapping, and map visual-
Cartography: Thematic map design. Boston: ization. Among the most notable changes to maps
McGraw-Hill. and mapping, which in turn spawned the tools,
Krygier, J., & Wood, D. (2005). Making maps: A techniques, and field of geovisualization itself,
visual guide to map design for GIS. New York: was the shift from analog or hardcopy map pro-
Guilford Press. duction to digital cartography in the late 20th
Monmonier, M. (1996). How to lie with maps (2nd century. In addition to making map production
ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. more efficient, the digital tools and platforms on
Slocum, T., McMaster, R., Kessler, F., & Howard, which geovisualization operates (e.g., GIS/design/
H. (2009). Thematic cartography and statistics software, databases, network comput-
geovisualization (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, ers, the Internet) also facilitate the widespread
NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. diffusion, sharing, use, and viewing of geovisual-
Snyder, J. (1987). Map projections: A working ization products, processes, and practices, as well
manual (U.S. Geological Survey, Professional as the development of the next generation of geo-
Paper 1395). Washington, DC: Government visualization techniques (e.g., mobile maps, inter-
Printing Office. active multimedia maps).
As information technology becomes more
accessible, and as geographers and other profes-
sionals’ monopoly on mapmaking disappears,
map visualization itself becomes more accessible
and more widely applied. Map visualization in
MAP VISUALIZATION the above-described sense is used by geographers
and the scientific community, but it is also used
Map visualization is an important component of across the public and private sectors (e.g., emer-
geovisualization and refers to the dynamic repre- gency responders, transportation engineers, plan-
sentation of geospatial data and information for ners, marketing companies). Furthermore, the
exploratory purposes and decision support. Unlike emergence of neogeography, which refers to the
analog maps, which statically portray information creation and sharing of maps online for friends
to passive viewers, map visualizations today often and visitors out of personal interest and curiosity,
require interaction with the viewer. The introduc- speaks to the continued diffusion of geovisualiza-
tion of viewer interaction (e.g., changing map tion tools and technology and to the changing
parameters such as scale or adding and removing population, behavior, and expectations of 21st-
map layers on demand and on the fly) with a car- century mapmakers.
tographic production represents a fundamental As geovisualization tools and techniques
change in mapping practice. Maps are no longer become more common, familiarity with geogra-
considered simply graphical inventories or infor- phy and expectations from map visualization will
mational artifacts; rather, the use of maps in inter- also change. For example, the form and content
active and exploratory fashion can enhance of maps, which at one time were largely limited
understanding, facilitate and extend scientific to the domain of the physical Earth, now extend
inquiry, and support decision making. into the realm of virtual worlds, cyberspaces,
Recent advances in information technology, spaces of interactions, exchanges, flows, and net-
together with the proliferation of geospatial data, works, all of which are not necessarily bound to
contributed greatly to this shift from static, carto- any particular geographic location. Moreover,
graphic maps to more dynamic geospatial repre- this democratization of maps and mapping is
sentations and, more important, from a passive not without its own complications or conse-
map-viewing audience to active spatial analysts quences. As data from myriad sources continue to
&-*% M A R C US, ME L VIN G .

be collected and distributed, map visualization of Miami (BA, 1956), the University of Colorado
techniques will continue to highlight numerous (MA, 1957), and the University of Chicago (PhD,
questions on transparency and privacy and the 1964), where he studied the mass balance of the
broader implications of living in a geospatially Lemon Creek Glacier, Juneau Icefields.
enabled world. Marcus held teaching positions at Rutgers Uni-
versity (1960–1964), the University of Michigan
Michael Shin
(1965–1973), and Arizona State University (1974–
1997). He was chair of the geography depart-
See also Cartography; Geographic Information Systems;
ments at the University of Michigan and Arizona
GIScience; Map Design; Map Evaluation and Testing;
State University. He also taught at Christchurch
Neogeography; Remote Sensing; Spatial Analysis
University and West Point on sabbaticals.
Marcus took students of all backgrounds into
challenging field environments. Despite objec-
Further Readings tions, he included women for the first time in the
1960s science expeditions to the St. Elias and
Dodge, M., McDerby, M., & Turner, M. (2008). Wrangell ranges in the Yukon and Alaska. His
Geographic visualization: Concepts, tools and passion for environmental education led to two
applications. West Sussex, UK: Wiley. decades as a board member with Yosemite
MacEachren, A. M. (1995). How maps work: National Institutes, where he developed a geogra-
Representation, visualization and design. New phy-based environmental curriculum that eventu-
York: Guilford Press. ally reached 40,000 students per year.
Slocum, T., McMaster, R., Kessler, F., & Howard, Marcus’s research initially focused on glaciol-
H. (2005). Thematic cartography and geographic ogy and mountain climates, often in unexplored
visualization (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: and unstudied settings. In the 1970s, his research
Pearson. expanded to include human-environment interac-
tions, usually with an emphasis on human impacts
on micro- and meso-climates, ranging from build-
ing effects on heat flux to land use impacts on
MARCUS, MELVIN G. dust storms. Later writings such as Geography’s
Inner Worlds examined the status of geography
(1929–1997) and geographic education.
As president of the Association of American
Melvin Gerald Marcus was born in Seattle, Wash- Geographers (1977–1978) and in his presidential
ington, an environment that molded him as a address, “Coming Full Circle,” Marcus advocated
geographer, environmental educator, and moun- for the importance of physical geography and
taineer. He claimed 52 first ascents by age 19, commissioned the strategic plan that generated
becoming the youngest person elected to the Specialty Groups, which were critical in keeping
American Alpine Club. Recruited to Yale, he physical geographers within geography. He was
majored in geology while playing basketball and vice president of the American Geographical
reaching the NCAA Final Four. While at Yale, Society from 1986 to 1996 and chair of the U.S.
Maynard Miller invited him to explore the Juneau National Committee of the International Geo-
Icefields, leading to a series of expeditions that graphical Union, a position he used to influence
fueled Marcus’s interest in glaciology. the Rediscovering Geography report, which advo-
The Korean War interrupted his education in cated for geography’s role in the world.
1951. Volunteering for the Air Force, he piloted
B-26 bombers. Postwar military duty in Japan W. Andrew Marcus
prompted him to switch to a field that encom-
passed mountains, travel, and people. He left Yale, See also American Geographical Society; Association of
which had no geography department, and gradu- American Geographers; International Geographical
ated with geography degrees from the University Union
 MA R GINA L R EGIO N S &-*&

3. Dead angle: A place (or a region) can be

Further Readings
situated off the main communication flow
Abler, R. F., Marcus, M. G., & Olson, J. M.
and lead a very introverted life at the edge of
(Eds.). (1992). Geography’s inner worlds:
a system, lacking a development potential of
Pervasive themes in contemporary American
its own.
geography. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers
University Press. Types 2 (isolated region) and 3 (dead angle)
Graf, W. L., Gober, P., & Brazel, A. J. (2001). resemble most what we would call marginal
Melvin G. Marcus, 1929–1997. Annals of the regions. They may exist inside a polarized region
Association of American Geographers, 91, but are not part of it.
724–733. Marginality can be encountered in various con-
Marcus, M. G. (1979). Coming full circle: Physical texts and at a variety of scales. It has a distinctly
geography in the twentieth century. Annals of the spatial component. Socially marginal groups, for
Association of American Geographers, 69, example, often congregate in specific locations, as
521–532. exemplified by the dwelling areas of the Untouch-
National Research Council. (1997). Rediscovering ables in India, the Ghetto for the Jews in medieval
geography: New relevance for science and European cities, certain housing estates, and gated
society. Washington, DC: National Academy communities.
Press.

Ways of Looking at Marginality

Walter Leimgruber’s attempt to understand mar-
ginal regions identified four different types of
MARGINAL REGIONS marginality: geometrical, ecological, economic,
and social. Other possible approaches (political,
cultural, risks/hazards, and perception) also exist,
Marginal regions are regions that are situated
thus demonstrating the diversity of the concept
somewhere at the edge or at the margin of a
and the various disciplines that would be involved
system and are not part of the traditional center-
in marginality research.
periphery model. Marginal regions and peripher-
A purely materialistic perspective would define
ies are not the same. Marginal regions are also
marginality by some threshold value of the gross
called associated regions, isolated regions, or
domestic product (GDP) per capita. This restricted
dead angles. While centers and peripheries exist
view is static and overlooks other manifestations.
in more or less intense mutual relationships, these
Social marginality cannot be reduced to the GDP.
regions (or places) occupy different positions
Marginality is not the end-stage of a process, but
within the system. They can be categorized as
it may be of limited duration. A dynamic approach
follows:
is therefore required. A suggestion could lie in the
comparison of market integration and the level of
1. Associated region: A place can lead a life of its productive forces. A region where both are low
own and yet be associated with a major center, can be classified as marginal, and a change in one
such as the port city of a capital. There are or in both parameters would lift the region out of
close ties between it and the center but no marginality (Figure 1).
unilateral dependency. Another approach is based on the diversity of
human societies, which “are not necessarily uni-
2. Isolated region: A place may have fied collectivities” (Giddens, 1984, p. 24). This
intense internal relations but little contact diversity manifests itself in highly varied human
with the outside world, thus remaining behaviors, which define a social mainstream within
isolated from it and living according to its which all individuals oscillate (Figure 2). Certain
own rhythm. individuals’ behavior, however, is located at the
&-*' M A R GI NAL RE G IONS

extremes of a society’s range

and may even reach consider-
Marginal ably beyond it. Such persons no
possible
individuals
expansion longer belong to the society’s
“mainstream” but are marginal
persons. While the mainstream
Mainstream is relatively stable over time,
marginal individuals can never-
theless have a long-term impact
on the society in that they may
Marginal bring about transformations;
individuals
possible they are in fact essential ele-
expansion ments of every society. “While
the continued existence of large
time collectivities or societies evi-
dently does not depend upon
the activities of any particular
Figure 1 Possible trajectories for marginal individuals over time. The
individual, such collectivities or
degree to which individuals fluctuate from established social norms is
temporally and geographically fluid.
societies manifestly would cease
to be if all the agents involved
Source: Leimgruber, W. (2004). Between global and local: Marginality and marginal
regions in the context of globalization and deregulation. London: Ashgate. Copyright
disappeared” (Giddens, 1984,
© Walter Leimgruber. p. 24). The sum of such mar-
ginal individuals can be called a
marginal group or community.
From a political perspective,
marginality can be associated
with regions along political
 ]^\] AZkZad[egdYjXi^kZ[dgXZh adl boundaries where the applica-
tion of state authority ends,
]^\] 8:CIG: E:G>E=:GN where the military function of
a boundary is prevalent, and
where investments are tradi-
AZkZad[bVg`Zi^ciZ\gVi^dc

tionally low. This kind of mar-

ginality can also be described
as geometrical.
There is also a positive side
to marginality that tends to be
overlooked. Marginal subjects
(individuals, groups) can be
agents of social transformation
and innovation. Indeed, per-
sons who have brought about
substantial changes were often
adl E:G>E=:GN B6G<>C
socially marginalized (e.g., St.
John the Baptist, Jesus Christ,
Figure 2 Marginal regions in the context of productive forces and market
St. Francis of Assisi). Even Ein-
relations. Marginal regions tend to be peripheralized in terms of both stein, in his outer appearance,
productive capacity and their level of integration into wider divisions of labor. did not conform to standard
social expectations.
Source: Leimgruber, W. (2004). Between global and local: Marginality and marginal
regions in the context of globalization and deregulation. London: Ashgate. Copyright This variety of meanings is
© Walter Leimgruber. the reason why a wider approach
 MA R INE A QUA C ULT U RE &-*(

to marginality and marginal regions is required, an the developed nations. Aquaculture growth
approach that helps revise the dichotomy between exceeds that of all other animal-food-producing
cores and marginal areas. One could also include sectors, at a rate of 8.8% per year since 1970 as
the natural environment, which has become mar- opposed to 1.2% for capture fisheries and 2.8%
ginalized over the past few centuries due to the for terrestrial meat production systems, but shows
emphasis on the material well-being of an affluent signs of leveling off, although high growth rates
society. remain for some regions and species. Although
most aquaculture production of fish, crustaceans,
Walter Leimgruber
and mollusks is derived from freshwater environ-
ments representing 56.6% by quantity and 50.1%
See also Difference, Geographies of; Orientalism;
by value of aquaculture production aggregated,
Uneven Development
marine aquaculture production is significant and
was reported by the Food and Agriculture Orga-
nization (FAO) to be 35.07 million metric tons in
Further Readings 2006, with an overall value of US$44.8 billion,
including all aquatic organisms and geographical
Douglas, M. (1996). Natural symbols: Explorations zones. Of the world total, China accounts for
in cosmology. London: Routledge. 67.6% of the total quantity and 39.9% of the
Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society. total value of marine aquaculture, thus dominat-
Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. ing the marine aquaculture industry.
Leimgruber, W. (2004). Between global and local: Much of the marine production consists of high-
Marginality and marginal regions in the context of end finfish as well as relatively low-priced mussels
globalization and deregulation. London: Ashgate. and oysters, while brackish-water production is
dominated by high-value crustaceans and finfish.
The high diversity of aquaculture production is
illustrated by the variety of species farmed. Aquatic
MARINE AQUACULTURE plants and mollusks show the greatest rate of
growth since the early 2000s, while mollusks and
crustaceans show the greatest increase in value.
Marine aquaculture refers to the farming of
Diadromous fish also show a stark increase since
aquatic organisms in coastal or off-shore marine
2004. While these numbers illustrate the emergent
environments, involving controlled interventions
trends in marine aquaculture, they also reflect the
to increase production by specific groups claim-
efforts by countries to improve their reporting sys-
ing ownership of the cultivated stock. Marine
tems. Geographically, marine aquaculture produc-
aquaculture involves the farming of a high diver-
tion and value is clearly dominated by Asia,
sity of aquatic organisms, including mollusks,
followed by Europe and the Americas, while Africa
crustaceans, fish, and aquatic plants, amounting
and Oceania remain marginal.
to 240 reported species in 2004, cultivated in
diverse environments (brackish and marine areas),
with different technologies (cages, ponds) and a
wide spectrum of production systems operated by Balancing Economic Growth With
distinct groups (individuals, cooperatives, corpo- Environmental and Social Sustainability
rations) in several regions of the world.
Proponents of marine aquaculture argue that the
industry provides an alternative to declining fish-
eries, enhancing the food security of local popula-
Production and Distribution
tions while providing employment and attracting
Marine aquaculture has been practiced for mil- economic investments in the host countries, often
lennia, especially in Asian cultures, but it has developing nations. China is the country with
grown exponentially since the 1980s in response the highest number of fish farmers (4.5 million)
to a widespread decline of the world’s fisheries in 2004. Other countries with a high number of
and increased consumption of aquatic species by fishers and fish farmers include India, Indonesia,
&-*) M A R I N E AQU ACU L TU RE

10
national GDP
Percent of
8
6
4
2
0
ar s m d na sia es esh ysia nd way and ece hile lize dor gua ala eru ma
sc elle etna ilan Chi one pin ala Nor Icel Gr
e C Be ua ra em P na
a h i a ad la
d ag eyc V Th I nd hilip ngl Ma Ze Ec ica uat Pa
a S P Ba ew N G
M N

Africa Asia Australia Europe Latin America

Figure 1 Top 20 nations most reliant on marine aquaculture, 2006

Sources: Adapted from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Aquaculture Statistics (2006) and EarthTrends
GDP Statistics (2008).

and Vietnam. Employment in fisheries and aqua- particular is controversial as it is often derived
culture has been growing in low- and middle-in- from fish and other aquatic organisms caught in
come countries and declining or stagnating in the the wild, thus adding pressure to the already over-
industrialized states. Most of the production of exploited fisheries, instead of providing a solution.
marine aquaculture comes from low- to middle- Opponents of marine aquaculture have therefore
income nations. Marine aquaculture plays an argued that its economic benefits mask consider-
important role in providing cash income and able environmental and social costs.
investments to developing countries and contrib- Marine-aquaculture-related environmental deg-
utes importantly to the national economies of radation directly affects coastal communities,
many developing states. Latin American and which experience declining returns in local fisher-
Asian states are particularly dependent on marine ies and other wetland-related goods and services.
aquaculture, with Chile having more than 9% of Marine aquaculture also creates social tensions in
its gross domestic product derived solely from coastal communities between those who choose to
marine aquaculture (not counting freshwater engage in the activity and those who depend on
aquaculture). the formerly readily available wetland ecosystems.
Despite the importance of marine aquaculture In that regard, marine aquaculture has facilitated
to national economies, there are no reliable esti- the privatization of wetlands, limiting their use by
mates of the actual returns of the activity to local the coastal poor. Additionally, small-scale pro-
communities and local producers. Marine aqua- ducers have been unable to remain competitive
culture is heavily criticized for its environmental when faced with large-scale industrial complexes
impacts on coastal wetland ecosystems and its with economies of scale, thus raising issues of
mixed record in terms of social benefits to rural equality within the industry itself. In response to
communities. Pond aquaculture in brackish sys- these criticisms, the industry has started to estab-
tems has caused considerable loss of wetlands, lish best management practices (BMPs) in order to
especially mangroves. In Latin America, between limit environmental and social impacts. These
20% and 50% of mangrove destruction since the BMPs are seen by some small producers as another
1980s has been attributed to shrimp aquaculture barrier limiting their entry into the aquaculture
expansion. Issues of water quality degradation, industry. Many small producers have limited
invasive species, and disease spread are also tied to access to credit or markets, thus restricting the
the presence of high densities of aquatic organisms extent to which they can conform to international
and the addition of feeds and antibiotics. Feed in standards and regulations. More work needs to be
 MARK, DAVID M. &-**

done therefore to draw small-scale producers into

national and international markets, while main-
MARITIME SPACES
taining the integrity of the natural resource base
on which both marine aquaculture operations and See Oceans
human populations depend.
Karina Benessaiah

See also Aquaculture; Coastal Zone and Marine

MARK, DAVID M. (1947– )
Pollution; Fish Farming; Food, Geography of; Oceans;
A pioneer in geographic information science
Wetlands
(GIScience) research, David Mark played a forma-
tive role in establishing the cognitive and linguistic
foundations of the discipline. His early work on
Further Readings topographic data modeling also included seminal
contributions to the development of triangulated
Barbier, E. B., & Cox, M. (2003). Does economic irregular networks (TINs) and algorithmic flow
development lead to mangrove loss? A cross- modeling. He authored or coauthored more than
country analysis. Contemporary Economic Policy, 220 papers and played an instrumental role in
21(4), 418–432. establishing several national organizations and con-
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United ference series to promote GIScience. A professor in
Nations. (2006). State of world aquaculture. the Department of Geography at the University at
Rome, Italy: FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Buffalo, State University of New York (SUNY)
Department. since 1981, Mark received the University Consor-
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United tium on Geographic Information Science (UCGIS)
Nations. (2007). The state of world fisheries and Researcher of the Year award in 2004 and was
aquaculture. Rome, Italy: FAO Fisheries and appointed SUNY Distinguished Professor in 2007.
Aquaculture Department. Mark received his BA and PhD degrees in geog-
Lebel, L., Tri, N. H., Saengnoree, A., Pasong, S., raphy at Simon Fraser University in 1970 and
Buatama, U., & Thoa, L. K. (2002). Industrial 1977 and an MA in geography at the University
transformation and shrimp aquaculture in of British Columbia in 1974. As an undergradu-
Thailand and Vietnam: Pathways to ecological, ate, he proposed a correction for statistical analy-
social and economic sustainability. Ambio, 31(4), sis of the orientation of sedimentary strata, which
311–323. is still widely used in geological studies. While a
Naylor, R. L., Goldburg, R. J., Primavera, J. H., master’s student, Mark began work on the TIN
Kautsky, N., Beveridge, M. C. M., Clay, J., et al. model of topographic representation under the
(2000). Effect of aquaculture on world fish supervision of Thomas Poiker (formerly “Peu-
supplies. Nature, 405, 1017–1024. cker”). His rigorous comparative analysis dem-
Paez-Osuna, F. (2001). The environmental impact of onstrated the relative effectiveness of TINs and
shrimp aquaculture: Causes, effects, and contributed to their widespread adoption in geo-
mitigating alternatives. Environmental graphic information systems (GIS). Later work
Management, 28(1), 131–140. on topographic analysis yielded the well-known
Tobey, J., Clay, J., & Vergne, P. (1998). Maintaining D8 flow routing algorithm, which eliminated spu-
a balance: The economic, environmental, and rious pits from digital elevation models.
social impacts of shrimp farming in Latin In the 1980s, Mark’s research began to focus
America. Washington, DC: Island Press. on the fundamental properties of geographic fea-
World Bank. (2007). Changing the face of the waters: tures and their representation. Papers on the frac-
The promise and challenge of sustainable tal nature of geographic phenomena summarized
aquaculture (Agriculture and Rural Development for geographers the importance of scale depen-
Series). Washington, DC: Author. dence in measurement and the utility of recursive
partitioning schemes. This period also witnessed
&-*+ M A R K ET-BASE D E NVIRONME NTA L R EGULA T ION

the beginning of a long-lasting collaboration with See also Egenhofer, Max; Flow; Frank, Andrew;
the philosopher Barry Smith to investigate the GIScience; Goodchild, Michael; National Center for
ontological constraints of geographic categoriza- Geographic Information and Analysis; Ontology;
tion. Questions of how people experience, cog- Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) Data Model;
nize, and communicate with respect to spatial University Consortium for Geographic Information
phenomena led to co-organization of a workshop Science
in 1990 in Las Navas, Spain, which is often con-
sidered the birthplace of the cognitive and linguis-
tic threads of GIScience. Further Readings
Throughout the 1990s, Mark contributed to the
emerging field of GIScience a series of reasoned Egenhofer, M., & Mark, D. (1995). Modeling
investigations on spatial relations and experiential, conceptual neighborhoods of topological
cognitive, and formal models of geographic space. relations. International Journal of Geographical
A 1995 paper titled “Naïve Geography” added a Information Systems, 9(5), 555–565.
new dimension to the discipline, demonstrating Goodchild, M., & Mark, D. (1987). The fractal
that the commonsense view of the world could nature of geographic phenomena. Annals of the
itself be a coherent and fruitful subject of scientific Association of American Geographers, 77,
inquiry. Focusing on the particular domain of 265–278.
landforms, Mark pioneered the new field of ethno- Mark, D. (1975). Computer analysis of topography:
physiography and is currently involved in a project A comparison of terrain storage methods.
to document and compare terms used by the Yind- Geografiska Annaler, 57A, 179–188.
jibarndi and Navajo cultures to describe natural Mark, D. (1984). Automated detection of drainage
elements of the landscape. networks from digital elevation models.
An important aspect of Mark’s career has been Cartographica, 21, 168–178.
his talent for facilitating cross-disciplinary col- Mark, D., & Aronson, P. (1984). Scale-dependent
laboration through the organization of work- fractal dimensions of topographic surfaces: An
shops, conferences, centers, and funded projects. empirical investigation, with applications in
In 1988, he was a member of the team that estab- geomorphology and computer mapping.
lished the National Center for Geographic Infor- Mathematical Geology, 16, 671–683.
mation and Analysis (NCGIA), and he became
director of the Buffalo NCGIA site in 1995. Mark
was instrumental in the founding of the UCGIS in
1991 and served as one of its first presidents.
Under his guidance, the Las Navas workshop MARKET-BASED
spawned the highly successful ongoing Confer-
ence on Spatial Information Theory (COSIT)
ENVIRONMENTAL
series. He was also program cochair of the first REGULATION
two GIScience conferences in 2000 and 2002.
Perhaps his biggest success, however, was the Market-based environmental regulation involves
establishment in 2000 of the first and only the use of one or more economic policy instru-
National Science Foundation Integrative Gradu- ments by government agencies to regulate the
ate Education and Research Traineeship (NSF environment. Such regulation is enacted as a
IGERT) program in GIScience, which to date has means to an end—usually incentives to cost-ef-
funded 62 PhD students in seven disciplines. fectively control air, water, or land pollution—
Befitting his academic interest in natural kinds, though similar policies have been enacted for
Mark is also an avid birder, with a lifetime count of other purposes. These include payments for eco-
more than 2,700 species. In 1980, he broke the sin- system services and controlling overfishing.
gle-year Canadian birding record with 417 species. Sometimes such market-based environmental
regulation is considered neoliberal and is strongly
Barry Kronenfeld promoted by free-market advocates, but in most
 MA R K ET -BA SED ENV IR ONMENT A L R EGULA T IO N &-*,

cases, these programs are instituted to maximize requirements for industry to encourage recycling
the cost-effectiveness of government action. This (funded by a license fee levied on the producer).
form of regulation has increased in popularity
around the world following the success of the
Tradable Permits
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Acid
Rain Control Program, which began in the early Emissions trading systems were based on the
1990s. The main categories of market-based ideas of the economist Ronald Coase, who won
environmental regulations are environmental the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1991. They
charges/taxes, tradable permits, and payments were, however, not operationalized until their
for environmental services. This entry addresses application by the U.S. Environmental Protection
each of these in turn. Agency in the mid 1970s. The idea is to provide
flexibility for pollution sources to reduce their
emissions by allowing trading among firms with
Environmental Charge/Tax Systems
different abatement costs. Two basic program
Economists call environmental pollution an exter- models exist: One approach “offsets” emissions
nality, or a social cost external to market transac- on a case-by-case basis, and the other approach
tions. The English economist Arthur Pigou allows trading among a large number of sources,
proposed in 1912 that such market “failures” with a cap placed on total systemwide emissions
should be internalized by government taxation. of a specific type.
Yet environmental charges and pollution taxes Several applications of emissions trading have
have had very limited application to date. One been for air pollution control, often by 50% or
municipal system growing in popularity is to more. The focus has typically been on emissions
charge households or businesses for solid-waste from electric power plants. Most of these pro-
disposal in proportion to the amount of waste grams were developed in the United States, such
generated, the so-called pay-as-you-throw or unit- as the national Acid Rain Program’s sulfur diox-
pricing policy. A pollution tax was enacted under ide (SO2) allowance market, nitrogen oxide
the Superfund Program created by the U.S. Com- (NOx) allowance trading in the Eastern United
prehensive Environmental Response, Compensa- States, volatile organic compound trading in Chi-
tion & Liability Act of 1980, designed to clean up cago, and the Regional Clean Air Incentives Mar-
high-priority hazardous-waste dumps. This pro- ket for NOx and SO2 in Southern California. The
gram created an excise tax on chemicals and Acid Rain (control) Program is considered a
petroleum companies, though it was rescinded in notable success. Greenhouse gas trading between
1996. A few European countries have had experi- nations is encouraged by the Kyoto Protocol.
ence with modest pollution taxes, including the The European Union (EU) Emissions Trading
Netherlands, France, and Denmark, and carbon System was implemented for this purpose in
or climate change taxes exist in Sweden, Finland, 2005, which covers nearly half of the region’s
Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, emissions. Many of these programs allow for
and Quebec. emissions “banking,” whereby excess emission
A more successful environmental charge pro- reductions made in one year can be used to meet
gram in the United States has been deposit refund future emission targets.
systems, which have been enacted in 11 states for Tradable permit systems have also been applied
specified beverage containers and 12 states for to water. These include effluent trading in water-
automobile batteries. Deposit refund systems for sheds, wetlands mitigation banking (United
beverage containers also exist in nine European States), water markets (Australia, Chile, South
countries, Canada, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Africa, and the western United States), and indi-
Taiwan, India, Kiribati, Micronesia, and South vidual transferable quotas fisheries management
Australia. Germany has a deposit refund system (New Zealand, Australia, Iceland, Canada, and
for car batteries, refundable deposits on beverage the United States). Serious problems have beset
containers since May 2006 under the Green Dot these programs, with fisheries management being
Program, and broader “take back” packaging the most successful.
&-*- M A R S H , G E ORG E PE RKINS

See also Environmental Services; Neoliberal

Payments for Environmental Services
Environmental Policy; Neoliberalism
Payments for environmental services (PES) are
voluntary transactions for well-defined environ-
mental services between one or more users or buy- Further Readings
ers, such as government, an international agency,
or nongovernmental group, and sellers, usually Bailey, I. (2007). Market environmentalism, new
private landholders. This phenomenon is another environmental policy instruments, and climate
case where externalities may, under certain condi- policy in the United Kingdom and Germany.
tions, be overcome through private negotiation Annals of the Association of American
between the affected parties à la Coase. While Geographers, 97, 530–550.
strictly speaking not a form of regulation, PES Coase, R. H. (1960). The problem of social cost.
usually requires government participation or sanc- Journal of Law and Economics, 3, 1–44.
tion. These programs make the most sense when Engel, S., Pagiola, S., & Wunder, S. (2008).
ecosystems are mismanaged because many of their Designing payments for environmental services in
benefits are externalities from the perspective of theory and practice. Ecological Economics, 65,
ecosystem managers. Examples include hydrologi- 663–674.
cal, watershed, and biodiversity services; soil and Solomon, B. D. (1999). New directions in emissions
land conservation; landscape quality maintenance trading: The potential contribution of new
and enhancement; eradication of invasive plants; institutional economics. Ecological Economics,
reforestation and forest conservation; and carbon 30, 371–387.
sequestration. PES programs have been applied in Stavins, R. N. (2000). Market-based environmental
developed countries such as the United States, the policies. In P. Portney & R. N. Stavins (Eds.),
United Kingdom, and Australia and developing Public policies for environmental protection
countries in Central and South America, South (pp. 31–56). Washington, DC: Resources for the
Africa, and China. Future.

Criticisms
Several criticisms have been leveled at market-
based environmental regulations, especially emis- MARSH, GEORGE PERKINS
sions trading and pollution taxes. One criticism is
that these instruments are tools of neoliberal eco-
(1801–1882)
nomic policy that serve class interests, sanction the
George Perkins Marsh was a polymath, scholar,
right to pollute, and in the international context
and diplomat. He was a well-known scholar in
are neocolonial. Emissions trading systems have
North America in the mid 1800s, published sev-
also been accused of promoting environmental
eral notable works on the origins and history of
injustice, since domestic programs such as SO2 or
the English language, and had an extensive knowl-
NOx trading can in theory result in greater geo-
edge of 20 languages. It is ironic, therefore, that
graphic concentrations of emissions than if there
he is best remembered for his seminal work Man
were no trading. Questions have also been raised
and Nature; or, Physical Geography as Modified
about the effects of international trading of green-
by Human Action, since he had no formal train-
house gases on developing countries, which may be
ing in physical geography or ecology. Drawing on
enticed to sell opportunities for low-cost emission
his keen observations growing up in Vermont and
reductions to richer nations or their industries.
his subsequent travels in the Middle East, Marsh
These concerns notwithstanding, the popularity of
was the first to demonstrate that human activities
market-based environmental regulations can be
have extensive, adverse impacts on the physical
expected to increase around the world.
environment. Thus, Marsh is considered by many
Barry D. Solomon to be the first environmentalist.
 MA R XISM, GEOGR A P HY A N D &-*.

Marsh was born in Woodstock, Vermont, in Further Readings

1801. He was the fifth child of Charles Marsh, a
district attorney under John Adams. George was Lowenthal, D. (1958). George Perkins Marsh:
a voracious, early reader, but he suffered an eye Versatile Vermonter. New York: Columbia
affliction when he was 8 years old that plagued University Press.
him for the rest of his life. As a result, he devel- Lowenthal, D. (2000). George Perkins Marsh:
oped a prodigious memory and an abiding love of Prophet of conservation. Seattle: University of
the outdoors. Marsh pursued a variety of careers Washington Press.
with varying degrees of success, including teacher, Marsh, G. P. (1965). Man and nature; or, physical
lawyer, editor, farmer, politician, and diplomat. geography as modified by human action.
In 1825, he established a law practice in Burling- Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard
ton, Vermont, which gave him an entrée into the University. (Original work published 1864)
world of politics. He served as a congressman in
Washington, D.C. (1843–1849), where he helped
establish the Smithsonian Institution. During his
time as U.S. Minister to Turkey (1849–1854), he
also traveled through Egypt and Palestine collect- MARXISM, GEOGRAPHY AND
ing specimens for the Smithsonian and noting
evidence of human impacts on the environment. Marxism—one of the world’s most powerful and
From 1861 until his death in 1882, he served as influential ideologies—has had an enormous social
U.S. ambassador to Italy. and intellectual impact on vast areas of the world,
Man and Nature was published in 1864, but including the discipline of geography. Marxism is
Marsh identified the underlying themes many simultaneously a form of political economy, a
years earlier in Vermont. He had observed that moral theory of justice, a mode of historical per-
after the forests were cleared, springs dried up spective, and a platform for political action. It is
and excessive runoff after storms caused exten- clearly impossible to summarize this gigantic,
sive erosion. Marsh was concerned not merely complex, diverse, and occasionally contradictory
that humans were disturbing the balance of nature body of work on Marxism in one essay; rather,
but that the cumulative damages so wrought following a sketch of Marxist political economy,
would eventually harm society. His observations this essay focuses on the multiple ways in which
in Europe confirmed his theories but also indi- geographers have selectively appropriated Marx-
cated possible management solutions. Marsh was ism to understand space. The encounter between
not a strict conservationist, but he blended a rev- Marxism and geography, it must be noted, was
erence for nature from transcendentalism with a mutually transformative: As geography incorpo-
good dose of Vermont practicality. He advocated rated many central notions of Marxism, such as
taming nature for human needs through careful class, power, struggle, labor, and historical con-
management. text, so too was Marxism also changed, becoming
Man and Nature was well received by scien- more explicitly spatial in focus.
tists, policymakers, and the public, and it was
instrumental in creating the national forest sys-
Karl Marx and His Worldview
tem in the United States and promoting improved
forest management practices in the United States One of the most widely influential figures in
and Europe. Man and Nature remains a relevant world intellectual history, Marx studied Greek
and enduring classic. philosophy for his PhD at the University of Berlin
in Germany, then moved to Paris in 1843, where
Dominic Golding he met his lifelong friend and coauthor, Friedrich
Engels; in 1845 he moved to Brussels, then back
See also Conservation; Environmental Management; to Paris in 1849, and then shifted to London in
Human Geography, History of; Nature; Social 1852, where he worked briefly as a journalist for
Construction of Nature the New York Tribune. He was active politically
&-+% M A R XI S M, G E OG RAPHY AND

in the International Workingmen’s Association Second, Marxism is usually interpreted to be

(also known as the First International) and wrote structuralist in its focus, although this point is
on behalf of workers’ movements. Marx’s major often debated. Structuralism as a formal philoso-
works include Das Kapital (three volumes), The phy emerged later than Marxism and had differ-
Communist Manifesto, and Grundrisse (Outline ent roots (i.e., in linguistics). Nonetheless,
of a Critique of Political Economy). Marx and Marxism typically (but not always) exhibits a
his ideas were clearly products of their times, that structuralist ontology, that is, an understanding
is, 19th-century Europe (especially Britain) amid that what is real in the world is not merely what
the Industrial Revolution. is observable but the relations among phenom-
Marx was heavily influenced by three strains ena, which may not be immediately detected. In
of European social thought, particularly German this sense, Marxism differs greatly from much
idealism, British political economy, and French Western social science, which is often empiricist
utopian socialism. From Georg Hegel, whose or overly individualistic in focus (e.g., neoclassi-
works affected Marx enormously, he acquired a cal economics). The holistic focus of structuralist
deep appreciation of dialectics, a sense of science ontology leads Marxism to view humans as ines-
as the holistic study of relations among phenom- capably social beings, with social origins and con-
ena, and a conception of the important role of sequences, and they can never be understood
human consciousness in structuring and changing simply as isolated individuals outside their his-
social life. From French scholars such as Con- torical context.
dorcet, Charles Fourier, and Comte de Saint-Si- A third pillar of Marxism concerns the cen-
mon, Marx incorporated the view that social trality of labor, a common notion among clas-
relations were open, contingent, and subject to sical political economists. Labor (i.e., work and
change. Later, however, Marx’s early idealism is production) is privileged analytically: All societ-
often held to have given way to a more material- ies must provide for themselves, and to do so,
ist analysis, in which the forces and relations of people must engage in organized systems of
production were preeminent. Finally, from Brit- work. Through labor, people enter into social
ish political economy, particularly the works of relations, reproduce society, materialize ideas,
Adam Smith and David Ricardo, Marx learned and change nature (as well as themselves). By
the tools with which he dissected capitalism, privileging labor over other forms of social
including the labor theory of value. activity—as in Marx’s distinction between the
There are multiple foundations of Marxist economic base and the political, legal, and cul-
thought. Most centrally, Marxism is often equated tural “superstructure”—Marxism made itself vul-
with historical materialism, an attempt to make nerable to charges of economic determinism. The
history into a science. Marxism is resolutely his- core of this view is the labor theory of value,
torical in focus, emphatically emphasizing that which Marx acquired by reading Adam Smith: In
events, people, and ideas must always be situated this perspective, value emanates from the amount
within their historical context; thus, when things of socially necessary labor time that goes into the
happen is critical to how they happen, for differ- production of goods (not just one person’s time
ent societies produce different contexts. Depart- but the minimum that a given historical configu-
ing radically from Hegel, who was known for his ration of technology and people can produce).
idealistic view of history, Marxism stresses that Thus, value is produced at the workplace, not
ideas originate from social and material circum- through exchange in the market (as in neoclassi-
stances, not vice versa; matter has primacy over cal economics), and the prices of goods will tend
consciousness In effect, Marx “turned Hegel upon to gravitate toward the amount of labor embod-
his head.” Notably, historical materialism lacked ied in their production.
a real sense of spatiality (i.e., there was, origi- Marx differentiated between use and exchange
nally, no geographical materialism), and Marx values: The former refer to the qualitative, subjec-
himself said little about geography other than tive utility derived from goods (e.g., a house shel-
occasional references to the division between ters a family and keeps them warm and safe),
towns and the countryside. while exchange values refer to their market price
 MA R XISM, GEOGR A P HY A N D &-+&

(e.g., a house can be bought and sold for a given impoverished, often homeless bottom rungs of
amount). Because capitalism is the process of society, which form a “reserve army of labor”
commodifying goods—turning them into objects that capitalists can use to lower wages as neces-
bought and sold on the market, for a profit— sary). Class, it must be emphasized, is not simply
labor too becomes a commodity, organized an economic phenomenon but a political and
through labor markets. The key to understanding cultural one too: In most societies, almost all
capitalism, for Marxists, is how the labor theory members accept the ideas of the ruling class as
of value operates within the workplace: Because “natural”; that is, ideology obfuscates the reality
the use value of the worker to the capitalist of class. Class divides become most visible during
exceeds his or her exchange value (i.e., wages and periods of crisis, and Marxism posited itself as a
salaries), a surplus is inevitably generated. Work- science of society, in contrast to bourgeois ideol-
ers thus produce all value but receive only the ogy or false consciousness. The contradictions
exchange value of their labor in return. Capitalists between classes—class struggle—form the motor
must pay workers less than the value of what they that drives history forward, leading to revolution-
produce, or there would be no profit. The labor ary changes by which one form of society gives
contract is, in this view, inherently and inescap- way to another. Thus, Marx viewed history as
ably exploitative: There can be no such thing as a the progression of various modes of production,
“fair wage,” for all profits are, by definition, theft giving Marxism a teleological sense of time,
from wages. Thus, Marx viewed labor markets as including the future as well as the past, which has
alienating, that is, separating workers from their been criticized for minimizing human agency.
capacity to generate value for themselves. Capital- Capitalism differs from other modes of pro-
ists seek to increase profits by keeping wages low, duction in that it must grow to survive. Under the
but they also must increase purchasing power relentless pressure of competition, firms must
(wages) simultaneously. There is therefore a fun- continually innovate; from this basic fact spring
damental contradiction between production and both the tremendous vitality of capitalism as well
consumption: In minimizing the costs of labor, as its greatest weakness. The necessity to extract
capitalists also minimize the ability of workers to surplus value inexorably leads to conditions in
consume; workers are, in effect, forced to live on which more is produced than can be consumed;
too little because they produce too much. that is, there is overaccumulation, which is built
Arising from the organization of production is into the DNA of commodity production. Ulti-
class, a foundational concept of Marxism. Indeed, mately, this process leads to an excess supply,
Marx arguably was the first theorist to analyze falling prices, and thus a tendency for the profit
society in class terms. Unlike popular definitions rate to decline. To combat the chronic problem of
of class, which emphasize consumption and overproduction, capitalists must seek out markets
income, Marxist views of class begin with the on which to unload their excess output, leading
relations of production, that is, whether one owns capitalism to exhibit what Marx called a “wolf
the capital, equipment, machinery, and other hunger” to expand, as with the European “Voy-
tools necessary to produce goods or whether one ages of Discovery” in the 16th, 17th, and 18th
only can offer one’s labor. Because the labor the- centuries. Ultimately, Marx predicted, the crises
ory of value is trans-historical in nature, Marxism of capitalism will intensify, immiserating the pro-
posits that all social systems other than “primi- letariat, leading it to realize its common humanity
tive communism” (i.e., hunting and gathering) and replace the rule of capital with the rule of
have classes, including slavery, feudalism, capital- labor (socialism) and, eventually, a classless uto-
ism, and socialism. The relations between classes pia of communism, where “true history” begins.
are complex, contingent, and ever-changing. The Marxism is much greater than Marx. In the
primary classes of capitalism are capitalists (the 20th century, various kinds of Marxism arose in
bourgeoisie) and workers (the proletariat), theory and in practice. Most common was the
although Marx did allow for other, smaller Stalinist version, which became dominant in
classes, such as peasants, the petit bourgeoisie the Soviet Union and its client states, as well as
(“middle class”), and the lumpen proletariat (the the Maoist variant in China. For some, Marx’s
&-+' M A R XI S M, G E OG RAPHY AND

ideas are inspirational, sketching visions of a new geographic terms, leading him to generate impor-
world free of class and injustice; for others, Marx- tant notions such as the various circuits of capi-
ism was a dogmatic worldview that led to the hor- tal, the spatial fix, and time-space compression.
rors of the gulag and murderous totalitarian Building on Harvey’s contributions, Marxist
regimes. Academic variants of Marxism include geographers began to advance on several fronts.
the nonstructuralist version (“Western Marx- Many, such as Edward Soja, initiated a long-
ism”), such as the Frankfurt School of the 1930s, standing retheorization of the social and the spatial
led by Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, and as simultaneously determinant arenas. A central
Herbert Marcuse, which focused on the role of theme that emerged throughout was uneven spa-
culture (as well as its descendant, Jurgen Haber- tial development, that is, the inequalities between
mas); Antonio Gramsci’s work on ideology; wealthy and impoverished regions that emerged as
Rosa Luxembourg; Georg Lukacs; E. P. Thomp- part of the changing capitalist division of labor.
son; and Walter Benjamin, who played a key role Contrary to neoclassical promises that spatial
in analyzing representations and consumption in inequality would be mitigated by the movements
class-based terms. In the late 20th century, fem- of capital and labor, Marxists maintained that
inist Marxism added to the diversity of this uneven development was a necessary, inescapable
worldview. part of capitalism. This process was manifested as
scales ranging from the urban (e.g., ghettos and
suburbs) to the national (e.g., the Rust Belt and the
Marxism in Geography
Sunbelt in the United States, or Northern vs. South-
The entry of Marxism into the discipline of geog- ern Britain) and the global (i.e., the schism between
raphy may be held to begin during the turbulent the developed and underdeveloped worlds).
decade of the 1960s, when radical geographers Marxist international political economy, for
emphasized the need for social relevance. William example, theorized the possibilities of develop-
Bunge, for example, led projects such as the ment in a world economy in which the rules
Detroit Geographical Expeditions, and the jour- were stacked against developing countries. Stu-
nal Antipode was founded in 1969, followed by dents of colonialism, such as James Blaut, offered
the Union of Socialist Geographers in 1974. The devastating critiques of how the modern world
works of Henri Lefebvre were also inspirational, economy came to be and the continued legacy of
although they were not translated into English bias that privileges Western knowledge over that
until the 1990s. With the adoption of Marxist generated in other parts of the world. Depen-
ideas, space was increasingly viewed as a social dency theorists, drawing on the works of Andre
and historical product for the first time, in con- Gunder Frank, offered blistering critiques of
trast to its frozen, given status under both chorol- modernization theory and its current variant,
ogy and logical positivism, a shift that helped end neoliberalism, to reveal that poverty does not
the long rule of historicism in the social sciences simply “happen” but is a historical product,
and greatly elevated issues of spatiality in social actively created, not simply given. Thus, via the
thought. process of underdevelopment, First World coun-
The central figure in this transformation was tries produced poverty in the Third World over
David Harvey, who, in a series of works such as 500 years of colonialism and contemporary neo-
Social Justice and City (1973), The Limits to colonialism. Thus, underdevelopment is not sim-
Capital (1982), and Consciousness and the Urban ply a state but an active process. Wallersteinian
Experience (1985), initiated a systematic spatial- world-systems theory extended this view to
ization of Marx’s magnum opus, Capital. The include a more sophisticated portrait of the
Marxification of geography was thus the spatial- dimensions of the global economy, including the
ization of Marxism, in which historical material- political structure of the interstate system
ism was transformed into a historical-geographical through its tripartite division into core, periph-
materialism. Harvey began the arduous task of ery, and semiperiphery. Such views have become
charting the cycle of production from money the core of much political geography today, con-
to commodities and back to money form in cerned as the subdiscipline is with globalization
 MA R XISM, GEOGR A P HY A N D &-+(

and critical geopolitics in their various forms, as invoked overly determinist French scholars such
well as opposition to it. as Louis Althusser, while others were inspired by
Marxist geographers also reinvigorated the dis- nonstructuralist Marxist historians such as E. P.
cipline’s concerns with the state, which was, in Thompson. The entry of Giddens’s structuration
social terms, not some unbiased, apolitical actor theory in the 1980s effectively resolved this
but an institution deeply linked to particular class dilemma and led to the proliferation of social con-
interests. Moving beyond Marx’s original asser- structivism throughout the discipline. In essence,
tion that the state amounted to little more than this matter forced Marxists to take seriously issues
the “executive committee of the bourgeoisie” as of ideology, culture, consciousness, everyday life,
well as neoclassical portrayals of the state as a and social reproduction. Marxist cultural geogra-
parasite feeding off the largesse of the market, phers such as Don Mitchell reframed culture not
Marxists argued that it amounts to the instru- simply as a set of ideas but as a power relation
ment by which one class dominates another, or tied to class interests. Feminist scholars effectively
an arena of class conflict: Politics, in short, is integrated Marxism with understandings of gen-
class war by another means. In moderating the der, injecting the first non-class-based forms of
anarchic, self-destructive tendencies of the mar- analysis into the discipline and opening the doors
ket, the state does what no single private entity to identity theory. Others, such as Denis Cosgrove,
can do (e.g., protect property rights, provide pub- offered insightful dissections of spatial representa-
lic goods and services, mitigate negative exter- tions ranging from landscape paintings to critical
nalities). To facilitate the needs of capitalists, the cartography to the history of the globe, drawing
state must legitimate itself in the eyes of its citi- on Michel Foucault to assert that every form of
zens, presenting a facade of representing the inter- spatial knowledge was also a claim to power.
ests of the ruling class as the “public interest.” Many geographers influenced by Marxist notions
The Marxist view of the state demolished fanta- of class, if not Marxists per se, analyzed the his-
sies of the unfettered free market and played a tory of geography itself as a changing power/
key role in the revival of political geography and knowledge configuration.
urban political economy more broadly. Finally, Marxists even began retheorizing
Marxist urban geography reveals cities as inter- nature, and with it, human-nature interactions.
twined systems of production and reproduction, Neil Smith famously argued in Uneven Develop-
that is, as holistically integrated entities rather than ment that the production of space was simultane-
just the summation of individual choices. The ously the production of nature and that people
changing urban division of labor became a central and nature were always unified through labor,
object of inquiry in the works of scholars such as the conversion of material goods into social com-
Allen Scott, Michael Storper, Richard Walker, and modities. In this light, ostensible struggles of
others, including the ways in which firms are inte- “people versus nature” are really struggles among
grated into networks of relations, and changing social groups. Political ecology, with its attendant
urban and global urban hierarchies. A bevy of concerns for environmental justice, in many
urban topics fell under the Marxist gaze, such as respects was an outgrowth of this line of thought,
the politics of urban land use, housing markets, and it helped dethrone the simplistic, and often
suburbanization, ghettos and inner-city poverty, racist, Malthusianism, which blames the poor for
gentrification and the rent gap, and struggles over their poverty. In environmental politics, for exam-
public space. Urban governance, ranging from ple, Michael Watts’s work on African famines
regime and regulation theories to growth coalitions revealed that hunger is socially constructed
to the neoliberal state, received special attention. through differential access to resources. Similarly,
Long sensitive to allegations that Marxism natural hazards are shown to be not “natural” at
lacked an adequate theory on the subject, Marxist all but deeply entwined with class, race, and gen-
geography engaged in an intense debate, with der relations. In essence, Marxism helped denatu-
humanistic geographers such as David Ley, over ralize nature, revealing that it cannot be
the relative weights to assign to structure and understood independently of society. The social
agency in social analysis. Some geographers construction of the nature perspective refutes
&-+) M A R XI S M, G E OG RAPHY AND

long-standing assumptions that nature is situated See also Class, Geography and; Class, Nature and;
“outside” of human affairs, a primordial, unal- Colonialism; Critical Human Geography; Dependency
terable “given.” Theory; Environmental Justice; Feminist Geographies;
Marxism is not without its critics, many of Feminist Political Ecology; Globalization; Governance;
whom continue to allege that it suffers from a Harvey, David; Human Geography, History of;
debilitating economic determinism, an inadequate Inequality and Geography; Justice, Geography of;
account of human agency, and teleological over- Neoliberalism; Peet, Richard; Political Ecology; Political
tones. The end of the Cold War helped free aca- Economy; Radical Geography; Smith, Neil; Socialism
demic Marxism from the horrors of the Soviet and Geography; Social Justice; Spatial Fix; Spatial Turn;
Union and inspired a new round of inquiry. Marx- State; Structuration Theory; Time-Space Compression;
ism has become so commonplace in human geog- Underdevelopment; Uneven Development; Walker,
raphy today that many practitioners scarcely call Richard; Watts, Michael; World-Systems Theory
themselves Marxist. Marxism forced geographers
to take historical context seriously; to understand
spatial phenomena as social constructions, not Further Readings
simply as “given”; to appreciate the division of
labor and the importance of work and labor; to Blaut, J. (1993). The colonizer’s model of the world:
understand how class figures in all social relations Geographical diffusionism and Eurocentric
even as the ruling class keeps itself invisible via history. New York: Guilford Press.
ideology; to address the ever-changing complexity Castree, N., & Braun, B. (Eds.). (2001). Social nature:
of capitalism as an economic, political, and ideo- Theory, practice, and politics. London: Blackwell.
logical system; to acknowledge the profound role Duncan, J., & Ley, D. (1982). Structural Marxism
of the state; to view ideas as inescapably linked to and human geography. Annals of the Association
power interests, never as free floating in some of American Geographers, 72, 30–59.
abstract mental vacuum; and to gather around a Harvey, D. (1973). Social justice and the city.
common moral core grounded in justice, fairness, London: Edward Arnold.
and opposition to sexism, racism, and other forms Harvey, D. (1976). Labor, capital, and class struggle
of social oppression. Marxism offers a compre- around the built environment in advanced capitalist
hensive means to suture together many of the dis- societies. Politics and Society, 6, 265–295.
parate topics that geographers study, in contrast Harvey, D. (1978). The urban process under
to the common “test a million hypotheses” capitalism: A framework for analysis.
approach that tends to lapse into empiricism. As a International Journal of Urban and Regional
moral philosophy, therefore, Marxism urges geog- Research, 2, 101–131.
raphers to be critical, to point out how social and Harvey, D. (1982). The limits to capital. Oxford, UK:
spatial relations could be better, and to never be Blackwell.
satisfied with the status quo. To appreciate its Harvey, D. (1985). The geopolitics of capitalism. In
impacts, one must view the many Marxist ideas D. Gregory & J. Urry (Eds.), Social relations and
that have insinuated themselves in political, eco- spatial structures (pp. 128–163). New York: St.
nomic, urban, cultural, and historical geography Martin’s Press.
and via social constructivism more broadly into Hudson, R. (2006). On what’s right and keeping left:
political ecology and even into contemporary Or why geography still needs Marxian political
retheorizations of cartography and geographic economy. Antipode, 38, 374–395.
information systems. Thus, although the classical, Massey, D. (1984). Spatial divisions of labour: Social
19th-century Marxism may have proved to be a structures and the geography of production.
failed historical project, contemporary Marxism— London: Macmillan.
changing, adapting, modifying, borrowing, and Mitchell, D. (2000). Cultural geography: A critical
contributing to other lines of thought—remains introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
very much alive. Peet, R., & Thrift, N. (Eds.). (1990). New models in
geography. London: Unwin Hyman.
Barney Warf
 MA SC ULINIT IES A ND GEOGR A P H Y &-+*

Scott, A., & Storper, M. (1986). Production, work,

MASCULINITIES
territory: The geographical anatomy of industrial AND GEOGRAPHY
capitalism. Boston: Allen & Unwin.
Smith, N. (1984). Uneven development: Nature, Masculinity is a concept that first and foremost
capital and the production of space. Oxford, UK: implies that how men and women live and
Blackwell. practice their lives is dependent on gender rela-
Soja, E. (1980). The socio-spatial dialectic. Annals of tions. Within these relations, masculinities take
the Association of American Geographers, 70, place and are expressed through practices that,
207–225. according to Robert Connell, affect experience,
Swyngedouw, E. (2003). The Marxian alternative: personality, and culture. But the concept also
Historical-geographical materialism and the has geographical implications as expressions
political economy of capitalism. In E. Sheppard & of masculinities vary from place to place and
T. Barnes (Eds.), A companion to economic influence place identities and local ongoing
geography (pp. 41–59). Oxford, UK: Blackwell. negotiations within existing gender relations.
Walker, R., & Storper, M. (1989). The capitalist Masculinity cannot be understood as a singular
imperative: Territory, technology and industrial or a static concept but will vary through space
growth. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. and time.
Wallerstein, I. (1976). The modern world-system. By focusing on the processes and rela-
New York: Academic Press. tionships that define the variations among dif-
ferent masculinities, it is possible to reveal

Florida State College football game, 1993. Although rule changes and technological changes have made footfall
safer, it remains a violent and predominantly masculine sport. Success at sports, especially football, is a key
signifier of success.
Source: AP Photo/Chris O’Meara.
&-++ M A S S EY , D ORE E N

geographical variations but also difference in sta- Further Readings

tus and hegemonic power. Spatial inequalities in
the form of dualistic distinctions can, for exam- Berg, L., & Longhurst, R. (2003). Placing
ple, turn into hegemonic versus deviant mascu- masculinities and geography. Gender, Place and
linities. Such a relationship is possible to find, for Culture, 4, 351–360.
example, in the relations between urban and rural Connell, R. (2005). Masculinities (2nd ed.). Berkeley:
masculinities; masculinity as hegemonic differs University of California Press.
with the geographical and social contexts.
The media are important actors in the con-
struction of the differentiation of masculinities. A
recent expression is in the great variety in West-
ern European or Anglo American reality televi- MASSEY, DOREEN (1944– )
sion series. One of the ideas behind shows such as
the television reality series Farmer Wants a Wife One of contemporary geography’s leading theo-
is to essentialize rural identities and practices reticians, Doreen Massey has made numerous
as well as demarcate the rural from the urban. pioneering inroads in the analysis of space and
Such relations are also expressed in people’s daily place, including gender relations, globalization,
activities, talk, and discourse. In the process of and the nature of places. Massey is simultane-
identifying oneself, one commits to certain, often ously an influential scholar in geographic thought;
geographically or culturally based, qualities while urban, economic, and political geography; femi-
distancing oneself from others. nism; and Third World development.
Geographers have taken the spatial implica- Born in Manchester and educated at the Uni-
tions of masculinities seriously and have focused versity of Pennsylvania and Oxford, Massey
on the importance of a contextual analysis. A began her career at a London think tank, the
trend that has been accentuated and developed Centre for Environmental Studies, from 1968 to
recently is the increasing interest in how the rela- 1980. In 1982, she became a professor at the
tionship between masculinities and other identity- Open University. She cofounded and edits Sound-
building dimensions such as class, sexuality, and ings, a journal of politics and culture. In 1982,
“race” is constituted. In this understanding, she became a fellow of the British Academy, and
places and spaces are merged with social pro- in 1998, she was awarded the Prix Vautrin Lud
cesses. Thus, taking into account the relational (the “Nobel Prize of geography”). In addition to
character of identity construction and reconstruc- academic work, she is also a social activist and
tion helps avoid the common mistake in defining has also conducted extensive fieldwork in Nicara-
masculinity by using established divisions of gua, Venezuela, and South Africa.
behaviors as male or female. Much of her early work concerned the dynam-
The strengths of geography in defining and ics and implications of industrial restructuring
applying a concept such as masculinities are that and deindustrialization, particularly in peripheral
(a) the discipline pays attention to existing geo- places that attracted only industrial branch plants.
graphical variations and (b) it illuminates the British studies of deindustrialization indicated
power relations inherent in the relationship how it occurred differently in different places,
between space and identity. By illuminating with significant variations in the impacts. More
how space is used to build up discourses of differ- broadly, no social process unfolds in the same
ences, the reproductive as well as the transforma- way in different places. Spatial Divisions of
tive aspects of the concept of masculinities are Labor, which Massey published in 1984, was a
exposed. critical book in the rejuvenation of economic
geography. Massey examined changes in the spa-
Susanne Stenbacka tial division of labor in Britain, unveiling how
different localities experienced different “waves”
See also Feminist Geographies; Gender and Geography; of investment that powerfully shaped the local
Sexuality, Geography and/of landscape, labor markets, gender relations, and
 MA SSEY , DOR E E N &-+,

cultures. Over time, each region played different Cartesian conceptions of space as a passive sur-
roles in the ever-changing national (and, increas- face inevitably de-emphasize the temporal flux
ingly, global) market. As successive “waves” were that is always an inherent part of geographies
superimposed on one another, each region came and simultaneously create a false dichotomy
to have a unique historical trajectory reflected in between the local and the global. As an alterna-
how various “rounds of production” were sedi- tive, she suggests three maxims: (1) that space be
mented into the landscape. The resulting palimp- seen as the product of interrelations, that is, of
sests both revitalized an older idea from cultural embedded social practices in which identities and
geography and allowed geography to accept local human ties are co-constituted; (2) that space be
uniqueness in analytically rigorous terms by understood as the sphere of multiple possibili-
embedding local areas within broader notions of ties, that is, as a contingent simultaneity of het-
uneven spatial development. This line of thought erogeneous historical trajectories; and (3) that
led Massey’s contributions to play a major role in space must be conceived as always under con-
the revitalization of regional geography in the struction, in the process of forever being made,
1980s and 1990s. In this reading, space and place implying a continual openness to the future. Her
are not passive recipients of social change but latest book, World City, which appeared in 2007,
actively contribute to their making. undermines the notion that London and New
Massey is also well known for her work on York dominate the world’s financial markets;
gender and feminist geographies. Space, Place, rather, all places are complicit in this process,
and Gender, published in 1994, broke new and the volume asks readers to consider their
ground in pointing out the ways in which gender role in producing and maintaining global geogra-
relations are spatially constructed. Broadly, she phies of responsibilities.
demonstrated how the home and social reproduc-
Barney Warf
tion in general were as critical for capitalist accu-
mulation as the workplace. For example, an
influential essay titled “A Woman’s Place?” See also Deindustrialization; Economic Geography;
examined how changes in the British spatial divi- Feminist Geographies; Gender and Geography; Locality;
sion of labor reconfigured relations at home, Palimpsest; Relative/Relational Space
leading at times to local patriarchal family struc-
tures and at times ones with relatively equalized
gender roles.
Massey’s work on place was extended via Further Readings
poststructuralist theory into a notion of power
geometries and relational space that called atten- Callard, F. (2004). Doreen Massey. In P. Hubbard,
tion to the intertwined scales of the global, R. Kitchin, & G. Valentine (Eds.), Key thinkers on
national, and local, refusing to see these as a space and place (pp. 219–225). London: Sage.
simple hierarchy in which the global determines Massey, D. (1979). In what sense a regional problem?
the local. Massey criticizes notions that maintain Regional Studies, 13, 233–243.
place as an island of stability in the constantly Massey, D. (1984). Spatial divisions of labor: Social
shifting oceans of capitalist change. Rather, she structures and the geography of production. New
promotes a progressive sense of place that links York: Methuen.
places to other places, a view in which places Massey, D. (1992). Place and the politics of space-
constantly change, producing and receiving time. New Left Review, 196, 65–84.
changes through their interactions with one Massey, D. (1993). Power-geometry and a
another. A relational politics of place calls into progressive sense of place. In J. Bird (Ed.),
question easy distinctions such as inside/outside, Mapping the futures: Local cultures, global
near/far, space/place, and global/local, artificial change (pp. 59–69). New York: Routledge.
differentiations that are always embedded in each Massey, D. (1994). Space, place and gender. Oxford,
other and mutually constituted. In For Space, UK: Polity.
published in 2005, she argues passionately that
&-+- M A S S W A STING

earth in various proportions. Types of motion in

Massey, D. (1999). Imagining globalization: Power- discrete landslides are falls, topples, slides, flows,
geometries of time-space. In A. Brah, M. and lateral spreads, whereas pervasive nondiscrete
Hickman, & M. Mac an Ghail (Eds.), Global movements on slopes can include creep as well as
futures: Migration, environment and globalization isolated unit rock falls or slides that lead to accu-
(pp. 27–44). Basingstoke, UK: Macmillan. mulations of talus. Rates of motion range from
Massey, D. (2005). For space. London: Sage. the imperceptibly slow, where a few millimeters
Massey, D. (2007). World city. London: Polity Press. or centimeters a year occur, to hundreds of kilo-
Massey, D., & Allen, J. (Eds.). (1984). Geography meters an hour, or even faster than the speed of
matters! Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University sound, where lateral blasts from volcanoes impart
Press. exceptional velocities in certain cases. All phases
Massey, D., & Meegan, R. (1982) The anatomy of of the H2O system can be involved, from the
job loss: The how, why, and where of employment merely ancillary presence of minor amounts of
decline. London and New York: Methuen. H2O up to and including one phase or another of
McDowell, L., & Massey, D. (1984) A woman’s the H2O as the primary motivating mechanism.
place? In D. Massey & J. Allen (Eds.), Geography Falls of rock, debris, and earth (rock fall, debris
matters! A reader (pp. 128–149). Cambridge, UK: fall, earth fall) from cliffs involve relatively simple
University of Cambridge Press. accelerations through the air to a point of impact,
at which point some further bouncing, rolling, and
gliding of particles can occur to a certain extent.
Topple failure occurs where a block of rock, debris,
or earth rotates forward around a pivot zone at its
MASS WASTING base until it then tumbles over completely, usually
breaking up in the process. Slides, such as the com-
Mass wasting is a term for a wide variety of motions mon rock slide, debris slide, or earth slide, can
of rock, debris, earth, and organic matter that are occur where rock debris or earth moves as one
moved downhill by gravity with various fluids large block or breaks up into many separate units.
entrained, such as water and air as well as ice. The They involve linear or translational slipping move-
concept of mass wasting is commonly supplanted ments over inclined bedding planes or planar glide
by several other terms, such as mass movement or surfaces (as a glide block), or down curvilinear
slope failure, and it also includes a tremendous shear surfaces (as a slump block) with backward
diversity of things such as the various forms of creep, rotation. Flowing motions can be quite complex
talus accumulation, flow of dry loess, burst of wet because there can be many laminar and turbulent
peat bogs, or block streams and rock glaciers as actions in dry or wet media, where the particles
well. Classification of such diverse phenomena has move past each other in a variety of irregular
been refined over the past century and a half, ulti- motions that constitute distributed shear. For
mately with emphasis on the types of material and example, whole mountains can collapse internally
types of movement, with a present-day consensus under the force of gravity as a kind of rock flow or
classification using rates of movement and the deep creep along many internal small shear planes
amounts and phase of the entrained H2O system until a ridge-top graben or ditch results in a sack-
(water, ice, steam). The result is a matrix classifica- ung (sagging) failure with antislope scarps lower
tion of mass-movement phenomena that enables down as the mountain bulges outward. Or as sedi-
understanding, although it is recognized that fine ment concentrations increase in mixtures of clastic
gradations of process type can occur in various con- particles of debris with water, forming a slurry
tinua between one form and another. that resembles wet concrete, various forms of
The types of material subject to mass wasting rapid, wet, debris flow result. If the material is all
includes rock, as large masses or many smaller fine grained, yet full of water, a mudflow occurs. If
fragments; fine-grained earth, which is sand, silt, a dry mass of wind-blown dust or loess is shaken
and clay; and fine organic matter, such as peat or strongly by an earthquake, for example, all of the
humus in soil. Debris is a mixture of rock and weak bonds between its particles may be ruptured,
 MA SS WA ST ING &-+.

and it can become a fluidized granular flow that is depressed the crust isostatically into the sea,
like loose talcum powder, as a loess flow. Or where where they deposited their finely ground rock
a peat bog of plant-matter accumulation under- flours from abrasion of the bedrock. These small
goes a torrential rainstorm, it may become super- clay particles settled to the shallow sea bottom
saturated and break out as a bog burst. An and collected as an aggregate of particles in a
earthflow results where fine-grained and damp card-house matrix held together by ions of salt,
clastic accumulations flow slowly downslope as where the positive sodium on one particle was
viscous granular flows. On steep mountains where attracted to the negative chlorine on another.
surficial soil layers, rock fragments, and vegetation Then, in postglacial times, with isostatic rebound
are accelerated off the slopes in torrential rain- of the mass up out of the sea, the fresh groundwa-
storms, a debris avalanche results. On the other ter on the land would flush out the salt and leave
hand, where a dry mass of rock fragments is behind an apparently stable but actually quite
detached from a steep mountain slope in what weak mass of wet quick-clay capable, when dis-
would normally be considered just a rockslide, if turbed by constructional vibrations or other simi-
the acceleration is rapid enough, it may become a lar circumstances, of conversion or remolding
high-speed-flow sturzstrom landslide with a long from solid ground into a wet, soupy mass.
runout zone. The role of water as a primary motivating agent
Long-runout-zone slope failures occur where the in mass wasting or mass movement is well known,
ratio of fall height to runout length is generally less and if there is no preexisting slip surface to lubri-
than about 0.6. This implies that the coefficient of cate or make slippery, then some other aspects of
friction between the flowing mass and the substrate the water must be responsible for the movement.
is somehow reduced. These unusual sturzstroms Instead, what we find are a number of other
were first thought to have been energized by trapped important aspects, especially that water added to
or entrained air that might somehow have kept the a slope has tremendous weight or load that can
particles from interacting with the substrate and exceed the shear strength of the slope so that fail-
thereby have reduced friction. It was thought also ure results. In addition, water can dissolve internal
that perhaps they formed a kind of wing shape or cements and thereby reduce cohesion, or it can
airfoil vacuum kept aloft like an airplane or were produce hydrostatic pore-water pressure or seep-
fluidized by moving air squeezing between particles, age pressures underground. Similarly, saturation
until such features were observed on the airless of sediments destroys capillary tension that can
moon. Other explanations included mechanical hold moist material together, or clays can swell as
dilation caused by strong vibration in motion and water is added, and freeze and thaw of slopes can
grain separation caused by acoustic vibration or disrupt materials and cause movement.
sheer noise. Most recently, it has been recognized Talus is a form of one-by-one accumulation of
that rapid motion causes much frictional heat, rock fragments at slope bases where isolated rock
which in turn converts any water into steam whose units are pried off cliffs by the action of freeze
pressure will reduce friction. Indeed, a number of and thaw and other minor disruptive processes.
large sturzstroms, or rockslides, in the Himalayas The rock particles bounce and roll downhill,
and the Alps are now known to have melted glass sorted in part as a function of size and momen-
“frictionites” in shear planes at their base. Finally, tum, until they come to rest at the angle of repose,
in some instances where blocks of glacial ice are which is generally between 30n and 40n, depend-
also caught up in the moving masses, there may be a ing on the size, with the coarser particles gener-
component of frictional reduction through incorpo- ally forming steeper slopes. Active talus is still in
ration of ice water mixtures in some fashion. the process of being formed by additional small
Lateral spreads or “quick-clay” failures are a rock falls and rockslides, whereas inactive talus
special class of mass movement that incorporate may have a vegetation cover slowly colonizing it.
unusual sliding and flowing motions so much that Soil creep on slopes is a form of mass wasting
they can be quite dangerous and so are deserving that occurs all over the world yet is hardly noticed
of special attention. These forms of slope failure by most people. Fence posts, gravestones, and elec-
are caused where past continental glaciers first tric power line poles are tilted and displaced,
&-,% M A S S W A STING

Mount Rainier National Park, Washington. The protalus rampart on the north side of Sunrise Ridge is separated
from the partly vegetated talus on the left by a depression 5 to 6 ft. deep and 20 to 30 ft. wide. A thick, wedge-
shaped snowbank blanketed the talus and the depression when the arcuate rampart was formed.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey.

retaining walls bowed out, and roads moved, all downhill, and when the unused burrows or root
slowly and imperceptibly until the damage is done. cavities collapse, they do so downward. Any ani-
Effectively, what happens is that a number of mals that walk on a hillslope have weight that
minor processes combine to move soil particles pushes the soil downward a bit. Trees commonly
downhill in a series of uncoordinated but overall, have curved trunks on hillslopes that are often
in aggregate, quite pervasive small motions that cited as evidence of soil creep that has pulled them
collectively move enormous amounts of material. into that curve, but instead, in a mix-up of cause
For example, expansion and contraction of soil and effect, it is not actually soil creep that produces
particles on a slope occurs through wetting and the curve but rather creep of snow downhill against
drying, heating and cooling, and freeze and thaw. the tree that deforms it. In fact, this snow-creep
In any expansion part of the cycle, the slope mate- force can also be transmitted into the soil through
rials move outward perpendicular to the slope, but the roots and help cause the soil creep rather than
in the return contraction, they tend to withdraw be the result of it.
downward with gravity rather than back the way Creep of small protalus lobes and large rock
they came. The result is a ratcheting motion of out glaciers in high-altitude and high-latitude environ-
and down repeated over and over so that in aggre- ments is another form of mass wasting or mass
gate everything is pulled downslope over time. movement that takes place where accumulations
Similarly, many other minor little processes move of rock fragments at the bases of cliffs become
particles downslope; plant roots push a little more mobilized by creep of their internal ice cements or
easily downslope than upslope against gravity, ani- ice cores so that the features move forward as ever-
mals throw dirt from their burrows preferentially increasing large lobate forms with transverse ridges
 MA T HER , J OHN R USSE L L &-,&

and furrows on their gently sloping tops and steep Kusky, T. (2008). Landslides: Mass wasting, soil, and
fronts at the angle of repose on their leading edge. mineral hazards. New York: Facts on File.
Gelifluction (solifluction in the older literature) Wemple, B. C., Swanson, F. J., & Jones, J. A. (2001).
is the mass-wasting process typical of permafrost Forest roads and geomorphic process interactions,
environments, where the active summer thaw Cascade Range, Oregon. Earth Surface Processes
layer above the permanently frozen ground and Landforms, 26, 191–204.
beneath becomes saturated with water that can- Woo, M. K., Lewkowicz, A. G., & Rouse, W. R.
not percolate further downward and instead piles (1992). Response of the Canadian permafrost
up in the soil to saturate it and cause instability. environment to climatic change. Physical
The combination of water-saturated soil on slopes Geography, 13, 287–317.
above the permafrost, coupled with strong freeze
and thaw in the soils, results in gelifluction lobes
that move slowly downslope.
Other minor forms of mass wasting on slopes
include blockstreams, which are thin masses of
MATHER, JOHN RUSSELL
rock fragments that have been moved downhill, (1923–2003)
probably as a variation of a gelifluction process.
Ploughing blocks on slopes move in a similar John Russell (“Russ”) Mather was an accom-
fashion, having to do with progressive freeze and plished geographical climatologist whose career
thaw, probably because rocks lose their heat more spanned the second half of the 20th century.
quickly than the surrounding soils, so they freeze Mather’s work is relevant because it helped
earlier to form ice crystals at their bases, which establish the climatic water budget and the link-
may help in their motion. ages between climate and water resources as
All forms of mass wasting or mass movement, major themes within modern climate science
whether they are landslides bounded by discrete and geography. This entry recalls Mather’s
shear surfaces or the diffuse results of unbounded work at the Laboratory of Climatology in New
creep, can result in deposits of unsorted, unstrati- Jersey and at the University of Delaware (UD).
fied mixtures of multiple sizes of rock particles His contributions to American geography—
and organic matter. Such masses of sediment are especially to the Association of American Geog-
considered to be colluvium, which is a nonspe- raphers (AAG) and the American Geographical
cific, generic term that can be applied. Com- Society (AGS)—are summarized as well.
monly, because of the great diversity of forms of Mather was born in Boston, Massachusetts,
mass wasting, it can be quite difficult for nonspe- on October 9, 1923. He began his career in
cialists to recognize the different types. Use of the 1948 at the Laboratory of Climatology—after
term colluvium is, however, a safe way to classify completing his BS and MS degrees in meteorol-
an instance of mass wasting until more analytical ogy at MIT—and worked there full-time until
studies can be performed. 1961. He simultaneously pursued his PhD in
geography at Johns Hopkins University, com-
John F. Shroder pleting it in 1951. Mather’s efforts at the labo-
ratory were invested primarily in the climatic
See also Creep; Landslide; Permafrost; Rock Weathering water budget, especially in its practical applica-
tions. Much of modern water-budget climatol-
ogy was forged by Mather and his colleagues at
Further Readings the laboratory. Following the death of C. W.
Thornthwaite in 1963, Mather became presi-
Howard, A. D. (1997). Badland morphology and dent and director of the C. W. Thornthwaite
evolution: Interpretation using a simulation Associates Laboratory of Climatology, a post
model. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, he retained until 1972.
22, 211–227. Mather’s desire to teach—along with his
ambivalence toward measurement work—moved
&-,' M A UR Y , MATTHE W FONTAINE

him to leave the Laboratory and join the faculty

of UD in 1961. (He retired from UD in 2000.) In
MAURY, MATTHEW
1966, Mather became the first chair of the new FONTAINE (1806–1873)
UD Geography Department and began laying a
foundation for its current programs, especially Matthew Fontaine Maury is remembered today
within climatology; his role in this is among his as the father of oceanography. During his life-
greatest achievements. Mather was the major time, however, Maury identified himself with
advisor for 6 PhD students (5 at UD) and 17 mas- geography. In 1855, 30 years into his U.S. Navy
ter’s students. His first PhD student was Mel career, the self-taught Maury pulled together the
Marcus, who, like Mather, was elected president work he (and others) had done on Earth’s oceans
of the AAG. Of Mather’s UD PhD students, only and atmosphere and published The Physical
Johannes Feddema now leads an academic life—at Geography of the Sea, a book that went through
the University of Kansas. eight editions (reprinted into the 1930s) and was
Mather’s enduring interest in the climatic translated into six languages. Its title was posited
water budget is evident in the overwhelming by Alexander von Humboldt, who lauded Mau-
majority of his publications. He produced more ry’s scientific research. Oceanography came into
than 25 journal articles and 60 monographs, and vogue only after the HMS Challenger expedition
he published five important books. The books (1872–1876), which had the effect of outmoding
deal with applied climatology, water-budget almost everything Maury had written. The most
analysis, water resources, American and Soviet enduring contribution of The Physical Geogra-
geographers’ contributions to global-change phy of the Sea was Maury’s “Diagram of the
research, and, finally, the many contributions of Winds,” which became a standard inclusion (with
C. W. Thornthwaite, Mather’s mentor. modification of the polar winds) in geography
Mather held prestigious posts and received textbooks thereafter. Maury is also remembered
notable awards. He was elected president of the for his pioneering work in the mapping sciences,
AAG in the early 1990s, and he received both the particularly his charts of ocean surface tempera-
AAG and the AAG Climate Specialty Group Life- tures, global ocean currents, the distribution of
time Achievement Awards in the late 1990s. whales, and the “telegraphic plateau” between
Mather additionally served as secretary of the North America and Europe.
AGS and was honored with its Charles P. Daly Maury was born on January 14, 1806, not far
Medal for distinguished service. He also was from Fredericksburg, Virginia, into a devoutly
elected fellow of the American Association for the religious family, a fact reflected in the teleologi-
Advancement of Science in 1989. He died in cal orientation of his scientific writings. He saw
Avondale, Pennsylvania, on January 3, 2003. divine purpose behind the order of nature and is
therefore a transitional figure in the history of
Cort J. Willmott modern science. His inability to keep religion
and science separate, combined with his over-
See also American Geographical Society; Association of generalizations and glib explanations of process,
American Geographers; Climatology; Marcus, Melvin G. led to some stern criticism in the scientific com-
munity. Commercial interests, foreign govern-
ments, and the educated public, however, heaped
Further Readings kudos on him for applying science to practical
problem solving at sea. As the first superinten-
Legates, D. R. (Ed.). (2005). John “Russ” Mather dent of what is today the Naval Observatory,
[Special issue]. Physical Geography, 26(6). Maury mined a trove of sailing logs and other
Willmott, C. J. (2006). John Russell Mather, records deposited in Washington, D.C., by ships’
1923–2003 (Memorial). Annals of the captains since the Revolutionary War. He used
Association of American Geographers, 96(3), these data to prepare his continuously updated
660–665. Wind and Current Charts, which made their first
appearance in 1847 during the “golden age of
 MC K NIGHT , T OM L . &-,(

sail.” By recommending “tracks in the sea,” 40 years, he wrote widely adopted textbooks on
Maury’s research effected a revolutionary reduc- physical and regional geography and worked with
tion in sailing time. By 1855, using Maury’s sail- college and K–12 teachers across the United States
ing directions, it took a clipper only 133 days to to expand and improve geography education.
make the journey from New York to San Fran- McKnight was born in Dallas, Texas, on Octo-
cisco; a decade earlier, it had taken 180 days. ber 8, 1928. He was introduced to geography by
Maury’s charts were made available to foreign Edwin J. Foscue at Southern Methodist Univer-
fleets; in return, he asked for copies of the cap- sity, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree
tains’ sailing logs—more data for refining his in geology and a minor in geography in 1949. He
advice to mariners. finished his master’s degree in geography at the
Maury resigned his commission in the U.S. University of Colorado in 1951 and his PhD in
Navy in 1861, when Virginia joined the Confeder- geography at the University of Wisconsin in 1955.
ate States of America. At the end of the Civil War, In 1956, McKnight was hired by the Department
he moved to Mexico, then England, where he of Geography at the University of California, Los
began writing a series of geography textbooks for Angeles (UCLA), where he served as department
schools. In 1868, he returned to the United States chair from 1978 to 1983.
to take a professorship at Virginia Military Insti- Throughout his career, McKnight traveled
tute, where he undertook a physical survey of Vir- widely, specializing in the geographies of Austral-
ginia, revised his textbook on Physical Geography, asia and North America. He helped establish the
and advocated for “agricultural meteorology.” He University of California Education Abroad Pro-
died in Lexington on February 1, 1873. His mon- gram in Australia and served as its first director
ument in Richmond proclaims him a “pathfinder from 1984 to 1985. In addition to teaching at
of the seas.” An obituary in the New York Herald UCLA, he had appointments as a visiting profes-
called him a “distinguished physical geographer.” sor at nine American, three Australian, and three
Canadian universities.
Donald J. Zeigler
McKnight was a vigorous advocate for the dis-
cipline of geography. He helped develop the Com-
See also Human Geography, History of; Humboldt,
munity College/UCLA Geographic Alliance. This
Alexander von; Oceanic Circulation; Oceans
organization of educators was a model for the
National Geographic Society Geographic Alli-
ances that eventually spread throughout the United
Further Readings States and Canada. McKnight’s textbook-writing
career began in 1961, when he was asked to join
Hearn, C. (2002). Tracks in the sea: Matthew Edwin Foscue and Langdon White as coauthor for
Fontaine Maury and the mapping of the oceans. Regional Geography of Anglo-America. McKnight
New York: International Marine/McGraw-Hill. became sole author of this textbook by its fifth
Maury, M. F. (1963). The physical geography of the edition, then retitled The Regional Geography of
sea and its meteorology (J. Leighly, Ed., 8th ed.). the United States and Canada.
Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard In 1984, the first edition of his popular Physical
University Press. (Original work published 1855) Geography: A Landscape Appreciation was pub-
lished. Well illustrated and written in an acces-
sible style with strong emphasis on the integration
of the four “spheres” of physical geography—
MCKNIGHT, TOM L. atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and litho-
sphere—it quickly became one of the most widely
(1928–2004) used, and most influential, college-level physical
geography textbooks. In 2002, this book was
Tom Lee McKnight was an influential geogra- given the McGuffy Award by the Text and Aca-
pher, educator, and college textbook author. In a demic Authors Association in recognition of its
professional teaching career that spanned nearly enduring excellence.
&-,) M EDI A A ND G E OG RAPHY

Among his other textbooks are World Eco- geographers working through different modes of
nomic Geography, with Langdon White and Paul theoretical and methodological encounter.
Griffin (1964); Australia’s Corner of the World: It is generally agreed that media in their dif-
A Geographic Summation (1970); Essentials of ferent forms—such as film, music, newspapers,
Physical Geography (1992); Introduction to comic books, video games, animation—are pro-
Geography, with Edward Bergman (1993); and duced and consumed in historically specific and
Oceania: The Geography of Australia, New Zea- carefully constructed ways and that many fac-
land, and the Pacific Islands (1995). tors combine to frame how meaning and expres-
His many awards and honors include a Ful- sion are generated. Thus, media cannot be
bright and an American Philosophical Society engaged in isolation but rather must be linked in
grant for research in Australia, the California multiple and complex ways to other forms of
Geographical Society’s Outstanding Educator material evidence and theoretical engagement.
Award in 1988, and the Australia-International Current streams of media geography largely take
Medal from the Institute of Australian Geogra- a critical approach to different media types,
phers in 2001. moving beyond understandings of media as
Tom McKnight died on February 16, 2004, at visual or naive reflections of the “real” world or
the age of 75. as materializations of the preestablished inten-
tionality of their maker to understandings of
Darrel Hess
media as discrete moments in the production
and circulation of cultural meaning or expres-
Further Readings sion. Importantly, this point is not to limit media
to technologies of meaning (re)construction but
McKnight, T. (2004). The regional geography of the also to understand media as objects of informa-
United States and Canada. New York: Prentice tion transfer and creation wherein media them-
Hall. selves may be understood as differentiating
forces of communication, social contestation, or
affective and intellectual transformation. Media
geography, then, explores broad questions of
material production, cultural meaning, and
MEDIA AND GEOGRAPHY bodily affects and percepts in relation to the
practices and processes by which geographical
How and why geographers engage with media is information is gathered, geographical facts are
inherently tied to questions of what media are ordered, and imaginative geographies are cre-
and do. The term media itself is ambiguous: dic- ated. The differences present in how these ques-
tionary.com defines the singular form medium as tions are engaged with are not so much a matter
“an intervening agency, means, or instrument,” of different understandings of media themselves
and the term was first applied to printed news- as of what different forms and types of media do
papers more than two centuries ago. Since the or can do.
early 20th century, the usage of the term as a Friedrich Kittler believes that media determine
singular collective noun began to be popularized human situations, while Marshall McLuhan’s
and its application expanded. Following this gen- famous phrase “The medium is the message” is
eral meaning and expanded usage, an intersec- also applicable to the study of media geography.
tion of media with geography can be understood Later critical geographers argue that media hold
as an intimate and inextricable part of the geo- powerful transformative potential because people
graphic discipline. From long-standing traditions use cultural representations to create social rela-
of cartographic creation and analysis to human- tionships and to define space. These observations
ist explorations of art and literature to critical, concerning media underscore differing insights
feminist, and poststructuralist engagements with into the meaning of information, the material
film and multimedia, different media forms importance of media, and how forces of technical
have proved both informative and revealing for expression may both positively and negatively
 MEDIA A ND GEOGR A P H Y &-,*

influence or affect our lives. What the observa- because of the discipline’s great visual legacy and
tions share are their important implications for suggests that there is a certain geographic clarity
an understanding of media today, particularly that can be derived from the study of media repre-
within the context of geography. sentation or expression. However, geographers
Media geography often takes different media should be open to moving beyond more orthodox
forms that are presented as natural, universal, or notions of the “visual” to include the different
true and analyzes them to reveal how alternative sensory forces often present in media, such as
geographic narratives may be visible. For instance, sound images. Recent work within the discipline
recent research in media geography has explored has stressed this point.
and explained the bond between media culture In an important article, Daniel Sui explored
and nationalism or gender relations, providing how visual geographic metaphors are being
insights into the motivations of media producers replaced by more evocative aural metaphors more
to prioritize time and history over space and geog- common to electronic communication media,
raphy by enmeshing the media consumer in sys- resulting in a reconfiguration of geographic dis-
tems of visibility and normalization. To critically course in the late 20th century. Sui made the con-
engage media landscapes, then, it is important to nection that sight and sound are interconnected
understand that their places and spaces are never in many ways and should therefore be more fully
neutral. appreciated for what they can bring to the explo-
Doreen Massey’s early work conceptualized ration of geographic phenomena. Because of this,
space as created by social relations, full of power Sui emphasized how geography will become intel-
and symbolism and containing a complex web of lectually handicapped if the discipline confines
relations. Just how spatial-social power struc- itself to a single set of metaphors. This view led to
tures are involved in the transformation of these positivist, realist, postmodern, feminist, and anar-
geographies may both reflect and serve as virtual chist approaches to visualization that expanded
and concrete responses to contested spaces/ the differing conceptualizations of visuality and
places. Geographic media studies help uncover defined media as inherently geovisual (in a broad
the political interests underlying the production sense of the term), while also understanding that
of cultural representations by presenting geogra- there is an equally inherent geographical specific-
phies through which to study these issues and ity to each media event. However, what this spec-
their transparencies: As a number of recent works ificity is may always be open to contestation and
have noted, artistic quality often matters less negotiation. Clarity about what media are and
than the role of the consumers and their attempts do, then, requires an acknowledgement of both
to resist and subvert the reinforcement of gender, affective and kinetic aspects of media to account
sexual, and/or racial stereotypes. Media geogra- for epistemological and ontological differences in
phy thus also promotes the active role of the how media are understood, encountered, and
consumer—understanding the relations of cre- engaged.
ative production comes first, followed by the dif- Media may change meaning as the environ-
ferent perceptions it may guide. Researchers can ment in and through which they are consumed
thus be exposed to the interconnections between and engaged with transforms. Therefore, the
private and public, especially private meanings function of their characteristics in relation to
and their role in sustaining and/or transforming social processes can be understood as the pur-
personal and social forces such as memory and veyor of a specific relationship to the body and
remembrance. the imagination. The inherent characteristics
In addition to the readily apparent and tangible located within media forms can instill emotional
roles media forms offer to geographic exploration comfort or distancing, confinement or intimacy,
and analysis, it is also important to explicitly hope or threat. Recent work has also found that
“place” media within different geographic dis- media are a cognitive mode of understanding that
courses both contextually and methodologically if can provide a “scientific” method for grasping
their full geographic power is to be realized. John the complexities of the postmodern world. Fur-
Thornes advocates for media literacy in geography thermore, new relationships within and between
&-,+ M EDI A A ND G E OG RAPHY

various forms of “mixed media,” as interrelated In these explorations of the intersections between
sets of objects and texts, highlight exciting new geography and media representations, media geog-
forms of geographical analysis and bodily engage- raphers may focus on a single static photograph—as
ments with media and their role as both social in Susan Sontag’s claims that photographic images
network and agent. provide most of the knowledge people have about
There exists an affinity between the generic the look of the past and the reach of the present.
structures of media and the concerns of postmod- Edward Said also saw the importance of “fic-
ernism that perhaps clarifies the necessary atten- tional” texts to the production of geographical
tion to the production and consumption of media, knowledge, particularly how the interpretation of
specifically how the body has been figured in texts can provide insights into the ordering of soci-
postmodernism and cultural theory as a site of ety and space. Texts may be understood as cultur-
crisis. It is possible to gain important insights into ally coded and may contain clues to the political,
geographical phenomena such as the city and social, and economic circumstances of the society
landscape and into geographic technologies such that produces them. This view, in turn, results in
as GIS (geographic information systems) and even what some geographers see as a larger and a more
video games and comic books through the use of critical engagement between cartography and
different geographical theories and concepts social theory that may bring about a better under-
working through the body. Such modes of explo- standing of how media can be best used within the
ration are helpful in understanding the produc- discipline of geography.
tion of media space and the creation of a spectorial If the geographical imagination can be con-
topoanalysis, Giuliana Bruno’s term for the spaces ceived broadly to include those practices and
of a spectator’s engagement with space through processes by which we both situate and create
the experience of film. Popular media can be ourselves and in which our selves are situated
placed into a theoretical context bounded by and created in space and time, then media par-
semiotics, theories of ideology and subjectivity, ticipate in at least three fundamental ways:
ideas of affective concept and thought creation, (1) in empirical practices of gathering factual
and theories of self and identity. There are differ- information in visual and aural forms; (2) in
ent semiotic complexities to media texts (includ- cognitive processes of ordering information to
ing literal and symbolic meanings), leading us to produce knowledge of spaces/places, peoples,
conclude that media and human understandings and events; and (3) in the affective and imagina-
of the world are inseparable from the bodily tive processes of visualizing the world beyond
imagination and that spectorial subjectivity is conventional experiences.
entangled within a predisposed and socially influ- While media may be engaged from the per-
enced embodied gaze. spective of agency and causality, narrative detail,
One can, of course, view media as a text, and circulation, or consumption and affect, media
the use of the textual metaphor runs deep in researchers are interested in focusing on the ways
media geography theory. Various works discuss in which geographers might use media to allow
the concerns of qualitative methodology related technologies and critical geographies to intertwine
to how the world is viewed, experienced, and in a useful discourse so that we might more fully
constructed by social actors, while also stressing understand the spaces, identities, and powers con-
the importance of systems of meaning to any tained within the performances of particular media
qualitative textual analysis. This methodology forms or representations and learn how to harness
provides access to the motives, aspirations, and these powers. Using media to think geographically
power relationships that account for how places, can illuminate issues far beyond the narrative con-
people, and events are made and represented. An tent of media. The constructions and performances
interpretation of texts, which can include land- are central elements in ongoing and increasingly
scapes, archival materials, maps, literature, or visual and aural encounters between diverse cul-
visual images—all forms of media—is one of tures, not to mention engagements with our own
many ways of qualitatively engaging with differ- cultural productions and social relations of the
ent media forms or types. past, present, and future. The spatiality of social
 MEDIC A L GEOGR A P H Y &-,,

interaction is naturalized, and indeed neutralized,

within the realistic appearance of media represen-
MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY
tations and is inscribed by sociopolitical relations
Medical geography, also known as health geogra-
of which media are simultaneously medium and
phy, is the application of geographical methods
product. Vision, for example, and thus its media
and techniques to the study of health. Research in
manifestations, can be irrevocably tied to domains
medical geography has as wide a reach as research
of knowledge, arrangements of social space, and
in the health sciences to address issues of disabil-
lines of force and visibility. While this constitutes
ity, access to health care, parasitology, the spatial
the cultural formations that make visual media
distribution of cancer cases, and the diffusion of
possible, these forms of media cannot simply be
diseases.
reduced to signifiers of social forces and relations
Although studies of human-environment inter-
premised solely on models of media theory or to
actions in relation to health are among the oldest
models of spectacle within politically based cul-
recorded in medical research (e.g., Hippocrates),
ture wars, as the controversies related to both Mel
medical geography has gained particular promi-
Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ and Apoca-
nence today as a way to better understand health
lypto, Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, and the
beyond the confines of the human body, by exam-
Al Gore–narrated An Inconvenient Truth so aptly
ining health in local, regional, and global contexts.
illustrate.
The way in which this is done ranges from post-
James Craine and Giorgio Hadi Curti modern Foucauldian critiques of the construction
of mental health and the physical design of sana-
toriums to the mapping of cancer rates across cit-
See also Film and Geography; Literature, Geography ies and states. While there are many approaches
and; Nonrepresentational Theory; Place Promotion; adopted within medical geography, three common
Popular Culture, Geography and; Representations of theoretical views are described here: (1) human
Space; Spaces of Representation/Representational ecology, (2) the structuralist interpretation, and
Spaces; Symbolism and Place; Television and (3) critical approaches. Subsequently, common
Geography; Video Games, Geography and techniques, involving geographic information sys-
tems (GIS), spatial analysis, and remote sensing,
are described as they relate to the field of medical
geography.
Further Readings

ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical

Human Ecology
Geographies: www.acme-journal.org
Aether: The Journal of Media Geography: The human ecology approach to medical geogra-
www.aetherjournal.org phy proposes an understanding of health that is
Aitken, S., & Zonn, L. (Eds.). (1994). Place, power, integrative, concerning population, behavioral,
situation, and spectacle: A geography of film. and habitat characteristics of the state of indi-
Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. vidual health. Population factors affecting health
Cresswell, T., & Dixon, D. (2002). Introduction: include genes, gender, and age. Stages and differ-
Engaging film. In T. Cresswell & D. Dixon (Eds.), ences in the life course of individuals are signifi-
Engaging film (pp. 1–10). Lanham, MD: Rowman cant determinants of health status. However, of
& Littlefield. importance to the human ecology approach is
Sui, D. (2000). Visuality, aurality, and shifting the subjugated role of genetics, where behavior
metaphors of geographical thought in the late and habitat rank equivalently with demographic
twentieth century. Annals of the Association of and genetic measures in understanding health.
American Geographers, 90, 322–343. Behavioral factors integral to understanding
Thornes, J. (2004). The visual turn in geography. health include belief systems, social networks
Antipode, 36, 787–794. and organization, and access to technology,
broadly defined. Habitat components include
&-,- M EDI C AL G E OG RAPHY

characteristics of the natural habitat, the built view of race and ethnicity commonly used in
environment, and the social environment. Also design frames for medical experimentation and
important to the human ecology approach is the research. Furthermore, postmodern perspectives
recognition that the factors that affect health have also criticized how health care is operation-
operate at a variety of scales, microbiotic to alized, particularly in defining mental behaviors
global, and are mediated in a number of ways by or forms of disability as problematic, in need of
social and natural environments. correction, observation, and remedy. Medical
The human ecology approach interweaves geographers have adapted critical approaches to
geography with numerous disciplines: ecology, study how localities and design manifest as evi-
population biology, genetics, demography, epide- dence of power constructs.
miology, the social sciences, public administra-
tion and policy, urban and regional planning, and
GIS and Spatial Analysis
architecture and environmental design, as well as
medicine and the health sciences. Rarely is it pos- Though cartographic techniques have been used
sible for research scientists to span the ecological in the health sciences for many years, develop-
approach with necessary attention to all its com- ments in GIS have led to the automated collection,
ponents; however, an appreciation for the larger distribution, and analysis of disease and measures
interactions among individuals, across scales, and of health. Health and behavioral surveillance sys-
spanning time offers a quintessentially geographi- tems are now also collecting geographic informa-
cal grounding to the research. tion (address information at a minimum or
geographic coordinates—latitude and longitude),
as are the agencies that collect vital records and
The Structuralist Interpretation statistics (birth certificates and death certificates)
and agencies that conduct large-scale health inter-
Types and organizations of power structures have
view surveys. A few countries, or localities, are
enormous implications for understanding inequi-
now operating with real-time disease surveillance.
ties in health, vulnerabilities to disease, and lack
The digitalization of health information offers
of access to heath care. A structuralist approach
many new opportunities to monitor and evaluate
to health examines the ways in which power
the distribution of disease. Simulations of disease
arrangements play out on individual health. Med-
outbreaks can be generated, and individual and
ical geographers have adapted this approach by
ecological correlates of disease can be studied,
helping to articulate and visualize the ways in
using techniques such as multilevel modeling and
which disempowerment is shown through inequi-
hierarchical Bayesian approaches.
ties in health across space (across countries and
A variety of types of cluster analysis have been
within countries). For example, to critique eco-
devised by geographers, many for health applica-
nomic indicators such as national income, health
tions specifically, such as the Geographic Analysis
metrics, such as infant mortality rates and life
Machine (GAM), space-time scan statistics, and
expectancy, are increasingly used to understand
Local Indictors of Spatial Analysis (LISA). Cluster
development differently.
analysis has been used widely in medicine and
public health to identify hot spots, or areas where
to target health care funding, in relation to sexu-
Critical Approaches
ally transmitted diseases and other contagious dis-
Critical approaches have done much to rethink eases, cancer mortalities, and vector-borne diseases
the way in which we understand, or construct, (e.g., malaria, dengue fever, and Lyme disease).
notions of health and illness. Feminist methods GIS and spatial analysis have also been used to
have revealed the ways in which Western, bio- study differences in access to health care, how
medical approaches interfere with female concep- neighborhood and urban design affect access to
tualizations of the body, in relation to the social healthy food options, recreation, and walking as
and natural environment. Critical race studies an alternative to automotive transportation, and
have challenged the dichotomous and limited inequities in exposure to toxic releases.
 MEINIG, DONA L D &-,.

See also Cancer, Geography of; Carcinogens; Cholera,

Health Applications of Remote Sensing
Geography of; Disease, Geography of; GIS in Health
In addition to the mapping and analysis of disease Research and Health Care; Health and Health Care,
patterns with GIS, medical geographers are using Geography of; HIV/AIDS, Geography of; Malaria,
remote sensing, such as satellite imagery and aerial Geography of
photography, to study the habitats of disease vec-
tors, such as mosquitoes, ticks, or flies. This is done
by classifying imagery associated with vegetation Further Readings
and examining vector habitats in proximity to the
built environment. There is increasing interest in Gatrell, A. (2002). Geographies of health: An
the health consequences of climate change on introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
human populations that occur through intensifica- Kearns, R., & Moon, G. (2002). From medical
tion of human migration as well as the spreading of geography to health geography: Novelty, place
vector populations in response to warmer climate. and theory after a decade of change. Progress in
Human Geography, 26, 605–625.
Meade, M., & Earickson, R. (2000). Medical
Future Directions geography. New York: Guilford Press.
Future directions in the arena of medical geogra- Parr, H. (2004). Medical geography: Critical medical
phy involve the development of databases and and health geography? Progress in Human
analytical tools that better enable geographers and Geography, 28, 246–257.
health professionals to study information about Sui, D. (2007). GIS and health geography: Towards a
individuals that may change over both space and new synergy. Geography Compass, 1, 556–582.
time. This will allow researchers to distinguish
between differences in environmental exposures
and changes in the social environment, which can
affect health differently in different localities over MEINIG, DONALD (1924– )
the life course. In particular, the study of migration
and health, which was very difficult before, is Until his retirement in 2004 as Maxwell Research
becoming more manageable. Other space-time sur- Professor of Geography at Syracuse University,
vey data sets capture daily travel patterns, using Donald W. Meinig was one of North America’s
armband GPS devices, which can be used to study most accomplished and productive historical
urban land use patterns from the individual per- geographers. A native of the Palouse region of
spective, and study what those use patterns mean eastern Washington State, Meinig received his
in terms of opportunity for healthy behaviors. MA (1950) and PhD (1953) from the University
Other research directions promise to investigate of Washington and taught at the University of
the impact of climate change on human health and Utah before joining the faculty of Syracuse Uni-
how the impacts differ locally. HIV/AIDS and the versity in 1959. During his long and distin-
social consequences of coping with HIV/AIDS guished career, Meinig produced a series of
(e.g., orphans and the decline in the productive highly praised studies that provided new inter-
labor force) continue to be on the forefront of the pretations of the historical and cultural forces
global public health agenda. Finally, medical geog- that shaped several distinct American regions,
raphers are studying how activities in the global including the Northwest, Mormon country, the
political economy manifest locally and affect Southwest, and Texas.
human health across borders. A few components Meinig devoted the last two decades of his pro-
of such research are sex work, the global drug fessional career to a monumental four-volume
trade, the global arms trade, and the growth of series, The Shaping of America: A Geographical
urban slums and borderlands, all of which are inti- Perspective on 500 Years of History. This unprec-
mately linked with issues of global public health. edented achievement represents the most ambi-
tious attempt ever by a geographer to bring the
Lisa Jordan entire enterprise of discovery, conquest, settlement,
&--% M EI N I G, D ONAL D

and development of the United States into a coher- has been criticized for privileging pattern at the
ent conceptual framework. expense of process and political and social forces
Meinig’s approach in this study is to portray at the expense of economic and environmental
America as a “gigantic geographic growth with a ones. Other critics have found his language to be,
continually changing geographic character, struc- on the one hand, too carefully crafted for effect
ture, and system” (Volume 1, p. xv), with close and, on the other, unscientific and imprecise.
attention to the varieties of peoples involved and Nevertheless, Meinig has brought to the writ-
the larger context of bordering societies. Through- ing of American historical geographies a wealth
out the series, he emphasizes the imperial dimen- of fresh ideas and a high standard of literary and
sions of this enterprise and demonstrates that cartographic excellence. He stimulates the geo-
America was “created from a massive aggression graphical imagination of readers with lucid prose
against a long succession of peoples” (p. xviii). that is challenging and yet free of jargon and with
Throughout a narrative of more than 2,000 pages, maps and diagrams that are equally fluid, read-
Meinig employs several consistent basic principles able, and vivid.
that inform his approach: context, coverage,
Scott Anderson
scale, structure, tension, and change (pp. xvi–
xvii). He also examines the dynamic and chang-
See also Historical Geography
ing nature of the spatial morphology of the United
States using the concepts of core, domain, and
sphere that he developed for earlier studies.
Unlike most professional geographers, Meinig Further Readings
does not claim to belong to a tradition or school of
scholarship, and he feels that this lack of associa- Baker, A. (2005). Writing geography, making history:
tion gave him the freedom to move geography— D.W. Meinig’s geographical perspective on the
historical geography in particular—in new history of America. Journal of Historical
directions. He has been particularly interested in Geography, 31(4), 634–646.
elevating regional geography from the practice of Meinig, D. (1968). The Great Columbia Plain:
merely listing categorized descriptions into some- A historical geography, 1805–1910. Seattle:
thing more artful and interesting to other disci- University of Washington Press.
plines. His method of doing this is to add history, Meinig, D. (1969). Imperial Texas: An interpretive
context, interconnection, and constant flux to essay in cultural geography. Austin: University of
regional description, remaking it as interpretation Texas Press.
and focusing on space, place, and change. To Meinig, D. (1969). Southwest: Three peoples in
Meinig, geography has the potential to be art as geographical change 1600–1970. New York:
well as science. To be a geographer is to see the Oxford University Press.
world in a particular way, and to do geography is Meinig, D. (Ed.). (1979). The interpretation of
to express this view with language, diagrams, and ordinary landscapes. New York: Oxford
maps full of movement and tension. Although University Press.
few geographers have been as careful as Meinig Meinig, D. (1986–2004). The shaping of America:
in their use of language, fewer still have been as A geographical perspective on 500 years of history
masterful in their use of maps and diagrams to (Vols. 1–4). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
enhance their interpretative narratives, to stress Wickoff, W., & Colten, C. (Eds.). (2009). Donald
the dynamics of change, and to stimulate the geo- Meinig: Shaping American geography [Special
graphical imagination. issue]. Geographical Review, 99(3). Retrieved
Few works by geographers have received the November 20, 2009, from www.amergeog.org/gr/
attention and praise across disciplines that Meinig’s jul09.html
work has inspired. Historians in particular have Wynn, G. (2005). D. W. Meinig and the shaping of
embraced his grand narrative for the scope of its America. Journal of Historical Geography, 31(4),
monumental task and the explication of patterns 610–633.
that resulted from his approach. Nevertheless, he
 MENT A L MA PS &--&

MENTAL MAPS Mental maps are also created through the study
of secondary sources. These sources can be in map
format themselves, either as classic paper maps or
The term mental map refers to the cognitive rep- digital tools, such as Google Earth (the most com-
resentation of environmental information that a mon Earth viewer), providing maplike informa-
human being acquires through different (direct tion. Other secondary sources include texts (e.g.,
and indirect) sources. The term was first used by travel itineraries, movies) and verbal descriptions
Edward Tolman in 1948 to refer to the mental of spatial environments (e.g., route directions). In
representation of spatial layouts learned by rats the latter case, the mostly qualitative verbal
to find food in a labyrinth. The term is synony- descriptions provide input for creating an often
mous with the terms cognitive map and spatial underspecified, sparse mental representation of a
mental representation. The latter expression is a spatial environment that, when interacting with
more neutral term offered in response to the criti- the environment, can guide spatial behavior.
cism that the map metaphor is too restrictive and Hence, it is important to bear in mind that
provides the incorrect impression that environ- mental representations of spatial environments
mental information is indeed mentally stored in a are the result of a multimodal combination of
maplike format. Nonetheless, the term mental or sensory inputs and are not restricted to visual
cognitive map is still widely used. The criticism information alone. Furthermore, nonsensory
and discussion of the map metaphor was particu- sources such as maps, text, and verbal descrip-
larly active in the second half of the 20th century, tions also contribute to the kind of information
and alternative terms have been proposed, such that is stored in a mental map.
as spatial schemata, cognitive collage, and world
graph.
Distortions in Mental Maps
Mental maps are the result of a multimodal
integration of various information sources. On One of the defining characteristics of mental maps
the side of the cognitive agent, different sensory is that they systematically represent certain aspects
inputs contribute to the information that is stored of the environment while neglecting others. This
about an environment. Visual information is the phenomenon is often referred to as distortions in
most prominent sensory channel, leading to abun- mental maps. For example, distance, angle, and
dant information about environments through areal extent are not veridically represented in a
direct experience. However, research has shown mental map (a property that they indeed share
that environments are perceived and understood with most cartographic maps). However, the selec-
in diverse ways, not through visual perception tiveness of cognitive agents regarding which aspects
alone. Besides other exteroceptive senses (i.e., to represent in a mental map is an evolutionary
senses that receive or respond to information necessity that should be seen as a positive adapta-
from outside the body, e.g., smell, hearing, and tion to their environments rather than a limitation.
balance), proprioceptive information (informa- To draw an analogy, mapmakers pursue a very
tion about the internal state of the body) has been similar goal by emphasizing some aspects and de-
shown to contribute to understanding spatial emphasizing others to abstract a large, complex
environments. Proprioception and vestibular (bal- environment to the size of a map or to communi-
ance) information, for example, play an impor- cate only a particular characteristic of an environ-
tant role in establishing an understanding of ment. The selection criteria that humans employ
travelled distances and spatial environments, even are often more abstract (schematic) than the map-
in the absence of externally caused body move- ping rules in cartography. Additionally, the mental
ments such as those that occur when traveling by representation of environmental information is not
car or train. The multimodal origin of mental constrained by a representational medium such as
maps is supported further by the fact that they the two dimensions of paper maps; mental repre-
can be created in the complete absence of visual sentations are not a map. This means that incon-
information by both sighted and visually impaired sistencies can be resolved more easily in mental
cognitive agents. maps and do not pose a representational problem.
&--' M EN T A L MAPS

The absence of selection strategies would lead to

an information overflow in a cognitive agent that
would slow down decision making dramatically.
While we are seldom in danger from predators
these days, the evolutionary roots are important to
understand. This evolutionary adaption is what
Andy Clark terms the “007 principle”: Evolved
creatures will avoid storing information about
environment in a costly way. They instead use the
environment itself to contribute information and
fill in the gaps (or details). Cognitive beings aim to
know only as much as they need to know.
Much research has been devoted to revealing
the aspects of environments that the human cog-
nitive system is focusing on and that are used to
simplify complex spatial relationships. It is impor-
tant to understand that the inconsistencies in
mental representations are often resolved by
offloading information to the environment. This
means that we do not need to mentally store every
aspect of information about the environment, just
those aspects that allow us to make the right deci-
sion (at least in most situations). An example is
the tendency to orthogonalize intersections (see Figure 1 Physical locations of San Diego and Reno
below) rather than mentally representing angle are often different from those in mental maps.
information properly. In almost all navigational
Source: Robert Roth.
situations in street networks, angular information
is not relevant for successfully choosing the cor-
rect route (branch) to take at an intersection. The
The Hierarchical Organization of Spatial
following are among the most prominent aspects
Knowledge. In a classic experiment by Albert
of organizing spatial knowledge:
Stevens and Patty Coupe, participants had to
indicate the direction from San Diego, California,
to Reno, Nevada (tested against various other
Cognitively Salient Elements of Environments.
pairs of cities). Most participants judged Reno to
While landmarks are among the most researched
be east of San Diego, while it actually is located
elements that humans use to anchor spatial infor-
to the west (see Figure 1). Stevens and Coupe
mation, other elements are essential for organizing
were able to demonstrate with this experiment
spatial information cognitively. The term cogni-
that the information that is represented on states
tively salient has to be extended to mean not
(California is west of Nevada) is inherited by the
only visually salient objects but all structures that
cities within that state. Thus, because the infor-
cognitive beings use to organize spatial knowledge.
mation is hierarchically organized, an incorrect
To this end, in 1960, Kevin Lynch identified the
inference of the relative positions of Reno and
following five categories of structures used by
San Diego is made (in this example).
cognitive beings to organize spatial knowledge:
(1) landmarks (salient entities in the environment), Aligning Spatial Information. B. Tversky noted
(2) nodes (strategic places in the environment, such that one way to simplify directional information
as street intersections), (3) paths (predominant ele- between entities in space is to align them with
ments in built environments that connect nodes each other. A prominent example is the mental
and landmarks), (4) districts (area-like elements), representation of North and South America along
and (5) edges (boundaries between areas). a primarily north-south axis. However, the actual
 MER C A T OR , GER A R DU S &--(

latitudes of the two continents are instead diago-

nally placed to each other. This effect can be
MERCATOR, GERARDUS
observed for many entities located in space. On a (1512–1594)
smaller scale we find, for example, the following
simplifications that are applied to street networks: Gerardus Mercator was a Flemish engraver and
the orthogonalization of street intersections, the cartographer who lived during the so-called Age
straightening of curved paths, and the alignment of Exploration, that is, the 16th century, when
of nonparallel streets. European capitalism and colonialism began their
epochal period of global conquest, and his work
Understanding the mental representation of both reflected and greatly enabled this expansion.
spatial information (often referred to as a mental Born Gerhard Kremer, Mercator changed his
map) is a central research topic in and outside name as a university student in Louvain, where
geography. The goal is to fundamentally under- he lived from 1530 to 1552. At an early age, he
stand how information about our environments is studied to be a priest at a monastic school in Her-
cognitively processed, stored, transformed, and togenbosch, where he learned calligraphy and
communicated. Research on mental maps has led Latin. In Louvain, he was trained in philosophy,
to several insights into how spatial information is surveying, scientific instruments, mathematics,
cognitively structured. Revealing the principles astronomy, and geography, receiving his master’s
that underlie human understanding of environ- degree in 1532. He married in 1536 and eventu-
ments is important, as it allows for tailoring tech- ally had six children. In 1544, he was jailed briefly
nical solutions to spatial problems (e.g., wayfinding under suspicion of heresy but released for lack of
or spatial decision making) using the strategies evidence. In 1552, he relocated to Duisberg, in
naturally used and understood by humans. what later became Germany, where he taught
mathematics at the local gymnasium, or high
Alexander Klippel
school, until the cartographic workshop he
founded acquired steady work under his long-
See also Behavioral Geography; Childhood Spatial and
time patron, the Duke of Cleves.
Environmental Learning; Representations of Space;
While his early talent lay in engraving, Merca-
Spatial Cognition; Wayfinding
tor steadily moved from detailed maps of Flan-
ders to globes to flat maps of the world, whose
projections drew on his mathematical training.
Further Readings Some claim that Mercator coined the term atlas.
In 1538, he published a double-cordiform (heart
Clark, A. (1989). Microcognition: Philosophy, shaped) map of the world, the first to show two
cognitive science, and parallel distributed distinct continents in the Western Hemisphere;
processing. Cambridge: MIT Press. this map was lost but was eventually found in
Evans, G. (1980). Environmental cognition. New York in 1878. In 1546, he produced a set of
Psychological Bulletin, 88, 259–287. observational instruments for use in Charles V’s
Kitchin, R., & Blades, M. (2002). The cognition of campaigns. Thereafter, he took to producing a
geographic space. London: Tauris. series of maps and globes, particularly concerning
Lynch, K. (1960). The image of the city. Cambridge: Europe. In 1578, he published a revised version
MIT Press. of Ptolemy’s classic, Geography, including 27
Stevens, A., & Coupe, P. (1978). Distortions in maps. A comprehensive global atlas begun in
judged spatial relations. Cognitive Psychology, 1585 was completed and published by his sons in
10(4), 422–437. 1594, after Mercator’s death.
Tolman, E. (1948). Cognitive maps in rats and men. Mercator is most famous, however, for his map
Psychological Review, 55(4), 189–208. projection, named after him, which he unveiled in
Tversky, B. (1981). Distortion in memory for maps. 1569 with his Nova et Aucta Orbis Terrae
Cognitive Psychology, 13(3), 407–433. Descriptio ad Usum Navigatium Emendate (New
and Augmented Description of the Earth Designed
&--) M ER C A TOR, G E RARD U S

Figure 1 Mercator’s projection of the world famously allowed easy lines of constant compass bearing but
distorted areas at a great distance from the equator.
Source: Author.

for Purposes of Navigation). It is a cylindrical leaving it unable to represent the poles (Figure 1).
projection with no distortion at the equator. Its application, however, was muted by the inabil-
Unlike earlier maps, this one employed a graticule ity to measure longitude accurately during the
of latitude and longitude lines that did not con- 16th century.
verge at the poles. Simon Winchester calls it “an Undoubtedly, the Mercator projection revolu-
adroitly contrived confection of secants and tionized cartography and greatly facilitated its
cosines; it was neat, tidy and hugely popular; and role in European expansionism. It also had deep
it was turned into charts that mariners used for ideological effects: In standardizing it with rigor-
generations.” The Mercator projection came to ous mathematical rules, Mercator helped over-
enjoy enormous popularity and fame due to the come the long-lasting influence of Ptolemy. Over
numerous advantages it offered. In particular, it time, the Mercator projection became the most
was widely popular in nautical and seafaring cir- widely used map projection in history, familiar to
cles because it allowed loxodromes or rhumb every student who has looked at a world map,
lines—lines of constant compass bearing—to be leading to widespread misconceptions about the
represented as straight lines. While shape and relative areal sizes of landmasses in the economi-
direction are preserved throughout the map, size cally developed Northern Hemisphere, thus sus-
is increasingly distorted with distance from the taining and amplifying discourses of Orientalism
equator, greatly exaggerating the areas of regions and their attendant geographical imaginations.
at high latitudes (most famously, Greenland) and In the 20th century, it was supplanted, or even
 MET A DA TA &--*

displaced, by equal-area projections, such as the used, processing history, update plan, purpose,
Peters projection. rights of use, and geographic projection. Meta-
data also include the author and currency of the
Barney Warf
metadata themselves.
The content of metadata follows international
See also Cartography, History of; Human Geography,
(International Organization for Standardiza-
History of; Map Projections; Ortelius
tion, ISO) or national (Federal Geographic Data
Committee, FGDC) standards. These standards
specify the different types of information that
Further Readings should be present but do not dictate organiza-
tional or transfer protocol. The format for meta-
Crane, N. (2003). Mercator: The man who mapped data is Extensible Markup Language (XML) or
the planet. New York: Henry Holt. Standardized Generalized Markup Language
Monmonier, M. (2004). Rhumb lines and map wars: (SGML), although it can also be a word-
A social history of the Mercator projection. processing document, in Hypertext Markup
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Language (HTML), in Portable Document For-
Winchester, S. (2003, January 23). The mapmaker to mat (PDF), or a text file, so long as it accompa-
blame for distorted worldviews. The New York nies the data.
Times. Retrieved November 20, 2009, from http:// Organizations use metadata to maintain inter-
query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903E1 nal data management standards, to plan spatial
DD1130F930A15752C0A9659C8B63 data updates and acquisitions, to keep a data
inventory for data clearinghouses, and to facili-
tate spatial data transfer and proper interpreta-
tion. They implement metadata to set priorities
and maintain data quality and consistency. Meta-
METADATA data can also optimize communication between
organizations through a common platform for
Metadata are data about data. More specifically discussing and documenting data.
within geography, they consist of digital back- Within geography, the importance of metadata
ground information about the origins of geospa- rises above that of simple organization, since spa-
tial data. The data metadata describe are not tial data sets are incorporated into analysis and
necessarily limited to purely electronic data sets decision making. Considering the exponential
but can involve various formats and media. As growth of GIS data availability, there needs to be
standard operating procedure within geographic a mechanism for sorting and evaluating such data
information systems (GIS), metadata play an prior to acquisition and usage. Metadata mainte-
essential role in identifying data usability and nance is essential for spatial data management
accessibility. A lack of metadata renders a data and documentation. This documentation facili-
set less useful or even useless in analysis, since its tates data location, acquisition, interpretation,
legitimacy cannot be ensured. The following and implementation. It provides a clear indicator
describes the content, format, standards, uses, of the accuracy and currency of data and the
and importance of metadata in geography. legality of data usage. It also identifies the origi-
Metadata accompany geospatial data in a sep- nal purpose and scale of the data so that proper
arate file that includes pertinent information incorporation of metadata into mapmaking and
about the data set. The content is designed to decision making can minimize inaccuracy and
allow for situational evaluation of data usability. bias. Metadata play a vital role in geography by
This record consists of basic identification, qual- providing a common language for geospatial data
ity, spatial reference, organization, attribute, set interoperation, thus ensuring timeliness and
acquisition, and proper usage information on a accuracy.
data set. Common examples of this content are
title, author, contact information, equipment Sarah M. Wandersee
&--+ M ET R O P OL ITAN ARE A

See also Database Management Systems; Interoperability

Category Population % Share
and Spatial Data Standards; Legal Aspects of Geospatial
Information; Ontological Foundations of Geographical Metropolitan 226 80
Data; Open Geodata Standards; Spatial Data Central city 85 30
Integration; Usability of Geospatial Information Other urban 115 41
Rural 26 9

Nonmetropolitan 55 20
Further Readings Urban 23 8
Rural 32 12
Federal Geographic Data Committee. (1998).
Content standard for digital geospatial metadata. Table 1 U.S. metropolitan population, 2000
Washington, DC: Author. (in millions). By 2008, the metropolitan population
is at least 84% of the total population of more than
300 million. Note that metropolitan areas do contain
a sizable rural population and that the “other urban”
category, mainly suburbs, exceeds the central city
METROPOLITAN AREA population.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). Number of inhabitants,
Metropolitan areas are large population centers 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000, urbanized areas.
Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
(central cities) together with their adjacent zones
of influence, where influence may be measured by
levels of commuting to the central city or by com-
mercial ties and media penetration—thus typi- importance in the national economy, as well as
cally encompassing rural areas and physically becoming a useful measure of growth from cen-
separate satellite towns that are economically sus to census. More important, metropolitan
integrated with the core city. areas soon became the legal units for implementa-
Metropolitan areas were an innovation of the tion of myriad federal programs and for the allo-
U.S. Census, first called “metropolitan districts” cation of federal funds. Indeed, the definition of
in 1930 and only fully developed as “metropoli- areas is so politically important and sensitive that
tan areas” for the 1950 Census. Areas were rec- they are defined by the Office of Management
ognized around independent central cities of and Budget in the White House and are the sub-
50,000 or more people and, for most of the coun- ject of battles for autonomy versus inclusion as
try, consisted of the county containing the central part of larger areas.
city plus adjacent counties with “significant” ties Definitions and rules for delimitation have
to the central county, in particular commuting changed over the years. For example, by 1970,
levels of 15% or more to the central city and eligibility was based on actual urban agglomera-
thresholds of density and nonagricultural employ- tions over 50,000 (urbanized areas), and “con-
ment. In New England, metropolitan areas were solidated” metropolitan statistical areas were
defined on the basis of towns, local government recognized, consisting of adjoining “primary”
units smaller than the county. As these were not metropolitan areas with high levels of commuting
statistically compatible with county-based areas and economic integration. As of 1990, only com-
for the rest of the country, New England County muting to the core urbanized areas was used as a
Equivalent Metropolitan Areas were also defined. basis for adding outlying counties, resulting in a
However, just as serious a problem of inconsis- substantial increase in metropolitan territory and
tency and noncomparability resulted from the population. Periodically, taskforces have been
inconvenient fact that county size and shape var- formed to consider more basic reforms toward
ied tremendously across states. greater consistency and comparability, for exam-
Nevertheless, the metropolitan area designa- ple, defining areas based on smaller units such as
tion proved immensely popular, in part because it zip codes or census tracts, but the availability of
gave competing cities some sense of their relative quality data for intercensal years only by counties
 Seattle

Portland

Minneapolis Boston
Rochester Albany
Buffalo Providence
Hartford
Milwaukee Detroit Bridgeport
New York
Chicago Cleveland
Salt Lake Pittsburgh Philadelphia
Sacramento Omaha
San Francisco Columbus Baltimore
Indianapolis Washington
San Jose Denver Cincinnati
Fresno Kansas City St. Louis Richmond
Louisville Norfolk-Va Beach
Las Vegas
Raleigh
Los Angeles Tulsa Nashville
Riverside-SB Charlotte
Albuquerque OklahomaCity Memphis

&--,
San Diego
Phoenix Atlanta
Birmingham
Tucson Dallas-FW

Austin New Orleans

Houston
San Antonio Orlando
Tampa-SP

Miami

Areas over 850000 named

Figure 1 Large U.S. metropolitan areas, 2003

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). Number of inhabitants, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000, urbanized areas. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
&--- M I C R O WAVE /RAD AR D ATA

Population (in thousands)

Metropolitan areas have been similarly defined
for many countries, but of course with widely
Metropolitan Consolidated varying criteria, rendering comparability very
Rank Area Area Area problematic. Perhaps the more directly compara-
1 New York 18,816 21,962 ble metropolitan areas are those of Canada, Mex-
2 Los Angeles 12,576 17,755 ico, Taiwan, and much of the European Union.
3 Chicago 9,525 9,745 Most counties do try to define urban agglomera-
4 Dallas 6,145 6,498 tions (but definitions of urban vary) and economic
5 Philadelphia 5,828 6,385 regions (comparable with the U.S. BEA regions).
6 Houston 5,628 5,729 And some countries define commuter sheds around
7 Miami 5,413 5,413 major cities for transportation planning purposes.
8 Washington, 5,367 8,242
D.C. Richard Morrill
9 Atlanta 5,279 5,628
10 Boston 4,482 7,477 See also Suburbs and Suburbanization; Urban
11 Detroit 4,468 5,405 Geography; Urban Hierarchy; Urban Spatial Structure;
12 San Francisco 4,204 7,265 Urban Sprawl
13 Phoenix 4,179 4,179
14 Seattle 4,109 4,109

Further Readings
Table 2 Largest U.S. metropolitan areas, 2007
Source: U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). Number of inhabitants, U.S. Census Bureau: www.census.gov
1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000, urbanized areas.
Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

has thus far stalled such efforts. However, census MICROWAVE/RADAR DATA
tracts and zip-code-based areas (RUCAS, or rural-
urban commuting areas) have been defined by the Remote sensing for Earth surface information
U.S. Department of Agriculture for rural-based increasingly uses varied components of the elec-
programming. tromagnetic spectrum, such as microwave energy
Metropolitan areas should be distinguished from in wavelengths between 1 mm (millimeter) and
related settlement terms, such as (a) an agglomera- 1 m (meter). Microwave can be passive or active.
tion or conurbation, which usually connotes the Passive sensors record the energy received. There
actual densely built up urban settlement and which is limited passive microwave sensing primarily at
in the United States is called an (b) “urbanized coarse spatial resolution for atmospheric studies.
area” (the core of any metropolitan area) with Active microwave sends and receives energy and
more than 50,000 in population; (c) the “business is much more widely used.
economic area” (BEA), which in the United States Active microwave is RADAR, an acronym for
is the set of territorially exhaustive economic RAdio Detection and Ranging. RADAR systems
regions, the cores of which are usually metropoli- emit energy, and the returning waves are recorded
tan areas; (d) micropolitan statistical areas, first in intensity and time of travel. The time of travel
defined for the 2000 census and analogous to met- can be converted to distance from the sensor to
ropolitan areas but defining areas related to census- the surface and used to determine with consider-
defined agglomerations of between 10,000 and able accuracy surface distance and elevations by
50,000 people; and (e) megalopolis, or larger com- sensors known as Interferometric RADAR (IFSAR
plexes of closely related metropolitan areas, such or ISAR). RADAR has extensive use in navigation
as the original megalopolis extending from Boston and meteorology, but the focus here is on imaging
to Washington (now even farther) and comparable radar for feature analysis. RADAR advantages
megacities across the globe. over optical sensors include the ability to collect
 MIC R OWA V E/ R A DA R DA TA &--.

imagery at night, to penetrate clouds, and, under

some conditions, to penetrate into vegetation and
hyperarid soils.

Operational Characteristics
RADAR images to the side of the platform at a
variable angle are called Side Looking Airborne
Radar (SLAR or SAR). RADAR uses different
specific wavelengths, such as X, L, C, P, or K
band. RADAR energy can also be sent and
received in different polarizations, vertical (V) or
horizontal (H), for four possible images from one
wavelength; HH, HV, VH, and VV (quad polar-
ization). A historic RADAR limitation was that
the quality of the data was limited by the size
of the antenna. This problem was ingeniously
resolved by incorporation of the Doppler effect in
processing, caused by slight frequency shifts Figure 1 Volcanic structures in Indonesia via RADAR
(caused by the movement of the sensor) between
Source: Canadian Space Agency.
sending and receiving energy known as Synthetic
Aperture Radar (SAR).
Variations in RADAR return result in high or
low image values, bright to dark tones called
backscatter. The backscatter will vary based on
wavelength and polarization but is generally
determined by surface aspect or geometry, dielec-
tric constant, and texture or roughness.

Applications
There are multiple applications of RADAR. Fore-
most among these are information in cloudy
areas, humid tropics and high latitudes, and areas
of limited sunlight and high latitudes in winter.
SLAR provides a shaded-relief appearance excel-
lent for delineation of geologic and geomorphic
features (Figure 1).
RADAR successfully maps snow and ice in lake
or ocean flows and monitors shipping lanes for
icebergs. Because oil dampens waves, RADAR Figure 2 Sandia Labs RADAR image of rice fields in
can locate oil spills and natural seeps. Other southeast Asia
applications include urban analysis, deforesta- Source: Sandia National Laboratories.
tion, biomass estimations in a variety of vegeta-
tion communities, flood mapping, agriculture,
and generalized land cover mapping (Figures 2 space since 1978, but systematic space-borne
and 3). acquisition has only occurred since about 1995.
RADAR has been acquired from aircraft for Recently, space-borne RADAR has been obtained
more than 50 years. It has been collected from by the Canadian, Russian, and European space
&-.% M I GR A T ION

Further Readings

Elachi, C., & van Zyl, J. (2006). Introduction to the

physics and techniques of remote sensing (2nd
ed.). New York: Wiley.
Henderson, F., & Lewis, A. (Eds.). (1998). Principles
and applications of imaging radar: Manual of
remote sensing (3rd ed., Vol. 2). New York: Wiley.
Lillesand, T., Kiefer, R., & Chipman, J. (2008).
Remote sensing and image interpretation. New
York: Wiley.

MIGRATION
Human migration involves the movement of a
person (a migrant) between two places for a cer-
tain period of time. It is often considered a per-
manent relocation, as compared with temporary
spatial mobility, which includes all kinds of move-
ment by people, such as commuting, circulating,
visiting, shopping, and temporarily working away
from home.
This entry first details the most significant
forms of migration according to their differing
patterns and geographical scale. Next, migration
decision making and the ever-changing dynamic
processes of migrant behavior are examined. Last,
the entry reviews some major constructs that
migration scholars have presented as theoretical
explanations of this constantly changing liveli-
hood strategy of human mobility.

Forms of Migration
Figure 3 Individual RADAR bands can be combined
to provide color as in this Shuttle Imaging Radar Internal migration within national political
image of New Orleans. boundaries has always been the largest kind
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey and NASA. of population redistribution enumerated since
demographic statistics have been collected and
compared at global scales. Its character is often
differentiated by the source and destination
agencies and through German and Japanese
regions of such internal flows. Hence, rural-to-
platforms, among others.
rural migration, rural-to-urban migration, urban-
Barry Haack to-rural migration, and urban-to-urban migration
can each feature in an internal migration system
See also Imaging Spectroscopy; Radiometric Resolution; of population transfers and exchanges between
Remote Sensing these geographic places.
 MIGR A T IO N &-.&

South, West make gains

124,000

141,000 MIDWEST

WEST 4,000

NORTHEAST

236,000
396,000
SOUTH 787,000
Arrows show data from sum of
three one-year flows, 2005–2007

Numbers have been rounded

Figure 1 Net regional U.S. migration, 2007

Source: Based on Cohn, D., & Morin, R. (2008, December 17). American mobility: Who moves? Who stays put? Where’s home?
(p. 11). Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.

Shorter-distance changes of residence that do emigration is the relatively permanent move out
not cross the definable boundary of a place (e.g., of the home country. In contemporary times, such
a city) are more generally referred to as residen- international “cross-border” movements can take
tial mobility, and within urban realms, it is on a more complex character, with migrants
common to distinguish between interurban living “betwixt and between” two “life-worlds,”
migration and intra-urban residential mobility. experiencing and practicing transnational migra-
Further differentiations within this group of inter- tion, undertaking repetitive mobilities, maintain-
nal migration streams and counterstreams might ing close social contacts, and building multilocal,
be characterized by the growth of megacities, or transnational networks of kith and kin.
global cities, in which rapid urbanization occurs With increasing globalization, rates of inter-
within national urban hierarchies. The acceler- national migration have grown in recent years.
ated growth of these large conurbations in coun- In 2006, there were 191 million international
tries of the global South occurs as a consequence migrants in the world, with this estimate repre-
of in-migration from rural and urban sources senting more than a twofold increase from
and the accompanying fertility increases of the in- 76 million in 1960. Whereas many countries are
migrant populations. Indeed, the 20th century now “sending sources” of international migra-
witnessed the rapid urbanization of the world’s tion, relatively few countries are the targeted
population, which in 2009 stands at more than hosts of immigration streams, and since immi-
6.7 billion. gration policies invariably restrict and control
Migrants who cross national borders are said entrance to these receiving countries, migrants
to undertake international migration. Immigra- have long sought irregular means of entry and
tion is a relatively permanent move into a differ- access to work “across borders.” Most, however,
ent country from the migrant’s home, whereas pursue legal means of entry, including short- and
&-.'
Annualized Rate
(per 1,000)

Gain 20.0 to 79.1

10.0 to 19.9
No 0.0 to 9.9
change -9.9 to 0.1
19.9 to 10.0
Loss 68.4 to 20.0
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program, 2004.
0 100 Miles 0 100 Miles

Figure 2 Average annual rate of domestic net migration by county: 2000–2004

Source: Perry, M. J. (2006, April). Domestic net migration in the United States: 2000 to 2004 (Current Population Reports) (p. 11, figure 4). Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau. www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p25-1135.pdf.
 MIGR A T IO N &-.(

long-term sojourning, the acquisition of visas for contexts vary and change, thereby rendering this
study, educational advancement and work per- mobility option extremely flexible, ever change-
mission, and often lengthy legal immigration and able and changing. There is now a growing con-
permanent residence petitioning and asylum peti- sensus that multiple theoretical explanations
tioning. Irregular migration is the currently reign, not one all-encompassing single theory,
acceptable label for those undertaking nonlegal though the pathway to this holistic generalization
means of entry, replacing the plethora of xeno- has been built on many informative constructs,
phobic labels that have commonly been used in with some of the most exemplary detailed below.
many a contentious anti-immigration debate, In the late 18th century, Ernest George Raven-
such as “illegals,” “illegal aliens,” “undocu- stein used mixed methods of analysis to induc-
mented,” “unauthorized,” “overstayers,” “clan- tively generate a series of “laws of migration” that
destine entrants,” “failed asylum seekers,” and attempted to explain and predict migration pat-
“unwanted foreigners.” terns both within (internal migration) and
between (international migration) nations. Two
concepts, absorption and dispersion, were derived
Decision Making: Voluntary
to explain county increases and decreases, respec-
Versus Involuntary Migration
tively, as Britain went through its urban-industrial
Migration can also be differentiated according to transformation during the second half of the 19th
the conditions that prompted the decision to century. Ravenstein’s first paper in 1885 proposed
move away from the migrant’s original place of seven “laws of migration” or generalizable regu-
residence, with a dichotomous categorization dis- larities in internal patterns of movement: (1) most
tinguishing a move as either voluntary or invol- migrants only proceed a short distance and
untary, “forced” migration. Voluntary migration toward centers of absorption; (2) as migrants
is often economically driven, is selective by age move toward absorption centers, they leave
and resource endowment, and includes the whole “gaps” that are filled up by migrants from more
range from unskilled workers to highly skilled remote districts, creating migration flows that
workers seeking better opportunities, experiences, reach to “the most remote corner of the king-
and incomes in more distant labor markets than dom”; (3) the process of dispersion is inverse to
the ones they can access by staying in their origi- that of absorption; (4) each main current of
nal homes (including commuting and temporary migration produces a compensating countercur-
work off-farm or in nearby urban centers). Vol- rent; (5) migrants proceeding long distances gen-
untary migration is also a decision made and erally go by preference to one of the great centers
undertaken collectively by migrants and partners, of commerce or industry; (6) the natives of towns
migrant families, and selected members. On the are less migratory than those of the rural parts of
other hand, the migrant’s dependants—infants, the country; and (7) females are more migratory
young children, female partners—who are “tied than males. Several of these original seven laws
movers” can be considered to be migrating invol- included assertions that were later considered
untarily if not involved in the decision making by “additional laws of migration”; (8) most migrants
the household head or patriarch. In short, the are adults; (9) large towns grow more by migra-
social (and gendered) contexts of family power tion than by natural increase; (10) migration
relationships often intervene in decision making increases in volume as industry and commerce
concerned with the migration of families and fam- develop and transportation improves; (11) the
ily members. largest volume of internal migration is rural-urban
migration; and (12) the major determinants of
migration are economic forces.
Theoretical Explanations
This view should remind us that internal migra-
Certain historical and more contemporary expla- tion became an adaptive strategy for rural people
nations of voluntary and involuntary migration in the past centuries, as their agrarian livelihoods
amply demonstrate the richness of explanations were transformed. Ravenstein’s “laws,” however,
of human migration as both historical and spatial did not explain why some rural adults would
&-.) M I GR A T ION

A migrant family waiting in a bus station in Cuiaba, Brazil, in September 1985. During the 1970s and 1980s,
many families such as these immigrated to territories of the Amazon such as Rondonia and Acre in search of a
better life.
Source: Stephanie Maze/Corbis.

move while others would not. For this, Guy exploitation because of a growing sense of depri-
Standing’s conceptual explanation is insightful. vation and despair that things won’t get better
Standing proposed that four conditions needed and because of increases in their disadvantageous
to exist to make peasants in traditional communi- position in contrast to their previous situation.
ties become migrants, the conditions being Changing the scale from internal to interna-
reflected in the decay in the traditional mode of tional mobility, Douglas Massey, in a commen-
exploitation (i.e., feudalism): (1) migration must tary on Mexican international migration and
exist as an acceptable response to adversity or development relations, developed an interesting
frustrated aspirations; (2) peasants come to iden- theoretical construct to explain the prevalence
tify their condition as neither just nor inevitable, of emigration in developing countries. Three
because some reciprocal relationship between structural conditions were said to characterize
them and their feudal landlords has been violated; the development process: (1) the cyclical nature
(3) staying and instigating a revolt is seen as of industrial expansion in urban areas, paired
having a minimal chance of success, because the with the more or less constant pressure for out-
peasants are not organized in their objection migration from rural areas, determined by capi-
to oppression, violence, or economic threats tal formation, enclosure, and market creation,
and they lack communal strength and unity; and which together destroy the basis of peasant
(4) peasants come to reject customary forms of social organization and weaken their ties to rural
 MIGR A T IO N &-.*

communities; (2) discontinuities in economic A growing practice among international crimi-

growth across time and space (i.e., uneven geo- nal groups, syndicates, and organizations is to
graphic distributions within countries and profit from such forced migration by ushering in a
between countries), producing cyclical constric- new form of slavery and coercion in which the
tions of opportunity in developing urban econo- migrants are treated as disposable commodities.
mies paired with expansions of opportunities in These underground organizations prey on young
growing (metropolitan/core) economies abroad; women and children by offering hope, while trick-
and (3) declining real costs of transportation ing, brutalizing, and selling them into prostitution
and communication, actualized by increasing and sex working, sweatshop labor, and similar
access to reliable and affordable systems. illicit, dehumanizing and/or dangerous occupa-
Discussing the dynamic deepening of the tions in which they have little autonomy or basic
Mexico-U.S. migration system, Massey also ex- rights and human dignities. The International
plained why there is a tendency for international Labour Office has recently estimated that at least
emigration to become progressively independent 12 million people work as slaves or in other forms
of the economic conditions that originally caused of forced labor and as many as 2.5 million are in
it, referring to this maturing of the migration sys- forced labor as the result of cross-border traffick-
tem as the result of cumulative causation. Three ing, with approximately half being employed
mutually reinforcing processes appear to be at against their wills in sex trafficking.
work in this transformational dynamic: (1) trans-
national network formation; (2) agrarian trans- Dennis Conway
formation, via emigrant earnings, remittances,
and returnee “demonstration effects”; and (3) the See also Commuting; Gravity Model; Immigration;
evolution over time of deprivation and impover- Mobility; Rural-Urban Migration
ishment in source communities.
Now, finally, returning to forced migration,
this label has become a suitable categorization of Further Readings
a range of global movements in which an element
of coercion exists, including threats to life and Boyle, P., Halfacree, K., & Robinson,V. (1998).
livelihood arising from biophysical or social/ Exploring contemporary migration. Harlow, UK:
anthropogenic crises—environmental disasters, Pearson Education.
chemical or nuclear disasters, famine, civil war, Conway, D. (2006). Globalization of labor: Increasing
genocide, or development-induced displacement. complexity, more unruly. In D. Conway &
Natural disasters, environmental degradation and N. Heynen (Eds.), Globalization’s contradictions:
destruction, warfare, civil strife, banditry, warlord Geographies of discipline, destruction and
enmity, genocide, and every imaginable horror transformation (pp. 79–94). London: Routledge.
brought about by military power struggles and the International Organization for Migration. (2005).
accompanying “collateral damage,” which threat- World migration report 2005: Costs and benefits
ens and kills local civilian populations, are con- of international migration. Geneva: Author.
temporary forces instigating and perpetuating Kosiński, L., & Mansell Prothero, R. (1975). People
such involuntary, forced migrations. Refugees, on the move: Studies on internal migration.
asylum seekers, internally displaced persons London: Methuen.
(IDPs), and development-induced and environ- Massey, D. (1988). Economic development and inter-
mental-disaster-displaced persons are some of the national migration in comparative perspective. Pop-
main groups forced to flee their homelands and ulation and Development Review, 14(3), 383–414.
seek asylum beyond their nation’s borders. A Ravenstein, E. (1885). The laws of migration. Journal
majority of these displaced persons and refugees of the Statistical Society, 48(2), 167–219.
are the rural poor and powerless in the global Stalker, P. (2000). Workers without frontiers: The
South—Africa, Asia, and Latin America—who impact of globalization on international
have consistently suffered from disruption, migration. Boulder, CO: Lynne Reinner.
destruction, and displacement in recent decades.
&-.+ M I LI T A RY G E OG RAPHY

than 20 books; the most important of his works

Standing, G. (1981). Migration and modes of were his 1890 The Influence of Sea Power Upon
exploitation. Journal of Peasant Studies, 8, History, 1660–1783 and its 1892 companion,
173–211. The Influence of Sea Power Upon History: The
Williams, P. (1999). Illegal immigration and French Revolution and Empire, 1793–1812.
commercial sex: The new slave trade. London: Mahan’s writings, coupled with those of the Brit-
Frank Cass. ish geographer Halford Mackinder, were also
influential in the development of both political
geography and geopolitics.
Throughout the 20th century, military geogra-
phy has been significantly influenced not only by
MILITARY GEOGRAPHY changing technologies (e.g., air photos, remote
sensing, geographic information systems) but also
Military geography generally applies the concepts by military conflicts. Indeed, it is often impossible
and techniques of geography to the study of mili- to disentangle these two external influences on
tary problems, situations, and activities. It exam- the development of military geography. During
ines, among other things, the causal effects of World War I, for example, geographers provided
physical geography (e.g., terrain, climate) on mili- written descriptions of the physical landscapes
tary battles, campaigns, and wars. More recent involved in military campaigns. Other geogra-
developments in the discipline, however, have phers participated in the 1919 Paris Peace Con-
broadened the scope of military geography to ference, which led to the Treaty of Versailles, and
include the study of military operations other in the subsequent attempts to redraw the political
than war (known by the acronym MOOTW), as boundaries of postwar Europe. Academically,
well as the impacts of militarism on societies and military geographers produced numerous writ-
the environment and also the use of environmen- ings, emphasizing the applied and practical
tal resources as components of military-related aspects of geography for the study of military-
activities. related problems. The works of D. W. Johnson—
Military geography is intimately associated Topography and Strategy in the War (1917) and
with the development of the discipline, an associ- Battlefields of the World War, Western and
ation that dates far back to early Greece. Thucy- Southern Fronts: A Study in Military Geography
dides’s account of the Peloponnesian War (1921)—epitomize much of the work of military
(431–404 BCE), for example, is an early appli- geographers during this period.
cation of geographic perspectives to the study of After World War II, the wartime experiences
military activities. From a non-Western per- of many geographers led to significant changes
spective, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War may also be within and beyond academia. During the war,
considered an early example of military geogra- for example, many governmental agencies sought
phy. The birth of “modern” military geography, persons with the diversity of training and educa-
though, is generally marked by Théophile tion that the study of geography provided. Hun-
Lavellée’s Géographie Physique, Historique et dreds of geographers were engaged in the war
Militaire (1836) and Albrecht von Roon’s Milita- effort, being employed in the Office of Strategic
rische Landerbeschreiburg von Europa (1837). Services (OSS), the War Department, the Intelli-
These two publications firmly established the gence Division, and the Army Map Service.
connection between military campaigns, imperi- Women also contributed to the application of
alism, and the formation of the nation-state in geographic perspectives and techniques to mili-
Europe. In the United States, W. C. Brown is tary problems, notably in the fields of mapping
credited with publishing the first text on military and surveying. Within academia, geographers
geography, although it was the writings of Alfred applied their research activities to studies that
Thayer Mahan that provided the main American would have a direct bearing on military-related
contributions to the emergent field of military problems. R. A. Bagnold’s Physics of Blown
geography. A naval historian, Mahan wrote more Sand and Desert Dunes (1941), for example,
 MILIT A R Y GEOGR A PH Y &-.,

was very important for military planning related scope of military geography, to include, more
to the North African campaign—namely, how explicitly, studies of peace and peacetime opera-
mechanized vehicles would operate in Aeolian tions, nuclear disarmament, and the diffusion of
environments. arms and arms manufacture. Especially notewor-
World War II, and the contributions of mili- thy are two edited volumes: David Pepper and Alan
tary geographers, also provided a catalyst to more Jenkins’s The Geography of Peace and War (1985)
far-reaching changes in the structure of academic and Colin Flint’s The Geography of War and
geography. For example, the efforts of F. Webster Peace: From Death Camps to Diplomats (2005).
McBryde (who was employed in the War Depart- The changing terrain of military geography
ment) led to the formation of the American Soci- was given impetus by a series of seminal publica-
ety for Professional Geographers (an association tions in the early 21st century. Among these was
that later merged with the long-standing and Rachel Woodward’s 2005 article, “From Military
more research-oriented Association of American Geography to Militarism’s Geographies: Disci-
Geographers). Equally important were the writ- plinary Engagements with the Geographies of
ings of individuals such as Edward Ackerman and Militarism and Military Activities” in Progress in
Fred Schaefer, who argued that regional geogra- Human Geography. Woodward makes a distinc-
phers, as a whole, were not well trained as social tion between military geography and “milita-
scientists and that geography, as an applied disci- rism’s geographies,” where the latter refers to
pline, required a greater emphasis on, and train-
ing in, systematic specialties. Consequently, the the shaping of civilian space and social relations
military experiences of World War II, and of the by military objectives, rationales and structures,
geographers who participated in many facets of either as part of the deliberate extension of mili-
that conflict, facilitated the growth of a more tary influence into civilian spheres of life and the
systematic—and nomothetic—approach to geog- prioritizing of military institutions, or as a
raphy and a move away from regional geography. byproduct of those processes. (p. 721)
Subsequent and continued advances in quanti-
tative methods and air photo interpretation A revitalized military geography has led many
remained techniques of the subfield. scholars to cast a critical eye inward. The works
Just as World War II heralded a blossoming of Trevor Barnes, Matthew Farish, and Trevor
of military geography, the tumultuous events of Paglen, for example, critically examined the nexus
the 1960s—especially America’s involvement in of geography and the military-industrial complex
the Vietnam War—led to a decline in military and highlighted the symbiosis that exists between
geography as a subfield. Traditional work did war, imperialism, and geography. Geographers
continue, but geography as a whole moved have also transformed traditional areas of inquiry
away. As Eugene Palka (2003) writes, “Con- within the subfield. Military geographers, for
tributing to the war effort in Vietnam came to example, have long worked at the intersections of
be regarded as irresponsible by many members human and physical geography. Traditionally,
of the AAG,” and consequently, the “contro- this work emphasized the impact of physical pro-
versy surrounding the Vietnam War cast a per- cesses, such as terrain and climate, on the conduct
sistent shadow on military geography throughout of military campaigns and battles. More recent
the 1970s” (p. 506). work, though, has examined the political econ-
The end of the Cold War, and the hegemonic omy of environmental resources (e.g., oil and dia-
rise of the United States as the sole global monds) and how these resources contribute to
superpower, contributed to a renewed—and military conflicts.
reworked—military geography. “Classical”
James Tyner
studies of military geography continued, as
exemplified by the writings of Palka, Arnon
Soffer, Julian Minghi, and Harold Winters. See also Geopolitics; Mackinder, Sir Halford; Mahan,
However, the late 20th and early 21st centu- Alfred Thayer; Military Spending; Political Geography;
ries also have witnessed an enlargement of the Terrorism, Geography of; War, Geography of
&-.- M I LI T A RY SPE ND ING

Further Readings Institute’s annual SIPRI Yearbook 2007, the

aggregate military expenditure by all national
Ackerman, E. (1945). Geographic training, wartime governments in 2006 was $1.024 billion in
research, and immediate professional objectives. market exchange rate (MER) terms. Adjusted
Annals of the Association of American for inflation, this figure marked a 37% growth
Geographers, 35, 121–143. in military budgets since 1997. This level of
Flint, C. (Ed.). (2005). The geography of war and increased military spending follows a long trend
peace: From death camps to diplomats. Oxford, that dates to World War II and that greatly
UK: Oxford University Press. accelerated during the Cold War. The levels of
Le Billon, P. (2000). The political economy of military spending over the past 60 years have
transition in Cambodia 1989–1999: War, peace been—and continue to be—a dynamic force
and forest exploitation. Development and Change, that has deeply altered the fabric of social,
31(4), 785–805. political, spatial, and economic relationships,
Le Billon, P. (2001). The political ecology of war: from the scale of the local to that of the global.
Natural resources and armed conflict. Political There are four fundamental aspects of military
Geography, 20, 561–584. expenditures. First, high levels of military expen-
Palka, E. (2003). Military geography. In G. Gaile & diture are a prerequisite for the geopolitical power
Cort J. Willmott (Eds.), Geography in America at of a nation-state, a point exemplified by a global
the dawn of the 21st century. Oxford, UK: U.S. hegemony, which is founded upon enormous
Oxford University Press. levels of military spending. Second, preparation
Palka, E., & Galgano, F. (Eds.). (2005). Military for war has increasingly integrated private firms,
geography: From peace to war. Dubuque, IA: modern production practices, and technological
McGraw-Hill. innovation with government spending. This mix-
Pepper, D., & Jenkins, A. (Eds.). (1985). The ture has created a military-industrial complex
geography of peace and war. Oxford, UK: dedicated to the production of arms. Third, mili-
Blackwell. tary spending has spatially reorganized local,
Soffer, A., & Minghi, J. (1986). Israel’s security national, and global economies in a manner quite
landscapes: The impact of military considerations different from that of the civilian economy.
on land uses. The Professional Geographer, 38, Fourth, high levels of military spending accelerate
28–41. the international proliferation of advanced weap-
Winters, H. (1998). Battling the elements: Weather onry. Finally, there are significant methodologi-
and terrain in the conduct of war. Baltimore: cal problems inherent in all military expenditures
Johns Hopkins University Press. data that must be addressed in geographical
Woodward, R. (2004). Military geographies. New research, especially given the polemical debate
York: Wiley. that often infuses popular discourses on national
Woodward, R. (2005). From military geography to spending.
militarism’s geographies: Disciplinary
engagements with the geographies of militarism Military Spending and the
and military activities. Progress in Human Production of Geopolitical Power
Geography, 29, 718–740.
Ranking national military expenditures in MER
terms, when combined with similar data from
previous years, reveals the close link between mil-
itary spending and the production of global geo-
MILITARY SPENDING political power. The major military spender in
2008 was the United States, with $6.071 billion.
Military expenditures, broadly defined, are the This accounts for 41% of world military spend-
aggregate funds spent by a national govern- ing in the same year. China, with $84.9 billion,
ment for military-related purposes. According came in second. France and the United Kingdom
to the Stockholm International Peace Research each spent roughly $65 billion, putting them in
 MILIT A R Y SP ENDIN G &-..

Spending, Increase, Spending World

Region 2008 ($ b.) 1999–2008 (%) Rank Country ($ b.) Share (%)

Africa 20.4 40 USA 607

1 41.5
North Africa 7.8 94 China [84.9]
2 [5.8]
Sub-Saharan 12.6 19 France 65.7
3 4.5
UK 65.3
Americas 603 64 4 4.5
Russia [58.6]
Caribbean .. 5 [4.0]
Germany 46.8
Central America 4.5 21 6 3.2
Japan 46.3
North America 564 66 7 3.2
Italy 40.6
South America 34.1 50 8 2.8
Saudi Arabia 38.2
9 2.6
Asia and Oceania 206 52 India 30
10 2.1
Central Asia .. .. World total 1464
East Asia 157 56
Oceania 16.6 36 Table 2 The top 10 military spenders, 2008
South Asia 30.9 41
Source: Petter Stålenheim, P., Kelly, N., Perdomo, C.,
Europe 320 14 Perlo-Freeman, S., & Sköns, E. (2009). Appendix 5A.
Military expenditure data, 1999–2008. In SIPRI yearbook
Eastern 43.6 174 2009: Armaments, disarmaments, and international security.
West and Central 277 5 Retrieved February 4, 2010, from www.sipri.org/yearbook/
2009/05/05A. Copyright © Stockholm International Peace
Middle East 75.6 56 Research Institute.
World total 1226 45 Note: [ ] = SIPRI estimate. The spending figures are in current
U.S. dollars.

Table 1 National military spending

Source: Petter Stålenheim, P., Kelly, N., Perdomo, C., spent in China will purchase significantly more
Perlo-Freeman, S., & Sköns, E. (2009). Appendix 5A.
Military expenditure data, 1999–2008. In SIPRI yearbook armaments or military services than the equiva-
2009: Armaments, disarmaments, and international security. lent amount spent in the United States. Equaliz-
Retrieved February 4, 2010, from www.sipri.org/yearbook/ ing national differences in costs tends to reduce
2009/05/05A. Copyright © Stockholm International Peace
Research Institute. the relative size of military expenditures in
Western Europe and Japan and raise the rank-
Note: To allow comparison over time, the above spending
figures are in U.S. dollars at constant (2005) prices. ings of poorer countries such as China, India,
Russia, and Saudi Arabia. Notwithstanding this
caveat, it should be immediately apparent that
third and fourth place, respectively. Russia ranked the current U.S. hegemony in world affairs is
fifth, with $58.6 billion. Russia’s status marks a due, in large part, to its unparalleled dedication
stark contrast to the position of the former USSR, funding its military.
which typically vied with the United States for the These enormous expenditures, particularly
title of the world’s biggest military spender dur- those of the United States, are the root of all mod-
ing the Cold War. ern geopolitical power. They have also created a
Although Tables 1 and 2 give estimates of historically novel military-industrial complex
military spending in constant U.S. dollars, esti- dedicated to the manufacture of the weapons of
mates of relative expenditure levels can also be war, which has extended the social effects of mili-
given in terms of purchasing parity power (PPP), tary spending well beyond the battlefield and into
which reflects national differences in the costs the fabric of civil society.
of weapons systems. Expressing military expen-
ditures in PPP terms is necessary because there
The Military-Industrial Complex
are vast differences among states in the quanti-
ties of capital and labor that a given amount of Aggregate military expenditure figures break
funds can purchase. For example, $100 billion down into numerous subcategories, including
&.%% M I LI T A RY SPE ND ING

labor and health care costs for personnel; opera- scientific research ushered in a new era of innova-
tions and management costs for logistical man- tion led by military innovation that emphasized
agement; procurement costs for new weapons, not the capacity to manufacture arms per se, but
hardware, ammunition, and other supplies; rather the extension of weapons capabilities on
research, design, testing, and engineering the battlefield through technological innovation.
(RDT&E) costs of designing new weapon sys- Moreover, the new commitment to innovation
tems; and construction and maintenance costs for enshrined in rapidly increasing military RDT&E
bases, supply depots, and housing for personnel. expenditures focused on the creation of “smart
Labor, operations and management, health care, weapons” through the use of electronics and com-
and construction costs are a significant portion of puters. The result was a blizzard of technological
most military spending, particularly within the advancements in weapons capabilities, many of
United States, where military service members which found their way into the civilian sector,
receive free housing and health care. This entry including, for example, microcomputers, an out-
concentrates on the effects of procurement and growth of mechanical calculators designed to
RDT&E expenditures, since it is these two cate- compute artillery ballistic tables; the Internet, ini-
gories that have had the most profound impacts. tially a project of the U.S. Defense Advanced
This phenomenon lies in the heart of what Presi- Research Projects Agency; satellite surveillance
dent Dwight Eisenhower called the “military-in- and communications technologies, including
dustrial complex,” and it is radically dissimilar to global positioning systems and remote sensing
any other segment of the global economy in form technologies; and the vast majority of early avia-
and function. tion advancement, including the jet engine, to
World War II introduced substantial changes name a few. The age of the ICBM and cruise mis-
in the material preconditions for battlefield supe- sile had begun.
riority. Militant nationalism and the implementa- Tracing the historical trajectory of the global
tion of Fordist production practices produced a military-industrial economy makes clear the link
new model of warfare in which military victory between procurement and RDT&E spending and
was suddenly predicated on industrial capacity. the creation of a distinct sector of the economy.
Large-scale industrial production of armaments Measured in terms of the total value of all domes-
became a prerequisite to national survival, and tic and international arms sales, in 2006 U.S.
mechanized weapons of war began rolling off companies represented 40 of the largest 100
assembly lines in large volumes. Producing these armament manufacturers, another 32 firms were
weapons in prodigious numbers necessitated co- based in Western Europe, and yet another 6 were
opting civilian resources, production lines, and Japanese. These combined to form 78 of the 100
technological knowledge at a scale achievable largest arms companies in the world, all found
only by a national government directly managing within countries typically viewed as bastions of
the civilian economy. This style of industrial man- democratic freedom; an additional nine firms
agement birthed a novel relationship between the were Russian and three were from India.
private and the public sectors of the economy: the The historical and empirical links between mil-
military-industrial sector, comprised of nominally itary spending and arms manufacturing fore-
civilian businesses dedicated to production of ground the single most salient feature of military
complex, mechanized armaments, funded through expenditures: an institutionalized relationship
military procurement budgets. between government and industry that, while
The detonation of the atomic bombs over Hiro- mediated by money, is fundamentally political in
shima and Nagasaki in 1945, and the ensuing nature. Much of the economic literature is steeped
Cold War tensions between the United States and in neoclassical economic discourse, which has a
USSR, marked another watershed moment in the tendency to misapply market-based economic
practices that underlie modern preparations for theory to a structurally unique segment of the
warfare. Globally, military budgets declined only economy. This error obfuscates the fundamental
briefly after World War II, and rose with the differences between the military-industrial sector
Korean War. The massive influx of capital into and the civilian economy, particularly a “market”
 MILIT A R Y SP ENDIN G &.%&

characterized by a monopsony (the Defense the capability of each successive generation of

Department) and oligopolistic arms producers. weaponry is becoming increasingly difficult, and,
This critique is further extended by recognizing hence, increasingly expensive.
the argument that that the pricing mechanism Concurrent with, and partially as a response
commonly utilized by national governments in to, the escalating unit cost of weapon systems is
procurement and RDT&E is significantly differ- an increasingly oligopolistic industry structure,
ent from the operations of the market economy, coupled with a process of subcontracting the pro-
particularly those inherent to economies of scale. duction of dual-use technologies, that is, products
Needless to say, governments are reluctant to with military applications that are manufactured
purchase multimillion-dollar weapon systems for the civilian market. The roll call of defense
when a significant percentage might be defective; mergers from 1990 to 2001 is telling: The total
not only is it a wasted expenditure, it also has the number of U.S. firms capable of producing
potential to be disastrous if a weapon fails at a advanced fighter/bomber aircraft declined from
critical point in battle. Thus, the practice of “cost- nine to two; the total number of missile manufac-
plus” contracting arose as a common method to turers fell from 14 to 4, with only one company
minimize defect rates. Under the cost-plus system, capable of producing air-to-air missiles; firms
national governments agree to pay all of the costs with the capability of producing space-launch
of design and production, including overruns, in vehicles fell from six to two; and the manufactur-
addition to a profit which is determined as a per- ers of major avionic subsystems were, in many
centage of those costs. The emphasis is not placed cases, bought by the dominant aerospace contrac-
on obtaining a weapon at the lowest price, but on tors. Consequentially, U.S. defense contracting
buying weapons that work irrespective of cost. increasingly resembles a monopoly-monopsony
The ultimate effect, however, is to expressly sub- relationship—the very antithesis of the competi-
vert the normal operations of supply and demand tive market. This process of consolidation is para-
common in civilian markets. doxically coupled with an expansion in
Typically, military expenditures are expressed subcontracting, since advanced weapons require
as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP). an increasing number of intermediate inputs
This approach, however, underestimates military (which themselves require high-tech inputs in
spending. Unlike the bulk of government spend- turn). The new defense megafirms outsource pro-
ing, these expenditures are not transfer payments, duction in an effort to reduce costs and maximize
nor are they investments in infrastructure that is profit. Unfortunately, good data on subcontract-
indirectly productive (e.g., roads and bridges). ing practices do not exist, but the available data
Yet such expenditures do not belong in any of the suggest that defense firms, due to the specialized
“private” categories either, differing in two major nature of their products, tend to subcontract with
ways: the civilian macroeconomy is comprised of each other rather than with other industries. The
many actors making numerous and diverse small arms industry in Western Europe, too, has under-
investments, whereas military expenditures repre- gone consolidation and intensive subcontracting,
sent a vast flow of capital directed at significant with, for example, pan-European defense con-
fewer projects. Moreover, RDT&E spending is tractors Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems, and
immune to the normal constraints common to EADS forming a consortium to manufacture
normal economic markets, which ensures that Europe’s next-generation fighter aircraft, the
contractors can maintain unpromising avenues of Eurofighter Typhoon.
research well past the point at which they would Despite the massive structural changes in the
have been terminated in the civilian market. industry and increasing unit costs, profits in the
The cost of each new generation of weapons is defense industry remain high and continue to
dramatically accelerating over time. Accelerating grow. These expenditures ultimately determine
costs, driven by the increasing emphasis on high- the size and shape of the defense industry, since
technology aerospace innovations and cost-plus there is no civilian demand for missiles or tanks.
contracting, are a key factor driving the contin- Moreover, it is unclear whether current levels of
ued expansion of military spending. Expanding investment in RDT&E and armament production
&.%' M I LI T A RY SPE ND ING

can continue unabated, and the implications of whose inhabitants are dependent upon the pros-
this trend for the current military powers are perity of aerospace giant Boeing. Because it is
indeterminate at best; the U.S. government, in largely divorced from the wider operations of the
particular, has begun to struggle under a moun- civilian economy, military spending has the poten-
tain of debt incurred in funding its advanced tial to create local prosperity in the midst of a
weapons programs. wider economic recession, or local decline during
a period of national prosperity—geographic vari-
ations that would otherwise be inexplicable.
Geographic Patterns of
Markusen notes that there are two general pat-
Military Expenditures
terns to defense spending in the United States.
Because of their role in the military-industrial During the Cold War, military spending tends to
sector, military expenditures have produced focus on the Gunbelt itself, with funds going to
numerous ancillary effects at a wide variety of high-tech aerospace manufacturers and RDT&E
spatial scales. At the subnational scale, such research facilities primarily located on the west
spending produces substantial variation in local coast and in Texas. During times of “hot” war,
and regional economic structure and growth. At many more contracts go to traditional manufac-
the global scale, military expenditures have pro- turing regions states, where stocks of ammunition
duced a burgeoning international arms trade. and other low-tech ordinance are replenished via
Each of these components has its own, distinc- low-tech mass production.
tive geography.
IgVchcVi^dcVa>beVXih
>beVXih^ci]ZJc^iZYHiViZh
Military expenditures also produce transna-
In The Rise of the Gunbelt: The Military tional variations, in the form of a distinctive pat-
Remapping of Industrial America, Ann Markusen tern in arms trade. National governments, seeking
documents the creation of a distinctive subregion to prevent local job losses and keep their military-
within the United States, the titular “Gunbelt” of industrial base “warm” during times of peace,
America. In Markusen’s view, the Gunbelt— increasingly use exports as a means to encourage
centered on the “holster” of Texas and stretching private arms production. Direct transfers among
down the west coast, through the South, and up countries are the sale or gift of a complete weapon
the eastern seaboard—accounts for most of the or weapon system, whereas licensed production
regional economic variations within the United involves the underlying sale or transfer of produc-
States. In particular, military RDT&E and pro- tion techniques and associated technologies nec-
curement expenditures, which heavily favor the essary to actually make a particular weapons
Gunbelt states, have actively contributed to the system. The United States leads the world in both
decline of traditional manufacturing regions of categories of arms transfers and is the largest dis-
the north and actively created a new locus of U.S. tributor of all major weapons systems, and the
industrial capacity, particularly in the West. This recipient nations that it favors tend to receive the
process has both shifted industrial capacity and bulk of the global flow in arms. Small arms, which
motivated U.S. citizens to relocate internally as require much less in the way of technology to
they follow the numerous employment opportu- manufacture, are a scourge all by themselves; they
nities created by the defense industry. High levels are, however, easy to make, cheap to buy, and
of defense expenditures also inject money into almost impossible to track. Stemming the tide of
localities, which can have a positive effect on local conventional weaponry flowing from the indus-
economic prosperity. Contrariwise, the decision trialized world is an almost intractable problem,
to cancel the flow of military funds into a region however, since reductions in national military
can be disastrous for cities and towns dependent budgets counterintuitively produce an increasing
upon them; the loss of contracts for aerospace volume of international transfers, as national mil-
contracts would, for example, have serious impli- itaries sell off stocks of older weapons to make up
cations for the prosperity of Seattle, many of for budgetary shortfalls.
 MILIT A R Y SP ENDIN G &.%(

Defense Spending
Percentage of National Average
0% - 25%
25.1% - 50%
50.1% - 99.9%
100% - 676.3%

Figure 1 The Gunbelt in 2008. The majority of U.S. military expenditures are concentrated in the South and
West.
Source: Adapted from data in U.S. Department of Defense. (2008). Projected defense purchases: Detail by industry and state,
calendar years 2008 through 2013 [Online]. Retrieved March 8, 2009, from www.ra.pae.osd.mil/ra/DEPPS2008.pdf.

The Veracity of Expenditure Data allotted to the Department of Energy, not the
Department of Defense, and the donation of mil-
Great care is necessary to responsibly utilize mili- itary hardware or supply of military loans to
tary expenditure data, particularly given the cul- foreign governments is often handled by the
ture of secrecy and polemical popular discourse Department of State. The federal budget for mili-
surrounding the subject. Even when a dedicated tary spending also excludes civil defense costs,
third party devotes significant efforts to itemizing paramilitary organizations such as the National
military spending, definitions of what constitute a Guard, demobilization and disarmament costs,
military expenditure vary widely by source. current expenditures for past military activities,
There are numerous ways to decrease military and veterans’ benefits and health care are sepa-
spending on paper, especially when relying on rately funded by the Veterans Administration
totals self-reported by a national government; and classified as civilian expenditures. The exclu-
differing methods of aggregation will produce sion of these items produces a substantial under-
substantially different aggregate totals. Within valuation for the largest military budget in the
the U.S. federal budget, for example, there are world, and ignores one of the fastest growing
numerous items that are reported as civilian budgets within the U.S. government (the Depart-
expenditures, but are actually earmarked for ment of Homeland Security), as well as all expen-
dedicated military projects. For example, fund- ditures dedicated to servicing debt accrued during
ing for nuclear weapons research is technically military buildups or wars.
&.%) M I LI T A RY SPE ND ING

16

14

12

10

0
1948

1951

1954

1957

1960

1963

1966

1969

1972

1975

1978

1981

1984

1987

1990

1993

1996

1999

2002

2005
Figure 2 U.S. defense budget as percent of GDP. Although it has declined to roughly 5% of GDP, the official
Defense Department budget excludes numerous items such as veterans’ benefits, military foreign aid, spy
satellites, and research on nuclear weapons.
Source: Author.

This problem expands enormously in complex- Further Readings

ity as it expands in scale, with each country pos-
sessing a different language(s), governmental Brzoska, M. (2004). The economics of arms imports
idiosyncrasies and budgetary conventions. As a after the end of the cold war. Defence and Peace
rule of thumb, however, aggregate data tend to Economics, 15(2), 111–123.
reflect a substantial undervaluation of military Cypher, J. (2007, June). From military Keynesianism
budgets in Western Europe, the United States, and to global-neoliberal militarism. Monthly Review,
Japan, and overvaluation in the rest of the world. pp. 37–55.
Dowdy, J. (1997). Winners and losers in the arms
industry downturn. Foreign Policy, 107, 88–101.
Conclusion Markusen, A. (1991). The rise of the gunbelt: The
Despite the continued expansion of global mili- military remapping of industrial America. New
tary expenditures, normative political discourse York: Oxford University Press.
among the nations of the West, most especially Sandler, T., & Hartley, K. (2007). Handbook of
within the United States, tends to minimize the defense economics. Volume 2, Defense in a
financial cost of developing, outfitting and sup- globalized world (Handbooks in Economics, 12).
porting modern militaries. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
S. Willis Bassett (SIPRI). (2007). SIPRI yearbook 2007:
Armaments, disarmaments, and international
See also Economic Geography; Military Geography; security. New York: Oxford University Press.
Neoliberalism; War, Geography of
 MINERALS &.%*

Miller has served on numerous national and

Warf, B., & Grimes, J. (1997). The distribution of international organizations, reflective of his areas
military expenditures in the United States: Spatial, of interest and expertise. Nationally, he serves on
technological, occupational, and sectoral. In the Committee on Geographic Information Sci-
J. Brauer & W. Gissy (Eds.), Economics of conflict ence and Applications, Transportation Research
and peace (pp. 83–103). London: Avebury Press. Board (2003–2005, board member; 2005–2011,
cochair); he has been on the board of the Univer-
sity Consortium for Geographic Information Sci-
ence (2000–2003) and on a policy committee of
the National Research Council to identify data
MILLER, HARVEY J. (1962– ) needs for place-based decision making. Interna-
tionally, he serves on several editorial boards,
Harvey J. Miller is well known and respected for including being the North American Editor for
his research involving time-geography, transpor- the International Journal of Geographical Infor-
tation, and spatial analysis and modeling. His mation Science (2000–2004).
research in time-geography has built on the work
Elizabeth A. Wentz
of Torsten Hagerstrand by analyzing space-time
accessibility. Miller’s research involves exploring
See also Regional Science; Spatial Interaction Models;
both theoretical concepts and methodological
Time-Geography; Transportation Geography
approaches to better understand how individuals
make decisions in a given environment and the
patterns that emerge as a result. He emphasizes
the need and the potential for people-based spa- Further Readings
tial analysis to better represent the dynamics of
individual activity patterns in both space and Miller, H. (1991). Modeling accessibility using
time. One application has been substantive con- space-time prism concepts within geographical
tributions to transportation geography. He has information systems. International Journal
built methods for using space-time accessibility of Geographical Information Systems, 5,
measures to evaluate the flow of traffic to miti- 287–301.
gate congestion. His research accomplishments Miller, H. (1999). Potential contributions of spatial
have been recognized with several awards, includ- analysis to geographic information systems for
ing the Geoffrey J. D. Hewings Award from the transportation (GIS-T). Geographical Analysis,
North American Regional Science Council in 31, 373–399.
1997 and a Superior Research Award from the Miller, H. (2005). What about people in geographic
University of Utah in 2004. information science? In P. Fisher & D. Unwin
Miller is currently a professor of geography (Eds.), Re-presenting geographical information
and chair of the Department of Geography at the systems (pp. 215–242). New York: Wiley.
University of Utah. His education began at Kent Miller, H., & Wentz, E. (2003). Representation and
State University, where he earned a Bachelor of spatial analysis in geographic information systems.
Arts degree in 1985, followed by a Master’s of Annals of the Association of American
Arts degree in geography in 1987. In 1991, he Geographers, 93(3), 574–594.
earned his PhD in geography from Ohio State
University. On completing his doctorate, he
became an assistant professor at the University of
Utah, where he has continued on as department
chair. He has influenced and shaped much of the MINERALS
department’s reputation in quantitative analysis
and modeling in urban economic geography, The International Mineralogical Association
population migration, biogeography, and natural (IMA) defines a mineral species as an element or
hazards. chemical compound that is normally crystalline
&.%+ M I N ER AL S

and that has formed as a result of geological and gold (cubic Au) are familiar examples. There
processes. There are currently about 4,100 such are, however, a few exceptions to the rule. For
species known. But minerals are more than just example, native mercury is considered a mineral
chemical elements and compounds. They are even though it is normally liquid at ordinary tem-
the building blocks of the rocks that form moun- peratures, and opal is a mineral, although it is
tain chains and the sands of deserts and beaches. frequently amorphous and contains a variable
Minerals, and the rocks they constitute, record amount of water. But for the vast majority of
the history of the Earth and are the source of minerals, the IMA definition works well. Thus,
the metals and raw materials on which our diamond is a mineral, but coal is not; ice is a min-
everyday lives so greatly depend. Minerals are eral, but water is not.
the enablers of civilization. They have been used Together, the chemical composition and crys-
by humans from the Stone Age through today. tal structure of a mineral define it as a particular
Minerals are useful for one of two reasons: They species and determine all of its chemical and
either have a useful property (e.g., talc is soft, physical properties. Mineralogists classify min-
inert, and white, rendering it useful as a cos- erals according to their chemistry (e.g., sulfides,
metic) or contain an important element (e.g., oxides, carbonates). Within each chemical divi-
chalcopyrite [CuFeS2] is an important ore of sion are individual groups of minerals based on
copper). The first group comprises the indus- similarity of their atomic structures. The classifi-
trial minerals, whereas the second is often cation hierarchy is simple, consisting of only
referred to as the ore minerals. three levels: (1) group, (2) species, and (3) vari-
ety. A common example is the calcite group,
which includes various species such as calcite,
siderite, magnesite, and rhodochrosite, among
Characteristics and Classification
others (see second photo). These minerals all
The characteristic criteria of minerals are implicit have similar structures and a general formula
in their geological definition: Minerals are natu- M2+CO3, where M2+ is a divalent metal cation,
rally occurring, are solid, have a definite chemical such as Ca2+, Fe2+, Mg2+, or Mn2+. When Ca2+ is
composition and an orderly crystal structure, and the dominant cation, the species is calcite; if Fe2+
are typically inorganic. Quartz (hexagonal SiO2), predominates, the species is siderite; and Mg2+
halite (or rock salt, cubic NaCl; see first photo), and Mn2+ result in magnesite and rhodochrosite,
respectively. Sometimes a particular color vari-
ant or other distinguishing feature earns a spe-
cies a varietal name. Thus, colorless calcite is
known as “Iceland spar,” whereas red corun-
dum is ruby, and purple quartz is amethyst.
Minerals derive their names from several
sources, and those proposed for new species
being described today must be approved by the
IMA before they are generally accepted by the
scientific community. There are few hard-and-
fast rules dictating how a mineral should be
named. Some are named after people (e.g., mill-
erite [see third photo] for W. H. Miller, a famous
British mineralogist), while others are named for
geographic places (e.g., calumetite for Calumet,
Michigan, where it was first found). Minerals
The outward appearance of these halite crystals is a such as cavansite (a calcium vanadium silicate)
consequence of their internal cubic structure. or nahpoite (NaHPO 4) derive their names
Source: Photograph taken by author of specimen at the from their chemical compositions, while others,
A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum. such as hematite, are named for their physical
 MINER AL S &.%,

8
9

Cleavage rhombs of calcite group species (A) siderite, (B) magnesite, (C) rhodochrosite, and (D) calcite
Source: Photograph taken by author of specimen at the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum.

appearance. Hematite commonly occurs in charge, various elements may be incorporated

earthy red masses (in Greek, haimatitis means into its structure as the crystal grows. Some may
blood red). Magnetite is highly magnetic, and act as chromophores, absorbing specific wave-
azurite is azure blue. One species, minrecordite, lengths of light, thereby imparting different colors
is even named after a popular journal, the Min- to the original mineral. While the atomic struc-
eralogical Record. ture dictates which elements it might accept, it is
Because of their different atomic structures, the composition of the fluids available to the
variable compositions, and different environ- growing crystal that determines whether or not
ments of formation, crystals of various minerals those elements are present. Sometimes, certain
can assume myriad shapes and colors. The out- dissolved impurities may prevent the growth of
ward overall appearance of a crystal is known as one particular crystal face from developing in
its “habit” and is governed by both intrinsic and favor of another, leading to distorted crystals.
extrinsic factors. Intrinsically, a mineral’s atomic Additional extrinsic factors such as the presence
structure plays a significant role in governing its or absence of fluxing elements, temperature, pH,
outward appearance. It determines what symme- and time have an influence on the final outcome
try is possible and what is not. We don’t see six- of what the mineral looks like. The diversity in
sided halite crystals because the underlying atomic physical appearance within even a single common
structure of that mineral is based on the fourfold species such as quartz or calcite is staggering (see
symmetry of a cube. Depending on their size and fourth photo).
&.%- M I N ER AL S

Millerite in calcite geode from Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Source: Photograph taken by author of specimen at the A. E.
Seaman Mineral Museum.
7

Mineral-Forming Environments
For convenience, the means by which minerals
form may be grouped into four basic geological
processes: (1) precipitation from aqueous solu-
tions, (2) crystallization from magma, (3) chemical
alteration, and (4) recrystallization in the solid
state by heat and pressure (metamorphism). These
processes may act independently or in combina-
tion to form various minerals. Species with limited
fields of stability tend to occur in few geological
These colorless crystals (A) and banded agate (B) are
environments, whereas those stable over wide both the same species: quartz.
ranges of physical and chemical conditions are
Source: Photograph taken by author of specimen at the A. E.
found in a greater number of geological environ- Seaman Mineral Museum.
ments. Thus, heavily hydrated minerals such as
mirabilite (Na2SO4•10H2O) are found in salt lakes
and playas, but they quickly dehydrate into less sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks alike, as well
hydrated species on exposure to air. Quartz, on as being the main component of many sands.
the other hand, is stable over a broad range of con- One of the simplest ways certain minerals form
ditions and is a common constituent of igneous, is by direct precipitation from aqueous solutions.
 MINER AL S &.%.

If a glass of saltwater is left out on the counter-

top, the water slowly evaporates, concentrating
the dissolved salt to a point where the solution
becomes supersaturated, and salt crystals begin
to form on the bottom of the glass. This is not
unlike the process that forms salt flats in playa
lakes or, on a grander scale, beds of rock salt
such as that hosted by the great Salina forma-
tion, stretching from New York to Michigan and
formed by the evaporation of an ancient sea.
Halite, gypsum, potash, and other minerals
formed in a similar manner are called evaporites
and constitute an economically important group
of industrial minerals.
In the case of evaporites, the water is of mete-
oric origin and relatively cool. In the case of
hydrothermal deposits, the water is hot and may
be meteoric, magmatic, or tectonic in origin. Yel-
lowstone National Park provides a classic exam-
ple of a meteoric hydrothermal system. There,
groundwater is warmed by proximity to a magma Green tourmaline on quartz from Minas Gerais, Brazil
chamber that enables it to dissolve silica, calcite, Source: Photograph taken by author of specimen at the A. E.
and other minerals that precipitate on cooling to Seaman Mineral Museum.
form cones around erupting geysers or extensive
travertine flows at Mammoth Hot Springs. Simi- granitic pegmatites, famous for gem minerals
larly, brines flowing through deeply buried sedi- such as topaz, aquamarine, and tourmaline (see
ments are warmed as a consequence of burial and fifth photo), as well as strategic metals such as
may dissolve and concentrate various metals as lithium, beryllium, and tantalum and rare earth
chloride complexes. If these brines later encoun- elements so important to today’s technology.
ter a source of reduced sulfur, lead and zinc sul- Important pegmatite fields are located in Minas
fides may precipitate to form galena and sphalerite, Gerais, Brazil, the Black Hills of South Dakota,
creating an economically important Mississippi Bernic Lake, Manitoba, and the northern areas of
Valley Type deposit, such as in the famous Tri- Pakistan and adjoining Afghanistan.
State Mining District of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Minerals react differently to the different chem-
Missouri. ical environments provided by nature. In generally
As magmas cool, individual minerals begin to arid climates (e.g., southern Arizona and New
crystallize out. Those with the highest melting Mexico), limestone appears resistant to erosion,
temperatures are the first to crystallize (e.g., oliv- forming protective caps on buttes and mesas, but
ine, pyroxene, anorthite). As the process contin- in a more humid region (e.g., Guilin, China), a
ues, various elements are selectively removed dramatic, karst topography has developed. This is
from the melt, and ions of unusual size or charge a direct result of the instability of calcite (lime-
that don’t fit into the structures of the precipitat- stone’s principal constituent) in an acidic (low
ing minerals may accumulate and form a hydro- pH) environment. In passing through air, rainwa-
thermal solution rich in metals such as gold, ter dissolves carbon dioxide, forming carbonic
silver, bismuth, tin, tungsten, uranium, and oth- acid, which promotes dissolution of the calcite.
ers, resulting in hydrothermal vein deposits such Many other minerals are also affected by changes
as the famous tin mines of Cornwall, England, or in pH and/or oxidation potential. A classic exam-
the tin/tungsten deposits of Malaysia. In magmas ple is the development of oxide zones on metal-
of granitic composition, the late-stage fluids bearing sulfide deposits. Above the water table,
sometimes crystallize to form rocks known as conditions are generally more oxidizing, and more
&.&% M I N ER AL S

Azurite (blue) and malachite (green), two common secondary copper minerals from Bisbee, Arizona
Source: Photograph taken by author of specimen at the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum.

reducing below it. Metals leached from sulfide would have no houses, cars, airplanes, or com-
minerals above the water table may recombine puters. Their supply and demand figures prom-
with available anions to form “secondary,” or inently in the global economy and geopolitical
supergene, minerals (e.g., sulfates, carbonates, decision making, and their geographic distribu-
phosphates, arsenates, etc.), depending on what tion has determined the location of railroads,
anions are available (see sixth photo). Below the highways, and villages. As you read this final
water table, the metals may recombine with sentence, look around you and imagine what
reduced sulfur to form a zone of secondary enrich- would be left in your surroundings were there
ment, or high-grade ore. The rusty “iron hat” or no minerals.
gossan that often caps such deposits was an impor-
George W. Robinson
tant indicator to early prospectors in the Ameri-
can Southwest that an ore body may lie beneath.
Minerals are also affected by changes in tem- See also Biogeochemical Cycles; Karst Topography;
perature and pressure and may recrystallize in the Mining and Geography; Rock Weathering; Sedimentary
solid state to form new minerals that are more Rock
stable in the prevailing conditions. The same tec-
tonic forces supplying the pressure driving the
resulting metamorphism often form folded moun- Further Readings
tain chains such as the Appalachians, with rocks
hosting garnet, kyanite, sillimanite, and other Back, M., & Mandarino, J. (2008). Fleischer’s
metamorphic minerals. glossary of mineral species (2008). Tucson, AZ:
Minerals affect our everyday lives in more Mineralogical Record.
ways than we can imagine. Without them, we
 MINING A ND GEOGR A P H Y &.&&

processes are unevenly distributed across the

Berry, L., & Mason, B. (1959). Mineralogy: Earth. Moreover, concentrations of these ele-
Concepts, descriptions, determinations. San ments that humanity has deemed important are
Francisco: W. H. Freeman. often located in remote areas, far away from
Pough, F. (1998). A field guide to rocks and minerals. where they can be refined or will be incorporated
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. into manufactured items. This dilemma forms
Robinson, G. (1994). Minerals. New York: Simon & one of the most important focal points for geog-
Schuster. raphers as they have labored to identify the loca-
tions of these resources. Consequently, the
frontier for mineral exploration has continually
expanded over time. In addition, as new mining
activities have been established along this fron-
MINING AND GEOGRAPHY tier, they have led to the creation of many new
social, economic, and political relationships
Mining is defined as the extraction and concen- among different places and societies.
tration of metallic and nonmetallic minerals for Since antiquity, miners have explored and
use in a variety of human activities. As a distinc- exploited hillsides, streambeds, and subterranean
tively human pursuit, the extraction and use of depths in pursuit of the rarest and most valuable
resources from the surface of the Earth is essen- minerals, such as gold, silver, copper, and dia-
tial for most industrial production and the provi- monds. During the earliest human civilizations in
sion of a wide variety of materials. Geographers Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe, the
have long examined mining activities, primarily frontiers for minerals such as gold, silver, and
by focusing on the distribution of resources, the copper were generally located within the eco-
expansion of mining activities, the development nomic and political domains of each society and
of technologies to extract elements from the formed the basis of most international trading
Earth, and the environmental and social impacts networks. By the 15th century, the mining fron-
of mining operations. tier rapidly expanded as the European powers
conquered the Western Hemisphere, Southeast
Asia, and several parts of Africa. Alongside this
expansion of the mining frontier, many European
The Mining Frontier
powers also established colonial mining settle-
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, more ments and forced local populations to work in
than 70 chemical elements and dozens of miner- their mines. Since then, a series of discoveries of
als are currently mined from more than 100 dif- rich mineral deposits in places such as California,
ferent types of deposits. According to the Raw Alaska, Peru, and Central Asia have incorporated
Materials Group, in 2005, the value of global ever more remote areas into the mining frontier.
mining production was approximately $800 bil- Along this frontier, new cities and mining settle-
lion, with metals accounting for roughly 27% of ments have rapidly appeared, often as part of far-
the total, industrial minerals and diamonds 7%, flung empires or as part of growing nation-states.
coal and uranium 52%, and crushed rock 14%.
Of the many metals that are currently being mined
around the planet, gold, iron, copper, nickel, zinc,
Mining Technologies
and lead production account for more than 80%
of all production. These metals are extracted pri- The productive capacity of mining operations is a
marily by large international mining corporations function of the relative concentration and quan-
operating in numerous countries. In contrast, coal tity of a particular element that is being exploited
is extracted primarily within countries for domes- and the technologies used to extract it. Research-
tic consumption and energy production. ers have illustrated that for many millennia,
Mining is inherently a geographic dilemma human labor (often in the form of brutal slavery)
because many elements created by geologic and rudimentary tools constituted most mining
&.&' M I N I N G AND G E OG RAPHY

A 20-foot-diameter ball mill rotates at a copper mine’s underground processing facility in Chile. This process
breaks copper-bearing ore from golf-ball-sized pieces into dust. Chile’s economy is buoyed by Chinese demand
for its copper, much of it mined by state-owned Chilean companies.
Source: Michael Fuller/iStockphoto.

technologies. Since then, innovations in technolo- Geographers have increasingly focused their
gies such as geographic information systems, attention on these global mining production sys-
heavy machinery, and explosives have dramati- tems through the use of new spatial technologies
cally increased the productive capacity of large- as well as research focused on economic global-
scale mines and have gradually reduced the role ization, shifting patterns of employment and pro-
of human labor in extractive activities. These new duction, commodity networks, and the spread of
technologies are critically important because large transnational mining corporations to new
many of the richest and most readily accessible regions.
deposits of valuable minerals have been exhausted
and because they allow mining companies to
extract very small concentrations of elements
Mining and the Environment
from very large volumes of earth. As these new
types of mining are very expensive, the mining The mining sector has historically been one of the
sector has increasingly become dominated by cor- dirtiest industries and is also the subject of con-
porations with access to large quantities of capi- tentious debates about the role of mining in fos-
tal, the most sophisticated technologies, and tering sustainable economic development.
global transportation and production systems. Abandoned mining installations are the source of
 MIT C HELL, DO N &.&(

environmental problems such as toxic acid mine

drainage. In addition, because large companies
MITCHELL, DON (1961– )
now engage in vast, open-pit mining operations
that deploy new and untested technologies such as Don Mitchell is well known for his significant
cyanide heap leaching and deep-water tailings dis- contributions to the field of cultural geography.
posal, many researchers have increasingly focused Mitchell received his PhD from Rutgers Univer-
their attention on the environmental legacies of sity in 1992 and is Distinguished Professor of
mining as well as the potential threats that these Geography at Syracuse University. He is a recipi-
activities pose for fragile ecosystems and human ent of numerous awards, including a MacArthur
health. Furthermore, because many transnational Award and Fulbright and Guggenheim fellow-
mining operations are now being located at the ships. His scholarship revolves around investigat-
most remote fringes of the mining frontier, and ing the way people think and live their lives in
often where human populations are impoverished, particular places, and the associated networks of
their role in fostering economic and sustainable power that those relationships entail. He focuses
development has been a topic of debate across on issues related to migrant labor and agricul-
many disciplines. This issue, which is often referred tural landscapes, urban public spaces, the home-
to as the “resource curse” hypothesis, has become less and hungry, and other marginal populations
even more relevant since the mining sector in U.S. cities.
expanded rapidly at the end of the 20th century. Mitchell approaches ideas and theories of cul-
Recent geographic research focusing on the ture through a broadly Marxist and radical frame-
human and environmental dimensions of mining work, exposing the various ways “culture” is
often draws on development studies or cultural revealed in the landscape through social struggles
and political ecology approaches to understand and the exercise of power. Mitchell argues that
the multiscalar and complex social and environ- scholarship and political commitment cannot be
mental transformations that mining activities are divorced, emphasizing a decidedly social justice
initiating. In addition, critical geographic research approach to geography. He has authored numer-
has begun to address the role of mining in local ous articles and three books that examine the
struggles over natural resources, the formation of various meanings of public space, particularly as
social movements, and social change. it relates to controlling marginalized people and
public protesters. Much of this work emphasizes
Jeffrey Bury
the relationship between law, rights, and public
space. His volume The Lie of the Land, concern-
See also Coal; Distribution of Resource Access; Energy
ing agriculture in California, emphasized the role
Resources; Minerals; Open-Pit Mining; Petroleum
of labor in the region’s landscapes. His textbook
Cultural Geography: A Critical Introduction is
seen by many as the starting point for university
Further Readings students interested in understanding the transfor-
mation of cultural geography that has occurred in
Bebbington, A., Bury, J., Humphreys-Bebbington, D., the past two decades. He has also written exten-
Lingan, J., Munoz, J., & Scurrah, M. (2008). sively about struggles over the meaning and con-
Mining and social movements: Struggles over trol of urban public spaces.
livelihood and rural territorial development in the Mitchell is also the founder and director of The
Andes. World Development, 36, 2888–2905. People’s Geography Project, which brings the
Bury, J. (2007). Mining and migration in the insights of critical contemporary geography to lay
Peruvian Andes. The Professional Geographer, 58, audiences, activists, and teachers. This effort,
378–389. combined with his work with advocates address-
U.S. Geological Survey. (2008). Mineral resources ing hunger in the Syracuse area, has evolved into
program. Retrieved January 20, 2009, from http:// the Community Geography Initiative. Commu-
minerals.usgs.gov nity geography uses geographic information sys-
tems (GIS) and spatial analyses to create maps
&.&) M I XED FARMING

that support community advocacy and organiz- Case Studies

ing, and it serves as a resource for nonprofit
social service agencies that would like to use GIS In parts of Mediterranean Europe, fields may be
to address community concerns but lack the found with a mix of tree crops, with cereals
resources or technical capacity. beneath and in some cases livestock turned onto
fodder cereals. The first photo shows a field with
Thomas Chapman
sheep turned onto cereal beneath fig trees in East-
ern Mallorca, Spain. Formerly, this was common,
See also Cultural Geography; Landscape Interpretation;
especially with almonds as the tree crop. Although
Marxism, Geography and; Public Space
such mixed fields may still be seen, greater
rewards from mass tourism over the past 30 years
have reduced interest in agriculture, particularly
Further Readings among younger people who have migrated or
who commute to coastal communities with their
Mitchell, D. (1996). The lie of the land: Migrant tourist industries and “improved” lifestyles. Care
workers and the California landscape. of trees and cultivation of crops beneath have
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. declined, and many fields have been left to graz-
Mitchell, D. (2000). Cultural geography: A critical ing of ruderal vegetation (seminatural plants that
introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell. have colonized) or have been abandoned. Changes
Mitchell, D. (2003). The right to the city: Social in rewards from agriculture relative to other
justice and the fight for public space. New York: activities and changes in people’s perceptions of
Guilford Press. lifestyles have affected mixed farming in this dry
People’s Geography Project: www.peoplesgeography and agriculturally marginal area of Mallorca.
project.org At the farm scale, mixed farming in the United
Kingdom referred to a farm with arable fields and
pasture fields for livestock—dairy or beef cows or
sheep. Enterprises were seen as interrelated; for
MIXED FARMING example, manures were used as fertilizer on ara-
ble fields. Rotation of fields could be practiced;
Mixed farming includes both arable and livestock after a period in grass, a field could be ploughed
farming. However, it has many forms depending for arable use, whereas arable fields could be put
on different and interrelated factors including the down to grass. This rotation helped maintain soil
level of technology available, the relative finan- fertility and, in an era when pesticides and herbi-
cial rewards for crops and livestock, farmers’ per- cides were uncommon, helped reduce disease and
ceptions of risk and their attitudes about farming pests. Since World War II, in response to govern-
(e.g., organic/nonorganic), political conditions, ment initiatives and those of the European Com-
the national and international policies of govern- munity and its Common Agricultural Policy
ments, climatic and other physical variables, and (CAP), the number of mixed farms has declined
the availability of labor. continuously. Subsidies encouraged specializa-
All these factors, and others, may have effects tion, so that in much of eastern England not only
at different scales. For example, individual fields are farms specializing in cereals but also the region
on a farm may be mixed; a farm may have some has a landscape dominated by cereals.
fields that are arable and some in pasture for A region of Northern Ireland exemplifies the
livestock; a region may have some farms that impacts on mixed farming from changes in the
specialize in cereals and others that specialize in interacting factors affecting agriculture. In 1938,
livestock. These systems are not static but may the United Kingdom as a whole was in an agricul-
change over time in response to one or several of tural depression, and most food was imported, so
the factors affecting farming. The following cases there was no demand for specialized farming. At
exemplify the effects of scale and the factors this time of low profitability, farmers spread their
affecting farming. risk by practicing mixed farming. Farming in
 MIXED F A R MIN G &.&*

A mixed field: sheep turned onto fodder cereal beneath fig trees, Eastern Mallorca, Spain
Source: Author.

Northern Ireland was mostly of low mechaniza- small fields and farms, specialization was not into
tion with use of horse-drawn implements. There cereals, as in Eastern England, but into grass and
was some need for feedstuffs to be produced on livestock. Grass production became more inten-
the farm for livestock, including oats for horses. sive with the use of slurry, rather than farmyard
There was little use of inorganic fertilizers, manure and artificial fertilizers. There was less use
farmyard manure was used, and fields had rota- of rotations; instead, grass that became less pro-
tions of arable crops and grass. Labor was plenti- ductive was ploughed up and replaced. Grass spe-
ful and met the high labor demands of mixed cies were changed to more productive rye grasses
farming; the lifestyle of families working together used directly as pasture or to produce two cuttings
on their own farm was highly prized, as families each year of silage (grass cut green, as opposed to
had gained the right to own their small farm only dried hay, and stored for winter feed). Farming
at the end of the 19th century. Figure 1 shows the became more mechanized, tractors replaced
mix of arable and pasture land in 1938 in part of horses, and there was no need for fields of oats.
county Armagh. Supplementary feedstuffs for livestock were easily
By 1990, in contrast, almost all these factors transported onto the farm. Although the family
had changed. The experience of World War II had farm remains a prized possession, families are
encouraged the national government to promote smaller, and young adults have moved to towns
more home production of food, a policy enhanced and what are perceived as higher-level occupa-
when in 1973 the United Kingdom joined the tions. The result of these changes is a decline in
European Community and its CAP. In Northern mixed farming and a landscape in which grass
Ireland, with its moist climate, damp soils, and appears to be the only field cover (Figure 1).
&.&+ M I XED FARMING

336
1938–39

334

332

330

328
294 296 298 300 302

336
1990

334

Lake

Arable land
332

Grassland

Bog and
330
fen

Orchards,
gardens, etc.

Woodland
328
294 296 298 300 302

Figure 1 Changed regional pattern of farming, County Armagh, Northern Ireland

Sources: Adapted from Land Utilization Survey 1938 and CORINE Land Cover Mapping 1990.
 MIXED F A R MIN G &.&,

An example of farming in Southern Africa: Maize or sorghum grown near to and stored in the settlement.
Livestock, including goats, are also kept, and the surrounding country is a source of firewood and building
materials.
Source: Author.

The examples from Mallorca and Northern include development of equine facilities and con-
Ireland show how changes in the interrelated version of redundant farm buildings to small
factors affecting agriculture influence mixed business parks—to produce what might be more
farming. However, mixed farming has not dis- properly called mixed enterprises rather than
appeared. In the United Kingdom, there remain mixed farming.
small farms where farmers believe that mixed There are more perspectives on mixed farming
farming can spread risk—if prices of one crop in Africa than in Northern Europe. In large parts
decline, then livestock or other crops may help of Southern Africa, agriculture is characterized by
protect the overall farm income. There are also small plots of maize or other cereal and of vegeta-
farms of several thousand hectares that are bles, often near the house. Extensive livestock
mixed to make best use of differing land condi- grazing occurs on the surrounding land, which is
tions and to achieve maximum profit. There are also used for gathering of firewood. The farming
also new types of mixed farming. For example, may contain elements of subsistence agriculture
some farmers manage areas of their land for and of commercial agriculture. It is mixed farm-
environmental purposes, such as rehabilitation ing but not as may be described in many conven-
of old pastures or planting of new woodlands— tional European or North American texts.
encouraged by changes in the CAP. Farmers
have also included fields of energy crops; in R. Tomlinson
Northern Ireland, fields of short-rotation cop-
pice willow may be found among pasture fields. See also Agricultural Land Use; Agriculture,
Many farmers have diversified their activities to Preindustrial; Agrobiodiversity; Crop Rotation; Organic
maintain or improve their income. Examples Agriculture; Shifting Cultivation
&.&- M O B I LE G IS

Further Readings
systems, which are not interoperable across dif-
ferent platforms.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United This entry first describes the components and
Nations. (2001). Mixed crop-livestock farming. communication systems of mobile GIS. Next, it
A review of traditional technologies based on examines both LBS and field-based GIS applica-
literature and field experience (FAO Animal tions and the limitations of mobile GIS. Last,
Production and Health Papers, No. 152). Rome, this entry discusses the future directions of
Italy: Author. mobile GIS.
Powell, J. M., Pearson, R. A., & Hiernaux, P. H.
(2004). Crop–livestock interactions in the West
African drylands. Agronomy Journal, 96, 469–483. Components and Communication
The architecture of mobile GIS follows the con-
cepts of client-server architecture as in traditional
Internet GIS applications. Client-side mobile GIS
MOBILE GIS components are the end-user hardware devices
that display maps or provide analytical results of
Mobile GIS (geographic information systems) is GIS operations. Server-side components provide
an integrated software/hardware framework to comprehensive geospatial data and perform GIS
allow users access to geospatial data and GISer- operations based on a request from the client-side
vices through mobile devices (e.g., iPhones, components. Between the client and the server,
pocket PCs [personal computers], Smart phones, there are various types of communication net-
notebook computers, and personal digital assis- works (e.g., hardwired cable connections or wire-
tants [PDAs]) via wired or wireless networks. less communications) to facilitate the exchange
There are two types of mobile GIS applications: of geodata and services. There are six basic com-
field-based GIS and location-based services ponents of mobile GIS: (1) positioning systems,
(LBSs). Field-based GIS focuses on GIS data col- (2) mobile GIS receivers, (3) mobile GIS software,
lection, validation, and update in the field, such (4) a data synchronization and wireless com-
as adding or editing map features or changing munication component, (5) geospatial data, and
the attribute tables in an existing GIS data set. (6) GIS content servers (Figure 1).
Location-based services focus on business-ori- Mobile GIS can provide geospatial informa-
ented location management functions, such as tion and GPS coordinates for field-based person-
navigation, street routing, finding a specific nel conducting remote-field (in situ) GIS tasks. To
location, tracking a vehicle, and so on. The enable comprehensive mobile GIS, wireless com-
major differences between the field-based GIS munication is essential for connecting mobile GIS
and LBS are the data-editing capabilities. Most devices and GIS content servers. Recent progress
field-based GIS applications need to edit or in broadband wireless technology is the major
change the original GIS data or modify feature momentum for the integration of mobile GIS and
attributes. LBS rarely changes original GIS data Internet GIS. The wireless service coverage (avail-
sets but rather uses them as background or ref- ability) and the bandwidth (speed) are the two
erence maps for navigation or tracking purposes. key issues for wireless communication. There are
Most field-based GIS software packages are many different wireless technologies, ranging
cross-platform and independent of hardware from a walkie-talkie to high-speed WiMAX
devices, such as ESRI’s ArcPAD and Mapinfo’s (worldwide interoperability for microwave access)
MapXtend. On the other hand, LBS technolo- to satellite phone systems. Based on the speed of
gies focus on creating commercial value from data transfer, current wireless technologies can be
location-based information, as does Google’s categorized into two groups: narrowband wire-
mobile map on iPhone applications. Most LBS less systems and broadband wireless systems. To
applications, such as GPS navigation systems and communicate between mobile GIS and Internet
smart phones, are using proprietary operating GIS, broadband wireless technologies, such as
 MOBILE G I S &.&.

Client-side Components Server-side

Components
Geodata Send/Respond
Cache Geospatial data

Data synchronization
Mobile GIS or wireless
Reciever communication
component
Mobile GIS
Software Request/Update

(local or global)
Positioning GIS
Systems Content
Server

Figure 1 The architecture of mobile GIS

Source: Tsou, M. H. (2004). Integrated mobile GIS and wireless Internet map servers for environmental mapping and management
[Special issue]. Cartography & Geographic Information Science, 31(3), 153–165.

Wi-Fi or WiMAX, are a better choice because systems can allow other wireless devices such as
most geospatial information and remote-sensing PDAs and pocket PCs to receive multimedia ser-
data are very large and complicated, which vices (e.g., streaming audio and video on the
requires broadband wireless communication. The devices). Most mobile GIS devices can use 3G
size of wireless coverage area is also an important or 4G cellular communication systems for collab-
criterion for mobile GIS applications. orative work with Internet or Web-based GIS
Currently, there are three popular wireless applications. Wi-Fi and WiMAX are the best
communication systems: ad hoc systems, cellular communication systems for mobile GIS because
phone systems, and Wi-Fi/WiMAX data network they can provide very high-speed and stable Inter-
systems. The ad hoc wireless systems are custom net connections.
designed for specific applications, such as direct
satellite phone systems, General Mobile Radio
Service (GMRS) for walkie-talkie devices, or ham
Location-Based Services
radio communication. Usually, these systems are
narrowband and localized for a small group of One important subdomain of mobile GIS is in
special users and require specialized user licenses. LBSs. LBSs refer to a system that offers real-time
3G and 4G mobile cellular phone communication updates about a location and its surrounding
systems can provide a good coverage area with a information. This information allows users to
decent bandwidth communication. Cellular phone select a destination and to create the best route to
&.'% M O B I LE G IS

get there or to conduct business transactions. LBS due to the hardware limitations. One possible
systems and mobile devices have emerged as an solution is to send the complicated GIS model
important means of conducting business in a vari- and spatial functions via the Internet to remote
ety of fields. LBSs focus on business-oriented GIS engine services with a comprehensive geospa-
location management functions, such as naviga- tial cyberinfrastructure. The analysis results will
tion, street routing, finding a specific location, then be sent back to the mobile GIS devices via
tracking a vehicle, and so on. Traditional desktop the network.
GIS cannot provide such real-time, portable, loca- Another limitation of mobile GIS is the lack of
tion-based information for end users. alternative display methods. Since most mobile
GIS devices are small and fragile, emergency
responders and managers might be reluctant to
Field-Based GIS use small screens on pocket PC or cellular phones
to share their maps with others. One possible
Traditionally, field-workers have to take a laptop
alternative is to project maps directly from mobile
computer with preloaded data when going into
GIS devices on a white wall or another type of a
the field. There is no direct connection with office
shared display. It would also be very useful if
data systems, and field-workers have no way to
users could print paper maps directly from their
know whether the data have been updated since
mobile GIS devices via wireless portable printers
they were last downloaded into the laptop. Lack
or from a built-in printer inside a pocket PC or a
of contact with the office also means that field
notebook computer.
data updated by the field-workers cannot be made
immediately available in the office database. This
time delay is not acceptable for time-critical appli-
Future Directions
cations such as utility repairs, facility security,
and emergency responses. Furthermore, manag- Mobile GIS is a very promising field, with a con-
ing and maintaining the synchronization of data siderable demand for its technology and products
and software between the field computer and from field-based workers, LBS, and GIS vendors.
office computers can be costly and complex. With With the development of new mobile GIS tech-
mobile GIS, coupled with GPS (global positioning nologies and mobile devices (e.g., iPhones, iPod
systems), there is a direct connection between the touch, Google’s Android platform, Blackberry,
field-worker’s mobile devices and the database in and Microsoft Smart Phone systems), many new
the server. Any update in the office database will applications (e.g., homeland security, emergency
be instantly transmitted to the field-workers, and rescue, real-time environmental monitoring, vir-
vice versa. Field-based GIS have been adopted in tual tour guides, wildfire management, vehicle
many application areas, such as facility manage- navigation services) will be possible. Mobile GIS
ment, land use management, and emergency and will be more and more ubiquitous and essential in
rescue responses. our daily lives and activities.
Ming-Hsiang Tsou
Limitations See also GIScience; Internet GIS; Location-Based
Current mobile GIS lack spatial analysis and GIS Services; Neogeography
modeling functions. Many emergency tasks and
disaster management works will need advanced
GIS analysis functions that require significant Further Readings
computing power and computer memory. Most
mobile GIS devices are tiny and only have very Peng, Z.-R., & Tsou, M.-H. (2003). Internet GIS:
limited computing capability. The preprocessing Distributed geographic information services for
and postprocessing time for spatial analysis and the Internet and wireless network. New York:
remote-sensing images might prevent the adop- Wiley.
tion of mobile GIS for real-time response tasks
 MOBILITY &.'&

which the mobile office makes almost any loca-

Tsou, M.-H. (2004). Integrated mobile GIS and tion a potential workplace, and, in a more meta-
wireless Internet map servers for environmental phorical context, to explore the virtual experiences
monitoring and management [Special Issue]. of moving through spaces via the Internet, vid-
Cartography and Geographic Information eogames, television, and film.
Science, 31(3), 153–165. Mobility scholars challenge traditional social
Tsou, M.-H. (2006). Bridging the gap: Connecting science theories that often assume sedentary
Internet-based spatial decision support systems to sociospatial relations and being stationary as the
the field-based personnel with real time wireless usual condition of life. In contrast, the mobility
mobile GIS applications. In S. Balram & S. lens understands motion to be both normal and
Dragićević (Eds.), Collaborative geographic meaningful, not merely a temporary condition
information systems (pp. 316–339). Hersey, PA: that occurs when moving between fixed locations.
Idea Group. The concept thus challenges static understandings
Tsou, M.-H., & Sun, C. H. (2006). Mobile GIServices of space and spatial relationships, often defined
applied to disaster management. In J. Drummond, by delimited areas such as nations, regions, cities,
R. Billen, D. Forrest, & E. João (Eds.), Dynamic and homes. Consequently, where past geographi-
and mobile GIS: Investigating change in space cal studies commonly analyzed such places as iso-
and time (Innovations in GIS Book Series; lated entities, theories of mobility understand
pp. 213–236). London: Taylor & Francis. space as interconnected networks through which
flows of people, goods, technologies, informa-
tion, and images move. This constant movement
forms the basis for analyses of mobility yet does
not deny that there are material aspects to life.
MOBILITY Mobility is not ethereal. It is tied to places and
exhibited through physical forms. For example,
The concept of mobility brings together human cars allow the function of mobility, but garages,
characteristics of identity and power with a repair shops, streets, and highways are the rela-
dynamic understanding of space, place, and tively immobile moorings necessary for mobility
change. Different mobilities are shaped by differ- to be enacted. Similarly, an airport may seem
ent geographies, by the varying types of spaces immobile, but passengers, baggage, workers,
people move through (e.g., public or private, inspectors, security guards, capital, goods, vehi-
urban or rural, real or virtual), and by a range of cles, and so on, continuously move through its
factors from cultural norms to modern security spaces. Even the airport buildings and runways, if
and immigration controls. Further influences looked at through a greater temporal lens, are
include access to the means of mobility, be they mobile as they are remodeled, extended, dam-
cars, computers, bikes, or pavements, and the aged, and repaired. Envisioning spatial relations
varying ability to be mobile, based on age, sex, through a lens of mobility thus reformulates ideas
body type, and other components of identity. of space, scale, and time.
Mobility is constructed in relationship to relative Mobility is relational and differs from person
immobility, or what are sometimes termed moor- to person. It matters who is doing the moving,
ings, locations where mobility appears temporar- where, when, how, and why. Immigrants,
ily abated. Yet as absolute immobility is all but diaspora populations, and international tourists
impossible, the mobility concept proposes that experience mobility differently from commuters,
everyone and everything is mobile and that it is nomadic peoples, or prisoners. Men and women
matters of scale, difference in speed, and varia- experience moving through space differently, as
tion in direction that create appearances of rela- do young and old, people of different social
tive immobilities. Mobility can also be used to classes, races, ethnicities, and nationalities. For
assess the impact of modern telecommunication example, if an adult and a child are traveling
and computer technologies on sociospatial rela- together, the child, while involved in the same
tions, such as changing labor practices through movement, does not experience the same sense of
&.'' M O B I LI TY

Theories of mobility propose that

traveling is in itself meaningful. Travel
is not merely the act of getting from
one location to another, but how peo-
ple move and what they do while
moving are critical to understanding
the networks and relationships of con-
temporary society. There is signifi-
cance in the journey between its start
and end points. Traveling by car
(automobility) produces a different
experience from traveling in another
manner. The social interactions,
duties, habits, and countless aspects
of a journey are further changed by
who is traveling, where they are trav-
eling, what kind of spaces are being
moved through, and why the journey
is occurring, among other factors.
How a person behaves in a car is usu-
ally different from the social interac-
tions experienced in rail, bus, boat,
or air travel and different again from
walking, cycling, or running. One
travels differently with children or
pets than when alone; experiences
travel differently when with different
family members, friends, colleagues,
or clients; and is differently mobile
due to age, bodily ability, or other fac-
Family members out for a bike ride. The experience of mobility tor. Some critics have proposed that
varies between adult and child and between men and women; analysts favor assessment of certain
thus, even when family members are traveling together on forms of travel over others, for exam-
bicycles, their experiences of mobility will differ. ple, the experiences of global air travel
Source: Catherine Yeulet/iStockphoto.
by affluent individuals from Western
nations, and thus narrow the defini-
tion of mobility to that which is avail-
mobility, and thus, the two individuals under- able and accessible to certain small sections of the
stand and practice very different mobilities. Simi- population. Others demand that routine activi-
larly, mobility in contemporary European space ties, such as going to the grocery store, driving to
is very different for an academic with a British work, or walking to a friend’s house are everyday
passport going to a conference than it is for an mobilities worth exploring.
Ethiopian economic migrant moving through the Mobility is always socially unequal. The right
illicit spaces of the underground economy. to movement is variable, and people have differ-
Encountering difference is often an aspect of ent abilities and opportunities to move. The gen-
mobility. Travel writings and accounts of foreign dering of spaces, for example, women-only
journeys commonly romanticize unfettered move- carriages on Japanese trains, can be understood
ment through the places of otherness, whereas as changing the mobility of women in relation to
vacations, exile, and emigration are experiences men; fear of crime may reduce the mobility of the
of difference that generate disparate mobilities. elderly and children in relation to young adults;
 MODELS A ND MODELIN G &.'(

religious beliefs may limit mobility for some and

increase it for others within and between specific
MODELS AND MODELING
locations, such as reserving areas within temples
A model is an idealized, abstract, and structured
for specific individuals or certain routes for pil-
representation of real phenomena. Models may
grims. Space can also be understood to be racial-
manifest as verbal descriptions, physical objects,
ized, and in certain contexts racial and ethnic
diagrams, maps, mathematical formulas, and
identities may aid or hinder mobility. In the 19th-
computer programs. Representation of complex
century United States, African Americans experi-
dynamic systems increasingly involves computer
enced very different mobilities as they traveled
simulation of alternative model outcomes based on
through slave and free states, and Native Ameri-
specified input parameters, variables, and relation-
cans saw their nomadic lifestyles curtailed as they
ships. These models link a system’s structure to
were immobilized on reservations. Synchronously,
behavior for the purpose of changing a structure to
white Americans were moving west on railroads
improve behavior. The purpose of a model pro-
and in wagon trains, experiencing greater mobil-
vides the basis on which its utility must be judged,
ity. The meanings of different mobilities are,
as all models are by definition simplifications of
therefore, produced from different contexts, agen-
reality. This entry discusses the modeling process,
cies, experiences, and practices.
the assessment of model utility, and the differences
Euan Hague and among several common modeling paradigms.
Michael Christopher Armstrong

See also Automobility; Aviation and Geography; The Modeling Process

Immigration; Migration; Space of Flows; Time-Space
Human beings implicitly model all the time. Rou-
Compression; Tourism; Transportation Geography
tine decisions in everyday life are guided by elab-
orate and yet incomplete mental models of the
tasks at hand. For example, a person driving a car
Further Readings associates a yellow light with the need to slow
down (or hurry through the intersection). In mak-
Adey, P. (2006). If mobility is everything then it is ing this association, the person’s mental model
nothing: Towards a relational politics of (im) simulates, or translates the perception of a yellow
mobilities. Mobilities, 1, 75–94. signal into, a decision of whether to slow down
Cresswell, T. (2006). On the move: Mobility in the or hurry up, depending on rapid evaluation of
modern Western world. London: Routledge. one’s position relative to the intersection. This
Featherstone, M., Thrift, N., & Urry, J. (Eds.). decision is carried into action by an adjustment of
(2005). Automobilities. London: Sage. foot pressure on the accelerator and brake pedals.
Frello, B. (2008). Towards a discursive analytics of This sequence of information, perceived and acted
movement: On the making and unmaking of on by a person’s mental model, is one experienced
movement as an object of knowledge. Mobilities, many times over in a given day. In this way, men-
3(1), 25–50. tal models may be largely subconscious but yet
Sheller, M., & Urry, J. (2006). The new mobilities represent intricate webs of understanding that
paradigm. Environment and Planning A, 38, guide (and misguide) human behavior.
207–226. Formal modeling enables explicit testing of
Urry, J. (2007). Mobilities. Cambridge, UK: Polity. underlying assumptions that humans carry in the
Uteng, T., & Cresswell, T. (Eds.). (2008). Gendered form of mental models. One strategy for making
mobilities. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate. models explicit is to slow down one’s thought to
Verstraete, G., & Cresswell, T. (Eds.). (2002). become aware of the implicit mental models that
Mobilizing place, placing mobility: The politics of simulate both immediate and longer-term scenar-
representation in a globalized world. Amsterdam: ios of the system of concern. Group modeling
Rodopi. experiences benefit from the process of slowing,
exposing, and challenging implicit mental models.
&.') M O DELS AND MOD E L ING

Real World

Decisions Observations
1.
5. 2.
Modeling
4. 3.

Decision Mental
Rules Models

Figure 1 The modeling process in context. The iterative process of modeling creates an experimental learning
feedback loop in the context of the real world.
Source: Adapted from Sterman, J. (2000). Business dynamics: Systems thinking and modeling for a complex world. New York:
McGraw-Hill.

The process of making mental models at least par- process of modeling reveals it to be at once an art
tially explicit—explaining ideas to others in con- and a science. The art of modeling includes the
versation or writing, drawing, or encoding them in role of intuition in problem formulation and
computer models—exposes the limitations of their hypothesis development, as revealed by the
scope, based as they are in an individual’s personal selection of relevant variables for the system of
experience. As mental models are formalized, the interest. The science of modeling centers on a
explicit model becomes an artifact readily shared consistent, reproducible methodology for testing
with others, while the implicit mental models con- theory by comparing simulated output with
tinue to update based on information feedback observed data. Steps of the modeling process
from both the model and the real worlds. generally include the following:
In a dynamic modeling process (Figure 1),
observations and decision rules may be input as 1. Problem formulation and boundary setting
data and assumptions into computer models, and 2. Mapping a dynamic hypothesis as a diagram of
simulated output may inform policies for making causal relationships and feedback
decisions. As mental models are updated with
observations of both the real and the model 3. Computer model formulation as mathematical
worlds, they translate into updated decision expressions and/or algorithms
rules or heuristics that shape the decisions that 4. Boundary testing and calibration of model to
manifest as actions in the real world. The reflex- observed data
ive relationship between mental models and the 5. Policy analysis and scenario simulation
 MODELS A ND MODELIN G &.'*

Authenticity
(simulated-observed)

Parsimony Transparency
(elements, interactions) (documentation)

Figure 2 APT dimensions of model utility. Dimensions of authenticity, parsimony, and transparency (APT) help
assess the utility of a model relative to its purpose.
Source: Author.

Although the above sequence implies that the how plausible the model results seem on the basis
modeling process begins with problem formula- of their prior assumptions about the system of
tion, the process may be entered at any stage and concern. Because models are abstractions of real-
is iterative such that the understanding from pol- ity, regardless of how intricate, much insight may
icy analysis (Step 5) leads back to a reconsidera- be gleaned from parsimony, the art of leaving
tion of the problem as formulated. This “problem things out. The principle of parsimony is that
of problem formulation” reinforces the value of models should be as simple as possible but no
modeling in moving through new layers of under- simpler. One way to assess parsimony is to mea-
standing for the system of concern. Because the sure the number of elements and relationships
process of modeling itself is a source of insight, therein. Models with fewer interacting elements
experienced modelers document expectations and have more explanatory power than models that
results throughout their experiments in these vir- emphasize detail and complexity over dynamic
tual laboratories. This documentation enables essence. Model utility is also revealed by its rela-
utility from the modeling process to be assessed tive transparency: Can the model be understood
separately from the model per se. by a broad audience? Are the feedback mecha-
nisms driving system behavior clearly docu-
mented? Models that lack transparency have a
Model Utility
limited utility beyond the experts who interact
The authenticity of a model may be assessed in with them.
multiple ways—by comparing simulated results The form of a model affects its utility. Physical
with empirical observations and testing whether models range from scaled-down structures such
the model is consistent with the hypothesis articu- as miniature train sets to scaled-up representa-
lated a priori. While no model will fully represent tions of molecular structures based on connec-
reality, modelers and decision makers will assess tions between core elements. In geomorphology,
&.'+ M O DELS AND MOD E L ING

scaled-down flumes function as models of water The analytical approach using differential equa-
flow through topographically variable sedimen- tions has advantages in transparency, due to the
tary conditions. Graphical models range from ability to convey simplified representations of
simple diagrams showing elements and relation- real-world systems through calculus and its
ships (such as those in Figures 1 and 2) to elabo- approximation on the computer. Simulation soft-
rate maps that reveal spatial patterns. Maps of ware that represents integrals as “stocks” and
both the cartographic and the cognitive kind may differentials as “flows” over time has enabled
be considered models in the broad sense, models more combinations of ordinary differential equa-
as representations of reality. As for maps, scale tions than may be handled analytically.
matters for models—small-scale systems may be Stock-and-flow models based on differential
represented with linear models, while nonlinear, equations emphasize the dynamics of the system
large-scale systems remain largely terra incognita. more than the spatial patterns created. However,
a number of processes warrant explicit spatial
representation, such as urban growth and climate
Modeling Paradigms
change. When adding the spatial dimension to a
Statistical models align with the inductive dynamic model, challenges emerge with respect to
approach to the scientific method, whereby one the choice of spatial scale and extent. Such choices
draws conclusions based on available evidence. In vary depending on whether raster or vector GIS
practice, this is often iterative, such that initial (geographic information system) data are
inferences are first drawn with the aid of descrip- employed to calibrate the model or whether an
tive statistics, then formal models are formulated abstract representation of space is adequate. Cel-
to fit part of the data (the training set) and predict lular automata are a form of abstract, spatially
another part (the validation set). However, an explicit models that rely on locally induced, mem-
iterative approach in generating statistical models ory-less state changes. Automata are discrete units
is problematic in that the identification of vari- arrayed in space (usually one dimensional or two
ables to include in a statistical model tends to be dimensional) such that each automaton has a
based largely on the data available, de-emphasiz- fixed number of neighbors with discrete states
ing the role of prior theory, the a priori, in shap- (e.g., on/off). The state of the individual automa-
ing model form. Moreover, inference from ton depends on local rules, conditional on its own
observation obscures the role processes that are state and the state of its neighbors. From a few
not observable. Reliance on observed data may simple rules, a variety of patterns can emerge. The
bias the analysis toward including some things simplicity of cellular automata provides a benefit
and leaving others out. of transparency; all one needs is to describe the
In contrast to statistical models, analytical rule that is in operation, which is especially easy
forms of mathematical models are frequently used as more students become trained in the Boolean
to develop theory for the system of concern. New- logic that underlies computational systems. The
ton’s F = ma and Einstein’s E = mc2 symbolize (in cost of this simplicity is the strictly local behavior
both the literal and the figurative sense) the utility and lack of memory, such that cellular automata
of simple mathematical models for comprehend- become more abstract explorations of possible
ing a wide range of phenomena in the universe. phenomena than any sort of real-world analog.
Analytical models tend to describe the average or The advent of object-oriented programming
aggregate behavior of a system, in that they merge has enabled the development of software for con-
individual variations to look for the essence and structing agent- or individual-based dynamic
eliminate the noise. Differential equation models computer models. Object orientation enables
treat processes as continuous in time rather than individual agents or decision-making units to
discrete. This Newtonian worldview is increas- operate independently and interact with each
ingly challenged by suggestions that discrete other. Like cellular automata, agents use rules for
mathematics is not only more pragmatic from a decision making. Unlike cellular automata, agents
computational perspective but may more accu- may have memory and may be mobile and inter-
rately reflect what’s going on in the “real world.” act in non-Euclidean spaces such as social or
 MODELS A ND MODELIN G &.',

Stock-Flow Model
Agent Model
?
!

M M M M
M M M M
M M M M
M M M M
M M M M
Map 1
GIS
Map 2
Maps
Map 3

Figure 3 Mixing model paradigms. Distinct model paradigms such as stock-flow models, agent models, and
GIS may be integrated with the available software.
Source: Author.

structural networks. The flexibility of the agent- modeler to fully think through the problem at hand
based framework has triggered a broad interest in and abstract accordingly. Because agent-based
the social sciences, and individual-based models approaches are still in their infancy, limited guid-
have been popular in ecology for some time. ance is available in the form of established meth-
Agent-based models are able to accommodate a odologies for model building and verification.
variety of scales and to capture a wide range of Spatially extended models may couple cellular
heterogeneous individual behavior. Such diversity automata with stock-and-flow models to enable
appeals more broadly to the humanistic side of the dynamic model to be replicated for each indi-
the social sciences, which has historically been vidual cell of a grid, often corresponding with ras-
reluctant to embrace highly aggregate and gener- ter data for input. An abstract notion of space is
alized statistical or analytical approaches. More- used in many agent-based models as well, and fur-
over, the flexibility allows for the development of ther efforts are under way to integrate agent-based
theories that incorporate individual everyday models with GIS. Figure 3 demonstrates how dif-
heuristics and examine how such individual ferent modeling paradigms (GIS, stock-flow, and
behavior produces aggregate patterns. Critics agent) may be combined using the available soft-
of agent-based modeling emphasize the com- ware packages. Here, a stock-and-flow representa-
putational and conceptual challenges of trying to tion of a continuous process is replicated spatially,
represent too much detail. Opening the door embedding dynamic memory into a cellular autom-
to greater flexibility puts a greater onus on the ata framework where each cell interfaces with
&.'- M O DER NITY

information from the neighboring cells. Computa- Typically implied in the concept of modernity are
tional feasibility has become less of a constraint in a sense of rupture with the past and tradition and
choosing which model paradigms to employ, leav- a sense of progress toward a society governed by
ing many modelers with their own expertise as the greater rationality, justice, and truth. Many schol-
determining constraint, though increased availabil- ars challenge these assumptions, highlighting
ity of multiparadigm modeling software helps to modernity’s “dark side,” including the projects of
minimize paradigmatic bias and encourage cross- colonialism in the 19th century, which were cen-
disciplinary collaboration. tral to the definition of a European identity. They
also question the universalism and Eurocentrism
Sara Metcalf
of dominant theories of modernity, arguing for a
notion of multiple modernities as more produc-
See also Agent-Based Models; Central Place Theory;
tive in understanding the world’s diverse forms of
Complexity Theory; Complex Systems Models; Digital
social order and development, especially within
Terrain Model; Energy Models; GIScience; GIS in
the Third World. In addition, contemporary
Environmental Management; Gravity Model; Input-
debates on modernity address the question of
Output Models; Location-Allocation Modeling;
whether recent broad social shifts, associated par-
Location Theory; Mental Maps; Regional Science;
ticularly with processes of globalization and the
Spatial Data Models; Spatial Interaction Models; Three-
concomitant proliferation of new forms of knowl-
Dimensional Data Models; Thünen Model; Weber,
edge, have in fact ushered in a distinctively new
Alfred
era. This process is central to understanding the
geographies of the modern age, including the
Enlightenment, technological innovation, colo-
Further Readings nialism, industrialization, and urbanization.

Forrester, J. (1971). World dynamics. Cambridge,

MA: Wright-Allen Press. The Roots of Modernity
Grimm, V., & Railsback, S. (2005). Individual-based As with any historical era, the Enlightenment can-
modeling and ecology. Princeton, NJ: Princeton not be bounded definitively by particular years,
University Press. or even centuries. The ideas that mark the Enlight-
Harvey, D. (1969). Explanation in geography. New enment as a distinctively new period could be
York: St. Martin’s Press. said to have emerged anywhere between the 16th
Sterman, J. (2000). Business dynamics: Systems and 18th centuries, through the work of scholars
thinking and modeling for a complex world. from Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, and John
Boston: McGraw-Hill. Locke in the 16th and 17th centuries to Denis
Diderot, Voltaire, and David Hume in the 18th
century. The paradigm of Enlightenment philoso-
phy that emerged from these and other diversely
MODERNITY situated and positioned writers is characterized
by an emphasis on the principles of rationality,
The term modernity refers to a set of political, empiricism, universalism, progress, individual-
economic, social, and cultural processes usually ism, freedom, and secularism.
traced back to forms of knowledge and practice The emphasis on scientific reasoning in Enlight-
that emerged in Europe around the 16th through enment philosophies constituted a clear move
the 18th centuries, a period often termed the away from the Church and forms of knowledge
Enlightenment. The philosophies associated with established by religious authorities. The world
the Enlightenment have been much debated and was to be known through experience and critical
modified over the centuries, but their central prin- examination rather than mythical, mystical, or
ciples of the primacy of reason and the autonomy religious explanations. Traditional worldviews
of the individual continue to underpin dominant thus became associated with oppressive supersti-
forms of social order in today’s global context. tion, irrationality, and prejudice. In the narratives
 MODER NITY &.'.

of modernity that spring from Enlightenment The notion of progress thus became a funda-
ideals, and even those that explore alternative mental characteristic of modernity. The liberation
approaches to modernity, this idea of a break of all humans from ignorance, myth and supersti-
with tradition remains central. While the latter is tion, poverty, and the arbitrary exercise of power
typically associated with the ignorance—or some- was to be gained through turning to reason as the
times, more charitably, “innocence”—of the past, way to know and organize the world. This notion
the modern worldview is seen to be better, given still holds significant sway today, illustrated, for
its future-oriented, progressive state, enlightened example, by the power invested in science in
by reason. dominant contemporary discourses. A teleologi-
Central to this positioning of reason as the most cal perspective is built into this understanding of
superior human attribute is the notion of the inde- modernity, in the belief that there is one univer-
pendent self. Selfhood continues to occupy a piv- sally right and true way of being, knowing, and
otal position in ideas of contemporary modernity, doing and that all societies should aspire to the
particularly in Western cultures; not just the self same basic ideals. This perspective and its impli-
as an entity, but specifically the freedom and cations have been manifested in numerous “proj-
autonomy of that self, are of primary importance ects of modernity.” These include Europe’s
in both Enlightenment thinking and dominant imperialist and colonial dominations, which
narratives of contemporary modernity. Human reached a peak in the 19th century, and various
agency is central to understanding the modern modernization projects through the mid 20th cen-
social order and what it means to be a participant tury aimed at developing Third World countries
in it. Enlightenment thinkers were by no means according to the model of the West.
the first to emphasize these aspects of the self, By constructing the traditional customs and
much less to develop the notion of an independent practices of non-Western societies as static, back-
self, but the developments of scientific empiricism ward, and ignorant, the authors of modernity and
and analysis during the 17th and 18th centuries, modernization projects simultaneously construct
particularly in Britain, lent a distinctly new impe- themselves as active, progressive, and having supe-
tus to these debates. The idea of the individual as rior knowledge. They are thus saviors, fulfilling
an autonomous agent has become arguably the their moral duty to rescue primitive peoples by
most defining aspect of modernity and has intensi- showing them the truth. A notion of “self” and
fied through the democratic and capitalist pro- “other” can therefore be seen to underpin the
cesses that are globally dominant today. notion of modernity, which positions non-West-
ern people in opposition to the ideals of modernity
and its attendant principles of the betterment of
Newness and Progress
humanity.
Tradition is by no means synonymous with the The opposition that has been set up between
past, but the two are often linked together to con- modernity and tradition in this way has been
stitute an “other” against which modernity is shown to be problematic. Traditional practices
defined. The idea of modernity therefore contains are neither as unchanging nor as oppressive as
within it a strong element of newness and differ- this binary view assumes, while the structures and
ence from the past. In this sense, each new era practices of modernity have not fulfilled its vision
may lay claim to a modern identity. The 18th of emancipation and empowerment of all human
century, however, saw a development of this beings. On the contrary, the global modern age
meaning such that modernity came to describe has been realized through numerous large-scale
not just novelty but also improvement. The intel- acts of oppression and violence, and influential
lectual endeavor of this period was significant in theorists describe this era as one characterized by
its orientation to the future and its positioning of increased control and regulation, weakened social
human beings as the agents, rather than simply ties, and greater risk and uncertainty. The Enlight-
the objects, of history. Human beings were enment model of modernity as the primary, or
reimagined as autonomous actors, creating a sole, means of enabling human flourishing has
more ordered and equitable world. been challenged, particularly by poststructural
&.(% M O DER NITY

theorists. Scholars working within the framework embedded in a range of intersecting and overlap-
of poststructuralism and allied more specifically ping sociopolitical processes.
with feminist and postcolonial approaches have In a similar vein, feminist theorists have pointed
been particularly active in highlighting the Euro- to the many binary oppositions and power struc-
centrism and masculinism of modernity. They tures implied in discourses based on Enlighten-
have thus proffered alternative readings of the ment philosophies, for example, nature/culture,
projects of modernity, while also identifying and private/public, traditional/modern, past/future,
envisioning multiple new ways of being modern and emotion/reason. The first of each of these is
in the present and future. typically, if implicitly, gendered female and deval-
ued in the forward-looking projects of modernity.
Revaluing these dimensions of social life is key,
Multiple Modernities
such theorists argue, to appreciating the multiple,
The argument for a recognition of multiple and often contrasting and contradictory, modes
modernities rejects a paradigm of modernity as a through which modern life is shaped. This work
necessarily convergent set of processes or the sin- builds on the assertion by feminist and other
gular end point of those processes. Instead, it scholars that all knowledge should be recognized
advocates an understanding of the world and his- as partial and situated in particular times and
tory as the story of many different cultural pro- places. This is especially true of those forms of
grams that are continually being shaped and knowledge that have become so embedded in the
reshaped. This view refuses a conflation of mod- collective unconscious that they are no longer
ernization with Westernization. It emphasizes the recognized as constructed rather than “natural.”
fact that although the Western trajectory of devel-
opment has been globally influential, indeed
A New Social Order
dominant, it should be understood as one deeply
contextual version—a particular set of values, A large body of contemporary work addresses the
institutions, everyday practices, and discourses—of question of whether our times are in fact more use-
what it means to be modern. This understanding fully understood as a new era than simply as a
rejects the universalism of a teleological model continuation of a model based on Enlightenment
and opens up the possibility of appreciating the thinking. This notion suggests that there has been
cultural variety in experiences and productions a rupture with modernity significant enough to
of modernity. shape a new social order structured through novel
This approach has implications for many values, politics, and ideals and is perhaps most evi-
groups who do not fit the dominant model, which dent in postmodern schools of thought. These take
has been criticized for its “aculturalism” and gen- as their central premise the idea that “grand narra-
der blindness. Postcolonial scholars point to the tives” purporting to explain the world should be
importance of power relationships between the dismantled, since in a world characterized more by
West and developing countries, which may have diversity, multiplicity, and fragmentation than any
been instigated centuries ago through projects of form of order, there can be no absolute truths.
colonialism but which are no less relevant in There is, however, a strong counterargument
understanding today’s globalized economies, cul- that despite the plurality of modernities and the
tures, and politics. While the Western model of newness of our global and technological age,
modernity must be contextualized as one particu- modernity has not truly come to an end or been
lar evolution, the constantly shifting connections surpassed. Rather, the social order that is termed
between Western and other countries also require modernity has been extended and intensified, par-
a relational approach to understanding contem- ticularly through the increased reflexivity of insti-
porary modernity. This differs from earlier mod- tutions and individuals. This reflexivity, or the
els in that the West can no longer be defined as continual interrogation and revision of all kinds
progressive as opposed to the stagnant cultures of of social phenomena, is itself produced through a
the colonial other. Rather, multiple cultures, proliferation of new forms of knowledge and a
including those of the West, can be seen to be concomitant, pervasive sense of uncertainty. This
 MODER NIZ A T ION T HEO RY &.(&

has been described as living in a “risk society.”

We thus live not in an age that has moved away
MODERNIZATION THEORY
from the forms of knowledge that constitute
Of the various theories that seek to explain pat-
modernity but rather in a period of heightened or
terns of international development, and the lack
radicalized modernity, termed late modernity by
of it, modernization theory is one of the most
theorists including the influential sociologist
famous and certainly the most influential. Mod-
Anthony Giddens.
ernization theory for decades was the mainstream,
Finally, the French theorist Bruno Latour
orthodox approach to explaining development,
argues that notions of modernity depend on a
and it was enormously important in the foreign
nature/culture divide that cannot be truly
policies of the United States and, to a lesser extent,
achieved or sustained. The category of modernity
other countries. The essential question that under-
therefore must be redefined to take account of
pins modernization theory is whether or not coun-
the hybrid systems that structure our social
tries in the developing world follow the historical
worlds. Our age, according to Latour, is neither
trajectory set by the West (i.e., Western Europe,
late modern nor postmodern—we have in fact
North America, and Japan). In this reading, devel-
never been modern.
opment is likened to a race, with some countries
Shari Daya and regions “ahead” and others “falling behind.”

See also Colonialism; Enlightenment; Ethnocentrism;

Eurocentrism; Giddens, Anthony; Globalization; Origins
Industrial Revolution; Modernization Theory;
The origins of modernization theory may be said
Postmodernism; Poststructuralism; Situated Knowledge;
to lie with the famous sociologist Max Weber,
Urbanization
who offered an idealist explanation of the origins
of capitalism, particularly in his renowned book
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capital-
Further Readings ism. For Weber, capitalism could trace its start to
the particular values held by Protestants in north-
Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at large: Cultural ern and northwestern Europe. It was no coinci-
dimensions of globalization. Minneapolis: dence, he maintained, that Lutheran, Calvinist,
University of Minnesota Press. Anglican, and Presbyterian countries were the
Beck, U., Giddens, A., & Lash, S. (1994). Reflexive first to industrialize, in contrast to the Catholic
modernization: Politics, tradition and aesthetics in nations along the Mediterranean and in Eastern
the modern social order. Cambridge, UK: Polity. Europe. Protestantism, he held, offered a unique
Eisenstadt, S. (2000). Multiple modernities. set of values that centered on delayed gratifica-
Daedalus, 129(1), 1–29. tion, frugality, and saving. Material success in
Felski, R. (1995). The gender of modernity. this world was held to be an indication (not a
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. guarantee) of God’s grace and entry into heaven.
Gaonkar, D. (Ed.). (2001). Alternative modernities. For Protestants, work was an ethical obligation,
Durham, NC: Duke University Press. and profit was a goal, not a sin. Thus, the Protes-
Latour, B. (1993). We have never been modern. tant ethic was instrumental in producing incipi-
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ent capitalists.
Schmidt, J. (Ed.). (1996). What is Enlightenment? The core of Weber’s view was that capitalism
Eighteenth-century questions and twentieth- produced a sustained rationalization of social life.
century answers. Berkeley: University of Rationalization is an ambiguous term and has
California Press. been used in different ways, but essentially, it
Scott, D. (2004). Conscripts of modernity: The refers to the process of rendering the world intel-
tragedy of colonial Enlightenment. Durham, NC: ligible by the imposition of an orderly, systematic,
Duke University Press. logical, and scientific worldview, in contrast to
metaphysics. Indeed, rationality was at the core of
&.(' M O DER NIZATION THE ORY

the Enlightenment project. Weber held that the celebration of capitalism—and the United States—
process of rationalization fomented scientific dis- during the height of the Cold War and a justifica-
coveries and that secularization facilitated the tion of American foreign policy toward states in
pursuit of profit through an impersonal cost- the developing world.
benefit calculus. Politically, rationalization was The Parsonian modification of Weber’s proj-
manifested in the emergence of bureaucracies, ect asserted that Third World countries should
which held to an explicit division of labor, special- deliberately “follow” the path set forth by the
ized institutions, and lines of authority in which United States and its allies, conscientiously adopt-
jobs were defined by standardized criteria, not the ing their culture, political systems, and markets.
whims of the people who held them. Bureaucra- Over time, this view held, the developing world
cies were necessary for the growth of laws that would evolve into something resembling the
applied equally to all as well as to the protection prosperous democracies of the West. What was
of property rights. Economically, rationalization called for was therefore gradual evolution, not
materialized through the market, in which profit rapid revolution (the latter being the siren call of
maximization rewarded the innovative and pro- communist parties everywhere). Thus, whereas
ductive and punished the incompetent. Weber Weber held that the rise of capitalism was con-
asserted that Western rationalization was unique tingent and specific to northern Europe, Parso-
and was not possible in cultures dominated by nian modernization theory maintained that it
Catholicism, Islam, Hinduism, or Confucianism. was inevitable and universal.
Weber likened rationalization to an “iron Modernization theory posited that the pro-
cage” descending over the West, one that emerged cess of rational economic development occurred
from religion but ultimately squeezed religion simultaneously in the economic, cultural, and
into the irrational and inexplicable, robbing political domains. Economically, countries were
humanity of its soul. His idealist, pessimistic view theorized to move through a linear sequence of
thus contrasted sharply with the materialist, opti- stages, such as via the Fischer-Price notion of
mistic perspective put forth by Karl Marx. agricultural, industrial, and postindustrial (ser-
Critics of Weber argued that his reading of the vice based) economies (although in reality, many
rise of capitalism was naive. Many capitalist insti- countries become postindustrial without ever
tutions were evident in Catholic northern Italy, developing a large manufacturing sector).
for example, long before the Industrial Revolu- The most famous explication of modernization
tion. Others criticize his privileging of religion as theory was probably Walter Rostow’s exposition
the source of social change, asserting that Protes- in The Stages of Economic Growth: A Capitalist
tantism was a response to, not a cause of, the new Manifesto, published in 1960 with a title that
system of class and markets spreading through- explicitly played on Marx and Engel’s Commu-
out northwestern Europe. nist Manifesto. Rostow, economic advisor to
President John F. Kennedy, held that develop-
ment was akin to an airplane taking off and pro-
The Parsonian Turn
ceeded through five distinct stages. The first,
Talcott Parsons, a professor of sociology at Har- traditional society, was characterized by low stan-
vard University, founder of the doctrine of struc- dards of living and preindustrial technologies and
tural functionalism and the first to translate The life styles and was essentially static. The source of
Protestant Ethic into English, played a decisive change in this context was necessarily exogenous.
role in the growth and transformation of modern- Such a stage characterized feudal Europe and
ization theory, adapting it to the historical condi- characterizes the most economically backward
tions of the mid 20th century. For Parsons, to be parts of the world today (e.g., New Guinea, parts
modern meant to be Western in terms of institu- of sub-Saharan Africa, or Bhutan). The second
tions, culture, economy, values, and governance: stage, preconditions for takeoff, saw the devel-
The terms were synonymous, and it was impossi- opment of primary-economic-sector activities
ble to have one state without the other. Mod- such as plantations and mining. Countries that fit
ernization in this light became an unabashed this description today include Mexico, Brazil, or
 MODER NIZ A T ION T HEO RY &.((

Indonesia. As society moved to the third stage, transient feature of capitalism, not an inevitable
takeoff, it witnessed the creation of a physical result.
infrastructure and the rise of social and economic Also closely associated with the economic
elites open to social and economic change. Take- dimensions of modernization theory was the pro-
off itself was manifested through the growth of gram of population control. Indeed, the gains of
an export-oriented manufacturing sector as the rapid economic growth could easily be swallowed
country became increasingly internationalized, up by an expanding population, a view with Mal-
with foreign direct investment fueling much of thusian overtones. Modernization theorists, who
the growth. As rising incomes generated a grow- also implicitly held an affinity for the demo-
ing working class or middle class, domestic graphic transition model and its stages, which so
demand began to grow, and society became closely resembled Rostow’s, advocated for birth
increasingly urbanized. China is perhaps the out- control policies throughout the developing world.
standing example of this stage at this moment in Programs such as the U.S. Agency for Interna-
history, as are other rapidly growing Asian newly tional Development (USAID), for example, pos-
industrializing countries (NICs). The drive to ited population control and the resulting economic
maturity, the fourth stage, witnessed self-sustain- growth it was theorized to bring as a means of
ing growth, labor unions, and an expanding enhancing the appeal of the West against the siren
commercial and industrial base as the division of call of communism in the wake of the Cuban
labor became more refined and specialized. Cur- Revolution of 1959.
rent examples include South Korea and Taiwan. In addition to the economic argument, mod-
Finally, Rostow’s nirvana, high mass consump- ernization theory also proffered a cultural expla-
tion, was defined by an enormous middle class, nation. Tradition, in this view, was synonymous
high per capita disposable incomes, low degrees with economic backwardness and stagnation.
of poverty, and well-developed markets. Obvious Typically dominated by religion, premodern tra-
examples would be the United States, Canada, ditions were held to be irrational and detrimental
Japan, and northwestern Europe. to the process of market expansion and all the
Closely associated with this version of modern- fruits it promised. Tradition, therefore, must be
ization is the process of spatial diffusion of ideas, sacrificed on the altar of economic transforma-
technologies, institutions, and change. Modern- tion. To be modern was to accept change—even
ization theory held that diffusion occurred at two rapid, bewildering, alienating change—as inevi-
intertwined scales. Internationally, modern char- table and as inherently good and necessary. That
acteristics diffused from the First to the Third is, change was synonymous with progress. Exam-
World (never the other way) via organizations ples of modernizationist interpretations of culture
such as the World Bank, the International Mone- include David McClelland’s analysis of textbooks
tary Fund, and transnational corporations, as throughout the developing world in the 1950s, in
well as through large-scale projects such as the which he examined the degree to which they pro-
Green Revolution. Within countries, modernity moted entrepreneurial versus traditional values,
diffused from urban areas to rural ones; cities and Robert Bellah’s interpretation of Japan’s
were viewed as dynamic, propulsive, forward- modernization, which he asserted acquired a
looking cores, and agrarian regions as inherently “Tokugawa spirit” that mimicked the Protestant
hidebound, static, and dominated by antimodern ethic and propelled that country’s entry into the
traditions. The implementation of growth pole industrial era. (Later Bellah changed his mind and
theory in the 1950s and 1960s was an explicit renounced this view.)
expression of this ideology. In this light, given the Finally, modernization theory contained an
faith that markets only created wealth, poverty explicitly political theorization, one that not only
was simply the result of the incomplete diffusion celebrated the West, and especially American val-
of markets, a state that could ultimately be over- ues and institutions, but maintained that capital-
come via the adoption of Western norms, tech- ism was a necessary precondition for the growth
nologies, and institutions. Modernization theory of democratic institutions. This line of thought
thus views uneven development as an incidental, held that only market-based societies generated
&.() M O DER NIZATION THE ORY

the wealth necessary to sustain a large middle quietly relegated to the background of develop-
class, which ensured the prevalence of civil liber- ment discourse. Dependency theorists pointed to
ties, including freedom of speech, assembly, and the ways in which colonialism had left a highly
the press. (However, unlike later neoliberal theo- uneven playing field among the world’s states, cre-
rists, modernization theory upheld a proper role ating a world economy that disadvantaged newly
for the state.) Unlike traditional societies, in which independent countries in the developing world.
political power was centralized in the hands of a Interdependence, in this view, amounted to little
tiny elite, markets, theorists such as Samuel Hun- more than exploitation. Far from eradicating pov-
tington held, generated numerous, dispersed cen- erty, markets reproduced it through the develop-
ters of power. Later, the famous economist Milton ment of underdevelopment. In this view, developing
Friedman picked up this view in his assertion that countries do not simply lag behind the West. How-
capitalism and democracy always went hand in ever, the rise of neoliberal thought in the 1980s and
hand with one another: Economic freedoms and 1990s in some respects spelled a resurgence of mod-
political freedoms were inevitably coupled. ernization theory, as both schools of thought place
enormous emphasis on the market as the primary
mechanism driving social change and prosperity.
Criticisms of Modernization Theory
There were differences, however, between modern-
Despite its numerous successes, modernization ization theory and neoliberalism, as the former did
theory came under withering attack in the late not universally advocate the privatization and
1960s and 1970s. Many pointed to its profoundly deregulation favored by the latter.
ethnocentric reading of culture, which posited the
Barney Warf
West as the only feasible or desirable model of
economic growth, as well as its explicit universal- See also Colonialism; Decolonization; Demographic
ization of American values. Indeed, moderniza- Transition; Dependency Theory; Developing World;
tion theorists could be maddeningly arrogant, Development Theory; Emerging Markets; Export-Led
condescending, and racist, as this quote by K. H. Development; Foreign Aid; Foreign Direct Investment;
Silvert in 1962 illustrates: Import Substitution Industrialization; Industrialization;
Modernity; Neo-Malthusianism; Newly Industrializing
There is something in the quality of the Latin Countries; Peasants and Peasantry; Regional Economic
American man and his culture which has made it Development; Remittances; Rural-Urban Migration;
difficult for him to be truly modern . . . which Underdevelopment; Uneven Development; Urbanization;
has made this part of the Western world so prone World-Systems Theory
to excesses of scoundrels, so politically irrational
in seeking economic growth, and so ready to
reach for gimmicks. (Quoted in Valenzuela &
Further Readings
Valenzuela, 1978, p. 542)
Bellah, R. (1970). Tokugawa spirit. New York: Free
Indeed, by focusing only on the internal causes Press. (Original work published 1957)
of poverty, specifically on ideas prevalent within Gilman, N. (2007). Mandarins of the future:
a culture, modernization theorists were resolutely Modernization theory in Cold War America.
silent about the historical context of the societies Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
they examined, ignoring the powerful role of Harrison, D. (1988). The sociology of modernization
colonialism and its legacy as well as the dynamics and development. London: Routledge.
of the modern world system, which perpetuate, Latham, M. (2000). Modernization as ideology:
not reduce, uneven spatial and social develop- American social science and “nation building” in
ment. Such a view ends up blaming the victims of the Kennedy era. Chapel Hill: University of North
poverty for their status. Carolina Press.
As dependency and world-systems theories McClelland, D. (1999). The achieving society. New
gained ground in the 1970s, modernization theory York: Free Press. (Original work published 1961)
suffered a steady decline in popularity and was
 MODIF IA BLE A R EA L UNIT P R OBLE M &.(*

study—identified as the scale and aggregation

Roberts, T. (2000). From modernization to problem. Second, there are the implications this
globalization: Perspectives on development and holds for the methods of analysis commonly
social change. New York: Wiley-Blackwell. applied to aggregated data. The MAUP requires
Rostow, W. (2008). The stages of economic growth: the researcher to ask the questions of how to incor-
A capitalist manifesto. Cambridge, UK: porate scale into methods of geographic analysis,
Cambridge University Press. (Original work how to determine and identify the operational
published 1960) scale of geographic phenomenon, how relation-
So, A. (1990). Social change and development: ships between variables change as the resolution
Modernization, dependency and world-system (scale of measurement) increases or decreases, and
theories. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. to what extent information on geographic rela-
Valenzuela, J., & Valenzuela, A. (1978). tionships at one scale can be used to make infer-
Modernization and dependency: Alternative ences about relationships at other scales.
perspectives in the study of Latin American The term modifiable is used because neither
underdevelopment. Comparative Politics, 10, the choice of the number of geographic units (the
535–557. scale of the analysis) nor their particular arrange-
Weber, M. (1965). The Protestant ethic and the spirit ment (how partitioning or zoning is selected given
of capitalism (T. Parsons, Trans.). New York: the scale of analysis) is essential and any number
Unwin. (Original work published 1905) of other choices can be made. The MAUP consists
of two problems, one statistical and the other
geographical, and it is often difficult to isolate
one from the other. Statistically, the underlying
MODIFIABLE AREAL concern is that the analyst may not be using the
appropriate statistic for the problem being
UNIT PROBLEM addressed. Geographically, the problem is intrin-
sic to the observation of the effects of different
Often the area (or regional) level rather than the geographic (or spatial) aggregations and the sub-
individual level is the target of inference in geo- sequent interpretation of the patterns revealed by
graphic and environmental science studies. The the different aggregations.
use of aggregated data sources while perform- Hence, it is imperative that the MAUP be ana-
ing geographic (or spatially) related inquires may lyzed in the context of a well-defined model that
well lead the researcher into an encounter with identifies the different scale components (from
the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP). Geo- the individual level upward) underlying the behav-
graphic analysis requires one to not only consider ior of each of the variables.
geographic area—the scale—but also the resolu-
Emily A. Fogarty
tion of the data to be analyzed. The relationships
between variables will change as the scale of mea-
See also Ecological Fallacy; Scale, Social Production of;
surement (resolution) changes. The relative size,
Scale in GIS; Spatial Data Integration; Spatial Resolution
scale, level of detail, or depth of penetration that
characterizes an object or activity relates to the
MAUP. This entry provides a cursory overview of
the MAUP as it relates to geographic inquiry. Further Readings
The outcome of two different geographic (or
spatial) aggregations produce different degrees of Haining, R. (2003). Spatial data analysis: Theory and
within-area homogeneity; in geographic terms, the practice. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
generic name for this is modifiable areal unit Press.
problem. The MAUP is common to all geographic Openshaw, S. (1983). The modifiable areal unit
(spatially) aggregated data. It consists of two problem: Concepts and techniques in modern
interconnected parts. First, there is ambiguity geography. Norwich, UK: Geo Books.
about what constitutes the objects of spatial
&.(+ M O N EY , G E OG RAPHIE S OF

MONEY, GEOGRAPHIES OF exchange rates imposed by Bretton Woods were

largely designed to avoid the rounds of deprecia-
tions that deepened the Great Depression of
Geography and money are no strangers to each the 1930s. Under this system of international reg-
other. A sizeable literature has documented the ulation, currency appreciations or depreciations
complex, often contradictory ways in which reflected government fiscal and monetary policies
finance and space are shot through with each within a system of relatively nationally contained
other. This topic finds its origins in an earlier financial markets in which central bank interven-
sociology of money: Writers as diverse as Karl tion was effective. Trade balances and foreign
Marx, Max Weber, Émile Durkheim, and Georg exchange markets tended to be strongly con-
Simmel were all concerned with the relations nected: Rising imports caused a currency to
between modernity and commodification. Under decline in value as domestic buyers needed more
industrial capitalism, for example, and the waves foreign currency to finance purchases.
of urbanization it generated, cities arose as sites The system of stable currencies ended abruptly
of new forms of social relations centered on with the collapse of the Bretton Woods agree-
money, leading to the widespread objectification ment in 1971 and the shift to floating exchange
of social relations in which everyone becomes a rates in 1973. The system’s demise reflected U.S.
buyer or a seller. The researchers of the Chicago trade imbalances with its European partners and
School of sociology, particularly Louis Wirth, the overvaluation of the dollar, whose strength
were appalled by the predatory relations and cul- was maintained only through a steady outflow of
ture of calculation that pervaded capitalist societ- gold. The accumulation of U.S. dollars overseas,
ies as ever more people were drawn into a money which significantly enhanced the growing Euro-
economy. market in the 1960s, contributed to an increas-
In its broadest sense, therefore, money was ingly unviable trade imbalance. Finally, President
instrumental in the time-space compression of Richard Nixon announced that the United States
capitalism, the formation of the nation-state, and would no longer abide by the Bretton Woods
the rise of a global economy. Capitalism without rules governing the dollar’s convertibility to gold,
complex systems of finance to lubricate invest- forcing a global switch to flexible exchange rates.
ment and trade is unthinkable. Because money Hereafter, supply and demand would dictate the
is highly mobile, most attention has focused on value of a nation’s currency, and currency trading
the international geography of money and the became big business.
ways in which money supplies are regulated at The global sea change in capitalism that began
the global scale. with the traumatic petrocrises of the 1970s,
The Bretton Woods agreements negotiated in and the massive restructuring of industrialized
New Hampshire following World War II, erected economies (i.e., widespread deindustrialization),
at the behest of the United States, led to the “Bret- included a fundamental renegotiation of the rela-
ton Woods system” of international financial tions between financial capital and space. Freed
management and the General Agreement on Tar- from many of the technological and political bar-
iffs and Trade (GATT). Between 1947 and 1971, riers to movement, capital has become not merely
there was very little exchange rate fluctuation; mobile but hypermobile. A key part of this new
most currencies outside of the Soviet bloc of states order was the emergence of what might be called
were pegged to the U.S. dollar, fluctuating only stateless money, which originated in its contem-
within 2% in a given year without International porary form through the Euromarket. Originally,
Money Fund (IMF) intervention. The dollar, in the Euromarket comprised only trade in assets
turn, was pegged to gold, at $35 an ounce. The denominated in U.S. dollars but not located in the
fixed exchange rate system required the free inter- United States; today it has spread far beyond
national movement of gold as well as minimal Europe and includes all trade in financial assets
government interventions to offset its effects, such outside the country of issue (e.g., Eurobonds,
as changes in the money supply designed to Eurocurrencies). One of the Euromarket’s prime
change real interest rates. The regulations on advantages was its lack of national regulations:
 MONEY , GEOGR A P HIES O F &.(,

Unfettered by national restric-

tions, it has been upheld by neo-
classical economists as the model
of market efficiency.
Capital markets worldwide
were profoundly affected by the
microelectronics revolution, which
eliminated transaction and trans-
mission costs for the movement of
capital much in the same way that
deregulation and the abolition of
capital controls decreased regula-
tory barriers. Banks, insurance
companies, and securities firms,
which are generally very informa-
tion intensive in nature, have been
at the forefront of the construc-
tion of an extensive network of
leased and private telecommuni-
cation networks, particularly fiber
optics lines. Electronic funds
transfer systems form the nervous
system of the international finan-
cial economy, allowing banks to
move capital around at a moment’s
notice, arbitraging interest-rate
differentials, taking advantage of
favorable exchange rates, and
avoiding political unrest. Such
networks give banks the ability to
move money—by some estimates,
more than $3 trillion daily—
around the globe at stupendous
rates (the average currency trade
takes less than 25 seconds): Sub-
ject to the process of digitization,
information and capital become A collection of various currencies from countries spanning the globe.
two sides of the same coin. Money has been instrumental in the time-space compression of
In the securities markets, global capitalism, the formation of the nation-state, and the rise of a global
telecommunications systems facil- economy.
itated the steady integration of Source: Russell Shively/iStockphoto.
national capital markets. Elec-
tronic trading frees stock analysts
from the need for face-to-face interaction to information, including real-time prices, eroding
gain information. The National Association of the advantage once held by specialists such
Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System as Reuters, and execute trades by pushing a few
(NASDAQ), the first fully automated electronic buttons.
marketplace, is now the world’s largest stock The ascendancy of electronic money shifted the
market, lacking a trading floor. Online trading function of finance from investing to speculation,
allows small investors to trawl the Internet for institutionalizing volatility in the process. Foreign
&.(- M O N M ONIE R, MARK

investments, for example, have increasingly

Further Readings
shifted from foreign direct investment (FDI) to
intangible portfolio investments such as stocks Cohen, B. (1998). The geography of money. Ithaca,
and bonds, a process that reflects the securitiza- NY: Cornell University Press.
tion of global finance. Unlike FDI, which gener- Corbridge, S., Martin, R., & Thrift, N. (1994).
ates predictable levels of employment, facilitates Money, power and space. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
technology transfer, and alters the material land- Leyshon, A., & Thrift, N. (1992). Liberalization and
scape over the long run, financial investments consolidation: The single European market and
tend to create few jobs and are invisible to all but the remaking of European financial capital.
a few agents, acting in the short run with unpre- Environment and Planning A, 24, 49–81.
dictable consequences. Furthermore, such funds Leyshon, A., & Thrift, N. (1997) Money/space:
are provided by nontraditional suppliers: a large Geographies of monetary transformation.
and rapidly rising share of private capital flows London: Routledge.
worldwide is no longer intermediated by banks. Martin, R. (Ed.). (1999). Money and the space
Thus, not only has the volume of capital flows economy. New York: Wiley.
increased, but the composition and institutions Solomon, R. (1999). Money on the move: The
involved have changed. Globalization and elec- revolution in international finance since 1980.
tronic money have had particularly important Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
impacts on currency markets. Since the shift to Strange, S. (1998). Mad money: When markets
floating exchange rates in 1971, trading in cur- outgrow governments. Ann Arbor: University of
rencies has become a big business, driven by the Michigan Press.
need for foreign currency associated with rising Thrift, N., & Leyshon, A. (1994). A phantom state?
levels of international trade, the abolition of The de-traditionalization of money, the
exchange controls, and the growth of pension international financial system and international
and mutual funds, insurance companies, and financial centres. Political Geography, 13,
institutional investors. 299–327.
The world of electronic money has changed
not only the configuration and behavior of mar-
kets but also their relations to the nation-state.
Classic interpretations of the nation-state rested
heavily on a clear distinction between the domes-
tic and international spheres, a world carved
into mutually exclusive geographic jurisdictions.
MONMONIER, MARK
State control in this context implies control over (1943– )
territory. In contrast, the rise of electronic money
has generated a fundamental asymmetry between A professor since 1969 and a prolific author,
the world’s economic and political systems. Mark Monmonier has made invaluable contri-
Because finance has become so inextricably butions to geography. Specializing in cartogra-
intertwined with electronic transfers of funds phy, his work has been internationally acclaimed
worldwide, it presents the global system of and is highly influential both inside and outside
nation-states with unprecedented difficulties in geography.
attempting to reap the benefits of international After obtaining degrees from Johns Hopkins
finance while simultaneously attempting to avoid University (BA, 1964) and the Pennsylvania State
its risks. University (MS, 1967; PhD, 1969), Mark taught
at both the University of Rhode Island and the
Barney Warf State University of New York at Albany. In 1973,
he accepted a position in the Department of Geog-
See also E-Commerce and Geography; Economic raphy at Syracuse University, and after 25
Geography; Finance, Geography of; Globalization; years, he was awarded the prestigious title of Dis-
Telecommunications and Geography tinguished Professor.
 MONMONIER , MARK &.(.

Funded through institutions such as the editor and, later, editor of The American Cartog-
National Science Foundation and the John Simon rapher, the president of the American Carto-
Guggenheim foundation, Monmonier’s research graphic Association, and the editor for the highly
has focused on a variety of cartographic topics. regarded (and anticipated) sixth volume of the
Demonstrated through his 200-plus articles and History of Cartography Project. As of 2009,
conference papers as well as 16 books, his breadth Monmonier remains an active teacher and is
of knowledge and contribution to geography are deeply involved with numerous research and writ-
extensive. His early interests focused on the use ing projects.
of computer algorithms in statistical mapping.
In the late 1980s and through the 1990s, Mon- Karen Culcasi
monier became a leader in interactive or digital
cartography, a subject matter now generally See also Cartography; Cartography, History of
labeled GIScience. His 1982 book, Computer-
Assisted Cartography: Principles and Prospects,
is considered the first commercial textbook on Further Readings
computer cartography. Though his writings on
computer algorithms, map design, and digital Monmonier, M. (1993). Mapping it out: Expository
cartography were formative in GIScience, Mon- cartography for the humanities and social
monier’s interests began to shift toward the social sciences. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
side of cartography, and by the 1990s, his research Monmonier, M. (1998). Cartographies of danger:
focused predominantly on 20th-century carto- Mapping hazards in America. Chicago: University
graphic technologies and their societal impacts. of Chicago Press.
Monmonier’s publications on social-mapping Monmonier, M. (1999). Maps with the news: The
projects have helped advance understandings of development of American journalistic cartography.
the social, political, and historical contexts in Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
which maps are made and used. More specifi- Monmonier, M. (2000). Air apparent: How
cally, he has published critically acclaimed books meteorologists learned to map, predict, and
on diverse topics such as journalistic cartogra- dramatize weather. Chicago: University of
phy, election mapping, place names, and surveil- Chicago Press.
lance mapping. His insights on such topics have Monmonier, M. (2001). Bushmanders and
been formative in the critique of cartography as a Bullwinkles: How politicians manipulate
social and political project—rather than a scien- electronic maps and census data to win elections.
tific or objective one. Published in 1996, How to Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Lie With Maps is perhaps Monmonier’s most Monmonier, M. (2002). Spying with maps:
widely read and cited book. As useful as maps Surveillance technologies and the future of
can be, he reminds his readers that they are gen- privacy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
eralizations and that they do “lie.” Through his Monmonier, M. (2004). Rhumb lines and map wars:
accessible writing and often humorous tone, he A social history of the Mercator projection.
has taught academics, students, and the general Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
public alike to maintain a cautious and skeptical Monmonier, M. (2007). From squaw tit to
perspective of maps. Indeed, in 2004, he was whorehouse meadow: How maps name, claim,
awarded a Globe Book Award for Public Under- and inflame. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
standing of Geography by the Association of Monmonier, M. (2008). Coast lines: How
American Geographers. mapmakers frame the world and chart
In addition to Monmonier’s significant contri- environmental change. Chicago: University of
butions in research and writing, he is an award- Chicago Press.
winning teacher and graduate advisor and has Monmonier, M., & de Blij, H. (1996). How to lie
been an active member of several professional with maps (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of
organizations. Some of Monmonier’s notable Chicago Press.
service contributions include being the associate
&.)% M O N S O O NS

MONSOONS Australia, Africa, South America, and southwest-

ern North America. These regions can be visually
identified through the seasonal reversal in mean
The term monsoon derives from the Arabic word summer (July) and winter (January) winds at the
for season, mausim, and refers to the seasonal 850-hPa (hectopascal) geopotential (potential
reversal in atmospheric circulation and the asso- energy of unit mass relative to sea level) height
ciated precipitation in tropical and subtropical level (Figure 2). In South America, seasonal rever-
regions. Such reversal of wind direction occurs sal of the winds is not as distinct as in other
with the seasonal migration of the Inter-Tropical regions. The change appears in the direction of
Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in conjunction with the cross-equatorial flow in the Amazon region.
the annual north-south progression of the sun. In North America, there is no cross-equatorial
The movement of the ITCZ induces a tempera- flow. However, there is a distinct seasonal rever-
ture difference between the land surface and the sal in mean winds.
ocean. The resultant difference in surface pres-
sure between the ocean and land areas fuels the
Regional Monsoons
monsoon winds. This entry presents a brief review
of how the monsoonal regions throughout the
6h^VcBdchddc
globe are demarcated and examines in detail the
characteristics of the South Asian monsoon. The Asian monsoon is the most dominant
Monsoonal regions are presently identified regional component due to the influence of the
by seasonal changes in cross-equatorial flows, Eurasian landmass, the Tibetan Plateau, and the
changes in wet- and dry-spell transitions, and Himalayan mountain range. W. Qian and col-
seasonal changes in divergent circulation in the leagues demarcate four subcomponents: (1) the
upper troposphere associated with the large-scale South Asian system over the Indian subcontinent
atmospheric overturning taking place in tropical and the Arabian Sea; (2) the Southeast Asian sys-
regions. Cross-equatorial flows occur when the tem, extending from the Bay of Bengal to Indo-
mean wind flows across the equator along pres- china and the southern South China Sea; (3) the
sure gradients established due to land-ocean East Asian system, extending over the northern
temperature contrasts. Monsoonal climates are South China Sea, eastern China, the Korean
characterized by distinct wet and dry spells with Peninsula, and Japan; and (4) the Tibetan Plateau
wet spells occurring during the monsoon season system.
and dry spells at other times. The large-scale The Asian summer monsoon sets in when a
overturning of the atmosphere refers to the heat low forms over the Eurasian landmass with
three-dimensional circulation associated with the the advent of the Northern Hemisphere spring. A
monsoons. When the continental land masses land-to-sea surface circulation takes place in win-
heat up with the ITCZ overhead, large-scale con- ter, when the oceans south of the Asian landmass
vection or rising motion takes place. Such rising warm with the southward migration of the ITCZ.
motion in the lower troposphere around 10n lati- The wintertime land-to-sea circulation is known
tude is offset by subsidence around 20n. This as the Asian winter monsoon.
results in divergent circulation in the upper tro- The summer monsoon of the South Asian sub-
posphere. Simultaneously, meridional and zonal component is the most well-defined and annually
circulation cells are set into action with winds regular monsoon system due to the influence
blowing in from the cooler surrounding oceans in exerted by the Himalayas on the position of the
response to the pressure gradient (see Figure 1). subtropical jet stream. When the ITCZ lies over
Current methods emphasize that the monsoon the Tibetan Plateau in the Northern Hemisphere
is a global phenomenon where the different spring, a heat low is established in the lower tro-
regional components interact with each other and posphere, while high pressure or divergence is
the overall general circulation of the atmosphere. established in the upper atmosphere. As a result,
The regional monsoonal components include the subtropical jet stream switches north of the
the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Himalayas and directs weather systems that draw
 MONSOO N S &.)&

DIVERGENCE DIVERGENCE Upper troposphere

(
200hPa)

CONVECTIVE MOTION Middle troposphere

(
500hPa)
20N

Lower troposphere
CONTINENT
10N (
850hPa)
HEAT LOW ZONAL
CIRCULATION

MERIDIONAL OCEAN
CIRCULATION
EQUATOR

OCEAN

Figure 1 Schematic of the three-dimensional overturning circulation

Source: Author.

moisture in from the surrounding cooler Arabian Moisture-laden air is transported from the east-
and Indian oceans toward land. ern equatorial Atlantic in response to sensible
heating over north central Africa during the
6jhigVa^VcBdchddc Northern Hemisphere summer.
The Australian summer monsoon sets in when
Hdji]6bZg^XVc
the desert region of north central Australia heats
up with the progression of the ITCZ south of A heat low is established over the Bolivian
the equator in the Southern Hemisphere spring. Andes when the ITCZ is south of the equator in
Northwestern Australia receives rainfall primarily the Southern Hemisphere spring. This draws in
in the form of thunderstorms when the heat low moisture-laden cross-equatorial winds from the
draws in moisture from the warm tropical oceans. Atlantic.

6[g^XVcBdchddc Cdgi]6bZg^XVcBdchddc
The African monsoon prevails over the sub- A heat low is established over the mountainous
Saharan and Sahelian regions of West Africa. region in southwestern North America during the
&.)' M O N S O O NS

6
50°N

50°N
30°N 40°N

30°N 40°N
Latitude
20°N

Latitude
20°N
10°N

10°N
0°

0°
10°S

10°S
60°E 90°E 120°E 150°E 60°E 90°E 120°E 150°E
10
10
Pressure 850. mb Time Jul Longitude
Pressure 850. mb Time Jan Longitude

7
0°

0°
10°S

10°S
20°S

20°S
Latitude

Latitude
30°S

30°S
40°S

40°S
50°S

50°S

90°E 100°E 110°E 120°E 130°E 140°E 150°E 160°E 90°E 100°E 110°E 120°E 130°E 140°E 150°E 160°E
10 10
Pressure 850. mb Time Jul Longitude Pressure 850. mb Time Jan Longitude

8
40°N

40°N
30°N

30°N
20°N

20°N
10°N

10°N
Latitude
Latitude

0°

0°
10°S

10°S
20°S

20°S
30°S

30°S

20°W 10°W 0° 10°E 20°E 30°E 40°E 50°E 60°E

20°W 10°W 0° 10°E 20°E 30°E 40°E 50°E 60°E
10
Longitude 10
Pressure 850. mb Time Jul Pressure 850. mb Time Jan Longitude

9
10°N

10°N
0°

0°
10°S

Latitude
10°S
Latitude

20°S

20°S
30°S

30°S

90°W 80°W 70°W 60°W 50°W 40°W 30°W 20°W 90°W 80°W 70°W 60°W 50°W 40°W 30°W 20°W
10 10
Longitude Longitude
Pressure 850. mb Time Jul Pressure 850. mb Time Jan
 MONSOO N S &.)(

40°N

40°N
Latitude
Latitude

30°N

30°N
20°N

20°N
110°W 100°W 90°W 80°W 70°W 60°W 50°W
110°W 100°W 90°W 80°W 70°W 60°W 50°W
10
Longitude 10
Pressure 850. mb Time Jan Longitude
Pressure 850. mb Time Jul

0 5 10 15 20 25 30
magnitude [m/s]

Figure 2 Mean wind vector at 850 hectopascals in July (left panels) and January (right panels), showing the
seasonal reversal in winds and the cross-equatorial flows (where relevant) for (page 1942) (A) Asia, (B) Australia,
(C) Africa, (D) South America, and (this page) (E) southwestern North America
Source: Author.

Northern Hemisphere summer. This draws in Understanding the mechanisms that govern the
moisture-laden southwesterly winds over north- South Asian monsoon’s onset, intensity, dura-
ern Mexico and southwestern North America. tion, and interannual variability is critical to
assessing its predictability for purposes of agricul-
tural decision making in the region.
South Asian Monsoon

>beVXihdcHdX^Zin 8]VgVXiZg^hi^XhVcYEgZY^XiVW^a^in
Rainy seasons in South Asia are associated with There appears to be a negative correlation
either the summer or the winter phase of the South between South Asian summer monsoon rainfall
Asian subcomponent of the Asian monsoon. The and the El Niño episodes (El Niño Southern
summer monsoon is the key rainy season in the Oscillation—ENSO), and vice versa during La
Indian subcontinent. However, the winter mon- Niña. However, while years of severe drought
soon is the major source of rainfall feeding the were associated with the failure of the summer
main agricultural season—the Rabi—in southern monsoon during El Niño episodes, not all El Niño
and southeastern India. It also feeds the main agri- episodes have caused droughts over India. The
cultural season—the Maha—in Sri Lanka. Rain- exact reason for such fluctuations in the ENSO-
fall over southern peninsular India and Sri Lanka monsoon relationship is as yet unclear. Theories
is diminished during the summer monsoon and have been put forth on the influence of Indian
enhanced during the winter monsoon. Ocean sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in modu-
Extremes in the intensity of the summer and lating the ENSO-monsoon relationship.
winter monsoons have been associated with dev- The ENSO signal appears over the Indian
astating droughts and floods in the Indian sub- Ocean in preferred interannual and decadal time-
continental region. The impact of monsoonal scales. The signal is apparent in the influence of
extremes on society is profound, as agriculture is ENSO on the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD). The
the mainstay of the economy in most countries in exact nature of the relationship between the IOD
the region. and the ENSO is at yet unclear. In fact, solar
&.)) M O N S O O NS

cycles may modulate the connection between rainy season. The overall strength of the monsoon
Pacific and Indian Ocean variability such that results from the interplay between ENSO, the
ENSO-related variability extends into the Indian TBO, ISOs, and the annual cycle.
Ocean during years of low solar activity, when Dynamical predictions of the Asian summer
weaker convective activity over the Indian Ocean monsoon have not been successful. Current global
makes it more susceptible to remote forcing and circulation models cannot capture the ocean-at-
vice versa. mosphere coupled variability and do not include
The South Asian monsoon is also closely land surface processes in an adequate manner.
related to a phenomenon called the Tropical While statistical predictions of the monsoon have
Biennial Oscillation (TBO). According to the had far greater success than dynamical predic-
TBO theory, a strong monsoon in 1 year, accom- tions, fluctuations in the quality of the statistical
panied by warm SSTs and intense convection, modeling of the monsoon highlight the need to
will cool the oceans, and the memory will carry understand the physical basis of the correlations.
on until the next year. The cooler SSTs will lead
to a weaker monsoon and less cooling through
<adWVa8]Vc\ZVcYi]ZHdji]6h^VcBdchddc
latent heating, which will lead to a warmer atmo-
spheric column and warmer SSTs that will in Factors driving long-term trends in boundary
turn prevail until the next year. The amplitude of conditions drive changes in the strength of the
the TBO could be modulated during years of land-ocean temperature gradient and, thus, the
ENSO-IOD coupling, as the TBO is modulated strength of the monsoons. Such factors include
by an 11-year solar cycle. Earth’s orbital changes, anthropogenic green-
Land surface conditions over Eurasia are house gas concentrations, volcanic eruptions, and
known to affect the strength of the summer mon- anthropogenic aerosol loadings. Surface wind
soon such that higher than normal snow cover in speeds associated with the summer and winter
the Tibetan Plateau and lower than normal snow phases of the East Asian monsoon declined sig-
cover in the Eurasian region precede heavy sum- nificantly from 1969 to 2000 due to a weakening
mer monsoon rainfall. of the land-ocean temperature gradient, probably
The South Asian monsoon has “active” and attributable to global warming. There is as yet no
“break” cycles in a given monsoon season. These evidence on whether wind speeds associated with
cycles have periods of 30 to 60 days. These active- the South Asian summer and winter monsoons
break cycles are linked to intraseasonal oscilla- have declined. The Intergovernmental Panel on
tions (ISOs) associated with the northward Climate Change’s Fourth Assessment Report
propagation of convection. Studies have noted an projects an increase in the seasonal mean precipi-
inverse relationship between ISO activity and tation rate over South India, Sri Lanka, and
South Asian monsoon strength. the Indian Ocean immediately west of Sri Lanka
Anomalous convective heating over the during summer (June to August) and a decrease
equatorial Pacific during El Niño episodes results in the seasonal mean precipitation rate during
in westward-propagating Rossby waves. These winter (December to February) over southern
Rossby waves are manifest as positive vorticity India, the northern Bay of Bengal, and the seas
anomalies along the North African/Asian Jet. Cold adjoining eastern Sri Lanka in 2090 to 2099.
air accompanies such positive vorticity anomalies Whether such an increase in summer precipita-
and reduces the land surface temperature over tion and decrease in winter precipitation imply
Asia. This weakens the meridional temperature explicit changes in the strength of the South Asian
gradient, reduces the easterly vertical shear (differ- monsoon is yet to be established.
ence of the zonal winds at 200 and 850 hPa over
50nE–90nE and 0n–15nN) of the mean zonal wind, Dinali Nelun Fernando
and reduces the northward migration of the tropi-
cal convergence zone. This decreases the number See also Atmospheric Circulation; Coastal Hazards;
of intraseasonal storms reaching land during a Coriolis Force; Cyclones: Extratropical; Cyclones:
monsoon season and reduces the length of the Occluded; El Niño; La Niña; Oceans
 MOR R ILL, R IC HA RD &.)*

Further Readings
Washington, he was one of a small but influential
group of students (including William Bunge,
Kodera, K., Coughlin, K., & Arakawa, O. (2007). Brian Berry, Art Getis, and Duane Marble) under
Possible modulation of the connection between the tutelage of William Garrison, a doyen of the
the Pacific and Indian Ocean variability by the quantitative revolution in geography, who intro-
solar cycle. Geophysical Research Letters, 34, duced his students to quantitative analysis. Wal-
LO3710. ter Tobler was also a guiding figure for these
Rajeevan, M. (2001). Prediction of the Indian “Space Cadets” at this time. Morrill taught briefly
summer monsoon: Status, problems and at Northwestern University in 1959–1960, under-
prospects. Current Science, 81, 1451–1457. took a postdoctoral research position at the Uni-
Ramage, C. S. (1971). Monsoon meteorology versity of Lund in Sweden in 1960–1961, and
(International Geophysics Series, Vol. 15). New then returned to the University of Washington in
York: Academic Press. 1961 to take up an assistant professorship. He
Saji, N. H., Goswami, B. N., Vinayachandran, P. N., remained at Washington for the rest of his career.
& Yamagata, T. (1999). A dipole mode in the Morrill officially retired in 1997, and he is cur-
tropical Indian Ocean. Nature, 401, 360–363. rently Professor Emeritus.
Shaman, J., & Tziperman, E. (2007). Summertime Morrill’s interests have always been wide rang-
ENSO-North African-Asian jet teleconnections ing and difficult to chart linearly, but his work
and implications for the Indian monsoons. exemplified two principles: (1) that geography
Geophysical Research Letters, 34, L11702. should be a science, as science is the most valid
Suppiah, R. (1992). The Australian summer and reliable means of getting at the truth (this
monsoon: A review. Progress in Physical stood in contrast with the largely descriptive and
Geography, 16, 283–318. parochial aims of geography in the early part of
Trenberth, K. E., Stepaniak, D. P., & Caron, J. M. the 20th century), and (2) that geographers should
(2000). The global monsoon as seen through the work toward social and spatial justice. (Morrill
divergent atmospheric circulation. Journal of was a member of CORE [the Congress of Racial
Climate, 13, 3969–3993. Equality] in the 1960s, was involved in the civil
Wang, B. (Ed.). (2006). The Asian monsoon. New rights and other progressive causes, and in 1969
York: Praxis. was one of the founding members of Antipode: A
Xu, M., Chang, C., Fu, C., Qi, Y., Robock, A., Radical Journal of Geography.) Systematically,
Robinson, D. A., et al. (2006). Steady decline of his work has been categorized in terms of politi-
East Asian monsoon winds, 1969–2000: Evidence cal, economic, health, urban, population, and
from direct ground measurements of wind speed. transportation geographies. His research special-
Journal of Geophysical Research, 111, D24111. ties have included social and economic inequality,
political representation, redistricting and voting
behavior, and modeling spatial behavior. His
career has included longtime public service at var-
ious scales of government. For example, he has
MORRILL, RICHARD (1939– ) served on the U.S. Census advisory committee,
the King County Boundary Review Board, and
Richard Leland Morrill is best known as one of the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction
the quantitative revolutionaries who impelled Project, as well as serving as an expert in various
geography toward more scientific epistemologies, redistricting court cases in Washington, Missis-
theoretical sophistication, and quantitative modes sippi, Indiana, and California. He served as presi-
of analysis during the mid 20th century. dent of the Association of American Geographers
He was born in Los Angeles in 1939. He (AAG) and the Western Regional Science Associ-
received a BA in geography at Dartmouth College ation. His books include Migration and the
in 1955 and then pursued graduate work at the Growth of Urban Settlement (1965), Spatial
University of Washington, where he earned Organization of Society (1970), Geography of
his doctorate in 1959. As a graduate student at Poverty in the United States (1971), Political
&.)+ M O R S E, JE D E D IAH

Redistricting and Geographic Theory (1981), and constructing nationhood and the new geographi-
Spatial Diffusion (1988), and he has written more cal imaginaries (i.e., symbolic, rather than physi-
than 200 journal articles. Morrill was also a cal, places, such as a nation or a diaspora) that it
recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship. To this entailed. He followed this volume with American
day, he remains an avid hiker, especially in his Geography in 1789.
beloved Cascade Mountains, east of Seattle. Morse also published The Elements of Geogra-
phy: Adapted to the Capacities of Children and
Michael Brown
Youth, and Designed, From Its Cheapness for a
Reading Book in Common Schools, as a Useful
See also Quantitative Revolution; Redistricting
Winter Evening’s Entertainment for Young Peo-
ple in Private Families, which first appeared in
1795 and went through four other editions, the
last of which appeared in 1804. In 1789 and 1793
MORSE, JEDEDIAH he published the two-volume American Universal
Geography. In 1796, with the assistance of Noah
(1761–1826) Webster, he finished the first comprehensive geog-
raphy of North America, titled The American
Father of Samuel Morse, inventor of the tele- Gazetteer, which included seven large foldout
graph, Jedediah Morse (1761–1826) is some- maps and 7,000 articles on various places, leav-
times called the father of American geography. ing a large legacy of colonial place names. His
After studying divinity at Yale, starting at age 14 works helped greatly to popularize maps and car-
and graduating in 1783, Morse became a promi- tographic literacy and made Morse the preemi-
nent evangelical Calvinist preacher and man of nent American geographer throughout the early
letters in Charlestown, Massachusetts, near Bos- 19th century.
ton, for 30 years. He was as involved in religious His interests in geography included “civilizing”
controversies as in geography: A staunch conser- and Christianizing Native Americans. In 1820, he
vative, he wrote extensively in support of ortho- returned to Yale and accepted an appointment
dox Calvinism and against the rising tide of from the Secretary of War to do a major study of
liberal Unitarianism. In 1798, Morse famously American Indians. He traveled for 2 years among
warned of an Illuminati conspiracy, which earned Indian nations along the Canadian border and
him much ridicule. He was a strong Federalist gained respect for their cultures; he attempted to
and became disenchanted with the French Revo- rebut common racist stereotypes about them in
lution. He was also a founder of the Andover an 1822 report.
Theological Seminary in 1808 and the American
Barney Warf
Bible Society in 1816.
As a teacher, he was dissatisfied with geogra-
See also Human Geography, History of
phy textbooks, all European in origin, which were
inaccurate. During the years 1784 to 1804, Morse
wrote numerous, highly popular geography text-
Further Readings
books. His most famous, immensely successful
volume was titled Geography Made Easy: A Short Brown, R. (1941). The American geographies of
but Comprehensive System, the first American Jedidiah Morse. Annals of the Association of
geography text, first published in 1784 when American Geographers, 31, 145–217.
Morse was just 23, which, with 23 editions, sold Jackson, L. (1999). Jedidiah Morse and the
more than 400,000 copies by the 1830s. This transformation of print culture in New England,
bestseller about the emerging United States, which 1784–1826. Early American Literature, 34, 2–31.
described Indians, New England Puritans, “uncul- Martin, G. (1998). The emergence and development
tured Baptists,” and decadent slave holders, of geographic thought in New England. Economic
helped Americans understand their new country Geography, 74(4), 1–13.
and formed an integral part of the project of
 MORTALITY RATE &.),

In preindustrial social contexts, the leading

Morse, J. (1970). A report to the Secretary of War causes of mortality are generally infectious bac-
of the United States, on Indian affairs. New terial (and to a lesser extent, viral) diseases,
York: Augustus M. Kelley. (Original work including, among others, respiratory infections
published 1822) (e.g., pneumonia), diarrheal diseases (e.g., dys-
Moss, R. (1995). The life of Jedidiah Morse: A entery), cholera, malaria, tuberculosis, and
station of peculiar exposure. Knoxville: University measles; today, that list also includes AIDS.
of Tennessee Press. Many of these diseases are waterborne. Thus,
crude mortality rates in much of the developing
world (Latin America, Africa, the Middle East,
and Asia excluding Japan) tend to exceed 20
deaths per 1,000 people annually. As societies
MORTALITY RATE industrialize, the mechanization of agriculture
and the correspondingly lower prices of food
The crude mortality rate refers to the incidence of tend to improve diets and thus lower mortality
death per 1,000 people among a given population rates and raise life expectancies. Improved pub-
and is thus essentially the same as the crude death lic health measures (particularly, clean drinking
rate; it is therefore closely linked to life expec- water) and access to health care are also impor-
tancy. Mortality should not be confused with tant. Thus, crude mortality rates in Europe,
morbidity, the incidence or prevalence of a given Japan, and North America are generally less
disease. Demographers typically rely on age- than 7 deaths per 1,000 people annually. These
specific and sex-specific mortality rates, which changes are an integral part of the demo-
measure the number of deaths of a given 5-year graphic transition that commonly accompanies
age group of males or females. Mortality rates industrialization.
vary considerably across the life cycle, depending Moreover, the decline in mortality rates is
on the particular social circumstances in which accompanied by a shift in the causes of mortality,
people live. Typically, mortality rates tend to be a phenomenon often called the “epidemiological
relatively high for infants (especially in economi- transition.” Essentially, mortality in economically
cally underdeveloped societies) and low during advanced societies tends to result from environ-
childhood and young adulthood, and then they mental and behavioral causes, including obesity,
rise steadily as a person enters middle age, increas- smoking, and alcohol use, which produce proxi-
ing dramatically in old age. However, mortality is mate causes of death such as heart disease, strokes,
a complex phenomenon with multiple demo- and various forms of cancer. Excluding the mid-
graphic, economic, sociological, psychological, dle aged and the elderly, other important causes
cultural, and geographic dimensions. include automobile accidents, homicide, suicide,
Like fertility, mortality is a reflection of both overuse of prescription medications, illegal drug
biological circumstances (e.g., genetics, diet) and use, and household accidents.
socio-environmental context. The causes of mor-
Barney Warf
tality vary greatly among societies (as well as
within them). Infant mortality rates (number of
See also Demographic Transition; Fertility Rate; Natural
deaths of babies less than 1 year old per 1,000
Growth Rate; Population Geography
infants) are an important measure of a society’s
health, as infants are the most vulnerable members
of any society. Typically, infant mortality rates are
high in preindustrial societies, both historically and Further Readings
in the present; in much of sub-Saharan Africa,
infant mortality rates exceed 120 per 1,000 babies. Yaukey, D., & Anderton, D. (2001). Demography:
In contrast, economically developed regions such The study of human population. Long Grove, IL:
as North America, Japan, and Europe have infant Waveland Press.
mortality rates of less than 25 per 1,000.
&.)- M O S T F AVORE D NATION STAT US

MOST FAVORED internationally. As of 2005, Cuba and North

Korea were the only countries denied MFN sta-
NATION STATUS tus by the United States. However, current issues
regarding the future of Iran’s MFN status are
The concept of most favored nation (MFN), being debated by members of Congress.
referred to as normal trade relation (NTR) status Although little work has been done within
since 1998, is a method of establishing reciprocal geography to analyze the relevance of MFN sta-
trading policies between countries. Within geogra- tus, the issue is useful in analyzing countries’
phy, the concept of MFN status has not been well behavior regarding trade issues.
applied. Within political and economic geography,
R. Rochelle Arrington
leaders of countries have used this concept as a
mechanism for enhancing their political position to
See also Trade
secure and maintain their status in the global arena.
However, historically, the term and the usage of
MFN have their origins in the realist school of
thought and, more recently, the liberal school. Further Readings
The concept of MFN is found in two versions:
unconditional and conditional. Unconditional Pregelj, V. N. (2005). Normal trade relations (most-
MFN status is the highest level that a country can favored-nation) policy of the United States.
reach. Under this system, a trading partner is Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service,
guaranteed treatment equal to that given to other Library of Congress.
favored trading partners without having to make Pregelj, V. N. (2005, March 24). Country
a reciprocal concession. A conditional MFN trad- applicability of the U.S. normal trade relations
ing partner gains treatment equal to that offered (most-favored-nation) status. Washington, DC:
other favored trading partners, but only if it offers Congressional Research Service, Library of
a concession in return. Under the General Agree- Congress.
ment on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and later the
World Trade Organization (WTO), most coun-
tries today have some form of MFN status.
The earliest moments of the geopolitics of MFN
in the United States are illustrated in The Articles MOVIMENTO SEM TERRA
of Confederation (1777), the Plan of the Treaties
with France (1778), the Treaty of Amity and Com- The Brazilian Movimento dos Trabalhadores
merce Between the United States and France Rurais Sem Terra (MST), or Landless Rural
(1778), the Treaty of Alliance Between the United Workers Movement, is the most influential land-
States and France (1778), The Barbary Treaties less peasant movement in contemporary Latin
(1786–1816), The Federalist (1787–1788), and America. The MST is a unique, family-based
the Treaty of Friendship, Limits, and Navigation movement committed to the radical transforma-
between Spain and the United States (1795). tion of Brazil’s unjust agrarian structure. Its cur-
However, the 1930s ushered in a new move- rent membership numbers more than 1.5 million
ment within the geopolitics of MFN, which is people spread across 23 Brazilian states. The MST
illustrated in documents such as the speeches of was established in 1984 in the city of Cascavel, in
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Reciprocal Trade the southern state of Paraná, with the purpose of
Agreements Act (1934), and the League of Nations advancing land reform through the occupation of
Economic Committee’s Equality of Treatment in idle private and public lands. Since its inception,
the Present State of International Commercial the MST has been led by João Pedro Stédile, a
Relations: The Most-Favoured-Nation Clause highly charismatic and effective peasant leader
(1936). Through these documents, there is a from the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Under his
transition in how the United States used leadership, the MST has spearheaded a slow but
MFN status for setting and promoting its agenda firm process of land reform in Brazil. Its success
 MOV IMENT O SEM T ER RA &.).

has inspired the creation of similar movements in (large estate landowners) laid the foundation for
other Latin American countries. The MST has the establishment of a privileged and powerful land-
also played a key role in the global struggle for holding class that continues to play a preeminent
land reform by actively participating in the Via role in Brazil’s social, political, and economic life.
Campesina, an international peasants’ movement In contrast to the progressive land-granting tradi-
that seeks to build solidarity among farmers’ tions of the United States, Canada, and Australia,
movements around the world land granting in Brazil was designed to benefit a
small minority. Indeed, the establishment, and even-
tual expansion, of the latifúndia system led to an
The Socioeconomic Context
enormous concentration of land in the hands of a
The history of the MST is intrinsically linked to the few, leading to the uprooting and impoverishment
history of land dispossession in Brazil since colonial of peasants and the degradation of forest resources,
times. The root causes of this dispossession can be particularly in the Brazilian Amazon. These prob-
traced to the latifúndia system (a semifeudal orga- lems intensified in the 1960s and subsequent decades
nization of large estates) established by the Portu- with the introduction of agricultural modernization.
guese crown during the 16th century to secure both Globalization has further exacerbated this situation.
territorial control and economic benefits. Initially, Currently, almost 46% of the country’s total regis-
these large estates were granted to selected dona- tered agricultural land belongs to 1.6% of landown-
tários (influential Portuguese noblemen) for their ers (Table 1), and more than 20 million rural people
services and loyalty to the crown. The donatários live in poverty, including 5 million landless peas-
developed and administered these large estates on ants. Notably, most of the agricultural land is pres-
behalf of the Portuguese crown. They also “paci- ently under corporate control (Table 2).
fied” indigenous peoples resistant to Portuguese The unjust agrarian structure has given rise to
rule by “incorporating” them into the colonial soci- intermittent peasant rebellions. For example,
ety and economy. Eventually, the crown granted in the early 1960s, under the leadership of the
the donatários, or their descendants, legal owner- Peasant Leagues, landless peasants mobilized
ship of these large estates. These early latifundiários across Brazil to demand comprehensive land

Number of Percentage of Percentage

Rural Property Size (hectares) Properties Properties Area (hectares) of Area

Less than 10 (Minifundia) 1,338,711 31.6 7,616,113 1.8

10 to less than 100 2,272,718 53.6 76,757,747 18.0
100 to less than 1,000 557,835 13.2 152,508,203 36.2
More than 1,000 (Latifundia) 69,123 1.6 183,564,299 44.0
Total 4,238,387 100 420,446,362 100.0

Table 1 Distribution of agricultural landownership in Brazil, 2003

Source: National System of Land Registration (SNCR), INCRA, 2003.

1992 (million Percentage of 2003 (millions Percentage of

Sector of the Economy hectares) Hectares hectares) Hectares

Corporate farms 245 74 297 71

Family farms 86 26 123 29
Total 331 100 420 100

Table 2 Distribution of landownership in Brazil by economic groups, 1992–2003

Source: National System of Land Registration (SNCR), INCRA, 2003.
&.*% M O V I M E NTO SE M TE RRA

reform from the “leftist” government of João Gou- pursuing comprehensive land reform. The MST
lart (1961–1964). In response, frightened latifún- adopted political autonomy and collective lead-
diarios called for military intervention and greeted ership as two fundamental organizational prin-
with relief the military coup of 1964. The military ciples. It also encouraged the active participation
acted swiftly and roughly to reassert control, ban- of the whole family in the movement.
ning peasant organizations and brutally repressing
the peasant leaders. This repression effectively
The MST’s Praxis
quelled peasant activism until the mid 1970s.
In 1976, the military decreed the expropria- The MST employs both political and economic
tion of large tracts of peasant lands to construct activism to promote its objectives. This integrated
the gigantic Itaipú dam along the border with approach teaches the landless to holistically
Paraguay. Although the military promised fair advance sustainable rural livelihoods. Over the
compensation, the country’s economic crisis past two decades, the MST has achieved remark-
delayed compensation, thus angering the peas- able results. First, it has compelled the Brazilian
ants. In response, peasants began to occupy idle government to redistribute more than 12.5 mil-
public land in the area around Itaipú, with the lion hectares of land. Second, the MST has
endorsement of the Catholic and Lutheran obtained land titles for more than 500,000 land-
churches. The success of these land occupations less peasants linked to the movement. Third, it
triggered a wave of similar occupations by land- has established hundreds of agricultural settle-
less peasants across southern Brazil in the late ments, several alternative media outlets, an exten-
1970s. Over the following years, landless peas- sive welfare system, and dozens of agricultural
ants mobilized across Brazil, again with the sup- cooperatives and food-processing plants. This is a
port of the Catholic Church. In 1984, many of considerable achievement given the MST’s lim-
these landless peasant groups came together in ited material resources (Table 3).
Cascavel and established the MST as a national The MST has encountered serious difficulties
landless peasant organization, with the goal of in confronting the latifúndia system. First, the

Military and Democratic No. of Peasant Total Area (million Average

Regimes (Period) Families Settled1 Set Target hectares, approximate) per Year

Military (1964–1984) 77,465 N/A 13.8 3,873

Sarney (1985–1989) 89,950 1,400,000 4.5 22,487
Collar and Franco (1990–1994) 60,188 N/A 2.3 15,049
Cardoso (1995–2002)2 540,704 N/A 19 67,588
Lula (2003–2006)3 381,419 400,0000 31 95,354
Total 1,149,726 70.6

Table 3 Official government numbers of land reform beneficiaries, 1964–2006

Sources: Data collected from Cardozo, F. H. (1997). Reforma agraria: Compromisso de todos [Agrarian reform: Commitments to
all]. Brasilia, Brazil: INCRA. Retrieved November 20, 2009, from www.incra.gov.br/portal/index.php?option=com_docman&task
=doc_download&gid=450&Itemid=143; INCRA. (n.d.). Resumo das atividades do INCRA, 1985–94 [Summary of INCRA
activities, 1985–94]. Brasilia, Brazil: INCRA. Retrieved November 20, 2009, from www.incra.gov.br/portal/index.php?option=com
_docman&task=doc_download&gid=430&Itemid=142; Ministerio do Desenvolvimento Agrario. (2006). Desenvolvimento agrario
como estrategia: Balanco MDA 2003/2006 [Agricultural development as strategy: MDA accounts 2003/2006]. Porto Alegre,
Brazil: Nead. Retrieved November 20, 2009, from www.mda.gov.br/arquivos/1184712941.pdf.
Notes:
1. Most of these families received land titles via colonization and settlement projects. Although during the 1995–2002 period there
was a substantial increase in the granting of land titles, the total number fell short of the 1.4 million target set in 1985.
2. Cardoso’s figures have been hotly contested. In 2006, INCRA revised its figures for 1995–2002. As a result, the total number of
beneficiaries decreased from 628,141 to 592,141.
3. During the first term of his mandate, Lula settled peasant families mostly on public land.
 MULT IMEDIA MA P P IN G &.*&

pursuit of sustainable rural livelihoods through

cooperativism has often been conflict ridden and Petras, J., & Veltmeyer, H. (2005). Social movements
sometimes divisive. Second, the MST has had and state power: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia,
limited political support in urban centers. Third, Ecuador. Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press.
under pressure from the powerful latifúndiarios, Robles, W. (2000). Beyond the politics of protest: The
the Brazilian government has been unwilling to landless rural workers movement in Brazil. Canadian
implement comprehensive land reform and to Journal of Development Studies, 21(3), 657–691.
properly fund postsettlement programs. Finally, Robles, W. (2001). The landless rural workers
the growing interest in biofuel has reenergized movement in Brazil. Journal of Peasant Studies,
the latifúndia system. Successive Brazilian gov- 28(2), 146–161.
ernments have encouraged the opening of new Stédile, J. P. (2002). Landless batallions: The Sem
agricultural frontiers, such as those in the state Terra Movement of Brazil. New Left Review, 77,
of Mato Grosso, by providing financial, techni- 77–104.
cal, and marketing resources. The new promi- Stédile, J. P., & Fernandes Mançano, B. (1999).
nence of the latifúndia has seriously undermined Brava gente: A trajetória do MST e a luta pela
land reform efforts. Newly settled peasants are terra no Brasil [Brave people: The trajectory of
confronting their lack of access to educational, MST in the fight for the land of Brazil]. São Paulo,
financial, technological, and marketing resources. Brazil: Editora Fundação Perseu Abramo.
The MST has challenged the government to
assume its responsibility in providing these
resources.
Despite the above constraints, the MST is deter-
mined to continue its struggle for land reform and MULTIMEDIA MAPPING
has expanded its grassroots political support in
urban centers. It has also reached out to environ- Multimedia mapping refers to the integration of
mentalists, human rights groups, labor unions, and computer-assisted mapping systems and multime-
other social actors. It has become a powerful voice dia technologies that allow the incorporation of
for the rural poor and disenfranchised. Embracing both spatial geographic (i.e., geospatial) informa-
political and economic activism to vigorously con- tion in digital map format and multimedia infor-
test centuries of systemic socioeconomic exclusion, mation. The term multimedia implies the use of a
the MST’s community-based approach to land personal computer (PC) or the Internet with infor-
reform offers great potential for effectively advanc- mation presented through the following media:
ing sustainable rural livelihoods in Brazil. (1) text (descriptive text, narrative, and labels),
(2) graphics (drawings, diagrams, charts, snap-
Wilder Robles
shots, or photographs), (3) digital video (televi-
sion-style material in digital format), (4) digital
See also Biofuels; Land Reform; Land Tenure Reform;
audio sound (music and oral narration), and
Peasants and Peasantry; Via Campesina (International
(5) computer animation (changing maps, objects,
Farmers’ Movement)
and images). Multimedia technology has been
extensively used by commercial encyclopedia
Further Readings CD-ROMs, such as Microsoft Encarta Encyclo-
pedia CD-ROM, to provide a multisensory learn-
Boron, A. (2008). The class struggles in Brazil: The ing environment and the opportunity to improve
perspective of the MST. An interview with João the understanding of a concept.
Pedro Stédile. In The socialist register 2008 (pp. Multimedia mapping has gone through several
193–216). New York: Merlin Press. stages. The first stage was the development of
Fernandes Mançano, B. (1999). MST: Formação e interactive maps and electronic atlases during the
territorialização [Formation and territorialization]. 1980s. The interactive map is a computer-assisted
São Paulo, Brazil: Editora Hucitech. form of map presentation and is characterized by
an intuitive graphical user interface that allows the
&.*' M ULT I ME D IA MAPPING

user to manipulate the map features through a exotics, as well as plant-animal interactions, hur-
computer mouse. The link to multimedia informa- ricane damage, and postfire vegetation succession.
tion is achieved through superimposing “hotspots” It is linked to a GIS database that includes detailed
on the cartographic features of the map or on vegetation maps, satellite imagery, and scanned
scanned aerial photographs. Interactivity becomes aerial photographs. The integrated multimedia
a key feature of the interactive maps, which allow approach system was implemented in two steps:
the user to explore more detailed information in (1) an interactive multimedia system designed
the area predefined by the map developer. Exam- to manipulate multimedia information such as
ples of early electronic atlases include the BBC’s hypertext, hyperlinks, scanned photographs,
Domesday Project and Goode’s World Atlas. digital video, and sound was developed in a Micro-
The second stage was the development of the soft Visual Basic programming environment and
hypermap in the early 1990s. Coined by Laurini (2) a GIS application program to manipulate
and Milleret-Raffort (1990), the term hypermap spatial data was constructed using Visual Basic
describes a multimedia hypertext document with and Environmental Systems Research Institute
geographical access. In other words, the hyper- (ESRI) MapObjects software. The hypermedia
map is an interactive, digital multimedia map that GIS approach provides a unique way to represent
allows users to zoom and find locations using a geospatial features and associated information on
hyperlinked gazetteer. The underlying principle interrelationships between flora, fauna, and
of the hypermap is the concept of hypertext. human activities in Everglades National Park.
Hypertext represents a single concept or idea. By The latest development in multimedia mapping
activating predefined hyperlinks, it is possible for is the convergence of digital mapping, multimedia
the user to connect a hypertext to other nonlinear content, and a global positioning system (GPS).
text information. If the hypertext is linked to Commercially available hardware such as Red
multimedia information, the term multimedia Hen Systems provides photo and video mapping
hypertext or hypermedia is used. Therefore, the hardware for field data collectors to collect geo-
hypermap is also called cartographic application referenced digital video imagery with a GPS. Red
of hypertext or hypermedia mapping. The devel- Hen Systems also provides multimedia mapping
opment of hypermaps was made possible with software such as MediaMapper and GeoVideo
Apple’s Hypercard software, developed for the for ESRI ArcGIS to process the video imagery
Macintosh computer and released in 1987. Exam- and generate multimedia maps. This type of inte-
ples of hypermaps include the Glasgow Online grated multimedia mapping system provides an
digital atlas and Hypersnige. intuitive connection between locations (where) of
The third stage involves the integration of a interest and what they look like.
hypermedia system (which features hypertext, Multimedia mapping is the direct result of
hyperlinks, and multimedia) and a geographic advancement of computer technology, mapping
information system (GIS), namely, hypermedia techniques, and GPS, all of which are combined
GIS. GIS is a digital mapping and analytical tool together to allow the collection, exploration, and
that is used to capture, retrieve, manipulate, and visualization of geospatial information in digital
display geographic information and features link- map format and associated multimedia content
ing of cartographic features with their alphanu- (e.g., text, photographs, sound, and video). An
meric attributes to perform spatial analysis. obvious advantage of multimedia mapping is the
Recently, there has been increasing interest in inte- ability to incorporate the multimedia content in
grating multimedia information in GIS. Shunfu a digital map environment that brings vital infor-
Hu (1999) developed an approach for integrating mation to the user.
multimedia data with a GIS database for an area
in Everglades National Park. The multimedia Shunfu Hu
database contains descriptive text, ground photo-
graphs, digital video clips, and audio segments See also Electronic Atlases; Geographic Information
highlighting the characteristics of Everglades plant Systems; Geovisualization; GIScience; Global Positioning
communities, individual species, and invasive System; Map Visualization
 MULT ISP EC T R A L IMA GE RY &.*(

Further Readings
to develop true-color photographs, again, in the
visible spectral zone, where human eyes perceive
Cartwright, W. (1999). Development of multimedia. reflected sunlight radiation. Multispectral imag-
In M. P. Peterson & G. Gartner (Eds.), ing systems simultaneously obtain a series of
Multimedia cartography (pp. 11–30). New York: images recorded at a number of different spectral
Springer. zones, far beyond the visible light. Multispectral
Hu, S. (1999). Integrated multimedia approach to the imaging is used in many areas of science and tech-
utilization of an Everglades vegetation database. nology but is most widely developed in astron-
Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote omy, especially in radio astronomy, and in Earth
Sensing, 65(2), 193–198. remote sensing, in particular for Land Use and
Hu, S., Gabriel, A. O., & Bodensteiner, L. R. (2003). Land Cover Mapping. Images taken at different
Inventory and characteristics of wetland habitat wavelengths can be combined to make composite
on the Winnebago Upper Pool Lakes, Wisconsin, images by displaying the image for each wave-
USA: An integrated multimedia-GIS approach. length as red, green, or blue in the final image.
Wetland, 23(1), 82–94. These composite images result in color patterns
Laurini, R., & Milleret-Raffort, F. (1990). Principles that can be used to identify surface features.
of geomatic hypermaps. In K. Brassel & H. Multispectral imaging is based on principles of
Kishimoto (Eds.), Proceedings of the fourth spectral radiometry. Radiometry is the measure-
international symposium on spatial data handling ment of optical radiation, which is electromag-
(Vol. 2, pp. 642–655). Zurich, Switzerland: ESRI. netic radiation within the frequency range
Openshaw, S., & Mounsey, H. (1987). Geographic between 3 r 1,011 Hz (hertz) and 3 r 1,016 Hz.
information systems and the BBC’s Domesday This range corresponds to wavelengths between
interactive videodisk. International Journal of 0.01 and 1,000 μm (micrometers) and includes
Geographical Information Systems, 1, 2. the regions commonly called the ultraviolet, the
Peterson, M. P. (Ed.). (1995). Interactive and visible, and the infrared. A radiometer is a device
animated cartography. Upper Saddle River, NJ: used to measure the power in electromagnetic
Prentice Hall. radiation. Radiometers can use different types of
Slocum, T., McMaster, R., Kessler, F., & Howard, detectors, for example, thermal detectors or pho-
H. (Eds.). (2005). Thematic cartography and ton detectors (photodiodes). Once the detector
geographic visualization. Upper Saddle River, NJ: absorbs the energy, it quantifies it and converts it
Pearson Prentice Hall. into an analog signal or, in modern radiometers,
into a digital number. The analog signal can be
registered in a film and produce a picture, where
the image density corresponds to the amount of
energy, registered by a radiometer. Modern mul-
tispectral systems use digital imaging technolo-
MULTISPECTRAL IMAGERY gies, where each multispectral image consists of a
two-dimensional array of picture elements (pix-
General principles of imaging are based on the els) and the brightness of each pixel corresponds
registration of electromagnetic energy in particu- to the amount of registered energy for the corre-
lar zones of the electromagnetic spectrum using a sponding surface element. Such multispectral
particular sensor. In classical photography, images can be thought of as a multilayer data set,
reflected sunlight is registered in light-sensitive where each layer corresponds to a particular zone
film. The first photographic films were sensitive of the electromagnetic spectrum.
in the visible spectral zone and had only one layer Multispectral imagery is widely used in remote
to record the integral amount of acquired energy; sensing for automated image classification, which
the films (and produced photographic prints) is based on differences in spectral reflectance of an
were black-and-white. The later films were com- object in different parts of the electromagnetic
posed of three layers, sensitive to three primary spectrum, called a spectral signature (or spec-
colors—red, green, and blue—which allowed us tral curve). There are a fair number of different
&.*) M ULT I S P E CTRAL IMAG E RY

The first film-based multispec-

tral imaging systems comprised
four to six synchronized cameras
with optical filters transparent
to certain wavelengths. The
images had classical frame geom-
etry and were composed of opti-
cal projectors to produce color
composites. Modern digital mul-
tispectral systems are usually
based on charge coupled device
(CCD) arrays and fall into two
categories: (1) frame sensors,
which use square or rectangular
CCD arrays and have geometric
Because different materials reflect and emit energy in different ways, characteristics similar to a film
the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer
camera, and (2) line sensors
(ASTER), with its multispectral infrared channels, can provide detailed
(scanners), which use linear
information about the composition of Earth’s surface. In this three-
dimensional perspective view looking north over Death Valley, CCD arrays and therefore have
California, ASTER’s bands 13 (10.6 μm), 12 (9.1 μm), and 10 (8.3 μm) noncentral projection geome-
are displayed in red, green, and blue, respectively. Salt deposits on the tries. Multispectral data acquired
floor of Death Valley appear in shades of yellow, green, purple, and by such systems range from 0.40
pink, indicating the presence of carbonate, sulfate, and chloride to 2.50 μm and typically consist
minerals. of 4 to 7 bands of data with sin-
Source: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. gle bandwidths 0.07 to 0.20 μm
wide. Advanced sensors, acquir-
ing 200 or more bands of data,
techniques used to extract qualitative and quantita- are called hyperspectral systems and have a single
tive information about the surface from the recorded bandwidth as narrow as 0.01 μm.
images, using analysis of the extracted spectral sig- Multispectral imaging systems can be installed
natures. Spectral differences in reflectivity at certain onboard an airborne platform. The first experi-
wavelengths, identified for the same object in differ- ments on the use of spectral aerial photography
ent layers of a multispectral image, can be used to for classification of vegetation were performed in
detect and separate objects on Earth’s surface. In the 1950s. In the 1960s, NASA initiated a large
many cases, the spectral signature of an object can number of studies of different applications of
be registered by laboratory or field spectrometry, color infrared and multispectral photography.
where a continuous reflectance spectrum of the The first orbital multispectral photograph was
sample is measured through a defined wavelength acquired by Apollo 9 in 1969 to assess the appli-
region. If such a spectral signature is known for a cability of such imagery for observation of Earth
particular object, similar objects can be delineated, resources. The first Earth Resources Technology
classified, and identified based on matching a dis- Satellite (ERTS-1), specifically designed for global
crete spectral pattern, extracted from bands of a collection of multispectral images for Earth remote
multispectral image, against the known spectral sensing, was launched in 1972. ERTS-1, later
curve of the sample object. Laboratory-based mea- renamed in Landsat-1, was followed by the series
surements of spectral signatures of many materials of Landsat satellites, of which the latest, Land-
and objects on Earth are collected by different insti- sat-7, is currently in orbit. Landsat 7 was launched
tutions and are available as spectral databases (spec- in April, 1999, and placed at an altitude of 705
tral libraries, such as ASTER spectral library, km (kilometers). Landsat 7 employs the Enhanced
maintained by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) sensor, which
or USGS digital spectral library). continuously collects digital multispectral data in
 MULT ISP EC T R A L IMA GE RY &.**

This May 19, 2000, subscene of the U.S.-Mexico border in California covers an area of 24 × 30 km. The
combination of visible and near-infrared bands displays vegetation in red. The border town of Mexicali-Calexico
spans the border in the middle of the image; El Centro, California, is in the upper left. The dramatic difference in
land use patterns between the United States and Mexico is highlighted by the lush, regularly gridded agricultural
fields of the United States and the more barren fields of Mexico. The Imperial Valley of California is one of the
major fruit and vegetable producers for the United States, watered by canals fed from the Colorado River.
Source: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team.
&.*+ M ULT I S T AKE HOL D E R PARTICIPA T ION

seven spectral bands from 0.45 to 2.35 μm, and multistakeholder participation in decision analy-
one panchromatic image with 0.52- to 0.90-μm sis tends to become quite complex, and the out-
wavelengths. The sensor swath width is 185 km, comes can be both positive and negative. To
and spatial resolution on Earth’s surface is 30 m navigate among these pros and cons, it becomes
(meters) for all spectral bands, apart from 60 m necessary to carefully shape any approach to
for infrared and 15 m for panchromatic bands. multistakeholder participation according to the
Since the beginning of the era of satellite specific conditions of each development process.
remote sensing, a large number of visible and To successfully facilitate such a customization, it
infrared imaging sensors have been flown into is essential to carefully respond to four guiding
space to study Earth and other planetary sur- questions regarding the participation: Why?
faces. These include Landsat (USA), ALI (USA), Who? When? and How?
SPOT (France), IRS (India), JERS (Japan), ASTER
(Japan-USA), CBERS (China-Brazil), PRIRODA
Why Participate?
(Russia), and many others.
A key entry point, and possibly the most critical
Gennady Gienko
question, in each individual participatory process
is to clearly resolve the question of why extended
See also Imaging Spectroscopy; Land Use and Land
participation would be required. There are sev-
Cover Mapping; Panchromatic Imagery; Remote
eral potential benefits of stakeholder participa-
Sensing; Remote Sensing: Platforms and Sensors;
tion, since it may achieve the following:
Spectral Characteristics of Terrestrial Surfaces; Spectral
Resolution; Thermal Imagery
u To different degrees, delegate influence (and
responsibilities) to involved parties
u Ensure the longevity of measures, for example,
Further Readings by developing and securing effective and
continuous management of built or social
Elachi, C., & van Zyl, J. (2006). Introduction to structures
the physics and techniques of remote sensing u Resolve differences or placate upset stakeholders
(2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. when different values and perspectives openly
Lillesand, T., & Kiefer, R. (2000). Remote sensing and enter into the negotiation
image interpretation (4th ed.). New York: Wiley. u Build good working relationships among
stakeholders
u Get more, and more diversified, knowledge into
a planning process, also including diverging
MULTISTAKEHOLDER values, and thus improve the quality of both the
process and its result when issues are assessed
PARTICIPATION from a variety of viewpoints
u Increase stakeholder support, which may
In contemporary development processes in cities include both financial and political backing
and regions, stakeholder participation among u Strengthen trust in involved institutions
vested-interest groups is often a core activity and u Inform and educate those affected, or the public
seen as more or less mainstream. Such develop- in general, about the intentions and content of a
ment processes may be of different kinds, for development project
example, addressing spatial planning, neighbor- u Ease implementation of the proposed project
hood regeneration, environmental improvements,
or behavioral change. The stakeholders involved From an ethical perspective, the above list can
may also belong to very different categories, for be seen as ranging between more destructive
example, the general public, those most affected aims, such as manipulation and therapy in the
by these decisions in their daily life, or those with worst case, up through more positive processes
a financial interest in the development. However, of collaborative knowledge production, social
 MULT IST A K EHOLDER P A R T IC IP A T IO N &.*,

learning, and negotiation and then toward In a broad sense, a stakeholder is anyone who
increased emancipation and shared power among declares himself or herself to have a stake in an
stakeholders. issue—assuming that if someone claims to have a
Moreover, a high degree of caution is needed to stake he or she probably is affected by the pro-
evade the wide range of potentially negative out- posed development in one way or another. From
comes of stakeholder participation. Those with such a perspective, most development processes
the most power may manipulate the process to are participatory, insofar as they seldom are the
favor their own interests and those of actors with accomplishment of one single person. But what is
no real “stake” in the matter and thus abuse the most important here is the participation of those
process for political purposes to the disadvantage stakeholders not normally involved. As an exam-
of genuine stakeholders. Public officials and/or ple, in the case of spatial planning, this would
politicians may refuse to accept results from the refer to participation of individuals outside of the
process, arguing that they themselves represent municipality’s own planning department and
the public interest and safeguard the common board. Such external stakeholders could be mem-
good. In such processes, there are often delays, bers of the public or local inhabitants, also offi-
since the involvement of diverse stakeholders leads cials from other municipal departments, external
to more feedback loops and thus less streamlined experts, representatives from business, or even
procedures. Costs increase, for example, for the researchers.
process facilitator, the participating staff, commu- In some development processes, it may be a
nication materials, and meetings; and new profes- good strategy to invite anyone to participate, for
sional skills are needed for facilitating processes, example, in the initial phases of larger urban
conflict resolution, and communication. renewal initiatives, where the objective may be to
Although it is clear that it may be possible to raise general awareness of future activities or to
have many different, and sometimes conflicting, scan public opinion. In other processes, it is prob-
aims when promoting participation, these inten- ably a good idea to delimit the scope of participa-
tions are seldom clearly stated. Instead, the “why” tion based on particular objectives. In endeavors
question is often only implicitly addressed by where specific knowledge is critical, for example,
those initiating such processes. It tends to drown concerning the socioeconomic effects of a certain
in general and quite unclear assumptions that urban regeneration program, experts of differ-
participation is a “good thing” in itself. This is a ent kinds might be invited to participate. Such
problem, since the various approaches and meth- experts can be professionals, such as sociologists
ods to support stakeholder interaction are likely or economists, and also “local experts” with deep
to support very different outputs. If a develop- knowledge of the local conditions. When an issue
ment process seeks social learning, it will proba- is politically sensitive and the objective is to
bly need a process design that is distinct from unlock conflicts and facilitate negotiations and
what is required for information purposes, not to agreement, it becomes essential to ensure that all
mention truly decentralized decision making. conflicting views are represented among the par-
Vagueness regarding the purpose of stakeholder ticipants. If the implementation of a project
participation may thus seriously undermine the largely depends on the active participation of
foundation of any participative process. local inhabitants, local communities are the pri-
mary centers of attention.
To get this right, objectives need to be linked
Who Participates?
to a mapping of potential stakeholders and their
After the “why” question has been answered, the different characteristics. Depending on the nature
process initiator—for example, a local or regional of the objectives, such a mapping may focus on
government—should have clearly formulated different qualities, such as the following:
objectives for any extended participation in a par-
ticular process. Based on these objectives, it then u Those being affected in different ways,
becomes possible to start exploring who should distinguishing between those most directly
participate, in order to satisfy them. affected and those just having an interest
&.*- M ULT I S T AKE HOL D E R PARTICIPA T ION

u Key organizations in different societal sectors, with different sets of stakeholders taking part and
such as citizen groups, communities, pursuing different objectives. From the timeline,
nongovernmental organizations, municipalities, it becomes possible to better understand how long
business, and local, national, and regional each one of these subprocesses should take, how
governments many and which stakeholders need to be involved,
u Key individuals in such organizations, who may and what costs are included. Ultimately, this
“own” a problem or the potential solution to makes it possible to judge whether participation
that problem is critically necessary, just desirable, or at all fea-
u Geography, for example, in terms of people sible in relation to the established objectives.
living near a certain location or downstream of
an intervention
u People who may contribute with different kinds
How Should Participation Take Place?
of resources As discussed above, participative processes should
u The various parties to potential conflicts be carefully tailored to the intended purpose(s).
The next step is to determine how the objectives
Finally, to be able to analyze, understand, and of participation may be supported by different
communicate the results of any stakeholder map- methods and tools for setting up and facilitating
ping, it is helpful to make use of different graphi- multistakeholder participation—taking the map-
cal representations. ping of potential participants, the available time-
frame, and the existing resources (once again
including time, effort, money, trust, and endur-
When Should Participation Occur?
ance) into account.
On many occasions, wider stakeholder partici- Fortunately, there are a large number of par-
pation is fully justified. The quality of plans and ticipative methods, each one with its strengths
decisions will improve, the long-term sustain- and weaknesses. However, it may become quite
ability of interventions will be strengthened, and difficult to navigate amid this plethora of poten-
matching between the judgments of officials and tial approaches. Some of the approaches are quite
experts, on the one hand, and the considerations extensive and all-inclusive, while others have been
of different stakeholder groups, on the other, developed by consultants or researchers for par-
will be better secured. Even so, stakeholder par- ticular situations or applications. For the individ-
ticipation often consumes time, effort, and ual professional, it is important to develop a
money and also demands trust and endurance framework for assessing the strengths and weak-
among stakeholders. It is easy to wear out both nesses of different approaches. Such a framework
stakeholders in general and those trying to facili- would support the understanding of how best to
tate the participation. approach participation within a particular devel-
Consequently, it is necessary to be meticulous opment process. Also, since development pro-
when determining, first of all, if and, then, when cesses often address complex and composite
moments of wider participation should be initi- problems, it is often beneficial to combine differ-
ated. There is no place for general calls for ent methods to be able to best address a set of
participation; instead, quite strategic judgments objectives, mix of participants, timeframes, and
must be made of “who is good for what and available resources.
when.” Here, it is extremely helpful to develop Finally, a critical aspect for a successful partici-
some kind of participation timeline, where (a) dif- pative process is how well power relations among
ferent objectives are linked to the participation participants are handled. Even if there is agree-
of certain stakeholders, (b) these moments of par- ment on overall development objectives, partici-
ticipation are positioned along the timeline, and pants will ultimately strive to promote their own
(c) estimated costs (in time, effort, money, trust, (or their group’s) short-term and/or long-term
and endurance) may be added to each moment. goals. This is not altogether negative but should
Accordingly, one single development process be expected and confronted. However, an even
may consist of several participative subprocesses, more critical success factor is the management of
 MULT IT EMP OR A L IMA GING &.*.

the power relationships that always exist between ability to accurately identify these features, sig-
the group of participants and a variety of external nificant information about how our world is
stakeholders. These may be government officials changing, and unique insight into the relation-
active in mainstream planning or decision mak- ships between the environment and the impact of
ing, stakeholders partaking in parallel develop- human activities. Multitemporal images and anal-
ment processes, or actors in different organizations ysis techniques provide the tools to monitor land
with some authority over the overall setting of use and land cover change (LUCC) and have been
the development process. If these external power instrumental in providing an understanding of
relationships are not handled properly, long-term global environmental change. Our understanding
progress is seldom accomplished. of the impacts of global change would not have
been possible without multitemporal imaging of
Jaan-Henrik Kain
diverse phenomena such as snow and ice extent,
sea surface temperature, deforestation, drought,
See also Built Environment; Civil Society; Community-
water resources, wildfire, desertification, and
Based Environmental Planning; Participatory Mapping;
more.
Participatory Planning; Public-Private Partnerships

Imaging Systems for Multitemporal Studies

Further Readings Multitemporal imaging began with the earliest
applications of aerial photography, in which gov-
Arnstein, S. R. (1969). A ladder of citizen ernment agencies in the United States regularly
participation. Journal of the American Institute of acquired aerial photos to monitor agricultural
Planners, 35, 216–224. production and soils. These photographs are
Beierle, T. C., & Cayford, J. (2002). Democracy in available from the 1930s onward and are still
practice: Public participation in environmental being used in studies of long-term landscape
decisions. Washington, DC: RFF Press. change. A wide range of Earth-observing satellite
Friend, J., & Hickling, A. (2005). Planning under systems are now available for multitemporal
pressure: The strategic choice approach (3rd ed.). studies. These systems have varying spatial (size
Oxford, UK: Elsevier Architectural Press. of the smallest resolvable feature), spectral (wave-
Healey, P. (2006). Collaborative planning: Shaping lengths sensed), and temporal (repeat cycle of
places in fragmented societies (2nd ed.). image acquisition) resolutions. The goal of any
Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. multitemporal study will dictate the best combi-
Piper, J. M. (2005). Partnership and participation in nation of spatial, spectral, and temporal resolu-
planning and management of river corridors. tions to use.
Planning, Practice & Research, 20, 1–22. Moderate-spatial-resolution (^20- to 30-m
Renn, O., Webler, T., & Wiedermann, P. (Eds.). [meter] pixel size) satellites such as Landsat (first
(1995). Fairness and competence in citizen launched in 1972) generally provide repeat cover-
participation: Evaluating models for age of the same spot every 2 to 3 weeks. We
environmental discourse. Dordrecht, Netherlands: therefore have more than 35 years of data from
Kluwer Academic. the Landsat satellites for multitemporal studies.
Data from Landsat and subsequently launched
moderate-spatial-resolution systems such as
France’s SPOT (Satellite Pour l’Observation de
la Terre, first launched in 1986) and the Indian
MULTITEMPORAL IMAGING Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite (first launched
in 1988) provide multitemporal data across
Multitemporal imaging is the acquisition of the globe.
remotely sensed data from more than one time Satellite systems that can provide daily cover-
period. Acquiring multiple views of natural or age of every spot on Earth have a relatively
built features through time provides an enhanced coarse spatial resolution (^1-kilometer pixel size).
&.+% M ULT I TE MPORAL IMAG ING

Nevertheless, these systems have been ideal for researchers to take into account naturally occur-
global monitoring of the atmosphere, vegetation, ring changes that may affect their ability to moni-
glacial extent, sea surface temperature, and other tor the specific change they are interested in. Time
more ephemeral phenomena. The National Oce- of year, rainfall, temperature, soil moisture, and
anic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) vegetation growth cycle all must be considered in
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer selecting the images to be used. Studies designed
(AVHRR) began collecting data in 1979, and to monitor specific phenomena from one year to
subsequent AVHRR sensors have provided con- the next generally seek to use data from as close
tinuous daily coverage of the Earth. France’s as possible to the same day or month.
SPOT VEGETATION system, first launched in A wide range of digital processing techniques
1998, also provides daily coverage for multitem- for multitemporal image analysis have been devel-
poral studies of vegetation condition. The United oped and employed. The most widely used tech-
States first launched a more advanced version of nique involves the classification of each date in
the AVHRR system in 2000, called the Moderate the analysis. The classes chosen reflect the nature
Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS). of the change to be identified; through post-
MODIS was specifically designed to provide long- classification comparison, this technique has the
term multitemporal data to improve our knowl- advantage of providing specific from-and-to
edge of global dynamics. Acquiring spectral data change information. However, this technique is
in the visible, near-infrared, and thermal-infrared quite sensitive to the accuracy of the individual
regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, MODIS classifications. Multidate images can also be com-
provides daily data to study the atmosphere, bined into a single classification whose output
ocean, and land surface at spatial resolutions of reflects both land cover/use classes that have
250 to 1,000 m. remained the same and classes that have changed.
More recently, commercial satellite systems Multitemporal principal components analysis
have become available that provide very high- (PCA) can be successfully applied to both multi-
spatial-resolution data (0.6–3 m) on an on-de- date and long-time-series data to extract informa-
mand basis. High-resolution data from these tion on change. When multidate image data have
systems can be reacquired in 1- to 5-day time been properly preprocessed, it is possible to
periods, and their high spatial resolution can be directly compare values in a single band or a veg-
an invaluable asset in disaster management and etation index from date to date using an algebraic
urban planning. function (e.g., subtracting one date from another).
More advanced multitemporal analysis tech-
niques include spectral change vector analysis and
Digital Analysis Techniques
the use of artificial neural networks.
for Multitemporal Studies
To make effective use of multitemporal image
Applications
data requires more rigorous initial digital pro-
cessing. This preprocessing is required to ensure The range and depth of applications using multi-
that images acquired from different sensors temporal imaging spans geography and multiple
through time are (a) radiometrically calibrated to sciences. These applications encompass both
correct for sensor variation, (b) corrected for physical and human geography. Physical studies
variation in atmospheric conditions, and (c) geo- often focus on biophysical, ecological, and envi-
metrically registered to a map base so that pixels ronmental change and use multitemporal images
from different dates overlay spatially. Without to monitor vegetation change, deforestation,
these corrections, it would be impossible to quan- agricultural production, rangeland health, soil
titatively compare reflectance values from one moisture, snow and ice, flood dynamics, lake
image date to another. and ocean water quality, invasive species,
Selection of images to use in multitemporal drought, and desertification. Human-geography-
studies also requires consideration based on the related applications include urban planning and
specific objectives of the study. It is important for growth monitoring, urban hydrology, population
 MULT IV A R IA T E A NA LY SIS MET HO D S &.+&

dynamics, fire detection and management, trans- statistics from the 1990s. Multivariate analysis
portation planning, socioeconomic and quality- methods are broadly classified into two cate-
of-life analyses, disaster emergency response, and gories: dependence and interdependence tech-
monitoring the impacts of human activity on the niques. A dependence technique is one where a
environment. single variable or a set of variables is identified
as the dependent variable to be explained or pre-
Stuart E. Marsh
dicted by other variables known as explanatory
or independent variables. An interdependence
See also Global Environmental Change; Land Use and
technique involves the simultaneous analysis of
Cover Change (LUCC); Land Use and Land Cover
all variables in the data set; variables are not
Mapping; Remote Sensing
classified as dependent or independent.
Multivariate dependence techniques can be
classified as those analyzing a single dependent
Further Readings variable (e.g., multiple regression, discriminant
analysis, logistic regression), more than one
Eastman, J. R., & Fulk, M. (1993). Long sequence dependent variable (e.g., analysis of variance),
time series evaluation using standardized principal and several dependent-independent relationships
components. Photogrammetric Engineering and (e.g., canonical correlation). Multiple regression
Remote Sensing, 59, 991–996. analysis is used when a single dependent variable
Lu, D., Mausel, P., Brondizio, E., & Moran, E. is assumed to be statistically associated with at
(2003). Change detection techniques. least two independent variables. The goal is to
International Journal of Remote Sensing, 25, predict changes in the dependent variable in
2365–2407. response to changes in values of the independent
Lunetta, R. S., & Elvidge, C. (2000). Remote sensing variables. The statistical rule of least squares is
change detection: Environmental monitoring frequently used to achieve this goal. If the depen-
methods and applications. New York: Taylor & dent variable is qualitative or categorical, multi-
Francis. ple discriminant analysis is the appropriate
Rogan, J., Franklin, J., & Roberts, D. A. (2002). multivariate technique. Discriminant analysis is
A comparison of methods for monitoring used when a sample can be classified into groups
multitemporal vegetation change using Thematic based on a dependent variable that comprises
Mapper imagery. Remote Sensing of Environment, several known categories. The goal is to explain
80, 143–156. group differences and predict the likelihood
that an observation belongs to a particular
group, based on a set of quantitative independent
variables. Logistic regression modeling, or logit
analysis, combines multiple regression with dis-
MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS criminant analysis—a set of independent variables
are used to predict a categorical and usually
METHODS dichotomous dependent variable. The key differ-
ence between logistic regression and discriminant
Multivariate analysis methods are defined as analysis is that the former includes both qualita-
statistical procedures that involve the analysis tive and quantitative independent variables and is
of more than one variable at a time, with an not subject to assumptions of normality. Canoni-
emphasis on modeling the relationships between cal correlation analysis is a logical extension of
such variables. The use of these methods in geo- multiple regression with several quantitative
graphy became a significant component of the dependent variables. The objective is to develop a
“quantitative revolution” within the discipline linear combination of both sets of variables
during the 1950s and 1960s and has been (dependent and independent) such that the corre-
further stimulated by the widespread use of lation between the two sets is minimized. Multi-
GIScience and a renewed interest in spatial variate analysis of variance (MANOVA) is an
&.+' M ULT I VARIATE ANAL YSIS ME THODS

extension of the more common univariate analy- consumers, for example, to be the most similar
sis of variance (ANOVA), which is used to simul- compared with all other possible pairs of objects,
taneously investigate the relationship between this technique will position these two entities in a
several qualitative independent variables (treat- way that the distance between them in multidi-
ments) and at least two quantitative dependent mensional space is shorter than the distances
variables. MANOVA is frequently applied in between any other pair of entities.
experimental design situations that involve the Geographers use multivariate analysis methods
manipulation of several treatment variables to in both aspatial and spatial contexts. In an aspa-
test hypotheses regarding variation in group tial context, the variables being analyzed may, or
responses across multiple dependent variables. may not, be linked by spatial location. In the
Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) former case, however, the analysis methods con-
is sometimes combined with MANOVA to sider neither the locations themselves as explicit
remove the effect of uncontrolled quantitative variables nor the effects of spatial correlation
independent variables on the dependent variables, and spatial autocorrelation between the variable
after the experiment. observations that arise from their relative loca-
In multivariate interdependence techniques, all tions. Conversely, in a spatial context, geo-
variables are analyzed simultaneously to find an graphers use multivariate analysis methods to
underlying structure that is applicable to the explicitly model the spatial relationships, possibly
entire set of variables. The choice of the specific including hierarchical relationships, between
technique to be used depends on whether (a) the location-based variables. These may comprise, or
structure of variables is to be analyzed (factor include, the locations themselves as variables.
analysis), (b) observations are to be classified to Marked and multivariate point pattern analysis,
represent structure (cluster analysis), or (c) our spatial regression models, geostatistics, geograph-
interest is in understanding the structure of obser- ically weighted regression models, and hierarchi-
vations (multidimensional scaling). Factor analy- cal linear models for spatial data are examples of
sis is essentially a data reduction technique used such spatially explicit approaches involving mul-
to investigate interrelationships among a large tivariate analysis. Where the location-based
number of variables and to explain these vari- observations represent area or lattice data, multi-
ables in terms of their common underlying dimen- variate analysis methods may contend with issues
sions (factors). The goal is to find a way to reduce such as the modifiable area unit problem, mea-
the information contained in the large set of orig- suring spatial proximities between observations,
inal variables into a smaller subset with minimal and defining spatial hierarchies.
loss of information. Factor analysis provides
Jayajit Chakraborty and Steven Reader
empirical estimates of the structure of variables
considered and thus serves as an important basis
See also Geographically Weighted Regression;
for creating summated scales. Cluster analysis is
Geostatistics; GIScience; Modifiable Areal Unit Problem;
a technique for classifying individuals or objec-
Quantitative Methods; Quantitative Revolution; Spatial
tives into a smaller number of mutually exclusive
Autocorrelation; Spatial Statistics
and relatively homogeneous subgroups. This
technique typically involves at least three steps:
(1) measurement of the association among obser-
vations to determine the number of groups, Further Readings
(2) formation of clusters to classify observations
into groups, and (3) comparison of clusters to Griffith, D., & Amrhein, C. (1997). Multivariate
understand how they differ. Multidimensional statistical analysis for geographers. Englewood
scaling, also known as perceptual mapping, is Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
often used in conjunction with cluster analysis to Wrigley, N. (2002). Categorical data analysis for
transform respondent judgments of preference geographers and environmental scientists.
into distances represented in multidimensional Caldwell, NJ: Blackburn Press.
space. If two particular entities are judged by
 MULT IV A R IA T E MA P P IN G &.+(

MULTIVARIATE MAPPING developing study hypotheses, and the description

of complex spatial relationships. From the analy-
ses of the two data sets, three study hypotheses
Multivariate mapping is the visual exploration of were defined:
multiple attributes using a map or data reduction
technique. More than one attribute can be visually 1. There is a spatial association between increased
explored and symbolized using numerous statisti- murder rates and the percentage of families
cal classification systems or data reduction tech- living in poverty in selected cities in the United
niques. Complex data relationships can be visually States.
displayed using graphical symbols. Color encod-
2. Murder rates are higher in cities located in the
ings are used to represent spatial relationships in a
East Coast than in cities located elsewhere in
given data set in a logical sequence and interpreta-
the United States.
ble format. To successfully communicate these
complex spatial relationships, serious attention 3. Housing ownership is closely associated with
must be paid to human cognitive factors and per- economic expansion and prosperity.
ception. In practice, most small-scale data sets are
usually displayed using graduated colors, gradu- In Figure 1, several plots are presented to illus-
ated symbols, proportional symbols, dot density, trate a few variables that may influence murder
bar charts, and stacked charts, among others. More rates in the United States. The upper panel in
recently, large-scale data sets have been represented Figure 1 has a map, a histogram, and a table. The
using more complex data reduction techniques. histogram is used to represent and explore the
A set of visual variables (e.g., texture, orienta- distribution of the young adult population at a
tion, color, size, shape, arrangement, and pattern) county level. The table summarizes high murder
is available to facilitate the display and carto- rates, while the choropleth map is overlaid with
graphic representation (symbol encoding) of mul- a proportional symbol map to evaluate whether
tiple attributes. However, thoughtfulness in terms there is a visual association between murder rates
of map design, organization, and presentation of and potentially related variables. A subset of
final results is required; symbols must be logically young adults (ages 18–29) is explored together
organized in a sequence that provides visual clar- with the murder rates. The six divergent classes
ity so that the information can be easily decoded; are symbolized using a ColorBrewer color
and more important, the information must be scheme, with areas shown in red having the high-
successfully displayed and effectively communi- est numbers and areas in blue having the lowest.
cated to the intended audience. Choosing colors In this multivariate map, graduated colors and
can be quite challenging, but recent work by Cyn- proportional symbols have been used to repre-
thia Brewer has resulted in a very helpful guide to sent murder in relation to young adults. From
choosing a color scheme. this map, we can infer that the West and Mid-
Examples from a geovisualization course are west have a lower number of young adults. The
provided to illustrate the concept of multivariate red area appears to be more concentrated in the
mapping. In this course, students explored two central/eastern side of the United States. There is
data sets: (1) the first set depicted the relationship no apparent visual association between cities
between murder rates and families in poverty in with the highest murder rates and cities with
selected cities of the United States and (2) the sec- large populations of young adults. The lower
ond set depicted housing ownership covering a panel in Figure 1 has a scatter plot, and a dot
period from 1900 to 2000. The examples demon- density map is linked, with proportional symbols
strate the analysis of the covariation among vari- representing different murder rates. This plot
ables within and between the two data sets with shows only a very small relation of young adults
the intent of simplifying and visually displaying and population density to increased murder rates,
selected variables. and the highest murder rates appear in areas of
The use of multivariate mapping allows uncov- high population density. The plot uncovers the
ering of the underlying relationships in data, fact that in some cities, such as those located in
&.+) M ULT I VARIATE MAPPING

Figure 1 Exploration of the relationship between murder rates and two factors (young adults and population
density) in selected cities of the United States
Sources: Courtesy of Sara Johnson, Geovisualization Class of 2007, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Sample data
pertaining to murder and drug arrests were obtained from Slocum, McMaster, Kessler, and Howard (2008, Table 3.1); housing
data were obtained from the U.S. Census Web site, www.census.gov.
 MULT IV A R IA T E MA P P IN G &.+*

Legend
39
0 220 440 880 1320 1760
Murder rate Miles
Families below povety Co ordinate System:GCS North American 1983
Datum NAD 1983

Figure 2 Relationship between murder rates and families in poverty in the United States
Sources: Courtesy of Olga Guajardo, Geovisualization Class of 2007, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Sample data
pertaining to murder and drug arrests were obtained from Slocum et al. (2008, Table 3.1); housing data were obtained from the
U.S. Census Web site, www.census.gov.

Mississippi and Alabama, high murder rates are potential trends were identified and are dis-
not necessarily associated with high population played in this figure. Possible spatial variations
density. This demonstrates that association does in housing ownership can be explained by the
not imply causality. Great Depression, World War II, and the result-
Figure 2 shows a choropleth map linked with ing “baby boom,” all of which made a big
stacked charts exploring the relationship between impact on the housing ownership rates of all the
murder rates and families in poverty in selected states. Housing ownership rates are the highest
cities of the United States. Combining a choro- in the midwestern, southeastern, and northeast-
pleth map together with charts allows the reader ern regions of the United States in the year 2000.
to better understand and interpret the data and Because of the economic depression and World
their spatial patterns, which may provide funda- War II, housing ownership rates decreased from
mental clues about the data. Also, new spatial 1930 to 1940 and climbed drastically from 1940
relationships between different attributes can be to 1950 due to economic expansion and pros-
recognized and further explored. perity in the post–World War II period. It would
Figure 3 shows the spatial distribution of the be interesting to see what will have happened in
housing ownership rates over the past 100 years the decade following the 9/11 attacks and the
for the contiguous 48 states. Each state in the subsequent war on terrorism. Based on past
chart map has a bar graph that shows the cor- trends associated with World War II, we can
responding rates of housing ownership over hypothesize that U.S. housing ownership rates
100 years. By placing 10 stacked bar graphs on will decrease between the years 2000 and 2010,
the states, we can spatially compare and con- in part due to a shrinking economy and increased
trast decreases and increases over time. Four national debt.
&.++
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

The Red Ovals

These states which are located along the west coast and the Northeast exhibit the most stable housing ownership rates. There was a slight decrease in
1920 and 1940. But over the past decade, these states showed only a slight increase in ownership.
The Blue Oval
The general trend of these states has been a steady increase in housing ownership over the past 100 years. In contrast to many of the other states, these
states showed a small increase in ownership during the 1930s.
The Green Oval
In the Midwest, there was a decline in the rate of housing ownership from 1900 to 1940. Specifically, the Dakotas of the north showed a strong rate of
decrease. These states have shown a general increase over the past 60 years, but many have not risen past their 1900 levels.
The Yellow Oval
These states had a very slight decrease around 1930–1940. Then, the ownership rates increased from 1950 to 1980. The 2000 rates are nearly double that
of 1900.

Figure 3 Housing ownership in the United States covering the period between 1900 and 2000
Source: Courtesy of Sara Johnson, Geovisualization Class of 2007, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
 MUSIC A ND SOUND, GEOGR A P HY O F &.+,

In summary, these examples demonstrate how sophisticated in the intervening decades. The cur-
to effectively combine different types of symbols rent focus is not only on the geographic signifi-
and successfully communicate the complex pat- cance of lyrics but also on the origin and diffusion
terns depicted in multivariate mapping. of disparate musical styles, the geographic varia-
tions in consumer demand for various genres and
Tonny J. Oyana
artists, and the enormously important music
industry, which produces, markets, and distrib-
See also Cartography; Choropleth Maps; Map
utes these artistic endeavors.
Visualization
Prior to the invention of the phonograph in the
1870s and the radio broadcasting of music in the
1920s, music was a purely oral (and aural) tradi-
Further Readings tion that was ephemeral. Recording technology
allowed music to become an important material
Brewer, C. (2005). Designing better maps: A guide artifact of a particular culture. Recording equip-
for GIS users. Redlands, CA: ESRI Press. ment made it possible for “song catchers” such as
Oyana T. J., Achenie, L. E. K., Cuadros-Vargas, E., John and Alan Lomax to scour the hills and hol-
Rivers, P. A., & Scott, K. E. (2006). A lows of Appalachia in the 1920s and 1930s in
mathematical improvement of the self-organizing search of and to record folk songs and ballads in
map algorithm. Chapter 8: ICT and mathematical the Celtic tradition and to establish the linkages
modeling. In J. Mwakali & G. Taban-Wani (Eds.), between the new world and the old one left
Advances in engineering and technology behind. Because of the dominance of the Berkeley
(pp. 522–531). London: Elsevier. School of cultural geography, folk music tradi-
Oyana, T. J., & Scott, K. E. (2008). A geospatial tions dominated these geographic studies, and
implementation of a novel delineation clustering popular modern music was slower to gain a foot-
algorithm employing the k-means. In B. Lars, F. hold in geography vis-à-vis other disciplines inter-
Anders, & P. Hardy (Eds.), The European ested in music.
Information Society, taking geoinformation In the 1960s and 1970s, cultural geographers
science one step further series: Lecture notes in also became interested in the origin and diffusion
geoinformation and cartography (pp. 135–157). of popular culture and its associated music. Larry
Heidelberg, Germany: Springer. Ford, for example, suggested that the various
Slocum, T., McMaster, R., Kessler, F., & Howard, genres that made up contemporary music (e.g.,
H. (2008). Thematic cartography and rock-and-roll, bluegrass, country and western,
geovisualization (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, gospel, blues) could be used pedagogically to
NJ: Prentice Hall. illustrate and enliven discussion of geographic
concepts such as culture hearths and diffusion
mechanisms. Musicologists with an interest in
geography examined the place names mentioned
in popular country music lyrics, noting that the
MUSIC AND SOUND, two states mentioned the most frequently (i.e.,
Tennessee and Texas) were also the states of ori-
GEOGRAPHY OF gin of the greatest number of members of the
Country Music Association. Geographic varia-
The first systematic scholarly studies of music in tions in the melodic elements of the music that
geography were conducted by cultural geogra- would be of interest to musicologists were, how-
phers in the late 1960s and 1970s. These efforts ever, largely ignored, perhaps because few geog-
were largely limited to examining music lyrics for raphers studying the subject were themselves well
their geographic content. Location and the evoca- versed in the field of musicology.
tion of attachment to these places is, indeed, one Coincident with the “cultural turn” in eco-
important aspect of the geography of music, but nomic geography in the late 1980s, there arose an
the subfield of music geography has become more interest in music geography among a different set
&.+- M US I C A ND SOU ND , G E OG RAPHY OF

Four musicians performing at the Mountain Music Festival, Asheville, North Carolina, 1930s. This image is one
of 400 photographs made in the course of sound-recording expeditions carried out between 1934 and ca. 1950
by John Avery Lomax, Alan Lomax, and Ruby Terrill Lomax, for the Archive of American Folk Song. The
photographs depict African American, Mexican American, and white musicians, singers, and dancers, primarily
in the Southern United States and the Bahamas. In addition to posed portraits, the images show musicians
performing in various settings: at home, in a concert, and during prison labor outdoors.
Source: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Lomax Collection (LC-DIG-ppmsc-00442).

of geographic scholars. Economic geographers in compact disk (CD) sales, after an initial surge
such as Andrew Leyshon and Allen Scott mainly in sales caused by the switch in recording medium
focused on the corporate aspects of the music from vinyl and cassette tape to CDs, and the
market (e.g., the geographic consequences of cor- increase in mp3 downloads—both legal and ille-
porate mergers and acquisitions in the recording gal. On the production side, geographers have
industry). Music was a multibillion-dollar culture also begun to focus on the geographic implica-
industry that was driving our consumerist cul- tions of home studios (i.e., less expensive and
ture. Those economic forces were of more interest more ubiquitous digital technologies that are
to this new set of scholars than the more descrip- replacing older and more expensive analog ver-
tive aspects that interested cultural geographers sions). Still to be thoroughly researched is the
two decades earlier. The music industry displayed seeming rise of independent labels and nontradi-
a tendency toward overproduction (e.g., too many tional outlets for bringing new musical acts to the
musical acts signed to recording labels, too many attention of the public (e.g., MySpace pages, You-
records released that did not allow the labels to Tube videos).
recoup their costs) as a result of uncertainty in the The “new cultural geography” also has had an
marketplace. Today, researchers such as Andrew impact on what aspects of music geographers are
Leyshon struggle to come to grips with the geo- examining. Lily Kong, for example, examined the
graphic consequences of changes in the demand impact of music on national identity in Singapore.
side of the music industry, such as the downturn Sara Beth Keough examined the spatial impact of
 MUSIC A ND SOUND, GEOGR A P HY O F &.+.

a political decision by Canada to decrease the does visual blight. Likewise, obnoxious sound-
stranglehold (i.e., cultural hegemony) of the scapes affect our feeling about places. Because
United States by requiring radio stations playing geography is an inherently visual discipline, more
music to devote a considerable percentage of their research has been conducted on the visual aspect
airtime to playing Canadian music. In an ironic of the human experience than on images of the
twist, Keough noted that playing the traditional phenomenal world formed through our other
Celtic music on the island of Newfoundland meets senses. Future research should examine these non-
the Canadian content rules but reinforces the sep- musical soundscapes to a greater extent than has
aratist nationalistic pride of Newfoundlanders, been done in the past. A great deal of research on
who voluntarily gave up their independence to tactile mapping has been conducted to enable the
become part of the Confederation in 1949. sight impaired to negotiate their environment, but
Both cultural and economic geographers have more research is needed to sensitize those with
been interested in musical scenes, the places where normal hearing to the life-worlds of those with
“the next big thing” in modern music might arise. severe hearing loss. Perhaps the most ironic aspect
John Connell and Chris Gibson explore the devel- of the soundscape is the manner in which many
opment of these scenes in places that were previ- attempt to drown it out by listening to their pri-
ously not known as musical hotbeds (e.g., the vate world of music and sound through the ear-
Dunedin sound in New Zealand, the grunge music buds of their iPods and similar devices, all the
scene in Seattle) but that leaped to the fore because while ignoring the sounds of nature or even traffic
of modern technologies. They examined as well all around them. Is this privatized aural insularity
the infrastructure necessary to create a musical a good thing for reinforcing a sense of commu-
scene, including recording studios, clubs and live nity? Surely it is an important topic to research.
venues, and often a university-based arty crowd
that tolerates and even demands musical experi- Thomas L. Bell
mentation and innovation. Ola Johansson and
Thomas L. Bell researched what constitutes a suc- See also Cultural Geography; Folk Culture and
cessful tour or circuit for different genres of mod- Geography; Nonrepresentational Theory; Popular
ern rock music in North America. Culture, Geography and
Connell and Gibson have not confined their
studies to music per se but have extended the
aural aspects to include ambient sounds that are
representational of particular cultures, such as Further Readings
the CDs of the exotic sounds of kookaburras and
Bell, T., & Gripshover, M. (2005). Pop goes the
didgeridoos sold in tourist shops rather than
geographer: Synergies between geography and
record stores in Australia. Ambient sounds are
popular culture. In R. Browne (Ed.), Popular
used to evoke moods, to relieve stress, and to
culture studies across the curriculum (pp.
induce restful states. Even sounds associated with
89–103). Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
the city (e.g., blaring horns, high-pitched sirens,
Connell, J., & Gibson, C. (2003). Sound tracks:
noisy jackhammers) may evoke pleasant memo-
Popular music, identity and place. London:
ries for former city dwellers in the same manner
Routledge.
that familiar odors and aromas stimulate memo-
Connell, J., & Gibson, C. (2008). Ambient Australia:
ries through the olfactory sense.
Music, meditation and tourist places. In O.
Another important aspect of the geography of
Johansson & T. Bell (Eds.), Turn up the volume:
music and sound concerns a more problematic
New essays in music geography. Aldershot, UK:
aspect of the aural landscape—soundscapes that
Ashgate.
are not particularly harmonious, melodic, or
Ford, L. (1971). Geographic factors in the origin,
pleasant—that is, sounds that are not music but
evolution, and diffusion of rock and roll music.
rather noise. A cacophony of discordant sounds
Journal of Geography, 70, 455–464.
can damage the eardrums if they are too loud, and
they just as surely diminish the quality of life, as
&.,% M US I C A ND SOU ND , G E OG RAPHY OF

Keough, S. B. (2008). Internet radio and cultural Leyshon, A. (2003). Scary monsters? Software forms,
connections: A case study of the St. John’s, peer-to-peer networks and the specter of the gift.
Newfoundland radio market. In O. Johansson & Environment and Planning D: Society and Space,
T. Bell (Eds.), Turn up the volume: New essays in 21, 533–558.
music geography. London: Ashgate. Leyshon, A., Webb, P., French, S., Thrift, N., &
Kong, L. (1995). Music and cultural politics: Ideology Crewe, L. (2005). On the reproduction
and resistance in Singapore. Transactions of the of the musical economy after the Internet.
Institute of British Geographers, 20, 447–459. Media, Culture and Society, 27, 177–209.
Leyshon, A. (2001). Time-space (and digital) Peterson, R., & Davis, R. (1975). The Fertile
compression: Software formats, musical networks Crescent of country music. Journal of Country
and the reorganization of the music industry. Music, 6(1), 19–27.
Environment and Planning A, 33, 203–220.
 NATION
N essential, but he believed that individual rights
could best be protected through group member-
ship because collective groups best provided secu-
The term nation has multiple meanings. It is fre- rity to individuals. Therefore, nations were viewed
quently employed to refer to a country, as in sen- as individuals bound together for collective secu-
tences such as “France is a nation” and “Snow is rity rather than by common cultural characteris-
falling across the nation’s midsection.” It also is tics. Because states existed to provide security, it
used as a synonym for large social groups such as was crucial for individuals within states to develop
the French, Arabs, or Cherokees. The term nation an “ardent love for the fatherland/motherland”
generally refers to large social groups; however, it so that states could perform their mission of pro-
is also used interchangeably with terms for other viding security. These ideas fit well with the
large social formations such as ethnic groups, emerging modern state, whose inhabitants (i.e.,
nationalities, races, and tribes. These concepts citizens) were then seen as a nation bound together
also overlap as many nations are multiethnic, by the state.
multiracial, and multitribal. Despite similarities Rousseau’s preoccupation with security meant
in meanings, nation has its own distinct meanings that he believed that national membership was
and origins. It derives from the Latin nationem, best determined by the need to maximize states’
meaning “breed or race,” which itself stems from abilities to ensure the security of their citizens.
nasci, “to be born.” When the word nation Accordingly, Rousseau believed that the size of
entered the English language in the 13th century, nations should be no larger than that which could
it reflected this original meaning by referring to be sustained by the available natural resources in
a “blood-related group.” However, by the a territory. Similarly, security also was achieved
17th century, nation was applied to inhabitants by the location of states’ boundaries along phys-
of a country. The use of the word nation today iographic features such as mountain ridges and
echoes one or both of these meanings. rivers because they were seen as the most easily
The meaning of nation was expanded and defendable. Therefore, rather than grouping peo-
shaped by the Enlightenment and then the Roman- ple together by common cultural characteristics,
tic period. The Enlightenment figures such as Rousseau believed that national membership was
John Locke and John Milton emphasized the defined by groups’ optimal sizes relative to the
rights of individuals with governance dependent available resources and the location of the indi-
on the free consent of the governed. Jean-Jacques viduals within these easily defended boundaries.
Rousseau accepted that individuals’ rights were Today, it is accepted that nations require resources

&.,&
&.,' NATION

and need to defend themselves; however, few romantic conceptions of nation, essentially mak-
believe that natural resources determine the exis- ing the two synonymous for a time. Maps too
tence and the size of nations and who belong to reinforced the unification of these concepts by
them. However, Rousseau so thoroughly inter- depicting the spatial distributions of “races,”
twined national identity with the natural world though they were basically the same as maps of
that he and those who built on his ideas believed nations defined by languages. An example is seen
that nature determined the number, sizes, and in a National Geographic map titled “The Races
appropriate territories of nations. of Europe.” It appeared as a supplement in the
Later romantics such as Johann Gottfried organization’s December 1918 issue of its maga-
Herder deemphasized the role of individuals and zine, which was devoted to the topic of race. The
focused instead on the collective group, das Volk union of race and nation reached its culmination
(the people), bound together by shared culture, with the Nazis and likewise was discredited, but
most notably language, religion, and history. their association still lingers as some see nations
Romantics believed that each language was “a as somehow genetically based.
currency of thought.” Therefore, to bond together In the latter half of the 20th century, schol-
into a nation, individuals had to speak the same ars recognized that nations cannot be easily
language. Vernacular languages were essential defined by objective criteria such as language
because each one embodied a nation’s culture, and religion. A one-to-one correlation between
beliefs, and values, molding its members’ think- languages and/or religions does not exist. Also,
ing and behavior in a way not completely trans- many nations formed before their members
latable into other languages. Nature also was spoke a common language. For example, the
seen as a determinant of national identity because historian Eric Hobsbawm points out that only
it was believed to be a force that shaped culture, about 50% of the French spoke French in 1789
including language. This notion was reinforced and only 12% to 13% spoke it correctly by the
by environmental determinism as it grew in the language standards of the time; only 2.5% of
19th century. Thus, language and physiographic Italy’s population spoke Italian regularly in
regions were seen to go hand in hand and were 1860. Hobsbawm also notes that many nations
viewed as mutually reinforcing. For example, also predate their traditions. These traditions
Irish nationalists frequently asserted that nature may strengthen the bonds of unity, but they
(which often includes God) created an island clearly were not the medium for the initial
called Ireland and, therefore, nature intends for bonding. Hobsbawm coined the phrase invented
one people (i.e., the Irish) to live there under the traditions to highlight the true role of tradi-
governance of a single Irish state. This belief is tions to nationhood. Because many nations
expressed in Article 2 of the Constitution of the consciously and deliberately cultivate cultural
Republic of Ireland, written in 1937: “The characteristics to distinguish themselves from
national territory consists of the whole island of those they consider to be “others,” he believed
Ireland, its islands and the territorial seas.” Simi- that it is not objective criteria but subjective
larly, French nationalists developed the belief ones that define nations. Along these lines,
that France was naturally bounded by the Atlan- Benedict Anderson coined the term imagined
tic, the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Rhine River. communities to refer to nations because their
For example, Buache de la Neuville wrote in distinctiveness is based on their members’ imag-
1791 that France’s boundaries should be fixed inations of themselves and others.
according to “the natural division of the Globe Academics offer differing opinions concerning
formed at its origin by the Creator.” By the mid- the true age of nations. Anthony Smith divides
dle of the 19th century, the concept of natural these opinions into four paradigms: primordial-
boundaries provided the French public with “a ism, perennialism, ethnosymbolism, and modern-
lesson of sacred union” and a sense of historical ism. Primordialism insists that nations are as old
continuity. as humanity and are natural, organic, and bio-
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, logical entities. Perennialism accepts that nation-
the idea of race became entangled with these alism is a modern political force but argues that
 NA T IO N &.,(

most nations are old while conceding that some Some academics argue that not all nations have
formed more recently. Ethnosymbolism believes self-government and point to examples such as
that old identities influenced the development of Palestinians, Kurds, Basques, and Scots. How-
modern nations while admitting that many mem- ever, these groups are by no means content with
ories and cultural practices are subjective and their lack of independence and seek it as a pri-
some are fabricated. Finally, modernism argues mary goal. At the same time, these examples show
that nations formed only since the French Revo- that not all members of a social group develop a
lution. Modernism has five subtypes based on national identity at the same time. Those who do
the differing causes of social formation: socio- call for self-governance often identify themselves
economic, sociocultural, political, ideological, as nationalists.
and constructionist. In summary, Symmons-Symonolewicz (1985)
Despite differing perspectives on the age of provides a nuanced definition of nation:
nations, the concepts of nation, ethnic group, race,
and tribe clearly draw on many of the same cul- A territorially-based community of human beings
tural characteristics, which explains their blurred sharing a distinct variant of modern culture,
boundaries and also why they are interused as bound together by a strong sentiment of unity
terms. However, their differences stem in part from and solidarity, marked by a clear historically-
their varying emphasis on these characteristics. In rooted consciousness of national identity, and
particular, nations stand apart by a strong sense of possessing, or striving to possess, a genuine polit-
self-awareness and the desire for self-governance. ical self-government. (p. 221)
Some ethnic groups and races exist because they
George W. White
are classified as such, often by academics or gov-
ernments, though those grouped in such categories
See also Borders and Boundaries; Citizenship;
may not be aware of or subscribe to these identity
Darwinism and Geography; Enlightenment; Ethnicity;
classifications. In contrast, nations have a strong
Geopolitics; Identity, Geography and; Nationalism;
sense of solidarity and a belief that they need their
Political Geography; Race and Racism; Territory;
own governments so that they can protect and cul-
Transnationalism
tivate their identities. Nations believe that only
they know what is best for themselves. In many
ways, nations are politicized ethnic, racial, and
tribal groups. However, it also means that the Further Readings
desire for self-governance can be shared by indi-
viduals of different ethnic, racial, and tribal back- Anderson, B. (1991). Imagined communities:
grounds, in turn explaining why some nations are Reflections on the origin and spread of
multiethnic, multiracial, and multitribal. nationalism (Rev. ed.). London: Verso Books.
The expectation of self-governance requires Connor, W. (1978). A nation is a nation, is a state, is
territory because policies and laws are tied to an ethnic group is a. . . . Ethnic and Racial
territory, though they are ultimately directed at Studies, 1(4), 377–400.
people. The links between nations, their gov- Gellner, E. (1983). Nations and nationalism. Ithaca,
ernments, and the territories in which their laws NY: Cornell University Press.
apply are manifested in the nation-state ideal: Hobsbawm, E. (Ed.). (1983). The invention of
the belief that every nation must have its own tradition. New York: Cambridge University
state and within every state a single nation. Press.
This ideal is best reflected in a minority of Hobsbawm, E. (1990). Nations and nationalism
countries, notably in European ones where the since 1780: Programme, myth, reality (2nd ed.).
ideal was conceived. It poorly describes coun- Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
tries that were most recently European colo- Pringle, D. (1985). One island, two nations? A
nies. Overall, the nation-state ideal drives political geographic analysis of the national
nationalist projects and much conflict around conflict in Ireland. New York: Wiley.
the world.
&.,) N A T I O NAL AE RONAU TICS AND SP A C E A DMINIST R A T ION (NA SA )

first agency to place a human on the moon.

Sahlins, P. (1990). Natural frontiers revisited: NASA also funded programs that led to the
France’s boundaries since the seventeenth century. development of the first communication and
American Historical Review, 95, 1423–1451. weather satellites. While NASA has greatly
Silber, L., & Allan, L. (1997). The death of expanded knowledge about space with projects
Yugoslavia. London: Penguin. such as the Hubble Space Telescope and explora-
Smith, A. (1994). The problem of national identity: tion missions to Mars and other planets, it has
Ancient, medieval and modern? Ethnic and Racial also made significant contributions to the explo-
Studies, 17(3), 375–399. ration about Earth and its systems.
Smith, A. (2001). Nationalism: Theory, ideology, NASA has launched and developed several
history. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. Earth observation satellites and instruments that
Symmons-Symonolewicz, K. (1985). The concept of record data specifically related to Earth’s systems
nationhood: Towards a theoretical clarification. and geography. One of NASA’s first successful
Canadian Review of Studies in Nationalism, Earth-orbiting missions is Terra. This satellite has
12(2), 215–222. five onboard sensors that record data that a mul-
White, G. (2004). Nation, state, and territory: titude of scientists are using to study interactions
Origins, evolutions, and relationships. Lanham, between Earth’s systems. Another successful mis-
MD: Rowman & Littlefield. sion is Aqua, a satellite with several onboard sen-
sors that record data about Earth’s surface that
can enable scientists to observe and understand
how Earth’s water cycle has changed and is chang-
ing over time.
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS All NASA satellites have components devel-
AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
oped by NASA, but some also have instruments
and components that were developed with the
(NASA) cooperation of other space and government
agencies throughout the world. Some of these
In 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space missions are Jason-1, Landsat, and Tropical
Administration (NASA) was established by Presi- Rainfall Measuring Mission. There are also
dent Dwight Eisenhower partially as an extension NASA-developed instruments and flight tech-
of the National Advisory Committee on Aero- nology on board other agencies satellites, such
nautics (NACA) and also in response to the Soviet as the QuikScat instrument that records wind
Union’s first satellite launch. Under the National speed and direction over Earth’s land masses
Aeronautics and Space Act, NASA is a federally and oceans but resides onboard of Japan’s
funded public agency with four primary mission Midori mission. Landsat is another mission
directorates: that uses several satellites to create digital
images of Earth by instruments developed
1. Direct the development and validation of through the collaboration between NASA and
exploration systems the U.S. Geological Survey.
The images and data produced from NASA
2. Improve modern aeronautics
missions have advanced the remote sensing
3. Create and maintain space operations discipline by producing high- and low-resolution
imagery and data of Earth and its systems that
4. Explore the Earth, solar system, and universe
has also contributed dramatically to the advance-
ment of science in understanding, observing, and
In accordance with these mission directorates, predicting Earth’s processes and characteristics.
NASA is responsible for funding projects that
Nicole Simons
advance each of these goals. Two of the first suc-
cessful projects were the Mercury and Gemini
missions, which enabled NASA to become the See also Remote Sensing: Platforms and Sensors
 NATIONAL CE NTE R FOR GEOGR A P HIC INF OR MA T ION A ND A NA LYS I S &.,*

Kennedy Space Center, Florida, 1999. An aerial view of the Launch Complex 39 area shows the Vehicle
Assembly Building (VAB, center), with the Launch Control Center on its right. On the west side (lower end) are
(left to right) the Orbiter Processing Facility, the Process Control Center, and the Operations Support Building.
Looking east (upper end) are Launch Pads 39A (right) and 39B (just above the VAB).
Source: NASA.

Further Readings
Barbara; the State University of New York at
Buffalo (the University at Buffalo); and the Uni-
Apt, J., Helfert, M., & Wilkinson, J. (2003). Orbit: versity of Maine. Funded from 1988 through
NASA astronauts photograph the Earth. 1996 by the National Science Foundation (NSF)
Washington, DC: National Geographic Society. following an open competition, the center con-
Dick, S., Jacobs, R., Moore, C., Ulrich, B., & tinues under a collaborative agreement between
Armstrong, N. (2007). America in space: NASA’s the three institutions. The center’s mission is to
first fifty years. New York: Abrams Books. conduct research in geographic information
Gorn, M., & Aldrin, B. (2008). NASA: The complete science and to undertake associated educational
illustrated history. New York: Merrell. and outreach programs.
Hoagland, R., & Bara, M. (2007). Dark mission: By 1986, it had become clear that geographic
The secret history of NASA. Port Townsend, WA: information systems (GIS) were a growing com-
Feral House. puter application with abundant uses in a range
of human activities, including science. At NSF,
the officer newly responsible for the Geography
and Regional Science program, Ronald Abler,
NATIONAL CENTER FOR saw an opportunity to promote the establishment
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION of a research center that would act as a focus for
research and education in this new field. A solici-
AND ANALYSIS tation was developed that suggested five themes
for research: (1) spatial analysis and spatial statis-
The U.S. National Center for Geographic Infor- tics, (2) spatial relationships and database struc-
mation and Analysis (NCGIA) was established tures, (3) artificial intelligence and expert systems,
in 1988 at the University of California, Santa (4) visualization, and (5) social, economic, and
&.,+ N A T I O NAL COU NCIL FOR G E OGR A P HIC EDUC A T ION

institutional issues. Eight teams responded to the

solicitation issued by NSF in early 1987, and the DiBiase, D., DeMers, M., Johnson, A., Kemp, K.,
project was awarded to the three-site consortium Luck, A. T., Plewe, B., et al. (Eds.). (2006).
led by University of California, Santa Barbara. Geographic information science & technology
Two key activities immediately served to char- body of knowledge. Washington, DC: Association
acterize the new center and its proposal. First, of American Geographers.
research was to be conducted as a series of initia-
tives, each one lasting between 2 to 3 years and
focusing on a specific topic within the five major
themes. Each initiative would begin with a spe-
cialist meeting that would bring 20 to 40 schol-
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR
ars together to review the state of the art and GEOGRAPHIC EDUCATION
develop and prioritize a research agenda. The
initiative would proceed through activities both The National Council for Geographic Education
inside the center and in the broader community (NCGE) is a professional organization whose
and would end with presentations on research mission is to enhance the status and quality of
results at a major conference and a final report. geography teaching and learning. The NCGE
The first specialist meeting was held in December has played an active role in advancing the
1988 on the subject of the accuracy of spatial place of geography in the American curriculum
databases, and to date, more than 40 topics have through workshops, publications, and grant-
been investigated. supported projects targeting underserved groups,
The second activity was developed in response research in geographic learning, use of technol-
to a perceived lack of textbooks and other ogy, and in the preparation of teachers to intro-
teaching materials in the growing field of GIS duce the subject of advanced-placement human
education. A core curriculum was designed as geography.
a collection of 75 sets of prototype lecture notes, The NCGE was established in 1915 by George
and authors were recruited to prepare drafts. J. Miller, a professor of geography at the State
During the 1989–1990 academic year, roughly Teachers College of Mankato, Minnesota. Orig-
100 instructors agreed to teach part, or all, of the inally known as the National Council of Geog-
curriculum, and their experiences were used to raphy Teachers, the organization adopted its
prepare a final draft that was published in 1990. present name in 1956. The NCGE maintains an
More than 1,500 copies of the curriculum, assem- open membership policy, welcoming members
bled in three large binders, were distributed in the from all levels of geography education, includ-
following years and became a foundation for the ing students, K–12 teachers, college and univer-
rapid expansion of worldwide education in GIS. sity faculty, corporations and libraries, and
individuals in the public and private sectors who
Michael F. Goodchild
are interested in geography education. The mem-
bership is mainly from the United States, repre-
See also Egenhofer, Max; Frank, Andrew; Geographic senting every state and the District of Columbia,
Information Systems; GIS, History of; GIScience; as well as the territories. The organization also
Goodchild, Michael; Mark, David M. has international members, especially from
Canada.
Member services include a bimonthly news-
Further Readings letter, Perspective; a peer-reviewed journal, the
Journal of Geography, published six times per
Abler, R. F. (1987). The National Science Foundation year; and a second journal oriented toward K–12
Center for Geographic Information and Analysis. members, The Geography Teacher, published
International Journal of Geographical four times each year. The NCGE’s Pathways
Information Systems, 1, 303–326. publications series, initiated in 1991, includes
more than 30 volumes that address topics of
 NA T IONA L GEOGR A P HIC SOC IE TY &.,,

interest to geography educators relating to

research, regional and thematic content, and
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
instructional strategies. SOCIETY
The NCGE sponsors an annual conference at
locations across the United States. Meetings have The National Geographic Society has a wide-
occasionally also been held outside the United ranging impact on how Americans—and the
States, most recently in Canada and the Domini- world—understand geography, tying its mission
can Republic. Annual conferences afford mem- of diffusing geographic knowledge to human
bers an opportunity to exchange ideas, practice fascination with exploration, travel, and adven-
new techniques, and share lessons in a collegial ture. The society both represents and shapes cul-
forum. Field trips and plenary sessions in which tural understandings of geography in the United
noted geographers speak are also an important States.
part of the annual conferences, as are the NCGE- The Washington, D.C.–based National Geo-
sponsored special interest groups, such as the graphic Society was founded in 1888, in an era of
Supplemental Instruction e-mail discussion “explorers’ clubs,” with 33 original members that
group, that allow educators with common inter- included geologists, bankers, explorers, and mete-
ests to share ideas and seek solutions to class- orologists. Gilbert Grosvenor, the magazine’s first
room challenges. editor, is credited with transforming the maga-
The NCGE recognizes excellence in geography zine from a jargon-ridden technical review to the
education through a multifaceted awards pro- colorful publication it is today. Under Grosve-
gram. The organization’s highest honor, the nor’s reign, National Geographic found its foot-
George J. Miller Award, is named after the orga- ing in eyewitness, photograph-heavy accounts of
nization’s founder and presented to one geogra- faraway places. Society projects have included
pher each year for distinguished contributions research by Louis and Mary Leakey on the ori-
and service to geography. In addition, outstand- gins of humans in Africa, Jane Goodall on chim-
ing teachers, at both the K–12 and the college panzees in Tanzania, and Robert Ballard on
level, are recognized, and publications and other the sunken Titanic. Today National Geographic
media, both within and beyond the discipline of magazine has a circulation of 8.5 million and is
geography, are highlighted. published in more than 30 languages.
The NCGE is led by officers and an executive National Geographic is an internationally
planning board elected by the membership. In known magazine that has long served to educate
2007, the organization’s central office, headed by its readers about distant places. At times, how-
an executive director, was relocated to Washing- ever, the magazine has been as reflective of West-
ton, D.C. ern culture as it has been educative. In its early
years, National Geographic stories carried an
Martha B. Sharma imperialist tone common to explorers’ clubs of
the day. In hindsight, the bare-breasted photos of
women in “exotic” locales are seen as voyeuristic,
See also Geography Education
and the magazine’s mid-20th-century photogra-
phy is criticized for being more aesthetic than
enlightening. In the 1960s and 1970s, the maga-
zine moved in a more realistic and politically
Further Readings charged direction. While this angle created inter-
nal dissent about the society’s mission, features
National Council for Geographic Education: such as those illustrating urban conditions in the
www.ncge.org United States or the impact of apartheid in South
Vining, J. (1990). The National Council for Africa ultimately became an important part of
Geographic Education: The first seventy-five years National Geographic as it is known today.
and beyond. Indiana, PA: NCGE. A key turning point in the National Geo-
graphic Society’s history was its December 1970
&.,- N A T I O NAL ISM

magazine titled Our Ecological Crisis, in which locus of sovereignty in the 18th and 19th centu-
authors took a stand against pollution. In the fol- ries, it became increasingly important for ruling
lowing years, the society has focused on conser- elites to construct a narrative that provided the
vation and increasing environmental awareness often culturally heterogeneous populations that
while continuing to showcase beautiful locales inhabited the state territory with a single iden-
around the world. tity. Depending on the circumstances of state for-
While the magazine is the cornerstone of the mation, this identity could be voluntary and
National Geographic Society, its educational founded on adherence to ideology and institu-
mission has expanded over the past century to tions, or it could be constructed as involuntary—a
include many other forms of media. Its member- function of genetic inheritance with the individ-
ship, together with its other enterprises, has ual unable to leave the collective or to join except
funded more than 8,000 field research projects. through birth. Nationalism became an increas-
These and other geographic findings have been ingly important political ideology in the 20th
profiled in society lectures, books, television spe- century as the existence of a distinct national
cials, and on the Internet, where the National identity became a necessary and—eventually at
Geographic Web site gets 12 million visitors per the end of World War I—a sufficient condition
month. In recent years, the society has focused on for the creation of a sovereign state. The rise of
improving geographic literacy through educa- superpowers and intergovernmental bodies such
tional alliances, grants to schools, and the nation- as the European Union modified concepts of state
ally televised National Geographic Bee. sovereignty in the latter part of the 20th century,
yet nationalism has remained a potent political
Jennifer Mapes
force, as seen in the breakup of the Soviet Union,
Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia, as well as in
See also Geography Education; Human Geography,
the substate nationalisms of Spain, Britain, and
History of; Media and Geography; Photography,
Belgium.
Geography and

Types of Nationalism
Further Readings There are many typologies of nationalism; one of
the most useful being Hans Kohn’s two-part dis-
Bryan, C. (1987). The National Geographic Society: tinction between Western and Eastern or civic
100 years of adventure and discovery. New York: and ethnic nationalism. This typology was
H. N. Abrams. expanded by Liah Greenfeld to include a third
Lutz, C., & Collins, J. (1993). Reading National category, collective nationalism, which can take
Geographic. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. either ethnic or civic forms.
Civic nationalism was the first to develop and
is represented by the English model of national
identity as a rational choice for those desiring
self-determination and individual liberty. The
NATIONALISM nation is composed of individuals who occupy a
common territory and willingly form bonds
Nationalism is a term generally used to describe based on ideology and on shared political institu-
either the attachment of a person to a particu- tions. This model is flexible and inclusive, per-
lar nation or a political action by a group of mitting membership to anyone who voluntarily
persons to achieve statehood (or national self- resides in the territory and recognizes the institu-
determination). While there is debate about the tions, iconography, and ideology of the group.
origin and antiquity of the idea of a nation, the The goal of civic nationalism is generally state-
political manifestation of national identity as hood, as it is only at that level of sovereignty that
nationalism is widely accepted as a relatively ideology can be translated into fully independent
modern concept. As the state became the primary institutions. Civic nationalism embodies the
 NA T IONA LI S M &.,.

concept of sovereignty of the people; the nation very nature, ethnic nationalism is involuntary and
cannot exist without the collective will of the exclusionary—it compels all those who fit the
people who support it. This model began in Tudor objective criteria of the nation to be members and
England but is best represented in the formation excludes all those who cannot meet those criteria.
of the United States, where the desire for self- Ethnic nationalism spread rapidly from Germany
determination was largely based on the ideologi- to Russia and much of Central and Eastern
cal drive toward greater individual liberty and the Europe and became the most common model of
need to create new institutions to enshrine popu- nationalism in the 20th century. The involuntary
lar sovereignty. After two centuries of absorbing nature of ethnic nationalism combines easily with
immigrants, who identified with countless differ- collectivist nationalism, and the combination can
ent language, religious, ethnic, and racial groups, often result in totalitarianism or majoritarianism
the very strong nationalist ethos of the United with fatal consequences for those excluded from
States remains almost entirely based on attach- the nation. From the Holocaust to Stalin’s ethnic
ment to iconography and institutions. deportation programs, to ethnic cleansing in Ser-
Collective nationalism is an extension of bia, millions have died as a result of this marriage
civic nationalism that grants the nation itself an of ethnic nationalism with political will.
identity. The nation is created by the will of the
people, and once created, it acquires a will and
A History of Nationalism
identity of its own that takes priority over the will
of individuals. When applied in the context Although advocates of the primordialist theory
of civic nationalism, as in the case of France, of nationalism would disagree, it is widely con-
this creates a great deal of political ambiguity, tended that nationalism is a modern construct
acknowledging the freedom of the individual dating back to the 18th century at the earliest,
while simultaneously submerging that freedom in although Liah Greenfeld convincingly dates the
the greater will of the “nation.” Such nationalism first appearance of modern nationalism to the
generally emerges as an elite caste attempts to construction of the English identity in Tudor Eng-
preserve its status while transmitting its version land during the 16th century. That identity was
of national identity to the masses by indoctrina- strengthened in the 17th century during the Eng-
tion, as in the case of France, where the bureau- lish Civil War and the subsequent Calvinist period
cratic elite came into being in the wake of the that equated Puritan England with ancient Israel
French Revolution. and upheld the idea of the English as God’s cho-
Collective nationalism, however, works best sen people. Later in the century, the rise of new
when paired with ethnic nationalism. The contra- intellectual philosophies of John Locke and
dictions of collectivism versus self-determination Thomas Hobbes and the literature of authors
disappear when there is no choice. Ethnic nation- such as John Milton focused English national
alism assumes that national identity is inherent, identity on ideas of liberty, individualism, and
and it emerged as a political philosophy with the the importance of popular sovereignty. In the
rise of cultural nationalism in the 19th century. 18th century, those ideas were to lead to the first
The principal philosophical underpinnings of eth- true political expressions of popular sovereignty
nic nationalism come from German writings in the American and French revolutions, both of
on national identity in the late 18th and early which tied together national identity, individual
19th centuries, particularly the works of Herder liberty, and the creation of the sovereign state as
and Fichte. They equated the German language the ideal container for that identity.
with the new concept of das Volk (the people), In the early 19th century, however, partly as a
which in turn created the German nation. Mem- response to the rational, humanist nature of
bership in this group was not voluntary; anyone French nationalism, a new form of national iden-
who spoke German was part of das Volk and tity emerged, that of cultural nationalism. This
therefore part of the nation. By extension, anyone movement emphasized the bonds of language,
who did not speak German, was not part of das perceived ethnicity, race, and bloodline and was
Volk or the nation and could be excluded. By its profoundly emotional in nature. Rejecting the
&.-% N A T I O NAL ISM

ideological and voluntary basis of the French and nations that had been created in the preceding
English national models, this form of national century. As a result, multinational states were
identity was entirely determined by genetics and created where majority national identities were
birth. One can neither voluntarily join this able to impose their vision of the nation on the
national group nor leave it; national identity is entire population. It is this drive toward a sin-
held to be imprinted through bloodline, race, gle homogeneous national identity that is
and ethnicity and is expressed through language known as state nationalism, and it is virtually
and religion. Thus, the Alsace-Lorraine region of universal among modern states. Even in the
France was French by choice (the inhabitants United States, where national identity is based
having taken an active part in the French Revolu- on voluntary attachment to ideology, 19th- and
tion) until the newly formed German Empire early-20th-century attempts to eliminate Native
demanded that the territory be ceded as part of American languages by educating indigenous
the settlement of the Franco-Prussian War. The children in state boarding schools demonstrate
basis for the claim was genetic, the people of a desire to impose cultural conditions on the
Alsace-Lorraine spoke German, and therefore, American national identity. Likewise, in the
they were part of the German nation and should Soviet Union, a multination, multiethnic, mul-
be part of the new German state. Throughout the tilingual, and multireligious collection of terri-
19th century, the Imperial powers of Europe tories founded in 1922, commitment to the
found themselves confronted by increased ideal of communism was the professed litmus
national self-awareness in their subject peoples. test of national belonging, but in practice, the
From Ireland to Serbia and from Norway to imposition of the Russian language and culture
Greece, literature, music, mythology, art, and was the ongoing program of state nationalism.
language were used to define culturally distinc- As decolonization of Asia, Africa, and the
tive national groups that could then press for Middle East proceeded in the interwar and post–
self-determination. World War II periods, state nationalism again
The 19th century also brought technological dominated. New states, their borders drawn by
changes that greatly aided the formation and colonial powers and again rarely able to conform
maintenance of these new national identities, to the stated ideal of containing individual nations
especially among the ordinary population. The in their own states, readily embraced state nation-
advent of compulsory public education provided alism where the iconography and identity of the
the stage for states to promote their vision of the majority nation was imposed on the often unwill-
nation while simultaneously becoming a battle- ing minorities.
ground for substate nationalities attempting to In the long term, however, it appears that state
preserve and promote their language and culture nationalism is not universally successful. Spurred
in the face of the drive toward homogeneity that by the discrimination and marginalization inher-
characterized the emergence of state nationalism. ent in state nationalism, those unwilling minori-
At the same time, the development of mass pro- ties have increasingly engaged in peripheral
duction and the mass media, at first in the form nationalism, or the desire for the creation of sub-
of newspapers and then in magazines, posters, state nations to achieve self-determination and
and radio, permitted the widespread dissemina- statehood. Released from totalitarian control or
tion of these new ideas about national identity. simply provoked by the perceived ongoing dis-
At the end of World War I, the disintegration crimination substate nations across Europe,
of the Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, and German Africa, and the Middle East in particular have
Empires marked the apogee of state nationalism reasserted their claims to self-determination in
as virtually the entire postwar territorial settle- the wake of the Cold War.
ment was based on Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points, In 1990, Eric Hobsbawm wrote of being able to
which explicitly set out national identity as the envision the end of nationalism as a viable politi-
basis for state formation. Unfortunately, it was cal creed. Over the past 20 years, however, politi-
virtually impossible to construct states that pre- cal nationalism with the goal of creating new
cisely matched the territorial boundaries of nation-states has flourished as the small nations of
 NA T UR A L GR OWT H R ATE &.-&

Europe and the Soviet Union have enjoyed new fundamental components of demographic change.
political freedoms associated with the end of the For the world as a whole, natural growth rates
Cold War and the rise of the European Union, are the only measure of population change,
which has begun to erode the state as the sole seat although for any unit less than that both natural
of sovereignty. Some of these nationalisms are growth and net migration must be taken into
civic—the Catalans and the Scots in particular account.
base their claims for self-determination on the Historically, natural growth rates have been
existence of distinct institutions. Many others are very low, often zero, and at times, when mortal-
more inclined toward ethnic nationalism—a tra- ity exceeded fertility (such as during famines or
jectory that has been headed off in some cases by plagues), even negative. Only with the Industrial
membership in the European Union. However, in Revolution and the concomitant reductions in
many countries, notably Russia, Serbia, Belarus, death rates (not a rise in birth rates) did natural
and others, indications of both collectivist and growth rates rise, leading to an exponential
ethnic tendencies are evident in the manner in increase in the world’s population level (Figure 1).
which the elites continue to manipulate history, Thus, rapidly growing societies are essentially a
culture, language, and propaganda to court the product of modernity. Thomas Malthus, the
masses and marginalize any group that is not part founder of the notion of overpopulation, observed
of the constructed “nation.” the rise in natural growth in late-18th-century
England to sound the alarm that such increases
Fiona M. Davidson
would offset any economic gains, although his
conclusions were rendered incorrect by the expo-
See also Borders and Boundaries; Citizenship;
nential increases in productivity that industrial-
Civil Society; Ethnicity; Ethnocentrism; Nation;
ization generated.
Orientalism; Political Geography; Race and Racism;
Natural growth rates vary widely around the
State; Supranational Integration
world (Figure 2) and reflect the multitude of
social, economic, and political factors that shape
the geography of birth and death rates, particu-
Further Readings larly wealth and poverty. Because mortality rates
have been to a considerable extent equalized
Anderson, B. (1983). Imagined communities. worldwide, the major variations in natural growth
London: Verso Press. rates are mostly attributable to differences in birth
Gellner, E. (1997). Nationalism. London: Weidenfeld rates. Such patterns are largely explainable by
& Nicholson. appeal to the demographic transition. Generally,
Greenfeld, L. (1992). Nationalism: Five roads to the poorest countries have the highest birth rates,
modernity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University and thus the highest natural growth rates, as in
Press. parts of Africa and the Arab world. Frequently,
Hobsbawm, E. (1990). Nations and nationalism since rising incomes lead to lower birth rates and
1780: Programme, myth and reality. Cambridge, smaller families, as in Europe, North America,
MA: Cambridge University Press. Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. In many eco-
nomically developed countries, where death rates
exceed birth rates, natural growth may be essen-
tially stagnant (i.e., zero population growth) or
even negative, as in much of Eastern Europe and
NATURAL GROWTH RATE the Soviet Union as well as parts of Southern
Africa afflicted by the AIDS crisis, indicating that
In demography and population geography, the whatever population increase occurs is due
natural growth rate (NGR) is the difference entirely to immigration.
between birth rates (BR) and death rates (DR), Overall, as global fertility rates have declined,
that is, NGR = BR – DR. Along with net migra- so too has the average worldwide natural growth
tion, natural growth rates are one of the two rate, which is widely expected to continue dropping
&.-' N A T UR AL G ROWTH RATE

5
Billions of People

0
BC

BC

BC

BC

BC

BC

AD

AD

AD
BC
00

00

00

00

00

00
00

00

00
70

60

40

30

20

10
50

10

20
Figure 1 World population level, 7000 BC to AD 2000. The dramatic explosion in the world’s population since
the Industrial Revolution reflects the decline in mortality rates that it fostered.
Source: Author.

> 3.0%
2.0-3.0%
1.0-1.9%
0-0.9%
< 0%

Figure 2 Natural growth rates, 2007. Variations in natural growth around the world primarily reflect differences
in mortality rates; some countries experience negative natural growth.
Source: Author.
 NA T UR A L HA Z A R DS A ND R ISK A NA LYS I S &.-(

World Natural Growth Rate 2.5

1.5

0.5

0
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Figure 3 World natural growth rates since 1950 and projected to 2050. Gradual declines in fertility worldwide
have led, and are expected to continue to lead, to declines in the world’s population increases.
Source: Author.

in the foreseeable future (Figure 3). Thus, whereas energy experienced as earthquakes, volcanoes,
the world’s natural growth peaked in the mid and tsunamis on Earth. Climate extremes such as
1960s (around 2.3% annually) and dropped to hurricanes release gigantic amounts of energy.
1.3% in 2007, it is projected to fall as low as Heat waves, blizzards, and ice storms are other
0.5% by the year 2050. climate extremes. Floods and mass movements
such as landslides, rock fall, and snow avalanches
Barney Warf
are more localized but can be very destructive
and deadly, as are tornadoes and lightning strikes.
See also Demographic Transition; Fertility Rate;
Drought is a slow-onset hazard but nevertheless
Malthusianism; Mortality Rate; Neo-Malthusianism;
associated at times with great economic cost and
Population Geography; Population Pyramid
displacement of people.
Hazards, however, are not in themselves a prob-
lem for humanity. Every day, many thunderstorms
flash and rumble around the world in uninhabited
NATURAL HAZARDS areas and over the large surface of the planet cov-
ered by oceans. Ice, rock, and debris slides are a
AND RISK ANALYSIS normal part of the erosion and deposition cycle,
and many take place in uninhabited regions of
Human beings live on a restless, dynamic planet. Earth’s mountains. To mention an extreme case, a
Our settlements and livelihoods depend on Earth’s sizable object (perhaps a meteor or comet) entered
variations and variability, past and present, in the the atmosphere and exploded over Tunguska,
form of geology, topography, climate, and the Siberia, in 1908, flattening 80 million trees over an
distribution of vegetation and freshwater. At the area of 2,000 square kilometers. But there were no
same time, these variations and variability pose human settlements. Had the event occurred over
potential threats, which are called natural haz- London or Paris, the outcome for humanity would
ards. Extreme movements in Earth’s crust release have been quite different.
&.-) N A T UR AL HAZARD S AND RISK A NA LY SIS

At the other end of a continuum of magnitude, times of crisis and by protective actions carried
even normal (statistically mean) values for some out by larger entities such as the nation-state or
natural processes may endanger the health, liveli- subnational governmental actors, generally called
hoods, and lives of people so poor or so marginal- mitigation (M). One can bring all these together
ized by society as to live with little protection in in a useful mnemonic:
highly exposed locations such as very steep slopes,
in gullies, on temporary silt islands, or very near a R = H r [(V/C) M],
river flood plain. In such cases, “normal” or
“small” landslides, seasonal flooding, or the occa- where R is risk and H is hazard, V stands for vul-
sional “expected” rock fall may have catastrophic nerability, C represents capacity for personal pro-
consequences for one or a few households while tection, and M symbolizes larger scale mitigation
never being registered as a “disaster” for society. of risk by preventive action and social protection.
Vulnerability and capacity need to be seen in
the context of the processes of marginalization
Disaster Magnitude and Trends and prejudice in society. All societies have within
them groups of people who are stigmatized, mar-
The Global Assessment of Disaster Risk Reduc- ginalized, and excluded to one degree or another
tion 2009 of the United Nations (UN) reveals because of their perceived characteristics—health
large human and economic losses to disasters trig- status and physical/mental abilities, gender or
gered by natural hazards. Excluding deaths due sexual orientation, age, ethnicity, caste, language,
to epidemics, some 8,866 events accounted for or religious affiliation. Exclusion may lead to sit-
2.3 million deaths in the period 1975 to 2008; uations in which residential location, occupation,
economic losses in that period totaled US$1,528 income, access to information, and political rep-
billion. Deaths were concentrated in low-income resentation might contribute to increased vulner-
countries; while absolute economic losses (espe- ability to the impacts of natural hazards. However,
cially insured losses) were heavy in high-income such people should not simply be seen as victims.
countries, although low-income countries bore They are also frustrated potential participants in
the brunt of economic damage when compared the process of risk reduction. They have knowl-
with their limited gross domestic product. In edge and skills, yet few are included in planning
addition, losses are increasing. and projects. In the United States, for example,
Five of the disasters with the highest death tolls according to a 2009 report by the U.S. National
since 1975 have occurred during the recent period Disability Council, very few people living with
2003 to 2008. These more recent events include 4 disabilities have been asked what they need or
of the 10 disasters with the highest economic want or how they can contribute to risk reduc-
losses since 1975. Since 2004, the United States tion. In many countries, women’s and children’s
has lost US$200 billion in six hurricanes. In that knowledge and capabilities are not recognized by
same period Japan lost US$40 billion in two professional emergency managers and planners
earthquakes, and China lost US$30 billion in the despite the well-documented achievements by
2008 earthquake in Sichuan. children and women. Social movements make the
situation of the marginalized more visible, and
some positive policies and practices have begun
Risk Analysis to find traction as expressed during the 2009 UN
Risk from such natural hazards is a function not Global Platform for Disaster Reduction.
only of the magnitude, frequency, and spatial
extent of the event but also of specific people’s
Ambiguity of the Term Natural Hazard
susceptibility to loss, injury, or death. Susceptibil-
ity to harm is usually referred to as vulnerability What should be obvious by now is that the term
(V) when its determinates are included. Vulnera- natural hazard is ambiguous. A possibly better
bility may be counteracted by individual and local term would simply be potentially damaging natu-
capacity (C) for protective action and coping in ral events and processes. More than 200 years
 NA T UR A L HA Z A R DS A ND R ISK A NA LYS I S &.-*

ago, Samuel Johnson refuted idealism by kicking and this becomes even clearer when one explores
a stone. Johnson’s cry, “Thus, I refute it,” must the human rights implications and dimensions of
resonate with those whose fieldwork puts them in disaster risk. So, too, violent conflict has very
direct contact with natural hazards and their complex relations with natural hazards and disas-
human consequences. The introduction of vulner- ters. People displaced by conflict may be forced
ability in risk analysis never denies the reality of to settle in locations prone to natural hazards.
hurricane force wind. No one who writes about People caught up in a conflict are often less acces-
herders who have lost all their animals disputes sible to humanitarian agencies wanting to respond
the power of the sun baking the cracked soil. to the human impact of a natural hazard. More-
What natural sciences know about potentially over, hazard events may exacerbate an existing
damaging natural events and processes is vital conflict, as in Sri Lanka, or afford the occasion
and should be made available to those exposed to for belligerents to seek peace, as in Indonesia—
such threats. However, departing again some- both cases following the impact of the great Asian
what from more conventional views, local knowl- tsunami in 2004.
edge of these processes is also important when it
comes to understanding how people cope with
Links With Sustainable Development
natural hazards. People’s experience of natural
and Climate Change
hazards is also a form of knowledge that has been
given many names: ethnoscience, folk ecology, Root causes of disaster vulnerability are also evi-
and indigenous technical knowledge. dent in the ways in which people exploit the natu-
ral environment. Possibly damaging natural
processes may also take the form of “resources.”
Root Causes of Disaster Risk
For this reason, people have settled and farmed
What accounts for the degree of social vulnerabil- on the fertile slopes of volcanoes and in the allu-
ity, capacity for personal protection, and level of vium deposited by floods for millennia. While
state investment in social protection and preven- this dialectic of resource and resistance has been
tive action? While detailed answers vary from known for many years, other connections are not
situation to situation, there are always root causes as widely appreciated. For example, the Intergov-
that can be traced back through the history of ernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and
control over resources in a particular society and other authorities warn that climate change is very
how political power was divided and used. These likely to bring with it more intense storms as well
root causes take particular forms as policy deci- as more variability in rainfall. Thus, not only is
sions and institutions react to economic, political, misuse of power a source of disaster risk for some
and demographic pressures. Focused in this way, but “development” (defined as economic growth)
historically established power relations (e.g., rela- may be implicated too.
tions governing land tenure, access to capital and
markets, and location decisions)—that is, the
Case Studies
“root causes”—are translated by dynamic pres-
sures into specific unsafe conditions: my building Adopting the method of inquiring into root
or my home under an unstable slope or you living causes, dynamic pressures, and unsafe conditions,
in a zone of seismic activity and sending your the previous points will be made concrete by
child to a school that will likely collapse in an examining urban and rural disasters in both the
earthquake. industrial West and one of the least developed
Power—its use and misuse—shapes how disas- countries of Africa.
ter risk is distributed socially and spatially.
National scale politics defines winners and losers,
=jgg^XVcZ@Vig^cVVcYBdchddc^cBjbWV^
and this despite substantial international encour-
agement for development of laws and institutions Between August and September 2005, Hurri-
for reduction and management of disaster risk. cane Katrina triggered massive flooding in
There is a large gap between rhetoric and reality, New Orleans, and more than 1,000 people died.
&.-+ N A T UR AL HAZARD S AND RISK A NA LY SIS

A month earlier, heavy monsoon rain had trig- farmers because of urban bias in infrastructure
gered widespread flooding in Mumbai, India’s and service provision and more recently a neolib-
commercial capital, and in other parts of Maha- eral policy making health care and education
rashtra State, also killing more than 1,000 state- available only to those who can pay.
wide and 447 in Greater Mumbai. While the
hazard events were both of high magnitude, many Dynamic Pressures
deaths could have been avoided, economic loss An economic policy promoted by international
lessened, and the suffering caused during evacua- experts led to delays in food aid despite data pro-
tion and sheltering could have been avoided were duced by CARE and Doctors Without Borders
it not for a cascade of other processes. documenting widespread malnutrition. Decision
Root Causes makers held to the belief that markets would
respond. Other market-oriented policies included
There was long-standing social marginaliza- the selling off of the country’s strategic grain
tion along race/caste lines, respectively, in New reserve and allowing a small number of traders
Orleans and Mumbai and also long-standing to corner the remaining supplies. The result was
environmental degradation in the coastal wet- spiraling food prices. Irrigation systems were
lands (Katrina) and in the wetlands north of privatized also in accordance with International
Mumbai and along the Mithi River. Monetary Fund recommendations. The small-
scale farmers could not afford irrigation water,
Dynamic Pressures
which could have provided a buffer during the
These included rapid urbanization, urban bud- drought.
get pressure, and poor urban governance (leading
especially to poor maintenance of levies and Unsafe Conditions
drainage in both cities). Destitute farmers and pastoralists had no fur-
Unsafe Conditions ther assets to sell in order to feed their families.
They were forced to reduce consumption, skip
These included the fact that low-lying resi- meals, and resort to wild foods (“famine foods”).
dences were not raised on mounds or pillars in
either urban region. Evacuation was difficult or
impossible, especially since the most vulnerable Reducing Risks From Natural Hazards
population in New Orleans had no access to vehi- Just as the past two decades have seen a move
cles or public transportation. In Mumbai, the from a “hazard” to a “vulnerability” paradigm in
public transportation system was immobilized, the theoretical framing of disasters, so also the
there was little warning, and the sanitary condi- balance has shifted from reactive efforts in the
tions in shelters were poor. face of natural hazards to proactive, preventive
policies. Short-term warning and response, relief,
C^\Zg;Vb^cZ and recovery activities remain vital to the protec-
tion of lives and assets. Warning, damage assess-
Niger is a large, landlocked country in the Sahel ment, and settlement reconstruction are well
savanna zone of West Africa. Drought and a locust established, but they are not without controversy.
invasion were the natural hazard triggers of the Evaluations of the experiences of Hurricane
2005 food emergency in Niger that saw 12 million Mitch (1998), the Gujarat earthquake (2001), the
people in danger of starvation. However, this trig- Asian tsunami (2004), Hurricane Katrina (2005),
ger alone would not have produced a disaster were drought and flooding in much of sub-Saharan
it not for the following chain of events. Africa during the first decade of the 21st century,
and the wildfires in Southern Europe and Austra-
Root Causes
lia (2008–2009) all show failure to learn lessons
As in much of sub-Saharan Africa, there had from failure. In addition, one can point to the
been a long-standing marginalization of small following commonly recurring themes:
 NA T UR A L HA Z A R DS A ND R ISK A NA LYS I S &.-,

u Warning systems are still not people centered risk into planning complicate that simple-seeming
and culturally appropriate. definition. At the international scale, there is no
u Power relations and politics are often obscured guarantee that UN agencies and other interna-
and unacknowledged in what pass for “merely tional institutions do, in fact, share the same goal;
technical” exercises such as damage and needs despite efforts by the UN International Strategy
assessment. for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) to bring about
u Local economies still suffer, and dependency diplomatic and rhetorical commitment to its HFA,
relations are still created by ill-conceived food implementation is uncertain. One may also ques-
aid assistance. tion the “orderliness” of the sequence of actions
u Local knowledge and skill are often overlooked given the voluntary and loose coordination among
in the rush to “deliver” in postdisaster these international and national bodies. At the
situations. national scale, there are also divergent goals, and
u Culturally inappropriate shelter and settlements sequencing of actions is influenced by politics and
are still built. privilege. For example, adoption of insurance
u Culturally inappropriate methods of instruments and use of financial planning tools
psychosocial counseling are still practiced. such as insurance are not necessarily the result of
a purely rational, technocratic exercise but one
strongly influenced by political decisions and eco-
International Framework for
nomic constraints.
Disaster Risk Reduction
The UN system with many other partners has
attempted to learn these hard lessons and guide
Place, Locality, and Communication
disaster reduction. Its vision is codified in the It is often said that all disasters are local. This
Hyogo Framework of Action (HFA), which calls notion will be familiar to geographers as students
for a global system of institutions working for of place and people-in-places. Although local
disaster risk reduction from a local to an interna- government and local civil society organizations
tional scale. In this ideal schema, there is univer- may be destroyed or at least put temporarily in a
sal access to knowledge at all levels—clear lines state of limited function when a disaster occurs,
of authority and decentralization that make funds these forms of governance and self-help remain
and technology available at the optimal locations the core around which relief and recovery build.
and scales. Awareness of hazards and vulnerabil- Also, the importance of such local institutions
ity as well as recognition and use of capacities for prevention and preparedness is very clearly
and skills are omnipresent at all scales. It is a established. Yet many local jurisdictions are
beautiful vision, but like Plato’s Republic, the underfunded and poorly staffed. Civil society
gulf between dream and reality is large. In fact, organizations may not have the confidence of
ample knowledge and effective tools exist. Fund- local government, and mistrust may be mutual.
ing, coordination, devolution, and decentraliza- This standoff is regrettable. While communities
tion are lacking and flawed. The pieces do not can and should do much to prepare and cope
line up. A survey in 2009 by a network of 600 with situations themselves, social protection and
nongovernmental organizations working on protection of infrastructure are tasks that fall
disaster issues interviewed 7,000 local respon- outside the ability of communities or even groups
dents in 48 countries—local government officials, of communities united by civil society. The two
civil society leaders, community representatives— sides—local government and civil society—need
and found that few national efforts documented each other to achieve sustainable risk reduction.
by the UN over 4 years of investment in its HFA, Communication is a complex subject that fea-
had had an impact at the local level. tures in much geographical research. As the blo-
The British planner Peter Hall defined plan- gosphere expands, and many new media develop
ning as the production of an ordered sequence and spread rapidly, communication is seldom
of actions that lead to the realization of a goal. unidirectional and only top down. During the
Attempts to integrate natural hazards and disaster 2004 hurricane season in the Caribbean, people
&.-- N A T UR AL HAZARD S AND RISK A NA LY SIS

in the Dominican Republic received warnings of See also Anthropogenic Climate Change; Class, Nature
approaching storms by mobile phone from rela- and; Disaster Prediction and Warning; Disaster
tives living in Miami who had seen the television Preparedness; Drought Risk and Hazard; Earthquakes;
weather channel coverage. There is much horizon- Famine, Geography of; Floods; Hurricane Katrina; Risk
tal and bottom-up news, analysis, and opinion Analysis and Assessment; Sustainable Development;
expressed. These developments have complex Tsunami; Tsunami of 2004, Indian Ocean;
consequences—transparency and accountability Vulnerability, Risks, and Hazards
of authorities may be increased (and one recalls
Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen’s aphorism that a
famine had never occurred in a country with a free
press). Yet this same technology can perpetuate Further Readings
myths and spread misinformation, potentially
leading to repeats of the 1938 “War of the Worlds” Bankoff, G., Frerks, G., & Hilhorst, T. (Eds.).
scenario. Official warnings of tsunamis decades (2004). Mapping vulnerability: Disasters,
ago in the United States and New Zealand led development and people. London: Earthscan.
people to go down to the shoreline to watch them. Enarson, E., & Morrow, B. (1998). The gendered
Informal tornado warnings sent by mobile phone terrain of disaster. New York: Praeger.
text message to friends in 2009 led people to try to Handmer, J., & Dovers, S. (2007). Handbook of
get a glimpse of the funnel cloud (the United States) disasters and emergency policies and institutions.
while mobile phone cameras provided an incentive London: Earthscan.
to wait in order to take photos (Canada). Hewitt, K. (1997). Regions at risk. Harlow, UK:
Addison-Wesley Longman.
Pelling, M. (2003). Vulnerability of cities. London:
Conclusion Earthscan.
Pelling, M., & Wisner, B. (Eds.). (2009). Disaster risk
Several main themes are central to an emerging
reduction: Cases from urban Africa. London:
consensus concerning natural hazards and the
Earthscan.
analysis of disaster risk:
Quarantelli, E. (Ed.). (1998). What is a disaster?
London: Routledge.
u A complex systems framework is required to
Smith, K., & Petley, D. (2009). Environmental
fully understand disaster risk and adequately
hazards (5th ed.). London: Routledge.
inform policy and practice.
Steinberg, T. (2000). Acts of God: The unnatural
u This systems framework must include
history of natural disaster in America. New York:
consideration of many subsystems, including
Oxford University Press.
politics, culture, economics, and social relations,
Twigg, J. (2004). Disaster risk reduction, mitigation
as well as the dynamics of natural planetary and
and preparedness in development and emergency
cislunar subsystems.
programming (Good Practice Review 9). London:
u Research and action (and reflection on action) is
Overseas Development Institute/Humanitarian
required at many scales from the 1:1 scale of
Practice Network.
local and daily life to that of the planet and its
United Nations International Strategy for
immediate surroundings over the long term.
Disaster Reduction. (2009). Global assessment
u Crisis, emergency, disaster, and catastrophe (in
report on disaster risk reduction 2009.
an ascending scale of severity and social
Retrieved July 28, 2009, from www.prevention
disruption) must be seen as continuous with
web.net/english/hyogo/gar/report/index.php?id
“normal” and “routine” processes and practices,
=9413
especially when marginal and deprived groups of
Wisner, B. (2006). Hurricane Katrina: Winds of
people are exposed to potentially harmful
change. In E. Ramsamy & G. Tate (Eds.), The
natural processes and events.
black experience in America (pp. 434–441).
Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.
Ben Wisner, Ilan Kelman, and J. C. Gaillard
 NA T U RE &.-.

the need to study nature as a whole rather than

Wisner, B. (2009). Interactions between conflict and merely a set of discrete parts. Whereas subjects
natural hazards: Swords, ploughshares, such as chemistry, physics, and botany focused on
earthquakes, floods and storms. In H. Brauch the investigation of select elements of the natural
(Ed.), Facing global environmental change (pp. world, geography would study all these elements in
247–258). Berlin, Germany: Springer Verlag. combination (as Alexander von Humboldt had
Wisner, B., Blaikie, P., Cannon, T., & Davis, I. (2004). famously sought to do early in the 19th century).
At risk: Natural hazards, people’s vulnerability and This view is what “physical geography” was,
disasters (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. according to its 19th-century proponents such as
Mary Somerville. In her 1849 book, Physical Geog-
raphy, she defined it as a description of the Earth,
the sea, and the air, the distribution of human
NATURE beings, and the causes of their distribution. Second,
this commitment to studying nature as an inte-
Geography is one of several academic subjects grated, multifaceted system was accompanied by a
whose raison d’être is bound up with the topic of desire to explore its two-way relationships with
nature. Indeed, to explore the various ways in human societies. For Mackinder and the other early
which geographers have approached this topic is, geographers, it was important that nature be stud-
in effect, to examine the history and present consti- ied in context, as something that forms the basis of
tution of geography as such. What is nature? Con- and is affected by economic, cultural, and political
sult any dictionary and one quickly discovers that practices. This investigation of “human-environ-
there is no straightforward answer. Nature refers ment” relations could be conducted at a range of
to a wide range of things in a plurality of different geographical scales, from the local to the global.
ways. This is why it is an unusually complicated Clearly, geography had high ambitions in its
word; some say the most complex in the English fledging years as a university subject; it was, in
language. The term has four principal meanings: terms of subject matter and scope, very much a
first, the nonhuman world, especially those parts “world discipline.” Given this fact, all four mean-
untouched or barely affected by humans; second, ings of the word nature were—unsurprisingly—
the entire physical world, including humans as bio- bound up in geography’s late-19th-century
logical entities and products of evolution; third, identity. The first meaning (the nonhuman world)
the power or force governing some or all living was the domain of physical geography; the second
things; and fourth, the essential quality or property meaning (the entire physical world, including
of something. Since the mid 19th century—the humans) featured in attempts to explain why some
period when geography first became established societies seemed to be “closer to nature” than oth-
as a teaching and research subject in the West— ers; the third meaning (a supervening force or
geographers have regarded nature (in one or more power) appeared in attempts to discover what one
of its four meanings) as a central topic of inquiry. commentator, referring to physical geography,
The question is why and how? In exploring the described as comprehensive principles rather than
answer to this question, this entry provides major isolated facts; and the fourth meaning (the essence
insight into why geography has changed so much of something) was apparent in the widespread belief
over the past 150 years, and what its intellectual that geography could be a science like any other, its
contributions have been relative to other subjects. practitioners seekers after a singular truth possessed
by all animate and inanimate entities.
Beginnings: Geography and
the Nature-Society Interface Ideals and Actualities: A Growing
Early-20th-Century Gap
Nature became central to geography’s academic
identity in two ways. First, scholars such as Hal- Within a few decades, it became clear that geog-
ford Mackinder, Paul Vidal de la Blache, and raphy’s lofty ambitions were proving to be a
Friedrich Ratzel, and William Morris Davis saw burden for the early university geographers. By
&..% N A T UR E

identifying geography with a study of nature in of George Chisholm in Britain and the political
all four of its meanings and in the two ways geography expounded by Isaiah Bowman in the
mentioned, geographers had arguably bitten off United States were “systematic” rather than “syn-
more than they could chew. The major problem thetic” in nature. That is, they abstracted specific
was a practical one. Geography’s perspective on features of human practice (economics and poli-
the world was so comprehensive, and its subject tics, respectively) and focused on their spatial
matter so compendious, that it proved very diffi- variation across Earth’s surface. The biophysical
cult to demonstrate causal connections between basis of human activity was not ignored by either
the component parts of the nonhuman world, let of the two geographers, but there was no pretense
alone all these parts and various societies world- of offering a scientific and in-depth account of
wide. Some, like Mackinder, had hoped that a physical geography or of demonstrating its causal
geographical equivalent of Charles Darwin’s mag- influence on human activity in a robust way.
isterial theory of evolution might be developed. These developments presaged a widespread
But this hope was in vain. It was time-consuming turn to specialization and a fragmentation of aca-
enough to provide mere descriptions of these soci- demic geography that set in after World War II.
eties and their physical environs, never mind plau- The weakening of geography’s holistic ambitions
sible explanations. As a result, most early research was no doubt aided by the increasing sophistica-
publications by geographers were beset by what— tion, precision, and rigor of other university sub-
with hindsight—were serious intellectual weak- jects such as physics and economics, both of which
nesses. For instance, monographs that focused on produced notable theoretical breakthroughs by
specific places or regions were often impressionis- the 1930s, underpinned by mathematics and
tic and filled with unverified speculations about logic. Even so, geographers’ commitment to study
how and why nature and human society were as human-environment relationships at a range of
they were in given situations. At worst, this shaded scales did not entirely disappear. Instead, it was
into what we would now regard as racism. For finessed and narrowed somewhat so that it could
instance, the U.S. geographers such as Ellen Sem- be delivered more readily. For instance, the Amer-
ple and Ellsworth Huntington were apt to argue ican geographer Carl Sauer’s influential 1925
that certain physical environments produced publication The Morphology of Landscape argued
human “races” less intellectually or physically that many ostensibly natural environments were
capable than Europeans. Such beliefs were con- the products of cultural practices, such that cul-
sistent with certain interpretations of Darwin’s ture is the agent, the natural area is the medium,
momentous discovery that all species are ulti- and the cultural landscape the result. This research
mately products of “natural selection”—even agenda focused many geographers’ attention on
though Darwin himself was insistent that human- different cultures and the physical landscapes they
ity was a single, indivisible species. created over time, licensing careful fieldwork and
As a result, by the 1920s, gaps began to appear archival study. Sauerian cultural geographers
between the stated ideals of geography’s founding needed to know some physical geography ger-
figures and geography as practiced by their suc- mane to their chosen cultural landscape, but the
cessors. On one side, physical geography began to emphasis was on people’s practices rather than
fragment into subfields, which in turn focused biophysical processes or events.
more and more on biophysical phenomena as
such (rather than their two-way relationships
Post-1945 Changes
with human societies). For instance, the regional-
scale study of landforms (geomorphology) was World War II was a turning point for geography
fairly well developed by the 1920s, and climatic and its approach to the topic of nature. Many who
geography was also becoming more sophisticated. subsequently gained positions in university geog-
On the other side, “human geography” began raphy departments served in the military between
to take shape, with its emerging sub-branches 1939 and 1945. The experience was formative for
usually lacking any deep grounding in physical most, instilling a belief that precision, measure-
geography. For instance, the economic geography ment, and rationality were virtues to which one
 NA T U RE &..&

should aspire. At the same time, three other devel- surface phenomena. Specialization, new data-
opments were significant. First, academic geogra- bases, new remote sensing capabilities, and new
phy had failed to produce major books or intellectual computer technologies made this possible, but the
innovations comparable with, say, John Maynard price paid was intellectual disunity. Physical geog-
Keynes’s (1936) General Theory of Employment, raphers divided nature into the five areas that con-
Interest and Money. This void became a cause for stitute the field to this day (geomorphology,
concern. Second, many outside geography had suc- biogeography, climatology, hydrology, and qua-
cessfully argued that the physical sciences and the ternary environmental change). There was also a
social sciences (with the humanities) had to be dif- move toward small-scale, short-term studies
ferent by virtue of their subject matter. There could because hypothesis testing was very difficult for
be no overarching theory or analysis of people and macroscale analyses of (say) whole ecosystems or
nature, it was argued, because the latter possessed river basins. Finally, all the above meant that the
ontological properties quite different from rocks, study of human-environment relations became a
rivers, or ravines. For instance, humans are self- minority pursuit, with “spatial analysis” and the
reflexive, linguistic, tool-making beings who can search for general laws and theories becoming
make their own history and geography. This argu- geography’s new modus operandi.
ment drove a wedge between the two spheres— These changes together bolstered the geogra-
society and nature—that the original geographers phers’ intellectual self-esteem and improved their
had sought to bring together in a single intellectual external image within the world of higher learn-
frame. Finally, the embarrassment of “environmen- ing. Ironically, though, geography was effectively
tal determinism”—the prewar argument made abandoning the study of human-environment rela-
by Semple, Huntington, and others that some tions at the very moment when the title of William
human “races” were mere reflexes of climate Thomas’s (1956) famous book, Man’s Role in
and resources—made some geographers deter- Changing the Face of the Earth, was becoming as
mined to “raise their game” intellectually. obvious as it was serious. C. P. Snow’s famous
After 1945, geography progressively splintered complaint about the estrangement of “the two
into two major halves (human and physical), with cultures”—one literary-humanistic and the other
each fragmenting into relatively discrete “system- scientific-rational—was (ironically) applicable to
atic” subdisciplines. The turn to specialization postwar geography, the one subject that had made
was undertaken in the hope that human and phys- intellectual unity its raison d’être. Some efforts to
ical geography could become “spatial sciences.” maintain the “unity of geography” were made,
They would discover—through careful measure- with “systems theory” and “models” two of the
ment, hypothesis testing, and use of statistics— suggested ways in which human and physical
laws explaining spatial patterns (such as the geographers might make common cause. But
common tendency of rivers to meander or migra- these efforts could not prevent a growing schism
tion flows to be inversely proportional to the size between human and physical geography, with
of destination cities). This necessitated a shift in nature effectively erased from the former’s intel-
the ways in which geographers tackled nature as a lectual preoccupations. At the same time, physical
topic. First, interest in nature in the second sense geography’s major branches extended into cog-
of the term declined, and nature in the first, third, nate subjects—such as ecology as in the case of
and last senses became the preserve of an increas- biogeography. This made them increasingly inter-
ingly subdivided physical geography. Second, disciplinary and reflected their inability to police
human geography increasingly abstracted the their own turf once the idea of a unified physical
study of political, economic, and cultural practices geography was abandoned after 1945.
from their biophysical integument. The prewar
fondness of some geographers for discussing
Recent Developments:
“human nature” (in the biological sense) was also
The Rediscovery of Nature
quickly abandoned. Third, physical geographers
produced increasingly “scientific” descriptions, Through the 1960s and 1970s, the situation as
explanations, and even predictions of Earth described above prevailed. However, from the
&..' N A T UR E

early 1980s, human-environment geography environmental issues that came to people’s atten-
enjoyed a revival, but in a modern rather than tion at the turn of the millennium. What is more,
traditional form. The revival was two-pronged. like Sauerian landscape geography, they proved
So-called political ecology grew into a major sub- far more adept at elucidating the human dimen-
field, especially in American geography. Typically sions of the human-environment dialectic rather
focused on rural localities and farming communi- than the physical ones. Anthropogenic environ-
ties in the developing world, political ecology mental change—or what is sometimes simply
sought to describe and explain patterns of land called “global warming”—calls for something
use. It was, in part, a reaction to a minority tradi- very close to the holistic approach advocated by
tion of “cultural ecology” in geography that had Mackinder and other like-minded geographers
existed from the early 1950s. Cultural ecology over a century ago. Looking ahead, the scale and
investigated how preindustrial rural cultures were complexity of global climate change demand con-
adapted to the possibilities and constraints of the nected multiscalar and multifactoral analysis and
immediate local environment—be it dryland or policy making. Having split into two subdivided
wetland, inland or maritime. Political ecologists halves (leaving only a modest “center”), geogra-
pointed out that many late-20th-century rural phy is not well placed to rise to the challenge.
communities in the developing world were being However, some physical geographers are partici-
influenced by outside forces—notably, interna- pating in new, transdisciplinary initiatives to
tional trade and political decision making at the understand the relations and feedbacks between
national level. This meant that local land use deci- the crysosphere, pedosphere, hydrosphere, and
sions were, increasingly, to be explained through atmosphere. So-called Earth systems science and
a “chain of causality” extending up to the global sustainability science have arisen in response to
level and often involving unequal relations of the intellectual challenge and practical threat
power and control. As a result, political ecolo- posed by global environmental change. This is
gists downgraded the causal role of local ecology not leading to the reunification of physical geog-
in explaining land use patterns in developing raphy, nor are physical geographers necessarily in
world settings. Today, political ecology—which the vanguard of either field. But the latter’s skills
now has both a “third world” and a “first world” as field scientists, accustomed to dealing with
strand—is a vibrant and large part of geography. open systems, complexity, and uncertainty, have
In the United States, it has done much to add lus- proven valuable assets.
ter to geography’s reputation within the univer- Meanwhile, what of human geography and the
sity system. topic of nature? Since the early 1990s, human
Coincident with political ecology’s rise to geographers have rediscovered nature after pretty
prominence, the geography of hazards and disas- much ignoring it for 30 years. This was not—as
ters also burgeoned as a subfield from the early might be assumed—a response to global environ-
1980s. As the 20th century drew to a close, fam- mental change or a concern to understand and
ines, floods, hurricanes, and other extreme natu- ameliorate “the human impact.” Instead, human
ral events were claiming ever more lives. Why geographers rediscovered nature in different ways
was this? A new generation of researchers set out and for different reasons. First, some radical eco-
to provide answers. Like political ecologists, nomic geographers began to talk about the “pro-
many were influenced by new critical theories of duction of nature” in late capitalist societies. This
society, and they argued that disasters may have counterintuitive idea (“nature” seems precisely
natural triggers but their root causes lie in pat- that which cannot be produced by humans) was
terns of social inequality that make the poor vul- intended to have two intellectual consequences.
nerable to hazard events. Again, this meant that On one side, it called into question arguments
hazards geographers typically did not inquire too about the supposed “end of nature,” voiced by
deeply into the mechanics of volcanoes, land- environmentalists such as Bill McKibben (who, in
slides, or tsunamis. 1989, published a well-known book of this name).
For all their virtues, political ecology and haz- Geographers such as Neil Smith argued that what
ards geography did not address the really big we call “nature” has not been natural for a long
 NA T U RE &..(

time and questioned the motives of those who are, and why they use references to nature to
would have us alter our way of life in the name of communicate their own wishes and desires. How-
a supposedly vanishing nature in need of protec- ever, arguments about the “production” and
tion. On the other side, the production of nature “construction” of nature attracted criticism from
argument directed geographers’ attention to the some human geographers. It was felt that these
actors and institutions that were consciously arguments rested on a conceptual dualism in
altering nature. Smith, a Marxist, suggested that which “society” called the shots over the domain
capitalist firms—in their endless search for prof- of “nature.” The material properties and agency
its—were producing nature in ways that might of those things conventionally called “natural”
not serve the public interest. This argument antic- seemed to recede from view. Sarah Whatmore, in
ipated by many years the recent furor over geneti- her 2002 book Hybrid Geographies, argued that
cally modified organisms cultivated for medicinal the dualism was unrealistic and diverted attention
and nutritional purposes and developed by global away from how entangled and messy the world
agrofoods and pharmaceutical companies. actually is. She also argued that even in a world
If Smith’s work accented the profound biophys- where humanity seemed to be “dominating”
ical effects of economic processes, other human nature, nature possessed an enduring liveliness
geographers updated Sauer’s arguments about the and a capacity to make a difference to the quality
power of cultural beliefs. “New” cultural and of human existence.
rural geographers became deeply interested in the Whatmore’s book is one example of a new
ways in which people’s ideas, beliefs, and repre- “more than human” geography. Her project has
sentations of reality become indistinguishable found echoes in so-called nonrepresentational
from the material world to which they refer. In a geography, which is especially prominent in Brit-
reversal of the epistemic realism that says that ain. The ambition has been to challenge the idea
most human symbolic representations (words, that the world is divided into two distinct onto-
images, music, etc.) are “mirrors” held up to the logical domains of “natural” and “nonnatural”
physical world, these geographers suggested that (humanly made) things. Unlike those environmen-
representations become real for those who hold talists and bioethicists who refer to nature’s “spe-
them dear. For instance, in his 2002 book, The cial qualities” as part of a campaign to limit human
Intemperate Rainforest, Bruce Braun showed that “meddling,” geographers such as Whatmore argue
Canadians descended from European settlers that the world comprises endless “hybrids.” That
tended to see “nature” as a pristine space, a refuge is to say, they argue that life is a rich tapestry made
devoid of any human presence. This contrasted up of entirely codependent, co-conditioning enti-
with a native North American (First Nations) ties: rocks, machines, trees, textiles, animals, bac-
worldview in which what Westerners call “nature” teria, and airplanes. There is, according to
is regarded as a living landscape inclusive of peo- Whatmore, no such thing as either “society” or
ple. “Nature,” Braun demonstrated, was a socially “nature.” This amounts to a distinctive intellectual
constructed idea, not simply an indisputable fact and moral argument: “Nature” is not disappear-
existing regardless of human beliefs about it. The ing or in need of “saving,” nor will it exact a Gaia-
question then becomes whose representation of like “revenge” on humanity, for the simple reason
“nature” comes to count the most in any given that nature—as such—does not exist!
situation, why, and with what effects.
By the turn of the new millennium, human
Conclusion
geographers such as Smith and Braun had suc-
ceeded in “denaturalizing nature.” They weren’t More than a century after geography became a
denying that what we call “nature” exists. Instead, university discipline, we see that nature is still
they argued that the supposed “naturalness” of central to its identity and focus—but in ways that
natural things was not all that it seemed to be. geography’s founding figures could scarcely
Their research revealed that if we want to under- have anticipated. The holistic ambition to eluci-
stand “nature,” we often need to look at who is date human-environment relationships long ago
talking about it or altering it, what their agendas gave way to more limited attempts to investigate
&..) N A T UR E -SOCIE TY THE ORY

biophysical processes, events, and entities. While

physical geographers still regard nature as some- Fitzsimmons, M. (1989). The matter of nature.
thing existing “out there” amenable to “objec- Antipode, 21, 106–120.
tive” understanding, we have seen that many Gold, M. (1984). A history of nature. In D. Massey &
contemporary human geographers have seen fit J. Allen (Eds.), Geography matters! (pp. 24–43).
to question nature’s naturalness in a range of Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
ways. Meanwhile, political ecologists and fellow Proctor, J. (1998). The social construction of nature.
travelers offer a contemporary and relatively con- Annals of the Association of American
tained version of what Mackinder had in mind Geographers, 88, 352–376.
in the late 19th century. If one adds all this up, Whatmore, S. (2002). Hybrid geographies. London:
a complex picture emerges: Contemporary geog- Sage.
raphy’s contribution to understanding nature
is diverse, even internally contradictory, but unde-
niably rich by virtue of this heterodoxy.
This fact notwithstanding, academic geogra-
phy’s public image remains surprisingly close to NATURE-SOCIETY THEORY
that promoted by its founders. Unaware of the
developments recounted above, many people Nature, it has been said many times, is a complex
believe that geography’s strength and distinctive- term that is both very familiar and extremely elu-
ness lies in its ability to be both an environmen- sive. From “natural yogurt” to “human nature,”
tal and a social science without problems or from “nature parks” to “natural boundaries,” the
contradictions arising. Geographers themselves term has a range of uses so wide that a loss of grip
have done much to sustain this (partial) illusion. on what it is we have in mind seems almost inevi-
Many degree programs still emphasize “human- table. Since geography framed itself as the disci-
environment” interactions as a key theme—this pline entrusted to study the relationship between
is unsurprising, given that candid discussion of humans and nature, the changes in our under-
geographer’s far from unified approaches to standing of what nature is have profoundly
the topic of nature would hardly make for good affected what geographers study and how they
public relations! Continued calls for the “reuni- study it. The prevalent Western geographical
fication of geography” made by a minority of practices traditionally followed the modern
academic geographers are unlikely to exert a dichotomy—presented as the commonsense under-
centripetal force on such a centrifugal field. standing of the world—that separates nature from
culture, or nature from society. In our everyday
Noel Castree
language, if something is social, then almost by
definition it cannot be natural. And if something is
See also Animal Geographies; Biogeography; Class,
described as natural, then it is unlikely to have
Nature and; Critical Studies of Nature; Cultural Ecology;
much to do with society. Thus, despite a rich his-
Ecological Economics; Environmental Determinism;
tory of engaging with nature and the environment,
Ethnicity and Nature; Gaia Theory; Gender and Nature;
geography started to interrogate nature in itself
Human Geography, History of; Hybrid Geographies;
only in recent decades, having previously treated it
Nature-Society Theory; Physical Geography, History of;
reductively. Environmental determinism, possibilism,
Political Ecology; Social Construction of Nature
human ecology, and cultural ecology—as well as,
to a certain extent, ecological anthropology—
have thus been challenged or outright replaced by
Further Readings a multitude of intellectual newcomers. This entry
explores many of these challenges, mentioning
Braun, B. (2002). The intemperate rainforest. what new ways of thinking about nature and soci-
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ety have emerged, and how these have changed
Castree, N. (2005). Nature. London: Routledge. geographical practices. These include the social
production of nature, the social construction of
 NA T UR E-SOC IET Y T HEO RY &..*

nature or “social nature,” political ecology, as well approaches have frequently implied expelling the
as innovative approaches to materialities, heavily people who have inhabited these places for gener-
influenced by science studies. ations and directly took part in shaping them.
None of these challenges emerged or exists in This racism buttressed by naturalism ignores that
isolation, however much their proponents attempt places are peopled, have histories and geographies,
to police the boundaries around them; instead, and are social as well as natural places. In response
responses to these challenges have drawn produc- to this, William Cronon first suggested that what
tively and opportunistically from sources as wide might look natural to a Western eye is already
as Marxist, feminist, poststructuralist, postmod- mixed up with human worlds and that ignoring
ernist, and postcolonial thought. Presenting these this directly threatens not only human livelihoods
challenges as a succession of different schools or but the places themselves that proponents of such
coherent approaches would be both artificial and ideas seek to protect.
stunted; instead, ideas have traveled, been chal- Such critiques drew heavily from social con-
lenged, rejected, and adopted by a variety of structivism that emerged within the social sciences
authors coming from different backgrounds. in the 1980s, and increasing attention was explic-
While some authors are easier to place within this itly given to the social dimensions of nature. This
spectrum, others resist fixity and draw creatively change led geographers to explore how the con-
from a variety of more or less compatible new struction of the spatial and the natural at the level
paradigms. Changes in the way nature and soci- of the social imaginary changed over time, for
ety are considered have not come from the social instance, when writing about protected areas and
sciences alone; as many “new” ecologists and national parks. In such studies, discourses chal-
some political ecologists have highlighted, the lenging the location and the (im)pertinence of the
understanding developed by ecologists and biolo- boundary between nature and culture were vari-
gists that nature is not stagnant nor in equilib- ously seen to question who and what were consid-
rium has also had a profound impact, changing ered legitimate insiders and illegitimate outsiders.
how nature-society theories are made. Nature, in this line of thinking, could no longer be
simply “natural” or wild but rather was taken to
be intrinsically social and political. Taking nature
Nature as the Opposite of Society?
in itself, as nonsocial and unchanging, was seen to
As noted at the outset, in everyday life in the West- lead to the perpetuation of power and inequality
ern world there remains a so-called commonsense in the wider world. In a series of works by geogra-
understanding that the natural world and the phers, drawing creatively from social constructiv-
social and political worlds are fundamentally dif- ism, poststructuralism, and Marxism, an agenda
ferent. Trees are trees, and politics—or society—is emerged that studied the politicized construction
something quite different altogether. One chal- of social natures. Binaries such as nature/culture,
lenge to this understanding has come from ecolo- as well as wild/domestic and nature/artifice, were
gists and, in particular, “deep” ecologists who revisited in this light, all taken in a sense to be
attempted to collapse the binary by claiming that equally made and potentially equally political.
nature was all-embracing, making humans an In other linguistic contexts, such debates about
(usually destructive) equal part of it. Paradoxi- the construction of nature have taken place within
cally, this approach has done little more than reify other disciplines such as sociology, albeit with a
the binary further: Nature, rather than being slightly less political slant. Conceptions of nature
“everything,” ends up being considered only truly and space have been seen to have wider and direct
“out there,” surviving in the (few) remaining “real implications for the study of specialized differ-
wild” places free from human impacts. This return ence as the (human) other is metaphorically and
to a romantic view of nature sees it as something discursively constructed simultaneously to the
pure and ideally untouched by humans that should (nonhuman or “natural”) other. Studies often
be left alone to thrive through its own pristine focused on protected areas, since these particular
devices. As the real remaining “true nature” is spatial entities are directly designed for nature
often physically located in the global South, these conservation, a topic frequently discussed and
&..+ N A T UR E -SOCIE TY THE ORY

appropriated by natural scientists. In this context, political ecology perspectives to explore examples
the temptations are manifold for those involved as varied as the socio-environmental outcomes of
in the management of such areas for grounding water management in Chile, issues of drought and
what are in effect political decisions in “reason” food security in West Africa, or the expansion of
or “objective science.” Grounded in natural argu- turfgrass in the United States. In the Chilean case,
ments purporting to be value-free, linked to a such an approach has illustrated how large-scale
conception of nature as wholly removed from farmers have exerted greater control over water,
society, such environmental discourses have a while peasant farmers have been granted increas-
perverse tendency of taking on a life of their own, ingly less access. Examination of social equity and
instrumentalized within reactionary politics that the environmental aspects of resources manage-
have a very real effect on people’s lives. Geogra- ment have highlighted new causes for concern in
phers have therefore put their finger on how terms of social and spatial justice.
political such discourses actually are, and how
potentially disempowering they can become to
Rethinking the Divide
less powerful actors and alternate forms of knowl-
Between Nature and Society
edge, including indigenous ways of knowing.
Literature from science studies and in particular
from Bruno Latour and Donna Haraway pro-
Putting the Political Back Into Ecology
vided a different and equally innovative impetus
This attention to livelihoods and social justice is and theoretical grounding for rescripting the
particularly pronounced in what is often pre- divide between nature and culture (or society),
sented as the neighboring field of political ecol- partly through a vigorous engagement with the
ogy that has drawn additionally from cultural process of scientific knowledge production. Sci-
ecology and the political economy of develop- entific discourses, rather than being purely ratio-
ment. Pertinent questions have included explor- nal or objective, are taken to be vulnerable to
ing how the relationship between society and critical scrutiny only by getting up close and trac-
nature has been defined and conceptualized, how ing how it is made within the laborious assem-
access to land and resources is controlled in a blages of expert communities, particular words
variety of contexts, and how environmental costs and phrases, documents, and professional proto-
and benefits are distributed. Understanding the cols. For authors such as Sarah Whatmore and
interplay between power and space at multiple Steve Hinchliffe, these are seen to be performative
scales, symbolically and materially, has been a achievements that are always partial, contestable,
central concern of these approaches, drawing fur- and incomplete. Knowledge producers are taken
ther from feminist and Marxist thinking. to be active participants who are situated, embod-
Cindi Katz, for instance, while noting the com- ied, passionate, political, social, temporal, and
mon threads between the exploitation of people spatial. They are spatialized, connected, and dis-
and the exploitation of nature, and referring to connected in varying ways to others and a lot of
feminist and ecofeminist writing, has picked apart elsewheres. Their critique has focused on the
the notion of nature as an accumulation strategy, silencing effect of approaches to the social con-
taken to be an investment for the future controlled struction of nature, noting how these have per-
by powerful capitalist interests. The environmen- versely assumed that that nonhuman world is
talist literature, she notes, is so full of the meta- mute and malleable, endlessly susceptible to being
phors of investment, saving, and future gain that constructed following human ingenuity.
it often reads like boardroom script. All this, she Diverse appeals to relations, actors, materiality,
argues, begs the question of who has rights to and material encounters have therefore led geog-
determine the appropriate use of preserved land, raphers to explore and spatialize concepts such
and how the altered temporalities and spatiali- as hybridity, exploring the physicality and
ties affect future access to the land. In parallel, co-presence of the nonhuman, both animate and
geographers such as Jessica Budds, Michael Watts, inanimate. This exploration has led to approaches
or Paul Robbins have worked within similar where nature, rather than being of interest only in
 NA T UR E-SOC IET Y T HEO RY &..,

how it is imagined, represented, thought of, or nature-society theory has not contained enough
conceived, is also explored through other concrete ecology, or else has understood ecology poorly.
practices such as growing, gardening, infecting, In the most overt engagements with the dynamic
digging, or counting. The dualism of nature and relations and materiality of nature, it is taken to
society is rejected as strongly as in other approaches be always already unpredictable, vital, and always
mentioned earlier, but here this rejection is based shot through with multiple, transversal, and non-
on a detailed exploration of the networks—or linear relations. Interest extends to things as diverse
assemblies or assemblages—that link together as species, bacteria, viruses, and other runaway
humans, organic nonhumans, technological mobile hazards. Nature, on this global scale, is
objects, and quasi objects (or hybrid objects) that taken to be only the provisional outcome of local
are combinations of technology and living organ- processes, the current state attained by a world of
isms. Nature is not considered a malleable mass, systems whose ultimate states can never be pre-
passive and aspatial, susceptible to human will or dicted. Having abandoned the certainties of the
to cultural, political, or economic forces and con- physical sciences, a material world remains, which
testations, but instead, it is taken to be something is more deeply imbued with creative and self-
that resists dynamically, takes part in its construc- generative properties than at any other stage of
tion, and makes and shapes its multiple complex modernity. In arguing that such “global natures”
present. are always specific assemblages whose intricate
Identifying what kinds of spaces remain for geographies form complex webs of different length,
nature is crucial to this approach, assuming that it density, and duration, with varied consequences
is neither dead nor neatly bounded in a self-sealed in different places, all experienced differently,
shell. This is a more directly political position than Bruce Braun has dismissed all temptation of return-
might at first appear, since it is driven by the idea ing to the notion of nature as both singular—and
that existing conceptions of nature lead to unjust thus culturally situated—or universal.
politics that consign people, plants, and animals to
Juliet J. Fall
unsatisfactory ends and limited spaces. By explor-
ing the specifically messy assemblages as well as
See also Class, Nature and; Critical Studies of Nature;
the physicality of bodies, plants, and animals that
Cultural Ecology; Ecological Economics; Environmental
are mobilized to enshrine and construct particular
Discourse; Ethnicity and Nature; Gaia Theory; Gender
spaces, more just policies are seen to be ultimately
and Nature; Nature; Political Ecology; Race and Nature;
made possible. Rather than seeing nature fixed in
Science and Technology Studies; Social Construction of
particular places, figures of transgression—bodies
Nature
transgressing accepting bounds—are used to fore-
ground the mapping of ideology onto space. The
overtly political claims of such approaches have
been challenged by authors of a more Marxist Further Readings
bend, pointing out that such claims of politicizing
practices that naturalize rarely address the thorny Bakker, K., & Bridge, G. (2006). Material worlds?
problem of power explicitly, leaving open the Resource geographies and the “matter of nature.”
question of whether it is possible to weave this Progress in Human Geography, 30, 5–27.
approach with practices of a nuanced, historically Braun, B. (2002). The intemperate rainforest: Nature,
informed approach to power. culture and power on Canada’s west coast.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Braun, B., & Castree, N. (Eds.). (1998). Remaking
From Universal Nature to Global Nature reality: Nature at the millennium. New York:
Nevertheless, this fusing of innovative ways of Routledge.
rethinking nature has led to a variety of material Budds, J. (2004). Power, nature and neoliberalism:
engagements with nature as something emerg- The political ecology of water in Chile. Singapore
ing globally. These approaches to the vitality Journal of Tropical Geography, 25, 322–342.
of nature in part address the charge that the
&..- N EI GH B ORHOOD

Castree, N. (2005). Nature (key ideas in geography).

NEIGHBORHOOD
London: Routledge.
Castree, N., & Braun, B. (Eds.). (2001). Social A neighborhood is a geographical entity located
nature: Theory, practice, and politics. Malden, within a county, city, town, borough, or other
MA: Blackwell. local government political unit. Neighborhoods
Cronon, W. (1995). Uncommon ground: Rethinking are not official political constructions, yet many
the human place in nature. New York: W. W. have widely used popular names. For example, in
Norton. Philadelphia, there is the “Northside,” “South-
Demeritt, D. (2002). What is the “social construction side,” and “Triangle” neighborhoods. The U.S.
of nature”? A typology and sympathetic critique. Bureau of the Census has tried to capture the
Progress in Human Geography, 26, 767–790. neighborhood concept by creating census tracts,
Fall, J. (2002). Divide and rule: Constructing human which are submunicipal areas of 1,500 to 8,000
boundaries in “boundless nature.” GeoJournal, people (typically about 4,000) that are considered
58, 243–251. relatively homogeneous with regard to demo-
Gregory, D. (2001). (Post)colonialism and the graphic, housing, and economic characteristics.
production of nature. In N. Castree & B. Braun Census tracts have been created for almost every
(Eds.), Social nature: Theory, practice, and politics metropolitan area and for some nonmetropolitan
(pp. 84–111). Malden, MA: Blackwell. areas. Local elected officials recognize the impor-
Haraway, D. J. (1991). Simians, cyborgs and tance of neighborhoods, and hence many munici-
women: The reinvention of nature. London: pal governments have submetropolitan political
Free Books. districts called wards. Each ward has a neighbor-
Hinchliffe, S. (2007). Geographies of nature: hood representative participating as part of the
Societies, environments, ecologies. London: Sage. local governing body.
Katz, C. (1998). Whose nature? Whose culture? Governments cannot ignore neighborhoods
Private productions of space and the because many people identify more closely with
“preservation” of nature. In N. Castree & their neighborhood than with their local political
B. Braun (Eds.), Remaking reality: Nature at the jurisdiction. Homeowners typically have made
millenium (pp. 46–63). London: Routledge. their major financial investment in their home.
Latour, B. (1999). Pandora’s hope: Essays on the Research shows a strong correlation between the
reality of science studies. Cambridge, MA: rating of home quality and neighborhood quality.
Harvard University Press. This association makes sense because the value of
Neumann, R. P. (2005). Making political ecology a home can be enhanced by an attractive, noise-
(human geography in the making). London: and crimefree neighborhood, whereas a poor-
Hodder Arnold. quality neighborhood can depress home value.
Robbins, P. (2004). Political ecology: A critical This entry reviews the qualities that residents per-
introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell. ceive as determining the quality of their neighbor-
Soper, K. (1995). What is nature? Culture, politics hoods. It then discusses efforts—by government,
and the non-human. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. by the residents themselves, and by nonprofit
Walker, P. (2005). Political ecology: Where is the organizations—to maintain or improve neighbor-
ecology? Progress in Human Geography, 29, hood quality.
73–82.
Whatmore, S. (2002). Hybrid geographies: Nature
cultures spaces. London: Sage.
Neighborhood Quality
Zimmerer, K. S. (2007). Cultural ecology (and Most of what we know about U.S. neighborhood
political ecology) in the “environmental quality comes from the American Housing Survey
borderlands”: Exploring the expanded (AHS), which collects approximately 50,000 sam-
connectivities within geography. Progress in ples from Americans about housing and neighbor-
Human Geography, 31, 227–244. hood quality on average every other year from a
sample of counties. The AHS shows that the vast
 NEIGHBOR HOO D &...

Mott Street in New York City, the traditional center of Chinatown, where the Chinatown Community Center is
located
Source: Derek Jensen.

majority of Americans like their neighborhoods. among neighborhoods. In one neighborhood in

Specifically, the author has combined early AHS Chester (Pennsylvania), 36% rated their neigh-
surveys. (Neighborhood quality was measured as borhood as fair quality and another 44% rated it
“excellent,” “good,” “fair,” and “poor” with as poor quality. The author identified more than
later ones, which measured neighborhood quality half a dozen other U.S. neighborhoods where
on a 1 to 10 scale from “worst” to “best.”) Over more than 70% of the respondents rated their
the past 25 years, these surveys show that 30% to neighborhoods as fair or poor quality.
35% of Americans rate their neighborhood qual- There is nothing subtle about the causes of
ity as “excellent.” Another 46% to 52% rate their the different ratings. When residents do not
neighborhood as “good” quality. Neighborhood identify even a single problem that bothers them,
is a haven for nearly all these residents. The Pulit- neighborhood quality will be rated excellent or
zer Prize–winning columnist Murray Kempton good. When residents believe that a problem is
underscored that haven concept when he defined so distressing that they want to leave, then their
a neighborhood as a place where “when you go neighborhood is likely to be rated as fair or of
out of it, you get beat up.” poor quality. More specifically, perceptions of
The remaining 15% to 18% rate their neigh- unsafe neighborhoods because of behavioral
borhood as “fair” or “poor” quality. Yet aver- hazards (drug dealing, burglary, rape, and other
ages are misleading. There are striking differences criminal activities) and deteriorated physical
'%%% N EI GH B ORHOOD

smoke from factories, incinerators, and other

smokestack facilities; refineries and petroleum
tank farms; airplane noise; and waste manage-
ment facilities. In the most distressed neighbor-
hoods, more than half of the population was
bothered by more than 10 behavioral hazards
and physical conditions.
The characteristics of a “better” or “worse”
neighborhood are another important dimension
of public reaction to neighborhoods. Nationally,
about 43% of Americans rate their present neigh-
borhood “about the same” as their prior neigh-
borhood (this includes people who have never
moved). Forty percent rate their current neigh-
borhood as “better” and about 17% rate it as
“worse.” In general, better versus worse is
strongly predicted by the number of distressing
problems. However, there are exceptions. For
example, one woman in her late 30s rated her
current neighborhood as better than her previous
one, despite the fact that she lived across the street
from a smelly and noisy petrochemical facility
about which her neighbors bitterly complained.
This woman, in contrast, indicated that this
neighborhood was better than her previous neigh-
borhood because it had no street gangs, and
therefore, she believed that her teenage son would
A Croatian neighborhood festival around the not become part of a gang and potentially get
St. Jerome Croatian Roman Catholic Church in the drawn into gang-related violence. In short, per-
Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago. In the past, ceptions of neighborhood quality and neighbor-
many Chicago neighborhoods were defined by the hood improvement ultimately are individual to
local parish. Although this is less true today, around each of us, although there are general patterns.
some parishes there remains a strong sense of Findings about gender-related differences in
neighborhood and community that becomes very neighborhood quality are intriguing. In general,
apparent during the summer festivals such as the one women are more sensitive to hazards and neigh-
featured in these pictures. The tricolor red, white, and borhood conditions than their male counterparts.
blue flag with the central crest is the Croatian flag. There are good reasons for this observation,
Source: Eric Mathiasen. including women’s traditional roles as nurturers,
women’s greater feeling of vulnerability, and that
until quite recently women’s labor force participa-
tion rates were much lower than that of the men.
conditions (blighted buildings, properties, infra- Hence, it is not surprising that women are about
structure, and litter) lead to a poor-quality twice as likely as men to rate their neighborhood
neighborhood rating. Based on thousands of poor quality. However, this difference is not found
samples in many neighborhoods, the author in the most distressed neighborhoods, places
found that if both crime and blight were dis- where on average six or more characteristics were
tressing problems, then more than two thirds of labeled as distressing to residents. In these neigh-
the respondents rated their neighborhood as borhoods, the behavioral hazards and physical
poor quality. Also, crime and blight are typically conditions are very apparent, and hence, men and
found with other stressors, such as odors or women are equally concerned about them.
 NEIGHBOR HOO D '%%&

A final point about neighborhood quality is underscored the belief that racial transition means
that neighborhood attractions such as good devastating neighborhood decline. Many retorted
schools, convenience to public transportation, lei- that this relationship is a self-fulfilling prophecy
sure activities, access to friends/relatives and to grounded in racism.
work, and neighborhood appearance have not The fear of neighborhood decline has led
been strong predictors of neighborhood quality to government, private, and individual efforts to
rating. Those who rated their neighborhood as maintain neighborhood quality. With regard to
excellent rather than as good quality were more government, the federal, state, and local govern-
likely to point to attractive appearance and good ments have tried dozens of financial and political
schools. However, the relationship was not tools. The federal government has provided funds
strongly predictive. In short, the major predictors for the police and for schools, pilot programs to
of neighborhood quality are distressing behaviors stimulate the redevelopment of abandoned and
and physical conditions. underused brownfield sites, loans to neighbor-
hood groups, and a host of other grant, rebate,
and tax programs to try to halt decline and pro-
Controlling Neighborhood Quality
mote redevelopment. Each federal administra-
The economic, social, and psychological impor- tion has tried to put its own brand on these
tance that the vast majority of people attach to programs, typically mirroring its political phi-
the quality of their neighborhoods cannot be losophy. For example, one of the major ideologi-
understated. Accordingly, managing neighbor- cal clashes has been about place- and people-based
hood quality has been the subject of considerable programs. Some administrations (e.g., that of
effort and public debate. President Ronald Reagan) disproportionately
During the 1960s, when many inner-city neigh- focused on programs to assist people, including
borhoods were vandalized, burned, and partly incentives to relocate, rather than on rebuilding
abandoned, a neighborhood life cycle theory was neighborhoods. Others (e.g., that of President
born, which argued that neighborhoods pass Lyndon Johnson) focused more attention on
through stages of life (birth, maturation, decline, neighborhood programs. Many states have mir-
death, and sometimes rebirth). Decline, it was rored federal programs; some have developed
asserted, is predictable and difficult, if not infea- their own ideas that have diffused up to the fed-
sible, to halt and reverse. For example, landlords eral government and thence back to states and
will no longer continue to maintain aging proper- local governments.
ties, which then decline further. Lenders become Much of the power for maintaining and
unwilling to provide loans to people living in enhancing neighborhood quality rests with
declining neighborhoods because they cannot local governments. They can use zoning, build-
realize an acceptable economic return. So-called ing inspections, school construction and reha-
redlining was a condition in which banks, insur- bilitation dollars, infrastructure improvements,
ers, and other financial institutions would not financial incentives, tree plantings, and many
provide financial support to property owners in a other policy devices to improve declining and
neighborhood or part of a neighborhood. Con- devastated neighborhoods. They can employ
tinuing the cycle, middle-class people would leave, powerful eminent domain legal tools to take
and the city government would withdraw police, “blighted” property and build luxury housing
fire, and sanitation resources, which exacerbated (gentrification), commercial and community
the deterioration. Some argued that the only facilities, garages, and enlarged roads. The
option was slum clearance. The urban renewal record of local government and their allies in
programs of the 1950s and 1960s are testimony state government, business, and labor organiza-
to the belief that some neighborhoods could not tions with regard to neighborhoods is mixed—
be salvaged and drastic action had to be taken. ranging from major reinvestment to maintain
That redlining and other detrimental actions dis- the existing population and land uses to near-
proportionately have coincided with neighbor- total destruction and building a new neighbor-
hoods occupied by poor African Americans has hood for new people.
'%%' N EO C O L ONIAL ISM

Because government and private business modest affordable housing facility; a city planner
actions with regard to neighborhoods have been who insisted on high-quality housing standards;
so controversial, groups have often created home- and a not-for-profit employee who fought for
owner and neighborhood associations to protect environmental justice in a rural community. These
their investments. Nelson estimates that the num- committed and talented people are rare, and rely-
ber of Americans living in neighborhoods with ing on one or more of such persons to come along
community associations rose from less than 1% in is a long shot.
1965 to 18% by 2004. These associations are
Michael R. Greenberg
expressions of collective self-regulation. Associa-
tions can mandate housing type, requirements on
See also Census Tracts; Chicago School; Ethnic
lawns and outdoor care, pets, and they can restrict
Segregration; Gated Community; Gentrification; Ghetto;
who can live in a neighborhood and how they live
Home; Housing and Housing Markets; Housing Policy;
in it; they can lay down a minimum age and mini-
Racial Segregation; Real Estate, Geography and;
mum financial resources to acquire and maintain
Segregation and Geography; Social Geography; Urban
residents. Homeowners and neighborhood asso-
Geography; Urban Planning and Geography; Urban
ciations, cooperatives, and other private forms of
Spatial Structure; Urban Underclass
governance have become a powerful tool to man-
age individual dwelling units and neighborhood
quality. At the extreme, communities have liter-
ally been surrounded by the gates and fences; so- Further Readings
called gated communities have appeared in Sunbelt
areas of Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas Greenberg, M. (1999). Restoring America’s
and other new suburban developments across the neighborhoods: How local people make a difference.
United States. One estimate is that there are more New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
than 250,000 neighborhood associations in the Greenberg, M., & Schneider, D. (1996).
United States. The typical one has about 200 hous- Environmentally devastated neighborhoods:
ing units, but Sun City (Arizona) and Reston (Vir- Perceptions, realities, and policies. New
ginia) each have more than 10,000 units. Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
These neighborhood groups, in essence, are Keating, W., & Krumholz, N. (Eds.). (1999).
privatizing neighborhoods. With some excep- Rebuilding urban neighborhoods. Thousand
tions, the local government is relieved of some Oaks, CA: Sage.
expenses, such as security, fire, housing inspec- Nelson, R. (2005). Private neighborhoods and the
tion, lawn maintenance, and trash collection. transformation of local government. Washington,
Politically, these associations demonstrate the DC: Urban Institute Press.
power of homeownership and associated finan- Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and
cial investors to manage neighborhood quality. revival of American community. New York:
Critics contend that they are antiprogressive Simon & Schuster.
mechanisms to control the access of poor people.
The third option for a neighborhood is to hope
for one or a handful of strong-willed and talented
residents or a not-for-profit organization, typi-
cally faith based, to organize and protect the NEOCOLONIALISM
neighborhood against crime, blight, developers,
and sometimes even the government. The author Neocolonialism refers to the continuation of a
has written about a number of these individuals: colonial system in spite of formal recognition of
a woman who fought a losing battle against con- independence of the formerly colonized nation.
struction of an incinerator in her neighborhood; a After World War II, when the European colonial
resident who successfully sued the federal govern- system collapsed, the international community
ment, received funds, and then used those to recognized the right to self-determination of
turn her dilapidated public housing project into a peoples living under colonial rule. This right was
 NEOC OLONIA LI S M '%%(

used to justify and promote the transition of direct and formal political authority. As these
former colonies to sovereign states, causing a conditions defined the economic situation of these
rapid emergence of newly independent countries emerging countries, unequal trade became another
through the transfer of power from empire to constitutive element of neocolonialism.
nation-state. As a result, the total number of inde- The de facto domination of the former colonies
pendent countries increased considerably from by Western powers did not rest solely on their
the late 1940s to the mid 1970s. economic muscle. Neocolonialism also restruc-
Despite their newly recognized sovereignty, tured class relations by embracing, and sometimes
however, these decolonized countries became creating, local elites who in return worked hand
subject to de facto control by Western powers, in hand with the Western powers. These alliances
mostly by the same former empires that had once with local groups made the consolidation of neo-
formally colonized them. Under this arrangement, colonial rule possible in these countries. As was
the emerging countries were subjugated by indi- the case under colonial rule, during neocolonial-
rect and subtle forms of domination by political, ism the cooperation of small local elites with the
economic, social, military, and technological Western powers had facilitated the West’s ability
forces. In this context, neocolonialism differs to maintain a dominant position over the local
from colonialism in the sense that colonialism is a population without any apparent direct involve-
formal and openly exercised system of domina- ment. In this way, foreign rule was disguised with
tion of one country by another. Although neoco- a local face that legitimatized the national inde-
lonialism is not a formal system, it continues as a pendence and the sovereignty of the newly emerg-
practice in which Western powers retain eco- ing countries.
nomic but not formal control over the former To ensure their domination, neocolonial pow-
colonies. Therefore, under neocolonial rule, the ers also resorted to other less apparent practices.
relations of power between the former colony These included aid and investment agreements
and the former colonizer remained virtually offered to the newly emerging countries. These
intact. assistance packages, founded on promises of
Economically, the newly independent countries modernization meant to lead to social and eco-
continued to be dependent on the Western pow- nomic development, have been used to secure the
ers. Facing development problems (i.e., unequal West’s sphere of influence. Western foreign aid,
land distribution, inadequate infrastructure, therefore, often buys countries off to ensure their
insufficient capital investment, urbanization with- cooperation. Recipients of Western aid may be
out industrialization, insufficient housing, and seen as collaborators when they fail to block or
unskilled labor), many former colonies had to interfere with these neocolonial practices.
confront independence in detrimental conditions. Likewise, debt became instrumental for neoco-
In addition, the territorial integrity of many of lonial powers as it generated a new pattern for
those emerging countries was challenged by seces- the extraction of economic surplus of the former
sionist ethnic groups and the internal wars that colonies by the former colonizers. Debt peonage
resulted from the artificial boundaries inherited was characterized by capital outflows from the
from their colonial times. All these conditions emerging countries to the Western powers
located most former colonies in a very disadvan- exceeding the total of capital inflow into them.
tageous position in the global economy. This dis- This placed the fragile economies of the former
advantageous position essentially relegated them colonies at the mercy of their Western creditors
to the status of producers and exporters of cheap and aid providers. Critics of these Western lend-
raw materials as well as sources of cheap unskilled ing practices view the Bretton Woods institutions
labor, while manufactured consumer goods were (i.e., the World Bank and International Monetary
imported from the Western powers. This interna- Fund, and, later, the World Trade Organization)
tionally imposed division of labor created the as instrumental in creating this debt. These insti-
necessary conditions for the perpetuation of eco- tutions enforce forms of capitalist discipline that
nomic control and domination of the former col- most of the time have proved to be detrimental
onies by Western powers even in the absence of for the least developed countries. Consequently,
'%%) N EO C O L ONIAL ISM

these emerging countries with fragile economies the developing world has mixed outcomes. On
are forced to turn to the World Bank, the Inter- the one hand, TNCs can create jobs, promote
national Monetary Fund, and the World Trade technology transfers, bring foreign exchange,
Organization for help. This help comes through increase the median income, and invest in educa-
policies, loans, and grants that impose strict tion and health care. On the other hand, TNCs
economic reforms that favor debt payment and can also cause the displacement of local suppliers,
neoliberalism (e.g., reductions in governmental the lowering of national tax regimes, and the soft-
spending in education, health care, and infra- ening of labor markets and environmental laws in
structure; reduction of public assistance to low- the developing world. In addition, the profits and
income people; currency devaluations; and the surplus capital generated by these enterprises
privatization of public goods). These structural are repatriated to their countries of origin (mostly
adjustments imposed by the Bretton Woods insti- in the West), doing very little to ease the debt sit-
tutions impose premature capital market liberal- uation and solve the financial problems of devel-
ization in the former colonies, forcing these oping countries. This economic power that TNCs
economies to succumb to the mighty economies have over developing countries represents another
of the West. This practice of forcing developing form of neocolonial domination. Moreover,
countries to eliminate trade barriers and compete TNCs have a long history of political involve-
with the industrialized West only leaves them ment and interference in the developing world.
with more debt—in a situation of interdepen- Their interventions range from demands for bet-
dence (surplus value is extracted from poor coun- ter incentives (e.g., tax relief and soft environ-
tries to rich ones). mental laws) to support for military incursions
Along with the Bretton Woods institutions, and covert or indirect operations. States in the
multinational or transnational corporations developing world that confronted multinational
(TNCs) are major agents underlying neocolonial- corporations often have faced military coups
ism. These TNCs are rooted in the expansion of d’état and/or covert operations carried out by the
the colonial trading companies, and the vast military and intelligence agencies of the Western
majority of them have Western bases (three- powers (e.g., Iran in 1953, Guatemala in 1954,
fourths of all TNCs are based in North America, Indonesia in 1965, Chile in 1973, Ecuador in
Western Europe, and Japan). However, the global 1981, Panamá in 1981, and Venezuela in 2002).
rise of TNCs flourished during the post–World The United States, along with Western Euro-
War II economy and in the context of the new pean countries, have played a central role in the
international division of labor (the international- development of neocolonialism. Following the
ization of production and the spread of industri- Spanish-American War of 1898, the United States
alization) that was widely imposed during the joined the Western European countries as a colo-
1960s. Currently, through direct ownership of nial power. First through colonies and later
the different parts of the production processes through unincorporated territories (e.g., Ameri-
and also through subcontracting and other indi- can Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands,
rect influences, TNCs account for an increasing U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico), the United
proportion of the world’s flow of trade, invest- States expanded its dominions over foreign lands.
ment, knowledge, skills, and technology trans- From the perspective of neocolonial theory, the
fers. Several have higher turnover than the enormous size of the U.S. economy and military
majority of the world’s countries, and they employ and the influence of American culture and politics
millions of people worldwide. TNCs largely oper- worldwide has made the United States a para-
ate in the developing world, where they have vir- digm of neocolonialism. After World War II, the
tually unlimited access to cheap labor and cheap United States emerged as the absolute military
raw materials, and because of their vast capital and economic superpower. This position was
and influences over trade, investments, technol- reflected worldwide through its political and eco-
ogy transfers, and employment, they have the nomic influences, as well as through its military
ability to stabilize and/or destabilize entire muscle. Likewise, the superpower position of
national economies. Therefore, their presence in the United States was reinforced through the
 NEOGEOGR A PH Y '%%*

influences of the American popular culture and Further Readings

media. In other words, the superpower condition
of the United States explains why, regardless of Chomsky, N. (2003). Hegemony or survival:
the fact that the United States represents less than America’s quest for global dominance. New York:
5% of the world’s population, it consumes more Metropolitan Books.
than 25% of the world’s resources and its influ- Hoogvelt, A. (2001). Globalization and the
ences reach virtually the entire surface of the postcolonial world: The new political economy of
earth. Such colossal accomplishments were made development. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
possible through the neocolonial rule imposed University Press.
over the developing world. Perkins, J. (2007). The secret history of the American
In the current period, the structures of power empire. New York: Dutton.
operate less through military or direct political Stiglitz, J. (2002). Globalization and its discontents.
control than through economic influences. Shap- New York: W. W. Norton.
ing the global economic conditions has become
increasingly crucial to the assertion of global
domination. Now, it is trade rather than conquest
that determines international control. Thus, neo-
colonialism can be seen as a new form of colo-
nialism in which de facto economic domination NEOGEOGRAPHY
fails to respect the independence and sovereignty
of many countries and thus perpetuates the The term neogeography relates to technical
inequality between developed and undeveloped developments in Web-mapping technology and
countries. spatial data infrastructures that have signifi-
Neocolonial theory holds that the West’s de cantly changed how users collect, share, and
facto domination over much of the developing interact with geographic information online.
world has obstructed the economic growth and These changes can usefully be considered as a
development of these emerging countries. The component of broader changes in the nongeo-
former colonies are virtually powerless; thus, graphic Internet referred to as Web 2.0. Good-
there is little they can do to escape this system of child maintains that
neocolonial control. The world economy is domi-
nated by Western powers and, therefore, is fixed the early Web was primarily one-directional,
to their interests. Consequently, the rules of neo- allowing a large number of users to view the con-
colonialism work against the undeveloped coun- tents of a comparatively small number of sites,
tries, which have relatively little experience in [whereas] the new Web 2.0 is a bi-directional
industrialization, have to face an imposed inter- collaboration in which users are able to interact
national division of labor, and are forced to com- with and provide information to central sites,
pete in a system of unequal exchange. These and to see that information collated and made
conditions only favor the Western powers, per- available to others. (2007b, p. 27)
petuating neocolonialism.
Neogeography can be considered as the geo-
Luis Sánchez graphic implementation of this principle and is
about both technological innovations and the new
See also Antiglobalization; Colonialism; Debt and Debt modes of interaction that these changes enable.
Crisis; Decolonization; Dependency Theory; The two main technologies that have driven
Development Theory; Foreign Aid; Foreign Direct both neogeography and the Web 2.0 paradigms
Investment; Globalization; Imperialism; International are Asynchronous Javascript And XML (AJAX)
Monetary Fund; Modernization Theory; Neoliberalism; and Application Programming Interfaces (API).
Postcolonialism; Structural Adjustment; Transnational AJAX enables the development of Web sites
Corporation; World Bank; World-Systems Theory; that have a look and feel more akin to a desktop
World Trade Organization (WTO) application and have improved the usability of
'%%+ N EO GEO G RAPHY

Web mapping significantly by enabling direct Within a neogeography context, Daniel Sui calls
manipulation of map data where user interac- these changes the “wikification of GIS,” borrow-
tions (e.g., click and drag) are visualized instanta- ing the terminology from Wikipedia, the user-
neously. This new type of Web site application generated online encyclopedia. A successful project
compares favorably with traditional Web Geo- using a collaborative paradigm (wiki) is Open-
graphical Information Systems (GIS), where users StreetMap (www.openstreetmap.org), which aims
typically click a pan or zoom control and then to create a set of free-to-use global map data
wait for the page to reload before visualizing the through assimilation of volunteered geographic
result of the interaction. The XML component of information in the form of user-collected GPS
AJAX refers to eXtensible Markup Language, tracks and digitized satellite photographs.
which is a set of data standards that enable infor- Although the use of the term neogeography
mation to be formatted in such a way that it is may lose popularity in a similar way to other
usable across a variety of different software. For online neologisms such as “cyberspace” or the
example, using GeoRSS (an emerging XML-type “information super highway,” the underlying
standard), location can be coded into online con- principles of collaboration and openness are
tent, such as news feeds or blog posts. This infor- unlikely to lose momentum, and fit into a broader
mation could then be used in multiple Web movement toward pervasive GIS. Neogeography
applications; for example, simple display on top has made basic GIS operations and data increas-
of a base map in a Web browser or the listing of ingly accessible to the masses, enabling users with
content, which is attributed to locations “near” a no previous geographic training to create, search,
user of a GPS- and Internet-equipped mobile and share their own geographically referenced
handset. In both applications, the source infor- information. However, the implications of this
mation would remain the same; however, the increased visibility and availability of GIS have
application would differ. API are available from a ethical implications that need to be considered.
variety of Web sites, both spatial (e.g., Google These tensions are illustrated between the public
Maps, Yahoo! Maps, or Microsoft Live Maps) interest in high-resolution geographic data and
and aspatial (e.g., Flickr, Facebook, Nestoria) the converse right to privacy. A recent example
and provide a series of functionality to third-party of these tensions was illustrated by the release of
applications. For example, the API of Google the Google Street View service that supplies hori-
Maps provides basic GIS operations, such as the zontal and vertical panoramic photographs of
ability to draw shapes, place points, geocode loca- numerous metropolitan areas around the world.
tions, and display these on top of high-resolution Privacy concerns were raised over the incidental
base map or satellite data. An example of the capture of individuals and cars within these
Google Maps API would be the Web site www images, and Google has now responded by auto-
.londonprofiler.org, which displays a variety of matically blurring faces and car number plates.
high-resolution sociodemographic data about This type of corporate responsibility should be
London on top of the Google-supplied base map perceived positively and illustrates how technol-
and satellite data. Although it is still a technical ogy can be used to limit potential ethical con-
task to create Web sites using API, the construc- cerns of innovative new data sources. A major
tion of these applications is far simpler than the contribution of neogeography has been to break
learning curve required to install, manage, and GIS away from the realm of the isolated desktop
configure more traditional Web GIS platforms. user and in doing so has created a broader and
The technologies of Web 2.0 have created new enthusiastic new audience who may traditionally
ways in which users can create, share, and use have only engaged with geographic information
information. Often referred to as “crowd sourc- in simple map-reading tasks.
ing,” this concept relates to how large groups
of people can work together toward some com- Alex David Singleton
mon goal by performing functions that are
either difficult to automate or expensive to See also Global Positioning System; Goodchild, Michael;
imple ment in a nondistributed environment. Google Earth; Location-Based Services; Mobile GIS
 NEOLIBER A L ENV IR ONMENT A L P OLI CY '%%,

Further Readings produces growing, market-oriented, profit-driven

economies that will soon generate sufficient jobs
Goodchild, M. (2007a). Citizens as sensors: The and taxes to rectify any social or environmental
world of volunteered geography. GeoJournal, problems that might occur. Neoliberal environ-
69(4), 211–221. mental policies contrast with those of previous
Goodchild, M. (2007b). Citizens as voluntary import-substitution and Keynesian periods, when
sensors: Spatial data infrastructure in the world of “command-and-control” approaches sought
Web 2.0. International Journal of Spatial Data to solve environmental degradation problems
Infrastructures Research, 2, 24–32. through regulations, standards, fines, and law-
Hudson-Smith, A., Crooks, A., Gibin, M., Milton, suits that force producers to reduce their environ-
R., & Batty, M. (2009). NeoGeography and Web mental impacts. Neoliberal economists criticize
2.0: Concepts, tools, and applications. Journal of that approach as inefficient, unnecessarily expen-
Location-Based Services, 3(2), 118–145. sive, inflexible, and stifling of innovation. A bet-
Leadbeater, C. (2008). We think. London: Profile ter approach, they argue, comes from private
Books. property arrangements and markets that internal-
Sui, D. (2008). The wikification of GIS and its ize the costs of environmental degradation, and
consequences: Or Angelina Jolie’s new tattoo and so they promote privatization of agricultural land,
the future of GIS. Computers, Environment and fisheries, pollution sinks, biodiversity, and public
Urban Systems, 32(1), 1–5. enterprises ranging from mining companies to
water provisioning systems.
Many other neoliberal policies, such as free
trade, also affect the environment. Although the
environment gets little explicit consideration in
NEOLIBERAL the theory promoting, for example, an end to
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY import quotas and tariffs, the general idea is that
increased trade increases wealth, which eventu-
Neoliberal environmental policy comprises a criti- ally leads to environmental improvement. Simi-
cal component of contemporary nature-society larly, neoliberalism promotes decreased state
interactions. Neoliberalism is most simply defined expenditures, decentralization, and the participa-
as a political philosophy that promotes a greater tion of civil society in governance. Reconfiguring
reliance on markets and less reliance on govern- environmental governance to include streamlined
ment for the provision of nearly all goods and states, civil society actors, and local, presumably
services, including environmental services. Invoked more representative, levels of government is
by powerful multinational institutions and many thought to bring greater efficiencies to environ-
national governments to justify their approaches mental regulation.
to trade and investment, it has fundamentally
shaped the evolution of international governance, Criticisms of Neoliberal
development, and environmental regulation over Environmental Policy
the past 25 years or so. Environmental aspects of
neoliberalism include not only explicit, direct poli- Opponents contend that free trade and invest-
cies, such as those creating new environmental ment rules create a global “race to the bottom” as
markets through privatization schemes of various companies look for the regions with the lowest
kinds, but also the indirect environmental effects effective environmental regulations. Under neo-
of market liberalization. liberalism, debt payments and foreign exchange
earnings become key goals of governments.
Natural-resource-dependent sectors such as agri-
Goals and Tools of Neoliberal
culture, forestry, mining, and fishing often pro-
Environmental Policy
vide the required exports, almost always with
For its proponents, neoliberal environmental pol- high environmental impacts. Meanwhile, other
icy reflects commonsense economic science that neoliberal policies increase income disparity
'%%- N EO LI B E RAL E NVIRONME NTAL P OLIC Y

and poverty, which drive cycles of environmental involve currency devaluations, the reduction of
degradation as the poor erode soils and clear for- public spending, price reforms, subsidy reduc-
ests in their desperate attempts to make a living. tions, privatization of public enterprises, and
Critics of environmental privatization point decreased or eliminated export taxes. Such poli-
out the extreme difficulty in constructing resource- cies make natural resource exports cheaper on
conserving markets, especially because markets world markets and attract foreign investment,
almost always give too low a value to environ- while diminishing the ability of the state to regu-
mental attributes. They also raise several human late environmental impacts. Free trade agreements
rights concerns: First, all people have the right to also have the goal of increasing international
clean water and air; second, forests, fisheries, and trade through decreased tariffs, export taxes, and
biodiversity have many users and possessors who import quotas while providing protections to
are harmed when property rights are taken away investors and owners of intellectual property. Fol-
from them; and third, many environmental attri- lowing market liberalization, mining, fisheries,
butes and livelihood resources have values that logging, and the area devoted to export crops
have no price and cannot be justly exchanged for typically increase.
money in markets. Critics argue that these instruments of market
Critics on the left see neoliberalism as a false liberalization create unchecked growth and pol-
justification for the plunder and despoiling of nat- lution. They promote a so-called race to the bot-
ural resources at the hands of transnational cor- tom, making it too easy for companies to avoid
porations, aided and abetted by institutions such responsibility for their environmental degrada-
as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the tion and harming people who depend on natural
World Bank, and the World Trade Organization resources, such as small farmers, fishers, forest
(WTO), in collusion with the local political net- people, and those living downstream from
works. Justifying their actions with selective and mines. Furthermore, they increase poverty and
hypocritical applications of neoliberal ideas, these inequality, which also has negative environmen-
U.S.-dominated organizations impose weak envi- tal implications.
ronmental and labor regulations and preferential Trade negotiations often represent business
tax and investment regimes. Such conditions allow interests only, but social movements increasingly
companies to use destructive inputs and processes resist them or call for renegotiation. Such move-
banned or severely restricted in developed coun- ments criticize the role of trade agreements in
tries. Similarly, critics on the left argue that pri- undermining national environmental regulations.
vatization is a form of enclosure, essentially WTO rules, for example, require that tuna fish
transferring wealth away from large numbers of caught in nets that also capture dolphins must be
mostly poor people to a small number of powerful treated the same way as tuna caught by dolphin-
actors. Biopiracy, for example, is the term they safe methods; countries cannot simply ban the
would apply to private companies’ search for and import of tuna captured by methods that harm
patenting of potentially profitable genetic resources dolphin. (They may, however, allow dolphin-safe
originally found in environments owned by spe- labeling programs leaving it up to consumers to
cific groups or by humanity in common. choose.) Provisions in some free trade agreements
give investors the right to sue for compensation if
environmental regulations reduce the value of
Market Liberalization
their investments. For example, a U.S. company
Neoliberal policymakers promote market liberal- used North American Free Trade Agreement
ization—the freeing of markets from government (NAFTA) provisions to successfully sue a Mexi-
intervention—mainly through structural adjust- can local government for refusing to permit a
ment programs and free trade agreements. Both hazardous waste landfill.
have controversial environmental impacts. On the other hand, free traders would argue
Structural adjustment programs (SAPs) were that trade creates efficiencies that have environ-
imposed on indebted countries by the IMF as a mental benefits and provide incentives to conserve
condition for debt renegotiation. They typically productive resources. Furthermore, they claim
 NEOLIBER A L ENV IR ONMENT A L P OLI CY '%%.

that many environmental regulations distort trade The privatization and decentralization of water
and protect domestic producers who don’t deserve management has sparked virulent antiglobaliza-
it. In addition, increased foreign investment is tion protest in some cases, such as in Cocha-
associated with cleaner production processes than bamba, Bolivia, but privatization operates with
local industries due to compliance with interna- little public concern in many other places, includ-
tional standards, corporate requirements, fear of ing parts of the United States, Europe, Australia,
lawsuits, and the use of more modern and efficient Chile, and South Africa. Market purists believe
technologies. Finally, any increased poverty is a that even water should be privately owned and
short-term impact. In the long term, market liber- tradable on a free market with all users paying
alization raises incomes and permits increased for provision and treatment. They promote the
investment in environmental conservation. participation of large international profit-seeking
The agricultural implications of market liberal- water companies to invest in and manage water
ization are particularly important for the environ- systems all over the world. Opponents of the idea
ment. Market liberalization promotes export assert that water is a basic need that all people
agriculture where it is viable but inhibits trade pro- deserve, regardless of ability to pay. Case studies
tections for struggling agricultural sectors and of neoliberal reforms in water indicate extreme
regions. Despite many years of negotiations, inter- difficulty in assigning rights transparently and
national trade agreements have been unable to sig- unequivocally, setting effective transfer and use
nificantly decrease the agricultural subsidies and rules that provide market incentives for conserva-
import protections that the United States, Europe, tion and efficiency, and frequent conflict with
and Japan lavish on their domestic producers, but previous approaches to the use and distribu-
they have been successful in getting developing tion of water. Critics raise serious concerns that
countries to open their economies to agricultural market approaches fail to recognize the value of
imports. This creates rural crisis in many regions water in the environment, such as for wetlands
of the world where small local producers are and other habitat, a failing also shared by public
unable to compete with modern, heavily subsi- provisioning systems.
dized producers. In marginal agricultural areas, Privatization and marketization are also pro-
immigration increases, brush and trees revegetate moted to protect the environmental services pro-
abandoned agricultural fields in a kind of forest vided by forests and watersheds, including water
transition, rural landscapes are transformed, and capture and filtration, biodiversity conservation,
traditional crop varieties risk becoming extinct. and carbon mitigation. An international global
warming treaty, payments for hydrological service
programs, and similar projects create possibilities
New Environmental Markets
for some of those services to generate income
Neoliberal ideas hold that the environment is streams for rural land managers, unleashing mar-
best managed when resource rights are well- ket incentives for land use practices that enhance
defined, defendable, and exchangeable. This can the targeted environmental service. Critics of the
be attained through the privatization of water idea identify substantial problems monitoring and
provisioning systems, public enterprises, and placing values on such services. They identify the
state-owned or common property lands. Even challenges of protection in areas where no one is
hard-to-divide resources can be privatized and willing to pay for services, such as water provision
brought into markets through the allocation of and carbon mitigation, and question the economic
tradable sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollu- sustainability of many existing schemes once the
tion allowances, carbon credits, transferable fish- initial subsidies from taxes, international develop-
ing quotas, and payments for environmental ment, and the government disappear. Further-
services. Even something as amorphous as biodi- more, like many other market-based approaches,
versity should be brought into markets through they question the equity implications of such
payments for its conservation and patents on instruments because they favor large producers
genes and genetically modified organisms with with economies of scale and buyers with the great-
profit potential. est purchasing power.
'%&% N EO LI B E RAL ISM

Nongovernmental environmental certification See also Agrofoods; Carbon Trading and Carbon
systems, of which organic certification is the Offsets; Fair Trade and Environmental Certification;
most familiar, constitute another form of envi- International Environmental Movements; International
ronmental market congruent with neoliberal envi- Monetary Fund; Market-Based Environmental
ronmental policy. These programs rely on a set of Regulation; Neoliberalism; Structural Adjustment;
standards according to which production pro- Transnational Corporation; World Bank; World Trade
cesses in specific places are evaluated by third- Organization (WTO)
party auditors so that the environmental qualities
of products can be identified with a label. Since
these programs are voluntary and nongovernmen- Further Readings
tal, they don’t violate free trade treaties. Thus,
they constitute important new forms of neoliberal Bumpus, A. G., & Liverman, D. M. (2008).
environmental governance that generate transna- Accumulation by decarbonization and the
tional scales of interactions between social move- governance of carbon offsets. Economic
ments, nongovernmental organizations, and Geography, 84, 127–155.
private sector stakeholders. Harvey, D. (2006). Neo-liberalism as creative
destruction. Geografiska Annaler B: Human
Geography, 88, 145–158.
Varied Outcomes and Social Responses Liverman, D. M., & Vilas, S. (2006). Neoliberalism
Under neoliberalism, environmental governance and the environment in Latin America. Annual
is reorganized, often scaled upward to transna- Review of Environment and Resources, 31,
tional institutions of various kinds. This also 327–363.
restructures environmental politics. Social move-
ments that previously might have made demands
on governments to impose regulations on mar-
kets now shift their attention to other actors. NEOLIBERALISM
Some might dress up as turtles to protest WTO
rulings limiting national ability to call for turtle- A set of philosophies and discourses emphasizing
protecting devices on international shrimping the importance of free markets to development
fleets. Similarly, ethical trading companies, activ- and prosperity, neoliberalism emerged as the
ists, certification systems, and consultants dis- guiding rationale for a wide range of responses to
place the politics of environmental regulation to declining levels of economic growth in the 1980s
distant sites of production, to multistakeholder and 1990s. A term used largely by its critics, neo-
organizations, to media outlets, and to consum- liberal philosophies combine elements of classical
ers’ shopping carts. liberalism with those of social conservatism. This
Specific outcomes of neoliberal environmental entry reviews the central concepts of neoliberal-
policy vary greatly, depending on local condi- ism and its evolution in the global North and
tions, histories, and social responses. Neoliberal South; examines the neoliberal perspective on
forestry policies, for example, generally promote relationships between the state, markets, and civil
privatization and exports, especially through society more generally; and describes criticisms
plantations. The emphasis on secure property that have been directed at neoliberalism, particu-
rights as the foundation of markets, however, can larly with respect to its impact on the poor.
support the formalization of common property
rights to indigenous territories, and thus, commu-
nity forestry can be compatible with neoliberal The Development of Neoliberalism
ideas and policies. Researchers warn against
Greatly influenced by the writings of the neo-
invoking neoliberalism as a monolithic construct
classical economist Friedrich Hayek and, later,
with the same outcomes everywhere.
Milton Friedman, proponents of neoliberal-
Dan Klooster ism view the minimally regulated market as the
 NEOLIBER A LI S M '%&&

institution best able to maximize economic “Economic control is not merely control of a sec-
growth and the creation of wealth. For many neo- tor of human life which can be separated from
liberals, economies where the forces of demand the rest . . . it is the control of the means for all
and supply determine how and where goods and our ends” (1944, pp. 91–92).
services are produced and exchanged are not only
more efficient in generating and allocating
B^aidc;g^ZYbVc
resources than the state but also morally superior,
because they give individuals freedom to choose Hayek’s ideas on the relationship between eco-
the goods and services they want to consume. nomic and individual freedom were further devel-
Although the central importance of free markets oped during the 1950s and 1960s by Milton
to the efficient and equitable allocation of Friedman, who challenged the macroeconomic
resources is a shared feature of all neoliberal dis- demand management approach to economic sta-
courses, geographers agree that there is no pure bility advocated by John Maynard Keynes, which
definition of neoliberalism. This is because there was influential in the responses of Britain and the
are not only significant differences in the range of United States to the 1930s Great Depression. A
practices that scholars associate with neoliberal- member of Hayek’s Mont Pèlerin Society, founded
ism but also different degrees of market engage- in 1947 to preserve the fundamental economic
ment that countries have employed in different principles of classical liberalism, Friedman argued
geographical contexts. that economies were best stabilized through con-
trols over the supply of money rather than through
state fiscal intervention, which he argued tended
;g^ZYg^X]=VnZ`
to produce inflation. Like Hayek, Friedman
Hayek saw free markets as vital to individual viewed economic interventions by states as imped-
liberty because free markets ensured that individ- iments to economic growth and individual lib-
uals could not manipulate the resources of a given erty. In his 1962 book Capitalism and Freedom,
environment for their own advantage. By com- he advocated a range of policies to curb forms of
municating information in environments of uncer- state regulation such as military conscription, the
tainty, markets, Hayek argued, facilitate a levying of income tax, and the fixing of exchange
harmonious order where no individual is able to rates. While the ideas of Hayek, Friedman, and
amass all the complex information required to other supporters of laissez-faire capitalism gained
manipulate the world to his or her own advan- little popular support during the 1950s and
tage. Writing in 1944 on the relationship between 1960s, they were revived during the 1970s and
collective forms of social and economic organiza- 1980s when the stable and continuous patterns of
tion and tyranny, Hayek viewed economies that economic growth associated with the Keynesian
relied on markets to allocate resources as more demand management approach ceased to be suc-
democratic than those where the distribution of cessful. It is during this period that the philoso-
resources was determined by states. In his famous phies underlying neoliberalism evolved into a
book The Road to Serfdom, Hayek argued that loosely coherent set of economic strategies,
centrally planned economies, such as the Soviet adopted by regions in both the global North and
Union and Nazi Germany, were more likely to the global South.
resort to coercive restrictions on individual free-
dom than capitalist economies because they relied
CZda^WZgVa^hb^ci]Z<adWVaCdgi]
on states rather than markets to determine how
resources were allocated. He believed that the In the global North, neoliberal philosophies
impossibility of amassing all the information became increasingly popular as the Fordist sys-
needed to efficiently and fairly distribute resources tem of production and consumption, which had
inevitably led states to use coercive means to developed in tandem with the Keynesian welfare-
achieve economic control. For Hayek, state inter- oriented approach, ceased to produce stable rates
vention in the allocation of resources in an econ- of economic growth. Fordism emerged across
omy was deeply problematic. Hayek argued, North America and Europe as a successful regime
'%&' N EO LI B E RAL ISM

of accumulation because it balanced the mass regulations over entry and competition in mar-
production of standardized industrial goods with kets, and the privatization of formerly nationally
high levels of state-supported mass consumption. owned industries. Described by Friedman as
Between the1940s and 1960s, Fordist industries shock treatment, the sudden removal of price and
became engines of economic growth because they currency controls, the withdrawal of state subsi-
achieved high levels of productivity through the dies, and the liberalization of trade were designed
use of technologies that allowed firms to main- to deliver a quick jolt to the economy that would
tain strict control over the production process. As restore market fundamentals and stimulate
a result, Fordist mass-produced goods were low growth.
in cost and affordable to large segments of most Shock therapy in Chile laid the foundations for
population. Fordist mass consumption, on the a more systematic set of neoliberal strategies that
other hand, was facilitated by states through poli- became known as structural adjustment programs
cies that supported the family wage, job security, (SAPs). Administered by the International Mone-
and welfare-oriented investments in areas such as tary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, and influ-
health and education. The stable economic growth enced by the U.S. Treasury Department, SAPs
produced under Fordism began to break down as aimed to reduce government fiscal imbalances
early as the late 1960s, as industries in a number and debt by opening up economies to the market
of sectors became increasingly less profitable. By through privatizations, devaluations, reductions
the mid 1970s, rising levels of unemployment and in public social spending, and the lifting of trade
inflation signaled the end of Fordism and the restrictions and state controls over prices. States
Keynesian social contract. The crisis of the 1970s seeking financial assistance from either of these
created the context for the revival of the ideas of institutions were obliged to implement these poli-
Hayek and the policy prescriptions of Friedman, cies as a condition of gaining access to loans. By
which heretofore had been largely ignored. the 1990s, nearly every country in the global
South had entered an SAP and had begun to
implement the relatively standard package of sta-
CZda^WZgVa^hb^ci]Z<adWVaHdji]
bilization, privatization, and liberalization poli-
In the global South, neoliberal discourses cies. Collectively, these policies also became
emerged in the wake of the 1974 oil price crisis known as the Washington Consensus in recogni-
and the rising levels of debt that followed increases tion of the degree of influence that the political
in interest rates in the United States. Particularly, and technocratic institutions of the U.S. govern-
among Latin American and Caribbean countries ment had over their formulation.
that had borrowed international capital to finance
state-led import substitution strategies, the oil
Changing Relationships Among
price shocks, spiraling debt, and the ensuing
States, Markets, and Civil Society
recession in the global North challenged the role
that states would play in the process of develop- The importance of the United States in shaping
ment in the future. In Chile, for example, the the nature of neoliberalism in the global South
1973 coup d’état that overthrew the democrati- during the 1980s is a reflection of the changing
cally elected socialist government of President relationship between states, markets, and civil
Salvador Allende marked the beginning of a new society that had begun to be put into practice by
relationship between states, markets, and civil Margaret Thatcher, the then prime minister of
society. Under the leadership of General Augusto the United Kingdom, and Ronald Reagan, the
Pinochet, Chile became the first country where then president of the United States. Both leaders
neoliberal policy prescriptions were systemati- were social conservatives who supported the ide-
cally implemented. Closely influenced by the ologies associated with classical liberalism that
views of Milton Friedman, whose former students stressed the importance of individual private
became key architects in the neoliberal restructur- property, free markets, limited government, and
ing of Chile, these policies included the reduction the rule of law. Deeply influenced by the work
of public welfare spending, the dismantling of of Hayek, Thatcher felt that the solution to the
 NEOLIBER A LI S M '%&(

economic crisis of the 1970s lay in the restoration and the global South have tended to reward and
of the market as the key institution responsible punish particular groups according to the degree
for the allocation of resources. But to make the to which they meet the neoliberal citizenship
free market play a more central role in everyday ideal. For example, many neoliberalizing states
life, policies needed to be put in place to reduce encourage individuals to become more entrepre-
the role played by the state in the provision of neurial by promoting microcredit programs that
welfare and increase opportunities for the private offer small loans at commercial interest rates to
accumulation of wealth. The early policies intro- those with no incomes. Conversely, to discourage
duced by Thatcher and Reagan revolved around individuals from relying on collective forms of
the relaxation, and in many cases, removal of welfare, many have instituted programs such as
market regulations, such as fixed exchange rates; workfare, which take away the right of individu-
the reestablishment of private property rights, als to determine the conditions under which they
largely through the privatization of previously will provide their labor.
nationally owned industries; and the retreat of
state from the provision of social welfare. Impor-
Criticisms of Neoliberalism
tant to both leaders was the need to make labor
more responsive to the changing dynamics of cap- Critics of neoliberalism view the policies and
ital, and this was achieved by breaking the old practices that have been used to reorient and more
Keynesian social contract by weakening the power closely integrate economies within increasingly
of the labor unions and reducing the state’s obli- global markets as deeply unequal and unjust.
gation to provide welfare support for all its citi- David Harvey argues that the policies associated
zens. In the United States, for example, many of with neoliberalism heighten patterns of uneven
the rights-based income support programs that development because they promote forms of capi-
formed part of the New Deal were restructured in tal accumulation that enable the richest class
ways that increasingly required beneficiaries to groupings to accumulate surpluses by appropriat-
participate in work or educational programs as a ing the assets and rights of others. He defines the
condition of receiving aid. As geographers such as type of capitalist growth associated with neolib-
Jamie Peck observed, the shift from welfare to eralism as “accumulation by dispossession” to
workfare has been part of a new system of labor highlight the extent to which these policies have
regulation that ensured that workers continued to redistributed wealth from the poorest to the
work even in environments where real wages wealthiest of people and places. Many grassroots
were declining and employment was becoming civil society groups oppose neoliberal policies
more casualized, that is, stripped of many of its because of the adverse effects they are argued to
benefits, including job security. Throughout the have on the lives and livelihoods of poor house-
1980s and 1990s, other governments in the global holds, women, and children.
North implemented similar neoliberal strategies, The widening income inequalities and height-
each with its particular institutionally mediated ened levels of poverty that accompanied early
market-enabling foci. neoliberal reforms have forced many proponents
More than a narrow set of philosophies aimed to reconsider the benefits of approaches that
at economic reform, neoliberalism has also rede- emphasize market fundamentals with minimal
fined the social relationship between states and state intervention. In the global South, this recog-
civil society. Feminist scholars argue that many of nition led to the replacement in 1999 of SAPs
the social policies that have accompanied neolib- with poverty reduction approaches that rely on
eralism have sought to create a new type of citi- governance structures that encourage greater con-
zen, one who is self-sufficient, entrepreneurial, sultative partnerships between international lend-
and able to compete in markets, without minimal ers, borrowing governments, and civil society
reliance on collective resources. Often drawing groups. Critics, however, remain skeptical of the
on social conservative discourses that valorize extent to which the philosophies that guide the
individual responsibility and traditional values, new Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers differ
neoliberalizing states in both the global North from those that shaped SAPs. As a number of
'%&) N EO LI B E RAL ISM

A worker in Panama City marches and holds a sign that reads, “Down with neoliberal politics,” May 30, 2002.
Thousands of workers, teachers, and students marched to the presidency building to protest against a project to
privatize the Social Security Service.
Source: AP Photo/Tomas Munita.

scholars state, these programs still rely on the produces individuals who regulate themselves to
approval of the World Bank and the IMF before conform to this logic.
they can be instituted, and approval has remained From the ongoing debates, it is clear that rather
tied to a vision of development that privileges free than monolithic and static, the neoliberal dis-
market economic growth over poverty reduction. courses and practices have been dynamic, adapt-
Similar observations have been made by the geog- ing to shifting economic conditions, as well as the
raphers Adam Tickell and Jamie Peck, who argue critiques of civil society groups. Yet to argue that
that while neoliberalism is no longer crudely neoliberalism has lost its relevance as a meaning-
focused on rolling back the state, it is increasingly ful term would be to ignore the priority that these
evolving into a set of technocratic policies aimed policies continued to give to free markets and to
at rolling out and consolidating the logic of the those best able to compete in them.
market in a wide variety of social and economic Beverley Mullings
institutions through state intervention and regu-
lation. In keeping with this observation, geogra- See also Globalization; Governance; Inequality and
phers also argue that contemporary neoliberalism Geography; International Monetary Fund; Market-
is evolving into a type of governmentality that Based Environmental Regulation; Neocolonialism;
naturalizes and embeds market mechanisms into Neoliberal Environmental Policy; Structural Adjustment;
every aspect of everyday life and simultaneously World Bank; World Trade Organization (WTO)
 NEO-MA LT HUSIA NI S M '%&*

Further Readings he argued, aid to the poor and hungry would only
succeed in forestalling the population-limiting
Friedman, M. (1962). Capitalism and freedom. effects of food shortage, ultimately making for
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. more people who would inevitably suffer from con-
Harvey, D. (2005). A brief history of neoliberalism. flict, sickness, and potential starvation.
Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Developments since Malthus’s time have not fit
Harvey, D. (2006). Neoliberalism as creative Malthus’s postulates well. Various social institu-
destruction. Geografiska Annaler, 88B, 145–158. tions, government policies, education, and eco-
Hayek, F. (1944). The road to serfdom. Chicago: nomic development are now known to effectively
University of Chicago Press. curb population growth, and total fertility rates
Klein, N. (2007). The shock doctrine: The rise of have plummeted worldwide (including throughout
disaster capitalism. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: most of the developing world since the 1960s).
Knopf. Agricultural output has outpaced human food
Larner, W. (2000). Neoliberalism: Policy, ideology needs, due largely to the use of external inputs that
and governmentality. Studies in Political were largely unknown in Malthus’s day: nitrogen
Economy, 63, 5–25. fertilizer, mechanization, breeding, pesticides, and
Peck, J. (2001). Workfare states. New York: Guilford information technology. The Food and Agriculture
Press. Organization predicts agriculture to continue to
Tickell, A., & Peck, J. (2003). Making global rules: outpace food needs for decades; yet hunger contin-
Globalisation or neoliberalisation? In J. Peck & ues to stalk areas of the developing world, and food
H. Yeung (Eds.), Remaking the global economy: insecurity affects significant numbers in industrial-
Economic-geographical perspectives (pp. 163–181). ized countries. In 1996, the economist Amartya Sen
London: Sage. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for showing
how little overall food supply had to do with fam-
ine. Malthus—as Cohen (1995) bluntly put it in
How Many People Can the Earth Support?—“has
been wrong for nearly two centuries” (p. 429).
NEO-MALTHUSIANISM Yet Malthus’s basic view of population growth
as a persistent driver of food shortage has contin-
Thomas Malthus was an English clergyman who ued to exert widespread and persistent influence
popularized a set of ideas on population and agri- on a long and varied history of theories, schools
cultural growth in the early 19th century. Neo- of thought, movements, and policies. Much of
Malthusianism refers to the variant forms of these this persistent power is due to its malleability and
ideas that have appeared in scholarly and scien- the fact that its basic tenets and implications can
tific publications, shaped various kinds of policy be adjusted to changing agendas.
making, and often exerted considerable influence For instance, in the early 20th century,
on popular discourse over the years. neo-Malthusians took Malthus’s stress on the
Malthus’s An Essay on the Principle of Popula- overabundance of poor people to support anti-
tion was published anonymously in London in immigrant organizations and policies in the United
1798. It challenged the optimistic writing of States. Academic books stressed the dangers posed
Enlightenment giants Godwin and Condorcet, who by the reproductive urges of “inferior races,”
believed that scientific progress and refinement of including Jews and the Irish. In the 1960s, neo-
social institutions would ensure enough food for Malthusians, such as the Club of Rome, sounded
all. Malthus instead pointed to “fixed laws of the alarm over the world’s high population growth
our nature,” specifically that “population, when rate and its impacts on resources and the earth’s
unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio . . . sub- capacity to sustain rising numbers of people. Neo-
sistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio.” Malthusianism shaped Cold War thinking in the
Since this imbalance was intrinsic to human ecol- United States, attributing the spread of commu-
ogy, food shortage would be a permanent force nism to high population densities in Asia. These
shaping society and limiting population. Therefore, fears were particularly focused on India, where
'%&+ N ET W O RK ANAL YSIS

post–World War II peasant movements were taken

Peluso, N., & Watts, M. (2001). Violent
as warnings that India might go the way of China.
environments. In N. Peluso & M. Watts (Eds.),
Through the PL-480 program, large amounts of
Violent environments (pp. 3–38). Ithaca, NY:
American grain were exported to India well into
Cornell University Press.
the 1960s to check the spread of communism
Ross, E. (1998). The Malthus factor: Population,
while absorbing U.S. grain surpluses.
poverty, and politics in capitalist development.
Beginning in the mid 1990s, neo-Malthusianism
London: Zed Books.
helped fill the void in post–Cold War thinking,
Sen, A. (1981). Poverty and famines: An essay on
with academic writers and journalists stressing
entitlement and deprivation. Oxford, UK: Oxford
environmental security as the new driver of Third
University Press.
World conflict. This surge of neo-Malthusianism
went beyond food and depicted local shortages of
various resources as the principal driver in local
conflicts. Robert Kaplan’s lurid essay “The Com- NETWORK ANALYSIS
ing Anarchy” popularized this perspective in pub-
lic and policy circles, although detailed case studies Network analysis refers to the spatial analysis of
by geographers and anthropologists showed that transport (roads, railroads, airlines) or utility (pipe-
such conflicts tended to be driven by other, non- line, Internet) networks, and it has also been used
demographic and nonlocal factors. for examining and optimizing hierarchical rela-
Most recently, neo-Malthusianism has played tionships within a set of places linked by flows.
a key role in debates over genetically modified Network analysis abstracts the fundamental com-
crops. In the late 1990s, following Europeans’ ponents of a network to depict the connections
rejection of genetically modified foods, writing by between places. A network is made up of nodes
both corporate and academic biotechnologists (locations, or origins and destinations of flows)
began to raise alarms about population growth and links (physical connections or flows between
and impending food shortages in developing nodes). Loops may be present and allow multiple
countries, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organiza- paths between a pair of nodes. A network may be
tion) projections notwithstanding, touting genetic planar, with nodes at the junctions of all links, or
modification as a solution. As with other phases nonplanar, in which links may cross one another
of neo-Malthusianism, this invokes the alarm of without an intersection. Depicting a network at
population outstripping food supply but adds the interurban level is generally straightforward,
new elements suited to the times. using cities, ports, or airports as nodes, while rep-
Glenn Davis Stone resentations at the intraurban scale require more
care. Street intersections may be used as nodes,
See also Famine, Geography of; Food, Geography of; though some uses may be more abstract, with
Hunger; Malthusianism; Population and Land nodes representing zones and links approximating
Degradation; Population, Environment, and flows between them. The link-node structure of a
Development; Poverty network can be shown as a matrix, and it is com-
mon for networks to be specified as a connectivity,
impedance, or origin-destination (flow) matrix.
Further Readings These matrices in turn allow for the calculation of
shortest-path algorithms and related methodolo-
Cohen, J. (1995). How many people can the earth gies, such as aggregate or topological accessibility.
support? New York: W. W. Norton.
Kaplan, R. (1994, February). The coming anarchy.
Early Applications in Geography
The Atlantic Monthly, pp. 44–76.
Meadows, D., Randers, J., & Meadows, D. (2004). Network analysis is derived from the mathematical
Limits to growth: The 30-year update. London: field of graph theory, a branch of topology. Graph
Chelsea. theory focuses on the connectivity of a network,
not on its visual appearance. Both were introduced
 NET WOR K A NA LY S I S '%&,

into geography in 1960 by William Garrison, who of hierarchy in networks. This trend was stimu-
examined the structure of the Interstate Highway lated by the phenomenon of airline deregulation
System in the southeastern United States. Analysis and the rise of hub-and-spoke networks with
of transport networks became common in the many indirect connections between nodes. The
1960s. The centrality of cities was evaluated using location of a node within these networks and the
a connectivity matrix, and several network mea- design of optimal network structures to maxi-
sures, such as alpha (the ratio of the number of mize flows or minimize the costs of flows have
loops to the maximum possible), beta (the ratio of become an important part of network analysis
links to nodes), and gamma (the ratio of actual and have been extended to many transport modes
links to the maximum possible in a planar net- and types of spatial interactions. Recent work
work), were also developed. They measure the con- often includes a focus on the vulnerability of a
nectivity of the network in different ways, though network to disruption, such as the loss of a criti-
their usefulness and uniqueness has been debated. cal node or link following a disaster.
The arrival of network analysis in geography In the 1990s, small-region (also called small-
was closely related to the quantitative revolution world) networks have continued to be explored
and its search for regularities that would allow in modeling hierarchies and in optimization. In
for spatial laws. Studies using network analysis these types of networks, a few nodes have a far
attempted to relate socioeconomic indicators of greater level of connectivity than would be
various countries to their road or rail network expected and so allow for shorter routes between
structure in the search for universal regularities average nodes within a network. Transportation
about development. Other studies attempted to networks are only a small part of these studies, as
create predictive models of network growth based a wide range of biological, engineering, and social
on observed patterns in their structural change phenomena have been investigated for small-
over time. While many early studies were rigor- world network traits. The mathematical proper-
ously mathematical and theoretical, later network ties of such networks are generally considered to
analyses rarely used the terminology or notation be universal for all such instances, much as in the
of graph theory. early network analysis work.
Network analysis became essential to the new
field of transport geography and was compatible
Network Analysis in GIS
with other new quantitative methods in the field,
such as spatial interaction modeling. Peter Hag- While theoretically simple, calculating network
gett and Richard Chorley’s (1969) book Network measures and shortest routes for all but small net-
Analysis in Geography marks the high point of works is extremely labor intensive. These applica-
the early network analysis approach in geogra- tions were reliant on computers from the very
phy. It examined topics such as topological struc- beginning, and the widespread use of GIS has led
tures, network shape, location, flows, and growth to an enormous increase in the ease of use of these
and transformation of networks. These were methodologies. Digital data for street and other
applied to a wide variety of human and physical networks are readily available, and the network
geography topics, such as rivers, roads, airlines, or arc-node data model for GIS allows network
and economic linkages between cities or regions. analysis. Shortest-path algorithms are easily calcu-
All were treated as instances of network develop- lated, and new features such as multimodal and
ment and amenable to similar kinds of theories multiscale networks have been developed. Net-
and methodologies. Network analysis declined in work versions of market area models, spatial
importance during the 1970s, though it has interaction, location-allocation, aggregate accessi-
remained in transport geography textbooks. bility, space-time accessibility, and other standard
geographic applications have been created. These
procedures use road distance or driving time to
Later Developments
represent distance instead of Euclidean or straight-
In the 1980s, network analysis reemerged as a sig- line distance. Due to GIS, network analysis has
nificant topic due to recognition of the importance moved away from its original mathematical and
'%&- N ET W O RK D ATA MOD E L

theoretical basis toward a geocomputational per- network, which works along with the network
spective using non-Euclidean space. geometries for applications such as route planning.
Network attributes include cost impedances,
Joe Weber
turns, one-way or vehicular restrictions, hierar-
chy, and elevation fields. Cost impedances relate
See also Accessibility; GIS in Transportation; Network
to edges and turns. Link impedance is the cost of
Data Model; Quantitative Revolution; Spatial
traversing an edge. A simple measure of the cost
Interaction Models; Transportation Geography
is the edge’s physical length. But the length may
not be a reliable measure of cost, especially in cit-
ies where speed limits and traffic conditions vary
Further Readings significantly along different streets. A better mea-
sure of link impedance is the travel time estimated
Garrison, W. L. (1960). Connectivity of the interstate from the length and speed limit of an edge. For
highway system. Papers and Proceedings of the example, it takes 20 minutes to travel 10 mi.
Regional Science Association, 6, 121–137. (miles) on a road with a speed limit of 30 mi. per
Haggett, P., & Chorley, R. J. (1969). Network hour. A turn is a transition from one edge to
analysis in geography. London: Edward Arnold. another at a junction. Turn impedance is the time
O’Kelly, M. E., & Miller, H. (1994). The hub it takes to complete a turn. Turn impedance is
network design problem. Journal of Transport directional. For example, it may take 5 s (sec-
Geography, 2, 31–40. onds) to go straight or make a right turn and 30 s
to make a left turn at a stoplight. A negative turn
impedance value usually means a prohibited turn,
such as turning the wrong way onto a one-way
NETWORK DATA MODEL street. Cost impedances are entered in designated
fields. For example, a field called Minutes can
Route planning is a common task. A route plan assign link impedance in travel time.
used to be marked on a paper map, but now it One-way streets or vehicular restrictions (e.g.,
can be easily done on a digital road network using “no left turn”) can also be denoted in special
an automotive navigation system or a geographic fields. For example, “T” in a field called one-way
information system (GIS). A network is a system means that a street segment is one-way, and “F”
of linear features that has the appropriate attri- means that it is not. The direction of a one-way
butes for the flow of objects. A road system is a street is determined by the beginning point and
familiar network; other networks include rail- the end point of the edge. Hierarchy refers to a
ways, public transit lines, bicycle paths, utility classification of roads, such as interstate, state,
lines, and streams. and county highways. Given a multiple-level hier-
A network data model consists of geometries archy, the logical network can use it to optimize
and attributes. The basic geometric features are route solving on large transportation networks.
edges (links) and junctions (nodes). An edge refers Overpasses, underpasses, bridges, and tunnels are
to a line segment defined by two end points. A typically represented as planar features with ele-
junction refers to a point, where lines meet or inter- vations. Elevations, in this case, are not altitudes
sect. To be used for route planning, a network but the logical levels of roadways. For example,
must be topology based. Network topology is to show First Avenue crossing Oak Street with an
explicitly expressed through graph theory (a overpass, the elevation value of 1 can be assigned
branch of mathematics): edges are directional; to First Avenue at the crossing, indicating that the
edges meet or intersect perfectly at junctions; and overpass is on First Avenue.
if an edge joins two junctions, the junctions are Both edges and junctions are vector data
said to be adjacent and incident with the edge. represented by points and their x-, y-coordinates.
Moreover, the adjacency and incidence relation- Vector data in a GIS can be either georelational
ships are built into matrices. Stored as tables in or object oriented. As examples, shapefile is geo-
a GIS, these matrices form the core of a logical relational, and geodatabase is object oriented.
 NEW INT ER NA T IONA L DIV ISION OF LA BO R '%&.

Compared with a shapefile-based network, a geo- can expect to see more interesting and dynamic
database network has a more flexible data struc- network applications in the future.
ture, which allows network topology to be
Kang-Tsung (Karl) Chang
embedded in object-oriented representations.
Unlike a shapefile-based network, which can only
See also Accessibility; GIS in Transportation; Network
have one edge source, a geodatabase network can
Analysis; Spatial Interaction Models; Transportation
have multiple edge sources (e.g., roads, rails, bus
Geography
routes, and subways) and can connect different
groups of edges at specified junctions (e.g., a sub-
way station junction connects a subway route
and a bus route). Further Readings
Networks with topology are useful for a num-
ber of applications of which the best known is Chang, K. (2006). Introduction to geographic
shortest-path analysis. Shortest-path analysis information systems (4th ed.). New York:
finds the path with the minimum cumulative McGraw-Hill.
impedance between junctions on a network. The Miller, H., & Shaw, S. (2001). Geographic information
path may connect just two junctions—an origin systems for transportation: Principles and
and a destination—or have specific stops between applications. New York: Oxford University Press.
the junctions. Shortest-path analysis can help a
driver plan routine trips between home and work-
place, a van driver set up a schedule for dozens of
deliveries, and an emergency service connect a
dispatch station, accident location, and hospital.
NEW INTERNATIONAL
Closest facility and allocation are extensions of DIVISION OF LABOR
shortest-path analysis. To find the closest hospi-
tal, fire station, or ATM, an algorithm first com- Capitalist development has always occurred
putes the shortest paths from the select location unevenly—spatially, sectorally, and temporally—
to all candidate facilities and then chooses the producing differential degrees of industrialization
closest facility among the candidates. Allocation and varying modes and levels of integration into
is a study of the spatial distribution of public the world economy. Since the 1970s, however,
facilities such as fire stations, schools, or even there has been a widespread recognition that a
open spaces (in case of an earthquake) on a net- fundamental transformation (now commonly
work. Because the distribution of public facilities understood as globalization) is taking place in the
defines the extent of their service area, spatial conditions of capitalist accumulation and expan-
allocation analysis can measure the efficiency of sion of capital on a world-historical scale. The
these facilities. term new international division of labor (NIDL)
Address matching, also known as geocoding, was coined by theorists seeking to explain the spa-
requires the use of a street network and attributes tial shift of manufacturing industries from advanced
such as the street name, address range, and ZIP capitalist countries to developing countries—an
code for each street segment. It compares a street ongoing geographic reorganization of production,
address with the network data, interpolates the which finds its origins in the formation of the
address location on the network, and plots “world market for labor” and “world market for
the address as a point feature. Address matching industrial sites” famously analyzed by the German
is a service offered by Web browsers as well as political economists Folker Fröbel, Jürgen Hein-
many public and commercial Web sites. richs, and Otto Kreye. Under the “old” interna-
Shortest path, closest facility, spatial allocation, tional division of labor, underdeveloped areas were
and address matching are some of the applications incorporated into the world economy principally
using a network. With GIS being increasingly inte- as suppliers of minerals and agricultural commodi-
grated with the Internet, GPS (global positioning ties. A growing emphasis on factors such as the
system), wireless technology, and Web service, we internationalization of production, the greater
'%'% N EW I N TE RNATIONAL D IVISIO N OF LA BOR

sway of transnational corporations (TNCs), and through transnational production arrangements

the enhanced mobility of capital facilitated by involving foreign direct investment or interna-
modern communications technology and liberal- tional subcontracting. In that the term global fac-
ization has generated a transition toward an tory refers specifically to the sites of production in
NIDL in which low-wage developing countries transnational production arrangements, it is not
increasingly provide sites for labor-intensive limited to “factories” per se but also includes petty
industries that manufacture goods for sale in the commodity producers, often toiling in “informal”
world economy. establishment such as sweatshops and home indus-
Theories of the NIDL assign a major role to try. Despite this diversity in possible employment
TNCs as the orchestrator of a global reallocation forms, the key argument of NIDL theorists is that
of manufacturing away from advanced countries working conditions in the global factories situated
toward the developing countries. Varying in in developing countries tend to be poor on account
emphasis from a “neo-Smithian” focus on changes of their raison d’être—to enable TNCs from the
in the world market to a “neo-Ricardian” one on core advanced countries to redeploy their capital
capital exports, theories of the NIDL have sought for goods production to low-cost labor sites in the
to explain a dual pattern of “industrialization” in periphery, where TNCs and their subcontractors
the developing countries and “deindustrializa- extract surplus value from Third World workers.
tion” in the advanced countries. In seeking to The signal contributions of theories of the
explain this pattern, the concept of an NIDL NIDL have been to highlight the growing power
focuses on the determining roles played by (a) the of TNCs (in particular, their capacity to optimize
development of a worldwide reservoir of potential differing opportunities for profit by decentraliz-
labor power; (b) the development of the labor ing production across the globe) and to demon-
process in manufacturing, which has led to the strate that industrialization and deindustrialization
decomposition of production processes into ele- are in fact related phenomena. Indeed, the con-
mentary units and the deskilling of the labor force; cern over deindustrialization, unemployment, and
and (c) the development of the forces of produc- the proliferation of low-wage service sector jobs
tion in the fields of transport and communication, in the advanced countries partly reflects the suc-
which has made industry less tied to specific loca- cess of newly industrializing countries in relatively
tions. These preconditions, together with the labor-intensive manufacturing markets and the
desire of TNCs to maximize profits, result in export of semiskilled industries jobs to lower-
industrial relocation to employ what Fröbel, Hein- wage countries under the aegis of TNCs. Critics
richs, and Kreye described as readily available, of the NIDL thesis, however, argue that it over-
inexpensive, and “well-disciplined” labor. One states the significance of “cheap labor” as the
key argument of NIDL theorists is that with new propellant for capital movements across the globe,
technologies, especially space-shrinking systems particularly geographical shifts of manufacturing
of transport and communications, sites for manu- production. There is no gainsaying the spurt of
facturing are increasingly independent of geo- industrialization that has taken place over the
graphical distance. Capital now not only searches past half-century in the developing (Third World)
for fresh markets but also seeks to incorporate countries, and in particular in the four “Asian
new groups into the labor force. dragons” (Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and
Thus, it was initially through the export pro- the Republic of Korea), the three “Asian tigers”
cessing zones of the globalizing electronics and (Malaysia, Thailand, and China), and what has
textile industries that many women from the come to be known as the BRIC (Brazil, Russia,
developing world have become part of the inter- India, and China). Still, the point is that although
national working class. Through the exploitation the contribution of such countries to global man-
of their labor power within world market facto- ufacturing output has increased, focus on an
ries situated in developing, low-wage countries, NIDL may exaggerate the extent of change that
specific regions within what was formerly known has taken place in the world economy, in which
as the Third World became manufacturing sites the large majority of developing-country work-
for consumer markets in the advanced countries ers are still overwhelmingly producers of raw
 NEWLY INDUST R IA LIZ ING C OUNT RI E S '%'&

materials whose relationship to the world econ- Modernization theorists trumpet their success as
omy continues to be defined by the old rather proof of the wonders of the market. Whereas
than the new international division of labor. dependency theorists maintained that the diffu-
sion of manufacturing from the First World to
Étienne Cantin
the Third was unlikely or impossible, the rise of
the NICs in the 1970s indicated that the status
See also Comparative Advantage; Deindustrialization;
of the developing world was hardly fixed or
Developing World; Division of Labor; Export-Led
static. In terms of world-systems theory, the NICs
Development; Export Processing Zones; Globalization;
pointed to states that moved from the global
Industrialization; Neocolonialism; Neoliberalism; Newly
periphery to its semiperiphery.
Industrializing Countries; Outsourcing; Transnational
Common to many NICs was a shift from
Corporation; Underdevelopment; Uneven Development;
import substitution to export-led industrializa-
World Bank
tion, in which tariffs and quotas on imports were
reduced, foreign direct investment (FDI) was
encouraged, and exports aggressively promoted,
Further Readings including through the use of export processing
zones. Such moves were often justified by an
Fröbel, F., Heinrichs, H., & Kreye, O. (1980). The appeal to neoclassical economic notions, such as
new international division of labour: Structural comparative advantage. Many states such as
unemployment in industrialised countries and South Korea and Taiwan began to develop a
industrialisation in developing countries. capacity in footwear and textiles by the 1960s,
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. moving into more capital-intensive, higher-value-
Lipietz, A. (1997). Economic restructuring: The added sectors, such as automobiles, ships, steel,
new global hierarchy. In J. Veit & W. Wright precision machinery, and electronics over the next
(Eds.), Work of the future: Global perspectives several decades.
(pp. 45–65). London: Allen & Unwin. The East Asian NICs are perhaps the most rep-
Mittelman, J. (1995). Rethinking the international resentative members of this group. Following the
division of labour in the context of globalisation. example set by Japan, which industrialized early,
Third World Quarterly, 16, 273–296. several generations of Asian NICs began to imi-
tate the Japanese model in the famous “flying
geese” formation of development. The original
“Four Tigers” or “Minidragons” included South
NEWLY INDUSTRIALIZING Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore (the
latter two former British city-state colonies), all
COUNTRIES of which developed high-quality educational sys-
tems, infrastructures, and government policies
Newly industrializing countries (NICs), some- conducive to capital accumulation. Some observ-
times also called newly industrializing economies, ers point to the legacy of Japanese occupation in
are a group of states in the developing world that this regard, while others note the importance of
developed substantial manufacturing bases in the Confucianism in producing a compliant labor
late 20th century. Definitions of this group vary, force, as well as a high domestic savings rate. Yet
but they are generally taken to be states that others argue that the NICs’ growth had little
exhibited rapid and sustained increases in GDP, to do with a “free market” and much to do
incomes, and industrial employment. Most are with oppressive and authoritarian government
located in Asia, although several are found in strategies that repressed labor. South Korea and
Latin America as well (Figure 1). Other defini- Taiwan, for example, were run by military dicta-
tions of NICs include South Africa and Turkey. torships for much of the early period of their
The emergence of the NICs has significant growth. Yet another factor was the active inter-
implications for development theory as well vention of the United States in the region during
as the lives of billions of people in the world. the Cold War (including defense subsidies and
'%'' N EW LY IND U STRIAL IZING COUNT R IES

Figure 1 Newly industrializing countries in 2008. Definitions of the NICs vary, but all exhibit rapidly growing
economies and exports.

preferential trade agreements), an advantage not governments that often take a dim view of civil
afforded to other regions, such as Latin America. liberties and dissent.
Singapore, in particular, developed not only as a Of course, looming over all the NICs is China,
center of light manufacturing but also thrived whose rapid growth since the mid 1970s has
with a very large port and a growing capacity in transformed the world’s most populous country
financial services and telecommunications to and made it an enormous economic power. The
become the second wealthiest country in Asia. economic reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping
The second generation of East Asian “drag- proved to be quite successful at reintegrating the
ons” included Thailand, Malaysia, and Indone- country back into the world economy, and China
sia, all of which pursued the model set by the first has enjoyed growth rates often exceeding 10%
generation. To varying degrees, with considerable annually to become the world’s second largest
inequalities within them, these countries devel- economy today. Most of China’s growth has been
oped manufacturing capacities in textiles, auto- concentrated along its eastern seaboard, where
mobiles, electronics, and other sectors, often Deng established the famous Special Economic
using docile young female workers in foreign- Zones. The most rapidly growing part of China
owned assembly plants that resembled Mexico’s has been the southern province of Guangdong,
maquiladoras. Malaysia’s Vision 2020, in which which has benefited from close ties to Hong Kong
it sought to become a fully industrialized state by entrepreneurs and financiers. China also attracted
that year, included making it the world’s leading enormous quantities of foreign direct investment
producer of semiconductors and small motors for and as the world’s largest exporter, enjoyed siz-
appliances. In all, tens of millions of people were able trade surpluses, particularly with the United
pulled out of poverty to create a growing middle States. Today, China is the world’s leading pro-
class with higher incomes and purchasing power, ducer of electronics, apparel, toys, steel, cement,
although the Asian financial crisis of 1997–1998 and cotton. As in Taiwan, Korea, and Singapore,
revealed that such growth was not inevitable. In the Chinese economy has also steadily moved into
all, rising automobile ownership led to increas- higher-value sectors, such as finance. At current
ingly congested cities. All three of these states, rates of economic growth, China may surpass the
to different degrees, have also had autocratic GDP of the United States by 2050. However, such
 NEWLY INDUST R IA LIZ ING C OUNT RI E S '%'(

growth has simultaneously created huge dispari- one extent or another (e.g., via the Japanese occu-
ties between the rich and the poor, tens of mil- pation or the Korean war), which broke up feudal
lions of desperate migrants who have evacuated rural elites, improved agrarian opportunities, and
the interior for the opportunities along the coasts, helped minimize rural-to-urban migration. All had
and an oppressive government much given to cen- governments that encouraged development, not
sorship, suppression of dissidents, and violations regulation, with clear long-term priorities and
of human rights. consistent, centralized, growth-oriented policies.
India, too, shows signs of becoming an NIC. All minimized their reliance on foreign funding
The world’s second most populous country, with and encouraged domestic savings, although all
huge reservoirs of poverty, nonetheless exhibited NICs encouraged FDI. All sought to move as
consistent economic growth rates when it aban- quickly as possible from low-wage, low-skilled,
doned its earlier isolationism and welcomed for- low-value-added exports to progressively higher
eign investment. The prominence of Bengaluru, wage, higher-value-added ones.
the heart of the Indian electronics and software To what degree is the success of the NICs
industry; the growth of call centers; the financial replicable elsewhere? The answer to such a ques-
and cinema complex in Mumbai; and India’s tion, which has enormous implications for Third
growing middle class all point to what will be an World development possibilities, in no small part
increasingly formidable economic power in the depends on the theoretical perspective one adopts
future. to explain the NICs’ successes. For advocates of
Latin American NICs include Brazil, Mexico, modernization theory, and its neoliberal reincar-
and Chile. Brazil’s growth, centered on heavy nation, the NICs represent the success of unfet-
manufacturing such as aerospace in the 1970s, tered capitalism, which, with proper attention to
was crippled by the oil shocks and resulting explo- trade policy and finance structures, can be ulti-
sion of foreign debt. Likewise, Mexico, which mately reproduced virtually anywhere. To advo-
staked its fortunes on petroleum, suffered with cates of dependency theory, the NICs represent a
the price declines in the late 20th century. The unique, historically specific set of conditions that
rise of the maquiladoras, now Mexico’s largest cannot be replicated easily. In this reading, the
source of foreign revenues, led to growing capac- NICs’ growth was led by the state, not the mar-
ity in the assembly of textiles, electronics, and ket, and such growth did not materialize in many
automobiles, primarily in the north of the coun- other countries (e.g., the Philippines). And finally,
try and often at the cost of great human suffering. to world-systems theorists, the NICs represent
The impacts of the North American Free Trade but one moment in the long historical process by
Agreement in this context are complex and con- which various states slide up and down the hier-
tradictory. Chile, since the vicious coup d’état archy of countries that defines the global division
that ousted Allende in 1973, became something of labor at different moments in times; that is,
of a model of neoliberal experimentation under their success is possible elsewhere, but not likely.
the brutal reign of Pinochet; nonetheless, Chile Such concerns notwithstanding, many other
has enjoyed the most rapid economic growth in countries have attempted to imitate the NICs,
Latin America for several decades, and it exports with varying degrees of success.
textiles and wine, among other goods.
The growth of the NICs has not been unprob- Barney Warf
lematic. In all of them, rapid growth has been
accompanied by mounting social and spatial See also Dependency Theory; Development Theory;
inequality, sometimes severe, as well as social and Emerging Markets; Export-Led Development; Export
cultural problems associated with rapid transfor- Processing Zones; Foreign Direct Investment;
mation. As some states adopted neoliberal policies, Globalization; Gross Domestic Product/Gross National
safety nets for the poor were often left in disarray. Product; Import Substitution Industrialization;
In addition to trade policy (i.e., export-led Modernization Theory; Neoliberalism; New
industrialization), the growth of the NICs reflects International Division of Labor; Trade; World-Systems
several other factors. Most enjoyed land reform to Theory
'%') N EW UR BANISM

Further Readings
and transit-oriented development (TOD). Both
perspectives criticize conventional land use zon-
Brohman, J. (1996). Postwar development in the ing for segregating urban activities and making
Asian NICs: Does the neoliberal model fit reality? car travel indispensable resulting in high-energy
Economic Geography, 72, 107–130. consumptive lifestyles. In opposition to the prolif-
Cumings, B. (1984). The origins and development of eration of single-family-home subdivisions devoid
the northeast Asian political economy: Industrial of a public realm, sidewalks, and civic amenities,
sectors, product cycles, and political consequences. both TOD and TND prescribe the creation of
International Organization, 38, 1–40. small, walkable neighborhoods with a diverse
Jenkins, R. (1991). The political economy of mix of residences, shops, workplaces, and public
industrialization: A comparison of Latin American facilities reachable within a 5- to 10-minute walk.
and East Asian newly industrializing countries. The two design approaches differ in the way they
Development and Change, 22, 197–231. internally organize development and in the way
Milner, C. (Ed.). (1998). Developing and newly they articulate the neighborhood with the rest of
industrializing countries. Cheltenham, UK: the urban fabric. TND, which originated on the
Edward Elgar. east coast, is focused on an identifiable town cen-
Noland, M. (1987). Newly industrializing countries’ ter and laid out on a dense grid of boulevards,
comparative advantage in manufactured goods. narrow streets, alleyways, and plazas. In contrast,
Review of World Economics, 123(4), 679–696. TOD, which originated on the west coast, is
Singer, H., & Hatti, N. (2007). Newly industrializing focused on a transit station to which all major
countries after the Asian crisis. New Delhi, India: streets converge. In its prototypical formulation,
B. R. Publishing. TND commercial and residential blocks are small
Stubbs, R. (1999). War and economic development: with small building footprints, where houses with
Export-oriented industrialization in East and front porches face the street while garages are
southeast Asia. Comparative Politics, 31(3), tucked on alleyways behind houses. TOD is simi-
337–355. larly compact in design; however, while TND
relies on existing freeways and arterials for met-
ropolitan travel, TOD, organized around transit
stations, depends on high-quality transit service
for effective substitution of car trips for transit
trips—a hallmark of the sustainability claims of
NEW URBANISM the movement.

New urbanism is a postmodern American urban

design and planning movement that began in the
Roots of the Movement
1980s as a challenge to modern urban form and
automobile-centered suburban development. The TND is associated with the 1980s European cri-
new urbanism movement seeks to redefine the tique of modern urbanism and functionalist urban
American dream through the creation of walk- planning (e.g., segregation of land uses). This cri-
able neighborhoods modeled after traditional tique was spearheaded by Léon Krier and subse-
American small towns. Placing the pedestrian at quently endorsed by Prince Charles’s urban village
the core of neighborhood design, the movement movement in the United Kingdom. Krier
proclaims a rebirth of sociability, civility, and denounced metropolitan growth and the automo-
improvement in public health through walkabil- bile as destroyers of city life, a sense of commu-
ity and physical activity long thwarted by the nity, and the civic realm and advocated the
design of conventional suburbia. reconstruction of cities into a federation of semi-
The roots of new urbanism converged in 1993 autonomous pedestrian-scaled urban quarters,
in the Congress for the New Urbanism and can be where foot travel would substitute for motorized
traced to two distinct urban design perspectives: travel, residents would be integrated by occupa-
traditional-neighborhood development (TND) tion, age, and socioeconomic class, a rebirth of
 NEW UR BA NI S M '%'*

cottage industries would super-

sede commercial strips, and true
civic culture would replace the
boredom and alienation of the
suburb. Krier’s indictments were
preceded in the United States by
Jane Jacobs’s 1960s manifestos
against suburbia, urban renewal,
and zoning, and by Allan Jacobs
and Donald Appleyard’s livable-
places manifesto in the 1970s.
However, Miami architects
Andrés Duany and Elizabeth
Plater-Zyberk were the first to
heed Krier’s call for traditional
urbanism in the design of Sea-
side, in Florida’s Panhandle.
Duany and Plater-Zyberk’s
efforts to architecturally and
urbanistically code in Seaside the
character of traditional small Resort town of Seaside, Walton County, Florida (80 ac., 360 units, retail)
towns paid handsomely. This
Source: Google Earth.
iconic 80-acre resort town
became the prototypical TND,
widely showcased in architec-
ture, real estate, and news media,
including the Hollywood movie
The Truman Show. The town’s
incredible real estate success—
in 20 years property appreci-
ated more than a hundredfold
its original value—rather than
its designers’ loftier objectives of
socioeconomic integration and
reduced car use, propelled TND
into a new paradigm of planning
and community building primar-
ily on greenfields. The Kent-
lands, a 352-acre community in
Maryland designed by Andres
Duany and Elizabeth Plater-
Zyberk in 1988, and later in
1994, Disney’s 5,000-acre town
of Celebration, Florida, designed
by Robert A. M. Stern and Jaque-
lin Robertson, became exem-
plars of traditional neighborhood The town of Celebration, Osceola County, Florida (5,000 ac., 5,000
development on a grand scale. units, downtown, office park), exemplifies TND exemplar on a
The west coast approach grand scale.
emerged in the 1970s from Source: Google Earth.
'%'+ N EW UR BANISM

strand was the sustainable-

communities design move-
ment pioneered in the 1970s
by Michael and Judy Corbett
with the building of Village
Homes in Davis, California—
one of the first communities
to feature edible gardens,
affordable housing, and solar
energy and natural drainage
design. In the 1980s, the
movement’s regional scope
and design synthesis took
shape in San Francisco with
Sym Van der Ryn and Peter
Calthorpe’s work on ecologi-
cally minded urban design.
However, mass transit, rather
than green design, inspired
Peter Calthorpe and Douglas
Laguna West, Sacramento County, California (1,033 ac., 3,353 units, Kelbaugh to formulate the
180,000 ft.2 retail, 2.7 million ft.2 employment) “pedestrian pocket,” a resi-
Source: Google Earth. dential neighborhood placed
within walking distance of
transit, jobs, schools, shops,
parks, and civic amenities.
Pedestrian pockets, the fore-
runners of TOD, were con-
ceived as a regional design
strategy for reducing driv-
ing, preserving open space,
increasing the supply of
affordable housing, and
reining in urban sprawl. By
the 1990s, Peter Calthorpe
expanded the pedestrian
pocket into TOD, which like
earlier streetcar suburbs
would be located on a trunk
line or on a feeder bus line. As
nodes of a transit network
and components of a regional
planning strategy, TODs can
be designed for urban infill or
Orenco Station, Portland, Oregon (190 ac., 1,850 units, 68,000 ft.2 retail)
redevelopment, new green-
Source: Google Earth. field in suburban areas, or
beyond the city’s edge in the
among several strands of the ecological critique form of freestanding TOD satellite towns. Laguna
of the modern metropolis, conventional suburban West, an 800-acre pedestrian-friendly commu-
development, and postindustrial society. One nity built around a lake, town center, and future
 NEW UR BA NI S M '%',

Orenco Station, Portland, Oregon

Source: Author.

transit station in Sacramento, California, was the more compact but expensive, still car dependent,
first “on-ground” test of the TOD idea. How- and predominantly located at the urban edge.
ever, Laguna West’s still infrequent bus service Despite these criticisms, new urbanism offers a
makes it incomplete as a TOD and still highly welcome alternative to the ubiquitous commer-
dependent on the automobile. Orenco Station, a cial strip and generic residential subdivision.
190-acre greenfield community built on Port-
Ivonne Audirac
land’s Westside light-rail line, features a retail-
and-office town center and a variety of housing
See also Architecture and Geography; Housing and
types and is considered one of several successful
Housing Markets; Urban Geography; Urbanization;
TODs built to date.
Urban Planning and Geography; Zoning
As evidence of the movement’s widespread
influence, the 2008 Directory of New Urbanism
boasts 520 places, 3,000 firms, and 4,450
contacts—a burgeoning national-community- Further Readings
building industry, which in 2003 already counted
230 places built or under construction and 309 Calthorpe, P. (1995). The next American
in some planning stage. However, despite its metropolis: Ecology, community, and the
rapid growth and acceptance, less than 12% of American dream. New York: Princeton
these places were TOD or Hope IV public hous- Architectural Press.
ing projects, lending support to the view that Congress for the New Urbanism. (1999).
new urbanism’s larger transportation sustain- Charter of the new urbanism. New York:
ability and social justice goals have remained McGraw-Hill.
somewhat limited. TND communities are typi- Duany, A., Platter-Zyberk, E., & Speck, J. (2000).
cally affordable to the high-end consumer; Suburban nation: The rise of sprawl and the
although walkable, they are still highly automo- decline of the American dream. New York: North
bile dependent, and the majority are located in Point Press.
greenfield sites. Consequently, some critics Krier, L. (1984). Houses, palaces, cities. Architectural
charge the new urbanist industry with promot- Design, 54, 7–8.
ing a new type of sprawl, quaint, walkable, and
'%'- N I T R O GE N CYCL E

NITROGEN CYCLE losses that occur when nitrogen-containing com-

pounds vaporize, leach away, or get carried away
by streams to wetlands, floodplains, and the sea.
The nitrogen cycle refers to the geophysical, In soils saturated with water, other types of bac-
chemical, and biological processes involved in teria, known as denitrifiers, convert nitrogenous
converting atmospheric nitrogen into a form that compounds back to gases, balancing the activity
plants can use, recycling those nitrogen com- of nitrogen-fixers.
pounds within ecosystems, and returning them to The emergence of stationary agriculture altered
the atmosphere. Of all the fundamental biogeo- local flows of nitrogen. Transporting nitrogen-
chemical cycles, the nitrogen cycle is the most rich protein away from the same agricultural
complex as it depends on the balanced activity of fields year after year meant that large quantities
several different kinds of organisms, ecosystems, of scarce nitrogenous compounds were also
and atmospheric processes. It is also the cycle being carried away. This nitrogen had to be
most affected by human activity. Indeed, the replenished if stationary farming were to be a
manipulation and transportation of nitrogen long-term endeavor, and much of agricultural
compounds by humans is now a major compo- history revolves around societies learning, by trial
nent of this fundamental Earth system, transform- and error, how to accomplish this feat. In many
ing what was once a predominantly local cycle agricultural societies, the cultivation of legumes—
into more of a regional and even global flow of which work symbiotically with nitrogen-fixing
material. bacteria—emerged as an important way to replace
Flows of nitrogen through the biosphere are that nitrogen. Even then, however, the availabil-
important because the availability of nitrogen ity of nitrogen remained a limiting factor. Nitro-
plays a regulatory role in the production of bio- gen-fixing bacteria could replace losses of nitrogen
mass. In regions with sufficient water and sun- only so quickly, and in the long term, farmers
light, the production of biomass is generally could not produce more crops than bacterial
limited by the quantity of chemically active nitro- activity allowed. Until the 19th century, societies
gen available. Although Earth is encapsulated by had no choice but to live within that limit.
a nitrogen-rich atmosphere, that nitrogen is Starting in the 19th century, agricultural chem-
locked away in strongly bonded molecules of N2. ists in Europe became aware of the role that soil
For atmospheric nitrogen to be made available to nutrients played in plant growth, and farmers
plants, those bonds must first be broken so that began experimenting with a variety of manures
the nitrogen can become part of another chemical and soil additives. By mid century, merchants in
compound. In nature, nitrogen-fixing bacteria— Europe and the United States were importing
and to a much lesser extent, lightning—perform large amounts of nitrogen-rich guano from South
that role. (The word fixing can be traced back America and securing significant quantities of
to the alchemists, who used the word fixed to ammonium sulfate, a by-product of coal, from
describe what happened when a gas was con- industrial firms. Farmers applied both as a fertil-
verted into a liquid or solid.) izer. This movement of material represented new
In a mature ecological system free of agricul- pathways for flows of nitrogen. In the case of
ture, the activity of nitrogen-fixing bacteria is guano, nitrogen fixed by bacteria in a distant con-
more than sufficient. Existing nitrogenous com- tinent began flowing into the soils of Europe and
pounds continually get recycled as leaves, grasses, North America. And when farmers applied coal-
fruits, and seeds fall to the ground and decom- based ammonium sulfate to their land, their soils
pose into ammonia (NH3) and other compounds. began to receive nitrogen fixed by bacteria mil-
Then, in the soil, nitrifying bacteria (as opposed lions of years ago.
to nitrogen-fixing bacteria) convert the ammonia Eventually, in the early 20th century, European
into nitrite (NO2 ) and nitrate (NO3 ), the latter engineers and scientists figured out how to bypass
being a highly soluble form of nitrogen that plants nitrogen-fixing bacteria altogether, eliminating
can take in through their roots. Nitrogen-fixing previous limits on the production of protein. In
bacteria are only needed to make up for the small particular, the German Haber-Bosch process for
 NOMA DIC HER DING '%'.

fixing nitrogen industrially—accomplished by nitrogen being placed into circulation but also in
converting N2 and H2 into ammonia at high tem- nitrogenous compounds following new pathways
peratures and pressures in the presence of a cata- and accumulating in a variety of biogeochemical
lyst—is credited with making inexpensive sources reservoirs. Many flows of nitrogen are now influ-
of fixed nitrogen widely available. Today, the enced by policy tools, such as discharge permits,
world could not produce the quantities of grain emissions trading programs, watershed manage-
and beef that people now consume without indus- ment plans, best-management practices for farms,
trially manufactured nitrogenous fertilizers, at wetland restoration efforts, rules governing the
least not without a radical restructuring of how reuse of biosolids, and the creation of wellhead
societies are organized. In addition, when that management zones. This management of human-
protein is consumed, nitrogenous compounds are created flows of nitrogen is another way in which
discharged in urine and feces. After passing human activity has become an important compo-
through feedlot drains, sewage treatment plants, nent of the nitrogen cycle.
and septic systems, much of this nitrogen is
Hugh S. Gorman
released into waterways. Complicating matters
further are additional flows of nitrogenous mate-
See also Agriculture, Preindustrial; Biogeochemical
rial from heavily fertilized agricultural soils, flows
Cycles; Carbon Cycle; Coastal Dead Zones;
of nitrogen oxides out of power plants and tail-
Environmental History; Nutrient Cycles
pipes, and the loss of wetlands that host denitrify-
ing bacteria.
For all these reasons, the nitrogen cycle that
exists today is quite different from that which Further Readings
existed before stationary agriculture, both in
magnitude and spatial complexity. In addition, in Galloway, J. N., Dentener, F. J., Capone, D. G.,
the nitrogen cycle of the 21st century, denitrifica- Boyer, E. W., Howarth, R. W., Seitzinger, S. P.,
tion does not appear to be keeping up with the et al. (2004). Nitrogen cycles: Past, present, and
amount of nitrogen being placed into circulation future. Biogeochemistry, 70, 153–226.
by industrial processes. As a result, more nitrog- Leigh, G. J. (2004). The world’s greatest fix:
enous compounds are reaching the ocean and A history of nitrogen and agriculture. New York:
seeping into groundwater than a century ago. Oxford University Press.
One outcome is the creation of hypoxic dead Smil, V. (2001). Enriching the Earth. Cambridge:
zones near the mouths of major rivers, which MIT Press.
occurs due to excessive quantities of nutrients
giving rise to blooms of algae. The eventual
decomposition of this organic material consumes
the dissolved oxygen that fish need to live. NOMADIC HERDING
Nitrates carried by water into the ground can
also be a problem: High nitrate levels often pre- Derived from the Latin word for shepherd (pas-
vent aquifers from being used as safe sources of tor) and the Greek word for a wanderer seeking
water. Increased denitrification is not necessarily pasture (nomas), pastoral nomadism describes a
desirable either, as the gases emitted include a specialized form of mobile animal husbandry.
greenhouse gas (nitrous oxide, N2O) and a gas This production system is extensive, and animals
(nitric oxide, NO) that reacts with ozone in com- are often moved over a large area in an annual
plex ways. cycle. These nomadic herders exploit areas that
Today, therefore, we interact with the nitrogen are too extreme (too dry, steep, cold) to sustain
cycle every time we eat protein, flush a toilet, turn settled agriculture. Since the middle of the
on a light, drive a car, apply fertilizer, and, in 20th century, changes in pastoral zones have dis-
general, participate in the basic activity of an couraged nomadic herding and resulted in degra-
industrial society. Our activities have resulted not dation of those areas where significant nomadic
only in larger quantities of chemically active pastoral communities continue to exist. This entry
'%(% N O M A DIC HE RD ING

first describes the nature of nomadic herding, the highlands, and to find grass and water resources
structure of herding groups, and the nature of in familiar districts where their seasonal rights to
their use of resources. It then describes the impact resources are traditionally respected.
of modernization on nomadic herding. In lowland areas where large uplands are
Nomadic herding uses animals as intermediate absent, nomadic herders spend their dry season
converters of vegetation to produce meat, dairy grazing close to secure water resources, for exam-
products, fiber, hides, and other commodities. ple, a permanent stream or group-owned, hand-
Modern intensive grazing systems bring food to dug wells. A balance must be maintained between
the animals, limit animal movement, and pro- the water and grass available locally and the num-
mote quick growth to slaughter weight. In con- ber of animals that the herders keep in a particu-
trast, traditional pastoral nomads move their lar area. To prevent local overgrazing, lowland
animals to food and water. Animals herded herders move away from their dry-season water
nomadically expend large amounts of energy sites during the wetter part of the year. This pul-
reaching distant fodder. This produces a tougher, sating, horizontal movement takes lowland pas-
leaner, healthier, and tastier meat but lengthens toralists far from their permanent base along a
the time required to achieve market weight and well-known trajectory to reach the areas that they
requires the herding family to accompany the ani- know by experience are likely to have received
mals to distant pastures. Nomadic herders achieve rain or collected runoff. Nomadic lowland herd-
mobility by reducing material possessions to ers remain at these sites until grass and water are
essential equipment, living in tents, engaging in exhausted, and if additional resources are not
annual migrations, and moving base location located in the vicinity or the dry season is fast
many times during the year. approaching, the herds are moved back to their
dry-season water site.

Vertical and Horizontal Movements

Resource Rights
Movement takes place within a regional spatial
framework rooted in local ecology. To support All nomadic herders claim the right to use grass
their flocks, all pastoral nomads must control and water to support their animals, but they
access to seasonally available resources, which assert absolute ownership rights over local
are seldom available in one small area for an resources only in critical areas. Usually, these
entire year. Herders must migrate to find neces- exclusive claims are made by horizontal nomads
sary resources in different places at various to the grass and water needed to survive in the
times of the year. The location of water and for- dry season and by vertical nomads to upland pas-
age is well-known to pastoralists, and move- tures with abundant grass and water. Often in
ment to use these resources is regular, not these areas, the nomadic herders have dug the
random. Pastoral nomads do not wander aim- wells or have small agricultural plots to which
lessly seeking sustenance, a classic “outside” they claim exclusive ownership. Along the routes
perception of their movements, but rather regu- they follow to seasonal pasture, nomadic herders
larly revisit specific areas following well-known claim the right to use unimproved, natural graz-
routes or trajectories. ing as well as to draw water from local water
Some nomadic herders exploit vertical ecologi- sources. If the water comes from a well, or the
cal differences in pasture availability by grazing pasture is a managed one, nomadic herders expect
their animals in cooler and moister uplands dur- to pay a fee to the owner or government agency
ing the summer months when grass and water in control. If the area is wooded or controlled by
are plentiful. By changing altitude from lowland a local tribal council, herders would expect to
to highland, nomadic herders avoid drought- comply with local use regulations. Traditionally,
prone lowland areas. In winter, nomadic herders nomadic pastoralists claimed the right to graze on
migrate back to the lowlands to avoid the cold the stubble that remained after crops were har-
temperatures and snowfalls characteristic of the vested. Farmers benefited from this grazing use,
 NOMA DIC HER DING '%(&

Young Masai nomads with cattle in Southern Kenya

Source: Britta Kasholm-Tengve/iStockphoto.

since the animals deposited manure and urea on such as the Kababish of Central Sudan and the
the fields. These organic fertilizers were free, the Somali, may also keep sheep and goats. Because
farmer typically did not own enough animals to goat milk is an important part of the family diet,
consume much of the postharvest residue, and the goats are usually grazed near the family resi-
poorer nomadic families often appeared soon dence. Sheep are kept for their wool and their
enough in the harvest season to contribute useful eventual sale in market centers. Sheep need high-
temporary labor. Once beneficial to both farmers quality grazing and daily water availability, so
and herders, this dung-stubble connection has they often are herded separately in distant areas.
faded as a result of the modernization and mech- Camels need far less water, can range far from
anization of agriculture and the use of chemical the herder’s domestic base, and can eat thorny,
fertilizers. shrubby forage that most livestock reject. At dif-
ferent times of the year, each animal may be for-
aging far from other herd components, thus
requiring separate herders for each species. To
Herding Groups
ensure enough labor to herd the animals of indi-
Labor is a valuable commodity in pastoral com- vidual families, small herding groups are formed.
munities, as is the political power needed to These herding groups may contain up to a dozen
enforce pastoral rights. The need for labor is families, depending on the time of year, and often
great because many nomadic herders keep sev- have a core group of related males. If one family
eral types of animals, each of which has a prefer- lacks young males to herd its animals, labor can
ence for specific fodder species. Camel herders, be provided by others; if an unrelated elderly
'%(' N O M A DIC HE RD ING

couple lacks children, they can potentially remain overgrazing and, if allowed to proceed unchecked,
in the group by herding for others. The composi- to land degradation and desertification. This “trag-
tion of these groups is always somewhat dynamic; edy of the commons” seldom arose under premod-
individuals enter and leave as their particular ern nomadic herding conditions because herders
circumstances and comparative advantage per- were able to limit dry-season stocking ratios to the
mits and as disputes over the timing and direc- carrying capacity of an area. What human-imposed
tion of movements arise. limits failed to achieve, nature ensured; rapid
The camp group that herds and travels together expansion of herds in a succession of good years
is the basic building block of nomadic societies. was invariably offset by abrupt declines in herd
Several herding groups compose a clan, several numbers under prolonged drought conditions. This
clans constitute a tribe, and several tribes can “boom and bust” rhythm was reflected in tradi-
under charismatic leadership be grouped into a tional nomadic pastoral systems. These herding
confederation. Through this hierarchical organi- regimes accepted the difficult, disequilibrium envi-
zation, the community’s leaders exercise influence ronments in which they had to operate and did not
in pursuit of their personal aims and their tribes- expect to produce a steady annual off-take from
men’s goals. The ability to generate armed troops the range to sell in urban markets.
has made nomadic herders a formidable political Modern governments, which depend on the
force in many places such as Iran, Turkey, Saudi political support of growing urban populations,
Arabia, and Mongolia. Herders have used their favor a secure food supply that discourages urban
latent military potential to protect their resource riots and have promoted technological innova-
use rights and the zones they deem critical from tions that improve food security. Many of these
encroachment by rivals. The same force could be development initiatives remove environmental
(and was) used to extract resources from farmers, constraints from nomadic herding. Wells that tap
merchants, and, on occasion, governments. deep aquifers provide water in drought periods
Pasture is owned by an entire community of but concentrate so many animals that overgraz-
nomadic herders, and every tribal member has the ing occurs. Veterinary services improve the health
right to graze animals on the communal pastures of herds but keep too many animals on the range.
controlled by the group. The group, represented Motor vehicles make access to pasture and mar-
by its leaders meeting in a tribal council, deter- ket quicker but allow herds to reach distant graz-
mines who can graze in an area and how many ing before regeneration from earlier use is
animals can exploit the area. People and groups complete. Herders are encouraged to settle
not part of the community can maintain animals (sedentarization) in order to access health and
on communal pasture only if they have married educational facilities, but pasture decline near
into the tribe or if they have special political rela- settlements is common. Governments favor agri-
tions (often solidified by marriage) with tribal culture over herding by encouraging the conver-
members. Maintaining such ties is primarily the sion of prime grazing land into crop-producing
responsibility of the leaders and is very important. areas and by converting dry-season grazing areas
Whenever a drought or a dispute with an enemy into irrigated agricultural zones. All these modern
occurs, political connections are activated to pro- developments have the urban food consumer
vide alternative grazing opportunities or allies. more in mind than the well-being of the nomadic
Since many nomadic herders live in highly vari- animal herder. Only by modernized, mobile
able, low-productivity environments, these con- nomadic herding can many marginal zones remain
nections constitute an important safety net that contributors to human sustenance.
offsets environmental and political hazards.
Douglas L. Johnson
Environmental Management
See also Agriculture, Preindustrial; Desertification;
Although herders use common pastures, herds are Drought Risk and Hazard; Environmental Management;
privately owned. This has led to claims that private Indigenous Environmental Practices; Land Degradation;
exploitation of communal pasture always results in Nomadism
 NOMA DI S M '%((

Movement enables these nomadic pastoralists to

Further Readings
optimize pasture quality for their animals by
Agrawal, A. (1999). Greener pastures. Durham, NC:
shifting from poorer to better seasonally available
Duke University Press.
pasture. Nomadic pastoralism is rotational graz-
Behnke, R. H., Scoones, I., & Kerven, C. (1993).
ing on a grand scale, substituting seasonal move-
Range ecology at disequilibrium. London:
ments over hundreds of miles for the sedentary
Overseas Development Institute.
farmers’ rotational shifts of livestock from pad-
Chatty, D. (2006). Nomadic societies in the Middle
dock to paddock.
East and North Africa. Boston: Brill.
Nomadism is not migration, which is the
Fratkin, E., & Roth, E. A. (Eds.). (2005). As
process of shifting location from one place to
pastoralists settle. New York: Kluwer.
another for a lengthy period. Many migrants have
no intention of returning to their original home
but rather plan (or hope) to remain permanently
in the new location. The movement of European
settlers to North America may have involved some
NOMADISM returnees to their ancestral homeland, but the vast
majority stayed at their destination. Nomadic
Nomadism describes a pattern of human behav- peoples, for whom mobility is a dominant charac-
ior for which mobility is essential. Nomadism is teristic, intend to return to a base, usually a part
defined as continuous wandering, usually in of their total, exploitable habitat that is essential
search of food or sustenance. The popular image to their livelihood and sense of identity.
of the hobo, a homeless male of the late 19th and Many groups engage in livelihoods for which
early 20th centuries, who jumped on and off mobility is essential but are not nomads in the
freight trains while traveling the country looking classic rootless sense. Duck herders in India tra-
for work probably comes as close to the basic ditionally traveled a regular, limited circuit from
definition as possible. A completely nomadic exis- their bases in Tamil Nadu. Improved roads,
tence is almost never attained in reality. Nomad- expanded paddy rice areas that provide more
ism seems more random in its spatial movement postharvest grazing, and access to trucks now
and organization to the outside observer than it is permits the movement of thousands of ducks
in reality to its practitioner. Most often, the term over hundreds of kilometers following the rice
nomad is applied to animal herders, either as indi- harvest. Farmers in the foothills of the Alps and
viduals or as groups, who move frequently and other mountain ranges habitually have moved
seasonally in search of support for the animals their cattle to upland meadows for the summer, a
that form the basis of their livelihood. seasonal oscillation called transhumance. Hunt-
Central to the classical concept of the nomad ers and gatherers moved in synchronization with
as an aimless wanderer is the belief that the seasonal salmon spawning runs in the Pacific
nomad has no fixed home but rather moves where Northwest, as did wild rice harvesters in the
the spirit leads. The nomad is viewed as opportu- Great Lakes. Nomadic herders, such as the Saami
nistic in character, seizing opportunity whenever (Lapps) in Northern Scandinavia, continue to
and wherever advantage exists. As soon as local move their reindeer herds to mountain pastures
conditions deteriorate or better opportunities are each year. In reality, the idealized, aimless nomad
recognized or hoped for elsewhere, the nomad is an idealized construct, viewed from the per-
moves on to a new setting. In practice, mobile spective of the permanently settled community
nomadic herders (pastoral nomads) are falsely and almost never realized in the real world,
regarded as aimless wanderers, lacking a perma- against which any more mobile group short of
nent base, because they carry their home (a tent) the ideal seems seminomadic.
with them and erect that dwelling whenever they
stop. In practice, nomadic animal herders engage Douglas L. Johnson
in regular movements between pasture zones that
are only available at certain times of the year. See also Hunting and Gathering; Nomadic Herding
'%() N O M O T HE TIC

Nomadic Tuareg herders and camels in the Sahara Desert, 60 miles north of Timbuktu, Mali, West Africa
Source: Alan Tobey/iStockphoto.

Further Readings
one that sought general laws of explanation inde-
pendent of time and space. Whereas idiographic
Humphrey, C., & Sneath, D. (1999). The end of understanding sought to uncover all the aspects
nomadism? Society, state and the environment in of one place, nomothetic understanding sought to
Inner Asia. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. reveal how one phenomenon varied among many
Nambi, V. (2001). Modern technology and new places.
forms of nomadism: Duck herders in Southern The idiographic-nomothetic debate, also known
India. Nomadic Peoples, 5(1), 155–167. as the systematic versus regional geography
debate, raged throughout the 1950s and early
1960s. This clash of views essentially involved the
question whether geography should be involved in
general laws of understanding, that is, the relative
NOMOTHETIC emphasis on regional differences versus regional
similarities, the factors that differentiated places
Beginning with Schaeffer’s (1953) famous attack or the commonalities that ran through them. Thus,
on what he called exceptionalism, the claim cen- the shift from an idiographic to nomothetic geog-
tral of the idiographic approach that history and raphy was closely (but not exclusively) associated
geography are only concerned with the unique with the broader decline in the regional approach.
aspects of individual places, the discipline began a This move involved the triumph of the abstract
transition into a nomothetic body of knowledge, over the concrete, the general over the particular,
 NONGOV ER NMENT A L OR GA NIZ A T IONS (NGO s) '%(*

and the universal over the specific. Nomothetic Further Readings

approaches valued abstraction and empirical reg-
ularities and held that the empirical world existed Berry, B. (1964). Approaches to regional analysis:
solely for the purpose of testing theory. A synthesis. Annals of the Association of
Rejecting the empiricism of the idiographic American Geographers, 54, 2–11.
approach, nomothetic forms of geography are Harvey, D. (1969). Explanation in geography.
long associated with the attempt to make the dis- London: Edward Arnold.
cipline more “scientific” in the same sense as the Schaefer, F. (1953). Exceptionalism in geography:
physical sciences. Advocates of the nomothetic A methodological examination. Annals of the
approach thus exhibited a disdain for induction Association of American Geographers, 43,
and a sustained concern for the role of theory 226–229.
and explanation. This view centered on a sharp
fact-value distinction, rigorous methods of data
collection and sampling, deductive (also called
nomological) logic, hypothesis testing, quantita-
tive methods, reproducible results, and predictive
ability. These tools are held to uncover the logical
NONGOVERNMENTAL
structures that underpin the play of empirical ORGANIZATIONS (NGOS)
surface appearances. All these were hallmarks
of the philosophy of logical positivism. In this Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are
account, the process of explanation involves nonprofit associations that function indepen-
embedding the unique within the general, that dently of institutionalized government structures.
is, showing an individual set of observations to NGOs are major players on the global stage
be the outcome of wider principles at work in a because of their numbers and the extensive reach
variety of places. A law is held to be a hypothesis of their activities, often in remote areas with pop-
that is repeatedly confirmed under controlled ulations overlooked by the state and other orga-
conditions. Choosing among competing laws nizations. For these reasons, it is important to
involves invoking the principle of Occam’s razor, understand the breadth of NGO activities, explore
that is, choosing the simplest approach when- their history, and be familiar with the praise and
ever possible. Methodologically, nomothetic criticism directed at these powerful organizations.
approaches were closely associated with the Although they are grouped under a single, broad
rise of statistics and mathematical models, which description, individual NGOs vary greatly with
were central to the rise of spatial analysis and respect to their objectives, approach, culture, and
location theory. Epistemologically, nomothetic scale at which they work. NGOs are influenced
views relied on a Kantian view of absolute space by the context where they work; their approach
rather than later relativist notions of space as and capability vary greatly from place to place.
socially constructed. NGOs have a wide variety of objectives. They
Critics argued that this approach effectively usually embrace political (e.g., democracy build-
reduced geography to geometry, ignoring his- ing), environmental (e.g., forest conservation,
torical context, social relations, or the role of animal rights), or social (e.g., women’s empower-
human consciousness. Moreover, not all regional ment) goals. They also often provide services to
details could be so easily swept under the carpet communities (e.g., drought relief). NGOs are
of general theory, as the revived localities school active in the arenas of national and international
maintained. politics, humanitarian assistance, and economic
development. Some NGOs are staffed by volun-
Barney Warf teers, but NGO work has also gained prestige as
a legitimate, and occasionally well-paid, career.
See also Berry, Brian; Idiographic; Logical Positivism; NGOs engage in a wide range of activities,
Models and Modeling; Quantitative Revolution; including human rights advocacy, peacemaking,
Schaefer, Fred education and information dissemination,
'%(+ N O N GO V E RNME NTAL ORG ANIZ A T IONS (NGOs )

democracy training and political participation 100 years ago, the number of NGOs was esti-
of citizens, sustainable development, environ- mated to be less than 200. The number, scope,
mental conservation, capacity building and com- and size of NGOs have proliferated in recent
munity organizing, social movements, law and decades. The term NGO has become synonymous
advocacy, citizens’ rights, research, training, with any organization implementing economic or
provision of basic needs and services, commu- social development projects, especially those
nity service, lobbying, and civil disobedience. funded by foreign financial aid. The high-profile
NGOs work at local, national, and interna- delivery of development aid and humanitarian
tional scales. They range in size from very small services after a major natural disaster usually
in terms of funding, geographic focus, and con- arrives through the efforts of NGOs.
stituency to very large, with extensive funding, The sheer variety of NGOs has led to attempts
having geographically dispersed activities, and to categorize them based on the kind of work that
serving thousands of people. Regardless of the an organization does, who it serves, at what scale
scale of their work, almost all NGOs are moti- it works, or from where it receives its funding.
vated by political or charitable ideals. Those This has led to a proliferation of acronyms trying
NGOs motivated by charitable ideals seek to to capture all the different types of NGOs, but
assist the neediest sections of society. NGOs very few of these have come into common usage.
motivated by political ideals strive to change There are simply too many types of NGOs, so the
society and remedy existing inequality. Most catchall term NGO continues to be favored. How-
NGOs claim to act on behalf of the disenfran- ever, two useful distinctions have emerged that
chised in today’s globalized world. By siding with help separate large, global NGOs from small,
marginalized groups (e.g., women, slum resi- local ones: international NGOs (INGOs) and com-
dents, untouchables), they claim to speak for munity-based organizations (CBOs), respectively.
those who would not otherwise be heard. INGOs are NGOs who have national offices in
multiple countries, for example, CARE Interna-
tional. INGOs are distinctive for their global con-
nectedness and large budgets. CBOs are locally
Recent History of NGOs
based and usually locally funded groups with very
In the 1980s, as development aid began to expand, strong links and responsibilities to their constitu-
NGOs were increasingly seen as groups that could ency; their membership comprises the community
facilitate flows of financial aid and services to the they serve. They are sometimes called grassroots
poor at a local scale. Because these organizations organizations, because the group arose spontane-
were already on the ground, locally connected, ously from the “roots” of the community, usually
and in touch with the needs of their constituents, in response to an intolerable political situation or
they were considered the ideal way to transfer environmental threat. CBOs are observed to have
development aid, technology, and services. Inter- a different character from other NGOs because
national donors found NGOs ready and willing they are started and funded by communities seek-
partners, engaged with the local communities that ing organized social and/or environmental change
foreign aid was meant to reach. NGOs, for their on a small scale or in a localized area.
part, often spent a lot of time looking for financial In recent decades, NGOs have begun to form
support, so the opportunity of capturing larger transnational networks, in which the resources
projects and a steadier source of funding from and information of many different organizations,
international donors was always welcome. Both a working at different scales and in geographically
steady income stream and greater amounts of dispersed locations, are shared globally for the
funding from abroad have enabled the growth of good of all. These networks have played impor-
the NGO sector as a career in many developing tant roles in disrupting global economic confer-
countries. ences (e.g., protesting meetings of the World
Current estimates of the number of NGOs stand Trade Organization) and supporting others (e.g.,
between 40,000 and the 100,000s—depending creating solidarity among women’s groups at the
on how broadly the term NGO is defined. Only United Nations conferences for women). They
 NONGOV ER NMENT A L OR GA NIZ A T IONS (NGO s) '%(,

also distribute research materials and other vital structures inside organizations have led to a shift
information from resource-rich areas of the world in NGOs’ accountability away from their clients
to resource-poor areas, and vice versa. NGOs are and toward their donors. Time and energy previ-
firmly embedded in a globalizing world, and they ously spent with clients becomes refocused on
use their transnational networks like any other submitting the required documentation that will
multinational organization would—to the great- sustain funding. Instead of finding motivation in
est possible advantage of their goals. client-driven concerns, NGOs find their objectives
driven by donor concerns to maintain funding
flows. As donors place greater burdens of account-
ability on NGOs, NGOs may find themselves shy-
Praise and Criticism
ing away from their political and social justice
NGOs are now the preferred choice of donor goals of facilitating greater access to economic
organizations (sometimes themselves NGOs) for and democratic opportunities for marginalized
the delivery and provision of development aid peoples.
and services. NGOs are ideally positioned to It has been suggested that NGOs form a “third
reach needy communities because of their history sector,” that is, neither a state enterprise nor a
of working closely with such populations. Donors for-profit corporation. This position gives NGOs
want to tap their local knowledge and field a perspective the other two sectors cannot pro-
experience in out-of-the-way places. However, as vide. NGOs are not driven by profit, so social,
aid from foreign sources to NGOs operating in political, and environmental goals can come first.
poor countries has increased, donors have dis- NGOs provide a balance to the state, including
covered the need to train NGO staff to carry out the possibility of a challenge to state practices
reporting and accounting procedures, as well as that may not be meeting the needs of citizens.
to increase their outreach skills, education, and Often, NGOs cast themselves in roles opposi-
strategies in the field or in the communities where tional to a state that is ineffective, unresponsive
they work. Donors have realized that NGO staff to citizen needs, or not democratically elected.
do not have the necessary skills to carry out the NGOs have played a significant role in creating
terms of their contracts. and sustaining social movements.
A frequent concern for those watching NGOs But as NGOs have grown in size, scope, and
is the question of NGO accountability. If NGOs number, concerns have been raised about whether
are responsible for their constituencies, then the or not NGOs can continue the work that led to
following question arises: “How are these com- their tremendous popularity, and what new roles
munities to verify the funding and activities, man- they should or should not take on. The growing
dates and reporting, of the NGOs that claim to power of NGOs has led to fears that NGOs may
serve them?” When the members of NGO con- come to replace the state and the services it pro-
stituencies come from poor and disenfranchised vides. For example, instead of forcing the state to
sections of society, it appears unlikely that they provide essential services (garbage collection,
will have the political power to demand that education, welfare), NGOs begin providing these
NGOs remain accountable to them. On the other services. The state withdraws from the social sec-
hand, as funding increases, donors financing tor, passing on its responsibilities to NGOs and
NGOs want to track their money and report that the donors that fund them. The problems with
the aid money is achieving results and improving NGOs assuming these responsibilities say NGO
the capacity of NGOs to deliver in the future. critics is that NGOs are not accountable to citi-
Critics fear that the professionalizing activities zens in the same way that the state is, nor is it
demanded by donor agencies have shifted the appropriate for NGOs to assume service-providing
focus of NGOs away from the people they serve roles over activist roles. Critics charge that NGOs
toward meeting the demands and their responsi- have become apolitical service providers and
bilities to donors. Increased reporting and moni- encourage their constituency to take up responsi-
toring, demands for efficiency and high-quality bilities that enable the state to abnegate its role in
communication skills, and hierarchical salary providing for citizens.
'%(- N O N P O INT SOU RCE S OF POL L UT ION

NGOs have been criticized for moving away

from their original, politically charged goals Hulme, D., & Edwards, M. (Eds.). (1997). NGOs,
toward more politically neutral positions. They states and donors: Too close for comfort. New
have been accused of seeking closer relationships York: Palgrave Macmillan.
with governments, instead of keeping watch on Jordan, L., & van Tuijl, P. (Eds.). (2007). NGO
those in power and their policies. Some activists accountability: Politics, principles, and
fear that without the leadership of NGOs, grass- innovations. London: Earthscan.
roots political activism will disappear and voices Kamat, S. (2004). The privatization of public interest:
against the status quo will be silenced. Theorizing NGO discourse in a neoliberal era.
Questions have been asked about the growing Review of International Political Economy, 11,
power and role of NGOs in governance at national 155–176.
and international scales. Some question the legiti- Tvedt, T. (1998). Angels of mercy or development
macy of NGOs in international negotiations, such diplomats? NGOs and foreign aid. Trenton, NJ:
as their places at the table in venues such as the Africa World Press.
World Water Forum or the United Nations con-
ferences on women. It is not clear what role NGOs
should have in such meetings. NGOs are invited to
the table in international discussions because they NONPOINT SOURCES
claim to speak for their constituencies at that local
scale, but NGOs operating globally may find OF POLLUTION
themselves cut off from their community-based
constituencies. NGOs are not geographically sov- A nonpoint source (NPS) of pollution is defined as
ereign, have little enforcement power, and no clear any water pollution coming from a diffused source.
mandate to act as representatives. Those who Whereas point pollution sources such as wastewa-
would like to see NGOs representing civil society ter from sewage or industries are discharged on a
in international discussions fear that formalizing single location, NPSs can spread over a very large
their participation might serve to limit the contri- area where rain, irrigation, or snowmelt can carry
butions NGOs make to global decision making. pollutants and discharge them in streams, lakes,
reservoirs, or coastal waters. These pollutants can
Kathleen O’Reilly be carried either over the ground through surface
runoff or below the ground surface through seep-
See also Antisystemic Movements; Civil Society;
age. Depending on their type, these pollutants can
Development Theory; International Environmental
be carried over large distances and have a drastic
Movements; Social Movements; Sustainable Development;
effect on water quality.
Sustainable Development Alternatives; United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development
Common NPSs
There can be many different kinds of NPSs, but the
Further Readings most significant are crop and grazing agriculture
practices that use large amounts of insecticides
Bebbington, A., Hickey, S., & Mitlin, D. (Eds.). (2008). and fertilizers. Fertilizers are chemicals usually
Can NGOs make a difference? The challenge of containing nitrogen and phosphorus that are
development alternatives. New York: Zed Books. good plant nutrients. Although their presence in
Edwards, M., & Fowler, A. (Eds.). (2002). The the water is not in itself a threat to human health,
Earthscan reader on NGO management. London: they encourage algae blooms and eutrophication
Earthscan. of the water causing the death of fish and other
Hawken, P. (2007). Blessed unrest: How the largest life forms of the aquatic ecosystem. Both inten-
social movement in history is restoring grace, justice sive and extensive domestic livestock produce
and beauty to the world. New York: Penguin Books. huge amounts of feces that, when improperly
managed, can pollute water and create a health
 NONR ENEWA BLE R ESOUR C E S '%(.

hazard for humans and other animals. Pathogenic

diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and hepatitis Olsson, L., & Pilesjö, P. (2002). Approaches to
A are known to be associated with the presence spatially distributed hydrological modelling in a
of feces in the water. Fecal coliform bacteria is a GIS environment. In A. Skidmore (Ed.),
good indicator of the presence of fecal material in Environmental modelling with GIS and remote
the water but should not entirely be attributed to sensing (1st ed., pp. 167–199). London: Taylor &
feces. Storm runoff water from urban areas can Francis.
escape the sewage system and carry toxic oils and Yuan, D., Lin, B., Falconer, R., & Tao, J. (2007).
chemicals to nearby streams. Bad soil conserva- Development of an integrated model for assessing
tion practices in agricultural areas can also pro- the impact of diffuse and point source pollution
mote soil erosion and increase the amount of on coastal waters. Environmental Modelling and
sediment load carried by runoff to water bodies. Software, 22(6), 871–879.

Controlling NPSs
Because many human activities are potential con-
tributors, NPSs are inherently difficult to control. NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES
Although some of these activities such as burying
toxic waste are illegal, others, such as spraying Humans use a variety of resources whose regen-
fertilizers and insecticides, are not only legal but eration rates are too slow to show sufficient
are often encouraged and even subsidized by the increases in stock sizes to be relevant to decision
government. This makes NPS pollution extremely making. Examples include many of the energy
hard to reduce on a large scale, and local policies sources on which modern economies depend,
seldom show sensibility or awareness of the prob- such as crude oil, natural gas, coal, and uranium,
lem. It is considered in many parts of the world as as well as many of the minerals and metals stocks
the leading source of water-quality problems. that enter the economy—from iron and copper
While many actions to reduce NPS pollution neces- ores to gravel and sands, to trace minerals impor-
sitate state action, such as the creation and enforce- tant in agriculture and many industrial pro-
ment of more restrictive laws of land management, cesses. Other resources could, in principle, be
other measures require local initiatives, such as the considered renewable—such as tropical forests or
implementation of better soil conservation prac- fish populations—but current harvest rates are
tices or the restoration of riparian vegetation, that too high to allow for significant regeneration.
can have a strong filtering effect on runoff water.
Philippe Maillard
Optimal Extraction of
See also Agrochemical Pollution; Atmospheric Pollution; Nonrenewable Resources
Coastal Zone and Marine Pollution; Point Sources of Given their finiteness, how much of a nonrenew-
Pollution; Water Pollution able resource should be used at any given point
in time? The 20th-century economists Lewis
Gray and Harold Hotelling were the first to rec-
Further Readings ognize that the conditions for optimal resource
depletion are different from the optimality condi-
Hranova, R. (Ed.). (2005). Diffuse pollution of water tions for the production of ordinary goods. A
resources: Principles and case studies in the basic assumption is that a nonrenewable resource
Southern African Region. London: Taylor & can be extracted just once. Therefore, optimal
Francis. prices of a unit of a resource must not only reflect
Novotny, V. (2003). Water quality: Diffuse pollution its cost of extraction but also account for the
and watershed management. New York: Wiley. opportunity costs associated with depleting the
resource endowment by that unit. Traditional
'%)% N O N R ENE WABL E RE SOU RCE S

economic models employ positive discount rates evidence for them on the basis of firms’ behaviors
to reflect the possibility that technological is rare and usually disappointing. Despite unreli-
improvement can give rise to increasing eco- able data, the lack of empirical support is partly
nomic wealth and that even though future gen- because most models do not explicitly account
erations will inherit smaller physical resource for a firm’s production capacities, capital require-
endowments, an enlarged stock of human-made ments, capital utilization, and time adjustments
resources may compensate for the reduction in in production technologies.
the physical resource base. Traditional models of optimal nonrenewable
resource extraction are also simplistic with respect
to the behavioral assumptions on which they are
built. For instance, short- and long-term decisions
Challenges for Optimal
are typically not distinguished. Decision makers
Resource Extraction Models
may not attempt to identify optimal extraction
Three major issues surround the formulation and paths over potentially many decades to centuries
application of models of optimal resource extrac- but rather choose two or more sets of time peri-
tion: (1) discounting, (2) empirical applicability, ods over which decisions are made. As a conse-
and (3) the nature of partial equilibrium analysis quence, one discount rate may be applied over
of resource use. decisions in the immediate future, while different
discount rates may be chosen for the medium- to
long-term periods.
9^hXdjci^c\
Grey and Hotelling–style models on a macro-
The choice of the discount rate is vital to the economic level are more abundant than their
evaluation of economic activities since the dis- microeconomic counterparts. With these models,
count rate determines whether an action has posi- time paths of various scarcity measures are inves-
tive present value of profits or utility, whether it tigated on an economy-wide basis. Potential can-
is better than others (has higher present value of didates for economic measures of scarcity include
profits or utility in the set of possible actions), resource prices, marginal extraction cost, or scar-
and whether its timing is optimal (e.g., whether city rent rates.
waiting would resolve uncertainty and thus
increase present value of profits or utility).
EVgi^Va:fj^a^Wg^jb6eegdVX]
Positive discount rates imply that consumption
and production of future periods are valued less By its nature, economic theory is anthropo-
than present consumption and production. Once centric and, thus, selective in the consideration
a discount rate has been chosen for evaluating of effects of economic actions on the environ-
alternative consumption and production plans, ment and the role of environmental goods and
the question is whether this rate should remain services for economic activities. Many important
constant over time. A constant discount rate is environmental constraints are typically not cap-
appropriate if economic agents assume that the tured fully in the economic decision process.
probability of factors affecting the choice among Rather, these constraints are captured only as
actions remains constant over time. Since the far as they impose apparent, immediate restric-
determination of a social discount rate is contro- tion on the deployment of the economically val-
versial among economists, assumptions on the ued factors of production. A variety of constraints
rate of change in the discount rate are unlikely to that are associated with unpriced material and
be accepted with consensus. energy flows that may lead to fundamental
changes in the physical or biotic environment
are frequently not, but in principle can be, con-
:be^g^XVaGZaZkVcXZ
sidered. An example that has received consider-
Although traditional models of optimal extrac- able attention is climate change, which is being
tion of nonrenewable resources are widely induced in part by the emissions of greenhouse
accepted among resource economists, empirical gases from combustion of fossil fuels, methane
 NONR EP R ESENT A T IONA L T HEO RY '%)&

and carbon emissions resulting from land use

Norgaard, R. B. (1990). Economic indicators of
changes, and reduced carbon sequestration from
resource scarcity: A critical essay. Journal of
biomass harvesting.
Environmental Economics and Management, 19,
19–25.
Ruth, M. (1993). Integrating economics, ecology and
History and Potential Future of Models
thermodynamics. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer
of Optimal Resource Extraction
Academic.
The debate about sustainability forces decision Ruth, M. (2006). The economics of sustainability and
makers to broaden their view of the roles of non- the sustainability of economics. Ecological
renewable resources and to compare alternative Economics, 56, 332–342.
actions with respect to their long-term and sys- Solow, R. M. (1974). The economics of resources or
temwide costs and benefits. Use of nonrenewable the resources of economics. American Economic
resources may be considered optimal not only Review, 64, 1–14.
with respect to the narrowly defined partial-equi-
librium criteria of traditional economic models
of resource use but also with respect to issues
concerning the long-term and large-scale perfor-
mance of an economy that is an integral part of a NONREPRESENTATIONAL
changing ecosystem. To arrive at that systems THEORY
view requires enriching traditional economic
analysis with insights from physics (most notable
Nonrepresentational theory (NRT) is a reaction
the laws of thermodynamics) and ecology (e.g.,
against the stranglehold of representation in cul-
the notion of material cycles, homeostasis, and
tural geographies. Although by no means unified,
evolution) to capture the long-term effects of
NRT in human geography has two broad posi-
nonrenewable resource extraction and use on
tions. Epistemologically, it seeks to challenge the
economic and ecosystem performance, since
notion that representation is “all there really is”
many of the deciding attributes and impacts are
by emphasizing the unruly forces of life that elude
not priced and thus not an explicit part of typical
cognitions and conceptualizations. It is in this
economic decision making. Conversely, disre-
sense that NRT does not herald the overturning
garding these systemwide performance criteria
of representation—perhaps, as Hayden Lorimer
may result in nonrenewable resource extraction
suggests, a better name for nonrepresentational
at rates that leave the economy less sustainable,
theory would be “more-than-representational
even though they may be “optimal” in the nar-
theory.” Ontologically, NRT breaks with a Car-
row sense of traditional resource economics.
tesian division between “subject” and “object.”
Reconciling the two perspectives is an active area
Replacing this philosophical dualism is a flat
of research and topic of continued consternation
ontology based on the interplay of affect, prac-
in public policy.
tice, and performance. The work of Gilles
Matthias Ruth Deleuze, a 20th-century poststructuralist philoso-
pher, greatly influenced the general contours of
See also Coal; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Energy Resources; NRT. Playing down the hegemony of “images of
Minerals; Petroleum; Renewable Resources thought” and structural thinking in philosophy,
Deleuze was keen to affirm a world where differ-
ences could roam free without being subsumed to
Further Readings representation. The virtual is the name Deleuze
gives to the domain of differences, relationalities,
Conrad, J. M., & Clark, C. W. (1987). Natural and potentialities always latent within the world
resource economics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge of actualized phenomena. The Deleuzian legacy
University Press. is clear in NRT—cartographies of the virtual are
already always “interfering” with our clearly
'%)' N O N V I SU AL G E OG RAPHIE S

cut mappings of the world. NRT champions dif- Further Readings

ference, immanence, and relationality over a
geography based on repetition, transcendence, Dewsbury, J. D. (2003). Witnessing space:
and division. “Knowledge without contemplation.”
As the pioneer of NRT, the British geographer Environment and Planning A, 35(11), 1907–1932.
Nigel Thrift argues that NRT is at its core a “non- Lorimer, H. (2005). Cultural geography: The
cognitive methodology” for being in the world. busyness of being “more-than-representational.”
Similarly, Dewsbury believes that NRT is a way of Progress in Human Geography, 29(1), 83–94.
presenting the world in all its immanence rather McCormack, D. P. (2003). An event of geographical
than representing it. That is, Dewsbury believes in ethics in spaces of affect. Transactions of the
a kind of “witnessing” of the world before it Institute of British Geographers, 28(4), 488–507.
becomes discursively constituted through repre- Thrift, N. (2008). Non-representational theory:
sentation. In other words, witnessing is an experi- Space, politics, affect. London: Routledge.
ential engagement with the radical relationality of Wylie, J. (2006). Depths and folds: On landscape and
perspective. Similarly, John Wylie’s work on land- the gazing subject. Environment and Planning D:
scape calls the reader into a postphenomenologi- Society & Space, 24(4), 519–535.
cal reading of “being.” That is, his account of
landscape does not denote a “gazed-upon” space
by an intentional subject—landscape is rather the
processual forces of being that disclose both sub-
ject and object. As a constant producing, land-
scape is none other than a Deleuzian folding. The NONVISUAL GEOGRAPHIES
subject is a folding of landscape itself, or rather,
the subject is what comes to occupy the position The interpretation of nonvisual landscapes
of the fold—with difference created and assem- explores the role of sensory and perceptual modes
bled through the “variations” and “inflections” of other than vision in the construction of geo-
folding. Landscape is thus the materialities and graphic space. This topic positions itself at the
sensibilities with which we see. The Cartesian sub- boundary between social theory and behavioral
ject dissolves into endless foldings and texturings. geography by examining the ways in which non-
In summary, a nonrepresentational geography visual modes of information acquisition and pro-
seeks to uncover the processual forces of our cessing reflect geographic environments and in
world that produce social and spatial relation- turn shape those same places by structuring the
ships. This is achieved by a noncognitive method- subjective understanding and behavior of people
ology that pays attention to practice and and their symbolic understanding of space. This
performance. In a very Heideggerian sense then, understanding and representation of geographic
NRT pivots around the central ontological condi- space emanates from several diverse conceptual
tion of “being-in-the-world.” How do we relate perspectives, including behavioral geography and
with the world, with other humans, and with the poststructuralism. At the individual level, we
nonhuman? NRT answers these questions from a gather information in an environment from all
variety of perspectives of philosophers from Mau- our senses other than vision alone—hearing,
rice Merleau-Ponty and Martin Heidegger to smell, taste, and touch, which includes kinesthe-
Judith Butler and Bruno Latour. Interested read- sia (muscle memory). Our spatial behavior is
ers should consult the works of geographers such informed by these other sense modalities facilitat-
as Nigel Thrift, J. D. Dewsbury, Derek McCor- ing an understanding of space and place.
mack, and John Wylie. A vast array of information informs, guides,
and shapes our understanding or misunderstand-
Ian Graham Ronald Shaw ing about a place. The social construction of vision
is dominant and is a historically contextualized
See also Epistemology; Ontology; Poststructuralism; way of knowing, also known as ocularcentrism.
Representations of Space; Thrift, Nigel By delving into what vision is not, this line of
 NONV ISUA L GEOGR A P HI E S '%)(

thought sheds new light on the role of vision in intimately embedded in individual ways of com-
the making of place and spatial behavior. prehending the world. Academics teaching geogra-
Geography has long been emphatically ocular- phy have reflexively questioned activities that
centric, privileging the visual as a means to acquir- require vision, such as field trips, computer-based
ing and representing spatial knowledge. Behavioral spatial learning, and viewing PowerPoint slides.
geographers note the fundamental role of vision The analysis of geographic representation has been
in the acquisition of environmental information. extended to the world scale, where visuality is a
A large body of work concerned with representa- consistent theme. Vision, in short, is a political
tions of space, ranging from cartography to GIS, phenomenon as much as a behavioral one.
has illustrated the complex ways in which graphi- However, debates about the role of vision have
cal knowledge is related to visual perception. also raised questions about the complex ways in
Many authors have noted the dominance of vision which nonvisual information is key to the acquisi-
in human understanding, both at an individual tion of spatial information and its representation.
behavioral level and at a social-cultural one. Much, if not most, interpersonal interaction is
Vision is a metaphor for the ways in which we nonvisual, such as speech compared with body
symbolically appropriate the world; for example, language; try having a conversation with your eyes
we often say “I see” for “I understand.” From closed and note the difference. As the body has
Kant onward, the cogito of Western knowledge become an inspirational topic of inquiry, the role
obtained objectivity (even if only mythically) by of both visual and nonvisual perception in the con-
seeing everything. struction of body space has received more atten-
The hegemony of vision—the unquestioned tion. The spatial behavior of vision-impaired
naturalness of sight—has come recently under populations offers another means to appreciate the
mounting attack from diverse quarters. The role of nonvisual systems of geographic informa-
changing role of vision in the late 19th century, as tion acquisition and processing. Although land-
the experience of space and time was subjected to scapes are primarily apprehended through sight,
massive compression through photography, the they inevitably are also known through other
telephone, and the automobile. More recently, modalities. Nonvisual geographies (both tangible
geography has witnessed a remarkable conver- and symbolic) are largely unexplored and are apt
gence in social theory and cognitive-behavioral to be unique in their own right. Phenomenologi-
studies around this topic; increasingly, research- cally inclined geographers such as Tuan and Porte-
ers in both of these domains have delved into the ous have been the most receptive to this idea,
social construction of perception. writing of “smellscapes” and “soundscapes.”
As a result, the “natural” dominance of vision There is also a growing literature concerned with
has been undermined, and its hegemony has been music, oral traditions, and audible text to describe
shown to be a historical product. The linkages landscapes in a different manner. Technology is
between ocularcentrism and modernity have been emerging to embed listeners within virtual sound-
explored and have uncovered the masculinism of scapes, and for more than 15 years, conferences
the “gaze” that sees all—and thus knows all. Build- have run on the auditory display of spatial infor-
ing on Habermas’s theory of communicative inter- mation. Even food and taste have become subject
action, Rorty argued that it holds that the proper to geographic scrutiny. In short, to appreciate the
model of knowledge is not the mimetic mirror but importance of vision both literally and figuratively,
the conversation. The shift from visual to aural it is essential to appreciate the significance of non-
metaphors reflects the hegemony of post-positivist visual ways of understanding. This is becoming
modes of understanding and the corresponding ever more important with the acceleration of digi-
emphasis on knowledge as a multivocal dialogue. tal telecommunications facilitating nonvisual com-
Critical social theorists like Lefebvre have argued munication within cyberspace and to provide
that visual knowledge is grounded in its historical universal access to these technologies independent
and political context and that every way of know- of vision, location, or technology platform.
ing is simultaneously a way of interacting, repro-
ducing, or challenging social structures that are R. Daniel Jacobson
'%)) N O R T H AME RICAN FRE E TRADE A GR EEMENT (NA F T A )

See also Behavioral Geography; Blindness and procedures for defining rules of origin, expedited
Geography; Body, Geography of; Disability, Geography customs clearance for cross-border trade, and
of; Golledge, Reginald; Humanistic Geography; provided for a wide variety of institutional
Phenomenology; Representations of Space; Vision and reforms to safeguard environmental interests and
Geography the rights of workers (sidebar agreements). The
accord also included provisions to maintain stable
flows of energy products, easier business travel,
Further Readings and reduced restrictions on foreign direct invest-
ment (FDI) across major sectors outside the
Golledge, R. (1993). Geography and the disabled: energy domain (a concession to Mexico’s oil
A survey with special reference to vision impaired industry). Despite many side agreements covering
and blind populations. Transactions of the spheres such as labor conditions and environmen-
Institute of British Geographers, 18, 63–85. tal protection, a central goal of the accord was to
Heywood, I., & Sandywell, B. (1999). Interpreting achieve a phased elimination of import duties for
visual culture: Explorations in the hermeneutics of most products and services by 2004. This goal
the visual. London: Routledge. has been achieved, though many nontariff trade
Hillis, K. (1996). A geography of the eye: The barriers are still in place. A further goal was to
technologies of virtual reality. In R. Shields (Ed.), dilute long-standing restrictions on capital mobil-
Cultures of Internet: Virtual spaces, real histories, ity (FDI) and pave the way for new investment
living bodies (pp. 70–98). London: Sage. across the trilateral region. The net result over the
Kichin, R., Blades, M., & Golledge, R. (1997). past 15 years has been a dramatic expansion of
Understanding spatial concepts at the geographical intra-industry trade (IIT) between the three
scale without the use of vision. Progress in Human nations, with much of this IIT being conducted
Geography, 21, 225–242. on an intracorporate basis.
Pocock, D. (1981). Sight and knowledge. Transactions Merchandise trade within the NAFTA area is
of the Institute of British Geographers, 6, 385–393. now more than 70% IIT in nature. For exam-
Pocock, D. (1989). Sound and the geographer. ple, Ford USA can import components or final
Geography, 74, 193–200. assemblies on a duty-free basis from its subsid-
Porteous, D. (1985). Smellscape. Progress in Human iaries located in Canada or Mexico—provided
Geography, 9, 356–378. that such inputs qualify as 50% North Ameri-
Rodaway, P. (1994). Sensuous geographies: Body, can (i.e., “local content”). Automotive compa-
sense and place. London: Routledge. nies from outside NAFTA can also compete on
Sui, D. (2000). Visuality, aurality, and shifting the same basis, provided that 50% NAFTA
metaphors of geographical thought in the late content can be demonstrated. Since 1994, IIT
twentieth century. Annals of the Association of within the trilateral partnership has witnessed
American Geographers, 90, 322–343. explosive growth. Transnational corporations
Tuan, Y. (1977). Space and place: The perspective of headquartered outside the NAFTA zone have
experience. London: Edward Arnold. played an important role too, especially in sec-
tors such as automotive products, aerospace,
and electronics.
From the perspective of classical or traditional
trade theory, the NAFTA concept made good
NORTH AMERICAN FREE sense in 1994. With respect to relative factor
proportions (comparative advantage), Mexico
TRADE AGREEMENT (NAFTA) was cast as labor abundant (low skills), Canada
had lots of natural resources, while the United
The North American Free Trade Agreement States was capital rich (with high labor skills).
(NAFTA) was ratified in 1994, linking Canada, Linking the three economies together via free
Mexico, and the United States under a regime of trade would theoretically allow for factor spe-
liberalized trilateral commerce that harmonized cialization, expanded output, and an aggregate
 NORT H A MER IC A N F R EE T R A DE A GR EEMENT (NA F T A) '%)*

About 200 teamsters raise their signs while protesting new NAFTA trucking regulations outside the Holiday Inn
in San Diego, June 18, 1996. The teamsters protested a meeting on the North American Free Trade
Agreement against lifting a ban on Mexican trucks being allowed on U.S. roads and highways.
Source: AP Photo/Denis Poroy.

rise in consumer welfare. Specialization would decades of painful deliberations among hundreds
also promote economies of scale (increasing of nations under the General Agreement on Trade
returns), a core tenet of new trade theory. Critics and Tariffs. The WTO was proposed as a model
of the accord, in contrast, argued that a free trade for free trade at the global level but tolerates
agreement between two advanced industrial regional agreements provided that they do not
economies and a developing nation within a geo- cause trade diversion. Thus far, there is no evi-
graphically contiguous region would spur a mass dence that NAFTA has caused trade diversion to
exodus of capital from north to south, as well as any significant degree. Trade diversion takes place
downward pressure on northern wages. Neither when a regional free trade agreement artificially
perspective appears to be entirely correct. displaces a lower-cost producer from outside the
The World Trade Organization (WTO) does club as a result of policy-driven cost advantages
not view bilateral or multilateral free trade agree- that accrue to in-club producers. NAFTA does not
ments in a favorable light because such agreements seem to be a factor in this regard, as witnessed by
violate core principles such as nondiscrimination the massive imports from China, India, and other
and/or most-favored-nation status—principles low-cost producers located in the newly industri-
that were developed and negotiated under several alizing countries of Asia and South America.
'%)+ N O R T H ATL ANTIC TRE ATY ORGA NIZ A T ION (NA T O)

Thus far, econometric modeling has failed to Some of these concerns might be addressed by
uncover significant evidence of trade diversion moving toward a secure external perimeter,
(most models are suggestive of trade expansion). where the boundaries of all three nations are
Recent econometric work also points to either a monitored and controlled by common standards
zero or negligible impact of NAFTA on U.S. to facilitate security compliance. This will prob-
industrial employment. Some studies, in fact, sug- ably not happen soon, as such a scenario would
gest that NAFTA’s tariff reductions have deceler- push NAFTA closer toward a customs union
ated the pre-NAFTA trend toward employment (which is not a politically popular option). Other
decay in the manufacturing sectors of both Can- concerns might be addressed by further policy
ada and the United States. Between 1994 and harmonization, notably with regard to border
2000, for example, total employment in the U.S. management (e.g., fast-track entry for people and
manufacturing sector actually increased (albeit by merchandise). Still other concerns might be dealt
a modest 1%). On a less optimistic note, there is with by broadening the mandate of NAFTA’s
at least some evidence that trade liberalization dispute resolution system to include issues such
has contributed to rising income inequality as illegal immigration, antiterrorism measures,
between regions for all three NAFTA members. and environmental compliance.
This said, most economists and economic geog-
raphers would agree that it is hard to disentangle Alan D. MacPherson
the trade, income, or employment effects of free
trade agreements from broader factors such as See also Globalization; Trade; World Trade
capital intensification (process automation), Organization (WTO)
exchange rate movements, import competition
from outside the bloc, and declining industrial
competitiveness (e.g., lack of investment in new Further Readings
technology). For example, some studies have
found a negative relationship between NAFTA- Britton, J. (2002). Regional implications of North
assisted export growth and local employment lev- American integration: A Canadian perspective on
els. Capital intensification appears to be the key high technology manufacturing. Regional Studies,
driver in this rather odd relationship. 36, 359–374.
Although NAFTA has been a topic of consid- Faber, B. (2007). Towards the spatial patterns of
erable debate over the past 15 years, the accord sectoral adjustments to trade liberalization: The
is here to stay. Looking to the future, at least five case of NAFTA in Mexico. Growth and Change,
areas of contention are likely to persist and/or 38, 567–594.
emerge. These areas of contention include the Logan, J. (2008). Belted by NAFTA? A look at
following: trade’s effect on the US manufacturing belt.
Regional Studies, 42, 1–13.
1. The increasingly adversarial relationship
between the United States and Mexico
regarding illegal immigration
2. The persistence of nontariff trade barriers
based on technical or environmental NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY
standards ORGANIZATION (NATO)
3. The hardening of U.S. ports of entry in light of
post-9/11 security threats The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, com-
monly known as NATO, is a mutual defense alli-
4. The management of NAFTA expansion (Free
ance founded on April 4, 1949. NATO’s most
Trade Area of the Americas)
basic principle is that its 26 member countries
5. The development of more efficient border pledge to regard an attack on any one of the
management systems members as an attack on all members and respond
 NORT H A T LA NT IC T R EA T Y OR GA NIZ A T ION (NA TO ) '%),

accordingly. In addition to responding after an countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland,

attack, NATO also provides an organizational Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway,
framework for joint military training, planning, Portugal, and the United Kingdom) mostly along
and command and control during peacetime. By the Atlantic coast, hence the organization’s name.
fostering a high degree of military cooperation By 1990, membership had expanded to include
and preparedness, NATO aims to deter external Germany (West Germany in 1955, which included
threats and advance the collective security of its East Germany in 1990), Greece, Spain, and Tur-
members. key. Although there were periodic disagreements
NATO was one of a number of supranational among NATO members regarding military policy
organizations established in Europe following and relations among themselves and with the
World War II. Although varied in form and func- Soviet Union, the alliance is generally regarded as
tion, these international organizations helped successful in deterring communist expansion and
facilitate Europe’s postwar recovery by promot- contributing to economic and political stability in
ing economic and political cooperation. While Europe during the Cold War.
the European Union and its predecessors focused The collapse of the Soviet Union and its War-
mainly on economics, NATO emerged as the saw Pact coalition in 1991 opened a period of
foremost organization related to military and uncertainty regarding NATO’s future. Its ratio-
security issues. As the Soviet Union tightened its nale for existence, countering a Soviet offensive
control over much of Eastern Europe after 1945, into Western Europe, was gone. Despite this,
the United States and its European allies began NATO has in many ways become more active in
discussing ways to fend off possible Soviet the post–Cold War period. First, NATO member-
advances into Western Europe. Comparatively ship has increased dramatically to reach 28 mem-
small and still recovering from World War II, it bers with the additions of Bulgaria, the Czech
appeared unlikely that these Western European Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
countries, even if they joined together, could Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia in 2004
repulse an attack launched by the much larger and the joining of Croatia and Albania in April
Soviet Union. 2009. The current governments of Macedonia,
As a result, NATO was established with the Ukraine, and Georgia have also expressed a desire
implicit purpose of deterring a Soviet attack by to become members. These new and potential
promising a direct American military response, members, all communist countries during the
including the possibility of nuclear retaliation. Cold War, have been eager to join NATO and the
Although not specified in the actual text of the European Union in the belief that membership
treaty, NATO was largely conceived as an Ameri- will help counter any attempt by Russia to regain
can security guarantee to protect its European its former influence in Eastern Europe.
allies from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union Second, although NATO originated as a lim-
responded by arranging a similar military coali- ited defensive pact, it has become increasingly
tion, the Warsaw Pact, with the communist- active in a mix of humanitarian and combat oper-
controlled governments in Eastern Europe. These ations beyond the borders of its member coun-
competing alliances, both backed by nuclear tries. During the 1990s, NATO forces were active
weapons, created a rough balance of power in parts of the former Yugoslavia. NATO’s bomb-
between the NATO military alliance in the west ing campaigns against Serbian forces helped end
and the Warsaw Pact countries in the east. Given the Bosnia civil war in 1995 and the ethnic cleans-
the high probability that any confrontation would ing in Kosovo in 1999. NATO-led peacekeeping
escalate to nuclear war, neither side had much forces were subsequently deployed in both areas.
room to maneuver. Because of this stalemate, the The September 11, 2001, attacks against the
situation is often referred to as the Cold War, United States marked an additional turning point
marked by heightened geopolitical rivalry but for the alliance. Although originally conceived as
lacking direct military engagements. a mechanism for the United States to assist its
NATO’s original roster consisted of 12 mem- allies if they were attacked, the September 11
bers: the United States, Canada, and 10 European attacks prompted NATO to declare the attacks
'%)- N O R T H ATL ANTIC TRE ATY ORGA NIZ A T ION (NA T O)

Figure 1 NATO’s 28 members in 2009 include the United States, Canada, most of Europe, and Turkey.
Source: Barney Warf.

by the al Qaeda/Taliban regime on the United assurances from the United States and other coun-
States as an attack on all NATO members. As a tries that NATO is no longer directed against
result, NATO-led forces, exceeding 40,000 by Russia, it is clear that some Eastern European
2008, have been active in counterinsurgency, countries regard NATO as a check against Rus-
humanitarian, and reconstruction efforts across sian influence. Although it has outlived its origi-
Afghanistan. nal purpose, it is unclear if NATO will assume a
Despite expanding in size and scope since the more global profile or largely confine itself to the
end of the Cold War, NATO’s future remains North Atlantic area.
uncertain. The alliance’s contributions in Afghan-
Joshua Hagen
istan have been criticized for inadequate man-
power and resources. While all members have
See also Cold War, Geography of; European Union;
deployed some troops, several countries have
Geopolitics; Military Geography; Supranational
specified that their troops not take part in combat
Integration
operations. It remains unclear if NATO will truly
be able to sustain an alliance-wide deployment or
if a small group of NATO countries will effec-
tively assume responsibility for all combat opera- Further Readings
tions while most members restrict their troops to
relatively peaceful parts of Afghanistan. A second Kaplan, L. (2007). NATO 1948: The birth of the
source of concern for NATO is its relations with transatlantic alliance. Lanham, MD: Rowman &
Russia. Given its origin as an anti-Soviet alliance, Littlefield.
Russia’s desire to halt NATO’s continued expan- Moore, R. (2007). NATO’s new mission: Projecting
sion into Eastern Europe and former Soviet terri- stability in a post-Cold War world. Westport, CT:
tories is understandable. Partly in response to Praeger Security International.
heightened tensions over NATO’s eastern expan- Schmidt, G. (2001). A history of NATO: The first
sion, Russian leaders have periodically warned fifty years. New York: Palgrave.
that a new Cold War may develop. Indeed, despite
 NOT IN MY BA C K Y A R D (NIMB Y) '%).

NOT IN MY BACKYARD and low-income areas, such communities are more

likely to give rise to NIMBY movements, often
(NIMBY) under the banner of environmental justice. Because
local issues affect people’s everyday lives, often in
“Not in My Backyard” is a common, if stereo- profound ways that speak to their deepest hopes
typed, slogan of neighborhood and community and fears for their future quality of life, NIMBY
groups opposed to locally unwanted land uses. movements can attract members who are other-
Typically, NIMBY movements arise in opposi- wise usually disengaged from formal politics, such
tion to perceived environmental threats such as as housewives.
toxic waste dumps, trash incinerators, recycling Critics of NIMBY movements maintain that
centers, or landfills; at the state level, they may they are elitist or parochial and that they hamper
oppose nuclear power plants or potential trans- necessary development, exhibit a so-called draw-
portation routes for trucks or trains carrying dan- bridge mentality, or are covertly attempting to
gerous chemicals. In the 19th century, urban maintain neighborhood racial homogeneity under
locational conflicts erupted over the siting of the banner of opposition to other unwanted
slaughterhouses, rendering plants, and saloons. aspects such as noise or pollution. Some argue
NIMBY alliances may arise against social (as that NIMBY movements are ethically inconsis-
opposed to environmental) categories of land uses tent, simply attempting to displace unwanted land
they deem as undesirable, such as shopping malls, uses to less politically powerful areas—that is,
prisons, bridges or tunnels, low-income housing they displace the problem rather than solving it.
projects, transit systems, homeless shelters, drug On this reading, NIMBY movements are irratio-
rehabilitation centers, or halfway homes for nal, selfish, misguided, and obstructionist, and by
mildly retarded people. privileging local interests over social needs, they
NIMBY movements reflect the spatial distribu- prevent the attainment of societal goals. After all,
tion of undesirable effects on people’s welfare, facilities such as waste incinerators must go some-
such as impingements on their health, noise, or where. Critics of NIMBYs thus maintain that they
fears of crime or visual and aesthetic blight (typi- elevate local benefits over broader social ones.
cal concerns of low-income NIMBY movements), A structuralist interpretation of NIMBYs
or negative effects on their property values (a fre- points to the inequalities inherent between the
quent motivator of middle-class ones). Other production and consumption of urban space, par-
NIMBY arguments are that the unwanted land ticularly the spatial distribution of negative exter-
use will destroy a small town or neighborhood nalities in the forms of locally concentrated costs
environment or strain local public resources. and dispersed social benefits. Rather than irratio-
NIMBY tactics may include lawsuits, working nal opposition to land developers, local resistance
the legislative and judicial machinery, protests is viewed by some as an inevitable outcome of the
and demonstrations, public relations campaigns urban development process. NIMBYs represent
in the media (e.g., letters to newspapers), and consumers of land who are invested in a particu-
behind-the-scenes pressure on elected officials. lar landscape under the threat of change, and
The strength of NIMBY movements varies in their opposition to new facilities is a means of
accordance with the socioeconomic status, educa- constraining the behavior of capitalists, who often
tional level, and financial resources of its mem- enjoy the backing of the state. Thus, they can no
bers. Low-income minorities generally have less more be annihilated than can private capital
access to political power in most municipalities, investments in the landscape, and they provide a
whereas white, middle-class communities are more necessary countervailing measure to land devel-
likely to have the ear of city government officials opers who would otherwise proceed unchecked.
and be better positioned to oppose unwanted land Barney Warf
uses through the courts or bureaucracies. Because
decision makers siting noxious land uses, that is, See also Home; Locally Unwanted Land Uses (LULUs);
large real estate developers, are more likely to Love Canal; Resistance, Geographies of; Urban and
attempt to locate them in predominantly minority Regional Planning; Urban Geography; Zoning
'%*% N UC LEAR E NE RG Y

Further Readings Through a series of progressions, the work of the

steam becomes electricity. The atom used in com-
Heiman, M. (1990). From “Not in My Backyard!” to mercial nuclear power plants is uranium. This ore
“Not in Anybody’s Backyard!” Journal of the is crushed and leached with acid to obtain a con-
American Planning Association, 56, 359–362. centrated amount of uranium oxide known as
Lake, R. (Ed.). (1987). Resolving locational conflict. yellowcake. In nature, this isotope of uranium
New Brunswick, NJ: Center for Urban Policy exists at low concentrations, typically 0.7%. So
Research. that it can be used in commercial reactors, it goes
Lake, R. (1993). Rethinking NIMBY. Journal of the through an enrichment process, increasing its
American Planning Association, 59, 87–93. concentration to 4.0% to 5.0%. Pellets that
Ley, D., & Mercer, J. (1980). Locational conflict and include the enriched uranium are placed in fuel
the politics of consumption. Economic rods that, in turn, are configured into fuel assem-
Geography, 56, 89–109. blies to make up the reactor core. There are sev-
Meyer, W., & Brown, M. (1989). Locational conflict eral reactor designs throughout the world; the
in a nineteenth century city. Political Geography two predominant designs in the United States are
Quarterly, 8, 107–122. known as boiling water reactors and pressurized
water reactors. The electricity produced in these
and other commercial reactors is known as
nuclear power. Nuclear energy and nuclear power
are used interchangeably for the simplified repre-
NUCLEAR ENERGY sentation of the splitting of atoms.
Nuclear energy can also be derived from join-
Images of the electric grid, cooling towers, ing the light nuclei of atoms with the heavier
atomic bombs, and Hollywood productions ones. Two isotopes of hydrogen are combined
serve as examples of what may come to mind into helium; the energy released will be harnessed
when “nuclear energy” is mentioned. It has a for eventual fusion reactor applications. At pres-
complex narrative, occupying a noteworthy ent, the mechanics of a fusion reactor is not com-
place in society. plete for commercial applications; it is in the
What nuclear energy represents to current research realm—more energy is currently used for
debates on solutions to increasing energy demand, the reaction to occur than is released. National
reduction in carbon emissions, energy indepen- and international initiatives continue, the latest
dence, and national security is juxtaposed with being a joint international research and develop-
arguments of nuclear proliferation, radioactive ment project, ITER, in Southern France.
contamination, nuclear accidents, and “not in my
backyard” sentiments. With a growing presence
Nuclear Politics
around the globe with 440-plus commercial reac-
tors in operation or being built, an argument is Scientists who played a key role in research that
being made that there is a 21st-century nuclear led to fission power production included the Brit-
resurgence in the making. Nuclear energy engages ish nuclear pioneer Ernest Rutherford. He brought
the subatomic realm, natural landscapes, and attention to the heat produced by the atom
geopolitical space in particular ways—an engi- radium. French scientists Marie and Pierre Curie,
neered solution to some and a problem to others. along with Henri Becquerel, discovered radioac-
tivity; the German American scientist J. Robert
Oppenheimer is considered the father of the
The Subatomic
atomic bomb; and the Italian scientist Enrico
Nuclear energy, also known as atomic energy, Fermi discovered fission. From the work of these
occurs with the splitting of a specific atom. The scientists on the atom has come the work of the
sustained process is known as nuclear fission; atom on and for society.
heat released from the substance is harnessed to Currently, research is under way to usher in
produce steam in commercial nuclear reactors. the next generation of reactors; they are being
 NUC LEA R ENERG Y '%*&

Nuclear power plant in Lower Saxony, Germany

Source: Hans F. Meier/iStockphoto.

designed to be modular in construction, to pos- nuclear reactor in decades, but there are several
sess shorter building times, to have fewer pumps consortia (vendors such as companies named ear-
and valves, and to use less uranium to produce lier along with state utility companies) that wish
the desired level of energy. Idaho National Labo- to take advantage of the tax credit incentives and
ratory was named the lead laboratory by former liability insurance. They are submitting applica-
President George W. Bush to shepherd the United tions to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
States into the next stage of nuclear power pro- for combined construction and operating licenses.
duction. Through the U.S. Energy Policy Act of The review process takes several years; however,
2005, initiatives for a nuclear renaissance are there have been possible construction locations
being constructed. Internationally, the resurgence announced by utilities. For example, the North
is showing more traction; for instance, in 2004, Carolina–based Progress Energy has named Flor-
Finland started construction on a next-generation ida and then North Carolina as build locations.
Areva-designed nuclear reactor. Companies such
as Areva, Westinghouse, and General Electric-
Geography of Fear, Geography of Necessity
Hitachi, in association with the governments of
various countries, are building in Japan, China, Nuclear energy was ushered in as an offshoot of
and India. Discussions are under way in countries scientists’ work on behalf of military defense. Dur-
such as Mexico, Canada, and South Africa. The ing World War II, the atomic bomb was used on
United States hasn’t built a new commercial Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, as a response to
'%*' N UT R I ENT CYCL E S

the Pearl Harbor bombings. An enrichment level the same time, antinuclear organizations are engag-
closer to 90%, as opposed to the 4% to 5% range ing communities around issues of environmental
seen in commercial nuclear power plants, was justice, land rights, and safety practices. The geo-
used. This technological use solidified the nuclear graphical space of nuclear energy has been reener-
arms race, and nations such as Britain, China, and gized. The politics of engineered landscapes and
the Soviet Union developed a military arsenal in their necessity plays out on several levels as demand
the postwar, Cold War era. Other nations subse- places pressure on natural resources and a geogra-
quently joined the nuclear race with more of a phy of necessity is amplified.
power production perspective. Japan, France, and
Lisa Marshall
South Africa were among these nations.
In 1953, the then U.S. President Dwight Eisen-
See also Chernobyl Nuclear Accident; Energy and Human
hower pledged before the United Nations the pur-
Ecology; Energy Policy; Energy Resources; Not in My
suit of nuclear science and technology for peaceful
Backyard (NIMBY); Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident
purposes. The U.S. Department of Energy and the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission continue to
work with industrial and public stakeholders to
answer concerns and move forward on nuclear Further Readings
energy production. As of 2008, there were more
than 443 nuclear reactors worldwide (represent- Bird, K., & Sherwin, M. J. (2005). American
ing 19.4% of the global nuclear power) and 104 Prometheus: The triumph and tragedy of J. Robert
nuclear reactors in the United States (19.9%); Oppenheimer. New York: Vintage.
France represents 80% and Canada 12%. Nuclear Bodansky, D. (2008). Nuclear energy (2nd ed.). New
power is used as base load—reactors run year- York: Springer-Verlag.
round, except when down for refueling and Miller, B. A. (2000). Geography and social
maintenance—contributing to guaranteed elec- movements: Comparing antinuclear activism in
tricity for households and industry. According to the Boston area. Minneapolis: University of
the Department of Energy, U.S. electricity demand Minnesota Press.
is expected to increase by 40% to 50% by 2025. Pasqualetti, M. J. (1983). Nuclear-power impacts: A
And as industrialization occurs around the world, convergence-divergence schema. The Professional
there will be an increased demand for fossil fuels, Geographer, 35, 427–436.
driving some of the discussions around energy
independence and global warming reduction mea-
sures to include renewable and nuclear energies
as possible solutions. NUTRIENT CYCLES
Similarly, in a post-9/11 world there has been
concern expressed about nuclear terrorism—a Nutrient cycles describe the cycling in terrestrial,
hijacked plane crashing into a nuclear power plant limnic, or marine ecosystems and in compartments
or the use of stolen radioactive material to make a of these ecosystems of those elements and chemical
dirty bomb—not to mention the lingering historical compounds that are essential for maintaining life.
references and/or concerns around another Cher- The essential elements include the macronutrients
nobyl accident or Three Mile Island incident. What (nitrogen [N], potassium [K], calcium [Ca], mag-
affects would a leakage have on communities near nesium [Mg], phosphorus [P], and sulfur [S]—
nuclear power plants? What evacuation plans are in ordered in the sequence of the mass contributions
place? What measures exist for the safe operation of of these elements to dry shoot matter of higher
nuclear power plants? Where should nuclear waste plants according to Marschner, 1995) and the
be stored? Military and industrial nuclear waste, micronutrients (chlorine [Cl], boron [B], iron [Fe],
slated to eventually reside at the Yucca Mountain manganese [Mn], zinc [Zn], copper [Cu], nickel
National Repository in Nevada, is under litigation. [Ni], and molybdenum [Mo]). Some microorgan-
The nuclear industry has launched public outreach isms, animals, and humans additionally require other
initiatives to answer these and other questions. At elements such as chromium (Cr), selenium (Se), and
 NUT R IENT C Y C LE S '%*(

vanadium (V). Carbon and water, which are also litter, and root litter), soil erosion, and bedload
needed by all living organisms, are usually not and suspended matter in streams.
considered as nutrients. This entry focuses on
nutrient cycles in terrestrial ecosystems.
Nutrient Turnover
Nutrient Cycles in Ecosystems After biomass dies and returns as dead organic
matter to soil, all contained nutrients are released
The cycling of nutrients can be studied at differ-
via leaching and mineralization after mechanical
ent scales from a few millimeters to the global
degradation of the fresh litter by soil animals.
scale. The most common scale at which nutrient
Mineralization is particularly important for the
cycling is studied is that of a small plot of 100 to
nitrogen cycle (but to a lesser degree also for all
1,000 square meters or of a small catchment of a
other nutrients). Nitrogen mineralization consists
few hectares to square kilometers, which are
of the release of ammonium (NH4+) from organic
considered as representative for a well-defined
compounds (“ammonification”) and the subse-
ecosystem or landscape. Ecosystem functioning
quent oxidation of ammonium to nitrate (NO3 ,
is described by input fluxes, output fluxes, state,
“nitrification”) in several steps. Mineralization is
and transfer functions translating input into
a microbiologically mediated process. Mineral-
change of state and input and change of state
ization rates depend on climatic conditions (tem-
into output. Methodologically, nutrient cycling
perature and water availability), chemical milieu
in ecosystems is frequently assessed by budget-
(acidity and oxygen availability), and properties
ing nutrient stocks and fluxes.
of the mineralized organic matter. Mineralization
Nutrient stocks are usually determined for dif-
is fastest if the mineralizing microbial community
ferent ecosystem compartments such as soil (vari-
experiences optimum conditions.
ous depth layers) and below- and aboveground
biomass (sometimes further subdivided, e.g., into
fine and coarse roots or stems, branches, and Nutrient Cycles in Forest Ecosystems
leaves) in terrestrial ecosystems.
Nutrient fluxes can be gaseous, water bound, Perhaps the most studied ecosystems with respect to
or solid-phase associated. Gaseous fluxes include nutrient cycling are the forest ecosystems. Figure 1
N2 fixation from the atmosphere; deposition of summarizes the results of a study of the potassium
nutrient-containing substances, such as ammonia cycling in the Brazilian Cerrado, where the native
(NH3), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), sulfurdioxide savanna vegetation was compared with nonnative
(SO2), nitric acid (HNO3), sulfuric acid (H2SO4), Pinus caribaea Morelet plantations on similar soils
and hydrochloric acid (HCl); and volatilization of in the Cerrado region. It becomes evident that nutri-
NO, N2O, and N2 via nitrification and denitrifi- ent fluxes are small compared with nutrient stocks,
cation. Water-bound fluxes include incident pre- which is a general feature of forest ecosystems.
cipitation, throughfall (i.e., the part of incident The Cerrado case study, however, shows particu-
precipitation that falls through the canopy and larly small element fluxes—such as many tropical
reaches the soil), stemflow (i.e., the part of inci- ecosystems—because the deeply weathered tropical
dent precipitation that flows via branches and soils are extremely nutrient poor. The native Cer-
stems to the soil), surface flow (on top of soil), rado vegetation and the pine plantation currently
internal soil fluxes (vertical and lateral), stream, accumulate nutrients from the atmosphere, on bal-
and groundwater flow. While water itself can ance. This is usually not the case in temperate forest
evaporate (via interception, i.e., direct evapora- ecosystems on less weathered soils from which
tion from the vegetation surface, transpiration nutrients may be net released and leached.
through plants, or direct evaporation from soil
and water bodies), the nutrients contained in Methods for Assessing Nutrient Cycles
water cannot. Solid-phase-associated fluxes
include dry particulate deposition from the atmo- To assess nutrient stocks in the different eco-
sphere, litter fall (including fine litter, coarse system compartments, inventories of biomass and
'%*) N UT R I ENT CYCL E S

Pinus caribaea Morelet

Cerrado
plantation
1.2 1.3

5100 7700

0.4 1.1

100 Organic Layer 10000

0.1 4100 Roots 8600 0.1

(coarse and fine)

0.2 37000 Soil 29000 0.2

(0–0.3 m)

Figure 1 Nutrient cycles. Potassium stocks (g/m2, bold numbers) and fluxes (g/m2, a-1) in a native Cerrado and
a Pinus caribaea plantation in Brazil
Sources: Adapted by the author from Lilienfein, J., & Wilcke, W. (2004). Water and element input into native, agri- and
silvicultural ecosystems of the Brazilian savanna. Biogeochemistry, 67, 183–212; Wilcke, W., & Lilienfein, J. (2002).
Biogeochemical consequences of the transformation of native Cerrado into Pinus caribaea plantations in Brazil. Plant Soil, 238,
175–189; Wilcke, W., & Lilienfein, J. (2005). Nutrient leaching in Oxisols under native and managed vegetation in Brazil. Soil
Science Society America Journal, 69, 1152–1161.

soil mass and nutrient concentrations in the vari- nutrient concentrations in soil solution. Then,
ous compartments need to be undertaken. Usu- nutrient fluxes are calculated with the help of a
ally, aliquots of the compartments are sampled soil water model providing the water fluxes. Fur-
and destructively analyzed. The aboveground thermore, fine litter fall can be easily collected
water-bound fluxes can be directly measured with with litter traps, while the determination of coarse
special containers collecting incident rainfall (usu- litter fall is more laborious requiring inventories
ally measured in clearings or above the forest can- of large pieces of dead organic matter on top of
opy), throughfall (for which many samplers are the soil, including standing dead trees. Dry depo-
needed because throughfall is heterogeneous), and sition (fine particles and gases) from the atmo-
stemflow (the water running down the trunks sphere cannot be measured directly but usually is
that is collected with the help of a collar around modeled with complex micrometeorological mod-
the stem). In soil, either special lysimeters, which els or budget approaches of the vegetation canopy.
quantitatively collect the percolating water, are Organic matter turnover can be measured in the
used (with high technical efforts and at the disad- field by various approaches (e.g., litter bags that
vantage of some unavoidable disturbances of soil are left on the soil for a certain time to allow for
and vegetation) or nonquantitative lysimeters (e.g., degradation) or in the laboratory by incubating at
the suction cups or plates) are used to determine controlled temperature, moisture, and nutrient
 NY ER GES, T IMOTH Y '%**

conditions (usually yielding an optimum turnover GIS in transportation planning, the prospect for
rate above that in the field). A full nutrient-cycling public participation in GIS use, data-gathering
model combines algorithms describing all fluxes strategies in the study of participatory GIS use,
and turnover processes in an ecosystem. and the design of a Web-based PPGIS (Public
Participation GIS).
Wolfgang Wilcke
Nyerges received his PhD from Ohio State Uni-
versity in 1980 under the supervision of Harold
See also Biogeochemical Cycles; Biota and Soils; Carbon
Moellering (known for research about animated,
Cycle; Ecosystems; Nitrogen Cycle
analytical cartography, and digital cartographic
data standards) and Reginald Golledge (Univer-
sity of California, Santa Barbara, known for
Further Readings research in cognitive and behavioral geography).
His dissertation, titled Modeling the Structure
Likens, G. E., & Bormann, F. H. (1995). of Cartographic Information for Query Process-
Biogeochemistry of a forested ecosystem. New ing, represented innovative research in the struc-
York: Springer-Verlag. ture of spatial data just as the GIS industry was
Lilienfein, J., & Wilcke, W. (2004). Water and taking off.
element input into native, agri- and silvicultural On finishing his PhD, Nyerges worked for
ecosystems of the Brazilian savanna. 5 years as a computer-cartographer and GIS
Biogeochemistry, 67, 183–212. consultant, eventually moving to the Seattle area
Marschner, H. (1995). Mineral nutrition of higher in 1983. While a consultant, he served as chair
plants (2nd ed.). London: Academic Press. of the Technical Working Group on Data Orga-
Matzner, E. (Ed.). (2004). Ecological studies: nization, part of the National Committee for
Vol. 172. Biogeochemistry of forested catchments Digital Cartographic Data Standards, a position
in a changing environment: A German case study. he held until 1987. He has remained an active
Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag. advisor at the national level in the area of spatial
Schulze, E. D. (Ed.). (2000). Ecological studies: data standards.
Vol. 172. Carbon and nitrogen cycling in European Since 1985, Nyerges has been a member of
forest ecosystems. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag. the faculty in the department of geography at
Wilcke, W., & Lilienfein, J. (2002). Biogeochemical the University of Washington in Seattle, where
consequences of the transformation of native he has completed research in collaborative spa-
Cerrado into Pinus caribaea plantations in Brazil. tial decision support systems funded by the
Plant Soil, 238, 175–189. National Science Foundation, Environmental
Wilcke, W., & Lilienfein, J. (2005). Nutrient leaching Protection Agency, and the Department of
in Oxisols under native and managed vegetation Energy. He has also shepherded the undergrad-
in Brazil. Soil Science Society America Journal, 69, uate and graduate GIScience curriculum and
1152–1161. served on nearly 50 master’s student commit-
tees and nearly 30 PhD student committees. He
has also served as the director of the governing
board for the university’s Center for Social Sci-
NYERGES, TIMOTHY ence Computation and Research (1991–1996)
and as a board member for the Program on
(1951– ) Environment (2000–2003).
Nyerges is an affiliate faculty member at the
Timothy L. Nyerges, professor of geography at Center for Water and Watershed Studies in the
the University of Washington, has published College of Forest Resources, in Civil and Envi-
numerous influential works on schema integra- ronmental Engineering, and in the Interdisciplin-
tion for spatial databases, information structur- ary PhD Program in Urban Planning and Design.
ing in the analytical use of maps, typologies of Nationally, he has served as the research chair
geographic information abstractions, the uses of and program organizer (2005–2008) for the
'%*+ N Y ER GES, TIMOTHY

University Consortium of Geographic Informa- Further Readings

tion Science summer meetings and the 2005
Urban and Regional Information Systems Asso- Jankowski, P., & Nyerges, T. (2001). Geographic
ciation’s Public Participation GIS conference, and information systems for group decision making:
he is the 2009–2011 president of the University Towards a participatory, geographic information
Consortium for Geographic Information Science. science. London: Taylor & Francis.
Participating in the GIS and Society debates of Nyerges, T. (1989). Schema integration analysis for
the mid 1990s, with his involvement in the Fri- the development of GIS databases. International
day Harbor, Washington, meetings, Nyerges has Journal of Geographic Information Systems, 3(2),
continued to advance a research agenda on the 153–183.
study of GIS use. His work with Piotr Jankowski Nyerges, T. (1991). Analytical map use. Cartography
(a former student of Nyerges) has led to the and Geographic Information Science, 18(1), 11–22.
development of thorough research designs in Nyerges, T. (1995). Geographical information system
the study of GIS use in group decision-making support for urban/regional transportation
situations, what Nyerges and Jankowski termed analysis. In S. Hanson (Ed.), The geography of
enhanced adaptive structuration theory. Jan- urban transportation (pp. 163–198). New York:
kowski and Nyerges ground their thinking about Guilford Press.
social-behavioral research on spatial decision Nyerges, T., & Jankowski, P. (1997). Enhanced
making, which framed later studies of GIS use adaptive structuration theory: A theory of
for transportation, land use, and water resource GIS-supported collaborative decision making.
decision making. Geographical Systems, 4(3), 225–259.
His recent research has included a 4-year NSF Nyerges, T., Jankowski, P., & Drew, C. (2002).
(National Science Foundation) project concern- Data-gathering strategies for social-behavioural
ing participatory GIS for transportation, which research about participatory geographical
funded more than 15 graduate students from information system use. International Journal of
2003 to 2007 at the University of Washington, Geographical Information Science, 16(1), 1–22.
San Diego State University, and the University of Nyerges, T., Jankowski, P., Tuthill, D., & Ramsey,
Wyoming. The research team, with Nyerges as K. (2006). Collaborative water resource decision
principal investigator, designed and implemented support: Results of a field experiment. Annals of
an Internet platform to support and study public the American Academy of Political and Social
participation in transportation decision making. Science, 96(4), 699–725.
Nyerges continues to extend this research in the Nyerges, T. L., Ramsey, K., & Wilson, M. W.
development and study of Internet-based GIS in (2006). Design considerations for an Internet
the area of community vulnerability to regional portal to support public participation in
climate change and variability and coastal zone transportation improvement decision making. In
management. S. Dragicevic & S. Balram (Eds.), Collaborative
Matthew W. Wilson geographic information systems (pp. 208–236).
Hershey, PA: Idea Group.
See also GIScience; GIS in Transportation
 OBJECT-BASED IMAGE
O territory. After comparison (i.e., classification),
the material having the most similar signature(s)
ANALYSIS to the one under analysis is selected as the class
to which that pixel belongs. The main drawback
Object-based image analysis (OBIA) is a new of this approach is that it cannot exploit the fact
approach to the analysis of remote-sensing (RS) that pixels are knitted into an image full of spa-
images in which the basic units, instead of being tial patterns.
individual pixels, are image-objects. An image- In contrast, in OBIA, the spatial structure of
object is a relatively uniform region of a digital the image is explicitly captured by the initial
image somewhat different from its surroundings. segmentation step, which creates a set of jointly
Typically, image-objects are initially delineated exhaustive, mutually disjoint regions (image-
by a segmentation algorithm and then further objects) that are more uniform within themselves
aggregated using a semiautomated classification than when compared with adjacent regions
that takes into account both their internal fea- according to a set of predefined similarity criteria.
tures and their mutual relationships. OBIA aims After segmentation, the values of a wide assort-
to replicate visual interpretation through semiau- ment of attributes (radiometric, textural, mor-
tomated means, providing greater integration phological, and relational) are computed for each
with vector geographic information systems (GIS) image-object, which form the basis for classifica-
with increased consistency and efficiency. tion. The latter typically consists of an iterative
OBIA is an increasingly popular alternative to process, where the membership of particular
the traditional pixel-based approach to semiau- image-objects to a given class may change accord-
tomated thematic mapping using RS imagery. ing to the status of neighboring objects. During
Pixel-based methods assume that different this process, image-objects may also be hierarchi-
thematic classes behave like distinct surface cally nested to allow for the introduction of pow-
materials susceptible of being analyzed with a erful contextual rules. For example, a group of
spectrometric approach. That is, each pixel is nearby but not adjacent image-objects labeled
treated as a sample introduced in a desktop spec- “tree,” if surrounded by larger image-objects
trometer, where its spectral signature (repre- identified as “soil,” could be merged into an
sented by the different values the pixel takes in “orchard” superobject. If the latter happens to be
each band of the image) is compared with the in turn embedded in a “city” superobject, it could
ones of selected samples (training pixels) of each further change its membership to the “urban
material that can be found in the to-be-mapped park” class.

'%*,
'%*- O C EA N I C CIRCU L ATION

It is important to note that OBIA encompasses The major forces driving oceanic circulation are
techniques used in many disciplines other than best illustrated by the various gyres (rotating sys-
geographic information science. To distinguish tems of low- or high-pressure-generating wind and
RS/GIS OBIA from other domains such as bio- water currents) of the ocean basins and the large-
medical imaging, the acronym GEOBIA (GEo- scale oscillations associated with El Niño and the
graphic Object-Based Image Analysis) has been monsoonal cycle of the Indian Ocean. Each exam-
recently proposed, although it is still unclear ple highlights the complex interaction of atmo-
whether this acronym will become widely used. spheric pressure systems with the ocean surface
and the role of the various forces mentioned above
Guillermo Castilla that interact to produce the patterns of oceanic
circulation. The most fundamental of these forces,
See also GIS, History of; Ontological Foundations of however, is thermohaline circulation.
Geographical Data; Ontology; Remote Sensing

Thermohaline Circulation

Further Readings Compared with the circulation patterns generated

by atmosphere-ocean coupling and the Coriolis
Blaschke, T. S., Lang, S., & Hay, G. J. (Eds.). (2008). force, thermohaline circulation is extremely slow,
Object-based image analysis: Spatial concepts for on the order of millimeters per second (mm/s),
knowledge-driven remote sensing applications compared with wind-driven current systems (cen-
(Series: XVII Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and timeters per second [cm/s]). Despite its slow pace,
Cartography). Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag. thermohaline circulation results in a horizontal
range of temperature nearly matching the vertical
gradient (30 to 1 nC). For the vertical gradient,
this results in two distinct zones: (1) the mixed
layer (generally the upper 50–200 m [meters]
OCEANIC CIRCULATION depending on latitude) in which temperatures
approximate the surface, and (2) the thermocline
Oceanic circulation is responsible for the major- (200–800 m in tropics, 50–100 m in summer
ity of heat transfer within the Earth system and, midlatitudes, nonexistent in polar latitudes and
hence, determines weather and climate for the winter midlatitudes). The horizontal gradient is
majority of humankind (Figure 1). Circulation best examined by looking at the gyres, since in
within the ocean is patterned by numerous forces this form of heat circulation, they exert the most
but mostly reflects spatial differences in density influence.
and heat that are in turn minimized by a complex
system of currents within the major ocean basins.
Gyres
The forces affecting ocean circulation are thermo-
haline differences (horizontal and vertical varia- Subtropical circulation in the Atlantic is domi-
tions in salt concentrations and temperature), nated by the Atlantic gyre. This is a large, asym-
surface-wind-generated stress, the Coriolis force metrical, clockwise-rotating current system. This
(the deflection of moving bodies across the Earth system is overlain by a large, high-pressure atmo-
surface due to its rotation), and underwater spheric system. This high-pressure atmospheric
topography. This entry will discuss the resulting system sets up a wind-stress field that generates
circulation pattern below, which demonstrates outward-flowing surface currents. In addition to
the spatial relations between centers of high and wind-stress-generated rotational momentum (the
low pressure, the gyres these systems create, as winds are being deflected clockwise by the Corio-
well as the warm (red) and cool (blue) surface lis force), these currents become deflected them-
currents that result from interactions between selves by Ekman transport (the 45n deflection of
these rotating systems and the larger scale ther- a wind-generated surface current to the right of
mohaline circulation. wind direction in the Northern Hemisphere by the
 OC EA NIC C IR C ULA T IO N '%*.

Figure 1 Major currents that drive oceanic circulation

Source: Author.

Coriolis force). The current shear generated by The eastern boundary current (the Florida cur-
wind stress, frictional forces, and Ekman trans- rent) typically has a velocity of ^2 m/s and is usu-
port enables the system to acquire relative vortic- ally ^100 km (kilometers) wide. This can be
ity, an expression of the tendency of a system to contrasted with the Canary current (the western
rotate. This is different from the absolute vortic- boundary current), which has an average velocity
ity, which takes into account the vorticity relative of .25 m/s and is 1,000-plus km wide. This differ-
to a fixed point and hence includes planetary ence in speed and dimension of the currents
vorticity—vorticity due to the fact that the Earth reflects difference in the relative vorticity with
rotates. In addition, there is potential vorticity, latitude. As the current moves northward on the
which factors in the thickness of the rotating body western boundary, it gains more negative relative
of water and causes the system to shallow (and vorticity. In other words, it gains more tendency
widen) as it approaches the equator and become to rotate clockwise. This is because the Coriolis
narrow and deep as it swings back toward the force increases with latitude, which increases the
pole. This is the main way in which topography deflection to the right for northward-moving
affects large rotating systems such as the oceanic objects. In the eastern boundary current, the
gyres (seafloor depth controls how deep and hence decreasing latitude leads to a loss of negative rela-
narrow the current can become). Like all forms of tive vorticity (or a gain in positive), which acts to
momentum, vorticity is conserved, and its conser- slow down rotation. To have an equal volume of
vation is the mechanism maintaining the gyre. water moving northward and southward, the
faster western boundary current has to narrow,
while the slower eastern boundary current has to
Boundary Currents
widen. Alone, this doesn’t ultimately conserve
The conservation of vorticity is crucial to under- relative vorticity, since wind stress acts through-
standing the superficial asymmetry of the bound- out the system and is constantly supplying nega-
ary currents and how they persist within the gyre. tive relative vorticity. The net result would appear
'%+% O C EA N I C CIRCU L ATION

West winds

Wind drag
p.g.f.
Coriolis
Gyre circulation Elevated sea surface

Trade winds

Continent
Continent Ocean basin (N. Hemisphere)

Elevated “pile-up” Sea surface

HPG-generated undercurrents flowing along depressed thermocline

Figure 2 A Northern Hemisphere high-pressure gyre

Source: Author.

to be a constant speeding up of the gyre’s rota- pressure gradient force, deepening the thermo-
tion. To balance these forces, friction with coastal cline, and creating downwelling (Figure 2). This
boundaries and eddy viscosity (internal friction results in undercurrents underneath the center of
between moving water parcels) in both horizontal the gyre that flow along the thermocline outward.
and vertical directions increase substantially as The forces that maintain the gyre circulation in
the western boundary current speeds up and acts the Atlantic are similar in the Pacific; however,
to slow down rotation. As the western boundary in the tropical Pacific, there is tighter coupling
current deepens while it moves northward and between atmospheric and oceanic circulation
the eastern boundary current shallows while it systems relative to the Atlantic. This coupling is
moves southward, potential and absolute vortic- most evident in the system of equatorial currents
ity are also conserved, and the gyre is maintained (Figure 3). These currents are geostrophic in that
in the form it appears. they represent a balance of horizontal pressure
gradient forces and the Coriolis force. Since the
subtropics have low average wind velocities, there
Pressure Gradients and Geostrophic Currents
is no significant Ekman transport there, and the
The result in the vertical dimension is that water southeast (SE) trade winds actually transport
effectively “piles up” in the center of the gyre water masses across the equator. The eastward
creating a horizontal pressure gradient and a blowing northeast (NE) and SE trade winds also
 OC EA NIC C IR C ULA T IO N '%+&

North equatorial current

NE trade winds

Divergence (slow currents not catching fast currents)

Equatorial countercurrent
South equatorial current Convergence (fast currents hitting slow currents)
Equator

Equatorial divergence

South equatorial current

SE trade winds

Figure 3 Equatorial current system

Source: Author.

set up a horizontal pressure gradient in the west by the Coriolis force (significant at .5n). The
as surface currents are deflected 45n to the right divergence itself is a function of Ekman transport
and left, respectively, of the NE and SE trade (the 90n deflection of net transport in the wind-
winds and pile up water blocked by landmasses. driven layer by wind stress to the right of wind
Below the wind-driven (Ekman) layer, this pres- direction in the Northern Hemisphere, to the left
sure gradient drives a fast moving equatorial of wind direction in the Southern Hemisphere,
undercurrent within the thermocline. In the dol- and in the direction of the wind at the equator).
drums (where the winds slacken), the pressure North of the equator, the faster-moving SE trade-
gradient allows the surface water to flow east- wind-driven water masses are deflected north-
ward as the equatorial countercurrent. Since the ward (right) into the slow-moving mass of water
countercurrent is flowing east, even though it is in the doldrums, creating a convergence.
close to the equator, Coriolis forces are strong Since it is flowing east, the fast-moving equato-
enough to deflect enough flow southward that a rial undercurrent is constrained by the Coriolis
convergence zone forms between the countercur- force. Although it may oscillate about the equator,
rent and the south equatorial current. This gives if it strays northward, it becomes deflected to the
rise to another pileup and a northward downslop- right and returns to the equator. If it strays south-
ing horizontal pressure gradient. This in turn pro- ward, it is deflected left and also returns to the
duces another geostrophic current eastward. equator. The wavelengths of these oscillations may
nonetheless stretch for thousands of kilometers.
These oscillations illustrate other types of cur-
Equatorial Current Systems
rents important for oceanic circulation. Oscilla-
As shown above, equatorial divergence is created tions in response to an imbalance between the
by the SE trade winds crossing the equator. As horizontal pressure gradient force and the Corio-
the wind-stressed currents approach the equator lis force are referred to as Kelvin and Rossby
from the south, they are driven away from it (left) waves. Both are extremely large disturbance
'%+' O C EA N I C CIRCU L ATION

Wind
West

East

Mixed layer (driven by wind/Ekman transport)

undercurrent

thermocline
Normal upwelling

El Niño upwelling
Thermocline profile during EI Niño

Figure 4 El Niño–induced Kelvin wave modification of the thermocline in the equatorial Pacific
Source: Author.

correction waveforms, and both can quickly In the tropical Atlantic, the equatorial current
propagate along the equator (Figure 4). For system is broadly similar to the Pacific except in
example, during an El Niño year, the thermocline the case of responses to changes in the wind field.
in the east Pacific normally made shallower by In this regard, the surface waters of the tropical
steady easterlies is deepened in a pulse or series of Atlantic respond more quickly than can be
pulses as a Kelvin wave propagates eastward explained by the pressure gradient force derived
along the equator through the thermocline. This from water “piling up” in the west. The regions
propagation does not completely suppress upwell- of the ocean in the center and east appear tightly
ing, however; it merely confines the upwelling to coupled to the west by virtue of the existence of a
a shallower, warmer zone in which there are far closer western boundary than in the Pacific. The
less nutrients from the ocean bottom. Upwelling extreme wavelength of these responses means
in the tropical Pacific is mainly a function (both that they are affected by the Coriolis force and
annually and seasonally) of the equatorial under- are hence known as Kelvin waves. Thus, in the
current. In addition, in the eastern basins, mid- tropical Atlantic, a change in the west can be
ocean upwelling occurs as a result of the relative communicated east at ^200 m/s by a Kelvin wave
thinning of the thermocline there as a function of confined within a certain distance of the equator
the deepening in the west. by Coriolis forces. In the tropical Pacific, the
 OC EA NIC C IR C ULA T IO N '%+(

NW monsoon current configuration

North equatorial current

Equatorial countercurrent

South equatorial current

Equator

SE monsoon current configuration

SW monsoon current

Reduce south equatorial current

Equator

Figure 5 Monsoonal circulation of the Indian Ocean

Source: Author.

same process can occur, but the opposite sides of over the subcontinent. During the winter, the NE
the basin are less tightly coupled than they are in monsoon blows across the Indian Ocean in a
the Atlantic. For example, when the Intertropical manner similar to the NE trade winds. By sum-
Convergence Zone moves northward in the west- mer, however, the pattern has reversed, and the
ern Atlantic, the abrupt change in wind stress stronger of the two, the SW monsoon, dominates,
causes a double Kelvin wave in the thermocline, bringing humid air and rain to India. The current
a bulge down in front of a bulge up. This baro- system responds to this shift and is most similar
clinic disturbance is propagated more slowly east to other basins during the NE monsoon. At this
along the equatorial waveguide than a surface time of the year, the typical equatorial current
(barotropic) Kelvin wave. system is present, including the countercurrent.
During the SW monsoon, however, the flow of
the north equatorial current reverses, merges with
The Monsoonal Cycle
a reduced equatorial countercurrent and forms
These equatorial disturbance and adjustment the SW monsoon current.
cycles also occur quickly in the equatorial Indian
Ocean, although circulation there is more domi-
Monsoonal Current Reversals
nated by the monsoonal cycle (Figure 5). The
monsoons are seasonal reversals in the prevailing Most spectacularly, during the intermonsoon
winds as they respond to the weakening from period (moving from NE to SW), the reversal of
winter to summer of the high-pressure system the north equatorial current and formation of the
'%+) O C EA N S

SW monsoon current transforms the East African pinched from Gulf Stream) they can last many
current into a major western boundary current, years. Such eddies illustrate how oceanic circula-
the Somali current. In accordance with the gyre tion, while structured by large-scale, planetary
dynamics described above, this means that the forces, can nonetheless form distinctive water
Somali current must be faster (3.7 m/s) and nar- masses. Oceanic circulation thus reflects the inter-
rower than the eastern boundary current off action of atmospheric turbulence, large-scale
Sumatra. As the Somali current crosses the equa- convection cells, ocean bottom and coastal topog-
tor in its northward travel, upwelling off the raphy, and differential heating of Earth’s surface
Somali and Arabian coast ensues. In addition, and plays the dominant role in redistributing the
the East Arabian Current (EAC) diverges from sun’s energy throughout the Earth system.
the Somali current during this period and through-
Edward Rice
out the SW monsoon to circulate along the coastal
boundary of the Arabian Sea. During the next
See also Atmospheric Circulation; Atmospheric Energy
intermonsoon period (SW-NE), the EAC dissi-
Transfer; Biogeochemical Cycles; Climatology; Coriolis
pates as the East Indian winter jet forms and flows
Force; El Niño; Hadley Cell; Hurricanes, Physical
in the opposite direction along the west coast of
Geography of; La Niña; Monsoons; Oceans; Weather
India.
and Climate Controls
Another important current formed during the
intermonsoon period (NE-SW and SW-NE) is the
eastward-flowing equatorial jet. This jet develops
as a result of westerlies-driven surface currents Further Readings
but is insufficient to generate a significant equato-
rial undercurrent year-round. Unlike the stable Bigg, G. R. (1996). The oceans and climate.
tropical Atlantic, the seasonal shifting winds Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
appear unable to sustain a strong pressure gradi- Broecker, W. S. (1974). Chemical oceanography.
ent force outside the first few months of the year. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
During this period, the westward-flowing north- Colling, A. (2007). Oceanic circulation. Oxford,
ern equatorial current is strongest, producing UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.
brief but strong periods of upwelling. Also, unlike Pernetta, J. (2004). Guide to the oceans. London:
the Atlantic, there is no open ocean divergence in Philips.
response to trade winds blowing over the equa- Pickard, G. L. (1979). Descriptive physical
tor, since these wind conditions do not exist dur- oceanography. Oxford, UK: Pergamon Press.
ing either monsoon or intermonsoon periods. Tolmazin, D. (1985). Elements of dynamical
oceanography. London: Allen & Unwin.

Currents, Eddies, and

Water Mass Formation
Finally, there is one way in which the Indian OCEANS
Ocean is similar to the Atlantic, and this is in the
presence of a nonseasonal, persistent strong west- If geography is the science of space, then few
ern boundary current—the Agulhas. This current spaces are more important to humanity than the
is second only to the Gulf Stream in volume trans- world-ocean. The world-ocean—the term pre-
ported and moves at a top speed of 2.5 m/s. The ferred by geographers for the “seven seas,”
energy transported by the Agulhas is so intense which, in fact, constitute one unified geophysical
that it pinches off eddies (rings of Agulhas water system—covers 71% of Earth’s surface and con-
encircling Indian Ocean water) from the western tains 97% of the planet’s water. More than 20%
part of the loop in a process called Agulhas retro- of the world’s petroleum is derived from off-
flection. These eddies are transported around the shore sources, and 95% of world trade by weight,
southern tip of Africa into the Benguela current or two thirds by value, is carried by ship. Eighty
and up the southern Atlantic, where (like eddies percent of the world’s fish catch comes from the
 OC EA N S '%+*

ocean, supporting the livelihoods of 140 million international relations (relations among state
people. Economists have calculated that the units). As a space that lies primarily external to the
world-ocean provides services to humanity val- territory or sovereign authority of any individual
ued at $21 trillion per year, as opposed to only state, the ocean has, to a large extent, literally
$12 trillion per year provided by land. This entry been beyond the map of most social scientists.
reviews some of the ways in which geographers A second reason why many geographers have
have approached the world-ocean, a space that long ignored the ocean is the tendency, in both
is crucial to humanity but is all too often taken the human and nature-society traditions, to focus
for granted as insulated from the influences on activities that happen in specific places. Geog-
of society. raphers historically have understood key social
activities, such as production, reproduction, and
consumption, as well as the cultural forms that
A Missed Opportunity
support these activities, as occurring at discrete
Notwithstanding the important role of the ocean points on Earth’s surface. As the nature of these
in the world’s geography, the world-ocean his- points is transformed, “places” are constructed,
torically has attracted little attention from human and the territories that encompass these places
geographers. The history of geography is littered develop into societies and, ultimately, states.
with prominent geographers making strident, but Although the ocean consists of specific points
usually unheeded, calls for their colleagues to turn (e.g., fishing grounds, offshore oil platforms),
their attention seaward. Almost 2,000 years ago, when looked at from a land-based perspective,
the Greek geographer Strabo wrote, “We are in a the ocean is generally seen as a surface across
certain sense amphibious, not exclusively con- which people and resources (e.g., fish) move, and
nected with the land, but with the sea as well” thus, it becomes excluded from narratives of
(cited in Semple, 1931, p. 59). Early in the 20th social development.
century, the American geographer Ellen Churchill A third reason why few geographers have stud-
Semple (1911) admonished her terracentric col- ied the world-ocean is because it is often written
leagues when she proclaimed, off as a space of nature. Although human geogra-
phers have a long history of studying nature, this
Our school textbooks in geography present a topic typically has either been in the context of
deplorable hiatus, because they fail to make a understanding how certain natural characteris-
definitive study of the oceans over which man tics shape the people who share the same terri-
explores and colonizes and trades, as well as tory as that nature (i.e., the early-20th-century
the land on which he plants and builds and environmental determinist tradition) or how a
sleeps. (p. 294) specific society transforms its local nature (i.e.,
the mid-20th-century cultural ecology tradition).
Forty years later, the geographer Richard Hart- However, because the ocean was not the space of
shorne (1953) echoed Semple’s criticism when he any one society, it received little attention from
declared that the “fundamental error in popular environmental determinists (except, in some
geographic thought” (p. 386) was the tendency to instances, in the context of interpreting the role
view the ocean as simply a barrier rather than as of coastal waters in the development of littoral
a space of human society. societies). Conversely, because until recently it
Despite these warnings, human geographers was assumed that humans could have little impact
have typically ignored the ocean, probably for on the nature of the ocean, the ocean was simi-
three reasons. First, much of modern geography larly of little interest to cultural ecologists.
has its origins in efforts by individual states to Finally, while physical geographers might have
catalog and manage their resources. Even in social been expected to study the ocean as an integrated
sciences that are less directly tied to the land (e.g., geophysical system, this line of research has typi-
sociology, economics, political science), the state cally been the domain of physical oceanography,
is often taken as the basic unit of society, and leaving little room for physical geographers to
global processes are reduced to the category of conduct ocean research.
'%++ O C EA N S

A diver helps fishermen catch tuna fish at a bluefin tuna farm around the mid-Adriatic Croatian town of Zadar,
February 2007, before transporting them to Japan. The European Union and Japan agreed to slash their tuna
quotas by more than 20% in an effort to prevent the immensely popular fish being hunted to extinction.
Source: STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images.

Contemporary Issues in Ocean Geography was invulnerable to damage from human activi-
ties. By the middle of the 20th century, this per-
In recent decades, the world-ocean has begun to spective on the marine environment was beginning
attract more attention from geographers. In part, to change. Humans had developed an unprece-
this is because human uses of and interactions dented capacity to transform the ocean’s nature,
with the ocean have been changing and intensify- and technologies had advanced to the point that
ing. However, it is also because geographers have humans were more able to recognize the transfor-
been adjusting their own perspectives and, in the mations in which they had long been engaged.
process, opening their eyes to a geography that In recent decades, as economic competition has
has always been there. increased among the world’s states (and as compe-
tition also has increased within states whose econ-
:ck^gdcbZciVaVcY:Xdcdb^X<Zd\gVe]n
omies are being integrated into the world economy
In the 17th century, when Hugo Grotius was through the processes of neoliberalization), users
penning the modern doctrine of freedom of the of the ocean have turned to technological innova-
seas in his book Mare Liberum, he declared that tions that then have further intensified economic
the ocean beyond the coastal zone should be competition. Amid these cycles of economic and
immune to possession by states because the ocean’s technological intensification, the marine environ-
resources were inexhaustible, and its environment ment has increasingly become endangered. For
 OC EA N S '%+,

Oil and gas drilling platform and provider ship in the Pacific Ocean. More than 20% of the world’s petroleum is
derived from offshore sources.
Source: iStockphoto.

instance, competitive pressures have led fishers to rates and hence are extremely vulnerable to popu-
adopt new technologies. These new technologies lation collapse and even extinction.
have not only enabled higher catch rates but also Other ocean-using industries have seen similar
have led to a situation wherein fishers have had to increases in recent decades, with equally danger-
catch more fish in order to pay for their expensive ous environmental consequences. The volume of
equipment. In 2000, the United Nations’ Food and ship-borne trade has increased from 996 million
Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimated that tons in 1959 to 6,760 million tons in 2005, and
approximately 50% of the world’s fish species this can have an impact on the environment, both
were being harvested at their maximum sustain- from wrecks (most notably of oil tankers) and
able yield, 25% were being overfished, and 25% from normal operations (e.g., discharge of bilge
could be fished at higher rates. The FAO also noted water). The National Ocean Industries Associa-
that the percentage of fish species being overfished tion, a U.S. industry group, estimates that 44 mil-
had increased significantly since the early 1970s. lion gallons of petroleum are released into the
Furthermore, declining populations of some spe- ocean annually by tanker ships, and additional
cies have been leading fishers on a race, quite liter- quantities of petroleum and other pollutants are
ally, to the bottom, as they redirect their efforts to released by ships transporting goods other than
the ocean’s depths, where they are harvesting cold- petroleum. Discharged ballast water can endanger
water species that previously had evaded their the marine environment by introducing invasive
attention. These fish, which often are culinary deli- species that have been transported from a distant
cacies, typically grow and reproduce at very slow area of the world-ocean.
'%+- O C EA N S

Additionally, effluents from industrialization, popular awareness of these changes but also due
urbanization, and chemical agriculture on land to changing perspectives within the discipline
increasingly find their way to the sea, joining itself. To some extent, this changing attitude has
waste products that are being dumped there inten- come from political ecologists who are increas-
tionally. Furthermore, as oceanographers have ingly attentive to the ways in which the Western
gained a better understanding of ocean currents model of constructing nature through taming it,
and marine geophysics, they have realized the controlling it, binding it into private property, and
magnitude of the connections among the world’s “improving” it (i.e., the agricultural model) is just
oceans: What seems like a local environmental one way among many in which societies produc-
problem could have global implications. tively interact with nature. It has also emanated
In addition, as climatologists have learned more from increasingly sophisticated theorizing about
about periodic climactic events (e.g., the El Niño nature, wherein nature is seen not as something
Southern Oscillation, the North Atlantic Oscilla- with which societies interact but rather as some-
tion) and global climate change, they have gained thing that societies construct, through combina-
an appreciation of the ocean’s role as both an tions of economic regimes, state strategies, and
indicator and a regulator of trends in the world’s applications of knowledge systems.
climate. An increase in the atmospheric tempera-
ture, for instance, would raise the temperature
Eda^i^XVa<Zd\gVe]n
of the ocean. This, in turn, could lead to disas-
trous impacts for fish stocks, human populations Individuals and institutions attempting to regu-
(because of increased storm activity), and ocean late the ocean as a space of nature and economic
circulation systems. Alterations in the ocean circu- activities have had to weave between two oppos-
lation system, in turn, could further affect local ing imperatives in ocean governance. On the one
climates, creating a vicious cycle of climate change hand, some areas of the ocean, particularly near
in which the ocean would play a leading role. the coasts, are much like land. Fishing grounds
Increased scientific understanding of (and and offshore oil fields are designated as places to
concern for) the marine environment has been be controlled and developed so that their resources
supplemented by a growth in public awareness. can be mobilized for the benefit of states and
The adventures of celebrity explorers like Jacques societies. Presumably, the best way to foster the
Cousteau, the writings of environmental travel development of these ocean territories would be
writers like Carl Safina, the interventions of pol- to expand the boundaries of the territorial state
icy advocates like Sylvia Earle, and the warnings out into the adjacent sea.
of environmental muckrakers like Rachel Carson On the other hand, the bulk of the ocean’s
have all alerted the public to the world’s endan- value is derived from it being a space of mobility.
gered marine environment. These authors have Economically, more value is derived from trans-
been assisted by images of the globe from outer port across the ocean’s surface than from fishing
space, which illustrate the significance of water and mining activities combined, and if state terri-
on the “blue planet.” They have also been assisted tory were extended into the sea, it would interfere
by the ocean’s image as a pristine space of nature, with the interests of shipping and navies, which
a mysterious space of wonder into which one depend on the sea being a relatively open space,
should be able to escape from the institutions and with few boundaries, rules, or policing authori-
influences of human society. Environmentalists, ties. Indeed, shippers and navies have long been
in turn, have reproduced these ideals of a pristine, wary of efforts to govern and patrol the ocean,
exotic ocean by focusing on iconic marine fauna for fear that these efforts might encroach on the
and flora, such as whales, manatees, and coral “freedom of the seas” that they enjoy. Further-
reefs, in their efforts to raise global environmen- more, fish and pollutants are mobile as well. If
tal consciousness. one country chose not to fish a certain species in
Increased awareness of the ocean by envi- order to conserve it, that fish would likely move
ronmental geographers is not only due to into another country’s territory. Likewise, a coun-
our increased ability to transform the ocean and try has little incentive to curb a pollution release
 OC EA N S '%+.

if it knows that the pollutant will likely float into In recent decades, however, two perspectives—
another country’s space. world-systems theory and poststructuralist
In short, although enclosure of the ocean may thought—have become increasingly popular in
be a good strategy for fostering coastal develop- political geographic studies, and these have led to
ment, the ocean’s physical properties and its dom- a reevaluation of the ocean as an integral space of
inant economic uses make it an unsuitable policy society. For world-systems theorists, the world,
for extension across the world-ocean. Instead, rather than consisting of 190-odd state-society
international policymakers, over time, have agreed units, consists of one integrated (albeit spatially
on a compromise, codified in the United Nations differentiated) social system. This is significant
Convention on the Law of the Sea. Under the because if one thinks of the world as consisting of
1982 convention (which went into effect in 1994), one society, with many constituent varieties of
coastal waters out to 12 nm (nautical miles) are spaces, then the ocean shifts from being conceived
considered territorial waters. Coastal states have of as an external space between the world’s soci-
most of the same rights there that they have in eties to being conceived of as one of the many
their land space, except that they must allow pas- spaces of society.
sage by ships of other states that are deemed A second theoretical movement that has
“innocent.” The rest of the ocean is the high seas, spurred a growing interest in the political geogra-
where no country controls the water but where phy of the ocean has been poststructuralist inter-
the ship is considered an extension of the country national relations theory and the aligned school
under whose flag it flies. There are, however, two of critical geopolitics. These scholars criticize the
key exceptions to this delineation of ocean space. model of the world as one in which states with
The portion of the high seas between the 12-nm unambiguously bounded insides interact with
limit of territorial waters out to 200 nm is the each other on a preexisting (and presocial) spatial
coastal state’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). platform. Instead, for these scholars, the discur-
Although high seas’ navigational freedoms prevail sive bounding of states and the construction of
in an EEZ, the coastal state retains exclusive rights the world as a universe of mutually exclusive ter-
to the living and nonliving resources that are ritorial states is itself seen as an act of politics—
found there or on the underlying seabed. Con- one that is continually being performed. Since the
versely, international straits that are fewer than ocean is a key borderland wherein states define
24 nm in width (and that thus lie entirely within their extent (and hence themselves), the ocean
territorial waters) are governed by a right to free emerges as an important arena for state reterrito-
transit that is stronger than the right to innocent rialization and not merely a surface on which
passage that applies in other territorial waters. ontologically preexisting states compete.
As is the case with environmental and eco-
nomic geographies of the ocean, the interest of
8jaijgVa<Zd\gVe]n
political geographers in the ocean has been aided
not only by the increased intensity of ocean gov- While the increased attention to the ocean in
ernance and conflict but also by changing per- environmental, economic, and political geography
spectives within the subdiscipline of political is due to a combination of increased uses of the
geography. Political geographers and political sci- ocean and changed perspectives within the disci-
entists have traditionally begun their analysis by pline of geography, the increased attention in cul-
studying individual states and the relations tural geography is almost entirely due to changes
between them. From this perspective, the ocean, in the discipline. Although the ocean has long been
as a space outside the territory of any state, a site of interaction between cultural groups and a
emerges at best as a space used by society: an realm within which coastal dwellers have subsisted
arena in which the forces of land-based states on local natural resources, historically few geogra-
meet as each attempts to control crucial areas of phers have devoted their attention to the cultures
the sea (e.g., a choke point on a shipping lane) or of fishing communities and even fewer have stud-
to use the ocean as a platform from which power ied the cultures of societies engaged in uses of the
can be projected onto land. deep sea (e.g., whalers, naval personnel, merchant
'%,% O C EA N S

mariners, oceanographic and fisheries researchers, Colonialism; Critical Geopolitics; Cultural Ecology; El
or long-distance fishers). Niño; Environmental Determinism; Exploration; Fish
In recent decades, however, much of cultural Farming; Geopolitics; Land-Water Breeze; La Niña;
studies—including cultural geography—has aban- Magellan, Ferdinand; Marine Aquaculture; Oceanic
doned attempts at understanding distinct and Circulation; Oil Spills; Physical Geography, History of;
bounded societies (which typically occur in place Political Geography; Sustainable Fisheries; Trade
and, not incidentally, on land). Instead, students
of culture from a range of disciplines, including
anthropology, literary studies, and history, as Further Readings
well as geography, are increasingly turning their
attentions toward the interactions that occur and Braudel, F. (1972). The Mediterranean and the
the hybrid cultures that are formed in the spaces Mediterranean world in the age of Philip II.
where cultures meet. As part of this trend, a range New York: Harper & Row.
of classic works from outside the discipline have Clover, C. (2008). The end of the line: How
focused on the sea (or the ship) as a point of inter- overfishing is changing the world and what we
action and hence culture formation. Among these eat. Berkeley: University of California Press.
works are the social historian Fernand Braudel’s Ellis, R. (2004). The empty ocean. New York: Island
The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World Press.
in the Age of Philip II, wherein the sea is identi- Hartshorne, R. (1953). Where in the world are we?
fied as a fundamental space in a Mediterranean Geographic understanding for political survival
civilization defined by commercial interaction; and progress. Journal of Geography, 52, 382–393.
the sociologist Paul Gilroy’s The Black Atlantic, Lambert, D., Martins, L., & Ogborn, M. (Eds.).
wherein the African diaspora is identified as hav- (2006). Currents, visions and voyages: Historical
ing distinct qualities because it is associated with geographies of the sea [Special issue]. Journal of
an integrative ocean rather than a stabilizing land; Historical Geography, 32, 479–647.
and the labor historian Marcus Rediker’s The Psuty, N., Steinberg, P., & Wright, D. (2004).
Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, wherein the seafar- Coastal and marine geography. In G. Gaile & C.
ing ship is seen as a crucible for the emergent Willmott (Eds.), Geography in America at the
labor regimes and solidarities of industrial capi- dawn of the 21st century (pp. 314–325). New
talism. This focus on the sea as an arena for cul- York: Oxford University Press.
ture formation, in turn, has been given further Rediker, M. (1987). Between the devil and the deep
weight by theorists, including Michel Foucault, blue sea: Merchant seamen, pirates and the Anglo-
Gilles Deleuze, and Felix Guattari, who stress the American maritime world. Cambridge, UK:
metaphorical significance of the ship or the ocean Cambridge University Press.
for understanding spaces of alterity (“heteroto- Semple, E. C. (1911). Influences of geographic
pia” in the case of Foucault and “smooth space” environment. New York: Henry Holt.
in the case of Deleuze and Guattari). Semple, E. C. (1931). The geography of the
Thus, the inattention to the ocean that charac- Mediterranean region: Its relation to ancient
terized so much of the history of geography has history. New York: Henry Holt.
been turned on its head. The world-ocean was Steinberg, P. (Ed.). (1999). Geography of ocean-
long ignored by geographers as a zone of resources space. The Professional Geographer, 51, 366–450.
or a surface for movement that was fundamen- Steinberg, P. (2001). The social construction of the
tally external to society. Now, however, in a dra- ocean. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
matic shift, the world-ocean is emerging as a Press.
space through which geographers make sense of United Nations. (1983). The Law of the Sea: United
the land spaces in which they dwell. Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea with
Philip E. Steinberg index and Final Act of the Third United Nations
Conference on the Law of the Sea. New York:
See also Aquaculture; Coastal Dead Zones; Coastal Author.
Hazards; Coastal Zone and Marine Pollution;
 OF F SHOR E F INA NCE '%,&

creation of the Eurodollar market (“Eurodollars”

Van Dyke, J., Zaelke, D., & Hewison, G. (Eds.). are U.S. currency held in banks located outside
(1993). Freedom for the seas in the 21st century: the United States, and “Eurocurrency” is any
Ocean governance and environmental harmony. major currency held in banks outside the country
Washington, DC: Island Press. of issuance); the growth in Middle East petrodol-
Wigen, K., & Harland-Jacobs, J. (Eds.). (1999). lar recycling in the 1970s; and technological
Oceans connect [Special issue]. Geographical improvements in the latter part of the 20th cen-
Review, 89, 161–313. tury in electronic telecommunications and data
exchange. Current estimates show that as much
as half of the world’s stock of money either resides
in or flows through these places.

OFFSHORE FINANCE Spatial Distribution of OFCs

Offshore finance refers to financial transactions No consensus exists as to the number of OFCs
that take place in jurisdictions that are either lit- transacting financial services in the global econ-
erally or jurisdictionally separated from the major omy. Supranational regulatory and supervisory
economies of the onshore world, such as the bodies such as the Organisation for Economic
United States, Britain, Japan, or Germany. Off- Co-operation and Development (OECD), the
shore financial services are transacted from off- European Union (EU), the Financial Action Task
shore financial centers (OFCs) found in dispersed Force (FATF), or the Basel Committee Offshore
locations throughout the planet. Although no Group of Banking Supervisor (OGBS) vary in the
firm consensus exists in the academic or business number of OFCs defined and listed. In addition,
worlds as to the number of OFCs, most offshore trade bodies such as the Lowtax Network iden-
jurisdictions are small independent or semi- tify more. Table 1 shows a current list of low-tax
independent island nations with spatial clusters jurisdictions as defined by Lowtax.net, with
found in the Caribbean basin and in Western those members of the OGBS so identified. These
Europe and in isolated locations in Asia and the places—many of which are small island econo-
Pacific region. This topic is of importance to mies—number at least 40 and are scattered
geographers because the offshore world is often throughout the planet. The factor they have in
at the spatial margins of economic activity where common is the use of accommodating (often
many of the problems of the modern global econ- described by critics as minimal) legislative, regu-
omy are found: extremely unequal tax practices, latory, and supervisory infrastructures to attract
money laundering, and terrorist financing. This capital by marketing tax minimization, secrecy,
entry addresses reasons for the creation of an off- and confidentiality of service and product.
shore financial sector, the current distribution of
D[[h]dgZ"Dch]dgZIZch^dch
OFCs, and reaction to the growth in offshore
finance by the onshore world. The first serious reaction from the onshore
world toward regulating the financial activities of
the offshore world came with the 1998 initiative
Development of Offshore Finance
by the OECD addressing harmful tax competi-
Offshore financial transactions and OFCs became tion as an emerging global issue. The OECD’s
more relevant and visible as the global circuity of concern over existing inequities led to specific
capital grew in size and intensity in the second guidelines published in the form of a so-called
half of the 20th century. The global financial sys- blacklist of most jurisdictions labeled as tax
tem evolved and grew in sophistication and com- havens, and OFCs were then charged with estab-
plexity because of several developments, including lishing guidelines for increased transparency when
the dissolution in the 1960s of the post–World reporting financial transactions.
War II Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange The EU followed the lead of the OECD by
rates pegged to the U.S. dollar; the subsequent establishing initial tax-harmonization policies
'%,' O F F S H O RE FINANCE

Andorra Anguilla Aruba*

Bahamas* Barbados* Belize
Bermuda* Botswana British Virgin Islands*
Brunei Cayman Islands* Cook Islands
Costa Rica Cyprus Dubai
Gibraltar Grenada Guernsey*
Hong Kong Ireland Isle of Man*
Jersey* Labuana Liberia
Liechtenstein Luxembourg Madeira
Malta Marshall Islands Mauritius*
Monaco Netherlands Antilles* Nevis
Panama* Seychelles Singapore
St. Kitts St. Vincent & the Grenadines Switzerland
Vanuatu* Turks and Caicos Islands

Table 1 Low-tax jurisdictions

Sources: Tax details of asterisked countries were compiled from www.lowtax.net; the rest were compiled from www.ogbs.net.

for its member states in 2000, but progress was the funds to a place where they are less likely to
slow as the ever-expanding EU had other press- attract attention. As confidentiality is one of the
ing issues to address. A savings tax agreement major selling points of OFCs, FATF and the other
was reached by 12 member states of the EU onshore regulatory and supervisory bodies have
in 2003, and this directive involved the com- tried to establish policy initiatives to promote
mitment by states to introduce an automatic transparency in financial transactions and to
exchange of information concerning interest establish anti-money-laundering systems for
income from the savings of residents of other OFCs in compliance with the FATF guidelines.
member states. The goal of creating a level play- The most fundamental element for offshore
ing field for taxation has been furthered by this anti-money-laundering policies is the “know-
agreement, and even though the policy is directed your-customer” requirement that many offshore
initially toward the internal market, the EU also financial institutions and centers currently use.
has tax policy issues directed externally. In an Know-your-customer policies require official
external savings directive, the EU specifically tar- proof of identification using passport and other
geted the nonmember jurisdictions of Switzer- official documents and include monitoring and
land, the United States, and other important reporting of any suspicious transactional activity.
financial centers, including all relevant depen- For OFCs, the establishment and preservation
dent or associated territories. of a superior reputation as a well-regulated and
In 1989, in response to concern over money supervised jurisdiction is considered to be one
laundering, the FATF was created by the G-7 of the most important marketing strategies for
economies. Money laundering was defined as the competitive advantage, and most OFCs work
processing of illegal profits from a variety of with FATF and other onshore organizations to
activities, including illegal arms sales, smuggling, remain in good standing and protect the reputa-
drug trafficking, prostitution, and other activities tion of the center.
of organized crime, as well as white-collar crimes
such as embezzlement, insider trading, bribery, Sharon C. Cobb
and computer fraud schemes.
According to FATF, criminals seek to launder See also Euromarket; Finance, Geography of; Money,
illegal profits by disguising the sources or moving Geographies of; Telecommunications and Geography
 OIL SP ILL S '%,(

Further Readings
and environmental assets to be affected, such as
beaches, ports, nature reserves, and so on; and
Hampton, M. (1996). The offshore interface: Tax the vulnerability of the affected area.
havens in the global economy. New York: St.
Martin’s Press.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Oil Characteristics
Development. (1998). Harmful tax competition: Crude oil is a naturally occurring complex of liq-
An emerging global issue. Retrieved December 12, uid hydrocarbon, which after distillation yields a
2009, from www.oecd.org/dataoecd/33/0/ range of combustible fuels. Four different types
1904176.pdf can be distinguished from the viewpoint of oil
Roberts, S. (1994). Fictitious capital, fictitious places: spill threat to the environment:
The geography of offshore financial flows. In S.
Corbridge, R. Martin, & N. Thrift (Eds.), Money, 1. Light fuels, such as gasoline, kerosene, or
power and space (pp. 91–115). Oxford, UK: fuel oil
Blackwell.
Warf, B. (2002). Tailored for Panama: Offshore 2. Medium to heavy oil, such as ship fuels and
banking at the crossroads of the Americas. light lubricants
Geografiska Annaler, 84, 47–61. 3. Oil rich in paraffin, such as water-oil emulsion
and heavy-oil lubricants
4. Residual oil, such as asphalt and heavy-oil
residuals
OIL SPILLS
The following are the oil characteristics that
Oil spills are the release of petroleum into the sea need to be taken into account in an oil spill:
or inland areas and are a major threat mainly to (a) density, which determines the dispersion and
coastal environments. In the past century, there floating of the oil (heavy-oil density is above 0.9,
was a notable increase in world population, in light-oil density is below 0.865, and fuel-oil den-
general, and in the coastal population in particu- sity is 0.84); (b) viscosity, or resistance to flow;
lar. Hence, coastal areas’ vulnerability to oil spills (c) boiling point, which determines the rate of
has increased, often to the level of potential natu- evaporation; (d) pour point, namely, the tempera-
ral and human catastrophes. ture at which oil is transformed into a gel, depend-
Oil is mainly exported by maritime traffic ing on the oil composition; (e) flash point, or the
from oil-exporting areas, such as the Persian lowest oil temperature to maintain a layer of
Gulf, Libya and Algeria, Nigeria, and Sudan in vapor, an important factor to reduce fire risk; and
Africa to the major oil-importing countries, (f) dilution—light fuels are easier to dilute in sea-
namely, the United States, Western Europe, water but are poisonous to the living environment.
Japan, India, and China. In the 1990s, some 3.4 Oil is an organic compound and is transformed in
million tons of oil, or 0.01% of the world’s total seawater by complex physical and chemical pro-
annual oil production—about 3.6 billion tons/ cesses until it “disappears” completely. Light and
year, went into the sea. Approximately, 47% of medium oils dilute and evaporate in seawater after
this volume was from oil spills from ships, the one day, but the heavy fractions with high viscos-
rest from industrial plants, sea oil drillings, and ity may remain and are hard to dilute with disper-
natural sources. Generally, major oil spills are sants. In such cases, removal of oil by mechanical
caused by shipping accidents at sea, fires on tank- means is best advised.
ers, or ship accidents on coastal barriers. The In a tropical climate, about 80% of the oil
total risk, or the expected number of injuries and evaporates on the first day of the spill. Light fuels
lives lost and amount of property damaged, is a become diluted in seawater but are dangerous to
function of the magnitude of the hazard—oil spill the biota, and on reaching the shore, they are
in this case; the number of potential economic absorbed by coastal sand.
'%,) OIL SPILLS

Aerial view of the Deepwater Horizon oil slick off of the Mississippi Delta on May 24, 2010. Not technically an oil
spill but a pipeline gushing oil from a mile below the surface, it created the largest oil disaster in U.S. history,
with devastating consequences for the local ecologies and economies of the Gulf Coast.
Source: Michon Scott, NASA’s Earth Observatory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Oil Spills in the Ocean After the spill, oil not only undergoes a series
of physical and chemical processes but is also car-
What happens when there is an oil spill in the ried by the product of two vectors: the waves and
ocean? Despite the spillage of tens of millions of surface sea currents (Figure 1).
tons of oil into the oceans over many years, evi- The “weathering” of the oil, or its dilution in
dence does not exist of irreversible damage to seawater, is a function of several factors: the
seawater or even to the coastal environment, magnitude of oil spill, oil composition, oil dis-
according to a report by the International Tanker persion as one body or several small patches, oil
Owners Pollution Federation. However, fragile viscosity and density, air and water temperature,
coastal environments that become heavily pol- wind and wave velocity, and more. The oil may
luted may suffer for many years until recovery is lie several tens of centimeters thick near the
complete. In the initial period, the damage to source, but after dispersion, its thickness is only
densely populated coastal areas or seaside resorts a fraction of millimeter; eventually, it turns into
may amount to great economic cost. a sheen blanket only a few micrometers in depth.
 OIL SP ILL S '%,*

and floating obstruction

WIND (20 Knots) devices to prevent oil flow-
ing to the coastal area.
Pumping is also used to
recover part of the oil.
Chemical techniques, such
as dispersants or chemical
devices, cause the oil to
sink. Biological techniques,
by means of microorgan-
6 isms and chemical fertiliz-
ers, increase the bacterial
activity of oil disintegra-
tion. Burning the oil is not
recommended in many
countries because of the
atmospheric pollution, but
7
it may be applied in critical
situations. In some cases,
the “don’t interfere”
method may be adopted;
only monitoring of the flow
Figure 1 Oil spill carried in seawater by a vectorial result of wind and sea and direction of the oil
current forces patches is carried out.
Source: From Aerial Observation of Oil (Technical Information Paper No. 1, 2009).
Reprinted with permission from The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd.

One ton of oil may cover 1 km2 (square kilome-

Environmental Sensitivity
ter) of seawater after just a few hours, and then
to Oil Spills
it divides into long strips.
In spring 2010, the largest marine oil disas- The overall sensitivity of an environmental system
ter occurred in U.S. history. The Deepwater to oil spills has three major aspects:
Horizon oil rig, under contract for British
Petroleum, exploded, killing 11 workers. A 1. Vulnerability is the ease with which oil
mile beneath the surface, a pipeline gushed may reach and persist in a certain
crude petroleum, which rose to the surface to ecosystem. Vulnerable ecosystems are
form an enormous oil slick. (Thus, techni- those where oil may penetrate easily
cally, this was not an oil spill, such as hap- and remain for lengthy periods, where
pens when oil tankers leak petroleum.) The wave energy and currents that could
source of the oil proved to be very difficult to disintegrate the oil are low, and where
control. The resulting pool of petroleum mechanical or manual cleaning may be
gradually moved toward the coastline of Lou- difficult owing to low accessibility. In
isiana and neighboring states, threatening general, vulnerability may be defined as the
coastal ecosystems and local fishing and exposure of economic and environmental
shrimping industries. assets to the oil spill.
2. Sensitivity refers to the particular components
of the biota. Sensitive species are those that
Cleaning Oil Spills
may be affected directly immediately after the
Several methods are used to clean oil spills. spill, as biological systems become clogged with
Mechanical techniques include containment oil; species whose way of life will bring them
'%,+ O K A B E, ATSU YU KI

into close contact with the oil spill; and species

with a low reproduction rate. Gundlach, E., & Hayes, M. (1978). Classification of
coastal environments in terms of potential
3. Resilience is the way biological populations can
vulnerability to oil spill impact. Marine
resume their natural behavior. Highly resilient
Technology Society Journal, 12, 18–27.
species are those with a high reproduction rate,
The International Tanker Owners Pollution
short life expectancy, high physiological
Federation Ltd. (1987). Response to marine oil
resilience, and wide geographic dispersion.
spills. London: Witherby.

Socioeconomic and Political Aspects

OKABE, ATSUYUKI (1945– )
Major oil spills, such as the Prestige tanker spill in
November 2002 off the Atlantic coast of France
and Spain, generally involve a high economic cost— Atsuyuki Okabe received his PhD from the Uni-
around US$1 billion. In 2009, the European Parlia- versity of Pennsylvania in 1975 and a doctor of
ment approved a directive to all members to impose engineering degree from the University of Tokyo
penal sanctions against heavy and continuous pollu- in 1977. He was the director of the university’s
tion. Some polluters are not deterred by fines, and Center for Spatial Information Science (CSIS)
to save money, they continue polluting. from 1998 to 2005. He is currently a professor at
Here are some examples of political and eco- the University of Tokyo and a member of the Sci-
nomic conflicts. Between 1964 and 1990, oil ence Council of Japan.
exploration and drillings in the Ecuadorian Ama- Okabe was one of the first to apply Voronoi dia-
zon region polluted an area of 4,000 km2. The grams to the spatial competition problem (Hotelling
U.S. companies involved denied responsibility problem) and showed that the equilibrium states in
and blamed the national Petroecuador Company. a two-dimensional (2D) space were drastically dif-
Local ethnic peoples and much of the environ- ferent from those in a 1D space. Since then, he has
ment were affected. In 1999, a Dutch oil ship extensively studied Voronoi diagrams, and his out-
spilled about 5,300 tons of oil into the Rio de la comes were developed into a book, Encyclopedia of
Plata, about 100 km south of Buenos Aires. The Voronoi Diagrams, which provides a general frame-
spill was 30 km offshore and affected the beaches. work for studying Voronoi diagrams and illustrates
The local council of Magdalena was given US$9.5 hundreds of applications in various fields. It has
million to develop tourist facilities. The Sea Divi- been cited in more than 1,700 articles.
sion of the United Nations Environment Pro- He also broadened the applications of geographic
gramme is responsible for international agreements information systems (GIS) to the humanities and
between coastal nations to prevent oil spills and social sciences. One book pioneered the systematic
to coordinate management in case of a spill. applications of GIS to Islamic studies, which was well
received and earned him the World Prize of the Book
Moshe Inbar of the Year of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Another
See also Coastal Hazards; Coastal Zone and Marine
book developed the frontiers of the applications of
Pollution; Oceans; Petroleum; Point Sources of Pollution;
GIS to the humanities and social sciences.
Water Pollution
He developed new spatial analysis, namely,
spatial analysis on networks. Traditional spatial
analysis assumes that space is given by a plane
with Euclidean distance. Okabe proposed a new
Further Readings
paradigm, where space is represented by networks
Adler, E., & Inbar, M. (2007). Shoreline sensitivity to
embedded in the 2D or 3D space with the short-
oil spills, the Mediterranean coast of Israel:
est-path distance. In addition, he and his col-
Assessment and analysis. Ocean and Coastal
leagues developed a toolbox for spatial analysis
Management, 50, 24–34.
on networks called SANET. SANET is now used
by researchers in more than 40 countries.
 OLSSON, GUNN AR '%,,

Furthermore, he published a series of articles

on city systems. Okabe theoretically analyzed Okabe, A., & Suzuki, A. (1987). Stability of spatial
the relationship between the optimal city-size competition of many firms in a bounded two-
distribution and Zipf’s rank-size rule. He devel- dimensional space. Environment and Planning A,
oped an integrated theory that combines a mac- 19, 1067–1082.
ro-empirical law, the rank-size rule, and a Okabe, A., & Yamada, I. (2001). The K-function
micro-empirical law, the Clark’s law of urban method on a network and its computational
population distribution. Okabe and colleague implementation. Geographical Analysis, 33(3),
Sadahiro demonstrated why Christaller’s city 271–290.
system could be observed in the real world
using spatial random point processes.
He has contributed tremendously to the develop-
ment of research in spatial analysis and geographic
information science. In short, he is the founder of
OLSSON, GUNNAR (1935– )
these fields in Japan, both in research activity and in
terms of organizing a research organization, namely, Gunnar Olsson served for a decade as professor of
CSIS in the University of Tokyo. geography at the University of Michigan and for 20
years as director of the doctoral program at the
Yasushi Asami Nordic School of Planning (Nordplan) in Stock-
holm, before returning to Uppsala University in the
See also Central Place Theory; Geographic Information late 1990s. He has become one of the more influen-
Systems; GIScience; Rank-Size Rule; Regional Science; tial deconstructive voices within poststructuralist
Urban Hierarchy; Voronoi Diagrams geography. Idiosyncratically drawing on reaction-
ary and rebellious ideas from geometry, philosophy,
theology, cartography, semiotics, and aesthetics, the
Further Readings political implications of Olsson’s work have been a
constant source of academic controversy.
Okabe, A. (1979). An expected rank-size rule: Olsson completed his doctoral studies at Upp-
A theoretical relationship between the rank-size sala University in 1968. His early work dealt with
rule and city size distributions. Regional Science distance and human interaction and was based on
and Urban Economics, 9, 21–40. methods emanating from the quantitative tradi-
Okabe, A. (1987). A theoretical relationship between tion in geography. From the 1970s onward, Ols-
the rank-size rule and Clark’s law of urban son has been a key figure in the development of
population distribution: Duality in the rank-size post-positivist geography. He soon acquired a
rule. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 17, reputation as a radical avant-garde writer, laying
307–319. out his critique of power and modern reason in
Okabe, A. (Ed.). (2004). Islamic area studies with texts of intimidating difficulty. Notwithstanding
GIS. London: Routledge. this, a considerable share of this work can be said
Okabe, A. (Ed.). (2006). GIS-based studies on the to have emanated from practical experience and
humanities and social sciences. New York: Taylor an early dissatisfaction with the tight collabora-
& Francis. tion between (applied) geography and modern
Okabe, A., Boots, B., Sugihara, K., & Chiu, S. planning practices. In Olsson’s native Sweden and
(2000). Spatial tessellations: Concepts and elsewhere, geography played a vital role by sup-
applications of Voronoi diagrams (2nd ed.). New plying planners with what was conceived as use-
York: Wiley. ful scientific knowledge, maps and models.
Okabe, A., & Sadahiro, Y. (1996). An illusion of Olsson’s interrogation sought to dissect the tak-
spatial hierarchy: Spatial hierarchy in a random en-for-granted ideas keeping the two together. In
configuration. Environment and Planning A, 28, particular, he targeted the widespread postwar
1533–1552. planning principle that specific modes of living
and behaving would result from deliberately
'%,- O N T O LOG ICAL FOU ND ATIONS OF GEOGR A P HIC A L DA T A

designed changes in institutional and spatial currently ruling mode of thought and action. It is
structures. concerned with the broader study of people as
Olsson argued that this whole enterprise was semiotic animals—a species whose individuals are
based on false premises. Processes and forms did joined and separated by the use of their signs,
not necessarily correspond, and it remained impos- including maps—with the inner world of that
sible to predict the consequences of general schemes which structures, authors, and controls, for
and actions. Instead of further advancing the mod- instance, mapmaking and geography. The self-
eling and mapping impulses of geography, Olsson imposed task of Olsson’s “heretic cartography” is
identified an insurmountable gap between aca- to question the authority and power implied in
demic reflection and the pragmatic implementa- such ostensibly prearranged givens and truths.
tion of knowledge. Geography’s peaceful
Tom Mels
association with planning and welfare capitalism
had to be replaced by a self-reflexive, more radi-
See also Critical Human Geography; Humanistic
cally humanistic geography, shifting its focus to
Geography; Phenomenology; Poststructuralism;
living individuals and a trenchant scrutiny of
Representations of Space
power. Power could be seen as a game of onto-
logical transformations, turning invisible relations
into visible things, mindscapes into stonescapes,
and vice versa. This theme led Olsson to the Further Readings
deconstruction of a whole series of frequently
taken-for-granted practices and relationships, Olsson, G. (1980). Birds in egg/eggs in bird. London:
such as those between thought and action, indi- Pion.
vidual and collective, certainty and ambiguity, Olsson, G. (1990). Antipasti. Gothenburg, Sweden:
language and phenomenon, expression and Korpen.
impression, stability and change, mind and body, Olsson, G. (1991). Lines of power/limits of
and creativity and socialization. language. Minneapolis: University of
Olsson’s radical cartography of power earned Minnesota Press.
considerable resonance internationally and was Olsson, G. (2007). Abysmal: A critique of
popularized for a Swedish audience in a collec- cartographical reason. Chicago: University of
tions of essays, Antipasti (1990). In the early 21st Chicago Press.
century, many of his earlier ideas were drawn
together as a wholesale critique of cartographical
reason in Western society—Abysmal (2007). For
Olsson, a critique of cartographical reason con-
cerns not simply the way in which mapping is
socially employed as a material instrument of
ONTOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS
power and knowledge. A map is also a document OF GEOGRAPHICAL DATA
of mistranslation, a story confronting us with
absences and silences and hence with the limits of How can data users obtain geographical data that
language and representation. Maps can be under- is relevant or at least closely related to their inter-
stood as signs closing the abysses between the five ests? One solution is to understand what geo-
senses of the body and the sixth sense of the cul- graphical data really mean. How to describe the
tural taken-for-granted. More important than meaning of data? Metadata, which consist of
their ability to reflect reality, maps have an information such as keywords and positional
authoritative power to convince: They are exem- accuracy about the data, seem to solve half the
plars of given- and taken-for-granted modes of problem. Metadata include geographical terms
thought and action. In this expansive sense, Ols- such as river and mountain, which are used to
son’s critique of cartographical reason gestures describe the content of a given geographical data
beyond mapping and geography and involves no set. These terms, however, are often ambiguous:
less than an assessment of what he sees as the Two different terms can refer to the same thing
 ONTOL O GIC A L F OUNDA T IONS OF GEOGR A P HIC A L DA TA '%,.

for different people. For instance, river and stream (human-made and natural), categories, relations,
or hill and mountain are different terms that can and processes at different scales or spatial gran-
refer to the same feature. How can one resolve ularities (different levels of detail in representing
such issues, or at least mitigate the conceptual and spatial entities). The term has also been used in
terminological differences between the terms, so the information sciences community. Slightly
that when one looks for geographical data about diverging from its meaning in philosophy,
rivers, the data on streams could also be consid- ontology in the information sciences is a logical
ered? Current approaches, which apply exact theory about how information systems operate.
string matching, generate only geographical data This type of ontology is defined as an explicit
that are described with the same string. To sup- specification of a conceptualization (with con-
port information retrieval, the meanings of geo- ceptualization often referring to the perspective
graphical terms associated with given data should of the software developers who build the sys-
be made explicit. Making the meanings of geo- tems). In other words, from the information
graphic terms explicit makes it possible to carry sciences perspective, ontology is a description
out matching to see whether the data involved of the viewpoints of developers, which humans
describe the same thing. This entry discusses the can read and that machines can process. Differ-
ontological foundations for geographical data. By ent ontologies can exist for different informa-
comprehending its ontological foundations, one is tion systems. To differentiate the conceptions
able to describe a geographical term more pre- being used in the two domains, the term ontol-
cisely, which assists in retrieving closely related ogy in philosophy is used in the singular,
geographical data. whereas in information sciences, the term is
In what follows, some terms are defined to serve plural—ontologies.
as the background context for the readers, includ- According to philosopher Willard Quine,
ing ontology, ontological commitments, semantic ontology involves ontological commitments,
heterogeneity and interoperability, and semantic that is, the ontological presuppositions embod-
similarity. Next, the ontological foundations are ied in different scientific theories. For example,
explored based on the semantic, pragmatic, and the statement that A is a body of water entails
spatial aspects of geographic data. On the seman- that A exists in the real world (not simply as an
tic aspect, the notion of ethnophysiography, which idea) and contains water. Therefore, given that
aims to study the semantic meanings of geograph- different groups of people (e.g., scientists, soft-
ical terms in different languages and cultures, is ware developers, teachers) have different onto-
discussed. The study of geopragmatics, which logical commitments (they study different things
focuses on representing the application contexts and may give different meanings to the same
of geographical data, is outlined. Last, the notions group of real world observations), incompatibili-
of bona fide and fiat boundaries of geographic ties in terminology inevitably arise.
features, and the granularity of geographic space, In geographic information systems, each entity
will be described. (represented either by points, lines, polygons, or
pixels) can be associated with attribute informa-
tion of objects, such as the location, height, and
colors of rivers and mountains. This attribute
Background Context
information indicates what feature the entity actu-
The term ontology originated in philosophy to ally demonstrates in the real world. A question
refer to the science of what is, that is, the kinds arises when the same dataset is described by differ-
and structures of objects, properties, events, pro- ent attributes. This issue becomes critical in shar-
cesses, and relations in every area of reality. ing geographic information across different
From a philosophical perspective, ontology organizations and people with different world-
describes the constituents of reality, and the rela- views. The issues resulting from semantic differ-
tionships among these constituents. Referring to ences are called semantic heterogeneities. One way
the geographic domain in particular, geographi- to mitigate these issues is to use ontologies, which
cal ontology describes geographic features are designed to explicitly describe information
'%-% O N T O LOG ICAL FOU ND ATIONS OF GEOGR A P HIC A L DA T A

contents and to allow one to see if the information Ontological Foundations

contents to be shared refer to precisely the same
thing. A paradigm that is envisioned to integrate The discussion above deals with terms in English;
semantically heterogeneous information contents more complex problems emerge when multilingual
is referred as semantic interoperability. terms are involved. In such cases, cultural differ-
For example, is a river more similar to a lake ences can also play an important role. Ethnophysi-
than to the sea? The degree of conceptual close- ography, a term originally coined by David Mark
ness between two terms/concepts is called and Andrew Turk, attempts to investigate how and
semantic similarity. The semantic similarity why the terms referring to the landscape and its
between two concepts is measured generally components are used in different languages and
based on the comparisons of the characteristics cultures. Mark and Turk have studied geographic
of a concept in respect to the characteristics of feature terms from different languages such as Aus-
another concept. For example, a river could be tralian, Yindjibarndi, and Najaro.
considered more similar to a lake since both In addition to differences in language and cul-
contain fresh water, as opposed to the sea, ture, the application context of geographical data
which contains salt water. should also be considered as another important
Semantic similarity is not symmetric and is con- ontological element for geographical data. For
text-dependent. The characteristic of being asym- example, because different cultures have different
metric means that the degree of similarity when ways of gathering and making sense of real world
comparing a first concept to a second concept is not observations, a conceptual mismatch may occur
identical to the degree of similarity when comparing when merging geographical data at the border of
the second concept to the first. Two concepts are two very different cultures. A “geopragmatic”
semantically asymmetric when the degree of simi- view is necessary in resolving such a mismatch.
larity between A and B differs from the degree of Originating from a pragmatic perspective, geo-
similarity between B and A. For example, research pragmatics emphasizes scientific concepts related
shows that people tend to think of a hospital as to geographical models. Geopragmatics has three
being more similar to a building than a building is core aspects: dimensions, agents, and roles.
similar to a hospital, because the term building con- Dimensions encompass the origins (provenances),
tains a more heterogeneous group of objects; that is, uses (deployments), and effects (consequences) of
a hospital is a subset of the larger set of buildings. a concept. Agents are referred to as the interac-
Semantic similarity is also context-dependent, mean- tions among humans, machines, and the real-
ing that the criteria to be considered for a measure- world geographic features themselves. Roles
ment affect the degree of similarity. For example, if consist of perspectives and versions. Perspectives
the similarities among rivers, lakes, and seas are are method driven (e.g., a remote sensing perspec-
based on the salinity of water, then a river is more tive, or an image analysis perspective), while ver-
similar to a lake than the sea. But, if the shape of the sions are epistemically driven. More specifically,
features is to be taken into consideration, one may an observation can have one perspective (e.g.,
think that a lake is more similar to the sea than a using a particular method such as remote sens-
river, in that a lake and the sea usually have a dis- ing), but because different agents, intentions, rep-
clike shape compared to a river, which is generally etitions could be involved in the same observation,
formed as a linear feature. Measuring semantic sim- different versions could be produced.
ilarity is crucial in information integration and Two types of boundary can be classified for
retrieving relevant information. If two information describing geographic features in the real world,
sources are highly similar in a given context, one the bona fide boundary and the fiat boundary.
can integrate them more confidently than if they are For geographic features that have the bona fide
dissimilar. Likewise, if information content is highly sort, their boundary has been delineated with
similar with a query (e.g., by checking the similarity physical demarcations such as coastlines. The
between the terms used in the information content border of Singapore belongs to this category, in
and the query), such information content can be that it is an island. In contrast, the fiat sort of
retrieved for the users. boundary is intuitively formulated by humans’
 ONT OLO G Y '%-&

mutual agreements for purposes such as land Social Production of; Semantic Interoperability; Semantic
administration or political subdivisions. The state Reference Systems
of Colorado has a boundary of this sort, in that
its borders do not correspond with physiographic
features. In a mathematical sense, a bona fide Further Readings
boundary is transitive (e.g., if x is a boundary
point for a line segment y, and y is the border of Agarwal, P. (2005). Ontological considerations in
Singapore, then x is also a boundary point for GIScience. International Journal of Geographical
Singapore itself), dissective (e.g., if x is a part of y, Information Science, 19(5), 501–536.
and y is the border of Singapore, then x is a part Bittner, T., & Smith, B. (2002). A theory of granular
of the border of Singapore also), and symmetric partitions. Foundations of geographic information
(e.g., if y is the border of Singapore, y is also the science (pp. 117–151). London, New York:
border of the ocean that completely surrounds Taylor & Francis.
Singapore), while a fiat boundary is transitive, Frank, A. (1997). Spatial ontology: A geographical
dissective, and not symmetric because a fiat information point of view. In O. Stock (Ed.),
boundary is considered as an intrinsic part of the Spatial and temporal reasoning (pp. 135–153).
feature that the boundary binds; it does not Norwell, MA: Kluwer.
belong to the complement of the feature. Gruber, T. (1993). A translations approach to
Humans perceive the world at different levels of portable ontology specifications. Knowledge
spatial granularity or scale. Granularity is perspec- Acquisition, 5, 199–220.
tive-dependent, meaning that humans can think of Harvey, F., Kuhn, W., Pundt, H., Bishr, Y., &
a specific object such as lake from a very fine- Riedemann, C. (1999). Semantic interoperability:
grained level to a highly coarse-grained level. At A central issue for sharing geographic information.
the very fine-grained level, for instance humans can Annals of Regional Science, 33, 213–232.
imagine the lake as a very large volume of water in Mark, D., Smith, B, Egenhofer, M., & Hirtle, S.
which millions of H2O molecules interact with (2004). Ontological foundations for geographic
each other, and at the coarse-grained level, the lake information science. In R. MacMaster & L. Usery
could be imagined as a dot just like it is viewed (Eds.), A research agenda for geographic
from outer space. In the geographic domain, the information science (pp. 335–351). Boca Raton,
notion of granularity results in geographic maps FL: CRC Press.
being produced in different scales, or the same geo- Rodriguez, M., & Egenhofer, M. (2003). Determining
graphical data set can be created in multiple repre- semantic similarity among entity classes from
sentations. Granularity is critical in interpreting different ontologies. IEEE Transactions on
geographical data. If the data are presented at a Knowledge and Data Engineering, 15(2), 442–456.
fine-grained level, they could reveal detailed rela- Smith, B. (2003). Ontology. Blackwell guide to the
tionships among the features involved. If the data philosophy of computing and information
are at a coarse-grained level, one is able to visualize (pp. 155–166). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
the overall patterns among features, for instance, Smith, B., & Varzi, A. (2000). Fiat and bona fide
in different clusters. As granularity determines the boundaries. Philosophy and Phenomenological
relationships among geographic features, any for- Research, 60(2), 401–420.
mal model attempting to represent the interrela-
tionships of geographic features should concern
the granularity of the geographic space in which
the features under consideration are located. ONTOLOGY
Kean Huat Soon Spatial ontologies are formal arrangements of geo-
graphic features based on the meaning of their
See also GIScience; Interoperability and Spatial Data terms and relation to each other. Taken from the
Standards; Mark, David M.; Object-Based Image field of philosophy concerned with ontology, or
Analysis; Ontology; Representations of Space; Scale, the study of what is real in the world, the role of
'%-' O N T O LOG Y

ontology in geography is to formalize knowledge some categorization concepts bias views of the
bases (logical structures of geographical knowl- world by “covering up” factors and agents—for
edge) and to recognize, exchange, and support example, ideas of globalization. In contrast to hier-
common geography cultures through the use of the archies of geographical extents, flat ontology
semantics, or meanings, that groups of people explores concepts of sites as context to geographic
assign to geographic features and spatial relations. features and relations. These sites have both stable,
Within the established scope of the ontology, the structuring forces and potentials for new opportu-
features imply definitions and descriptive qualities. nities of expression. Through processes or the acti-
Relations among features have a range of mean- vation of relations, the mutable spaces and
ings or specific values. Although the articulation of composition of sites emerge as new potential envi-
an ontology is a largely abstract endeavor, its ele- ronments. Thus, ontology can be regarded as trans-
ments are derived from empirical investigations. formative. Concurrently, however, a central
Ontologies are intended to refer to the real world. concern of history and historiography in geography
Geographers turn to the underlying ontology is fundamentally ontological: How do we concep-
of a study, as it is expressed, to examine the impli- tualize and accept what was real about the past?
cations of the terms and semantics of the subject. Ontology appeared prominently as a core con-
Ontologies are discussed in the geographical lit- cept in geography as Marxism critiqued Aristote-
erature as foundations of studies and, as such, are lian ontology; briefly stated, this argument is that
subject to analysis to understand the limitations no objects are just simply “out there” in the world.
and motivations of those studies within their Instead, elements, things, structures, and systems
scope. Although ontology implies the acceptance exist within the processes, flows, and relations
of a realist philosophy, its abstractions leave the that create, sustain, or undermine them. To define
scope of the ontology open to interpretation. things relationally is different from direct observa-
Concepts of ontology often appear as the transi- tion that posits features as being self-evident rather
tion between epistemology and methods—a key than as a product determined by history and poli-
concept in geographic thought, philosophy, and tics. The postmodern recognition of the impor-
theory, with implications in specific subfields of tance of geography led to a new interest in the
geographic practices. Geography methods aim to ontology of geography. Embracing spatiality, tem-
capture the nature (the ontology) of their sub- porality, and social being as a part of the material
jects, while recognizing that knowledge is affected world, ontology and postmodern geography rec-
by social (epistemological) implications. ognize social constructs as shaping and simultane-
Ontology in geography has been linked to a ously being shaped by the empirical world.
broader recognition of diversity, in the hope of Ontology is seen as a framework for the interac-
making those differences explicit and thereby tion of society and nature beyond the dualisms of
enriching the knowledge base of geographic activ- man and environment. The subject matters of physi-
ity. This task has been accomplished by turning to cal and cultural geography are regarded by many as
the immediate realism of interconnected themes of different entities, though recent research indicates
place, environment, society, and philosophy. Ontol- that they have much in common. Realist epistemol-
ogy is used in analyses of key concepts of geogra- ogy, or knowledge of the world, may seem to be
phy, such as networks and globalization; urbanism challenged by analyzing ontology for the limitations
and agrarianism; history, economics, and culture; of its objectivity rather than for how we know phe-
and nature and the environment. Social develop- nomena through cultural and social ways. For sub-
ments such as feminism and postcolonialism have specialties of cultural and physical geography to
been furthered by discussions of their ontology. interrelate, new terms of discourse must be devel-
Ontology can be structured by geographical con- oped with established semantic meaning that can
cepts such as scale and generalization. Geographi- integrate realism and relativism. Faced with new bio-
cal features are often viewed as embedded in technologies, for example, writers look to ontology
hierarchies of scales and taxonomies of classes. as a way to articulate natural subjects and their social
Though the formations of these classes have been factors, that is, the blurring of the boundaries between
studied in relation to psycho-cognitive experiences, the natural and artificial (human-made) worlds.
 OP EN GEODA T A ST A NDA R D S '%-(

The realism of ontology has been criticized as

privileging materialism over semantic or episte- Golledge, R. (2002). The nature of geographic
mological relations, such as ethics. Ontology pro- knowledge. Annals of the Association of American
vides no groundwork for ethics, which is an Geographers, 92, 1–14.
experience of life. The elevation of political and Kavouras, M., & Kokla, M. (2007). Theories of
social access to the level of ontology, that is, to a geographic concepts: Ontological approaches to
status of what seems to be naturalized or whose semantic integration. Boca Raton, FL: Taylor &
relative status is purposely concealed in the world, Francis.
is the subject of critical geography. Kuhn, W. (2001). Ontologies in support of activities in
Some geographies are organized and medi- geographic space. International Journal of
ated by the expression of their ontologies Geographical Information Science, 15(7), 613–631.
through technology. In geographic information Smith, B., & Mark, D. (2001). Geographical
science and systems, for example, ontology is categories: An ontological investigation. Journal of
applied to the clarification of concepts and the Geographical Information Science, 15, 591–612.
integration of data, especially from heteroge- Smith, B., & Mark, D. (2003). Do mountains exist?
neous sources, similar to standards that clarify Towards an ontology of landforms. Environment
ambiguous concepts and terms. The corporality and Planning B: Planning and Design, 30, 411–427.
of experience of geography, however, may be
lost or is manipulated through technological
practices, such as photography. It is important
to recognize that technologies such as comput-
erized code structure social relations through OPEN GEODATA STANDARDS
their relations to social, scientific, and cultural
environments. Geospatial data present unique challenges due to
Several methods are used for developing con- the complexity of the organization and storage
ceptual ontologies, including building generaliza- of data concerning a broad array of spatial
tions from detailed information such as texts of objects collected in different formats, with differ-
applications, extracting technical concepts from ent reference systems. Geospatial data storage
domain experts, or “reverse engineering,” a and transmission are complicated by the storage
method by which the ontology is formed by auto- requirements of geospatial data (archives of mul-
matically generalizing it from the source data. tiple terabytes are common), by the need to store
Rather than trying to devise a single ontology the location of features or imagery as well as
that encompasses a wide array of viewpoints, a information on their spatial reference system and
series of ontologies with linkages between them associated metadata, and by the increasingly com-
may be advocated to reflect contexts with a series mon requirement that data be accessible by mul-
of articulated problems of the subject domain and tiple users from a range of different platforms.
their potential implications. The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) has
Dalia Varanka taken the lead in the development of open geo-
data standards. As defined by OGC, open stan-
See also Epistemology; Geographic Information Systems; dards are created in an open, participatory process
GIScience; Mark, David M.; Ontological Foundations of that is technology neutral and in which the final
Geographical Data specification is publicly available to all parties
without royalties. Open standards provide a
common, publicly available framework for the
Further Readings
storage and transmission of geospatial data that
ensures data access and service interoperability
Fonseca, F., Egenhofer, M., Agouris, P., & Câmara,
while allowing for the development of distributed
G. (2002). Using ontologies for integrated
geospatial applications.
geographic information systems. Transactions in
Successful open geodata standards are impor-
GIS, 6(3), 231–257.
tant both for data management, by ensuring ease
'%-) O P EN GEOD ATA STAND ARD S

of data access and archiving, and for the design Organization/Technical Committee 211 (ISO/TC
of interoperable geospatial services. Lack of well- 211) in developing geodata standards. Several
known, open standards complicates the integra- OGC standards have been adopted by ISO/TC
tion of data from multiple sources when data 211, including the OpenGIS Simple Features Inter-
from different sources are stored in different, face Standard (SFS), also published as ISO 19215,
proprietary formats. Conversion of geospatial that specifies a common representation of features
data between alternative formats is often difficult (such as points, lines, and polygons) within GISys-
due to the large storage requirements of geospa- tems. The SFS uses “well-known text” and “well-
tial data and the processing power needed for known binary” formats to represent the basic
conversion, as well as due to the complexity of geometry of features. These open formats provide
geospatial data formats. Open geodata standards a common interface for software developers to
allow interoperability of geospatial services with- exchange and store data that can be accessible in
out the necessity of data conversion, while also multiple applications. The standard also defines
encouraging the reuse of data and program com- basic spatial operations, such as “intersects,”
ponents in multiple applications with standard- “contains,” and “overlaps,” to standardize geo-
ized interfaces. processing procedures on these features.
Distributed geoprocessing and Internet loca- The OGC has also developed a set of standards
tion-based services require the interconnection for Web services for accessing and displaying geo-
of multiple software applications and data sets. spatial data on the World Wide Web. The Web
Open geodata standards provide a common Map Service provides a common framework for
framework for data access and storage, allowing developers of Web applications returning maps in
developers to build seamless applications. For a raster format. The Web Feature Service pro-
instance, a user could use a Web application to vides for the return of vector data, while the Web
access vector features from a range of Web sources Coverage Service provides a uniform standard for
conforming to the Web Feature Service (WFS) the return of raster data such as satellite imagery,
standard developed by the OGC to dynamically or digital elevation models as coverages.
build a vector map. Without an established stan-
dard such as the WFS, interoperability of Web
International Standards Organization/
services would be problematic.
Technical Committee 211
The International Standards Organization/Tech-
Open Geospatial Consortium
nical Committee 211 (ISO/TC 211) is the ISO
The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is an committee responsible for the development and
international member organization that has coor- implementation of international standards con-
dinated and taken the lead in the development cerning geospatial data. ISO/TC 211 oversees the
and dissemination of open geodata standards. development of the ISO 191** family of stan-
The OGC operates by consensus of its member dards relating to the acquisition, management,
organizations to refine existing standards and to transmission, and display of geospatial data.
develop new standards as technologies evolve. Though the work of ISO/TC 211 is not aimed
The basic framework for the OGC body of stan- explicitly at the development of open standards,
dards is outlined in the OpenGIS Abstract Specifi- it works closely with the OGC, and several stan-
cation, which provides a conceptual model for dards have been concurrently adopted by both
the developing body of standards. organizations.
New OGC standards, as well as revisions to ISO 19101:2002 outlines the Reference Model
existing standards, are developed through the for the ISO 191** series of standards. The Refer-
OGC Specification Program, a consensus process ence Model describes the conceptual model by
that allows members to comment on proposed which conforming applications will interoperate
standards through formalized committees. The and provides a framework for the ISO 191**
OGC cooperates with other international stan- series of standards. An important issue in geo-
dards bodies such as the International Standards spatial data management and cataloging is the
 OP EN GEOSP A T IA L C ONSOR T IUM (OGC) '%-*

appropriate use of metadata. To standardize Since its establishment, OGC has focused on
metadata terminology, usage, and encoding, sev- developing standards for geographic information
eral ISO standards have been developed. ISO exchange. These standards are open, that is, they
19115:2003 and ISO 19139:2004 standardize are technology neutral, developed by a participa-
metadata usage and encoding using well-known tory process, and with free rights of distribution.
formats. The OGC develops standards by two methods.
The Specification Program develops standards in
Alex Zvoleff
a formal process requiring member approval.
This program collaborates with the International
See also Internet GIS; Interoperability and Spatial Data
Standards Organization and the Federal Geo-
Standards; Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC); Open
graphic Data Committee. The Interoperability
Source Geospatial Foundation; Open Source GIS;
Program is a test bed activity in which a rapid,
Semantic Interoperability
coordinated test is performed on a proposed
interface standard in an open environment to
refine solutions for OGC specifications.
Further Readings The OGC has developed the Open GIS Abstract
Specification, a suite of conceptual models to
International Standards Organization. (2006). guide development of individual implementation
Business plan (Draft 3). Geneva: ISO Technical specifications. The abstract specification includes
Committee 211. topics such as spatial referencing, locational
McKee, L. (2005). The importance of going “Open.” geometry, metadata, earth imagery, and so on.
Wayland, MA: Open Geospatial Consortium. The OGC has released several widely adopted
Open Geospatial Consortium. (2008). OGC reference implementation standards that specify encodings
model (OGC 08-062r4). Wayland, MA: Author. for the request of raster coverages, features, and
maps from distributed servers over the Internet.
The OGC has also adopted Google’s Keyhole
Markup Language (KML) as a standard for users
OPEN GEOSPATIAL to create annotations and visualizations for online
and mobile maps and Earth browsers.
CONSORTIUM (OGC) The OGC has provided support for interopera-
bility test beds, for example, a 2008 Canadian
The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is a Geospatial Data Infrastructure interoperability
nonprofit international voluntary consortium of project whose main objective was to test how open
more than 370 private companies, government standards could improve collaboration among
agencies, and academic institutions that develop data producers and users from Canada’s local,
publicly available, consensus-based interface provincial, and national governments; nongovern-
specifications and interoperability standards for mental organizations; and private companies.
geospatial data. Interoperability—the ability of Semantic interoperability, that is, a means for
different systems to transparently exchange geo- assessing the content and meaning of items
spatial data—became a pressing concern to GIS encountered on the Web, is an important enabling
users in the 1990s. To solve interoperability prob- technology for the next generation Internet. In
lems, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers devel- 2006, the OGC conducted an experimental proj-
oped the open-source GIS software the Geographic ect on geospatial ontology and is developing an
Resources Analysis Support System (GRASS) in ontology framework and reference model.
the early 1990s, but open systems by themselves
did not prove to be a complete solution. Mem- Barbara S. Poore
bers of the GRASS community formed the OGC
in 1994 with the vision of allowing users to access See also Geospatial Industry; Geospatial Semantic Web;
geospatial data created by others regardless of the Open Geodata Standards; Open Source Geospatial
software used. Foundation; Open Source GIS
'%-+ O P EN - P IT MINING

advanced, there was recognition that other metals

Further Readings
could be of use, such as titanium, aluminum, and
Geoconnections, Natural Resources Canada. (2008).
platinum. Peasant populations moving to cities to
Canadian geospatial data infrastructure
take advantage of new industrial jobs required
interoperability pilot project. Ottawa, Ontario,
greater coal extraction for electricity generation
Canada: Author. Retrieved May 28, 2009, from
and iron ore for the building of urban infrastruc-
www.geoconnections.org/en/communities/
ture. Human wealth increased, creating a demand
developers/technologies/fa=developersCorner.cgdiv2
for gold and diamonds. As a consequence of this
Open Geospatial Consortium: www.opengeospatial.org
growth, mines expanded into huge operations,
Open Geospatial Consortium. (2005). The OGC
such as the Bingham Canyon copper mine in
abstract specification. Topic 0: Abstract
Utah, which is the largest excavation in the world,
specification overview. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada:
measuring 790 m (meters; 2,590 ft. [feet]) deep
Author. Retrieved May 28, 2009, from http://
and 3.7 km (kilometers; 2.3 miles) wide. The
portal.opengeospatial.org/files/?artifact_id=5659
mined-out, open-pit Big Hole diamond mine in
Open Geospatial Consortium. (2006). Geospatial
Kimberley, South Africa, reached a depth of more
semantic web interoperability experiment report.
than 1,000 m (3,300 ft.). Some of the largest
Retrieved May 28, 2009, from http://portal
opencast mines in the world are the Cerrejon coal
.myogc.org/files/?artifact_id=15198
mine in Colombia and the Grasberg-Erstberg cop-
Open Geospatial Consortium. (2009). FAQ-OGC
per mine in Indonesia, which extracts 0.24 mil-
and “openness.” Retrieved May 28, 2009, from
lion tons of copper ore every day.
www.opengeospatial.org/ogc/faq/openness/#2
Surface vegetation, soil material, or overburden
covering the ore-bearing horizon is stripped off by
earth-moving equipment, such as bucket wheel
excavators, stripping shovels, and walking dra-
glines. Rock material is broken up by explosives,
OPEN-PIT MINING and mechanical shovels separate minerals from
gangue. Blasting may be preceded by drilling holes
Open-pit mining, also called opencast, open-cut, into rock to implant explosives. In coal mining in
strip mining, or quarrying, is a mechanical extrac- hilly terrain, overlying material is stripped follow-
tion method that dates back to over 3,000 years. ing the contours around the hillside or removed
Ancient mines include the Tongling copper mine off the mountaintop to expose the underlying coal
of China’s mid Shang Dynasty 3,300 o 60 years seams. Deposits are mined along benches, steps,
ago and some potential United Nations Educa- or terraces cut along the wall of the excavation.
tional, Scientific and Cultural Organization Minerals are transported by truck or train to
World Heritage sites—Mitterberg in Austria and undergo further processing. This may involve the
the Timna mine from ancient Egypt (now located use of chemicals such as in the cyanide leach pro-
in Israel). Quarrying refers to opencast mining cess in gold mining. The method causes marked
that extracts building materials, such as granite, environmental degradation.
limestone, marble, and slate. The method extracts Environmental effects of open-pit mining
resources occurring close to the surface or deeper include erosion, sedimentation, and landslides. It
formations that are structurally unstable or too has been estimated that solid waste produced by
friable to make tunneling possible. Commonly metal mining is 8,000 million tons/year. The
mined minerals include bauxite, copper, dia- “shoot-and-shove” mining practices of coal min-
monds, gold, gypsum, kaolin, lead, manganese, ing in the Appalachian Mountains of the United
nickel, phosphate, and zinc. The largest resource States have caused widespread environmental dev-
mined is coal, which also produces the greatest astation. The rock overburden above the coal
amount of solid waste. seams is blasted away and then pushed into the
With the rise of the Industrial Revolution, there valleys, infilling streams, and destroying river eco-
was an urgent need for coal and iron ore, which system. Hydraulicing, in which high-pressure
fueled massive growth of mining. As technology water is aimed at hillslopes to loosen the sediments
 OP EN-P IT MINING '%-,

Open-pit gold mining at the St. Elizabeth Gold Mine, Mahdia, Guyana, in 2009
Source: Fenda A. Akiwumi.

in which the gold is contained, is commonly prac- listed by EPA on the TRI are all mining opera-
ticed in gold mining in developing countries. This tions (102–144 million lb.). The largest superfund
technique leads to unstable hillslopes and enhanced site in the United States is the Yankee Doodle tail-
erosion and sedimentation of nearby streams. Tail- ings pond in Montana, with a 600-ft.-high tailing
ings from gold ore processing end up in artificial pond dam, the result of copper mining in the
ponds and may be toxic due to the use of hazard- state. Church Rock Mine in Arizona released 94
ous chemicals or associated gangue minerals such million gallons of slurry (pH 1.6) containing
as arsenopyrite (see the second photo). Mercury is radon, thorium, and uranium into the Peurco
also commonly used in the extraction of gold, and River in 1979. On the day of the spill, the river
approximately 3,000 tons of this toxic chemical had 13,000 pc/L (picocurries/liter), when the rec-
has found its way in the past 15 years into the ommended limit for drinking water is 30 pc/L.
Amazon River due to mining activities. This has led The Grasberg-Ertsberg mine in Indonesia dumps
to contamination of the environment, and biomag- 0.2 million tons of tailings into the Ajkwa River
nification and bioaccumulation increased the toxic- every day, causing aggradation of the coastal
ity of the mercury for the wildlife in the basin. floodplains.
The Red Dog mine in Alaska is by far the larg- Human health effects are related to breath-
est producer listed in the U.S. Environmental Pro- ing in airborne particulates generated during
tection Agency’s (EPA) Toxic Release Inventory extraction or toxic waste leaching into drinking-
(TRI) with 615 million lb. (pounds). It is the larg- water supplies. The particulates (less than partic-
est zinc mine in the world and a significant source ulate matter 10 [<PM10]) from coal mining can
of lead production. The six largest producers lead to respiratory illnesses such as asthma in
'%-- O P EN S O U RCE G E OSPATIAL FO UNDA T ION

Tailings pond at the St. Elizabeth Gold Mine, Mahdia, Guyana, in 2009
Source: Fenda A. Akiwumi.

small children, although little research exists on Further Readings

this matter. Heavy exposure to coal dust has been
shown to lead to black lung for miners. Mercury Chiras, D. D., & Reganold, J. P. (2009). Natural
forms an amalgam with gold, and miners burn resource conservation (10th ed.). Reading, MA:
off the mercury, thereby breathing in the vapors Addison-Wesley.
leading to Minamatta Disease. Hartman, H. L. (Ed.). (1992). SME mining
Mining companies are expected to prepare engineering handbook (2nd ed.). Littleton, CO:
environmental impact statements prior to min- Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration.
ing and land reclamation to rehabilitate land Lottermoser, B. (2007). Mine wastes:
destroyed by mining. Both areas are not ade- Characterization, treatment, and environmental
quately addressed in mining ventures worldwide. impacts. Berlin, Germany: Springer.
Federal legislation such as the Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 in the
United States, for example, requires reclamation
of surface lands affected specifically by coal min-
ing operations but not other forms of surface OPEN SOURCE GEOSPATIAL
mineral extraction. The high cost of rehabilita-
tion strategies and resources to ensure enforce-
FOUNDATION
ment of laws and regulations prohibits effective
The Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo)
enforcement.
is a U.S.-based not-for-profit organization that
Fenda Aminata Akiwumi supports and promotes the use and collaborative
and Philip Edward van Beynen development of open-source geospatial technolo-
gies and data around the world. OSGeo offers
See also Coal; Environmental Restoration; Heavy Metals marketing, financial, organizational, and legal help
as Pollutants; Land Degradation; Minerals; Mining and for its projects. The mission includes advocacy and
Geography; Strip Mining; Wastewater Management marketing and encourages the development of
 OP EN SOUR C E GEOSP A T IA L F OUNDA T IO N '%-.

business models based on Open Source GIS OSGeo Governance

(OSGIS). The foundation acts as an advisory body
for OSGIS software projects as well as educational OSGeo is a community-driven and distributed
material and public geospatial data development organization with a formal seat in the United
projects. Communication is based on classical States but legal components distributed in vari-
methods and newer Web 2.0 tools: Wikis, issue ous countries. It consists of an elected board of
trackers, mailing lists, Web sites, Internet Relay directors, an executive director, elected charter
Chat, and blogs. members (eligible to vote for the board), and
members-at-large. The members collaborate
through various projects, committees, and local
History chapters, which represent OSGeo around the
world in different countries and language groups.
OSGIS-related user and developer communities All projects are managed through individual proj-
have existed since the early 1980s. They expanded ect steering committees (PSCs) with PSC chair-
significantly with the advent of Internet and elec- persons serving as foundation officers.
tronic communication. Each relevant OSGIS proj- OSGeo annually presents the Sol Katz Award
ect had its own community, in most cases only in for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software
virtual form and without formal structures. In (GFOSS) to individuals who have demonstrated
response to the increasing need of collective sup- leadership in the wider GFOSS community.
port of OSGIS software development efforts, the Recipients of the award are recognized for their
Open Source Geospatial Foundation was offi- significant contribution in the geospatial realm to
cially created in February 2006 as a not-for-profit advance open-source ideals.
organization. Since the early days of OSGIS communities,
annual conferences at national and international
levels were organized. In 2006, OSGeo merged
OSGeo Projects several of their community events into the “Free
OSGIS-related software projects that want to and Open Source Software for Geoinformatics”
become part of the foundation have to undergo (FOSS4G) conference series, which is hosted each
an incubation phase to verify if the project con- year in a different country. In addition to the
forms with OSGeo principles. Accepted projects common conference scheme, these conferences
demonstrate mature project management, with include a 5-minute plenary, “Lightning Talks,”
open and collaborative development and user and “code sprints,” where project teams get
communities. Increasingly, real-time code quality together for valuable face-to-face planning and
assessment systems are implemented. A review of concentrated programming time.
the intellectual property of source code and docu- Markus Neteler
mentation has been performed. OSGeo software
projects include geospatial-programming librar- See also GIS Software; Open Geodata Standards; Open
ies, desktop GIS, Web mapping/WebGIS, and Geospatial Consortium (OGC); Open Source GIS;
metadata catalogs. Spatial Analysis; Spatial Data Models
In addition to software dissemination, OSGeo
aims at educational outreach. Part of the mission
is to promote OSGIS training among universities
and other educational institutions; OSGeo is pre- Further Readings
paring and providing training materials and
teaching support released under free licenses. Hall, G. B., & Leahy, M. G. (Eds.). (2008). Open
Third, OSGeo promotes the use of open geospa- source approaches in spatial data handling
tial data formats and public access to state-collected (Advances in Geographic Information Science
geospatial data. In collaboration with other enti- Series). New York: Springer.
ties, licenses for public geospatial data are devel- Open Source Geospatial Foundation: www.osgeo.org
oped with adaptation to various legislations.
'%.% O P EN S O U RCE G IS

OPEN SOURCE GIS the scope to expand private sector developments

for GRASS, to manage memberships, and to
recruit sponsors from government, the private
Open Source GIS (OSGIS) is a family of GIS soft-
sector, and academia. The spread of GIS raised
ware packages that are published along with their
the need for data sharing and interoperability.
respective source code, in contrast to the closed-
With more industrial companies joining, OGF
source model of proprietary GIS packages. Usu-
was restructured as the Open Geospatial Consor-
ally, open-source software is understood to be
tium (OGC) in 1994 with a focus on interopera-
also free software, that is, the source code is pub-
bility and geospatial standards.
lished under a free software license with the rights
The increasing number of OSGIS projects led
to run the program for any purpose, to study how
in 2006 to the creation of the Open Source Geo-
the program works, to adapt it, and to redistrib-
spatial Foundation (www.osgeo.org), whose mis-
ute copies, including modifications. These soft-
sion is to support and promote the collaborative
ware licenses, including the license-free public
development of open geospatial technologies,
domain, are evaluated and promoted by the Free
data, and educational material.
Software Foundation (FSF, www.fsf.org) and the
Open Source Initiative (OSI, www.opensource
.org). OSGIS is the general concept of Open Philosophy, Development
Source/Free Software applied to GIS software. Methods, and Community
Open Source in general refers to a software devel-
History opment method where the source code is main-
tained in a public repository with a group of
Hd[ilVgZEgd_ZXih developers, often volunteers, working on it. After
peer review of code style, functionality, and qual-
GRASS (Geographical Resources Analysis Sup-
ity, software packages are regularly released under
port System) is the earliest OSGIS, which reached
a commonly accepted software license that regu-
production status and supported both raster and
lates the distribution terms ensuring free redistri-
vector data. It was originally developed from 1982
bution, permission of modifications and derived
to 1995 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and
works, and more (see “The Open Source Defini-
since then by the international GRASS Develop-
tion,” www.opensource.org/docs/osd; “What Is
ment Team. Initially published as public domain
Free Software and Why Is It So Important for Soci-
software, its license was changed to GNU GPL
ety?” www.fsf.org/about/what-is-free-software).
(General Public License; see www.gnu.org) in
For the end user, the promise of Open Source is to
1999, one of the commonly used Free Software
receive quality software at lower cost, which is
licenses. The GPL ensures that modified or new
flexible, interoperable, and free of any vendor
source code must be published again under the
lock-in. OSGIS software packages are developed
GPL. In the 1990s, further desktop and server
following this philosophy. Open source software
OSGIS software projects were established in vari-
can be considered commercial like proprietary
ous GIS sectors, including libraries (PROJ4, GDAL/
software as it is also used in commercial projects
OGR, GEOS, Geotools, Geoserver), Desktop GIS
by for-profit companies offering a variety of related
(Quantum GIS, SAGA GIS, uDIG, gvSIG, ILWIS),
services.
Web mapping/WebGIS (Mapserver, MapGuide
The important OSGIS software packages are
Open Source, degree), spatial SQL (Structured
interoperable and follow industrial standards for
Query Language) databases (PostGIS), geostatis-
data exchange. The geospatial industry has started
tics (gstat, R Project for Statistical Computing),
to integrate OSGIS libraries into their proprietary
and metadata catalogs (Geonetwork opensource).
products to improve their interoperability capa-
bilities. Additionally, and in contrast to dominant
Dg\Vc^oVi^dch
proprietary GIS software packages, OSGIS are
In 1992, several organizations were merged portable, that is, they can be operated on various
into the Open GRASS Foundation (OGF) with computer operating systems.
 OP EN SP A CE '%.&

OSGIS is strongly linked to the opening of the WebGIS with the capabilities of a Web processing
Internet to the civil society and the subsequent service.
availability of collaborative development tools For OSGIS metadata management, dedicated
and means of electronic communication. Through catalog systems are available, which operate as
this, virtual developer and user communities were online metadata harvester and retrieval systems.
formed, which strongly support the evolution of They access and list spatial data hosted in-house or
software and its documentation. In some cases, in remote but Internet-accessible databases through
companies are also involved, even pursuing the specialized protocols for metadata exchange.
development as the main actor.
Markus Neteler

Functionality See also Geospatial Industry; GIS Software;

Interoperability and Spatial Data Standards; Open
The relevant OSGIS software packages offer func-
Geodata Standards; Open Geospatial Consortium
tionality comparable with proprietary GIS. As in
(OGC); Open Source Geospatial Foundation; Spatial
the traditional industrial market, general-purpose
Analysis; Spatial Data Models
tools and specialized applications are available.
Available OSGIS libraries include reprojection
support, optimized spatial data storage (nonto- Further Readings
pological/topological, with integration in spatial
SQL databases), and data exchange in all com- Mitchell, T. (2005). Web mapping illustrated: Using
mon and also special spatial formats. Open Source open source GIS toolkits. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly.
Desktop GIS offer a graphical and sometimes also Neteler, M., & Mitasova, H. (2008). Open source
command line access to spatial algorithms, includ- GIS: A GRASS GIS approach (3rd ed.). New
ing import/export of common GIS data, from GIS York: Springer.
Web services and from global positioning systems
with scopes for risk analysis and assessment, map
projections, raster and vector network analysis,
spatialization, and geovisualization. Processing of
digital terrain model data, creation of flow maps, OPEN SPACE
geocoding of raw data, map generalization, ter-
rain analysis, viewshed analysis, as well as map Open space has many meanings, at multiple and
algebra are supported. Vector data can be gener- overlapping spatial scales. Globally and regionally,
ated through digitizing from scanned paper maps it may refer to the extent and condition of signifi-
or through vectorization of raster data; some cant biomes, such as tropical forests and deserts. A
OSGIS also support the analysis of topological more limited definition would include only pro-
relationships. Geostatistics are either found in tected areas, such as parks and nature preserves.
dedicated software packages or through dedicated Worldwide, according to the International Union
GIS interfaces to spatial classes of statistical soft- for the Conservation of Nature, 11.6% of the
ware, which directly read from the GIS database. globe’s terrestrial surface area is protected, though
Further functionality includes image processing a great deal more of the world’s land consists of
with data extraction from LiDAR (light detection vast areas of farmland, forest, desert, grassland,
and ranging) and airborne laser scanning, analysis tundra, and snow and ice. Typically, though, the
of microwave/RADAR (radio detection and rang- term open space applies to amenity-rich lands in
ing) data, multispectral imagery, multitemporal industrialized countries and to a lesser degree to
imaging, stereoscopy and orthoimagery, and minimally developed lands in poorer countries.
supervised classification of aerial and satellite Often, these open spaces are in contested areas,
data. Reduced and optimized software packages where development pressures lead to concerns
are available for mobile GIS. about loss of valued open spaces.
Open Source Internet GIS is provided as pas- Open-space protection and management is a
sive Web-mapping applications or as interactive vital concern, for example, in both the New York
'%.' O P EN S P ACE

Aerial view of Central Park in New York City. Most open spaces are largely free of industrial, commercial, and
residential development and are readily accessible to the public.
Source: iStockphoto.

and Shanghai metropolitan regions. New York parkland to wilderness areas and water bodies.
seeks to protect watershed and agricultural lands, Most open spaces are largely free of industrial,
while Shanghai is concerned with expanding its commercial, and residential development and are
urban greenbelt. In the United States, and across readily accessible to the public. Sometimes, that
the globe, open-space management must contend access is simply visual access—as in the case of
with complex questions of spatial and intergen- scenic vistas of privately held, entry-restricted
erational equity, agricultural sustainability, hous- farmland or woodland. Generally, open space is
ing affordability, cost-effectiveness, and ecological available for various types of active recreational
integrity. This entry examines the values that use, and often there are conflicts over the envi-
underlie efforts to protect and manage open space ronmental appropriateness of different uses. In
and then describes approaches to open-space pro- the United States, with its extensive areas of open
tection and management through regulation, pur- space, environmentalists tend to favor low-impact
chase of open space, and collaboration. uses, such as hiking, biking, canoeing, and cross-
country skiing. Conflicts frequently arise over
competing demands for recreational uses—with
soccer and ball fields, equestrian trails, moun-
Definitions and Values
tain biking, and off-road vehicles often at the
Definitions of open space—sometimes referred to center of controversy. Increasingly, the value of
as greenspace—vary widely, ranging from urban recreational open spaces in combating America’s
 OP EN SP A CE '%.(

obesity epidemic is being promoted. Beyond their Equity Act, and legislation supporting trails, river
recreational values, open spaces can act to protect protection, and heritage area management. Most
streams and watersheds, provide habitat for flora states have their own funding programs; indeed,
and fauna, function as corridors and patches in densely populated states support the most robust
local and regional open-space networks, and efforts, as is the case with New Jersey’s Green
sequester carbon. Acres program. Municipal and county govern-
Several approaches to open-space protection ments—particularly in the fringes of metropolitan
and management are employed. regions, where sprawl pressures are high—have
allocated substantial funds for land acquisition.
Between 1988 and 2008, as detailed in The Trust
for Public Land’s database, voters approved a
Regulatory Approaches
total of 1,611 ballot measures, authorizing more
Open space can be protected very effectively through than US$112 billion for various land protection
regulation. Governments can restrict or prohibit efforts. Critics of acquisition point to its high
development on specific lands while permitting it in costs and argue that it does not necessarily ensure
places deemed environmentally and otherwise permanent protection.
appropriate. Strong regulatory approaches, aimed
at concentrating development and limiting sprawl,
are especially common in Europe.
Collaborative Approaches
In the United States open-space regulation is
complex and highly contested, with most of it When the Reagan presidency ushered in an era of
taking place at the local level, in the form of greatly restricted government, collaborative land
municipal and county master plans, combined management approaches became imperative in
with zoning and subdivision requirements. Open the United States. Nonprofit land trusts, which
space is preserved, in varying degrees, by local have proliferated since the 1980s, buy lands and
regulatory schemes, as well as market forces that secure conservation easements, which restrict or
simply do not support development in particular prohibit development. Land trusts can act more
places. State- and regional-level regulatory quickly than governments and often purchase
schemes are less common, though states such as lands or easements that are later transferred to
Oregon, with its imposition of urban growth public agencies. Watershed conservancies are also
boundaries; Vermont, with its statewide land use active locally, as land managers and conservation
regulatory plan; and New York and New Jersey, advocates. States and localities support these
with regional regulatory plans for the Adirondack diverse local efforts with various grant and incen-
Mountains and Pinelands, respectively, are widely tive programs, as do the federal efforts noted
viewed as leaders. above. Most states and many localities have farm-
land protection programs. “Smart-growth” pro-
grams, increasingly popular in recent years,
deploy a set of traditional, mostly incentive-based
Purchase of Open Space
planning techniques to concentrate development
Land acquisition is deployed widely in the United in and near urbanized regions while protecting
States by governments and nongovernment orga- open space and promoting affordable housing.
nizations. Created in 1965, the federal Land and Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ore-
Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) provides funds gon are among the smart-growth leaders.
for federal, state, and local land acquisition. But Given the limited availability of funds and the
congressional funding allocations under LWCF high costs of acquisition, governments seek to
have been highly inconsistent and often very mea- expand their capacity to protect lands through
ger. Additional federal support for land acquisi- collaborative approaches. Though collaborative
tion comes from a raft of federal programs, approaches are widespread in the United States,
including the Forest Legacy Program, the Trans- they encounter strong opposition from “wise-
portation Enhancement Act and Transportation use” and property rights groups, as well as some
'%.) O R GA N IC AG RICU L TU RE

environmental organizations that feel gov- just corn or perhaps corn and soybeans, an
ernment is abdicating its land management organic farmer may grow corn, soybeans, wheat,
responsibilities. buckwheat, alfalfa, other vegetables, and fruits
for example. In the past two to three decades, the
Robert J. Mason
demand for organic food has grown immensely,
especially in Europe and North America.
See also Greenbelts; Landscape and Wildlife
Certified organic farming in the United States
Conservation; Landscape Design; Landscape
is regulated through the U.S. Department of Agri-
Restoration; Land Use; Land Use Planning; Parks and
culture (USDA), which established National
Reserves; Zoning
Organic Standards that became effective in 2002.
A quick reference point to remember is being
chemical-free for 3 yrs. (years). A farm may not
Further Readings use prohibited synthetic substances for 3 yrs.
prior to certification. The USDA National Organic
Brewer, R. (2003). Conservancy: The land trust Standards Program accredits numerous agencies
movement in America. Lebanon, NH: University across the country that act to administer the certi-
Press of New England. fications in different states. This involves on-farm
Fairfax, S., Gwin, L., King, M., Raymond, L., & inspections, careful details of farm history, writ-
Watt, L. (2005). Buying nature: The limits of land ten proof of procedures and methods, and detailed
acquisition as a conservation strategy, 1780–2004. notes about each crop. The farmers must pay for
Cambridge: MIT Press. annual certification. The certification allows
Mason, R. (2008). Collaborative land use farmers to sell their products more widely at the
management: The quieter revolution in place- national or even international level.
based planning. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Since the mid 1980s, the U.S. organic food
Littlefield. market has increased 20% annually. This is the
Randolph, J. (2004). Environmental land use fastest-growing sector of food consumption.
planning and management. Washington, DC: Most people remember when few organic items
Island Press. were available in mass-market superstores, but
that has certainly changed. The year 2000 marked
the first year when more organic foods were sold
in mainstream supermarkets than in any other
venue. In fact, nearly 80% of conventional gro-
ORGANIC AGRICULTURE cery stores now carry organic food items. Organic
food sales are led by fresh produce, nondairy
Organic farming is defined as producing crops beverages, breads and grains, packaged foods,
without the use of synthetic chemicals in insecti- and dairy products. Organic dairy items increased
cides, herbicides, or fertilizer; instead, farmers by 500% in the 1990s, as a result of consumers
rely on their knowledge of their land and soil seeking to avoid recombinant bovine growth
conditions to devise their ecological farming tech- hormone (rBGH), a genetically engineered hor-
niques. They use many types of natural and alter- mone injected to increase milk production in
native methods, such as planting two or more conventional dairy cows. Since milk is not labeled
companion crops together so that they protect in most countries, there may be no way to avoid
each other from pests, using green manure (which rBGH unless one buys organic milk, in which its
is a crop that is tilled into the soil to provide natu- use is prohibited. Consumer demand for all
ral compost), and breaking the chain of pests by organic products is likely linked to consumer
rotating crops (growing different crops in succes- concerns about pesticide residues and genetically
sion on the same plot of land). In addition, crops modified organisms (GMOs) in food. Indeed,
themselves tend to be more varied and diverse, so several studies show significantly lower pesticide
that the farmer need not depend on the success of residues in organic compared with conventional
one single monocultured crop. Instead of growing food. Parental concern about food safety often
 OR GA NIC A GR IC ULT URE '%.*

motivates parents to buy organic

food for their children. Recent
studies show that children who
eat organic food have significantly
lower levels of pesticides in their
urine. The Environmental Work-
ing Group Web site used 43,000
samples to develop a list of the
produce with typically higher and
lower chemical residues.
Organic food labels help inform
consumers about the products they
purchase. Foods that meet certain
requirements are allowed to display
the “USDA Organic” seal. There
are three designated categories for
items containing organic ingredi-
ents: (1) Products labeled “100%
organic” contain only organi-
cally produced ingredients. (2) The
“organic” label indicates products
that are at least 95% certified
organic. (3) The “made with organic
ingredients” label is for items with
at least 70% organic components.
A food item containing less than
70% organic ingredients may not
be marketed as an organic food.
While farmers may use organic
methods, only the certified farm-
ers may label their products as
such. So some farmers opt to use
similar terms: “ecological,” “nat- Organic farmer Phil Foster (left) and horticulturist Eric Brennan
inspect leaves of red chard on Foster’s diverse organic farm in San
ural,” or “pesticide-free.” These
Juan Bautista, California.
may be organic food products
but without certification. Farmers Source: Scott Bauer/Agricultural Research Service, USDA.
who sell directly to consumers
build up trust and may not need
certification. Direct marketing is extremely an alternative lifestyle, now efficient organic
important for many organic farmers, and this farms represent an opportunity for farmer fami-
includes farmers’ markets, farm stands, U-pick lies to make agriculture profitable.
farms, and farms established through the Com-
munity Supported Agriculture membership. Leslie A. Duram
These allow consumers to have a close relation-
ship with the person who grows their food, and See also Agricultural Biotechnology; Agriculture,
these personal ties often transcend the need for Industrialized; Agrochemical Pollution; Agroecology;
any official certification. Agrofoods; Crop Rotation; Environmental Certification;
Today, organic agriculture is modern, popu- Fair Trade and Environmental Certification; Food,
lar, and profitable. While historical images of Geography of; Genetically Modified Organisms
organic farming convey an image of hippies and (GMOs); Sustainable Agriculture
'%.+ O R GA N ISATION FOR E CONOMIC C O-OP ER A T ION A ND DEV ELOP MENT (OEC D )

Further Readings
Marshall Plan funds, it became the OECD in
1961. It is headquartered in Paris. As the number
Curl, C. L., Fenske, R. A., & Elgethun, K. (2003). of member states grew, reaching 30 at present
Organophosphorus pesticide exposure of urban (Figure 1), it incorporated non-European coun-
and suburban preschool children with organic and tries as well. Today it includes most of Europe,
conventional diets. Environmental Health Turkey, the United States, Mexico, Canada,
Perspectives, 111, 377–382. Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
Dimitri, C., & Greene, C. (2002). Recent growth Given that these countries collectively dominate
patterns in the U.S. organic foods market the world’s economy, the OECD exerts an impor-
(Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 777). tant influence over much of the planet. Another
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 25 countries have observer status, and the organi-
Economic Research Service. zation has working relations with 70 others. The
Duram, L. A. (2005). Good growing: Why organic OECD also maintains relations with various labor
farming works. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. unions and nongovernmental organizations.
Environmental Working Group. (2008). EWG.org, The primary role of the OECD is to facilitate
food news, shopper’s guide. Retrieved September flows of information among its member states. It
12, 2008, from www.foodnews.org has been called a think tank, monitoring agency,
Goldberg, A. (2002). Consumers Union research and “nonacademic university.” Toward that end,
team shows: Organic foods really do have less it collects internationally comparable statistics,
pesticides. Retrieved May 8, 2002, from www publishes books and articles on numerous topics,
.consumersunion.org/food/organicpr.htm issues guidelines and forecasts, monitors trends,
Greene, C., & Kremen, A. (2003). U.S. organic and hosts an annual meeting in which 40,000
farming in 2000–2002: Adoption of certified delegates attend. It also has a series of secretari-
systems (Agriculture Information Bulletin No. ats, directorates, and centers oriented to specific
780). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of issues such as education, health care, energy, agri-
Agriculture, Economic Research Service. culture, labor and employment, technological
change, fiscal policy, taxation, and so on. Repre-
sentative examples of recent analyses include bio-
fuels, global climate change, reforms of troubled
ORGANISATION FOR financial markets, immigration and the globaliza-
tion of labor markets, aging workers, uses of nan-
ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION otechnology, the digital divide of Internet access,
AND DEVELOPMENT (OECD) spam minimization, and offshore tax evasion.
The goal of such efforts is to identify best prac-
tices, compare policy experiences, and find
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
answers to common problems. Although its role
Development (OECD) is an international forum
is largely advisory, the information it collects and
for the coordination of economic and environmen-
produces frequently enters into international
tal policies among most (but not all) of the world’s
agreements and dispute settlements, as well as
largest economies. Its mission is to help policy-
academic research. Its annual budget of roughly a
makers facilitate economic investment, growth,
half billion U.S. dollars is funded by member
and trade among member states, maintain finan-
states and reflects the size of their relative gross
cial stability, enhance democratic governance, and
domestic product.
promote market-oriented development. Other
Critics of the OECD allege that it shares com-
goals involve fighting corruption, monitoring cor-
mon neoliberal goals with similar groups such as
porate abuse, enhancing transparency, and improv-
the International Monetary Fund, World Bank,
ing public administration. At times, it is a forum
and World Trade Organization, that is, the pro-
for the application of international moral suasion.
motion of deregulated markets that favor a few at
Founded as the Organisation for European
the expense of the many.
Economic Co-operation in 1948 as part of the
post–World War II endeavor to administer the Barney Warf
 ORG ANIZATION OF T HE P ET R OLEUM EXP OR T ING C OUNT R IES (OP EC) '%.,

Figure 1 Map of OECD members, 2008. Starting as an organization of Western European countries as well as
the United States and Canada, the OECD has expanded to 30 members worldwide.
Source: Author.

See also European Union; Globalization; International it is called a cartel. While such an agreement
Monetary Fund; Trade; World Bank; World Trade would violate antitrust laws in the United States
Organization (WTO) and other countries, because OPEC operates in
international petroleum markets it is able to pro-
duce and sell oil in this manner, subject to short-
Further Readings term market conditions. OPEC has maintained its
world headquarters in Vienna since 1965. Its abil-
Mahon, R., & McBride, S. (2008). The OECD and ity to control international petroleum markets has
transnational governance. Vancouver, Canada: varied over time, depending on demand, prices,
University of British Columbia Press. reserve margins, and the perceived or real scarcity
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and of oil. This entry reviews the member states, func-
Development: www.oecd.org/home tions, and operations of the OPEC cartel, along
with highlights from its 50-year history. OPEC’s
long-term stability is also addressed.
There are several advantages to an oil cartel.
ORGANIZATION OF THE These include increased profits to the member
PETROLEUM EXPORTING countries and their national oil companies,
decreased market uncertainty, increased price sta-
COUNTRIES (OPEC) bility, and the ability to prevent entry by an
unwanted competitor. It should be noted, how-
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting ever, that the number of member nations in OPEC
Countries (OPEC) is a cartel of 12 major oil- has changed several times in the past two decades,
producing nations that was founded in September and efforts to recruit Mexico and Norway as per-
1960. Occasionally, there are economic arrange- manent members have been unsuccessful. Many
ments whereby several interdependent firms in an economists have argued for several decades that
industry collude to set prices, output, and market the structural conditions of the cartel are inher-
share for their product or products. When this ently unstable, and there is incentive for some
arrangement is established formally and openly, members to cheat by secretly lowering their oil
'%.- O R GA N IZATION OF THE PE TRO LEUM EXP OR T ING C OUNT R IES (OP EC )

price to increase market share. Alternatively, a an individual member such as Saudi Arabia,
firm could leave the arrangement and charge less between the ministerial meetings if it believes that
in the open market to accomplish the same goal. oil prices are too high or too low.
While such behavior has occurred among a few
OPEC members, especially during the period of
History
low oil prices in the mid to late 1980s, OPEC
remains alive and well in the 21st century—its OPEC was not formed overnight. Its origins can
members control two thirds to three fourths of be traced to a 1949 meeting initiated by Venezu-
the world’s proved oil reserves (though only ela to increase regular communication among the
35%–40% of production). Moreover, demand major oil producers outside the United States.
growth for oil seems unabated, and many observ- The United States was the dominant global oil
ers have suggested that global oil production will producer at the time, though by 1948, it began to
soon peak, if it has not already. import more oil than it exported, mostly cheap
Venezuelan crude. The most accessible U.S. oil
fields would be exhausted in the 1950s and 1960s.
Member States, Functions and Operations
Ironically, in this environment, many large oil
The original members of OPEC were Saudi Ara- exporters saw their revenue streams decrease.
bia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Venezuela. Between This occurred because the U.S. oil majors lowered
1961 and 1975, eight other nations joined: Qatar, prices in 1959, leading to declining royalty pay-
Indonesia, Libya, United Arab Emirates, Algeria, ments on sales from foreign oil producers. More
Nigeria, Ecuador, and Gabon. Saudi Arabia is the important, U.S. Presidential Proclamation No.
largest producer and controls most of the proven 3279, issued by Dwight Eisenhower on March
reserves (both for OPEC and worldwide). Some- 10, 1959, established a system for granting
what consistent with economic theory, member- licenses to import oil and petroleum products
ship in the cartel has changed several times: under the Mandatory Oil Import Program. This
Ecuador and Gabon left in 1992 and 1994, respec- action forced import quotas on Venezuelan and
tively, out of concern over the high membership Persian Gulf oil in favor of Canadian and Mexi-
fee (US$2 million) and to expand their oil produc- can sources. As a result, the five countries that
tion from what was allowed by OPEC; and Indo- would become the OPEC met in Cairo in April
nesia withdrew at the end of 2008, having become 1959 and in Baghdad in September 1960 and
a net oil importer and unable to meet its produc- formed the cartel as a means to increase the price
tion quota. However, Ecuador rejoined in Novem- of oil produced on their soils. The founding mem-
ber 2007, and a new member, Angola, had earlier bers were given veto power over the admission of
joined on January 1, 2007. In addition, Russia new members. The initial reaction of the West
and Norway joined as nonpermanent members in was skepticism regarding the ability of OPEC to
early 2000, and other oil producers have consid- influence or control oil markets, and the cartel
ered joining, including Brazil, Bolivia, and Sudan. was in fact weak until the 1970s.
OPEC operates under a statute that was agreed A series of changes in economic and political
to on its formation. The oil ministers of member factors in the 1960s strengthened the OPEC.
countries meet twice per year at the OPEC confer- These included changes in the tax system, such as
ence to determine how best to stabilize oil markets increases in the excise and income taxes levied on
and the means to advance their interests, individu- foreign oil companies operating in OPEC nations;
ally and collectively, especially the achievement of crude oil price increases; the separation of royalty
a reasonable rate of return on their investments. payments from income taxes; and a reduction in
This has been implemented through the setting of deductions allowed for oil companies. A further
prices and excise taxes on crude oil sales and allo- strengthening of OPEC occurred through mem-
cation of production quotas (though Iraq has not bers nationalizing a share or even 100% of con-
been part of the quota agreements since March cession agreements that had previously been
1998). The member countries also meet periodi- granted to foreign oil companies.
cally to discuss other matters. In some cases, OPEC The political environment also gradually
will raise or lower its collective output, or that of changed in favor of OPEC in the 1960s. First, in
 ORG ANIZATION OF T HE P ET R OLEUM EXP OR T ING C OUNT R IES (OP EC) '%..

the area of decolonization, Kuwait, Algeria, Nige- Iraq. During this time, oil prices have been gener-
ria, and Gabon gained independence from the ally low, before the price spikes of 2007–2008.
United Kingdom and France in the early 1960s. Not long after Iraq and Iran ended their 8-yr.
Second, Israel’s victory in the Six Day War against (year) battle in 1988, Iraqi forces invaded and
Egypt, Syria, and Jordan in June 1967 angered the occupied Kuwait in August 1990, in apparent
Arab nations and led to the formation of the Orga- payback for Kuwait not forgiving Iraq’s consider-
nization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries able debt amassed during its war with Iran. This,
as a separate, somewhat overlapping group to in turn, led to the U.S.-led international coalition
OPEC, which included Egypt and Syria. The cul- fighting the Persian Gulf War with Iraq in early
mination of these actions and events was an oil 1991. Following a lull of 12 yrs., the United States
embargo by the Arab oil producers against the spearheaded an invasion of Iraq in 2003 (and offi-
United States, the Netherlands, and a few other cially claimed that the invasion was not about oil),
supporters of Israel from October 1973 through and combat troops are still there as of 2009–2010.
March 1974. Thus, the “oil weapon” was Despite these conflicts, the OPEC has been able to
unleashed for the first time in history. Widespread effectively maintain its function of price setting
panic buying, fuel shortages, and government mis- and allocation of production quotas to members,
allocation of supplies ensued in the United States though some observers have deemed it ineffective
and other Western nations and Japan, which and irrelevant. However, member nations of
scrambled to find alternatives to imported oil. OPEC still control at least two thirds of the world’s
OPEC held its greatest economic and political proved oil reserves, and a transition to alternative
power from 1970 until 1986. This status can be energy sources has been slow.
attributed to several factors: Its largest single cus-
tomer, the United States, experienced a peak in
Long-Term Stability
domestic oil production in 1970 and became
increasingly reliant on imports; the 1973–1974 Questions remain about OPEC’s long-term stabil-
oil embargo demonstrated OPEC’s considerable ity. As noted, Iraq was at war with Iran and Kuwait
political muscle; a vast increase in oil revenues in the 1980s and early 1990s, respectively. In addi-
flowed to the OPEC nations, following an initial tion, Algeria and Angola had civil wars from 1991
quadrupling in prices by 1976, plus even larger to 2002 and from 1975 to 2002, respectively.
price increases in the chaos following the 1979 Given other differences between member nations,
Iranian Revolution. Due to perceived shortages of it is probably in the best interest of some countries
oil, and especially more panic buying, real prices to keep oil prices low, while others may prefer
rose to record highs in 1981 (unsurpassed until high prices. For example, a country with extensive
2007–2008). With the record oil prices in the first proven oil reserves would prefer moderate prices
half of the 1980s, consuming nations switched to sustain long-term sales to major consuming
away from oil-fired power plants, built and pur- nations, since high oil prices stimulate energy con-
chased more energy-efficient motor vehicles, and servation and the development of alternative
implemented many other conservation measures. energy sources. Conversely, OPEC nations with
Additionally, alternative sources of oil came on modest reserves may prefer higher prices. Mem-
stream, including the North Sea (principally Nor- bers with large reserves include Saudi Arabia, Iran,
way and the United Kingdom), Russia, Mexico, Iraq, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Venezu-
Canada, and China, although North Sea produc- ela, while Ecuador, Angola, and Algeria have small
tion has been declining since 2001. Consequently, reserves (Table 1). As for population, the more
the demand for OPEC oil fell precipitously, lead- populous member nations may prefer high prices
ing to a drop in oil prices in 1986 by almost half to fuel a larger economy; members in this situation
(prices would not recover until 2000). By then, include Nigeria and Iran. In the case of income
Iran was mired in a lengthy war with Iraq for levels, member nations with a low gross domestic
regional dominance, and OPEC appeared to be in product (GDP) per capita may also prefer higher
disarray. prices to decrease poverty in their countries. On
Since the late 1980s, several OPEC members have this dimension, Nigeria, Iraq, Ecuador, Angola,
been preoccupied with various wars, especially Algeria, and Iran would seem to prefer higher
'&%% O R GA N O PHOSPHATE S

Population Oil Reserves (in GDP per External Debt

Country (in millions) billions of barrels) Capita (US$) (US$ billion) % GDP

Nigeria 148.2 36.22 1,126 8.0 2.7

Iran 70.4 136.15 4,179 20.7 2.7
Algeria 33.5 12.20 4,037 4.0 1.8
Iraq 29.0 115.00 1,935 100.9 98.5
Venezuela 27.5 99.38 8,416 43.3 13.0
Saudi Arabia 24.3 264.21 15,478 58.6 10.7
Angola 17.0 9.04 3,602 8.4 8.8
Ecuador 13.6 4.66 3,282 17.1 17.3
Libya 6.2 43.66 9,260 4.8 6.5
United Arab Emirates 4.4 97.80 43,803 61.7 37.5
Kuwait 2.9 101.50 38,925 33.6 24.0
Qatar 0.9 15.21 75,426 33.1 46.3

Table 1 Profile of OPEC members

Sources: Data compiled from Central Intelligence Agency. (2008). Debt: External. In The world factbook. Washington, DC:
Author. Retrieved December 13, 2008, from www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2079.html; Organization
of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. (2008). Member countries. Vienna, Austria: Author. Retrieved December 14, 2008, from
www.opec.org/aboutus.

prices. Finally, in the case of external national debt,

Odell, P. (1987). Oil and world power: A geographi-
member nations with high debt levels and debt as a
cal interpretation (8th sub ed.). London: Penguin.
percentage of GDP would seem to prefer higher
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
prices in order to help pay off their debts. This
(2008). Member countries. Vienna: Author.
would especially be the case for Iraq. To summa-
Retrieved December 14, 2008, from www.opec
rize, OPEC nations that would appear to be most
.org/aboutus
interested in higher prices include Iraq, Nigeria,
Simmons, M. R. (2006). Twilight in the desert: The
Algeria, Angola, and Ecuador, while nations that
coming Saudi oil shock and the world economy.
would appear to be most interested in lower prices
New York: Wiley.
include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emir-
Solomon, B. (1989). The search for oil: Factors
ates, and Venezuela, with the interests of Iran,
influencing US investment in foreign petroleum
Libya, and Qatar less clear.
exploration and development. The Professional
Barry D. Solomon Geographer, 41, 39–50.
Yergin, D. (1993). The prize: The epic quest for oil,
See also Decolonization; Energy Policy; Energy money & power. New York: Free Press.
Resources; Geopolitics; Petroleum; Trade

ORGANOPHOSPHATES
Further Readings

Dezzani, R. (2001). Classification analysis of world Organophosphates are a group of synthetic

economic regions. Geographical Analysis, 33, organic chemicals with some common elements
330–352. in their chemical structure and the same toxic
Neuburger, H. (1997). Energy use in an era of rapidly mechanism of acute toxicity. The general struc-
changing oil price: How OPEC did not save the ture of organophosphates is characterized by a
world from the greenhouse effect. Environment central phosphorus atom that is attached to an
and Planning A, 24, 1039–1050. oxygen or a sulfur atom by a double bond and to
three side chains by single bonds.
 OR IENT A LI S M '&%&

Organophosphates are mainly used as nerve subway. This attack killed 12 people and injured
gases and agricultural pesticides. In fact, organo- more than 5,000.
phosphate insecticides are the most extensively Despite their high toxicity to human and wild-
used pesticides for insect control in the world life health, organophosphates can break down
today. Organophosphates are also widely present more rapidly in the environment and persist from
in many commonly used products in modern life, only a few hours to several months. Organophos-
such as solvents, plasticizers, flame retardants, phates were promoted as an attractive alternative
gasoline additives, and therapeutic drugs, in both to replace persistent organochlorine insecticides
human and veterinary medicine. during the 1960s and 1970s. The use of organo-
All organophosphates have the same mode of phosphate insecticides increased substantially
toxic action for insects and mammals and can affect after many organochlorine insecticides, such as
the nervous system by inhibiting acetylcholinest- DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), aldrin,
erase, an enzyme that degrades the neurotransmit- and dieldrin, were banned in 1970s. Based on the
ter acetylcholine. Inhibition of acetylcholinesterase Food Quality Protection Act of 1996, the U.S.
can result in excessive accumulation of acetylcho- Environmental Protection Agency has suggested
line at the synapses and neuromuscular junctions that organophosphates pose the greatest risks to
causing overstimulation of nerve cells. The nerve human health and the environment among cur-
transmission will continue indefinitely and produce rently used pesticides.
numerous symptoms, including slurred speech, loss Mei-Hui Li
of reflexes, weakness, fatigue, vomiting, headache,
tremors, and eventually paralysis of body extremi- See also Agrochemical Pollution; Agroecology;
ties and respiratory muscles. Agrofoods; Nonpoint Sources of Pollution; Pesticides;
Although some organophosphate compounds Pest Management
were described and synthesized in the late 1800s,
organophosphate insecticides were first synthesized
by Gerhard Schrader in Germany in the late 1930s Further Readings
and were brought to the market in 1940s. The toxic
Galt, R. E. (2008). Beyond the circle of poison:
properties of organophosphates have also made
Significant shifts in the global pesticide complex,
them suitable agents to be developed as chemical
1976–2008. Global Environmental Change, 18,
warfare weapons. Several organophosphate com-
786–799.
pounds were developed as nerve agents and manu-
factured in significant quantities in Germany during
World War II. However, organophosphate-based
chemical weapons have rarely been used during
warfare. One possible organophosphate-poisoning ORIENTALISM
event in relation to war is Gulf War syndrome.
After the end of the 1991 Gulf War, the U.S. and Orientalism, as an area of study, has multiple def-
U.K. governments have conducted many studies on initions: It is an academic field that seeks to study
Gulf War veterans’ illnesses. On November 17, the Orient, as well as a term for a more general
2008, a U.S. congressionally mandated research interest in all things “Oriental.” However, within
advisory committee has concluded that Gulf War geography, it is most frequently employed as a
veterans’ illnesses are likely linked to exposure to critique of these two definitions. This critique of
neurotoxins, including a drug administered to pro- Orientalism was first extensively developed by the
tect troops against nerve gases and pesticides that famed Palestinian scholar Edward Said (1935–
were used against sand flies and other pests during 2003). Orientalism in this context refers to the
deployment. In fact, nerve gas attack on the Tokyo process by which “the Orient” (the area of the
subway can be considered the most well-known Middle East, as understood by Said) has been rep-
organophosphate-based chemical weapon event. resented in particular ways by “the Occident,” or
On the morning of March 20, 1995, the Aum Shin- “the West” (generally understood to be Europe
rikyo cult carried out a sarin attack on the Tokyo and the United States), both historically and in the
'&%' O R I EN T AL ISM

present day. Orientalism reflects, and works to Said understood Orientalism to be predicated
maintain, the political and cultural power rela- on the separation between the Self and the Other.
tionships inherent in colonialism and imperialism. This separation relies not only on the assignment
Within Orientalism, “the Orient” is characterized of difference to the Other but also a desire for
as barbaric, primitive, passive, stagnant, and femi- that difference. Representations of the Orient and
nine, while “the West” is held in direct contrast, Orientals were thus shown by Said to reflect
as rational, dynamic, progressive, and masculine. European fantasies of the exoticized Other in
These totalizing representations are not the result addition to those representations that portrayed
of individual representational constructions but Orientals as unskilled, infantile, and bellicose. All
can be viewed within a broader, intertextual body these representations, however, remained inher-
of literature and other texts. ently essentialist. Using stereotypical depictions,
This entry begins with a detailed examination they culturally constructed the Orient as a homo-
of Said’s Orientalism (1978). As with most widely geneous whole, neglecting all nuances present in
discussed ideas, Said’s review of Orientalism has reality. Because Said saw all writing, thought, and
a number of critiques from a diverse community cultural production as political, all texts were
of scholars. These critiques include the combina- political and laced with the prevailing cultural
tion of Said’s humanism with Foucault’s antihu- hegemony of the time period. Said’s own lifelong
manism and the problematic methodological political commitment to the cause of the Palestin-
result of this combination. Critics have also taken ian people was intimately bound up with his cri-
issue with the impossibility of escaping from the tique of Orientalism.
very binary that Said highlights within Oriental- One of the key ideas of Said’s analysis of Orien-
ism, as well as his inattention to gender and sexu- talism is imaginative geography. Imaginative geog-
ality within Orientalist discourse. The entry raphy refers to the reconceptualization of actual,
concludes with a brief synopsis of the ways in physically bounded spaces with emotionally charged
which Orientalism has been taken up by geogra- definitions that exceed and extend past the realities
phers within subfields of geography. of those spaces. Through imaginative geographies,
the distances between known and unknown spaces
can be reduced while at the same time the exotic
Exploring Orientalism
and mysterious elements of foreign places are inten-
Said was influenced by a number of scholars, includ- sified. Imaginative geographies reflect the fantasies
ing Jacques Derrida and Frantz Fanon, but method- and desires of those who create them and are
ologically drew from the French philosopher Michel inscribed within systems of power. Through these
Foucault’s concept of discourse analysis. Said’s cri- constructions, space not only becomes demarcated
tique of Orientalism used this method to show how as “ours” and “theirs” but also involves the active
the colonization of the Orient had been enabled and appropriation of space, a process that was deeply
justified through Orientalist discourse. While Fou- instrumental to the expansion of the colonial state,
cault contended that the individual author was vir- as well as current imperial projects.
tually insignificant in creating discursive formations, Historically, essentializing representations were
Said aimed to expose the dialectic between the produced on both sides of the East/West divide;
author and the overarching discursive body. The however, the expansion of European colonialism
texts that Said examined were primarily those of and the overwhelming assumption of power by
high culture from the West (largely art and litera- the West resulted in the prevalence of institu-
ture) but united a number of seemingly disparate tional Orientalism (as opposed to Occidentalism,
spheres such as policy, academic knowledge, and or stereotypes of the Western world). Over time,
popular cultural production. Through his analysis, Orientalism moved from being a largely academic
Said sought to explore the ways in which the Orient subject to being instrumental in policy making
was represented as pejorative throughout history and from an alien space to a colonial one. The
and into the modern day. He argued that Oriental- conception of the Orient and Oriental peoples
ism was based on an ontological and epistemologi- through biological and environmental determin-
cal division between the West and the Orient. ism resulted in the “scientific” justification of the
 OR IENT A LI S M '&%(

Oriental as backward, incompetent, uncivilized, of Orientalism has also been employed to highlight
and in need of domination and enlightenment by the essentializing nature of some textual represen-
the West. Additionally, Orientalism’s masculine tations in geography’s subfields, such as tourism
worldview helped develop the Orient as static and media studies. As Said noted, however, geog-
and unproductive while at the same time sensual, raphy as a discipline was, and in some ways poten-
exotic, and feminine. tially remains, key to the processes of colonial and
As Orientalism evolved, the Orient became postcolonial domination by the West. The disci-
something that Europe needed for its own regen- pline of Orientalism, as well as Orientalism as a
eration. Said contended that the West needed the process, depended on the dissemination of knowl-
Orient to define itself in contrast to the Other and edge about distant places and peoples by objective
that the West gained strength through this con- “experts.” These “experts,” geographers included,
tinuous (re)definition. The (mis)representations acted as gatekeepers and helped legitimize and
created by Orientalism are noteworthy not enable colonialism. Geographers have more
because of their accuracy but because they are recently acknowledged how the discipline itself,
part of a consistent and purposefully constructed much like the discipline of Orientalism, has been
discourse of alterity. Although Said’s analysis was complicit in the construction and maintenance of
textual, he firmly believed that these textual rep- disparate power dynamics between the colonial
resentations had material consequences. Orien- state and its colonies.
talism relies on the inscription of meaning on
spaces and places, through poetic processes,
Critiques of Said’s Orientalism
which result in the development of a discourse
of difference between “us” and “them.” Textual Said’s Orientalism was critiqued for a number of
production, he argued, produced more texts that reasons. First, it was argued that Said’s human-
could, in time, change reality and therefore create ism, which is based in a Western Enlightenment
concrete consequences. Fictionality and reality tradition of humanism, could not be reconciled
thus help inform and determine one another. with Foucault’s antihumanism. Said’s assignment
For Said, Orientalism was not simply a historic of agency to the individual author runs counter to
construction of textual representations but a con- the idea that informs it, that is, Foucault’s concept
tinuing phenomenon. He argued that Orientalism of the capillaries of power. As such, it was argued
has not disappeared but has been reworked in a that Said’s methodology was inherently flawed
postcolonial world now controlled largely by the and that he quit using his Foucauldian methodol-
United States. In his work, he argued that modern ogy when it interfered with his humanism.
American culture continues to depict the Arab Additionally, Said’s critique of Orientalism
Muslim in particular and essentialist ways that was criticized for being simplistic. Some critics
help perpetuate the United States’ continued proj- argued that in exploring the division of the world
ect of domination over the Arab world. Said spe- between the West and the Orient, Said not only
cifically addressed the Gulf War of the early documented but also reinforced binaries that were
1990s, and his later work concerned the after- inattentive to more nuanced representations of
math of the events of September 11, 2001. peoples and places. In this vein, the critique of
While Orientalism has been used and critiqued Orientalism did not provide space from which to
widely in other fields, it has also been employed break out of this dichotomous worldview. Said
extensively in geography. Said was particularly himself called for an alternative to Orientalism
interested in space and place and discussed geogra- but did not elaborate on what this might look
phy and spatiality throughout his writings. Geo- like. It has also been argued that Said gives insuf-
graphical works on Orientalism are most notably ficient thought to the interchanges of power and
found in the works of Derek Gregory. Said’s work the ways in which the seemingly totalizing power
has been foundational to postcolonial studies, and held by the colonizer might be contested by the
investigations of knowledge/power and colonial colonized, especially in localized, daily practice.
and postcolonial states have used the critique of Said was also criticized for his explicit focus on
Orientalism as a point of departure. The critique British and French Orientalisms and his neglect of
'&%) O R T ELI U S

other Orientalisms (e.g., German and American). of Orientalism has been used in a number of
He argued that this was justified because the Brit- ways. Said’s interest in literature and art has been
ish and French had been the most influential in extended by geographers concerned with other
the production of Orientalist discourses as well as textual production such as travel writing and
in colonial expansion. Said’s political commit- tourism. Within postcolonial and development
ment to Palestine and his interest in Egypt were geographies, the critique of Orientalism has been
undoubtedly other key components of his choice used to explore the ways in which essentialist rep-
of focus on British and French Orientalisms. resentations help perpetuate relationships of
Other critics contended that Said neglected analy- dependency even within a postcolonial context.
sis of texts that disagreed with his thesis of the
Victoria S. Downey
overwhelmingly dominant discourse of Oriental-
ism. His use of texts from various time periods
See also Colonialism; Difference, Geographies of;
also led to a critique that the work was transhis-
Discourse and Geography; Gregory, Derek; Identity,
torical and therefore ahistorical. His work was
Geography and; Imperialism; Other/Otherness;
viewed by some as elitist in its examination of
Postcolonialism; Race and Empire; Race and Racism;
solely “high culture” and the academic discipline
Social Darwinism; Subaltern Studies
of Orientalism. Said never relinquished his affin-
ity with the Western literary canon that he him-
self critiqued, and this also remained a point of
contention among his critics. Further Readings
Last, feminist scholars have noted his inatten-
tion to the place of gender within the discourse of Ahmad, A. (1992). In theory. New York: Verso.
Orientalism. While Said does discuss the femini- Gregory, D. (1995). Imaginative geographies.
zation of the Orient, his attention to gender Progress in Human Geography, 19(4), 447–485.
remained primarily in the metaphorical associa- Gregory, D. (2004). The colonial present:
tion of the Orient to femininity. Scholars have Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq. New York: Wiley.
sought to deepen and further problematize the Said, E. (1978). Orientalism. New York: Vintage.
dichotomy between the West and the Orient, as Said, E. (1981). Covering Islam. New York: Vintage.
well as to investigate the material practices and Said, E. (1993). Culture and imperialism. New York:
experiences of gender within Orientalism. Vintage.
Although it is noted that Said did open up space Varisco, D. (2007). Reading Orientalism: Said and the
for the expanded exploration of gender and sexu- unsaid. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
ality, it has been argued that these subjects are Yegenoglu, M. (1998). Colonial fantasies: Towards a
much more important than he made room for in feminist reading of Orientalism. Cambridge, UK:
his analysis. Feminist scholars have also ques- Cambridge University Press.
tioned whether Said’s regional and, at times,
global scale of analysis undermines critiques of
local institutions and politics.

ORTELIUS (1527–1598)
Orientalism’s Use Within
Geographic Subfields
Abraham Ortel (although always referred to using
Said’s focus on Orientalism as a phenomenon the Latin form, Ortelius) was born in Antwerp.
experienced only by the Middle East has more He was a prominent citizen of that great trading
recently been extended to the former colonies, city, and he conducted his scholarly and publish-
including Africa, Eastern Asia, and Australia. ing activities from there until his death. He was
While much work on Orientalism has been his- one of many scholars involved in drawing and
torical in nature, geographers and other scholars publishing maps in what was then the Spanish
continue to critically engage with the theory in a Netherlands (he became cosmographer to King
modern context. Within geography, the critique Philip II of Spain), but his distinctive contribution
'&%*
Figure 1 World map from the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum
Source: Library of Congress.
'&%+ O T H ER / OTHE RNE SS

was that he was the first to produce an atlas of the

Further Readings
world, titled Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, in 1570
(see Figure 1). Binding, P. (2003). Imagined corners: Exploring the
While there had been many collections of world’s first atlas. London: Review.
maps made before Ortelius, they were either Goffart, W. (2003). Historical atlases: The first three
updates of Ptolemy or random collections of hundred years, 1570–1870. Chicago: University of
maps copied from diverse sources and simply Chicago Press.
bound together. Ortelius’s innovation lay in his van den Broecke, M., van der Krogt, P., & Meurer,
overall plan for what he did: He wanted a uni- P. (Eds.). (1998). Abraham Ortelius and the first
form set of maps to cover the whole world as atlas: Essays commemorating the quadricentennial
then (i.e., in his own time) known to Europeans. of his death 1598–1998. Utrecht, Netherlands:
This set of maps would be compiled from all the HES.
available sources and not simply copied from Woodward, D. (Ed.). (2007). History of cartography:
whatever map was available for a particular Cartography in the European Renaissance.
region. This interest in having a set of maps Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
based on the best available sources was openly
indicated in the atlas in that his sources for each
map are stated; and this collection of informa-
tion brought Ortelius into communication with
most of the geographers of his time. He also OTHER/OTHERNESS
consciously set about distinguishing his contem-
porary maps from those that he drew to show The classification of Other and the demarcation
classical civilization or the biblical lands. In of Otherness refer to an identification of differ-
making this distinction, he was the first to cre- ence based on race, ethnicity, sex/gender, often
ate a historical atlas; and eventually, he removed under the guise of the exotic and the strange. This
these historical maps into a separate atlas, the Otherness can also be understood (and experi-
Parergon, in 1579, which was included in later enced) as forms of marginalization and exclusion.
editions of the Theatrum. In the Theatrum However, Othering differs from other forms of
proper, Ortelius employed a thoroughly empiri- oppression as it explicitly calls attention to the
cal approach to mapping; while in the Parergon, power dynamics between the person/institution,
he adopted a different hermeneutical principle— defining the “Otherness” and the person/place
“geography is the eye of history”—and his aim experiences the classification of “Other.” In this
was to produce maps that would bring clarity to entry, Edward Said’s writings on Orientalism are
the study of the past and its classic, often indeed used as a starting point for understanding how
sacred, texts. geographers working on issues of identity, urban
He was in close touch with another famous space, power dynamics, postcolonialism and fem-
atlas maker of the period, Gerardus Mercator, inism approach, study, and critique the process of
and may have inspired aspects of the latter’s Othering.
work. The Theatrum, published originally in Geography is drenched in imperial representa-
Latin, appeared in Dutch, German, French, Ital- tions and colonial mappings of the Other. Explo-
ian, English, and Spanish editions (several in the rations into seemingly unknown territories and
case of each of these languages) until 1624. It populations, whether rural or urban, expose
remained as an influence in the work of subse- entrenched Western perspectives of geographic
quent generations such as Hondius, Janssonius, research. Over the past 30 years, human geogra-
and Blaeu; many of the conventions he estab- phy, specifically postcolonial and feminist per-
lished in the Theatrum remain in atlases to this spectives, has critically examined the process, the
day. placement, and the resistance generated from the
position of the Other. Geographical mapping is
Thomas O’Loughlin
drenched in imperial representations and colonial
See also Cartography, History of; Mercator, Gerardus mappings of the Other.
 OT HER / OT HER NES S '&%,

The process of Othering and the demarcation through situating the Outsider residing on the
of the Other are conceptually distinct yet theo- periphery of cities, countries, and social thought.
retically intertwined. The process of Othering can Today, most human geographers do not
be illustrated through Edward Said’s critique of describe—in an Orientalist manner—detailed
Orientalism. For Said (1979), Orientalism (gener- characteristics of the space of the Other. They
ally understood as the study of “the Orient”) was critically examine and question how this demar-
a “way of coming to terms with the Orient that is cation of Other space and associated identities is
based on the Orient’s special place in European categorized and maintained. Geographers ques-
Western Experience” (p. 1). Orientalism allowed tion the process of Othering through critiquing
a Western European perspective to control the the territorialization of space and exposing
image of “the Orient.” It was a way to dominate, inequalities based on identity. These critiques do
restructure, and exert authority over the Orient not explicitly use the language of the Other;
through the study and classification of people and instead, Othering is understood through depic-
places. The Orient, according to Said, was and is tions of enclosure, exclusion, and difference.
not a “free subject of thought or action” (p. 3). Urban geographers researching economic and
The Orient became a static object of study through legal inequalities and public claims to urban space
the process of Othering. explore Othering in the city. In addition, research
Othering produced overtly generalized percep- conducted on national sovereignty, border anxiety,
tions of particular groups of people based on sanctuary cities, and migrant workers analyzes
behaviors associated with a stereotypical notion Othering through destabilizing the notion of terri-
of place. Othering relied and relies on relational tories and boundaries. Here, the concept of the
representations of the Other. The process of Oth- Other helps destabilize concepts of territory and
ering exposes as much about the Western process borders. Othering does not rely on stabilizing
of inquiry as about the object of study. Through but forces mobility on those deemed as Other.
Othering, the European culture shaped its iden- Feminist critical race scholars and queer theorists
tity and buffed what it perceived to be its strengths in geography incorporate Othering into their
in relation to that which it perceived to be inade- research—from bounded spaces to a critique of
quate in “the exotic.” Othering relies on subtle heteronormative spaces, to the segregation of gen-
methodologies of power and control. dered work, to racialized identities based on place.
Postcolonial studies expose how certain bod- To fully understand the concept of Othering,
ies, in relation to the hegemonic notion of white- one must be aware that the space occupied by
ness, are not endowed with agency and are those depicted as Other are not one-dimensional
perpetually linked to a discursive representation and neutral spaces on the periphery of society.
of place. Debates on race and culture are not the The space of the other, the space of exclusion can
sole conceptual framework for understanding be centrally visible. Similarly, the space of the
Othering. Postcolonial studies and feminist litera- Other can also be a space of resistance. A neat
ture influenced by Simone de Beauvoir have also line between oppressor and other is not always
described the experience and placement of the present. Othering is also prevalent in communi-
disempowered Other through the constructs of ties that would self-classify as the Other, femi-
colonialism, racism, and patriarchy. nism and geography being no exception. Othering
In human geography, the Other is understood can reflect Western society at large, our discipline
through discussions of space and identity. The and personal research projects. Othering is not
organization of space creates spaces of marginal- simply about identifying the Other as a static
ization and exclusion, the space of the Other. For racialized identity. It is a process of reflection on
example, legislation banning panhandling distin- how dominant powers represent Others.
guishes appropriate commercial uses of the space
of the sidewalk. Classifying a neighborhood as Lisa M. Freeman
“Chinatown” creates imagery of ownership,
belonging, segregation, and racialization. Geog- See also Citizenship; Class, Geography and; Difference,
raphers have examined the process of Othering Geographies of; Disability, Geography of; Discourse and
'&%- O UT S O U RCING

Geography; Ethnicity; Feminist Geographies; Hybrid Geographical work on outsourcing originated

Geographies; Identity, Geography and; Nationalism; in the 1980s, when the Fordist system of mass pro-
Orientalism; Postcolonialism; Queer Theory; Race and duction entered a worldwide crisis. The geogra-
Empire; Race and Racism; Subaltern Studies phers Allen Scott and Michael Storper, working on
industrial change in California, described the emer-
gence of tightly interconnected networks of small
Further Readings firms in place of the previously integrated large
businesses. Without using the term outsourcing
Anderson, K. (1991). Vancouver’s Chinatown: Racial directly, they described a regional pattern of firms
discourse in Canada, 1875–1980. Montreal, adopting outsourcing to spread risk and contain
Quebec, Canada: McGill-Queen’s University Press. costs. These early works introduced a spatial com-
Browne, K. (2007). (Re)making the other, ponent in the analysis of outsourcing: The concen-
heterosexualizing everyday space. Environment tration of providers of outsourcing services in
and Planning A, 39(4), 996–1014. certain regions allowed for an easier and more effi-
Fanon, F. (2008). Black skin, white masks (R. cient coordination of the production processes.
Philcox, Trans.). New York: Grove Press. Later, the Washington Consensus of neoliberal-
(Original work published 1952) ism and the worldwide increase in international
Haraway, D. (1991). Simians, cyborgs, and women. trade led geographers to shift focus from domestic
New York: Routledge. to international outsourcing. Overall, they identi-
hooks, b. (1984). Feminist theory: From margin to fied the distinctive character of the current phase
center. Boston: South End Press. of economic globalization as international frag-
McKittrick, K. (2006). Demonic grounds: Black mentation of production, involving a production
women and the cartographies of struggle. process spread across production sites in various
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. countries. Outsourcing and intrafirm trade within
Mohanram, R. (1999). Black body: Women, large corporations are the mechanisms allowing
colonialism and space. Minneapolis: University of such fragmentation. International outsourcing is a
Minnesota Press. qualitatively new phenomenon, because the earlier
Said, E. (1979). Orientalism. New York: Vintage. phases of globalization involved mostly trade of
Sibley, D. (1995). Geographies of exclusion: Society finished products.
and difference in the West. London: Routledge. In recent years, geographers have analyzed
Spivak, G. (1988). Can the subaltern speak? In C. the economic and sociocultural consequences
Nelson & L. Grossberg (Eds.), Marxism and the of outsourcing while participating in interdisci-
interpretation of culture (pp. 271–313). Chicago: plinary schools of thought, such as (a) the
University of Illinois Press. Global Value Chains (GVC) Initiative, (b) the
work on Global Production Networks (GPN),
and (c) within the discipline, the work of eco-
nomic geographers analyzing global as well as
regional change.
OUTSOURCING The value chain describes the full range of
activities that firms and workers perform to
Outsourcing refers to subcontracting a produc- bring a product from its conception to its end
tion process, or the provision of a service, to a use and beyond. The GVC Initiative investigates
third-party company. As a result of outsourcing, the global expansion of value chains through
firms transfer entire business functions to exter- international outsourcing and direct invest-
nal service providers. Geographers have contrib- ments, and its consequences on innovations,
uted to the study of outsourcing by investigating local firms, and labor. The work on GPN
(a) the spatial aspects of outsourcing, (b) the expands the analysis of value chains, arguing
social and cultural effects of the trade flows that “the notion of a simple single-stranded
generated by outsourcing, and (c) the role of out- ‘commodity chain’ scarcely does justice to the
sourcing in the globalization of the economy. complexity of the processes involved” (Jackson,
 OUT SOUR C ING '&%.






















          
          
          



 



Figure 1 International outsourcing between Western Europe and Bulgaria. Firms in high-wage countries (in the
table, the EU 15—the 15 Western European members of the European Union) export cloth to low- and medium-
wage countries (Bulgaria). They outsource the sewing and stitching to producers in the low-wage countries and
reimport the finished apparel products.
Source: Author’s elaboration of COMEXT data.
Note: The data refer to knitted cloth and apparel. The values are expressed in euros.

2002, p. 6). Instead, it represents the relation industry (Figure 1), its consequence on labor con-
among firms as complex, network-like, and regu- ditions and wages, as well as the impact of norms
lated by a variety of institutions at different scales. and regulations on the industry.
One example of regional analysis is the work by Christian Sellar
John Pickles, Adrian Smith, Robert Begg, Milan
Bucek, and Poli Roukova on Eastern European See also Commodity Chains; Economic Geography;
apparel industries. They analyzed the role of Flexible Production; Fordism; Globalization;
international outsourcing in revitalizing the Neoliberalism; Transnational Corporation
'&&% O UT S O U RCING

Further Readings Jones, R. W., & Kierzkowski, H. (2001). A

framework for fragmentation. In S. W. Arndt &
Coe, N. M., Dicken, P., & Hess, M. (Guest Eds.). H. Kierzkowski (Eds.), Fragmentation: New
(2008). Global production networks: Debates and production patterns in the world economy (pp.
challenges [Special issue]. Journal of Economic 17–34). New York: Oxford University Press.
Geography, 8(3). Overby, S. (2007, June 8). The ABCs of outsourcing.
Coe, N. M., Hess, M., Yeung, H., Dicken, P., & Retrieved December 1, 2009, from www.cio.com/
Henderson, J. (2004). Globalizing regional article/118100/The_ABCs_of_Outsourcing
development: A global production networks Pietrobelli, C., & Rabellotti, R. (2007). Upgrading to
perspective. Transactions of the Institute of British compete: Global value chains, clusters and SMEs
Geographers, 29(4), 468–484. in Latin America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
Domberger, S. (1998). The contracting organization: University Press.
A strategic guide to outsourcing. Oxford, UK:
Oxford University Press.
Global Value Chains Initiative: www.globalvalue
chains.org
Jackson, P. (2002). Commercial cultures:
Transcending the cultural and the economic.
OVERPOPULATION
Progress in Human Geography, 26(1), 3–18.
See Malthusianism; Neo-Malthusianism
 PALIMPSEST
P This vision was close to early-20th-century
research on cultural landscape, since Carl Sauer
emphasized the role of temporal change of the
A palimpsest is a conceptual model of a place as
landscape. This notion was followed by Derwent
a multilayered structure that emphasizes the
Whittlesey’s writings on sequent occupance in the
coexistence of multiple visions and impacts of
1920s. Time passed before the vision of a land-
different cultures on the landscape. Originally
scape as multilayered came into usage in geogra-
the term referred to a type of medieval manu-
phy. The first geographer to call a landscape a
script in which new text was written over previ-
palimpsest was Donald Meinig, who used the
ous text that had been partly erased, palimpsest
term in 1979 in the preface to his edited book
has become a widespread metaphor for cultural
The Interpretation of Ordinary Landscapes.
landscapes coincidentally with the rise of interest
What Meinig meant was that the making of the
in the symbolic properties of landscape, semiot-
landscape is a temporal process and the landscape
ics, and representation.
itself reflects some of its past properties. The his-
torical model of landscape as a palimpsest includes
Origins of the Term the genesis of its various elements—an approach
that shows that some of them remain in place for
The term palimpsest originates from the Greek long periods of time, some have changed, some
palin (“again”) and psaio (“I scrape”). The notion have been forgotten, others have been reinvented,
became a useful metaphor in the humanities and and, finally, some have been totally destroyed
in fiction more than a century ago. It was used by and new elements have emerged in their place.
scholars in humanities disciplines to depict the
layering of different texts on one piece of parch-
ment, in which subsequent layers do not erase all
Symbolic Landscape as a Palimpsest
the traces of their predecessors. It was stressed
that the earlier layers of the palimpsest did not As the symbolic properties of the cultural land-
disappear and remained visible through the more scape were stressed in the “new cultural geog-
recent layers, so that one can recognize the previ- raphy” and emphasis was put on human
ous layers of the text. This approach was used in interpretations and representations of a land-
architecture and urban history to describe the scape, the metaphor of place as a palimpsest
coexistence of material elements that originated became popular. The emphasis in this approach
in different historical periods in a building or was on differences in the landscape as it is “read”
urban site. by social groups and individuals, differentiated

'&&&
'&&' P A N C H ROMATIC IMAG E RY

by identity, occupation, lifestyles, experience, activities in which the construction of new images
imaginative power, and emotional factors. A of space and place is needed.
palimpsest indicates that the landscape consists of
Ivan Mitin
different fragments of the text, which can conflict
with one another. This interpretation of the term
See also Cultural Landscape; Landscape Interpretation;
turns reading of the landscape into a process of
Place; Sauer, Carl; Whittlesey, Derwent
multivocal communication and the text into an
“intertext.” The intertext, in semiotics, is a struc-
ture of mutual references of multiple meanings;
the same is true of the palimpsest in geography. Further Readings

Crang, M. (1998). Cultural geographies. London:

Semiotic Model of a Palimpsest Routledge.
Meinig, D. (Ed.). (1979). The interpretation of
To study the relations between various layers of ordinary landscapes. Oxford, UK: Oxford
place as a palimpsest, the semiotic model is needed University Press.
if the landscape itself is to be regarded as a text. Mitin, I. (2007). Mythogeography: Region as
The concept of mythogeography, which appeared a palimpsest of identities. In L. Elenius &
in Russia in the early 2000s, suggests such a model; C. Karlsson (Eds.), Cross-cultural communication
here, place is seen as a complex of an endless and ethnic identities (pp. 215–225). Lulea,
number of coexisting semiological systems. Each Switzerland: Lulea University of Technology.
of these systems is one of the layers of the palimp- Schein, R. (1997). The place of landscape:
sest, and each layer is regarded as a context, not a A conceptual framework for interpreting an
narrative, because it is organized around one American scene. Annals of the Association of
dominant idea. Such contexts may be the geo- American Geographers, 87(4), 660–680.
graphical description of a place, place perceptions
and imaginations, images and metaphors of a
place, and so on. Semiotics helps analyze these
layers as spatial myths, and the process of their
formation is one of semiosis. The essence of this
PANCHROMATIC IMAGERY
approach is in the endless interpretation of place,
Analog and digital sensors that acquire data from
during which the new senses of a place emerge.
a single broad region of visible light, and some-
times from the adjacent near-infrared and ultravio-
let regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, are
Criticisms of the Model
commonly given the label panchromatic. The name
The model of place as a palimpsest originated in was originally given to black-and-white photo-
historical and cultural geography and can be graphic films that were sensitive to ultraviolet and
described as one of several ways to describe cul- the entire visible spectrum (pan, meaning “all,”
tural changes in a landscape. The theory of spatial and chromatic, meaning “colors”; both words are
diffusion is a “dynamic” alternative to the palimp- of Greek origin), to distinguish them from earlier
sest, as the vision of a place as a sum of elements black-and-white films that were only sensitive to
with different times of origin. Another criticism is ultraviolet and blue light. Panchromatic film was
that palimpsests represent landscapes as passive used extensively for aerial photography. In the era
entities, only as reflections of human interpreta- of digital electronic sensors, the term panchromatic
tions and perceptions. The semiological model is has been retained for single-band images that rep-
useful to stress the role of the landscape itself in resent information from a broad spectral region
the formation of new layers of the palimpsest. but not necessarily from all visible wavelengths.
The model of place as a palimpsest may be Panchromatic satellite images typically have rela-
used in tourist destination management, market- tively high spatial resolution compared with multi-
ing of territories, regional promotion, and other spectral images and are useful for cartographic
 P A NC HR OMA T IC IMA GERY '&&(

3.0 1.2
Ultraviolet Blue Green Red Infrared

IKONOS Relative Spectral Responsivity

1.0
2.0
Film Log Sensitivity

0.8

1.0 0.6

0.4
0.0
0.2

-1.0 0.0
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2

Wavelength (μm)

Panchromatic film IKONOS panchromatic band

Figure 1 Example of panchromatic film sensitivity and IKONOS relative responsivity. The yellow region
indicates approximate wavelengths of human vision.
Source: Author.

applications and visual interpretations of land crystal sensitivity to light could be extended to
cover. Panchromatic images are sometimes also include green wavelengths, a type of film known as
used to “sharpen” lower–spatial resolution multi- orthochromatic. Finally, in 1904, Vogel developed
spectral images, in a procedure known as multi- a dye that extended the silver halide sensitivity
resolution data fusion. range to include red. The resulting black-and-white
photographs were more visually intuitive than those
from the earlier films, and the name panchromatic
Panchromatic Film
was chosen for the new film. In 1919, infrared
Photography is an analog, chemical method of films were developed by extending the sensitivity
recording images. Silver halide crystals suspended range even further. In contrast to all black-and-
in gelatin form an emulsion and undergo a chemi- white films, including panchromatic film, color
cal reaction on exposure to ultraviolet, violet, and films have three emulsion layers, one for each of
blue light, thus recording the spatial patterns of the red, green, and blue portions of the spectrum.
light that fall on the film. However, because Panchromatic film is prized for its broad
of the limited spectral range of the silver halide spectral response, from approximately 0.25 to
crystals, black-and-white photographs produced 0.7 micrometer, and was the traditional film
from this film did not provide an intuitive corre- used in aerial photography (Figure 1). Because
spondence to human visual perception. In 1873, the atmosphere preferentially scatters shorter-
Hermann Carl Vogel discovered that by adding wavelength light, and thus especially ultraviolet
small amounts of sensitizing dye, the silver halide and blue light, panchromatic aerial film was
'&&) P A N C H ROMATIC IMAG E RY

normally exposed with a yellow filter to remove panchromatic data with a 10-m (meter) resolution
the blue and the shorter wavelengths. Thus, despite and three-band multispectral data with a 20-m
the name, panchromatic aerial photography typi- resolution. SPOT 1 was launched in 1986. All
cally does not record all visible wavelengths. subsequent SPOT satellites, up to the current
A wide range of aerial panchromatic film types SPOT 5, feature this combination of multispectral
were produced in the past, with varying contrast, and panchromatic data, although the particular
light sensitivity, and spatial resolution. In recent wavelengths of the panchromatic band have
years, with the increased use of digital aerial sen- changed progressively between the different satel-
sors, many types of panchromatic aerial film have lites (Table 1). For example, the SPOT-4 panchro-
been discontinued. matic band is only sensitive to red wavelengths.
A wide range of digital space-borne sensors
have followed the SPOT design, with a combina-
Satellite-Based Sensors
tion of high–spatial resolution panchromatic and
During the early part of the space era, traditional low–spatial resolution multispectral data. Exam-
photographic film was the primary medium for ples include the India Remote Sensing (IRS-1C)
acquiring images of Earth, both by astronauts and satellite’s Linear Imaging Self-Scanning sensors
by automated satellite-based sensors. Conse- (LISS-III), with a 5.8-m resolution panchromatic
quently, aerial film terminology was used in space- spectral band and four bands of 23.5-m multispec-
based imaging from the beginning, including for tral data, and Landsat 7’s Enhanced Thematic
Corona, a U.S. intelligence program that was the Mapper Plus, with six multispectral bands with
first satellite-based Earth-imaging program. The 30-m resolution, one thermal band with 60-m res-
Corona program lasted from 1960 to 1972, and olution, and a panchromatic band with 15-m reso-
the majority of Corona imagery was acquired with lution. The two high–spatial resolution commercial
the equivalent of panchromatic film. sensors, IKONOS and QuickBird, also have a
In 1972, the National Aeronautics and Space combination of a high–spatial resolution panchro-
Administration (NASA) launched a terrestrial- matic band and four lower–spatial resolution mul-
imaging satellite, the Earth Resources Technology tispectral bands. Figure 1 shows that the spectral
Satellite, which was later renamed Landsat. The responsivity of the IKONOS panchromatic band
Landsat program has been remarkably successful is dominated by red and infrared, in contrast to
and continues to this day. A less well-known sen- the sensitivity of traditional panchromatic film,
sor on the Landsat satellite was the Return Beam which includes the ultraviolet and the visible.
Vidicon (RBV). For Landsat 1 and 2, the RBV The combination of panchromatic and multi-
sensor collected data in three spectral bands, but spectral data is attractive because satellite-borne
for Landsat 3, launched in 1978, the RBV sensor sensors are normally constrained in terms of the
was redesigned to acquire just a single broad band total information that can be acquired and com-
(Table 1). Following the tradition of excluding municated. Therefore, there is a trade-off between
blue wavelengths when acquiring aerial images the spatial resolution (the amount of ground detail)
with panchromatic film, the RBV sensor was and the spectral resolution (the number and width
designed not to be sensitive to blue wavelengths. of the spectral bands) that can be collected by any
Although data from the Landsat sensors were one sensor. By acquiring a data set at high spatial
electronic signals converted to a digital format, resolution with just one band (low spectral resolu-
the film term panchromatic was applied to the tion) and also acquiring a second data set with
single-band RBV data. comparatively low spatial resolution and three or
The first satellite program designed explicitly more spectral bands (of higher spectral resolution),
to have an integrated combination of multispec- the best of both worlds may be obtained.
tral and panchromatic sensors was Système Pour
l’Observation de la Terre, or SPOT. Designed by
Applications of Panchromatic Imagery
the French Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales
(CNES), the SPOT-1 satellite carried a High Res- Panchromatic aerial photography was tradition-
olution Visible (HRV) instrument, which collected ally used for photogrammetry, especially in the
 P A NC HR OMA T IC IMA GERY '&&*

GSD Spectral Number of GSD (m)

(m) Sensitivity Multispectral Multispectral
Satellite Launched Sensor Name (if any) Pan (μm) Bands Bands
Landsat 3 March 5, Return Beam 40 0.53–0.68 0
1978 Vidicon (RBV)
SPOT1 February 21, High Resolution 10 0.51–0.73 3 20
1986 Visible (HRV)
SPOT4 March 24, High Resolution Visible 10 0.61–0.68 4 20
1998 and Infrared (HRVIR)
SPOT5 May 3, High Resolution Visible 2.5 0.48–0.71 4 10
2002 and Infrared (HRVIR)
IRS1-C May 19, Linear Imaging Self- 5.8 0.50–0.75 4 23.5 (70.5
1995 Scanning sensors (LISS-III) for SWIR)
IRS-P5 May 5, Pan Stereo 2.5 0.50–0.85 0 —
(Cartosat) 2005
Landsat 7 April 15, Enhanced Thematic 15 0.52–0.90 7 30 (60
1999 Mapper Plus (ETM+) for TIR)
EO-1 November 21, Advanced Land Imager 10 0.48–0.69 9 30
2000 (ALI, Panchromatic band)
IKONOS September 24, — 1 0.45–0.90 4 4
1999
QuickBird October 18, — 0.61 0.45–0.90 4 2.44
2001
WorldView 1 September 18, — 0.50 0.45–0.89 0 —
2007

Table 1 Characteristics of representative panchromatic bands on Earth-imaging satellites

Source: Author.

production of topographic maps. In addition, information from lower–spatial resolution mul-

panchromatic aerial photography was used exten- tispectral data.
sively for qualitative image interpretation. Timothy A. Warner
Map production is also a primary applica-
tion of panchromatic imagery acquired from See also Aerial Imagery: Data; Multispectral Imagery;
satellites. Although panchromatic data alone Remote Sensing; Remote Sensing: Platforms and Sensors
are relatively rarely used in automated remote
sensing land cover mapping, due to the lack of
multispectral information, panchromatic data Further Readings
are useful for a number of spatial image analy-
sis methods, including both automated and Lillesand, T. W., Kiefer, R. W., & Chipman, J. W.
semiautomated road delineation. An additional (2004). Remote sensing and image interpretation
use of panchromatic imagery is in multiresolu- (5th ed.). New York: Wiley.
tion data fusion, which has become a research Toutin, T. (2009). Fine spatial resolution optical
focus of considerable interest. Multiresolution sensors. In T. A. Warner, M. D. Nellis, & G. M.
data fusion encompasses methods that inte- Foody (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of remote
grate the spatial detail from high–spatial reso- sensing (pp. 108–122). London: Sage.
lution panchromatic data with the spectral
'&&+ P A N O P TICON

PANOPTICON then applied to other social institutions, such as

the state, education, religion, and technology.
Foucault contended that Bentham’s panopticon
The panopticon was a prison model developed by
design brought to light ideas about order and
the English social theorist and philosopher Jeremy
power that have long existed. In the panopticon,
Bentham in the late 1780s and has, subsequently,
Foucault observed that the orbital design, which
been implemented in prison design and construc-
enabled inmates to be viewed at all times, meant
tion around the world. The panopticon’s design
that those people doing the viewing amass a
was such that everything (pan) could be seen and
great deal of power. In this scenario, a few peo-
observed (opticon) at any time. Panopticism as a
ple retain power, while numerous people are
social theory emerged in the 1970s as a way of
affected by the manifestation of such power.
theorizing relationships between power, surveil-
This same consolidation of power in which mul-
lance, and society. Highly influenced by Michel
titudes are affected by a few powerful actors,
Foucault’s famous book Discipline and Punish,
maintained Foucault, can be witnessed in myriad
panopticism contends that surveillance and power
social institutions. Some scholars of Foucault
are intimately intertwined and manifest through
contend that his observation of the ordering and
particular procedures and apparatuses connected
disciplining of society emerged from a basic
to technological inventions. Panopticism holds
skepticism about modernist projects and ways of
that these procedures, apparatuses, and technolo-
thinking.
gies ultimately serve to discipline society, eliminat-
ing obfuscation through observation.
Critical Panopticism
Bentham’s Panopticon Foucault’s panopticon reading has been influen-
tial in broader human geography discourse, espe-
Bentham is most famous for the development of cially in the critical traditions of feminism,
the panopticon prison model, though much of his Marxism, and poststructuralism. In feminism,
life work revolved around social reform and the heterosexuality is conceived of as a panopticon,
advent of utilitarianism. The basic design model or something due to which people discipline
of the panopticon prescribed a tower in the center themselves regardless of whether their actions or
of the structure from which all surrounding lives are directly being monitored. Many women
inmate cells could be observed and noted; this and gays fear the discriminatory heterosexual
tower was also kept darker than the rest of the gaze, and thus, the metaphor of the closet, in
structure. Bentham noted that this design not only which many gay people are trapped, comes into
enabled constant surveillance but also made play. Marxism has been much concerned with
inmates feel as if they were constantly observed, the role of state power and surveillance in con-
thus turning individuals into objects of surveil- trolling classes and in consolidating power
lance instead of participants in communication. among the elites, and different trajectories of
The circular aligned cells around the central Marxist thought have expanded panopticism
observance tower allowed the warden to be omni- in numerous directions. Poststructuralists use
present, or at least seem to be so. This feeling of panopticism to understand the relationships
being under constant surveillance on the part of between and within subjectivity, normativity,
the inmates and the sense of the warden’s omni- and power, both discursively and materially.
presence exemplify the ways in which power These varying critical schools of thought share
seeped into the everyday lives of prisoners. It is the concern of how these powers and procedures
this very concern on which Foucault focused. are spatialized, how they affect people’s interac-
tions with and in space, and how these geogra-
Foucault’s Panopticon phies are normalized and become part of the
fabric of everyday life through careful study of
Foucault’s interest in panopticism stemmed from the discursive and material histories of panopti-
his reading of Bentham’s prison model, which he con organizations.
 P A R K S A ND R ESER V E S '&&,

Geospatial Technologies and Panopticons people and communities, some of whom may have
been moved from within the area designated as a
The simultaneous increase in surveillance technol- park on its creation and continue to be excluded
ogy and in geographic spatial science technologies from its boundaries, to ensure complete protection
has led to new questions in surveillance studies. of the land and resources within the park. This is a
Scholars increasingly consider the ethical and key area within the field of geography, as it involves
moral dimensions of publicly available surveillance land or ocean resources and the people who live on
and mapping technologies. Also, the effort to spa- or use them and, as such, is a key area of people-
tialize the myriad types of information—that is, to environment interaction within the larger field of
be able to show information via maps and visual, conservation. There are many forms of protection,
spatial representations—leads to questions of for for land, water, or biodiversity, in existence around
what this information will be used and whether or the world today. According to the International
not people can opt out of participation from these Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), pro-
spatial technologies. Others argue that surveillance tected areas are land or ocean regions dedicated
technologies result in a lack of cohesion in neigh- specifically to the protection and maintenance of
borhoods and cities; there is no longer a need to be biological diversity and to their associated natural
aware of neighbors and surrounding people, since and cultural resources, which are managed in some
surveillance technology is there to capture any type of legal arrangement. There are many differ-
wrongdoings. The panopticon, then, leads to order ent forms of protection, however, which can be
and discipline—that is, by interrupting interper- confusing, and so IUCN has also defined these
sonal relationships through surveillance. various types, in terms of their level of protection,
Hilary Hungerford objectives, and interventions. These different types
are (a) strict nature reserve, which is managed
See also Geoslavery; Privacy and Security of Geospatial mainly for science; (b) wilderness area, which is
Information; Surveillance managed mainly for wilderness area; (c) national
park, which is managed mainly for ecosystem pro-
tection and recreation; (d) natural monument,
Further Readings which is mainly for the conservation of specific
natural features; (e) habitat/species management
Bentham, J. (1995). The panopticon writings. area, which is managed mainly for conservation
London: Verso Books. through management intervention with the pur-
Crampton, J., & Elden, S. (Eds.). (2007). Space, pose of ensuring the maintenance of habitats and/
knowledge and power: Foucault and geography. or to meet the requirements of specific species;
London: Ashgate. (f) protected landscape/seascape, which is man-
Dobson, J., & Fisher, P. (2007). The panopticon’s aged mainly for landscape/seascape conservation
changing geography. Geographical Review, 97(3), and recreation; and (g) managed resource pro-
307–323. tected area, which is managed mainly for the sus-
Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and punish: The tainable use of natural ecosystems, such as the U.S.
birth of the prison. New York: Random House. Forest Service lands.
Lyon, D. (Ed.). (2006). Theorizing surveillance: The
panopticon and beyond. London: Willan.
Global Coverage and Location of Parks
According to estimates based on these IUCN defi-
nitions of parks and reserves, there are more than
PARKS AND RESERVES 117,000 such sites, covering approximately 19
million km2 (square kilometers), or approximately
A park or reserve is an area that has been legally 4% of the Earth’s surface. This is an increase in
set aside for protection. The form of protection legal designations of such sites from only 9,214 in
ranges from minor limitations on the use of certain 1962, covering an area of 2.4 million km2. Over-
materials or products to the complete exclusion of all, there are approximately 20 million km2 of
'&&- P A R K S AND RE SE RVE S

Earth’s surface in some form of protection (some species. A major concern for conservationists,
of which may not have much monitoring or effec- however, has been the “islandization” of parks.
tive management and so are referred to as “paper Increasing human populations and the expansion
parks,” reflecting the fact that while these areas of agriculture are viewed as major contributing
appear as parks on maps or paper, they are not factors to this problem, whereby the park becomes
actively protected or managed), which represents an island of, for example, forest, within a larger-
about 15% of Earth’s surface. The oceans, in landscape matrix of human-dominated uses, such
contrast, have only 1 million km2 in any form of as various types of agriculture and settlements.
protection, which represents around 0.5% of Kibale National Park in Uganda is a prime exam-
their total surface area. ple of such a situation, where the park represents
Many of the world’s largest parks occur in areas a forested island within an agricultural, densely
where the land is perhaps less suitable for other populated landscape. This park highlights many
options—that is, land that is not settled or inhab- of the concerns of islandized parks, as it contains
ited for a good reason. Such land has less worth significant chimpanzee, monkey (e.g., various
economically speaking and was not developed, Colobus monkeys), and forest elephant popula-
and so now it enters a park system. An example of tions within a small space on the landscape (less
this is the Greenland Natural Reserve, which than 350 km2). In addition, then, to the series of
encompasses a large area of ocean and ice caps, or parks being established worldwide, there are also
the Ar Rub’al Khali Wildlife Management Area in other areas or reserves being established in con-
Saudi Arabia, which encompasses a large part of cert, which allow connections or corridors from
the world’s largest unbroken desert. In some areas, one park to another, as many people have begun
though, and increasingly with current park cre- to realize that purely islandized parks may not be
ation, parks are located within inhabited land- the most robust solution for long-term conserva-
scapes and on land that is more valued. In such tion, especially for species with larger home
cases, additional problems and potential conflicts ranges, which need to maintain diverse, healthy,
can arise. Such park landscapes are often charac- and robust populations. The development of such
terized by biological and sociopolitical dilemmas linkages or “corridors” is still under way in many
because of conflicts between biodiversity goals world regions as areas are created to link existing
and local livelihood strategies. Throughout the parks on the landscape to each other, often with
developing world, parks are surrounded by land- less rigorous rules of protection but still catego-
scapes that, while still containing considerable rized as protected in some form. In the Kibale
biodiversity, also have rapidly growing human National Park, a corridor is being developed to
populations. While areas around parks represent link this small, forested park to the larger Queen
zones of risk and restriction, they are also poten- Victoria National Park to its south, although
tial zones of opportunity for current and potential these regions differ in terms of ecosystems and
migrant populations. This dual character of park species composition. Such corridor regions are
landscapes will generate and/or intensify the dis- expanding globally and adding to the annual
tinctive patterns of land use around parks, which increase in total land area under protection,
will in turn have important consequences for the although their success is not yet known.
park itself. Such conflicts will likely increase as
human populations and competition for existing
natural resources increase. Effectiveness of Parks and Reserves
There are a multitude of park and reserve forms
in existence around the globe, usually with the
Development of Connected
goal of species, biome, or society conservation.
Parks or Corridors
Depending on the form, rules, and size of these
These areas of protection are being set aside for parks, the successfulness of the venture may vary.
the conservation of land, ecology, or biomes or, Some parks are purely paper parks, in that while
in some cases, to preserve a very particular they may exist on paper in some central office
 P A R K S A ND R ESER V E S '&&.

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Source: Morguefile.

somewhere, there is no actual impact on the Recent comparative studies that have attempted
ground due to the park being there, and local to evaluate the effectiveness of parks in tropical
communities and peoples rarely know of the park regions suggest that the creation of protected
boundaries, no guards are present, and no moni- areas has had mixed outcomes. While exclusion-
toring is undertaken. At the opposite extreme is ary approaches can be successful, in some
“fortress conservation,” in which there is com- instances, at protecting forest cover, they do not
plete exclusion of people from the park environ- account for the social ramifications of denying
ment and the park is a restricted zone for society. local inhabitants access to forest resources. Even
Such parks can have some significant problems if as the area under protection continues to increase
a population has been excluded from it and if worldwide, there is an ever-greater awareness of
there are no alternative sources of goods for that the social consequences of creating protected
population. Such parks are common throughout areas that exclude local inhabitants from tradi-
Africa and Asia. Due to the many different forms, tional ways of life. People-park conflicts are par-
rules of use, and purposes of park establishment, ticularly acute in tropical regions, where people
it is difficult to characterize the general success of depend on high-biodiversity regions for their live-
park and reserve establishments. lihood. The interest in alternative, decentralized
'&'% P A R S O NS, JAME S

methods of forest management in several coun- Further Readings

tries across the world can be traced to these con-
cerns. Sustainable levels of use have been Bruner, A. G., Gullison, R. E., Rice, R. E., Gustavo,
proposed as a more effective alternative, based R. E., & da Fonseca, A. B. (2001). Effectiveness of
on the argument that resources are better con- parks in protecting tropical biodiversity. Science,
served when people can use, and therefore value, 291, 125–128.
them as part of their livelihood. Thus, the trend Child, B. (2002). Review of African wildlife
has shifted toward encouraging decentralized, and livelihoods: The promise and performance
local, and participatory forms of governance in of community conservation. Nature, 415,
contrast to the top-down, state-centered systems 581–582.
of management that were extensively promoted Child, B. (2003). Review of biodiversity,
in the 1950s. However, critics of these approaches sustainability and human communities: Protecting
argue that exclusionary approaches are the most beyond the protected. Nature, 421, 113–114.
effective way to conserve habitats and protect Child, B. (2004). Parks in transition: Biodiversity,
biodiversity. rural development and the bottom line. London:
A recent study by Bruner et al. evaluated the Earthscan.
effectiveness of 93 parks in tropical regions. All Southworth, J., Nagendra, H., & Munroe, D. K.
the sample parks were exclusionary in their man- (2006). Are parks working? Exploring human-
agement. The study made an important contribu- environment tradeoffs in protected area
tion by attempting a broad, comparative analysis, conservation. Applied Geography, 26, 87–95.
and it concluded that exclusionary parks are
successful at limiting land cover transformation
when compared with the surrounding landscape.
However, by focusing only on exclusionary forms
of management, the research fails to consider PARSONS, JAMES
whether alternative approaches, such as commu-
nity-based arrangements, private ownership, or (1915–1997)
participatory park management, might have simi-
lar or better results. In the future, there will prob- James Jerome “Jim” Parsons was a noted cultural
ably be a continued increase in park development, geographer in the tradition of Carl Sauer. He was
and many new parks may form part of a more a professor in the geography department at the
community-based arrangement. The increasing University of California, Berkeley, from 1948 to
importance of the role of private ownership 1986. He was an advisee and student of Carl
within the parks and conservation arena is also Sauer, long recognized as one of the most influen-
expected. More studies to evaluate park and tial modern geographers. Parsons obtained his
reserve effectiveness are still needed, as is the PhD in 1948 at Berkeley and was hired to stay
larger discourse on the type of conservation and there. As a student of Sauer’s, and because he
the role it plays in the ultimate success or failure never left Berkeley, Parsons is often so directly
to conserve. Such studies are being undertaken linked to Sauer as to not be seen as different from
and will only increase as the emphasis on the con- his mentor.
servation of such parks and reserves continues to A review of his academic work and publication
increase. record suggests that Parsons was a generalist and
that the topics he researched and studied were
Jane Southworth closely aligned with the Berkeley School of geog-
raphy. While advisees who completed their PhD
See also Biodiversity; Biosphere Reserves; Conservation; degrees early in Parsons’s career said that their
Conservation Zoning; Landscape and Wildlife mentor’s philosophy was so closely tied to Sauer
Conservation; Patches and Corridors in Wildlife that little distinction could be made between the
Conservation; Spatial Strategies of Conservation; two, Parsons’s later students viewed him as deci-
Wilderness sively different from Sauer.
 P A R T IC IP A NT OBSER V A T IO N '&'&

Parsons’s publications show an intense interest

in the “man-land” tradition of the Berkeley
PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION
School, but they also indicate a substantial diver-
gence into biogeography, especially his work on Participant observation is a research methodology
the interface between human and mammal com- with roots in anthropology. It has a well-established
munities and on human use of and impacts on tradition in exploratory social science and geogra-
vegetation. Examples of the former are his phy. In practice, participant observation shares
research on Spanish starlings and Caribbean several characteristics with ethnography. One of
green sea turtles. In the case of sea turtles, his the aims of participant observation is to uncover
1962 book The Green Turtle and Man is seen as the everyday life of different groups within society.
one of his most important contributions, coming It is generally agreed that participant observation
at a time before the widespread international con- is a broad observational approach that is not used
cern over species overexploitation. Parsons’s in isolation from other methods, such as more
work on turtles dovetails pioneering studies by quantitative techniques. Participant observation
the famed marine biologist Archie Carr. In that has been used by geographers to explore a wide
respect (and others), later students of Parsons variety of populations and settings.
view him as the originator of biogeography in the The methodology originated in the fieldwork
context of human-environment interaction, or of social anthropologists such as Bronislaw Mal-
what has been termed cultural biogeography. inowski, but participant observation’s heritage in
Parsons shared Sauer’s philosophy of deeply geography is perhaps best linked to the Chicago
rooted and dedicated field observation. Unlike School of sociology during the 1920s and 1930s.
Sauer, however, Parsons turned farther from Nels Anderson’s classic work The Hobo pio-
archival work and historical geography to con- neered participant observation as a research
temporary topics that relied as much on local methodology in urban sociology. Anderson
knowledge and practices. As president of the attempted to provide insight into and an under-
Association of American Geographers in 1976, standing of the life of the homeless in Chicago.
Parson gave an address to the professional asso- This tradition of seeking insight and understand-
ciation that focused on his vision of geographical ing continues to this day in geography. The meth-
inquiry as “exploration and discovery.” This call odology has proved to be particularly suited to
reflects his openness to seeking out topics in the exploratory research because participant obser-
field, learning from unorthodox sources, follow- vation overcomes the potential weakness of rely-
ing up with archival research, and communicat- ing on a single methodology, which may prove to
ing in unobtrusive language. be ineffective in uncovering everyday experience.
Participant observation aims to uncover the
Johnathan Walker
meanings and perspectives of persons living in
particular places. Early definitions of the method-
See also Berkeley School; Cultural Geography; Sauer, Carl
ology talk about sharing in the daily activities,
and sometimes the interests, of a group of per-
sons. This definition has changed little over the
Further Readings decades. Participant observation often takes place
in a case study location that has some relevance
Parsons, J. (1962). The green turtle and man. to the research question. This methodology is
Gainesville: University of Florida Press. unique because the researcher approaches partici-
Parsons, J. (1977). Geography as exploration and pants directly within their own environment
discovery. Annals of the Association of American rather than having the participants come to the
Geographers, 67(1), 1–16. researcher via, for example, a questionnaire sur-
Wallach, B. (1998). In memoriam: James J. Parsons, vey. The participant observation researcher strives
1915–1997. Annals of the Association of to uncover what everyday life is like from an
American Geographers, 88(2), 316–328. “insider” perspective while remaining, inevitably,
an “outsider.”
'&'' P A R T I C IPANT OBSE RVATION

Participant observation has been claimed to observation to become directly involved in their
represent a uniquely humanistic, interpretive lives. Rather than remaining an outside observer,
methodology, as opposed to the positivist tradi- he became part of the experience. His research
tion. The methodology usually shares the follow- involved sharing conversations with older per-
ing characteristics. First, there is an emphasis on sons in their homes, at community meetings, and
exploring the nature of a social phenomenon in everyday life experiences. The result was a col-
rather than testing a hypothesis. Second, partici- lection of five vignettes describing the geographi-
pant observation research usually takes place over cal experience of the elderly blended with a
an extended period of time, often several months theoretical framework on their experiences.
to years. Third, the methodology uses a wide range Rowles’s intention was to foster greater under-
of unstructured data, such as verbatim quotes standing of how the elderly cope with changes in
from participants and key informants. Fourth, the their environment.
exploration usually focuses on a small number of More recently, participant observation has
persons and is often in the format of a case study. been used in geography to answer a wide range of
Last, analysis of the data involves interpretation questions concerning the meaning of space and
of the meanings of human behavior and actions. social conflict. Feminist geographers, in particu-
The written product is often descriptive, with a lar, have found the methodology useful in explor-
rich use of quotes and photographs. Traditionally, ing and rewriting geography to include the female
quantitative data were either nonexistent or played perspective. Participant observation will no doubt
a limited role. Today, this is changing, with a continue to contribute to the geographical enter-
greater focus on the use of mixed methodologies prise, particularly as the discipline explores the
that do not exclude the use of qualitative or quan- relationship between the human and the physical
titative data. Participant observation is increas- worlds in addressing environmental concerns.
ingly experiencing something of a renaissance
Paul Rollinson
within social science, although it also continues to
be subject to critical scrutiny and revision. Most
See also Chicago School; Everyday Life, Geography
qualitative researchers using participant observa-
and; Humanistic Geography; Interviewing; Ley, David;
tion methodology agree that the key to validity is
Phenomenology; Positionality; Qualitative Methods;
clarity. This clarity can be framed within a set of
Situated Knowledge
previously established criteria to test the reliability
of a particular exploration.
Perhaps one of the best examples of the use of
participant observation in geography is David Further Readings
Ley’s monograph on the black inner city as a
frontier outpost. Using a wide range of tech- Anderson, N. (1923). The hobo: The sociology of the
niques, he explored the variety of images of a homeless man. Chicago: University of Chicago
black inner-city neighborhood in Philadelphia. Press.
His techniques included an intensive 6-mo. Buttimer, A. (1976). Grasping the dynamism of
(month) period and a more extensive 30-mo. lifeworld. Annals of the Association of American
period of participant observation, supplemented Geographers, 66, 277–292.
by data gathered from documentary sources and Ley, D. (1974). The black inner city as frontier
various forms of interviewing. Ley viewed the outpost: Images and behavior of a Philadelphia
neighborhood as a frontier outpost, having an neighborhood. Washington, DC: Association of
external environment of hostility and uncer- American Geographers.
tainty and an internal environment that focused Rowles, G. (1978). Prisoners of space? Exploring the
on connectivity and cultural separation as a geographical experience of older people. Boulder,
means to meet the challenges imposed by the CO: Westview Press.
external environment. Tuan, Y.-F. (1977). Space and place: The perspective
Graham Rowles, in his study of older people’s of experience. London: Longman.
experience of space, went beyond participant
 P A R T IC IP A T OR Y LEA R NING A ND A C T IO N '&'(

PARTICIPATORY LEARNING and a toolbox that supported development pro-

fessionals in interviewing community members
AND ACTION using low-cost and flexible qualitative research
tools (primarily semistructured interviews). The
Participatory development implies an approach information gathered from these interviews was
to planning and governance that encourages and interpreted by professionals and thus helped
supports the two-way exchange of information inform development intervention.
between local communities and outsiders. Partici- By the 1990s, RRA had evolved into PRA. PRA
patory development recognizes that community focused on development intermediaries working
members have valuable knowledge, legitimate with local communities to identify and articulate
concerns, and a lived experience that can contrib- development needs through structured group dis-
ute to exploring solutions to natural resource– cussions, visualization tools, and other facilitated
related issues, to planning, and, more broadly, to activities. PRA differed substantially from RRA
redressing inequality. Currently, the term is used approaches in that the tools used were more inter-
extensively because of the widespread and grow- active and involved a stronger participatory com-
ing recognition that participation of local com- ponent.
munities in decision making is critical to achieving By the mid 1990s, participatory approaches
sustainable development. As a result, community had evolved into PLA. PLA differs considerably
participation has become a central precept under- from its predecessors in that it focuses on achiev-
pinning the development agenda. ing the full participation of local community
Fundamental to participatory development members in the process of learning about their
practice is a clearly articulated and systematic set needs and opportunities and in the action required
of strategies, methodologies, and literature that to address them. In other words, community
facilitate community mobilization by community members are not simply providers of information
development intermediary organizations (CDIOs) that may (or may not) be used to guide develop-
in the execution of local-level decision making. ment; rather, they are actively engaged as agents
Participatory learning and action (PLA) is an of change and are an intrinsic component in plan-
umbrella term used to describe these strategies ning, implementing, and evaluating development
and methodologies. Robert Chambers, a central activities. Through interactive learning, knowl-
figure in PLA practice, describes it as a family of edge exchange, and flexible yet structured reflec-
approaches, methods, and behaviors to enable tion, PLA approaches seek to mobilize local
poor people to express and analyze the realities of communities and stimulate action that addresses
their lives and conditions and then themselves issues of social injustice.
plan, monitor, and evaluate their actions. PLA
Jon Corbett
has been widely used in developing countries to
support planning for poverty reduction and is
See also Countermapping; Inequality and Geography;
increasingly being employed in the global North
Participatory Mapping; Participatory Planning;
in community development projects.
Participatory Rural Appraisal; Social Justice
PLA incorporates rapid rural appraisal (RRA),
participatory rural appraisal (PRA), and partici-
patory action research (PAR) methodologies and
techniques, among others. Yet PLA also can be
Further Readings
understood to have grown out of these other
methods, each of which represents a distinct stage Chambers, R. (1992). Rural appraisal: Rapid, relaxed
in the history of participatory development. and participatory (IDS Discussion Paper No. 333).
RRA was popular in the late 1970s and 1980s. Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies.
It acknowledged for the first time that experts Chambers, R. (1994). Participatory rural appraisal
recognized the need to formally include the poor- (PRA): Challenges, potential and paradigm. World
est members of society in development planning Development, 22(10), 1–17.
and decision making. RRA offers an approach
'&') P A R T I C IPATORY MAPPING

local groups to top-down, externally funded

Chambers, R. (1997). Whose reality counts? and controlled projects that have granted only
Putting the last first. London: Intermediate token participation to people from the affected
Technology. communities. Participation has come to suggest
Chambers, R., & Guijt, I. (1995). PRA—five years such a wide range of activities and levels of
later: Where are we now? Forests, Trees, and control that PM has recently been viewed with
People Newsletter, 26/27, 4–14. suspicion.
Pretty, J., Guijt, I., Thompson, J., & Scoones, I. Different levels of local participation range
(1996). Participatory learning and action. A from top-down externally controlled to bot-
trainer’s guide. London: International Institute for tom-up community designed and completed proj-
Environment and Development. ects. Simply calling a project “participatory,”
however, is not a sufficient way to justify a proj-
ect and does not ensure an appropriate level of
participation.
The following are examples of the range of
PARTICIPATORY MAPPING local stakeholder participation:

Participatory mapping (PM) is an umbrella term Top-down design and control

for a broad spectrum of mapping activities. Based Only token local participation
to some extent on participatory action research
All decisions made by outsiders
and countermapping, participatory mapping
describes mapping projects within which agen- Maps made by outside experts
das, approaches, processes, techniques, and con- Tasks assigned to community members
trol rest in some part with the people whose Local people working together with outsiders
territories and places are being mapped. PM proj-
Outsiders and local people sharing knowledge
ects have included the mapping of environmental
hazards in neighborhoods, the “green mapping” Local people setting the agenda
of environmental resources and natural spaces in Local people producing project maps
cities, the mapping of indigenous territorial No outsiders taking part
claims, mapping for resource management, and
Bottom-up design and control
public participation in zoning and development
code mapping.
Other names for PM activities include commu- Important questions that should be asked
nity mapping, participatory geographic informa- prior to undertaking a PM project include the
tion systems (PGIS), public participation GIS following: What is the purpose of the project?
(PPGIS), and participatory rural appraisal (PRA). Who will pay for the project? What region is to
PM based on three-dimensional (3D) terrain be mapped? Who decides what happens? Who
models is called P3DM. Mapping to balance or are the stakeholders? Who will be excluded from
end control of territory by outsiders is known as the process? Who sets the priorities for the proj-
countermapping or remapping. ect? Who are the “key” informants? Who will
PM projects have taken place worldwide. They learn the mapping skills? How will conflicts be
have been based on a variety of mapping meth- resolved? Who will control the results? How
ods, including sketch maps, 3D models, maps will the maps be disseminated? Who will main-
traced from topographic maps, maps drawn on tain the maps? Who will be responsible for the
existing base maps, maps based on aerial photo- future of the project?
graphs or satellite imagery, GIS products, global The work flow for a typical PM project includes
positioning system (GPS) measurements, and the following steps:
Google Earth displays.
Approaches to PM have ranged from grassroots Recognition of need
projects instigated, carried out, and controlled by Community request for assistance
 P A R T IC IP A T OR Y MA P P IN G '&'*

Organizational meetings Lands shared by communities can be redefined as

Regional meetings contested spaces through a PM process.
The methods selected for a PM project can
Community meetings change ideas of territory. Using GPS to put bound-
Training workshops ary turning points on maps can exclude distant
Pilot projects hunting grounds or seasonal settlements. Survey-
ors traversing a boundary can assume that tradi-
Mapping workshops tions of property are the same everywhere. Using
Ethnographic investigations existing base maps can give imbalanced weight to
Boundary measurements features included on standard topographic maps.
Map legends that use official languages may have
Land use measurements little meaning to participants.
GIS processing On the other hand, PM projects can empower
Map production
communities and protect local resources. Local
participation can add crucial ground truth that is
Ethnography publication difficult to obtain in any other way. GPS can be
Technology transfer an effective tool for mapping places that may
never have been mapped. GIS can aid in the map-
Negotiation for land rights
ping and analysis of subsistence strategies, sacred
spaces, community extents, and shared lands. A
Land claims may not be successful just because PM project that is well designed and thoughtfully
a community makes a map. Maps may have to carried out can combine activism, local knowl-
compete in bureaucratic and judicial arenas with edge, and community conceptions of place to
the maps produced by the state or by resource define, depict, justify, and control territory in a
management agencies. Sketches, artistic depic- way that can effectively claim space and counter
tions of place, and 3D models may be useful at the power of outsiders.
various stages of a project, but PM products Peter H. Dana
may have to incorporate coordinate system grids,
standardized symbols, and other cartographic See also Coordinate Systems; Global Positioning
conventions to compete with existing maps. GIS System; Neogeography
offers PM projects the chance to produce high-
quality maps that can carry significant weight in
court. Some successful indigenous-community Further Readings
PM projects have combined accurate and techni-
cally sophisticated maps with ethnographies, Chapin, M., Lamb, Z., & Threlkeld, B. (2005).
drawings, and photographs, presenting a strong Mapping indigenous lands. Annual Review of
case for their land tenure claims. Anthropology, 34, 619–638.
It should be noted that participatory mapping Dana, P. H. (2008). Surveys of people and place.
projects have been criticized as being reductionist In J. P. Wilson & S. Fotheringham (Eds.),
and too technical, elitist, and damaging to local Handbook of geographic information science
conceptions of territory and community. The pro- (chap. 28, pp. 494–518). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
posed PM projects can unrealistically raise com- Flavelle, A. (2002). Mapping our land: A guide to
munity expectations. In contested places, the making maps of our own communities and
mapping process can expose participants to dan- traditional lands. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:
ger. Without a plan for the future, a PM project Lone Pine Foundation.
can leave a community exposed to threats from Society for Applied Anthropology. (2003). Human
the state or from outsiders. Maps construct terri- organization: Participatory mapping of indigenous
tory, and so the maps from a PM process can be lands in Latin America [Special issue]. Human
used and misused. Putting lines on maps where Organization, 62(4).
none existed is both powerful and dangerous.
'&'+ P A R T I C IPATORY PL ANNING

PARTICIPATORY PLANNING
8 Citizen Control
Spatial planning systems across the world influ-
ence the places and spaces where people work and 7 Delegated Power Citizen Power
live and are deemed to operate in the public inter-
est to ensure that land use planning and develop- 6 Partnership
ment result in more sustainable communities. This
is a complex task, given the diverse nature of pub-
5 Placation
lic, private, and community interests affected by
and involved in the planning system and process.
4 Consultation Tokenism
Whether it be for ensuring that development
occurs where communities need it or for the pro-
tection and enhancement of the natural and his- 3 Informing
toric environment and the countryside, planning
affects most people. As the outcomes from plan- 2 Therapy
ning affect everyone, it is widely recognized that Nonparticipation
community residents should have the opportunity 1 Manipulation
to play a role in delivering effective and inclusive
planning. Participatory planning is therefore
vitally important for the achievement of sustain-
able development. This entry outlines the emer- Figure 1 The eight rungs of Arnstein’s participation
gence of participatory planning in the 1960s and ladder
examines why the current practice of collabora-
Source: Arnstein, S. (1969). A ladder of citizen participation.
tive planning came about and how participatory Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 35(4), 216–224.
processes operate.
During the 1960s, there was a dramatic shift in
the direction of planning from a post–World War planning process. Public planners cannot attempt
II blueprint model to that of systems analysis and to produce a plan that represents the public inter-
control, which built on the classical work of the est because of the diverse nature of society. Instead,
British planner Patrick Geddes linking cities to the it was suggested that planning should be pluralis-
functioning of ecosystems with a greater need to tic and should represent diverse interests. An ide-
understand how cities worked. This paradigm alized notion of participatory planning therefore
focused on four dimensions of understanding the needs to encourage people or stakeholders to pro-
urban system: (1) the role of persistent human pose their own plans, with neighborhood groups
activities, (2) the role of human communications, and other stakeholders involved in the plan prepa-
(3) the role of adapted spaces, and (4) the role of ration and development process.
communication channels. While human activities Sherry Arnstein’s famous Ladder of Citizen
and communication channels were highlighted in Participation (Figure 1) depicted participation as
these approaches, they were very technocratic, a series of rungs on a ladder. Her article argues
and this led to further criticism of the role of the that by recognizing these gradations it is possible
public in planning. Jane Jacobs asserted the view to develop a clearer understanding of participa-
that planners imposed ideals rather than under- tion in planning. Since the publication of this
standing processes and functions. Others provided article, much of the focus in planning has con-
interesting critiques of these approaches and sug- centrated on process and has resolved none of
gested that an advocacy approach was required, the political problems that are inherent in plan-
causing a shift in emphasis for participatory plan- ning. Many believe that planning is a technical
ning. The main points of these arguments were discipline and that problems can be solved
that city and regional planners could not be value- through a scientific understanding, with planners
neutral technicians, as values are part of every knowing what is best for the common interest.
 P A R T IC IP A T OR Y P LA NNING '&',

Stakeholder Degree of Key Optional

Universal Stakeholder Engagement
Expectation of Engagement on of Key
Engagement Specific Issues Stakeholders

Spectrum of
Stakeholder INFORM CONSULT INVOLVE COLLABORATE
Engagement

Provide stakeholders Obtain feedback on Work directly with Partner with

with information to analysis, options, stakeholders stakeholders in
assist them in and decisions throughout the each aspect of the
understanding the process to ensure decision including
issues and options their issues and the development of
concerns are options
consistently
understood and
considered

Figure 2 The spectrum of stakeholder engagement

Source: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. (2004). E-transformation programme: E-planning blueprint (p. 24). London: Author.

This strategy has not worked, and during the These processes are often referred to as collab-
1980s, there was a shift toward more collabora- orative planning, stakeholder dialogue, consen-
tive forms of planning. sus building, social inclusion, holistic governance,
The public participation literature is awash community capacity building, developing social
with nuances in terminology, with practitioners capital, partnership working, and collaborative
often using the following simplistic sequence to advantage. Models of participation have tradi-
describe engagement in planning: tionally been, and continue to be, used to better
categorize the participation in planning and plan-
Consultation, through which a basic framework and ning-related processes (e.g., Figure 2). Stake-
scope are set and policies or proposals are drafted by holder participation in local communities is often
the planners, while others (i.e., the community, seen as a way in which the so-called democratic
stakeholders, etc.) are allowed to make relatively deficit of representative government can be over-
minor changes of balance and emphasis come, with a greater emphasis placed on partici-
Involvement, in which others have a greater pation as an important element in government
opportunity to debate and influence policies and modernization.
proposals but probably not the basic framework Others have attempted to redesign Arnstein’s
and scope ladder to reflect the more complicated reality of
Participation, which ensures a more equitably stakeholder engagement within the policy
balanced relationship in which others may have an and planning process. Table 1 rearticulates the
opportunity to debate and genuinely influence all ladder in a five-variation model, removing any
aspects of the process sense of hierarchy, whereby any of the levels
'&'- P A R T I C IPATORY PL ANNING

Level/Stance Typical Process Typical Methods Initiator Stance

Supporting Community development Advice We can help you achieve what

Support you want within these
Funding guidelines.
Acting together Partnership building Partnership bodies We want to carry out joint
decisions together.
Deciding together Consensus building Workshops We want to develop options
Planning for real and decide actions together.
Strategic choice
Consultation Communication and Surveys Here are our options. What
feedback Meetings do you think?
Information Presentation and promotion Leaflets Here is what we are going
Media to do.
Video

Table 1 Wilcox’s five stances of participation

Source: Adapted from Wilcox, D. (1994). The guide to effective participation (p. 15). Brighton, UK: Partnership Books.

could be the correct choice depending on the Such a strategy is distinguished by its commit-
individual circumstances in which participation ment to open discussion and the active encour-
takes place. agement of excluded or marginalized groups to
Further models also demonstrate the differing become involved. In more recent times, the use of
levels of participation that are possible while information and communication technologies
still retaining a hierarchical structure with citi- (ICTs) to empower local communities has begun
zen control as the pinnacle of involvement. to take hold through the use of online partici-
However, as Figure 3 shows, different types of patory geographic information systems to com-
engagement are appropriate for different occa- plement well-established techniques such as
sions and circumstances. “Planning for Real.”
During the 1990s, the notion of collaborative Participation in spatial planning has evolved
planning began to emerge together with the sug- over the past 40 to 50 years, but many of the
gestion that to understand participation in public early protagonists’ ideas remain valid today.
policy it is necessary to examine the broader gov- Despite continuing concerns by some over the
ernance strategies that institutions may use to potential for participation to cause delays, it has
achieve differing levels of engagement. These can become almost universally accepted as good prac-
be categorized into three such strategies. First, tice. This has more recently been reinforced by
top-down strategies start and finish with the gov- broader conceptual and ideological changes
ernment agencies that plan such schemes and the within the public policy arena, as traditional con-
local authorities that implement them. Such ini- cepts of government have evolved into notions of
tiatives occupy the therapeutic and manipulative governance and third-way politics.
levels of the ladder, and at best, there can be an
element of negotiation. Second, limited-dialogue Richard Kingston
strategies involve a stronger commitment to a
two-way communication process. The method See also Community-Based Environmental Planning;
and policy framework are set by national and Governance; Land Use Planning; Participatory Learning
local public bodies but with dialogue that can and Action; Participatory Rural Appraisal; Public
lead to substantial change in decisions and think- Participation GIS; Urban and Regional Planning; Urban
ing. The final strategy is the bottom-up strategy. Planning and Geography
 P A R T IC IP A T OR Y P LA NNING '&'.

t In
en fo
rm rm
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Figure 3 The wheel of participation

Sources: Adapted from Davidson, S. (1998). Spinning the wheel of empowerment. Planning, 1262, 14–15, and based on a figure
developed by the South Lanarkshire Council, Scotland.

Further Readings
Jacobs, J. (1961). The death and life of great
American cities. New York: Random House.
Arnstein, S. R. (1969). A ladder of citizen participa-
Kingston, R. (2007). Public participation in local
tion. Journal of the American Institute of Plan-
policy decision-making: The role of Web-based
ners, 35, 216–224.
mapping. The Cartographic Journal, 44,
Davidoff, P. (1965). Advocacy and pluralism in
138–144.
planning. Journal of the American Planning
Kingston, R., Carver, S., Evans, A., & Turton, I.
Association, 31, 331–338.
(2000). Web-based public participation
Davidson, S. (1998). Spinning the wheel of
geographical information systems: An aid to local
empowerment. Planning, 1262(3), 14–15.
environmental decision-making. Computers,
Forester, J. (1999). The deliberative practitioner:
Environment and Urban Systems, 24,
Encouraging participatory planning processes.
109–125.
Cambridge: MIT Press.
Wilcox, D. (1994). The guide to effective
Healey, P. (2005). Collaborative planning (2nd ed.).
participation. Brighton, UK: Partnership Books.
Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
'&(% P A R T I C IPATORY RU RAL APPRA ISA L

PARTICIPATORY RURAL PRA emphasizes local knowledge, providing a

mechanism by which communities can partici-
APPRAISAL pate in and direct research agendas. This has
resulted in the wide appeal and spread of PRA,
Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) is a term particularly throughout the developing world.
used to describe the ever-expanding toolbox of However, critics point out that while the
approaches and methods that aim to empower approaches and techniques draw on local knowl-
and involve local people in decision making edge and experience, the process of identifying
and planning for their future. PRA emerged in these data is carried out through Western theo-
the late 1980s and early 1990s as a synthesis of retical and methodological frameworks. This can
the traditions and techniques of participatory contribute to the development of uneven power
research, whose historical origins lay within relations between participants and facilitators
applied anthropology and natural resource man- and has been referred to as the tyranny of par-
agement. However, it significantly developed ticipation. The limitations and ethical issues of
most directly from rapid rural appraisal (RRA), PRA can vary in their significance depending on
a series of techniques that were used by develop- the experience of facilitators and on the support
ment practitioners and researchers to rapidly col- of the wider community.
lect and analyze data in rural areas. RRA was
more extractive by nature, resulting in the emer- Jessica Mercer
gence of PRA in response to a call for more par-
ticipatory techniques to enable and empower
See also Participatory Learning and Action;
local people to take control over their own situa-
Participatory Mapping; Participatory Planning;
tion. PRA approaches and methods involve local
Public Participation GIS
people collecting and analyzing data in projects
that are facilitated (rather than controlled) by out-
siders. It represents a shift in development think-
ing from top-down, authoritative approaches to
bottom-up planning. Further Readings
The term participatory rural appraisal is
somewhat misleading, as PRA approaches can Chambers, R. (1994). The origins and practice of
be just as applicable within an urban setting. participatory rural appraisal. World Development,
PRA techniques and methods include, but are 22, 953–969.
by no means limited to, mapping exercises, Cooke, B., & Kothari, K. (Eds.). (2001).
timelines, cartoons, matrix ranking, diagram- Participation: The new tyranny? London: Zed
matic representations, and seasonal calendars. Books.
These techniques and methods are often broadly Kumar, S. (2002). Methods for community
grouped into those related to (a) space, that is, participation: A complete guide for practitioners.
the environment in which people are situated; Warwickshire, UK: ITDG.
(b) time, that is, time-related dimensions of peo- Narayanasamy, N. (2008). Participatory rural
ple’s existence; and (c) the relationships within appraisal: Principles, methods and application.
and between various aspects of community life. New Delhi, India: Sage.
The focus of PRA is more on the level of engage-
ment with the participants and the attitudes
and behaviors of the practitioners involved than
the actual techniques themselves. PRA is not
prescriptive, but rather, it consists of a range of
techniques that are used flexibly and can be PASTORAL HERDING
adapted for the local context in which they are
applied. See Nomadic Herding
 PATCHE S A ND C OR R IDOR S IN WILDLIF E C ONSER V A T IO N '&(&

PATCHES AND CORRIDORS IN As island habitats, patches are likened to true

ocean islands, adhering to the theoretical princi-
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION ples and processes of island biogeography. The-
ory predicts that small patches contain and
As human-environment interactions evolve within preserve fewer species than larger ones, and more
progressively globalized settings, natural areas isolated patches experience higher extinction and
become more fragmented, usually embedded in an lower colonization rates than less isolated ones.
agricultural landscape. Across varied regions, Yet with several patches in a region, any given
more than 90% of the natural forest has now species that goes extinct on one “island” can get
been removed, with agriculture and managed reestablished via colonization (the “rescue effect”)
lands occupying well over 50% of Earth’s land in other patches—assuming that the organism can
surface. The remaining patches of natural habitat get there. Local extinction and recolonization
can be connected by corridors of the same or simi- take place within the patches, but the overall
lar vegetation, providing pathways for the move- metapopulation survives. This is where the con-
ment of animals and plants and serving, many cept of corridors comes into play. Corridors form
believe, as a viable conservation tool in the face of the pathways connecting these patches, and their
continued landscape transformations. Managing creation or preservation and maintenance have
such remnants with an eye toward conservation been recognized and debated as viable ways to
has gained support as one way to stem the impacts protect populations restricted to patches.
of human agency on Earth’s varied ecosystems. The proposed advantages of corridors include
The connectivity provided by corridors has theo- the maintenance of metapopulations, the con-
retical foundations and intuitive appeal, but some comitant maintenance of species diversity, the
theoretical ecologists argue against unquestioned possibility of a rescue effect for any patch experi-
acceptance of their conservation value. A recent encing extinction of a species, and greater genetic
approach to the patches and corridors scheme variability delivered from the metapopulation.
contends that the quality of the landscape “matrix” Yet homogenization of the total genetic variabil-
within which patches are found is important and ity throughout the patches could occur, counter-
deserving of more attention. ing any patch-specific adaptations that might
otherwise develop. Moreover, just as species of
conservation concern can move between patches,
Fragmented Landscapes so too can parasites, diseases, and exotic/invasive
Tropical and temperate landscapes both exhibit a species. Though theoretical modeling and empiri-
high degree of “patchiness” where forest habitat cal observations have focused on the role and
has been left amid an agricultural matrix charac- potential outcome of these biological corridors,
terized by pasture lands, fallows, and annual and/ the dearth of reliable data means that the benefits
or perennial cropping systems. These fragments and drawbacks of corridors’ true conservation
serve as habitat and may often represent the last value are debatable.
hope for safeguarding species in the area.
The challenge to conservationists—often in the
Evidence From Landscape-Level Experiments
face of rampant development—is how best to
manage patches in order to maximize and pre- Recent experiments at the landscape level reveal
serve the wildlife they harbor. For a given species, some interesting results related to patches and
many or all the patches in a region may contain a corridors. In a manipulated landscape in the U.S.
local population relatively or totally restricted to state of South Carolina’s pine forest habitat, many
that patch. The small, isolated populations dot- taxa were found to make use of corridors. Small
ting a landscape in these patches can be grouped mammals, bird-dispersed plants, and butterflies
together as a metapopulation, a term coined in showed higher movement between connected
1969 by Richard Levins, a theoretical ecologist patches than between unconnected ones. Other
who was thinking about agricultural pests at the findings associated with this same study area
time. found that pollen transport by butterflies, bees,
'&(' P A T C H ES AND CORRID ORS IN WILDLIF E C ONSER V A T ION

and wasps was higher between connected than which may be subtle. For instance, an antshrike
between unconnected patches, suggesting that bird (a forest specialist) in a tropical fragmented
corridors facilitate pollen transport in fragmented setting uses riparian or gallery forests (relatively
landscapes. narrow corridors) to move between patches of
Corridors can have unanticipated consequences dry forest in the fragmented landscape but tends
with respect to some organisms. Bluebirds, for to avoid pastures and living fence rows (mixed
example, will travel alongside a corridor without tree species planted along roadsides). In contrast,
really entering it, dispersing seeds from the fruits a rufous-naped wren (a forest generalist) moves
they consume. But as “edge-loving” birds, they through the matrix by using the thin linearity of
make use of the edges of corridors, and the corri- fencerows without hesitation.
dor’s internal quality matters little. Such results Recent meta-analysis of data from more than
illuminate the concept of “functional connectiv- 1,000 population networks of mammals, birds,
ity,” which involves not only the pattern and reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates on six
physical arrangement of patches and corridors continents evaluated the effect of habitat area,
but the natural history characteristics of the isolation, and the matrix itself. A central conclu-
organisms as well. Patch size, for instance, can sion is that patches are less like islands than some
affect frugivorous birds’ abundance, while patch might think. The size and isolation are indeed
connectivity can be more important to insecti- important factors determining species presence,
vores. Area, however, is not the sole answer. Time but the matrix in which patches are embedded
takes a toll as well. Fragments less than 100 ha must not be ignored.
(hectares) in size can lose more than half their
Robert A. Rice
species in less than 15 years. A “large enough”
patch seems to be at least 1,000 ha, a sobering See also Biodiversity; Community-Based Conservation;
thought since such large areas in species-rich Conservation; Conservation Zoning; Forest
regions are so scarce. Fragmentation; Island Biogeography; Landscape and
Wildlife Conservation; Landscape Biodiversity;
The Matrix Matters Landscape Ecology; Parks and Reserves; Single Large or
Several Small (SLOSS) Debate; Spatial Strategies of
Connectivity can aid in the movement of pri- Conservation
mates, birds, small mammals, and several other
taxa. But it has little to do with corridors and
more with the matrix. The matrix has often been Further Readings
considered a featureless expanse across which
organisms must find their way. Yet many terres- Ferraz, G., Nichols, J. D., Hines, J. E., Stouffer, P. C.,
trial landscapes display great variability in terms Bierregaard, R. O., Jr., & Lovejoy, T. E. (2007).
of the interpatch milieu. A large-scale deforestation experiment: Effects of
A low-resistance matrix will tend to allow a patch area and isolation on Amazon birds.
relatively easy passage of organisms from one Science, 315, 238–241.
patch to another. A high-resistance matrix, in Levey, D. J., Bolker, B. M., Tewksbury, J. J., Sargent,
contrast, restricts travel between patches. Organ- S., & Haddad, N. M. (2005). Effects of landscape
isms that are generalists (i.e., they are able to corridors on seed dispersal by birds. Science, 309,
exist in a variety of habitats and can take advan- 146–148.
tage of a wide variety of resources) would likely Mann, C. C., & Plummer, M. L. (1995). Are wildlife
have few problems in going from patch to patch corridors the right path? Science, 270,
across a landscape mosaic. But a ground-feeding 1428–1430.
species specializing on resources found in a dense Murphy, H. T., & Lovett-Doust, J. (2004). Context
understory might never brave the quiltwork- and connectivity in plant metapopulations and
patterned matrix around its “home patch.” landscape mosaics: Does the matrix matter?
A matrix highly resistant to one organism may Oikos, 105, 3–15.
pose little problem to others—the reasons for
 P A T H DEP ENDEN CE '&((

Work on path dependence differs in the empha-

Perfecto, I., & Vandermeer, J. (2008). Biodiversity sis that scholars give to four elements included in
conservation in tropical agroecosystems: A new most accounts: “causal possibility, contingency,
conservation paradigm. Annals of the New York closure, and constraint” (Bennett & Elman, 2006,
Academy of Sciences, 1134, 173–200. p. 252). Causal possibility means that more than
Prugh, L. R., Hodges, K. E., Sinclair, A. R. E., & one path could have been taken at a specific his-
Brashares, J. S. (2008). Effect of habitat area and torical juncture. If we could rerun history and end
isolation on fragmented animal populations. up with the same outcome every time, then that
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences process is not path dependent. Some authors argue
of the United States of America, 105, that early events are more important than later
20770–20775. events in the sequence, while others distinguish
Saunders, D. A., Hobbs, R. J., & Margules, C. R. between path independence and path dependence,
(1991). Biological consequences of ecosystem where the former refers to those outcomes that are
fragmentation: A review. Conservation Biology, independent of the order of events. Contingency
5, 18–32. entails that the causal narrative be influenced by
Schelhas, J., & Greenberg, R. (Eds.). (1996). Forest random or, in some cases, exogenous events. Clo-
patches in tropical landscapes. Washington, DC: sure refers to the fact that once a path is chosen,
Island Press. alternative paths become increasingly unlikely.
Tischendorf, L., & Fahrig, L. (2000). On the usage And finally, once a path is chosen, a constraint is
and measurement of landscape connectivity. required that ties agents to that path.
Oikos, 90, 7–19. In economics, three main versions of path
dependence exist: path dependence as a techno-
logical lock-in, as increasing returns, and as
institutional hysteresis. Paul David’s work on
technological lock-in highlights the impact of
PATH DEPENDENCE contingent accidents, or microlevel chance events,
on long-run trends and structures and stresses the
The concept of path dependence has been popu- importance of early events or decisions for clos-
larized by economic historians and is now widely ing alternative paths and strengthening existing
employed in economics, history, political science, ones as network externalities increase the effi-
sociology, and geography to describe systems and ciency gap between the chosen and the abandoned
processes that are governed by their own history. paths. The lock-in of suboptimal designs and sys-
More formally, a path-dependent system or pro- tems such as the QWERTY keyboard or the VHS
cess is characterized by nonergodicity, a term video system is often invoked as proof that mar-
taken from the theory of stochastic systems. While kets do not necessarily lead to optimal outcomes.
an ergodic system or process will converge toward Brian Arthur’s work highlights the role of various
an invariant, asymptotic probability distribution forms of increasing returns to explain how a tech-
regardless of its initial conditions, the asymptotic nology or spatial system becomes locked into a
probability distribution of a nonergodic or path- path. Arthur formalizes those processes through
dependent stochastic system evolves as a conse- the so-called ball-and-urn models to demonstrate
quence of its own history. Path dependence is a how macrostructure emerges from contingent,
label for a particular class of dynamic systems random micro events and behavior. Mark Setter-
or processes, not a theory explaining how those field’s work on institutional hysteresis recognizes
systems behave. It is thus necessary to “develop that formal and informal institutions, such as
theories and frame hypotheses regarding the eco- conventions, habits, and traditions, change only
nomic circumstances in which path-dependent slowly over time; structuring human behavior,
dynamics are likely to appear, and where the con- interaction, and communication, these institu-
sequences of past events can be expected to exert tions keep people, places, and countries on spe-
greatest and most enduring influence” (David, cific evolutionary trajectories. The work suggests
2007, p. 92). that the adopted technologies, spatial patterns, or
'&() P A T H DEPE ND E NCE

t t+1 t+2 t+3 t+4 t+5 time

Figure 1 Development path of a regional system

Source: Adapted from Martin, R., & Sunley, P. (2006). Path dependence and regional economic evolution. Journal of Economic
Geography, 6, 395–437.

institutions are not necessarily the most efficient technological paradigms, macroeconomic shocks,
alternatives. The work also stresses that the past or government intervention reshuffle the spatial
does not determine the future but that at each hierarchy.
moment in time, the possible future evolutionary In geography, path dependence is often equated
trajectories are contingent on the past and current with regional lock-in. The metaphor of lock-in
states of the system in question and some paths captures the quasi fixity of patterns of economic
are more likely than others. specialization and uneven development through
The concept of path dependence holds consid- strong positive and negative feedback processes.
erable promise for characterizing the evolution of Most discussions of regional lock-in refer to the
spatial systems. Geographers have long argued growing rigidification and declining adaptability
that economic landscapes are the legacy of their of regions to changing economic conditions. But
industrial and institutional history. Once indus- while lock-in is primarily understood as negative
tries settle in particular places, the sunk costs, lock-in, some regions are able to propel them-
external economies, and coevolving institutional selves along long-enduring growth trajectories.
environment lock the place into a particular Both forms of lock-in exist. While some regions,
evolutionary trajectory. While the actualized loca- such as the Boston or London metropolitan areas,
tion pattern is one of many probable ones, once are able to continually reinvent themselves and
contingent events confer initial advantages or remain on a growth trajectory, others, such as
disadvantages to a region, externalities will pro- the Ruhr area, miss critical historical junctures
duce long-enduring patterns of uneven spatial such that a positive lock-in turns into a negative
development. Existing levels of inequality are thus lock-in. Figure 1 illustrates how past choices and
long enduring but may be shaken up at so-called the present system state both enable and con-
bifurcation points, when fundamental changes in strain, but do not determine, future states and
 P A T R IA R C HY , GEOGR A P HY A N D '&(*

pathways. Once decisions have been made and Further Readings

pathways have been chosen, new possible paths
open up and others close down. Arthur, B. (1994). Increasing returns and path
There are some obvious problems with the dependence in the economy. Ann Arbor:
concept of path dependence in general and with University of Michigan Press.
its application to spatial evolution in particular. Bennett, A., & Elman, C. (2006). Complex causal
Different authors distinguish between different relations and case study methods: The example of
types, degrees, and causes of path dependence. A path dependence. Political Analysis, 14, 250–267.
narrow definition would enhance the conceptual David, P. (1985). Clio and the economics of
clarity but exclude a number of interesting cases, QWERTY. American Economic Review, 75,
even if the observed process is clearly history 332–337.
dependent. Furthermore, the distinction between David, P. A. (2007). Path dependence: A
path dependence and lock-in is ambiguous. For foundational concept for historical social science.
some, lock-in refers to the trapping of a system or Cliometrica, 1, 91–114.
process in an equilibrium configuration from Grabher, G. (1993). The weakness of strong ties:
whence only exogenous forces can recover it. The lock-in of regional development in the Ruhr
According to this definition, path dependence Area. In G. Grabher (Ed.), The embedded firm
would be inconsistent with evolutionary explana- (pp. 255–277). London: Routledge.
tions, as evolution proceeds through the endoge- Martin, R., & Sunley, P. (2006). Path dependence
nous transformation of systems. The application and regional economic evolution. Journal of
of path dependence in geography is further com- Economic Geography, 6, 395–437.
plicated by the fact that a region is an ensemble of Page, S. (2006). Path dependence. Quarterly Journal
agents, technologies, firms, institutions, networks, of Political Science, 1, 87–115.
and interdependencies, and as a result, it is unclear Setterfield, M. (1993). A model of institutional
what the object of study is or how different path- hysteresis. Journal of Economic Issues, 27,
dependent processes inside and outside the region 755–774.
and at different scales interact. It is also unclear
why, how, and when regions become locked in
and how new technological, industrial, institu-
tional, or regional paths are created. While path
dependence and lock-in can help us understand
PATRIARCHY,
the evolution of a system once a path is chosen, GEOGRAPHY AND
they say little about the creation of new paths.
Usually, their emergence is simply attributed to Patriarchy refers to a set of hierarchical power
chance or historical accidents rather than derived relations between men and women in which men
from past and present economic conditions. But are able to dominate women and masculinity is
this type of reasoning is unacceptable since “the privileged over femininity. Such gender domina-
whole point of path-dependence is to restore tion takes place at all levels of social interactions.
the importance of causal, historical economic While intersecting factors such as race, class, sex-
explanation involving sequential actions; placing uality, and ethnicity may place men and women
too much emphasis on random accidents as the at different levels of the power hierarchy, patriar-
sources of path creation constrains and under- chy unites men in their domination over women
mines such causal explanation” (Martin & Sun- across place and time. Patriarchy is not a random
ley, 2006, p. 428). hierarchical system but rather a system in which
women are particularly oppressed and their roles
Jürgen Essletzbichler devalued or undervalued. Patriarchy is therefore
systemic and has led to the material and ideologi-
See also Actor-Network Theory; Economic Geography; cal oppression of women and the marginalization
Economies of Scale; Regional Economic Development; of femininity while simultaneously benefitting
Structuration Theory men and attributes considered masculine. As a
'&(+ P A T R I A R CHY, G E OG RAPHY AND

foundational concept in the study of feminist patriarchy and sexuality, patriarchy and race/
geography, patriarchy historically places the sex/ racism, and patriarchy and ethnicity, to name
gender system as the central object of analysis in a few.
social relations. In the past 20 years, however, These debates also highlighted the differing
feminist geographers have increasingly favored views of gender within feminist geography. By the
analyses that focus on interlocking systems of mid 1990s, many feminist geographers argued
power that include but do not privilege gender. that gender was not a single category but a lim-
Analyses of patriarchy are necessary in a number ited and fractured analytical and material one.
of fields in geography, including economic, cul- Patriarchy as a hierarchical system was therefore
tural, and political geography as well as geogra- decentered, as feminist geographers explored the
phies of sexuality and race/racism. contextuality of patriarchal relations and the
In a pivotal article in feminist social theory, importance of overlapping, interlocking, or inter-
Heidi Hartmann outlined the main elements of secting relations of power and domination.
patriarchy as heterosexual marriage and hetero- Importantly, this work has offered new subjec-
sexism or heteronormativity, female care work tivities of women not simply as victims of their
and household labor, women’s economic oppres- gender but also as actively engaged and not merely
sion in the paid labor market, the state and oppressed. For geographers, this means distin-
governmentality, and diverse institutions that guishing between forms of patriarchy across space
promote and privilege social relations among and place and illustrating the fluidity of power
men such as the military, churches, universities, and hierarchies.
sports clubs, and the professions. While offering Within geography, subdisciplines such as eco-
a closely connected list of locations of patriar- nomic geography, political geography, cultural
chal relations, the sociologist Sylvia Walby also geography, and sexuality studies have used the
added the realms of sexuality and male violence concept of patriarchy in their analyses and
as important sites of male dominance over research. The works of Doreen Massey and Linda
women. Her analysis of patriarchy divides these McDowell in economic geography describe how
sites into a domestic regime, which occurs pri- economic restructuring in Britain greatly changed
marily in the private sphere, and a public regime, the gendered division of labor and produced dif-
which pertains to the courts, the government, ferences across regions. In their study on con-
and the formal labor market. Other examples of trasting colliery and cotton villages in Northeast
patriarchal power and control include domestic England from the 19th to the 20th centuries, the
violence and sexual assault, the gendered divi- gendered division of labor was based highly on
sion of labor, and discourses on motherhood patriarchal discourses of women’s labor and eco-
and care work that promote women’s unpaid nomic worth. In another example, Michael Brown
labor in the home. and Lynn Staeheli’s work in political geography
Some view patriarchy as universal and sepa- highlights how feminist geographers use concepts
rate from other systems such as capitalism, while such as patriarchy to deconstruct and reinvent
others believe that patriarchy takes on different distributional, antagonistic, and constitutive
forms and changes in particular economic, politi- approaches to space and power. Finally, work in
cal, and social settings. Within feminist geogra- the sexuality and space literature and cultural
phy, these positions are defined as the dual-systems geography critiques how the discursive domi-
model and the single-systems model. Some have nance of the nuclear family and heterosexual
argued that patriarchy and capitalism are distinct marriage enforces heteronormativity and margin-
and separate phenomena, while others believe alizes other forms of familial relationships.
that patriarchy exists as a result of capitalist
modes of production and reproduction. These Rebecca Burnett
debates, which took place among feminist geog-
raphers in the pages of Antipode in the mid See also Ecofeminism; Feminist Geographies; Gender
1980s, gave rise to further discussions and con- and Geography; Marxism, Geography and; Masculinities
nections concerning the relationship between and Geography; Sexuality, Geography and/of
 P EA SA NT S A ND P EA SA NT RY '&(,

Further Readings
insurrection in the Third World became impor-
tant academic topics. Peasant studies occupy an
Brown, M., & Staeheli, L. (2003). Are we there yet? interdisciplinary intellectual space. In scholarly
Feminist political geographies. Gender, Place and discourses in general, and within human geogra-
Culture, 10(3), 247–255. phy in particular, peasants have appeared in
Hartmann, H. (1977). The unhappy marriage of discussions of uneven economic development,
Marxism and feminism. In R. McCann & S. Kim including the transition to capitalism in Europe
(Eds.), Feminist theory reader: Local and global and in the Third World; of environmental change
perspectives (pp. 206–221). New York: Routledge. and political ecology; and of social protest, iden-
Massey, D. (1994). Space, place, and gender. tity/agency, and the state. In terms of social the-
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ory, peasants have often been at the center of
Walby, S. (1990). Theorizing patriarchy. Oxford, debates between Marxism and postmodernism/
UK: Blackwell. poststructuralism. Many of these themes are men-
tioned in this entry, which focuses on three areas:
(1) whether peasants constitute a separate soci-
ety/culture/economy; (2) the impacts of capital-
ism on peasants; and (3) peasant identity/agency
and political action.
PEASANTS AND PEASANTRY
Peasants as a Specific Type
Peasants are small agricultural producers, espe-
of Society, Culture, or Economy
cially in less industrialized countries, who possess
their own land and who use relatively simple equip- For many scholars, including supporters of mod-
ment and family labor to produce mostly for their ernization theory and populism, peasants consti-
own consumption. All peasants are involved in tute a separate type of society, culture, or
markets, some much more than others. They live economy. Important concepts in the moderniza-
in small rural communities, although they often tion tradition are Robert Redfield’s folk culture
interact with towns, where they sell their products and George Foster’s idea of limited good. Accord-
and buy what they need to farm and live. ing to Redfield, peasant communities are a kind
Known collectively as the peasantry, peasants of folk society that exists on a folk-urban contin-
have existed for millennia as the majority of uum, where cities represent its modern urban end
humankind until very recently. Peasants have lived and peasant communities are placed near the
in a large variety of historical and geographical other end. In the “limited good” model, in peas-
contexts. Originally possessing land on which they ant societies, sources of income such as land and
supported themselves, peasants have frequently market opportunities are scarce, leading to stiff
lost their land, water, and forests and have been competition for such resources. On this basis,
forced to work as wage laborers. This process has there arises a specific peasant moral and ethical
been intensified with the evolution of neoliberal imagination. Envy, fatalism, individualism, and
capitalism. Their status within capitalist econo- fear of witchcraft are often parts of a specifically
mies varies, and they can be differentiated into peasant worldview, which impedes development-
rich, middle, and poor peasants, respectively, as-modernization.
depending in part on whether they retain property, Some scholars (e.g., Daniel Thorner and Teodor
hire labor, or work as wage laborers themselves. Shanin) have used the term peasant to define an
The study of peasants has been institutional- economy constituted by self-sufficient peasants.
ized through the establishment of interdisciplin- When Marxists refer to peasant society, as in pre-
ary journals such as Journal of Peasant Studies in industrial Europe, they refer to class relations
the early 1970s. The 1970s marked a resurrec- between peasants and feudal landowners. In a
tion of peasant studies following a quarter of a peasant society, the basic aspects of rural eco-
century in which the field had been relegated to nomic organization, such as landholding size,
relative obscurity. Peasant impoverishment and food output, and work motivation, are governed
'&(- P EA S A N T S AND PE ASANTRY

Peasant farmer carrying straw on a rake in Hoi An, Vietnam

Source: Benjamin Schepp/iStockphoto.

by the size of the peasant family, the ratio of In the process of what Karl Marx called primi-
working to nonworking family members, and the tive accumulation or what David Harvey calls
necessity to meet the family’s subsistence needs. accumulation by dispossession, peasants are forc-
Chayanov’s view of a homogeneous peasantry ibly evicted from their property (land and forests)
composed of self-sufficient petty-commodity pro- and forced to work for private employers. An
ducers who are able to subsist through family labor example of this process is the Enclosures Acts of
and forced underconsumption—which constitutes early modern England, which drove many peas-
a pan-historical socioeconomic category—is con- ants into urban areas. In recent times, this process
tradicted by the Marxist process-oriented view has intensified with the establishment of special
stressing peasantry’s internal class differentiation. economic zones created on farmland.
Critics say that peasants cannot constitute a sepa- In the process of peasant differentiation,
rate economy because they have existed in a vari- which occupied a prominent place in Lenin’s
ety of historically existing modes of production works, the class of archetypical peasants (those
including feudalism and capitalism. who grow crops on their own land using family
labor) is differentiated through the impact of
market relations and technological change (e.g.,
Peasants and Capitalist Society
the Green Revolution promoted by transnational
Capitalism affects peasants in various ways, corporations). Peasants face market competition
including primitive accumulation, peasant differ- from larger farms at the national scale and from
entiation, and articulation and subsumption. global agribusinesses, particularly subsidized
 P EA SA NT S A ND P EA SA NT RY '&(.

U.S. firms. When peasants are involved in mar- school, the precapitalist peasant communal mode
ket relations, those who are resource-poor are of production is integrated into the capitalist
disadvantaged because of factors such as short- mode of production in a subordinate relation,
age of household labor, sudden crop failure, or a that is, in a marginalized status. This process
sudden change in the prices of crops and inputs. happens geographically, that is, the circular
They may have to borrow money at high interest migration of peasant-laborers. Precapitalist peas-
rates. Over time, they may be forced to sell a ants as migrants are a source of cheap labor
part of their land to clear the debt; in the pro- power for city-based capital. Their labor power
cess, they may completely lose their land and is cheap because a part of the cost of its repro-
become landless laborers. Some even commit duction is borne by their household production
suicide due to the unbearable burden of debt. in villages, one in which women are particularly
When peasants are left with some land that is involved. Indeed, the gender division of labor—
not sufficient for their subsistence, they are called where females produce subsistence foodstuffs
poor peasants; apart from working on their within a noncapitalist mode of production and
tiny plots of land, they work mainly as tenants/ semiproletarianized males work for urban
sharecroppers by paying a rent and/or working capital—makes it possible for capitalists to pay
as wage laborers. Peasants who do better eco- migrants a male wage rate that is insufficient for
nomically may buy land and become rich peas- familial maintenance. The form of integration
ants; they still use family labor, but most of the between capitalist and noncapitalist modes of
labor used on their farms is hired labor. Some production occurs at an international scale, that
rich peasants over time become capitalist farm- is, an extraction of surplus value from the latter,
ers. Middle peasants—archetypical peasants—do and transfers to the rich countries through colo-
not usually hire laborers (except in peak seasons) nialism and imperialism.
or hire themselves out. Thus, the peasantry tends Finally, capital can subsume and exploit peas-
to be differentiated into three classes of peasants ants as commodity producers as it does industrial
(rich, middle, and poor peasants), suggesting workers. Peasants exist not outside capitalism but
that it is not a homogeneous class. as an integral part of it; peasants are not precapi-
The extent of differentiation may have been talist. Peasants, many of them women, use their
exaggerated in the classical Marxist model. labor power to produce commodities for the mar-
Middle peasants may not be completely sepa- ket. The price they receive from buyers (e.g., mer-
rated from their land. The process of differentia- chant capital) is less than the full value of their
tion can be very slow. Some peasants can labor power because of unequal exchange (low
hold onto their land by decreasing their costs of farm prices and high input prices). The surplus
maintenance and through state subsidies and value extracted contributes to capital accumula-
remittances from city-based family-members. tion in the city.
However, although this differentiation may take A specific form of subsumption happens
place slowly, it does occur; peasant-based pro- through the impacts of agribusiness, which
duction is undermined by more efficient farm include credit, inputs, and extension services.
production nationally and internationally, and Agribusiness firms lay down technical conditions
peasants do become laborers. But peasant dif- and provide a market to peasants for a predeter-
ferentiation is uneven as market penetration and mined price. In contract farming, about which
state support vary. Because of the geographical geographers such as Michael Watts have written,
variation in the extent and the effects of peasant it is as if peasants-as-laborers in some places are
differentiation into poor, middle, and rich peas- working with other people’s means of produc-
ants with differing capacities for investment, tion. Some who benefit financially may attain the
understanding this geography is an important status of agrarian capitalists. But ultimately, the
aspect of our understanding of uneven develop- profits of agribusiness as well those of richer peas-
ment as such. ants and rural capitalists are based on the exploi-
In the third view of peasant-capitalism rela- tation of poor peasants and landless workers
tions, which is based on the French structuralist working on contract farms and on the intensive
'&)% P EA S A N T S AND PE ASANTRY

exploitation of the land and water (or aquatic) different geographical scales as a survival strat-
resources. egy in an exploitative society, rather than as
Peasants have become a part of capitalism in advocacy of a revolutionary agenda.
another way. With the spread of neoliberal capital- In the post-Marxist critical peasant literature,
ism, there is a tendency toward de-agrarianization peasant agency is looked at through the lens of
of peasants, as the latter are increasingly involved class differentiation. In this view, peasants have
in nonagricultural activities. These include petty several class-based identities. Different classes of
trading and wage labor in industries, at least as peasants will have different kinds of agency. Mid-
part-timers. Dispossessed of their land and find- dle peasants are economically independent and
ing farming unviable (because of the withdrawal have greater potential for revolution than other
of state support under neoliberalism), peasants peasant classes. Poor peasants are initially the
indeed have become a part of the global reserve least militant because of their dependence on
army of labor waiting to be hired when capital landlords or rich peasants for land-on-rent, for
needs them. As a result, there is pressure on the wage work, and for loans. But in a revolutionary
wages of those currently employed, with many situation, when middle peasants mobilize them-
poor countries (with massive peasantries) becom- selves against landlords and rich peasants, the
ing a profitable destination for transnational cor- morale of poor peasants is raised, and they are
porations. Sometimes agribusinesses also ready to respond. The middle peasants are ini-
appropriate peasants’ knowledge about nature tially the most revolutionary, but when the revo-
and farming. lutionary action intensifies, they vacillate about
whether to persevere because of their stake in the
private property system, unless their fears of los-
Peasant Identity and Agency
ing their livelihood are allayed. Critics of this
As far as peasant agency is concerned, peasants thesis say that middle peasants do depend on
are often considered to be both conservative and landowners for credit and are heavily attached to
revolutionary. The conservative peasant, said their land, making them a weaker revolutionary
Karl Marx, wants to consolidate his or her small force than other classes. On the other hand, poor
holding. Smallholding peasants do not form a peasants (along with landless peasants as labor-
class that is explicitly conscious of its interests ers), since they are the most exploited and as they
vis-à-vis the exploiting classes; rather, they con- form the majority of the rural population, are the
stitute a mass of people lacking any potential for most revolutionary.
class action. But it is widely known that peas- In reality, peasant movements are often multi-
ants did play heroic roles in antifeudal struggles class. Leaders of middle and rich peasants (and
in Europe. Similarly, Mao Zedong brought peas- capitalist farmers) mobilize the entire peasantry
ants to the center stage in China, both in prac- to lobby for benefits such as more input subsidies
tice and in theory through his writings. Also, and higher output prices. An important form of
some of the welfare-oriented programs of post- multiclass mobilization is action against landlords
colonial capitalist states (e.g., redistributive land for land and against the capitalist strategy of
reforms) have been implemented because of state-supported primitive accumulation (the
peasant movements and, of course, with the aim threat of dispossession of their land in the name
of creating a national market that includes peas- of national industrialization/development). Mul-
ants as consumers. ticlass mobilization of peasants is seen as prob-
There are at least two views concerning the lematic on many grounds. When the interests of
source or origin of peasant agency/identity. In better-off peasants are met (e.g., land is obtained
the non-Marxist literature, including that which from the landlords), they often withdraw from
is postmodern/neo-populist, peasants are seen as the movement. When multiclass mobilization suc-
a homogeneous class having an innate identity, a cessfully puts pressure on the state for higher food
subaltern “peasantness,” that prompts them to prices, such increases do not benefit poor peas-
pressure for changes inside capitalism. Peasant ants and landless peasants, who are net buyers of
agency is also seen as the use of networks at food. In this and many other ways, multiclass
 P EA SA NT S A ND P EA SA NT RY '&)&

action also de-emphasizes the interests of poor in kind) for developmental interventions and war
peasants and landless laborers as classes. It mobi- making. Corrupt, coercive, and oppressive gov-
lizes social constructions of democracy, culture, ernment officials tend to be peasants’ targets, as
and identity in ways that are unspecific in terms India’s continuing Naxalite movement, which is
of their class content and are therefore populist. informed by Maoism, testifies. In this context, the
Peasant agency and resistance have taken vari- dialectics of the state-peasant relation is worth
ous forms. Banditry, viewed as a kind of peasant mentioning. To the extent that the state has
protest, has been studied by Eric Hobsbawm. It played the role of trusteeship in national capital-
targets lawyers, moneylenders, traders, and for- ist development, peasants seem to have suffered
eigners, who are seen as oppressors. Another form both when there is what the geographer Nanda
of individual action is said to be the everyday form Shrestha calls “failed development” (leading to,
of resistance, which has engaged the attention of e.g., low productivity, unemployment, and low
James Scott and others researching peasants in the wages) and when development “succeeds” (lead-
tradition of the historian E. P. Thompson. Here, ing to development-induced displacement, price
peasants are seeing as making use of the so-called inflation, and indebtedness). Peasants have
weapons of the weak, including foot dragging, responded partly by fighting against both large
desertion, false compliance, pilfering, slander, owners of property and the state.
arson, and sabotage. These are reinforced by a Peasant movements are not just “economic.”
popular culture of resistance. These forms of class Some radical scholars argue that a new form of
struggle require little or no coordination, make use peasant movement is emerging (new peasant
of impersonal networks, represent a form of indi- movements, or NPMs). Although rooted in rural
vidual self-help, and avoid direct confrontation struggles, the participating peasants in NPMs are
with authority. In terms of the goals of peasant educated, are connected to the cities (where they
protests, these scholars also emphasize the moral used to be ex-miners or displaced workers and
economy aspect; protests tend to be focused mainly where they receive regular ideological/political
against landowners who do not respect their need training), and have a cosmopolitan view. Often
to earn a subsistence income. independent of political parties, they engage in
These views have been criticized for de-empha- direct struggle rather than electoral fights. They
sizing the importance of the conscious construc- reject economistic class analysis, but neither are
tion of radical ideology and organizational they focused on issue-based identity politics.
structures to mobilize peasants. They also inac- Thus, they are influenced by a mixture of Marx-
curately essentialize peasant resistance, that is, by ism and by ideas related to ecology, ethnicity and
asserting that peasants necessarily make use of nationality, and gender. They coordinate their
the “weapons of the weak.” It has been said that struggles for economic progress, democracy,
if peasants become conscious of their exploita- autonomy, and dignity at multiple geographical
tion, they will fight against capitalism in an orga- scales, including the international.
nized manner. Peasants have been mobilized by Peasants have been exploited by large agribusi-
communist parties all over the world. An impor- nesses (contract farming being a specific exam-
tant aspect of peasant mobilization is the peasant- ple). In many different contexts, peasants and
worker alliance, represented by the hammer and property-less laborers continue to engage in polit-
sickle in communist party symbols. If capital can ical actions against capital, domestic or foreign.
exploit peasants, as it does property-less labor, by They have also occasionally fought against the
exploiting them without dispossessing them of state (e.g., Mexico’s Zapatistas). As the crisis-
their property, a space for a collective revolution- prone nature of the capitalist system plays out
ary alliance between workers and peasants against differently in different countries in the global
capital opens up. Peasants also launch organized periphery, the specific ways in which various
protests against the capitalist state (including in a classes of peasants and rural laborers are affected,
colonial situation), for the state acts on behalf of and how they respond, will vary considerably.
(foreign) capital and makes demands on peasants
for resources (such as money, unpaid labor, and Raju J. Das
'&)' P EA T

See also Class, Geography and; Developing World;

Development Theory; Hunger; Land Reform; Marxism,
PEAT
Geography and; Modernization Theory; Movimento
Sem Terra; Political Ecology; Political Economy; Peat is an organic deposit formed on Earth’s sur-
Poverty; Rural Development; Rural Geography; Rural- face under waterlogged conditions. In most soils,
Urban Migration; Social Movements; Underdevelopment; dead organic matter is consumed in the presence
Uneven Development; Via Campesina (International of oxygen by organisms such as invertebrates,
Farmers’ Movement) fungi, and bacteria about as quickly as it is added
through processes such as leaf fall and plant
death. The organic matter is oxidized to carbon
dioxide gas and water, and over the long term,
Further Readings the amount of organic material in the soil hardly
changes. However, if the sediments are water-
Alavi, H., & Shanin, T. (1988). Peasantry and logged, oxygen becomes scarce because gases dif-
capitalism. In H. Alavi & T. Shanin (Eds.), fuse much more slowly in water than in air and
Karl Kautsky: The agrarian question. the oxygen that is consumed cannot quickly be
London: Zwan. replaced. In the absence of oxygen, decomposi-
Bebbington, A. (1999). Capitals and capabilities: tion is slower and incomplete. This leads to the
A framework for analyzing peasant viability, rural buildup of peat. Peat thus consists of partially
livelihoods and poverty. World Development, decomposed remains of plants (and, in much less
27(12), 2021–2044. abundance, animals) that previously lived at the
Brass, T. (Ed.). (2002). Latin American peasants site of deposition. It may also contain small
[Special issue]. Journal of Peasant Studies, 29(3–4). amounts of material such as wind-blown dust
Byres, T. (1996). Capitalism from above and from and chemical precipitates. (Most authors draw a
below. London: Macmillan. distinction between in situ peats and organic lake
Das, R. (Ed.). (2007). Peasant, state and class [Special sediments containing plant material that may
issue]. Journal of Peasant Studies, 34(3–4). have originated at some distance from the loca-
Foster, G. (1979). Tzintzuntzan: Mexican peasants in tion of the deposits.)
a changing world. New York: Elsevier. Peat deposits are found in all but the most arid
Little, P., & Watts, M. (1994). Living under contract. environments. Tropical peats tend to occur in
Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. basins, river deltas, sheltered coastal mangrove
Scott, J. (1985). Weapons of the weak: Everyday swamps, or estuaries—anywhere where water
forms of peasant resistance. New Haven, CT: Yale flows slowly enough to allow stagnation and
University Press. anoxia to develop. At higher latitudes, peats fre-
Shanin, T. (1987). Peasant and peasant societies. quently grow above the regional water table
Oxford, UK: Blackwell. because certain peat-forming plants, chiefly
Shrestha, N. (2008). “Misery is my company now”: Sphagnum, are able to retain water like a sponge;
Nepal’s peasantry in the face of failed such peatlands are called raised bogs. At very
development. Journal of Peasant Studies, 35(3), high latitudes, the low temperatures and the pres-
452–475. ence of seasonal snow and ice can aid waterlog-
Veltmeyer, H. (1997). New social movements in ging in reducing decomposition rates.
Latin America. Journal of Peasant Studies, 25(1), Peatlands are ecologically important. Peatlands
139–169. fed by groundwater are often very productive and
Watts, M. (1987). Powers of production: can have high biodiversity. In contrast, raised
Geographers among the peasants. Environment bogs, being fed only by rainwater, tend to be acidic
and Planning D: Society and Space, 5(2), and poor in nutrients, with a highly specialized
215–230. flora and fauna. As peat accumulates, it effectively
Wolf, E. (1966). Peasants. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: records its own history in the form of layer upon
Prentice Hall. layer of subfossilized plant and animal remains.
Ecologists are able to use this information to
 P EAT '&)(

Men cutting peat from a bog in Maamturk Mountains near Cong, Ireland
Source: Phil Augustavo/iStockphoto.

reconstruct the long-term development of these The major cause of destruction of peatlands in
ecosystems. the recent past has been drainage for forestry and
Peatlands are estimated to cover more than agriculture; about 10% to 20% of the world’s
4 million square kilometers, or 3%, of the land peatlands have been destroyed since AD 1800.
surface of Earth and contain approximately one Peat also has a range of commercial uses, notably
third of all carbon stored in soils. Peatland as a fuel for heat and electricity production and in
destruction may therefore contribute to the horticulture, and it is widely extracted for these
increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the purposes.
atmosphere and hence to global warming. How-
Ian T. Lawson
ever, peatlands also produce methane as a by-
product of the decomposition processes. Methane
See also Carbon Cycle; Coal; Soils
is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than
carbon dioxide, so the net effect of peatland loss
on the climate system remains unclear. Climate
change may itself upset the carbon balance of Further Readings
high-latitude peatlands, for example, by causing
drying out and increased oxidation of organic Charman, D. J. (2002). Peatlands and environmental
matter, so peatlands may turn out to act as a change. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
positive feedback within the climate system.
'&)) P EET , R ICHARD

PEDOLOGY theorists, notably Cornelius Castoriadis and Michel

Foucault. His work in international political econ-
omy and development theory led to the publication
See Soils of Global Capitalism (1991) and Theories of
Development (coauthored with Elaine Hartwick,
1999/2008), while his work in political ecology
resulted in the publication of Liberation Ecologies
PEET, RICHARD (1940– ) (coedited with Michael Watts, 1996/2004).
In the 21st century, as countries throughout
One of radical geography’s most passionate and the world abandoned socialist development strat-
vociferous promoters, Richard Peet has devoted egies, Peet shifted his focus to the global institu-
his career to exposing the ways in which power tions through which neoliberalism permeates the
and inequality are manifested in global society. decisions made by governments, corporations,
Although in some senses Peet’s career reveals and individuals around the world. A collabora-
remarkable consistency and stability—since tive research project with a collective of under-
receiving his PhD at the University of California, graduate students resulted in the publication of
Berkeley, in 1968, he has been a professor at Unholy Trinity: The IMF, World Bank, and the
Clark University, and his commitment to Marx- WTO (coauthored with 16 students, 2003) as
ism has been unwavering—the focus of his analy- well as his book Geography of Power: The Mak-
sis has shifted over the decades. ing of Global Economic Policy (2007).
Peet was an early promoter of Marxism in geog- Whether huddled with graduate students past-
raphy, founding the radical geography journal ing up copies of Antipode in the basement of Clark
Antipode in 1970, which he edited until 1985, as University, inciting students to think about the
well as editing an early collection of radical geog- geographies of power in their lives, or challenging
raphy essays in 1977. Peet’s own version of Marx- a speaker at a professional meeting, Peet brings an
ist geography had (and continues to have) a strong exceptional level of enthusiasm and passion, as
environmental focus, as he sees Marxist geography well as academic rigor, to radical geography.
as particularly well suited for understanding the
Philip E. Steinberg
social conditions that arise out of the productive
transformation of nature. This focus has led him
See also Critical Human Geography; Development
to forge strong links with political ecology and
Theory; Marxism, Geography and; Political Ecology;
development studies, two areas of geography that
Political Economy; Radical Geography
attempt to understand how nature is transformed
at the local scale and how the extraction and trans-
formation of nature are organized globally.
In the 1980s, Peet was on the frontlines of a Further Readings
battle between Marxists and postmodernists,
whose understanding, in Peet’s view, was insuffi- Peet, R. (1991). Global capitalism: Theories of
ciently grounded in the material conditions of societal development. London: Routledge.
production and reproduction. Waging this battle Peet, R. (1998). Modern geographical thought.
drove Peet deeper into geographic thought and its Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
philosophical underpinnings, as well as leading Peet, R. (2003). Unholy trinity: The IMF, World
him to alternative theories of culture and mean- Bank, and the WTO. New York: Zed Books.
ing, culminating in the publication of Modern Peet, R. (2007). Geography of power: The making of
Geographical Thought in 1998. global economic policy. London: Zed Books.
The 1990s saw Peet return to his core interests Peet, R., & Hartwick, E. (2008). Theories of
in the global economy and in the relationship development (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
between nature and society, but now from a theo- Peet, R., & Watts, M. (Eds.). (2004). Liberation
retical perspective that, although still rooted ecologies (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
in Marxism, incorporated a broader range of
 P ER IGLA C IA L ENV IR ONMENTS '&)*

PENCK, WALTHER history and synthesized his views on individual

slopes to produce regional assemblages such as
(1888–1923) Piedmontreppen (stepped erosional benches) and
Primarrumpf (primary peneplains). Complicated
Walther Penck was the son of the famous Ger- German and an early death left many of Penck’s
man Quaternary scientist and geomorphologist ideas undetermined in detail within the English-
Albrecht Penck. Albrecht had both a professional speaking world, making him a major figure in
and a personal relationship with William Morris English language geomorphology and a minor
Davis that eventually became acrimonious. one in his native Germany.
Walther Penck’s claim to fame as a geomorpholo-
Colin Edward Thorn
gist rests on the posthumous publication by his
father, in 1924, of his book Die morphologische
See also Davis, William Morris; Geomorphology;
Analyse (Morphological Analysis). Written in
Gilbert, Grove Karl; Physical Geography, History of
highly convoluted German, it received very little
attention in Germany but became a central and
contentious topic within the English-speaking
world of geomorphology due to what some per- Further Readings
ceived as a self-serving interpretation by Davis.
This article remained the authoritative English Bremen, H. (1983). Albrecht Penck (1858–1945) and
source of Penck’s ideas until Hella Czech and Walther Penck (1888–1923): Two German
Katharine Cumming Boswell published an Eng- geomorphologists. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie
lish translation of the work 40 years later. N.F., 27(2), 129–138.
The idea in Penck’s work that received so much Davis, W. M. (1932). Piedmont benchlands and
attention in the English-speaking geomorphologic Primarrumpfe. Geological Society of America
world was that of the parallel retreat of slopes. Bulletin, 43, 399–440.
Such a pathway would produce an entirely differ- Penck, W. (1972). Morphological analysis of land
ent history of both slope and landscape develop- forms (H. Czech & K. C. Boswell, Trans.). New
ment from that proposed by Davis, whose York: Hafner. (Original work published 1924)
convexo-concave slope profiles decline in angle Young, A. (1972). Slopes. Edinburgh, UK: Oliver &
with time and whose landscapes become pene- Boyd.
plains. This alternate view of slope development
became most significant in Lester King’s descrip-
tion of landscape development that produces
pediplains, not peneplains. While King and others PERIGLACIAL ENVIRONMENTS
assigned the concept of parallel slope retreat to
Walther Penck, this is a misconception that was Periglacial environments are characterized by
first found in Davis’s interpretation. Penck ini- intense frost, often combined with the presence of
tially launched his ideas cautiously, apparently perennially frozen ground, or permafrost. Perigla-
trying to avoid direct conflict with Davis, but later cial environments are restricted to areas that
he became more openly critical of Davisian ideas. experience cold, but essentially nonglacial, cli-
The reality is that Penck produced a very logi- mates. They include (a) the polar deserts and
cal and internally consistent model of slope devel- semideserts of the High Arctic and the icefree
opment that argued not for the parallel retreat of areas of Antarctica; (b) the extensive tundra zones
slopes but for slope replacement extending of high latitudes; (c) the northern parts of the
upslope from the base. However, the slope model boreal forests of North America and Eurasia;
was not Penck’s primary objective; his real objec- (d) the alpine zones that lie above the timberline
tive was to investigate tectonic, or crustal, move- and below the snowline in mid- and low-latitude
ments, which he attempted to do by relating mountains; (e) the high-elevation montane envi-
surficial form to subsurface activity. He tied ronments of Central Asia, the largest of which is
his ideas on slope form closely to local tectonic the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau of China; and
'&)+ P ER I GLACIAL E NVIRONME NTS

(f) small oceanic islands in the high latitudes of and Siberia, the tundra is barren. At higher lati-
both the polar regions. tudes, the tundra progressively changes into semi-
In climatic terms, periglacial environments are desert and, ultimately, into polar desert terrain (a
areas where the mean annual air temperature is “frost-rubble” zone) in the high latitudes of Arc-
less than +3 nC. This can be subdivided into envi- tic Canada, Northeast Greenland, Svalbard, and
ronments where frost action dominates (mean Novaya Zemblya.
annual air temperature less than 2 nC) and those The alpine environments of the midlatitudes
areas in which frost action occurs but does not are less extensive but equally distinct, being dom-
necessarily dominate (mean annual air tempera- inated by both diurnal and seasonal effects and
ture between 2 nC and +3 nC). Fundamental to by much higher solar radiation. In such environ-
most periglacial environments is the freezing of ments, the timberline constitutes the boundary
water and its associated frost heaving and ice between the alpine and subalpine. Alpine envi-
segregation. ronments are dominated by steep slopes, tundra
Periglacial environments occupy approximately (alpine) plants, rock outcrops, and snow and ice.
20% of the world’s land area. However, their The montane environments of Central Asia differ
human population is only 7 to 9 million, mostly from the alpine environments in that they are
living in Russia, or only 0.3% of the world’s pop- more extensive, are far more arid, and consist of
ulation. Thus, the larger importance of periglacial steppe grasslands and intervening desert-like
environments lies not in their spatial extent but in uplands. In Antarctica, the relatively small ice-
their natural resources. For example, the old Pre- free areas are unusual, being essentially polar
cambrian basement rocks that outcrop as huge deserts or rock-rubble surfaces that are kept free
tablelands in both Canada and Siberia contain of snow and ice by sublimation from strong kata-
precious minerals, such as gold and diamonds, batic winds that flow outward from the Antarc-
and sizable deposits of lead, zinc, and copper, tic ice sheet.
while the sedimentary basins of Western Siberia, The tundra and polar deserts of both North
Northern Alaska, and the Canadian High Arctic America and Eurasia contain a surprisingly large
contain large hydrocarbon reserves. A second number of plants and animals, given the severe
reason why periglacial environments are of sig- climatic constraints. For example, large mammals
nificance is their place within the cryosphere (i.e., such as the polar bear, musk ox, and fox are all
snow, ice, frozen ground, sea ice) and the critical present, although the number of mammals and
role that the cryosphere plays in global climate plant species progressively increases southward in
change. the tundra. In the subarctic, two major ecological
zones can be recognized (see tundra photo). Near
the tree line is a zone of transition from tundra to
Periglacial Ecosystems
forest consisting of either open woodland or for-
The most extensive periglacial environments are est tundra. Here, the trees are stunted and
those of the high northern latitudes (Figure 1). deformed, often being less than 3 to 4 m (meters)
These can be regarded as either arctic or subarctic high. Woodland caribou and grizzly bear replace
in nature. The boundary between the two approx- the polar bear and musk ox. This zone grades
imates the northern limit of trees, the so-called into the boreal forest, or taiga, an immense zone
tree line. This is a zone, 30 to 150 kilometers in of almost continuous coniferous forest extending
extent, north of which trees are no longer able to across both North America and Eurasia. In North
survive. North of the tree line, the terrain is peren- America, the dominant species are spruce (Picea
nially frozen, and the surface thaws for a period glauca and P. mariana). In Siberia, the dominant
of only 2 to 3 months each summer to depths species are pine (Pinus silvestris) and tamarack
that, in vegetated areas, may be as little as 30 to (Larix dahurica). The southern boundary of the
50 centimeters. Ecologists refer to the vegetated subarctic is less clearly defined than its northern
but treeless arctic as tundra (see lowland tundra boundary; typically, coniferous species begin to
photo). Where Precambrian basement rocks be replaced by others of either local or temperate
occur, as in the tablelands of Northern Canada distribution, such as oak, hemlock, and beech, or
 P ER IGLA C IA L ENV IR ONMENTS '&),

Figure 1 Regional extent of the periglacial domain in the Northern Hemisphere

Source: French, H. M. (2007). The periglacial environment (3rd ed., Figure 1.5, p. 12). Chichester, UK: Wiley. Copyright © 2007.
Reprinted by permission of Wiley-Blackwell.

by steppe, grassland, and semiarid woodland in to frost action than others, (b) many regions
more continental areas. These ecosystems, which currently experiencing periglacial climatic con-
experience deep seasonal frost, represent the outer ditions have only recently emerged from beneath
spatial extent of periglacial environments. continental ice sheets and are largely glacial
landscapes, and (c) the Pleistocene periglacial
conditions fluctuated considerably in duration,
Periglacial Landscapes
extent, and intensity. Thus, many so-called
Periglacial landscapes range between those in periglacial landscapes are more accurately
which the entire landscape is fashioned by per- described as being paraglacial (i.e., in transition
mafrost and frost action processes and those in from glacial to nonglacial conditions), while the
which frost action processes are subservient icefree areas of the Antarctic continent, being
to others. This diversity is accentuated by the peripheral to the vast East and West Antarctic
fact that (a) certain rock types are more prone ice domes, are essentially proglacial in nature.
'&)- P ER I GLACIAL E NVIRONME NTS

Typical lowland tundra terrain on the southern side of Banks Island, Arctic Canada. Fluvial terraces, thaw lakes,
and tundra polygons are characteristic. Note the musk oxen grazing on the tundra and the soil instability on the
sloping terrain in the immediate foreground.
Source: Author.

Geomorphic processes clearly unique to wedges. Thermally induced lateral movement in

periglacial environments include (a) the forma- the near-surface layer transports material from
tion of permafrost and ground-ice bodies, (b) the the center of the polygon toward the periphery to
thermal-contraction cracking of frozen ground, form shallow ridges on either side of the thermal-
(c) the thawing of permafrost (thermokarst), and contraction crack. The result is the formation of
(d) the creep of ice-rich permafrost. The most low-centered polygons. The transition to high-
dramatic periglacial landform is the pingo, a con- centered polygons usually reflects better drainage.
ical ice-cored mound (see pingos photo). Equally In bedrock, thermal-contraction cracking often
dramatic are ground-ice slumps that occur locally occurs along joints and other lines of weakness.
wherever massive icy bodies are exposed within The thaw erosion of ice-rich permafrost often
the permafrost. The most common feature of leads to gullying along the ice wedges and the
lowland permafrost terrain is large polygonal net- growth of thaw lakes and ponds. The creep of
works of thermal-contraction cracks. Typically, ice-rich permafrost is slow, measured in just mil-
they are 15 to 30 m in dimension (see tundra limeters per year, but in alpine environments, the
polygons photo). The cracks are filled either with movement of rock glaciers is more rapid.
ice, forming tapered bodies of foliated ice known Other processes, not necessarily restricted to
as ice wedges, or by a combination of ice and periglacial environments, are important on
wind-blown material to form sand or composite account of their high magnitude or frequency.
 P ER IGLA C IA L ENV IR ONMENTS '&).

The largest concentration of pingos, more than 1,350, occurs in the Mackenzie Delta region, Northwestern
Arctic Canada. The majority occur in recently drained lake basins. Ibyuk Pingo, near Tuktoyaktuk, is one of the
largest and best known.
Source: Author.

These center on the frost weathering of soils and early summer. Commonly referred to as solifluc-
surficial materials, leading to the formation of tion, this leads to gentle, undulating relief. Frost
patterned ground and disturbed near-surface soil heaving and ice segregation in the near-surface
profiles and to the disintegration of exposed bed- thawed zone (the active layer) commonly result in
rock by frost wedging, growth of segregated ice small-scale sorted and nonsorted patterned
lenses, or a complex of poorly understood physi- ground (circles, stripes, and lobes), frost heaving
cochemical (cryogenic) and biological weathering of bedrock, and the formation of hummocks
processes. In uplands and areas of coherent bed- microtopography (thufurs, earth hummocks).
rock, coarse, angular rock-rubble, termed block-
fields or kurums, occurs widely. More resistant
Human Occupancy and
bedrock outcrops form cliffs, isolated hills, and
Environmental Concerns
tors. Frost widening of joints is also common.
Wind action, in the form of abrasion and eolian Periglacial environments are part of the cryo-
sediment movement, is especially important in sphere. As such, if global climate change proceeds
Antarctica and Northeast Greenland, where as predicted, periglacial environments will be
strong katabatic winds flow outward from the among the first to be affected. This is because
continental ice sheets, and elsewhere in the polar periglacial environments act as a positive feedback
deserts, where the absence of vegetation allows mechanism for climate warming. It is now under-
for effective wind erosion. In the tundra lowlands, stood that the hydrological cycle of the big north-
mass wasting of water-saturated near-surface ern rivers of North America and Eurasia links
materials follows the snowmelt in spring and snowmelt and precipitation with river runoff, sea
'&*% P ER I GLACIAL E NVIRONME NTS

Tundra polygons, 15–25 m in dimension, are characteristic of permafrost terrain. On the northern slope of
Alaska, buildings, roads, and other forms of economic infrastructure are constructed on gravel pads to minimize
disturbance to the thermal regime of the tundra. This photo, taken in 1979, shows a recently abandoned
exploratory well site.
Source: Author.

ice, and ocean circulation in a single system. This an increase in slope instability, changing snow-
influences deepwater formation in the Arctic basin melt and hydrological regimes, and enhanced
and the corresponding global thermohaline circu- mass wasting and landscape modification in per-
lation of the oceans. At the same time, any reduc- mafrost environments. Increased thaw will also
tion in the extent of sea ice or snow cover reduces affect near-surface, organic-rich layers at the
the albedo, or reflectivity, of land or ocean surface active layer/permafrost boundary, especially in
and allows more solar radiation to be absorbed. the subarctic. This will release significant quanti-
In North America, the thawing of discontinu- ties of carbon dioxide and methane, both of which
ous permafrost at the southern (warm) limits of are important greenhouse gases. In the alpine
the discontinuous permafrost zone has been ongo- midlatitude periglacial environments, thawing
ing for more than 50 years. This trend is continu- permafrost may lead to instability of rock out-
ing, and the tree line is slowly but progressively crops, which may threaten the foundations of ski
advancing northward. In many parts of the world, lifts and other recreational installations at high
the active layer is beginning to increase in thick- elevation. Such problems are of special concern in
ness. The latter, monitored by the Circumpolar the mountain regions of Western Europe.
Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) program of the In recent years, several other geotechnical
International Permafrost Association, will lead to and environmental concerns have come to be
 P ER IGLA C IA L ENV IR ONMENTS '&*&

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System carries warm oil from Northern Alaska to Valdez on the Pacific coast. Where
the pipe traverses warm permafrost, as near Fairbanks, Central Alaska, the pipe is elevated on vertical support
members that are equipped with cooling devices (“heat tubes”) to prevent heat transfer from the pipe to the
thaw-sensitive permafrost beneath.
Source: Author.

associated with periglacial environments. Geo- high pore-water pressures that favor slope insta-
technical problems are widespread and relate bility and slumping. There is also a significant
largely to the water and/or ice content of perma- loss of bearing strength on thawing. Another
frost. For example, frost heave causes significant group of problems relates to the unusual hydro-
damage to building structures and foundations. logical and groundwater characteristics of perma-
For example, in the case of pile foundations for frost terrain. Permafrost prevents the infiltration
buildings, repeated cycles of heave can progres- of surface water; restricts groundwater movement
sively lift the pile, causing the structure to become to unfrozen zones, or tàliks; and may cause
unstable. The annual cost of rectifying seasonal groundwater to be highly mineralized. The avail-
frost damage to roads, underground utilities, and ability of good drinking water is a major problem
buildings in areas of permafrost and deep sea- for many small communities in the permafrost
sonal frost, as currently exist in large parts of regions of North America and Siberia.
Northern Canada, Alaska, Sweden, Northern Modern construction techniques aim to main-
Japan, and Russia, is considerable. The thaw of tain the thermal equilibrium of the permafrost
frozen ground also presents problems. For exam- and to avoid the onset of thermokarst. The most
ple, in unconsolidated ice-rich sediments, thaw common technique is the use of a gravel pad
consolidation may occur as sediments compact and placed on the ground beneath the structure (see
settle under their own weight, thereby generating polygon photo). This compensates for the increase
'&*' P ER M A CU L TU RE

in thaw that results from the warmth of the struc- leakages from producing wells poses additional
ture. Another technique is to mount the structure problems. Land use and regulatory problems by
on wooden or concrete piles, thereby creating an governments and administrative bodies are
air space between the ground surface and the increasing in complexity and number.
structure. This allows air circulation to dissipate
Hugh M. French
the heat coming from the structure. More sophis-
ticated techniques include insertion of open-ended
See also Biome: Boreal Forest; Biome: Tundra; Climate:
culverts, the use of insulated matting, and, if the
Polar; Glaciers: Continental; Ice; Permafrost; Poles,
structure justifies it, the insertion of costly refrig-
North and South
eration devices (“cryo-anchors”). In regions of
warm permafrost and where large engineering
ventures are concerned, so-called passive cooling
methods are increasingly being used. These main- Further Readings
tain thermal equilibrium by taking advantage of
seasonal convection in high-permeability rock French, H. M. (2007). The periglacial environment
debris and are especially appropriate for road, (3rd ed.). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
rail, and airport embankments. The same tech-
nique is used to maintain the frozen nature of
hazardous containment dykes at oil storage facili-
ties and earthen dams constructed to contain PERMACULTURE
toxic mine tailings and other contaminants.
The construction of oil and gas pipelines Permaculture is an adaptive, integrated, and holis-
through permafrost terrain poses special prob- tic design science providing a symbiotic relation-
lems. With warm-oil pipelines, the problem is the ship between modern and indigenous cultures
potential thaw of permafrost and the rupture of specific to a permanent place within ecological
the pipe. In the case of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline systems. The word permaculture was first used in
System, which was constructed in the mid 1970s, the mid 1970s by Bill Mollison, an Australian
the pipe was elevated above the ground on verti- ecologist, and his student David Holmgren. It
cal support members wherever ice-rich perma- involves a synergism of permanent agriculture
frost was present (see Trans-Alaska Pipeline evolving to a permanent culture. Permaculture
System photo). In the case of chilled-gas pipelines, designs patterns of ecosystems that balance human
which are usually buried and operate best when habitats with self-sufficient community food pro-
the gas is chilled to temperatures below zero, the duction systems. The ecological design path aims
problem is one of prolonged frost heave adjacent to preserve biodiversity through closed natural
to the pipe and the creation of a frost bulb around ecosystems. The scientific principles of permacul-
the pipe. Satisfactory engineering solutions are ture lie generally within the synthesis of systems
yet to be devised to overcome this problem. ecology and geography. The land use systems prin-
Increased economic activity in periglacial ciples promote a resilient ecosystem and society.
regions has been associated with human-induced Permaculture merges traditional cultures with
terrain damage. For example, the search for oil local organic agriculture in urban and rural land
and gas in regions such as Northern Alaska in the design. The design is site specific with respect to
late 1940s and early 1950s and the Yamal Penin- locally adapted agrarian production techniques.
sula in Western Siberia in the late 1980s resulted It uses built environment green-building tech-
in significant human-induced thermokarst activ- niques such as solar and wind power, green-
ity following indiscriminate vehicle movement houses, energy-efficient housing, and solar food
over the tundra terrain in summer. Thaw erosion cooking and drying. Permaculture integrates
along vehicle tracks that destroys surface vegeta- agroecological methods of production, using
tion commonly takes several decades to stabilize. standard organic farming and gardening tech-
The containment of waste-drilling fluids at the niques, including cover crops, green manures,
sites of exploratory drillings and of oil spills and crop rotation, and mulches.
 P ER MA F R O S T '&*(

7. Design from patterns to details.

Permaculture Ethics
8. Integrate rather than segregate.
The ethics of permaculture provide a broad sense
of three principles common to most indigenous 9. Use small and slow solutions.
tribal cultures. These cultures have existed in bal-
10. Use and value diversity.
ance with their environment in a rooted commu-
nity for many generations. 11. Use edges and value the marginal.
12. Creatively use and respond to change.
1. Care of the Earth: caring for the Earth from the
soil up through a spiritual connection with all Benjamin Newton
living and nonliving things in one’s basic
everyday decisions. The pragmatic philosophy See also Agroecology; Bioregionalism; Crop Rotation;
of permaculture acknowledges the ecological Footprint Analysis; Green Building; Indigenous
limits of the Earth. Environmental Knowledge; Indigenous Environmental
Practices; Organic Agriculture
2. Care for people: promotes self-reliance and an
interconnected web of community
responsibility, reducing one’s own dependence
on the global economy and replacing it with Further Readings
local resources. Permaculture designs
landscapes in which biodiversity and its Diver, S. (2002). Introduction to permaculture:
members thrive in the bioregion. Concepts and resources (Publication No. CT083).
Fayetteville, AR: Appropriate Technology
3. Setting limits to consumption and reproduction Transfer for Rural Areas, National Sustainable
and redistributing surplus: a sense of limits Agriculture Information Service.
evolves from the knowledge that everything in Holmgren, D. (2002). Permaculture: Principles and
nature has a limited lifespan and place. pathways beyond sustainability. Hepburn,
Monitoring one’s own ecological footprint is a Victoria, Australia: Holmgren Design Services.
method to determine one’s own individual
needs within the capacity of the Earth.
Redistributing one’s local surplus of knowledge
of permaculture skills or resources such as
water, energy, or food helps build local PERMAFROST
community webs outside one’s own bioregion.
Permafrost is any subsurface earth material that
remains below 0 nC for at least two consecutive
Principles
years, including the intervening summer. Cur-
Permaculture principles promote community rently, permafrost covers approximately 25%
change to improve global external environmen- of the Northern Hemisphere land surface and
tal conditions. According to David Holmgren, approximately 25% of the Antarctic continent.
there are 12 conceptual permaculture design Permafrost may also be found as “subsea perma-
principles: frost” on the seafloor bottom, particularly on
the northern continental shelves of North Amer-
1. Observe and interact. ica and Eurasia. In regions where average annual
2. Catch and store energy. surface air temperatures are 0 °C or less, perma-
frost develops and thickens because ground
3. Obtain a yield. freezing penetrates more deeply than summer
4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback. thawing can reverse. Thus, each year will bring
about deeper and deeper frozen ground until
5. Use and value renewable resources and services.
the geothermal regime deep within the Earth
6. Produce no waste. counteracts this downward freezing process.
'&*) P ER M A FROST

Ultimately, equilibrium will be established, warming and degradation may in turn be acceler-
therefore providing a stable permafrost depth. ated by positive feedbacks to include carbon
Heat conduction through rock and soil can be release from freshly thawed soils, projected expan-
extremely slow, and depending on the magni- sion of shrub cover, and wildfire occurrence.
tude of a potential surface temperature change, Three types of permafrost degradation may
it may take thousands of years before a new occur as a result of climate warming: (1) overall
thermal equilibrium is established. permafrost thaw, (2) deepening active layers, and
Permafrost can be partitioned by areal extent (3) thermokarst processes. Overall or “whole-
and is typically defined as consisting of con- sale” permafrost thaw and thermal degradation
tinuous (90–100%), discontinuous (50–90%), result in widespread reductions in permafrost
sporadic (10–50%), or isolated patches (0–10%) extent, allowing for a connection between deep
(Figure 1). The thickness of permafrost can groundwaters and surface water pathways. As
be quite variable and generally varies between opposed to active-layer and thermokarst pro-
100 and 800 m (meters) in continuous perma- cesses, time lags involved with wholesale perma-
frost, 25 and 100 m in discontinuous permafrost, frost thaw can be significantly longer, where
and 10 and 50 m in sporadic permafrost, yet temperature changes at the ground surface may
there is always a seasonally thawed “active layer” take from a few years to millennia to reach the
at the surface that can vary from centimeters to bottom of the permafrost layers. Not only can
meters in thickness (Figure 2). The active layer permafrost warm and degrade from the surface as
provides an extremely important stratum for well as from the bottom, but permafrost may also
activities related to regional geomorphology, degrade internally if it contains unfrozen water,
vegetation, microbes, soil moisture, and soil car- as seen in some areas of Alaska. Although direct
bon stocks. Permafrost soils can be quite com- measurements of long-term permafrost dynamics
plex and may vary tremendously through a are relatively rare and no real widespread pan-
vertical column. For instance, arctic soils typi- arctic wholesale permafrost thaw has been
cally contain organic material at the surface (with observed, some studies have in fact shown some
compositions ranging from mosses to humus) substantial local and regional permafrost degrada-
overlaying mineral soils. Moisture may not nec- tion through field observations. Active-layer thaw
essarily be present in permafrost layers below the depths are also highly responsive to warming air
active layer: “Dry” permafrost, for example, temperatures and can be important indicators of
contains no liquid or solid water. In most cases, permafrost stability. Deepening active layers may
however, ice is present (sometimes even in large increase the interaction between surface waters
concentrations as ice wedges) and is a very impor- and soils within the newly thawed portions of
tant factor in the mechanics of permafrost. the active layer as well as liberate soluble biogeo-
chemical constituents previously sequestered
within the near-surface permafrost. Last, it is
Recent Permafrost Degradation
also important to address thermokarst processes
Near-surface permafrost is expected to exhibit sig- in the context of permafrost degradation, which
nificant degradation over the coming century due is the surface thawing of ice-rich ground and
to current and future climate warming, although subsequent thaw slumping. Thermokarst is asso-
this process may somewhat lag behind trends in ciated with warming air temperatures in discon-
warming surface air temperatures. Warming air tinuous and sporadic zones of permafrost extent,
temperatures lead to permafrost thaw and degra- but it can also occur in regions of continuous
dation, which can include thickening of the active permafrost and is not always tied directly to
layer, talik formation, thermokarst development, wholesale permafrost degradation.
expansion or creation of thaw lakes, lateral per-
mafrost thawing, and a northward migration of
Impacts of Permafrost Degradation
the southern permafrost boundary. These changes
can have significant impacts on hydrology, eco- One of the most important changes to the arctic
systems, and biogeochemical cycling. Permafrost system caused by ongoing and future warming
 P ER MA F R O S T '&**

Permafrost
Isolated
Sporadic
Discontinuous
Continuous

Figure 1 Distribution of continuous, discontinuous, sporadic, and isolated permafrost in the Northern
Hemisphere
Sources: Map by Philippe Rekacewicz, UNEP/GRID-Arendal; data from International Permafrost Association, 1998. Circumpolar
Active-Layer Permafrost System (CAPS), Version 1.0.

will be the shift from a surface water–dominated and biogeochemical cycling. These consequences
system to a groundwater-dominated system. As will be highly complex and will undoubtedly
permafrost degrades and previously frozen soils exhibit the spatial and temporal variability associ-
thaw, significant changes to the flow paths of ated with current permafrost conditions, sensitiv-
waters will occur, resulting in profound conse- ity to thawing, and environmental characteristics
quences for hydrology, greenhouse gas emissions, of the land surface (e.g., land cover, soil type, and
'&*+ P ER M A FROST

Small Large
Deep Deep Bog
Lake Lake
Active Layer
Open
Talik Through 10 m
Continuous 50 m
Talik Closed
Permafrost
Talik Discontinuous
400 m Permafrost
Unfrozen
Soil and Rock

Figure 2 An example of permafrost distribution in cross section

Source: Pidwirny, M. (2006). Periglacial processes and landforms. Fundamentals of physical geography (2nd ed.). Retrieved
February 19, 2009, from www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10ag.html. Reprinted with permission.

topography). Some of the most significant impacts soil surface, thereby maintaining saturated soils
of permafrost degradation include those related to or open water surfaces across much of the land-
(a) terrain stability, (b) greenhouse gas emissions, scape. These resulting anaerobic wetland regions
(c) physical hydrology, and (d) stream and river can be significant sources of methane to the atmo-
biogeochemistry. sphere. However, permafrost degradation and the
Extensive thawing of permafrost will have subsequent draining of these surface waters
important implications for the stability of the ter- exposes carbon-rich soils to aerobic decomposi-
rain and cause massive surface deformation as tion, which may reduce methane emissions but
ice-rich soil melts. Thermokarst topography is significantly increase carbon dioxide emissions to
associated with an increase in the depth of the the atmosphere. Furthermore, permafrost degra-
active layer and melting of ice within the ground. dation and thermokarst processes beneath lakes
This melting leads to settlement and subsidence of have also been shown to be globally significant
the ground in irregular hummocks and depres- sources of methane to the atmosphere. Thawed
sions containing standing water. This ground sub- lake sediments actively produce and emit meth-
sidence can have massive impacts on human ane and cause bubbling (or “ebullition”) of meth-
infrastructure such as roads and buildings. Other ane from lake bottoms and through lake waters
surface features created by permafrost thawing to the atmosphere. This resulting methane ebulli-
include retrogressive thaw slumping, active-layer tion is a large and increasing source of atmo-
detachment, creep, and enhanced coastal erosion. spheric methane as thermokarst lakes continue to
Permafrost degradation may also have impor- expand with permafrost degradation.
tant implications for greenhouse gas emissions, The physical hydrology of systems may also be
including both carbon dioxide and methane. The affected by climate warming and subsequent per-
current presence of permafrost in high-latitude mafrost degradation. Arctic streams and rivers
regions inhibits percolation of surface water and have experienced observable increases in dis-
allows the water table to be sustained close to the charge over the past several decades, with the
 P EST IC ID E S '&*,

thawing of permafrost considered one of many Further Readings

possibilities contributing to this increase. Lakes
have also experienced dramatic changes due to Frey, K. E., & McClelland, J. W. (2009). Impacts of
permafrost degradation. For instance, in areas of permafrost degradation on arctic river biogeo-
continuous permafrost, lake areas have been chemistry. Hydrological Processes, 23, 169–182.
shown to grow as thermokarst processes force an Kennett, J. P., Cannariato, K. G., Hendy, I. L., &
increase in lake basin areas. However, in discon- Behl, R. J. (2003). Methane hydrates in
tinuous permafrost areas, permafrost is sparse quaternary climate change: The clathrate cun
enough so that a breach of permafrost layers and hypothesis. Washington, DC: American
sudden connection of lake surface waters with Geophysical Union.
groundwater pathways can cause lakes to disap- Margesin, R. (2009). Permafrost soils. Berlin,
pear entirely. This catastrophic drainage and dis- Germany: Springer.
appearance of lakes can have many cascading Smith, L. C., Sheng, Y., MacDonald, G. M., &
implications that include impacts on the land- Hinzman, L. D. (2005). Disappearing Arctic lakes.
atmosphere exchange of carbon, water, and Science, 308, 1429.
energy but they also may have severe impacts for Walter, K. M., Zimov, S. A., Chanton, J. P., Verbyla,
migrating waterfowl that rely on these wetland D., & Chapin, F. S., III. (2006). Methane
and lake-rich areas as breeding grounds. bubbling from Siberian thaw lakes as a positive
Permafrost currently underlies significant por- feedback to climate warming. Nature, 443, 71–75.
tions of the six largest Arctic watersheds (Ob’,
Yenisey, Lena, Kolyma, Mackenzie, and Yukon
rivers) in addition to many other smaller streams
and rivers entering the Arctic Ocean. As such,
profound impacts will occur here with permafrost
degradation, including biogeochemical cycling PESTICIDES
within these watersheds and the resulting delivery
of organic matter, inorganic nutrients, and major Pesticides are chemical compounds that kill
ions to the Arctic Ocean. One of the most pro- unwanted organisms, typically insects, fungi,
found consequences of permafrost thaw projected plants, and other pests that harm humans or
for the future is that the arctic terrestrial freshwa- organisms valued by humans, such as crops and
ter system is likely to experience a transition from domesticated animals. Pesticides are agrochemi-
a surface water–dominated system to a ground- cals, a category that includes synthetic fertilizers,
water-dominated system. Most studies observe or which are derived from petroleum and other fos-
predict an increase in major ion, phosphate, and sil fuels. Pesticide classification systems include
silica export with this shift toward greater ground- those arranged by the target organisms (insecti-
water contributions. However, there are conflict- cide, fungicide, herbicide, acaricides, rodenticide,
ing accounts of whether the delivery of inorganic etc.), by chemical origin (“inorganic” pesticides
nitrogen and organic matter will increase or are derived from basic chemical elements such as
decrease with warming and permafrost thaw. It is copper, “organic” or “synthetic” pesticides from
clear that over the next century there will be fossil fuels, and “biological” pesticide from organ-
important shifts in the river transport of organic isms), by chemical class (organochlorines, organo-
matter, inorganic nutrients, and major ions, phosphates, etc.), and by their effects on nontarget
which may in turn have critical implications for organisms.
primary production and carbon cycling on arctic Farmers producing horticultural crops began
shelves and in the Arctic Ocean basin interior. widely using inorganic pesticides for pest man-
agement in the late 1800s, while synthetic pesti-
Karen E. Frey cides were widely adopted in many agricultural
systems, especially in industrialized agriculture,
See also Biome: Boreal Forest; Biome: Tundra; Climate: starting in the 1940s. Today, more than 600 dif-
Polar; Glaciers: Continental; Ice; Poles, North and South ferent pesticide active ingredients exist, although
'&*- P ES T M ANAG E ME NT

national regulations on these chemicals vary strategies. Similarly, scholars researching lawn
substantially. pesticide use in First World contexts have taken a
Rachel Carson’s 1962 famous book Silent political-ecological approach to show how the
Spring helped popularize an ecological con- chemical industry’s need to increase sales shapes
sciousness through an understanding of the land user decision making by promoting a mono-
environmental and health effects of chlorinated cultural lawn aesthetic.
hydrocarbon pesticides, such as DDT, and the
Ryan E. Galt
acute toxicity of organophosphate pesticides. The
book also inspired the modern environmental
See also Agrochemical Pollution; Agroecology;
movement and the creation of the U.S. Environ-
Agrofoods; Bhopal, India, Chemical Disaster;
mental Protection Agency in 1970. Concerns over
Chlorinated Hydrocarbons; Herbicides;
pesticides and other environmental impacts of
Organophosphates
agriculture remain an important impetus for pro-
moting organic agriculture. Pesticides are unique
in that they are biologically active agents intended
to cause harm that are released intentionally into Further Readings
the environment, and as such, their effects are
considered externalities of agro-food systems. Carson, R. (1962). Silent spring. Boston: Houghton
Numerous disciplines and fields have become Mifflin.
involved in research related to pesticides. Epide- Galt, R. E. (2007). Regulatory risk and farmers’
miological and toxicological work has shown caution with pesticides in Costa Rica.
pesticides to harm many organisms, including Transactions of the Institute of British
humans. Some pesticides cause acute poisoning, Geographers, 32, 377–394.
often with long-term effects, while others are car- Galt, R. E. (2008). Beyond the circle of poison:
cinogens. Impairment and disruption of the endo- Significant shifts in the global pesticide complex,
crine, immune, and neurological systems has been 1976–2008. Global Environmental Change, 18,
shown among lab animals at doses near levels 786–799.
currently found in groundwater. Neurological Pulido, L., & Pena, D. (1998). Environmentalism and
impairment has been demonstrated among pesti- positionality: The early pesticide campaign of the
cide applicators and children in intensive produc- United Farm Workers’ Organizing Committee,
tion areas. 1965–1971. Race, Gender & Class, 6, 33–50.
Two bodies of geographical work contribute to Robbins, P. (2007). Lawn people: How grasses,
pesticide research: environmental justice and polit- weeds, and chemicals make us who we are.
ical ecology. Environmental justice has revealed Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
the unequal distribution of risks and harms in Robbins, P., & Sharp, J. T. (2003). Producing and
catastrophes such as the Bhopal disaster in 1984 consuming chemicals: The moral economy of the
in India; that agribusiness interests strongly shape American lawn. Economic Geography, 79,
pesticide regulation, including risk analysis and 425–451.
assessment; and that farm workers as a marginal- Wargo, J. (1998). Our children’s toxic legacy
ized population have had less power to influence (2nd ed.). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
pesticide regulation except when organized, as the
United Farm Workers in California in the 1960s
and 1970s. Political ecological approaches to pes-
ticide use involve putting land users’ decision mak-
ing in a broader political economic context by PEST MANAGEMENT
emphasizing agricultural development policies,
agrochemical marketing, and regulations, in addi- The term pest management was coined by Aus-
tion to paying attention to smaller-scale variations tralian entomologists in the mid 1960s to denote
such as farmer experiences, land ownership, the active management of pests to human levels
agroecology, and management and geographical of tolerance. Pest management operates at scales
 P EST MA NA GEMEN T '&*.

from the individual farm to the national environ- feeding birds in urban parks, and keeping rats as
ment but has come to define explicit decision- pets). This demonstrates that “pest” is a subjec-
making frameworks applied to prevent, reduce, tive and context-dependent classification and not
or remove the impact of pests on production sys- an inherent property.
tems, human health, and the environment. Pest Important differences emerge in the pest man-
management therefore implies a coordinated agement problems and priorities of developed
management strategy with systematized decision and developing countries, linked to the resources
making, in contrast to pest control, which refers available to manage pest incursions and the vul-
to the set of actions applied to combat pests in nerability of production systems and human pop-
the field. The historical and geographical varia- ulations to the effects of pests. Some developing
tion in pest management concerns and regimes, countries are battling biblical swarms of pests
the institutional and legislative frameworks for that decimate certain agricultural sectors and
pest management, and the controversy surround- adversely affect human health in urban areas.
ing pest management techniques are reviewed in National differences in pest occurrence also have
this entry. ramifications for agricultural trade, as the classi-
Pest management emerged historically as fication of national spaces as contaminated with
industrialization and the mechanization of agri- particular pests restricts the legal trade of certain
culture prompted a shift from uncoordinated pri- agricultural products.
vate efforts to control pests, to private firms Pest management is legislated at the regional,
offering pest control services, to the emergence national, and international levels. At the interna-
of public authority oversight. The variation in tional level, the Convention on Biological Diver-
those species considered pests in different times sity stipulates that signatories prevent the impact
and places suggests that while a pest can be of nonnative species on native biodiversity, and
defined as any organism detrimental to human the World Trade Organization sanitary and phy-
interests, the production of a pest is the outcome tosanitary legislation stipulates that member
of specific processes. These range from urban states inform the international community of the
health concerns over the plague, rabies, and presence of certain notifiable pests. National-
murine typhus, to mice destroying rice harvests, level policies operate as stand-alone pieces of
to badgers spreading bovine tuberculosis on species-by-species legislation, as a part of wider
farms, to pigeons as a public nuisance in Trafal- environmental or agricultural legislation or as a
gar Square. The history of pest management also part of integrated biosecurity legislation. Agen-
demonstrates a broadening of concern from agri- cies with pest management responsibilities
culture and public health in metropolitan areas, undertake a variety of coordinating activities,
to environmental impacts of pests such as biodi- including developing pest management strate-
versity loss. It is perhaps the act of protecting gies, maintaining inventories of pests and the
a particular space or desirable entity (such as a extent of their incursions, and disseminating best
residential area, a monoculture crop, or a native practices.
ecosystem) that “creates” new pests, through Control responses are determined according to
competition for food and habitat between the accessed level of threat a pest poses and the
humans and other animals. Research on human- costs and capacity of human interference to effect
animal conflicts suggests that these are spatial change. The aim may be to prevent a pest’s spread,
conflicts and challenges to our spatial categoriza- to reduce its negative impacts, or to achieve local-
tion processes. The classification of a species as a ized or long-term eradication. This requires the
pest is also related to a perceived excess of popu- surveillance of areas for the presence or absence
lation numbers (too many wolves and the animal of pests, the selection and use of appropriate con-
is viewed as a virulent pest, too few and it is a trol methods, and any follow-up or monitoring
highly valued endangered species). But just as work to prevent pest reestablishment. Integrated
such species are categorized as problems (too pest management (IPM) is the most well-known
many in the wrong place), other people are holistic approach, dominating the field of pest
valuing them (campaigning against badger culls, management for the past 35 years. Rather than
'&+% P ES T M ANAG E ME NT

Tsukasa Yamamoto (left) of Bio Energetic Synchronization Technique (BEST) Farms and Agricultural Research
Service (ARS) technician Mike Klungness look over a patch of fruit fly–free tomatoes. After participating in the
Hawaii fruit fly areawide pest management program, cooperators can diversify and grow once abandoned
popular fruits such as persimmon.
Source: Stephen Ausmus, ARS, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

simply considering treatment options, IPM spectrum) pesticides. It is in the use of chemical
focuses on why a system is susceptible to pests control methods that significant controversy sur-
and collects information on the pests’ processes rounding pest management arises. These include
of range extension (linked to both dispersal modes health concerns to human populations through
and opportunities in host environments) for the exposure to pesticides, through proximity to
sake of developing better management practices. spraying on agricultural land, through residues
IPM also integrates different types of pest control on food, or through persistence and accumula-
techniques, including chemical, biological, and tion in the food chain. Environmental concerns
mechanical control methods. include the direct effects of pesticide exposure on
Chemical control methods include the use of nontarget species, the reduction of available food
insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides (the term and habitat, the cumulative poisoning of higher-
pesticides itself subsumes organic, inorganic, level species, and the emergence of pesticide-
chemical, synthetic, and organo-synthetic prod- resistant species.
ucts). Administrated by hand, from ground Biological control methods include the release
machinery, or from the air, these include selec- of a pest’s natural enemies. There are many his-
tive pesticides (species specific) and general (wide toric examples, particularly from the Antipodes,
 P ET R OLEU M '&+&

of biological control agents becoming serious Further Readings

pests themselves. However, rigorous prerelease
testing now accompanies biological control. Barker, K. (2008). Flexible boundaries in biosecurity:
Mechanical control methods involve barrier Accommodating gorse in Aotearoa New Zealand.
methods, traps or the hunting of larger animals, Environment and Planning A, 40, 1598–1614.
and frightening techniques such as recorded dis- Carson, R. (1962). Silent spring. Boston: Houghton
tress calls to deter birds. Cultural control meth- Mifflin.
ods refer to improved husbandry or management Radcliffe, E., Hutchison, W., & Cancelado, R. (Eds.).
techniques to reduce a system’s susceptibility to (2009). Integrated pest management: Concepts,
pests, including the use of trap crops, companion tactics, strategies and case studies. Cambridge,
planting, and the avoidance of monoculture plant- UK: Cambridge University Press.
ing. These form an important part of IPM and
organic farming. Other pest control techniques
include varietal control methods, using pest resis-
tance, including genetically engineered crop culti- PETROLEUM
vars, and interference methods, such as the release
of sterile males. Petroleum, “rock oil” or “oil from the earth”
Within physical and human geography, pest (from the Latin petra, “rock” or “stone,” and
management receives divergent attention, with oleum, “oil”), is a complex mixture of hydrocar-
little collaboration or conversation across a “real- bons and other organic compounds. As a technical
ist” divide. Physical geographers contribute to the term, petroleum refers to liquid crude oil as well as
development of monitoring and management natural gas, viscous and solid forms (bitumen),
tools and to mapping and predicting pest inva- and other petroleum products and possesses a
sion dynamics using retrospective and predictive large range of colors and consistencies. In ordinary
computer modeling. In contrast, human geogra- language, petroleum refers specifically to crude
phers are occupied with critical explications of oil. Scientists believe that crude oil (measured in
the underlying binary distinction between pest barrels, abbreviated bbls) formed during the past
and nonpest, its association to other binaries such 600 million years in the Earth from the remains of
as native/alien and nature/culture, and its spatial single-celled planktonic animals and plants in
and temporal dimensions. Research has high- ancient seas and lakes. Over time, layers of mud,
lighted historically shifting cultural associations silt, and sand covered these remains, forming sedi-
both to native landscapes and to “pests” them- mentary rock over them. Geologic heat and pres-
selves and issues surrounding public antipathy sure from this weight turned the biomass into
toward aspects of pest management. Geography’s crude oil and forced it into nearby porous rocks.
unique perspective is its spatial expertise, whether Several geological elements have to be present for
through the application of geographic informa- any kind of petroleum to form. These include
tion system (GIS) techniques to map pest spread source rocks that are rich in organic materials to
or through the conceptualization of the spatial generate petroleum, porous reservoir rocks (such
dimensions of species’ belongings. The integra- as sandstone) to store the petroleum, and a nonpo-
tion of human and physical research expertise rous trap, such as faults, anticlines, or salt domes,
would allow the discipline of geography to expand to prevent the petroleum from leaking away. These
its contributions, particularly as the pressures of formations exist at varying depths (mostly between
climate change come to demand a new paradigm 150 and 7,600 meters [500–25,000 feet]) in the
in environmental management based on species’ Earth’s crust (beneath land as well as offshore).
movement and flux. Even though petroleum occasionally reaches the
Kezia Barker surface through seepages, most of the time, expen-
sive drilling and pumping technologies are neces-
See also Agroecology; Environmental Restoration; sary to find, extract, and collect it.
Exotic Species; Herbicides; Invasion and Succession; Petroleum has been known and used in numer-
Pesticides ous regions around the world for thousands of
'&+' P ET R O L E U M

years: People have used it to light lamps, for coastal areas. Now supertankers that hold 100,000
caulking and waterproofing, for medicinal pur- to more than 2 million bbls make possible the
poses, or as a fire weapon. New extraction tech- global transport of oil. Increased maritime traffic
nology resulted from the pioneering work of puts stress especially on choke points such as the
Edwin Laurentine Drake, who in 1859 innovated Suez and Panama Canals and the Bosporus Strait,
the technology of drilling wells on Oil Creek in making them important geopolitical sites.
Pennsylvania (later known as Titusville) by driv- Oil extraction, production, and resale depend
ing down pipes to keep the drill hole from filling on both large businesses and national govern-
in and thereby providing access to deeper oil ments, creating multiple transnational linkages
fields. Kerosene, a petroleum distillate, eventually and friction points. The oil industry has produced
replaced whale oil for lighting, but there was no numerous powerful global players. Among the
large demand for oil until advanced refining tech- best known is ExxonMobil. Its roots go back to
niques and technological inventions created new 1863, when John D. Rockefeller joined an oil-
uses for petroleum. In particular, the invention of refining business in Cleveland, which in 1870
gasoline-powered automobiles in 1885 to 1886 became the Standard Oil Company, which con-
by Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler and Karl Friedrich trolled the refining of 90% to 95% of all oil in
Benz and their later mass production along assem- the United States by 1880. Nine trustees, includ-
bly lines conceived by Henry Ford around 1913 ing Rockefeller, created the Standard Oil Trust in
to 1914 provoked new demand for petroleum as 1882 by merging various companies engaged in
an engine lubricant, and consumers and compa- producing, refining, and marketing oil. The com-
nies alike pushed for further oil drilling. These pany became the model of economic concentra-
dynamics also generated a growing demand for tion and control and successfully expanded
gasoline—originally a by-product of kerosene—to beyond national borders, making petroleum the
fuel new automobiles. This demand spurred primary source of energy around the world. In
research for new sources and pushed companies 1911, the enforcement of federal antitrust laws
to establish extensive distribution networks of led to its dissolution. The units of the complex
gas stations. Thus, petroleum rose to be the most themselves became global giants, including
important fossil fuel of the 20th century. Exxon, Mobil, Amoco, and others (and some of
Once they extracted crude oil, investors had to them have merged again in subsequent years).
temporarily store, refine, and transport it. They The oil business started out as a private busi-
developed cylindrical tanks made from wood or ness venture, but World War I was a turning
steel to provide storage before shipment or refin- point, as the military depended on gasoline for its
ing. Various designs emerged, with special forms ships, tanks, trucks, and cars. The growing politi-
for volatile liquids and other products. (The high cal importance of oil and its geopolitical implica-
flammability of petroleum and its products has tions made it a major factor in colonialism, and
led to numerous fires, starting with the early wars—including the two world wars—have been
extraction places in Pennsylvania.) Crude oil also closely linked to questions of oil ownership and
has to go through various refining processes, availability. Oil companies and national govern-
including distillation, which separates the hydro- ments have therefore closely collaborated at home
carbon components from each other and turns the and in colonial settings, leading, for example, to
crude oil into usable products. New uses are cre- British government support for the Anglo-Persian
ated regularly and are present (along with autos Oil Company shortly before World War I under
and engines) in our everyday life, from plastics to the influence of Winston Churchill and the Com-
lubricants, dyes, drugs, and many synthetic mate- pagnie Française des Pétroles (CFP), founded in
rials. Production sites for these products are often 1924 and today known as Total.
located far away from both refineries and con- After World War II, when submarine attacks
sumers, as it is generally cheaper to move crude oil showed the vulnerability of oil tankers, the U.S.
than the refined product. Railroads were an government initiated further construction of pipe-
important early means of transportation, and lines (the Big Inch and the Little Inch, built between
barges carried oil on inland waterways or along 1942 and 1943 by War Emergency Pipelines, Inc.,
 P ET R OLEU M '&+(

Figure 1 Major petroleum-producing countries. Some, but not all, belong to the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Source: Barney Warf.
Note: blue = OPEC members, red = non-OPEC oil-producing nations.

a consortium that included the largest oil compa- or Supsa on Georgia’s Black Sea coast. In efforts to
nies), as the safest mode of transport to bring reduce dependency on OPEC oil and bypass Rus-
crude oil from the source to the refinery and to the sia, several actors, including U.S. and various Euro-
consumer. Thus, the density of pipelines is espe- pean petroleum companies as well as Azerbaijan’s
cially high in the United States. As oil-producing State Oil Company, formed the Baku-Tbilisi-
countries and those with import demands are Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline Company. Since 2006, the
located in different regions of the world, supple- new pipeline has transported Caspian oil to the
mentary transnational pipelines are currently Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, where
being planned in response to functional and geo- tankers pick up the oil and carry it to their destina-
political needs. tion. The creation of state-owned companies in
As oil sources in Europe and the United States Mexico, Venezuela, Russia, and Saudi Arabia; the
peaked, the discovery of large oil fields in the Mid- expropriation of foreign oil holdings; and the
dle East, Venezuela, Nigeria, and Russia created nationalization of the oil industry have all limited
new global players with national economies largely access to the largest part of known oil reserves and
dependent on petroleum income. In 1960, some of added more players to the global oil economy.
them, including Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, The growing number of uses for petroleum and
and Venezuela, formed a cartel, the Organization its products has transformed our environment.
of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), to Highways and other streets built for cars crisscross
control oil prices and flow. OPEC influences global continents, nations, and cities, allowing commut-
politics and economies, as highlighted in the oil ers to travel ever-greater distances between home
crisis of 1973 to 1974. New global players have and workplace; planes claim the airspace, and air-
also created new geographies of distribution. The ports create new nodal spots on the outskirts of
Black Sea has become particularly important for cities. Heating oil has allowed the construction
European energy security at the beginning of the of larger buildings in colder areas (i.e., structures
21st century. Several pipelines cross Russia and that are largely independent, in terms of heating
lead to the port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea and cooling, of their environment) and thus the
'&+) P ET R O L E U M

Oil Imports (millions of barrels)

< 20
20–99.9
100–1,999.9
2,000–10,000
100,00

Figure 2 The geography of petroleum consumption. The enormous demand for petroleum leads to significant
imports in Europe, Japan, and North America.
Source: Barney Warf.

construction of cities in places where it would has an impact on the environment locally and
otherwise not have been possible. The increased globally. Its networks are an expression of the
burning of fossil fuels, and the increased creation interconnection of various political, economic,
of carbon dioxide, plays a big part in current social, cultural, and even religious actors across
global warming and the pollution of the environ- the globe and across time.
ment, while oil leaks can harm the natural envi- Carola Hein
ronment, whether they are caused by ship crashes
or the spilling of gasoline in an everyday environ- See also Climate Policy; Energy Policy; Energy
ment. Rising petroleum costs, global warming, Resources; Environmental Impacts of Oil Fields;
the leading industrial country’s dependence on Environmental Impacts of Pipelines; Industrial Ecology;
foreign oil, and the impending peaking of oil (if it Nonrenewable Resources; Oil Spills; Organization of the
has not already occurred) have led to first steps in Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
rethinking of energy sources, which, in turn, may
lead us to transform our landscapes and built
Further Readings
environment again.
The changing transnational economic petro-
Black, B. (2000). Petrolia: The landscape of
leum networks create capital flows and accumu-
America’s first oil boom. Baltimore: Johns
lation that are accompanied by cultural transfers.
Hopkins University Press.
Company logos are visible on billboards, service
Gluyas, J., & Swarbrick, R. (2004). Petroleum
stations, refineries, and headquarters worldwide;
geoscience. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
architectural and urban ideas travel as compa-
Klare, M. (2002). Resource wars: The new landscape of
nies send their planners around the world or hire
global conflict. New York: Metropolitan Books.
local representatives who will implement their
Sampson, A. (1975). The seven sisters: The great oil
ideas. Similarly, in countries where oil is admin-
companies and the world they shaped. New York:
istered by the national government, the govern-
Viking Press.
ment uses the oil money to implement its ideas
Yergin, D. (1991). The prize: The epic quest for oil,
and concepts in the built and urban environ-
money, and power. London: Simon & Schuster.
ments. Thus, petroleum from extraction to resale
 P HENOMENOLO G Y '&+*

PEUQUET, DONNA advance the synergy between geographic databases

and geovisualization for solving problems in areas
such as crisis management and national security.
Donna Jean Peuquet, professor of geography at Peuquet has supervised approximately 26 PhD
the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), is a and master’s students. She has also published a
renowned and distinguished scholar in the area of number of articles on topics ranging from raster
geographic representation, particularly in repre- versus vector, geographic knowledge representa-
senting the dynamics of geographic phenomena. tion, and geographic databases to geovisualiza-
She earned BA and MA degrees in geography tion. Her current research focuses on capturing
from the State University of New York (SUNY) the dynamics of geographic knowledge using
at Buffalo in 1968 and the University of Cincin- multiagent systems. Recent research on geo-
nati in 1971, respectively. In 1977, she obtained graphic knowledge representation is often limited
her PhD in geography from the State University to representing a static view of the world, for
of New York at Buffalo. Prior to becoming a pro- example, by using ontology, a “semantic graph”
fessor at Penn State, she held positions at the that consists of concepts and relationships con-
University of California at Santa Barbara; with necting the concepts. Such a representation can
the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS); in the depart- only capture “what is there” for the moment
ment of geography, SUNY at Buffalo; and in the when the representation is generated. But real-
International Geographical Union. world geographic knowledge is dynamic; a repre-
Peuquet was awarded a John Simon Guggen- sentation should be supported with a dynamic
heim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in 2000 to mechanism, such as a multiagent system, that can
further her work in the representation of geo- revise the existing representation as geographic
graphic knowledge. The title of this fellowship phenomena change over time.
project was “A Cognitive Approach to Represent-
Kean Huat Soon
ing Geographic Knowledge.” This project primar-
ily applied geovisualization to develop a cognitively
See also Ontological Foundations of Geographical Data;
informed application for knowledge discovery of
Temporal GIS
large geographic databases. She also co-organized,
with Barry Smith from the philosophy department
of SUNY–Buffalo, an interdisciplinary workshop
on “The Ontology of Fields,” which was spon- Further Readings
sored by the National Center for Geographic
Information and Analysis, in Bar Harbor, Maine, Peuquet, D. (2002). Representations of space and
in June 1998. She is also a faculty member of the time. New York: Guilford Press.
GeoVista Center, a research center at Penn State
that aims to develop human-centered prototypes
for scientists and decision makers. She has served
as a member of the board of directors of and as
lead representative to the University Consortium PHENOMENOLOGY
for Geographic Information Science. She is a mem-
ber of the editorial board of the International In the simplest terms, phenomenology is the study
Journal of Geographical Information Science and and description of human experience. As used by
the International Society for Photogrammetry and geographers, phenomenology gives attention to
Remote Sensing’s Journal of Photogrammetry the environmental, spatial, and geographical
and Remote Sensing. aspects of human experiences, actions, situations,
Peuquet has been involved in a number of values, and meanings. For example, why are
research projects from the National Science Foun- places important in human life, and can their
dation and the National Geospatial-Intelligence essential lived qualities be identified? How do
Agency, among other funding agencies. These aspects of physical space—a pathway structure,
research projects can be thought of as an effort to for example—draw people together informally or
'&++ P H EN O ME NOL OG Y

keep them apart? In what ways do human beings phenomenology, since their focus most often is
encounter the natural world experientially, and people’s experiences and understandings of real-
can these various modes of encounter be described world environments, spaces, places, landscapes,
in their lived fullness? How do the qualities of regions, and so forth.
individuals, groups, cultures, and environments From this existential perspective, phenomenol-
contribute to the range and modes of geographi- ogy can be defined as the examination, descrip-
cal experience? These are the kinds of research tion, and interpretation of phenomena, by which is
questions that a geographer drawing on phenom- meant anything that humans can experience. Any
enology might ask. situation, event, process, living thing, or object
that a human being can touch, taste, smell, hear,
see, feel, sense, know, recognize, intuit, or encoun-
History and Nature of Phenomenology
ter is a potential focus for phenomenological study.
Phenomenology’s principal founder, the German There can be a phenomenology of weather, of
philosopher Edmund Husserl, argued that landscape, of flora and fauna, of architecture,
behind the shifting flux of human experience and of the home, of journey, of travel, of tourism, of
awareness, there are certain invariant structures learning, of privacy, of community, of conflict, of
of cerebral consciousness, which he claimed a gender, of sexuality, of less-abledness, and the like.
phenomenological method could clarify in a way The aim is to describe the phenomenon in its own
that earlier philosophical traditions could not. terms—in other words, as it is: a thing, a living
Husserl viewed consciousness and its essential being, an experience, an action, a situation, or an
structures as a pure “region” separate from the event in the actual lives of actual human beings in
lived realm of experience. His approach came actual times and places. The goal is not ideographic
to be known as constitutive or transcendental portrayal, however, but the discovery and explica-
phenomenology. tion of underlying, lived structures and the rela-
Other philosophers, however, argued that Hus- tionships shared by many particular lived instances
serl’s transcendental structures of consciousness of the phenomenon.
were reductive existentially and could not accom-
modate the wide range of ways in which human
Premises of Existential Phenomenology
beings live in, experience, and encounter the
world in which they find themselves. In his 1927 A first central premise of existential phenomenol-
book Being and Time, Martin Heidegger argued ogy is that if we are to understand ourselves as
that consciousness is not distinct from but tightly human beings, we must ground that understand-
intertwined with the world in which human ing in a conception and language that arise from
beings find themselves. In his 1945 book Phe- and return to human experience and meaning.
nomenology of Perception, Maurice Merleau- There is no world “behind” the world of lived
Ponty claimed that an integral part of this intimate experience, and the researcher must be skeptical
commingling of people and their worlds is what of any conceptual, ideological, or methodological
he called body subject—that is, the invisible web system that transcribes human life and meaning
of bodily intention expressed through action that into secondhand, reason-based accounts—for
smoothly conjoins human actions and behaviors example, positivist accounts that translate the
with the everyday world at hand. This “existen- fullness and vitality of experience into tangible,
tial turn” by Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty quantifiable units or social-constructivist inter-
marked a significant conceptual shift from Hus- pretations that assume all human meanings are
serl’s realm of pure intellectual consciousness to socially and culturally afforded and derived.
the realm of lived situations, experiences, and A second central premise of existential phenom-
meanings. Because Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty enology is that human experience, action, and
emphasized the nature and qualities of human awareness are always intentional—that is, they
existence in its everyday typicality, their approach are necessarily directed toward and finding their
came to be known as existential phenomenology. significance in a world of continually shifting
Geographers have most often used this style of experience, action, and meaning. Human beings
 P HENOMENOLO G Y '&+,

are always aware of something, whether a thing, Geography, Buttimer emphasized the importance
an idea, a feeling, an imagination, a person, an of a phenomenological approach for understand-
event, or something else. Intentionality is central ing the role of personal and professional values in
to a phenomenological conception of human expe- determining, often unconsciously, geographical
rience because it means that people are inescap- ideas, theories, and results. In turn, Tuan’s 1974
ably enmeshed in their world—what Heidegger book Topophilia drew on phenomenological
identified as Dasein, or being-in-the-world. principles to explore the wide-ranging lived
The everyday lived structure through which expressions of human attachment to place.
the sense of being in the world expresses itself is Of these early phenomenological works, Rel-
termed the life-world—the everyday world of ph’s 1976 Place and Placelessness was perhaps the
taken-for-grantedness to which, typically, people most significant, because he delineated a phenom-
give no attention. In turn, the unquestioned enology of place that was simple to understand,
acceptance of the life-world is called the natural versatile in its conceptual and applied possibili-
attitude, and one phenomenological aim of geo- ties, and resilient in its ability to deal with the
graphers is to identify and depict the lived dimen- complexity and ambiguities of place. Relph
sions and dynamics of the life-world and the argued that the existential crux of place experi-
natural attitude, which always include geographi- ence is insideness—in other words, the more
cal, environmental, and spatial aspects. deeply one (a person or group) feels oneself inside
an environment, the more does that environment
become, existentially, a place. The deepest experi-
Early Phenomenological Work in Geography
ence of place attachment and identity is what
Though foreshadowed by the earlier work of Relph termed existential insideness—a situation
“humanist” geographers such as Clarence Glac- where one feels so much at home and at ease in a
ken, William Kirk, David Lowenthal, and J. K. place that one has no self-conscious recognition
Wright, phenomenological work in geography of its importance in one’s life, unless it changes in
first appeared in the early 1970s, when some geog- some way—for example, if one’s home and neigh-
raphers criticized the then dominant positivist borhood is destroyed by a natural disaster. Relph
approach, which emphasized a priori theory and identified and described several other modes of
measurable data. One phenomenological criticism place insideness and its lived opposite, outside-
was that the positivist perspective did not work ness—a situation where the person or group feels
well for aspects of human experience and meaning separate or alienated from a place in some way.
not readily quantifiable in some way—for exam- Later researchers have often drawn on Relph’s
ple, place attachment or heightened encounters conceptual structure of place because the various
with the natural world. At the same time, an modes of insideness and outsideness provide a flex-
emerging focus on environmental perception and ible conceptual means for distinguishing the lived
behavior within the positivist tradition in geogra- experience of place from its material, objectivist
phy led to research dealing with people’s environ- qualities. In addition, these modes provide a way
mental images, attitudes, preferences, territorial to keep sight of the existential fact that (a) the same
identifications, and so forth. This concern with physical place can evoke a wide range of contrast-
people’s “inner worlds” in relation to the “outer” ing experiences for different individuals and groups
environment became an important conceptual and associated with that place and (b) the same physi-
methodological bridge for geographers seeking a cal place can, over time, evoke vastly different place
more qualitative, interpretive approach to envi- experiences for that same individual or group.
ronmental behavior and experience, including the
potential use of phenomenology.
Phenomenological Research Today
Most notable among these “humanistic” geog-
raphers, as they were often called at the time, The range of current phenomenological work
were Anne Buttimer, Edward Relph, and Yi-Fu dealing with geographical and environmental
Tuan, all of whom drew on phenomenological themes is considerable. Two themes are highlighted
ideas and methods. In her 1974 book Values in here—place and lived space—to illustrate research
'&+- P H EN O ME NOL OG Y

directions today. Because there are many different to sensuous encounter and physical passage. Space,
disciplines and professions interested in studying in this sense, relates to whether physical and
environmental and geographical topics phenome- designable elements facilitate activity and liveliness
nologically, much of the work highlighted here is or inactivity and dullness. There is phenomeno-
done not by geographers but by philosophers, soci- logical interest in a particular kind of place struc-
ologists, psychologists, designers, and others. ture and situation in which the spatial-temporal
One continuing effort is phenomenological regularity of individuals potentially coalesces into
research on place, both broadly, in terms of phil- a larger environmental dynamic that both sustains
osophical implications, and specifically, in terms and is sustained by an attachment to and sense of
of phenomenologies of particular places and their place—what the phenomenological geographer
associated place experiences. On the one hand, David Seamon has termed place ballet. The urban
the philosophers Edward Casey, Jeff Malpas, designer Ian Bentley and his colleagues have devel-
Robert Mugerauer, and Ingrid Leman Stefanovic oped a design and planning approach for creating
have all written book-length works demonstrat- what they call responsive environments—that is,
ing the foundational significance of place and places that, through their physical layout and
emplacement for understanding human being-in- design, provide users with a wide range of accessi-
the-world. On the other hand, researchers like the ble choices within the immediate, walkable neigh-
sociologist Ray Oldenburg and the psychiatrist borhood. The design aim is to create permeable,
Mindy Fullilove have studied real-world situa- high-density, and mixed-use urban districts that
tions ranging from so-called third places—that is, have a robust street life, a lively place ballet, and a
public establishments such as taverns and cafés, vital sense of identity and community.
where people informally gather and socialize—to
the devastation of African American neighbor-
Criticisms of Phenomenological Geography
hoods in American cities due to urban renewal.
A second related phenomenological theme is Since the early 1990s, phenomenological research
lived space—a person or group’s modes of living in geography has been overshadowed by the more
and being in relation to space and environment. dominant conceptual approaches of postmodern-
One important aim, in part guided by Merleau- ist, poststructuralist, and critical geographies.
Ponty’s work, is to better understand the role of Several recent histories of geographic thought
body-subject in affording spatial and environ- suggest that the use of phenomenology by geogra-
mental actions, behaviors, and situations. In this phers largely ended by the late 1980s. This claim,
regard, sociologist Chris Allen has explored visu- however, is incorrect. In fact, the phenomenologi-
ally impaired children’s everyday body-in-space cal tradition remains intact—that is, creatively
encounters with their home and urban environ- alive—and emphatically distinct from the disci-
ment, while philosopher Kay Toombs has consid- pline’s current “critical” emphasis, which some
ered how less-abled persons’ loss of mobility leads phenomenological geographers see as highly sub-
to a dramatically different manner of relationship jectivist, rhetorical, and arbitrary in approach
with the surrounding physical and human world. and results.
Yet again, the architect Juhani Pallasmaa has Critique of phenomenological work today arises
examined how modernist architecture has regu- from both the academic “right” and the academic
larly reduced environmental and architectural “left.” On the right are the positivists, who see
experience to an abstract aesthetic grounded in phenomenology as imprecise, highly subjective,
visual appearance and how an invigorated archi- and without criteria for trustworthiness. On the
tecture might widen the sphere of experience to left are the critical theorists of various persuasions,
incorporate all the senses as well as the feelings who distrust the phenomenological assumptions
and bodily movement one encounters. of orderly patterns, essential structures, and “things
More broadly, phenomenological work on in themselves.” Currently, critique from the left
lived space gives attention to how spatial patterns dominates the evaluative discourse, and phenome-
and relationships set horizons to the dynamics of nological work has been criticized variously by
human action and place, particularly with regard social constructivists, feminists, postmodernists,
 P HOSP HOR US C Y CL E '&+.

and cultural-study theorists as (a) essentialist;

(b) implicitly masculinist; (c) ignoring individual, Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962). Phenomenology of
social, and cultural variations and differences; perception (C. Smith, Trans.). London: Routledge.
(d) neglectful of power structures; and (e) assum- (Original work published 1945)
ing an ideological and ethical bias toward exclu- Mugerauer, R. (1994). Interpretations on behalf of
sionary, bounded places at the expense of cultural place. Albany: SUNY Press.
and place diversity, integration, and interrela- Oldenburg, R. (2001). Celebrating the third place.
tions. Phenomenologists respond that their aims, New York: Marlow.
methods of study, and conclusions are misinter- Pallasmaa, J. (1996). The eyes of the skin. London:
preted by these critics and that a progressive Academy Editions.
understanding of the importance of environmen- Relph, E. C. (1976). Place and placelessness. London:
tal and place experience for human wellbeing is Pion.
essential in an increasingly placeless, mobile Seamon, D. (2000). Phenomenology in environment-
world of global connections, cyberspace, and vir- behavior research. In S. Wapner (Ed.), Theoretical
tual realities. perspectives in environment-behavior research
(pp. 157–178). New York: Plenum Press.
David Seamon Seamon, D. (2006). A phenomenological ecology of
See also Body, Geography of; Buttimer, Anne; natural and built worlds. In M. Geib (Ed.),
Environmental Perception; Everyday Life, Geography Phenomenology and ecology (pp. 53–86).
and; Existentialism and Geography; Home; Human Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University, Simon
Geography, History of; Humanistic Geography; Ley, Silverman Phenomenology Center.
David; Place; Qualitative Methods; Relph, Edward; Stefanovic, I. (2000). Safeguarding our common
Sense of Place; Situated Knowledge; Tuan, Yi-Fu future. Albany: SUNY Press.
Toombs, S. (1995). The lived experience of disability.
Human Studies, 18, 9–23.
Further Readings Tuan, Y. (1974). Topophilia. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice Hall.
Allen, C. (2004). Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology
and the body-in-space. Environment and Planning
D: Society and Space, 22, 719–735.
Bentley, I., McGlynn, S., Smith, G., Alcock, A., &
Murrain, P. (1985). Responsive environments. PHOSPHORUS CYCLE
London: Architectural Press.
Buttimer, A. (1974). Values in geography Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for all
(Commission on College Geography, Resource life forms on Earth. Being a nonsubstitutable
Paper 24). Washington, DC: Association of constituent of nucleoside phosphates (e.g., ADP
American Geographers. [adenosine diphosphate], ATP [adenosine triphos-
Casey, E. (1993). Getting back into place. phate]) and nucleic acids (e.g., DNA [deoxyribo-
Bloomington: Indiana University Press. nucleic acid], RNA [ribonucleic acid]), phosphorus
Embree, L. (Ed.). (1997). Encyclopedia of plays a vital role in biochemical reactions involv-
phenomenology. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer. ing energy transfer and transcription of genetic
Fullilove, M. (2004). Root shock. New York: information in living organisms. Moreover, phos-
Ballantine. phorus has a generally low bioavailability and is
Heidegger, M. (1927). Being and time. New York: a nutrient that commonly limits the productivity
Harper & Row. of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems.
Malpas, J. (2006). Heidegger’s topology. Cambridge: In contrast with carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur,
MIT Press. which can exist in several oxidation states, phos-
Mels, T. (Ed.). (2004). Reanimating places. phorus does not take part in reduction-oxidation
Burlington, VT: Ashgate. reactions and is predominantly present in the
+5 oxidation state as phosphate (PO4 3). On a
'&,% P H O S P H ORU S CYCL E

centennial timescale, global transfer of phospho- the riverine particulate phosphorus flux, respec-
rus occurs unidirectionally from the terrestrial tively. Most of the particle-bound phosphorus
system via river transport to the oceanic system. enters the ocean and settles on the shallow conti-
This entry provides an overview of the major nental shelf quickly, without participating in the
phosphorus reservoirs and the rate of phosphorus biological cycle. Dissolution of phosphorus-
exchange between these reservoirs in the global containing minerals is very low in the alkaline and
phosphorus cycle. strongly buffered oceans, but some of the phos-
Containing only 0.03 Tg P (teragram of phos- phorus adsorbed on particle surfaces can be remo-
phorus), the atmosphere represents a very minor bilized in seawater with high ionic strength. Rivers
phosphorus reservoir globally. Compared with also carry 1.0 to 1.8 Tg P in dissolved reactive
other major biogeochemical cycles, the cycling of form to surface oceans annually, providing a major
phosphorus is unique in lacking a stable gaseous phosphorus source for uptake by marine biota.
component. The majority of atmospheric phos- The upper 300 m (meters) of the surface ocean
phorus is adsorbed on particulate matter emitted contains a total of 2,700 Tg P. Dissolved phos-
from high-temperature fossil fuel combustion and phorus concentration in this zone, particularly in
sea spray. These particulate phosphori have a the top 100 m, is negligibly small owing to effec-
short residence time of approximately 3 days and tive phosphorus stripping by biotic uptake and
are deposited rapidly on terrestrial land (3.1 Tg subsequent sinking of detritus. The exchange of
P/yr. [per year]) and surface ocean (0.6–1.6 Tg P/ phosphorus between surface ocean and marine
yr.). The global flux of phosphine gas (PH3, 0.04 biota represents the largest flux between reser-
Tg P/yr.) is not significant because of the lack of a voirs in the global phosphorus cycle. Biota domi-
favorable environment for microbial production nated by phytoplankton incorporate 1,042 Tg P/yr.
and the great ease of PH3 oxidation by air. from the surface of oceans, while more than 95%
Phosphorus cannot be sequestered from the of the assimilated phosphorus (998 Tg P/yr.) is
atmosphere by plants and microbes, unlike car- regenerated in surface waters through the decom-
bon and nitrogen. Apatite, with calcium and phos- position of dead marine organisms. In spite of the
phate ions linked together in a hexagonal crystal large phosphorus fluxes, the oceanic biota phos-
structure, is the most abundant phosphorus min- phorus reservoir of 50 to 138 Tg is relatively
eral in the Earth’s crust. The weathering of apatite small, indicating a fast turnover and a short phos-
rocks is the sole major source of phosphorus in phorus residence time (18 to 48 days) in marine
the global phosphorus cycle, releasing 20 Tg P organisms. Some biogenic particles sink to the
annually to the soil. Global soils in the top 60 cm deeper layer without being mineralized, export-
(centimeters) store a total of 2 r 105 Tg P, but a ing 44 Tg P/yr. out of the surface ocean.
large proportion of phosphorus is adsorbed on Deep oceans of the world store a substantial
iron and aluminum oxides and is thus not readily amount of phosphorus, totalling 8.7 r 104 Tg.
available for biota. Although the available phos- Because of the absence of light, and thus photosyn-
phorus concentration in soil is low, internal recy- thesis, little reactive phosphorus is incorporated
cling of phosphorus helps sustain the growth of into biota at depths greater than 300 m. Moreover,
terrestrial organisms, which have a phosphorus as most of the particulate phosphorus is solubi-
reservoir size of 2,600 to 3,000 Tg. Assimilation lized by microbes, dissolved phosphorus concen-
of phosphorus by land biota from soils roughly tration can be as high as 3 micrometers in seawater
equals the return of phosphorus from biota to deeper than 1,000 m. Wind currents trigger an
soil, with a flux of 63 to 200 Tg P/yr. upwelling of nutrient-rich deepwater in some
Rivers are a major conduit of phosphorus, con- places and a downwelling of nutrient-poor surface
necting between the terrestrial and oceanic sys- water in some others, leading to an overall net
tems. About 90% of phosphorus transported by phosphorus transport of 40 Tg/yr. from deep ocean
rivers (18–20 Tg P/yr.) is associated with the to surface ocean. A small proportion of particulate
particulate fraction. Natural denudation and materials in deep oceans eventually reaches the
human-induced erosion of physically weathered seabed and is buried in sediments, at the same time
materials account for one third and two thirds of removing 3.4 Tg P/yr. from the world’s oceans. As
 P HOT OC HEMIC A L SMO G '&,&

the largest phosphorus reservoir on Earth, soils

below 60 cm depth, unconsolidated sediments, and
PHOTOCHEMICAL SMOG
nonmineable rocks together contain 4 r 109 Tg P
Photochemical smog is a noxious mixture of pol-
in particulate form. Over the geological timescale
lutants formed in the presence of sunlight. It is very
of 107 to 108 yrs., crustal rocks formed from phos-
harmful to humans, animals, and plants. The ingre-
phorus-containing marine sediments are uplifted
dients required for the production of photochemi-
and subject to weathering again, thereby complet-
cal smog are oxides of nitrogen (NOx), volatile
ing the global phosphorus cycle.
organic compounds (VOCs), and sunlight. NOx
Human activities also play a role in shaping the
and VOCs are themselves harmful, but in the pres-
global phosphorus cycle. Mineable phosphate
ence of sunlight, they are involved in a complex
rocks of the world, mostly found in North Amer-
series of reactions that create other harmful sub-
ica and tropical Africa, lock up a total of 1 r 104
stances. Industry and transportation sources con-
to 2 r 104 Tg P. Mining of these rocks for use as
tribute most of the precursor gases. Photochemical
agricultural fertilizer enhances phosphorus avail-
smog is, therefore, most prevalent in urban areas.
ability and releases 12 Tg P/yr. to the global soil
Ground-level ozone (O3), a secondary pollutant
reservoir. Excessive use of inorganic fertilizers
created by reactions between the precursor gases,
leads to increased phosphorus loss through run-
is the main component of photochemical smog.
off and eutrophication of freshwater and estua-
Nitric oxide (NO) is emitted when hydrocar-
rine ecosystems downstream, resulting in oxygen
bons such as gasoline, diesel fuels, or coal are
depletion in water bodies and large-scale death of
burned. It is a by-product of incomplete combus-
aquatic organisms. While agricultural application
tion. Once emitted, NO quickly oxidizes to form
of phosphorus fertilizers and domestic and indus-
nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a toxic, foul-smelling gas
trial discharge of sewage can cause phosphorus
that gives polluted air its brownish/yellow hue.
enrichment in some localized ecosystems, anthro-
Collectively, NO and NO2 are called NOx. Vola-
pogenic phosphorus inputs at the current rates
tile organic compounds are hydrocarbons that
have limited effects on the global phosphorus
evaporate readily at normal temperature and
cycle because of the much larger magnitude of
pressure. Thousands of compounds fall into this
land and ocean phosphorus reservoirs.
category, and sources include evaporated fumes
Derrick Yuk Fo Lai from fuel in vehicles, fuel combustion, petroleum
refining, and industrial and residential solvents
See also Biogeochemical Cycles; Biota and Soils;
such as paints and cleaning fluids.
Carbon Cycle; Nitrogen Cycle; Nutrient Cycles;
In the presence of sunlight, NO2 will dissoci-
Organophosphates; Rock Weathering
ate, and further reactions with oxygen gas (O2)
lead to the formation of ozone (Reactions 1 and
2). However, ozone will also dissociate in the
Further Readings presence of sunlight and react with water vapor
to form highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (HO)
Jahnke, R. A. (2000). The phosphorus cycle. In (Reaction 3). If VOCs are present, the hydroxyl
M. Jacobson, R. J. Charlson, H. Rodhe, & radicals react with VOC to produce peroxy radi-
G. H. Orians (Eds.), Earth system science: From cals (RO2) (Reaction 4). The peroxy radicals fur-
biogeochemical cycles to global change ther react with NO to produce NO2 (Reaction 5),
(pp. 360–376). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. and the cycle continues to create O3. These are
Ruttenberg, K. C. (2005). The global phosphorus simplified representations of the reactions:
cycle. In W. H. Schlesinger (Ed.), Treatise on
geochemistry: Vol. 8. Biogeochemistry Reaction 1: NO2 + sunlight l NO + O
(pp. 585–643). Oxford, UK: Elsevier. Reaction 2: O + O2 l O3
Schlesinger, W. H. (1997). Biogeochemistry: An Reaction 3: O3 + sunlight + H2O l O2 + HO
analysis of global change. San Diego, CA:
Reaction 4: HO + VOC + O2 l RO2 + H2O
Academic Press.
Reaction 5: RO2 + NO l NO2 + RO
'&,' P H O T O C HE MICAL SMOG

Early-morning smog over Quito, Ecuador, June 2005

Source: Courtesy of Mark Welford.

Compounds such as peroxyacetyl nitrates, or Other Factors

PAN (CH3-CO-OO-NO2), are also formed in the
process. PANs are important because they are Geography and meteorology play important
harmful, have relatively long lifetimes in cold roles in the accumulation of pollution during
temperatures, and therefore can be transported to smog episodes. Some urban areas, such as Mexico
other locations where they release NO2. Carbon City, Mexico, or Denver, Colorado, are partially
monoxide (CO), which is another by-product of surrounded by mountains, which restricts the air-
fossil fuel combustion, may also be involved in flow. This limits dispersion by prevailing winds,
reactions to produce ground-level ozone. causing pollution to accumulate, often to danger-
NO2 concentrations are highest during morn- ous levels. Meteorological phenomena such as
ing peak hour traffic, while ozone peaks near temperature inversions also exacerbate smog epi-
midday. VOCs are most prevalent in summer sodes. Temperature inversions occur when the
because of increased evaporation in warm tem- temperature aloft is higher than the temperature
peratures. The creation of ozone is also more pro- at ground level. This results in stable atmospheric
fuse in summer because of the increased intensity conditions with restricted vertical airflow, allow-
of the sun. Ozone is not created at night, due to ing pollution to accumulate below the inversion
the lack of sunlight. Photochemical smog, there- cap. The location and topography of some cities,
fore, leads to poorest air quality episodes on sum- such as Los Angeles, are conducive to the forma-
mer days, though mixing with other pollutants tion of temperature inversions.
such as particulate matter can cause poor air Long-range transport of pollutants also con-
quality at any time. tributes to the formation of smog in locations
 P HOT OGR A MMET R IC MET HO D S '&,(

downwind of the sources of pollution. Ozone, See also Acid Rain; Ambient Air Quality; Atmospheric
PAN, and other pollutants can be carried thou- Pollution; Greenhouse Gases; Point Sources of Pollution;
sands of kilometers through the atmosphere by Urban Environmental Studies
prevailing winds. This increases pollution from
local sources in the downwind locations and also
pollution in rural areas. Further Readings

Health Effects Dickerson, R. R., Kondragunta, S., Stenchikov, G.,

Civerola, K. L., Doddridge, B. G., & Holben,
Ozone, PAN, NOx, and VOCs are toxic pollutants B. N. (1997). The impact of aerosols on solar
that are injurious to animal and plant life. They ultraviolet radiation and photochemical smog.
can cause damage to the respiratory tract, leading Science, 278, 827–830.
to lung inflammation, and can also irritate the Jacobson, M. Z. (2002). Atmospheric pollution.
eyes and skin. The effects of short-term exposure Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
include irritation of the nose and throat, coughing,
and painful breathing. Long-term exposure can
decrease lung function, retard lung development in
children, and lead to premature aging of the lungs.
Some VOCs are known to be carcinogenic. Photo-
chemical smog can exacerbate cardiopulmonary PHOTOGRAMMETRIC
diseases and may lead to premature death. Chil- METHODS
dren, the elderly, and patients with cardiopulmo-
nary diseases are the most susceptible. In plants, The main purpose of photogrammetry is to define
these pollutants are known to cause foliage dam- the quantitative parameters of objects using
age, inhibit plant growth, and reduce yield. images taken by photographic or digital cameras.
Air quality criteria, set by governments in many The typical output of photogrammetry is a map
countries, help alert the population to danger- or three-dimensional (3D) model of some real
ously high levels of pollutants. In Canada, the object or scene. Photogrammetry is widely used
criteria for O3 and NO2 are 80 ppb (parts per bil- to compile topographic maps of Earth’s surface.
lion) and 200 ppb, respectively, averaged over a Photogrammetry is based on principles of ste-
1-hour period. North American cities exceed their reometry—a branch of geometry that studies the
respective criteria periodically. projections of 3D objects into 2D space; in par-
ticular, photogrammetry deals with the appear-
Reducing Photochemical Smog ance of real 3D objects in two overlapping
photographs (image stereopair). The fundamental
Photochemical smog is a phenomenon of anthro-
geometric principle used by photogrammetry is
pogenic origin and can be reduced by curtailing
triangulation. By taking photographs from two
emissions of the primary pollutants, NOx and
(or more) different locations, so-called lines of
VOC. This can be achieved by reducing gasoline
sight can be developed from each camera to points
consumption with the use of more fuel-efficient
on the object. These lines of sight are usually
engines or the use of nonhydrocarbon energy
called projection rays owing to their optical and
sources. Individuals may choose alternative means
geometrical nature.
of transportation, such as public transit, walking,
A standard approach to classifying photogram-
or cycling, and reduce energy consumption at
metric methods is based on the relative location
home. Industries are encouraged to adopt cleaner
of a camera and objects during a photographic
technologies to reduce emissions. Overall, lower
process: In terrestrial, or close-range, photogram-
consumption coupled with alternative energy
metry, the photographic camera and the objects
sources such as solar or wind energy would help
are both placed on Earth’s surface, and the cam-
lower emissions and reduce photochemical smog.
era is pointed horizontally (parallel to the ground
Julie Wallace surface), while in aerial photogrammetry, the
'&,) P H O T O GRAMME TRIC ME THODS

camera is above the object and is pointed verti- Metric properties of a single aerial photograph
cally, toward the ground. are defined by the rules of geometric optics,
In close-range photogrammetry, the photo- where all projection rays coming from an object
graphs are taken by terrestrial photographic cam- (the object plane, e.g., Earth’s surface) intersect
eras (phototheodolites), placed on nonmovable in one single point inside the lens (the focal point,
tripods to take pictures from the ground. As ver- or center of projection) and then hit the film (the
tical aerial pictures are taken from moving plat- focal plane). The distance from the center of pro-
forms (aircraft and satellites), the cameras are jection (focal point) to the focal plane (the film)
specifically designed to take measurable photo- is called focal length f, while the distance from
graphs while the platform flies along the path. An the center of projection toward Earth’s surface is
aerial photographic camera is an assembly of called the flying height above the ground (alti-
high-precision optical lenses and mechanical, tude), H.
electrical, and electronic components. Aerial pho- Central-perspective projection defines the rela-
tographic cameras are designed to take pictures tive position and geometry of the objects depicted
using panchromatic or color photographic films in an image. The appearance of an object depicted
that can be as long as 120 meters, with picture in an aerial photo depends on the relative loca-
frames as wide as 40 cm (centimeters; 23 cm r 23 tion of the projection point (from which the photo
cm is a typical size of a frame image). Apart from was taken) and the position of the object, and the
classical photographic films, modern image acqui- orientation of the photograph itself is relative to
sition systems use different digital technologies the object plane (Earth’s surface). Photographs
and acquire imagery directly in digital form. with optical axes that are tilted less than 3n off
When obtaining vertical aerial photographs, the vertical line are regarded as vertical. The scale
the aircraft normally flies in a series of lines, of a vertical photograph is approximately uni-
called flight runs. Photos are taken in rapid suc- form over the photograph and is equal to the
cession looking straight down at the ground, ratio of the altitude and the focal length of the
often with a 60% overlap between adjacent pho- camera lens. Measuring distances and directions
tos. The overlap ensures total coverage along a on vertical photos is therefore easier and more
flight line and also facilitates stereoscopic view- accurate, and in flat areas, the vertical photos can
ing. The distance the camera moves between almost be used as a map. Oblique photographs
exposures is called the air base. Sequences of pho- are taken with the angle from the vertical deliber-
tographs in one single flight run form a strip of ately set somewhere between 3n and 90n, with
overlapping images; several runs, in turn, com- preset angles of 30n and 60n. The objects have a
pose a block (mosaic) of aerial photographs cov- more familiar view, which resembles the view the
ering large areas. observer would get from a high vantage point,
Aerial photographs often contain imprinted such as a hill or the roof of a high building.
information such as the date and time of image Since the scale of oblique photographs varies
acquisition, camera focal length, flight altitude, over the image frame, distances and directions are
and other data, allowing calculation of image not true, and measurements on such pictures are
scale and approximate tilt of the particular frame. heavily burdened with object displacements.
Fiducial marks, usually imprinted alongside pho- Single images allow defining of the planimetric
tographs, allow precise measurement using pho- (X, Y) coordinates of an object, whereas in stereo-
togrammetric instruments. photogrammetry projection, rays from two over-
The accuracy of photogrammetric measure- lapping images are mathematically intersected to
ments in photographs is described in terms of produce the 3D coordinates (X, Y, Z) of the
micrometers (Mm). A standard stereocomparator points of interest. To define the 3D coordinates
(photogrammetric equipment used for precise of a point in the object’s coordinate space, the
measurement) records the coordinates of points images have to be oriented relative to a particular
in an image as accurately as 5 Mm; top-precision coordinate system on Earth. This is usually done
comparators target a 1- to 2-Mm accuracy of by using ground control points, identified in
image measurements. images and on the ground. The coordinates of
 P HOT OGR A P HY , GEOGR A P HY A N D '&,*

ground control points on the surface are defined

by classical geodetic surveying or precise GPS
PHOTOGRAPHY,
(global positioning system) measurements. Mod- GEOGRAPHY AND
ern cameras are usually connected to navigational
systems such as inertial measurement units and For more than 150 years, geographical concerns
differential kinematic GPS, allowing continuous have shaped photographic practices, and photo-
recording of spatial position and angular orienta- graphic technologies have nurtured and docu-
tion of the camera during the flight; this signifi- mented geographical pursuits. This complex,
cantly reduces the amount of fieldwork. dynamic, and mutually influential relationship
In technological terms of image processing, between geography and photography can be stud-
photogrammetry combines the following basic ied from historical, practical, and theoretical per-
activities: image measurements, optical image spectives. In 1839, two, quite different, processes
transformations, calculations, and drawing. With for making permanent images “from Nature”
the evolution of technology, photogrammetry were announced. These early photographic tech-
used three methods of image processing: analog, nologies offered a new way of encountering the
analytical, and digital. The analog method uses physical and human world. Louis Jacques Mandé
optical-mechanical instruments in all stages: from Daguerre’s method of producing a unique image
the measurements in image and optical transfor- on a silver-coated copper plate and William Henry
mations to the drawing of the final product (a Fox Talbot’s paper-based negative-positive pro-
map or sketch). In analytical photogrammetry, all cess were quickly harnessed to geographical pur-
initial measurements are done mechanically, but poses in the form of field observations, travel
calculations are made by computers. Digital pho- accounts, prints, book illustrations, and teaching
togrammetry is based entirely on the computa- aids—uses that have survived and become increas-
tional power of modern computers in all stages of ingly sophisticated in an age of geographic infor-
photogrammetric image processing. mation systems (GIS) and digital imaging.
Applications and subfields of photogram- From the first mention of “taking photo-
metry include topographic and thematic map- graphic pictures” in Alexander von Humboldt’s
ping, generation of digital elevation models, Cosmos (1849) to Vaughan Cornish’s apprecia-
industrial (engineering) and architectural photo- tion of landscape through photography of scen-
grammetry, medical imaging, surveillance, and ery (1946) to Denis Cosgrove’s analysis of the
reconnaissance. “One-World, Whole-Earth” images from the
Gennady Gienko Apollo space mission (1994), photography has
played a variety of roles in the data-gathering
See also Aerial Imagery: Data; Aerial Imagery: practices, ordering mechanisms, and myth-mak-
Interpretation; Digital Terrain Model; Geodesy; Global ing processes by which people have come to
Positioning Systems; Image Processing; Image know the world and situate themselves in it.
Registration; Imaging Spectroscopy; Panchromatic When first introduced, photography’s ability to
Imagery; Stereoscopy and Orthoimagery record, store, and disseminate information in
visual form made it a natural complement to
geography’s long-established emphasis on obser-
Further Readings vation, description, and visualization.
Difficult, messy, and time-consuming processes
McGlone, J. C. (Ed.). (2004). Manual of did not stop the first photographers from carrying
photogrammetry (5th ed.). Bethesda, MD: hundreds of pounds of equipment on the Grand
American Society for Photogrammetry and Tour, up the Nile, and into the jungles of the
Remote Sensing. Yucatan. Embraced as an accessory to travel and
Mikhail, E. M., Bethel, J. S., & McGlone, J. C. employed to produce “man-on-the-spot” accounts,
(2001). Introduction to modern photogrammetry. photography presented the scientific traveller and
New York: Wiley. the gentleman adventurer a way to bring the world
home, in visual form, for contemplation or study,
'&,+ P H O T O GRAPHY, G E OG RAPHY AND

as scientific data to be read, measured, and manip-

ulated in the process of studying cultural land-
scape remains, establishing spatial coordinates, or
observing physical landscape change. Early on,
photographers carried their cameras (and their
portable darkrooms) to the top of hills and tall
buildings in order to record landscape views. True
aerial photography was first attempted in the mid
19th century by the French photographer, Nadar,
who, in 1858, ascended to a height of several
hundred meters in a captive balloon to obtain a
photographic bird’s-eye view of the Earth, from
which he planned to produce an exact topographic
map. Two years later, James Wallace Black pro-
duced a view of Boston—according to Oliver
Wendell Holmes, “as the eagle and the wild goose
see it”—from a balloon 1,200 feet in the air. Since
then, vertical and oblique aerial photographic
techniques have been used to inventory and map
natural and human-made features on the surface
of the Earth. Today, geographical applications of
Geography Lesson daguerreotype. In the 19th century,
aerial photography continue and multiply in the
photography began to have enormous impacts on the form of contemporary satellite imagery.
popular sense of near and far, bringing distant worlds Chronologically replicated photographic views
into the experience of large numbers of people. of the same subject are used to demonstrate
Source: Claudet, A. (1797–1867). Geography lesson. Austin:
change over time by exploiting the camera’s abil-
University of Texas, Harry Ransom Humanities Research ity to create a photographic baseline against
Center. which development or decay can be measured.
Geographers are familiar with this practice
through scholarly rephotography projects as well
enjoyment, or analysis. Quickly, the camera as popular then-and-now comparisons.
became an instrument for acquiring or disseminat- Phototopography, or photogrammetry, is
ing geographical knowledge in military operations, another form of data photography intended to
boundary and geological surveys, topographical convey specific geographical information in visual
mapping, immigration programs, tourism promo- form. First used in the late 19th century for prac-
tion, and ethnographic investigations. Practiced tical surveying purposes, this application of the
by travelers, photography mediated the personal camera to geographical endeavor produces data
encounter with unfamiliar places and peoples; col- to be mapped, compared, or quantified. The pro-
lected by armchair travelers, photographs served duction and interpretation of air photographs,
as surrogates for travel and a first-hand experience while in many ways very much a cartographic
of places. endeavor, employ photographs in an effort to
As photography became simpler, cameras got read surface characteristics and spatial relations.
smaller, processing became commercially avail- Used more generally as a means of gathering
able, and images in full color became a reality; geographical information, photography became
three forms of photography increasingly became an integral part of exploring expeditions and
an integral part of geographical pursuits: aerial imperial administrations, opening distant or
photography, repeat photography, and photo- exotic regions to 19th-century European eyes.
grammetry. Employing established, standard- Photographers in London, Glasgow, and Paris
ized methods for producing and interpreting documented the changing geographical face of
images, these applications embrace photographs urban renewal, just as a series of stereoscopic
 P HOT OGR A P HY , GEOGR A P HY A N D '&,,

views produced on both sides of the Atlantic cel- instrumental in inserting discussions surrounding
ebrated urban development in newly settled areas the stewardship of our planet into the rarefied
of the New World. Similarly, various projects to world of fine art.
inventory the native peoples of North America, Photography is also a key component in the
India, and the British Empire were, in themselves, exhibitions and events, education, and outreach
photographic investigations of cultural geogra- of organizations such as Worldchanging, dedi-
phies as well as visual expressions of the 19th- cated to sustainability, and the Natural World
century penchant for ordering and labeling. Museum, which partners with the United Nations
Quickly absorbed into the pursuit of geograph- Environment Programme, through the Art for the
ical knowledge, photographs have been called on Environment initiative, to promote environmen-
to explore the physical nature and negotiate the tal awareness, attitudes, and action across social,
social meaning(s) of water, rocks, and animals; economic, and political spheres. Using aerial
snow and ice; and trees, forests, and prairies. views and then-and-now comparisons, the rheto-
Beyond their obvious use in fieldwork, mapping, ric of such organizations depends heavily on the
lecturing, and publishing, photographs are visualization of geographical concerns through
increasingly attracting scholarly attention as a photography.
primary source for expressing, reflecting, and At the same time that the work of geographers,
shaping the relationship of people to place. Even curators, and photographers increasingly converges
scientifically conceived photographs are now sub- on scholarly issues of space and place, lavishly illus-
jected to critical scrutiny for the layers of mean- trated magazines, photography exhibitions, Web
ing beyond the visual facts presented in the images sites, and coffee-table books, from National Geo-
themselves. In the wake of recent theoretical writ- graphic to Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s Earth From the
ings on representation and the relationship Air, continue to foster a popular geographical
between knowledge and power, historical and agenda to see and know the world and continue to
cultural geographers have turned their attention employ photographs as “windows” on a world
to the role of photographs in the geographical beyond our doorstep. Perhaps the most obvious use
imagination. In their studies of the ways in which of photographs as “windows” comes in teaching
photographs construct, confirm, and contest and learning, where lantern slides and 35-millimeter
notions of landscape and identity, they have con- slides have been the mainstay of classroom instruc-
tributed to recent work on the “visual turn” in tion and conference presentations. Yet even as a
the humanities and social sciences. major technological as well as pedagogical shift
Now, as environmental degradation and global takes place as slides are replaced by digital images,
warming increasingly attract media, government, slide projectors give way to data projectors, and
and public attention and occupy the research textbooks give way to WebCT, photography
agendas of both physical and human geographers, remains an indispensable part of our understanding
spatial concerns and geographical concepts are and study of geography.
being embraced by photographers and curators, Joan M. Schwartz
incorporated into their artistic statements, elabo-
rated in their catalog essays, and reconceptual- See also Art and Geography; Film and Geography;
ized in visual terms in major exhibitions such as Media and Geography; Representations of Space;
“Imaging a Shattering Earth: Contemporary Pho- Symbolism and Place; Vision and Geography
tography and the Environmental Debate.” Large-
scale sites of ecological degradation caused by
human invention—industrial complexes and min- Further Readings
ing sites, dried-up lakes and flooded watersheds,
landfills and waste ponds—have attracted the Cosgrove, D. (1994). Contested global visions:
attention of a cadre of eminent, environmentally One-World, Whole-Earth, and the Apollo space
committed photographers such as Edward Bur- photographs. Annals of the Association of
tynsky, John Ganis, Peter Goin, David Hanson, American Geographers, 84(2), 270–294.
Jonathan Long, and John Pfahl, who have been
'&,- P H Y S I C A L G E OG RAPHY, HISTO R Y OF

Greeks were also interested in the shape, size, and

Hoelscher, S. (1998). The photographic construction geometry of Earth. Aristotle hypothesized and
of tourist space in Victorian America. The logically demonstrated that Earth has a spherical
Geographical Review, 88(4), 548–570. shape. Evidence for this idea came from his obser-
Imaging a Shattering Earth: www2.oakland.edu/ vations of lunar eclipses. Lunar eclipses occur
shatteringearth when Earth casts its circular shadow onto the
Kinsman, P. (1995). Landscape, race and national moon’s surface.
identity: The photography of Ingrid Pollard. Area, The first individual to accurately calculate the
27(4), 300–310. circumference of Earth was the Greek geographer
Ryan, J. (1997). Picturing empire: Photography and Eratosthenes. Eratosthenes calculated the equato-
the visualization of the British Empire. London: rial circumference to be 40,233 km (kilometers;
Reaktion Books. 25,000 mi. [miles]) using simple geometric rela-
Schwartz, J. (1996). The geography lesson: tionships. This calculation was unusually accu-
Photographs and the construction of imaginative rate, considering the primitive technology used.
geographies. Journal of Historical Geography, Measurements using advanced satellite technol-
22(1), 16–45. ogy have computed Earth’s circumference to be
Schwartz, J. M., & Ryan, J. R. (Eds.). (2003). 40,072 km (24,900 mi.).
Picturing place: Photography and the geographical Most of the Greek accomplishments in physical
imagination. London: I. B. Tauris. geography were passed on to the Romans. Mili-
Worldchanging: www.worldchanging.com tary commanders and administrators used this
information to help direct the expansion of the
Roman Empire. The Romans also made several
important contributions to human and physical
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, geography. Strabo wrote an extensive 17-volume
series, the Geographica. Strabo traveled widely
HISTORY OF across the Roman Empire, and Geographica
records what he had observed and experienced
Physical geography has a history that spans sev- from a geographical perspective.
eral thousand years, which is often intertwined During the 2nd century AD, Ptolemy made a
with developments in geography’s other major number of important contributions. Ptolemy’s
field of study, human geography. Some of the publication Geographike hyphegesis, or Guide
first applications of knowledge involving physical to Geography, compiled and summarized much
geography occurred more than 4,000 yrs. (years) of the Greek and Roman geographic information
ago. The main purpose of these early investiga- accumulated at that time. Some of his other impor-
tions was to map the natural landscape and tant contributions include the creation of three
human settlements observed as explorers traveled different methods for projecting Earth’s surface
to new lands. At this time, the Chinese, Egyptian, on a map, the calculation of coordinate locations
and Phoenician civilizations were beginning to for some 8,000 places on Earth, and the develop-
explore the spaces and places within and around ment of the concepts of latitude and longitude.
their homelands. The earliest evidence of such
explorations comes from the archaeological dis-
Middle Ages to 1800
covery of a Babylonian clay tablet map that dates
back to 2300 BC. Little academic progress in geography occurred
after the Roman period. For the most part, the
Middle Ages (5th–13th centuries AD) were a time
Early Greeks and Romans
of intellectual stagnation in Europe. The Vikings
The early Greeks were the first civilization to of Scandinavia were the only group of people car-
practice a form of physical geography that was rying out active exploration of new lands. In the
more than just drawing the location of natural Middle East, Arab academics began translating
and human-made features on maps. The ancient the works of Greek and Roman scholars, starting
 P HY SIC A L GEOGR A P HY , HIST OR Y O F '&,.

in the 8th century, and exploring the physical and of Earth. The second field deals with the tides,
human geography of southwestern Asia and the relationship of day length with latitude and
Africa. Some of the important Arab geographers time, climatic variations, and other variables
include al-Idrisi, Ibn Battutah, and Ibn Khaldun. that are influenced by the cyclical movements of
al-Idrisi is best known for his skill at making Earth and the moon. Together, these two fields
maps and for his work of descriptive geography form the beginning of what is now called physi-
Kitab nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq, or cal geography. The last field of geography exam-
The Pleasure Excursion of One Who Is Eager to ined distinct regions on Earth, studying the
Traverse the Regions of the World. Ibn Battutah political, economic, cultural, and social behav-
and Ibn Khaldun are well known for writing ior of people.
about their extensive travels in North Africa and During the 18th century, the German philoso-
the Middle East. In China, academics were using pher Immanuel Kant proposed that human knowl-
sophisticated geometric techniques to produce edge could be organized in three different ways.
high-quality maps of their homeland. One way of organizing knowledge was to classify
During the Renaissance (AD 1400–1600), facts according to the type of objects studied.
numerous journeys of exploration were commis- Accordingly, zoology studies animals, botany
sioned by a variety of nation-states in Europe. examines plants, and geology involves the investi-
Most of these expeditions were financed because gation of rocks. The second way in which one can
of the potential commercial returns from resource study things is according to a temporal dimension.
exploitation. These voyages also offered an This field of knowledge is called history. The last
opportunity for scientific investigation and dis- method of organizing knowledge involves under-
covery. Consequently, these explorations added standing facts relative to spatial relationships. This
many significant contributions toward under- observation elevated the importance of geography
standing the physical geography of the Earth. as a major form of scholarship. Kant also divided
Influential explorers of this period include Chris- geography into a number of fields of knowledge.
topher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand He recognized the following six branches: theo-
Magellan, Jacques Cartier, Martin Frobisher, Sir logical, mathematical, moral, political, commer-
Francis Drake, John and Sebastian Cabot, and cial, and physical geography.
John Davis.
The Renaissance was also a time of many tech-
From 1800 to 1950
nological inventions. Some of these discoveries
were made to improve navigation across Earth’s During the late 1700s and early 1800s, academics
surface and to better the production of maps. In began questioning the belief that Earth’s land-
1492, Martin Behaim created a spherical globe scapes were the result of relatively recent cata-
depicting the Earth in its true three-dimensional strophic events. The prevailing view at that time
(3D) form. Behaim’s invention was a significant was that Earth was created through supernatural
advance over the 2D maps because it created a means and had been affected by a series of cata-
more realistic depiction of Earth’s actual shape strophic events such as the biblical Flood. The
and surface configuration. theory of uniformitarianism suggested that the
In the 17th century, Bernhardus Varenius pub- landscape developed over long periods of time
lished an important geographic reference titled through a variety of slow natural processes. The
Geographia generalis (General Geography, 1650). ideas behind uniformitarianism originated with
In this volume, Varenius used direct observations the academic work of the Scottish geologist James
and primary measurements to present some new Hutton. In 1785, Hutton suggested at several
ideas concerning geographic knowledge. His work meetings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh that
continued to be a standard geographic reference Earth had a long past and that this history could
for about 100 yrs. Varenius also suggested that be fully understood in terms of processes cur-
the discipline of geography could be subdivided rently observed. For example, he suggested that
into three distinct fields of knowledge. The first deep-soil profiles were formed by the weathering
field examines the shape, dimensions, and motions of bedrock over tens of thousands of years.
'&-% P H Y S I C A L G E OG RAPHY, HISTO R Y OF

Hutton’s ideas did not gain significant support between humans and their natural environment.
from the scientific community until the work of Furthermore, Ritter’s ideas suggested that regional
Charles Lyell. In the publication Principles of variations in the nature of the environment pro-
Geology (1830–1833), Lyell presented a variety duced different outcomes in this relationship.
of geologic evidence from England, France, Italy, In 1847, George Perkins Marsh gave an address
and Spain to prove Hutton’s ideas correct. The to the Agricultural Society of Rutland County,
theory of uniformitarianism was also important Vermont. The theme of this speech was that
in shaping the development of ideas in disciplines human activity was having a destructive impact
outside the geosciences. The work of Charles on the landscape, mainly through deforestation
Darwin and Alfred Wallace on the origin of and land conversion. This speech also became the
Earth’s species extended the ideas of uniformi- foundation for his book Man and Nature, or The
tarianism into the biological sciences. The theory Earth as Modified by Human Action, first pub-
of evolution is based on the principle that the lished in 1864. In this publication, Marsh
diversity seen in Earth’s species can be explained explained more fully the environmental conse-
by the uniform modification of genetic traits over quences of the unceasing development of the
long periods of time. American frontier. Marsh’s work marks the begin-
The 19th century saw the emergence of a num- ning of an important field of research in physical
ber of societies interested in geographic issues in geography—the study of how human activities
Europe and the United States. The first of these degrade the natural environment of the Earth.
societies was established in Paris in 1821. The Intellectual expansion in the late 19th century
founding of geographical societies in Germany in set the stage for the fracturing of physical geogra-
1828 and Britain in 1830 quickly followed. The phy into a number of major subfields in the early
American Geographical Society was formed in 20th century. In Russia, V. V. Dokuchaev and his
1852, and by 1866, there were 18 established geo- associates established pedology and introduced
graphical societies worldwide. During the 19th the idea that spatial variations in soil type could
century, many university chairs in geography were be explained in relation to parent material, cli-
established, especially in areas of study that fall mate, and topographic factors. Wladimir Köppen
squarely in the realm of physical geography. suggested that one could classify Earth’s local cli-
In 1836, at the University of Neuchâtel in Swit- mates based on regional variations in temperature
zerland, Louis Agassiz began studying glaciers and precipitation. Research at the Meteorological
and their effect on Earth’s landscape. From field Institute at Bergen, Norway, laid the groundwork
observations of alpine glaciers in the Alps, Agas- for the development of meteorology and climatol-
siz developed an excellent understanding of how ogy as disciplines of study. The work of Frederic
glaciers modify the landscape. Four years later, Clements and Henry Cowles led to elaborate the-
Agassiz published the theory that a great Ice Age ories of plant succession common to biogeogra-
had once dominated the planet. This theory was phy and ecology.
based on his observations in the highlands of Late-19th-century contributions from W. M.
Scotland, where he saw the remnant effects of Davis and G. K. Gilbert helped make geomor-
glaciers on the landscape. In 1846, Agassiz came phology the dominant field of specialization for
to the United States and found evidence that past physical geographers over the next 100 yrs. Davi-
glaciation had also influenced the landscape of sian cycles of erosion and the subsequent classifi-
the North American continent. cation scheme of landscape development were in
In Germany, Alexander von Humboldt and vogue with geomorphologists for about half a
Carl Ritter also made substantial contributions to century. This success was mainly due to the fact
physical geography. Humboldt’s publication Kos- that this theory could be applied to a variety of
mos (1844) examines the geology and physical landscapes and required only simple descriptive
geography of the Earth. This work is considered data. Gilbert’s alternative approach tried to use
by many academics to be a milestone contribution quantitative methods to determine the exact pro-
to scholarship in physical geography. Ritter’s cesses responsible for landscape evolution. This
work focused on the study of the connections process-oriented approach to geomorphology did
 P HY SIC A L GEOGR A P HY , HIST OR Y O F '&-&

not become popular until the 1950s because of its 1960s. Systems theory suggests that natural phe-
need for advanced numerical techniques. nomena can be viewed as being composed of a
The number of researchers in the various fields number of parts that work together through some
of physical geography increased considerably process to produce an outcome. The application
during the first three decades of the 20th cen- of systems theory also allowed physical geogra-
tury. These researchers helped develop physical phers to become more reductionist in their
geography mainly through basic data collection, research approach without losing connection with
the creation of classification schemes to organize larger systems such as Earth and its four interact-
the data collected, and the postulating of theo- ing spheres (atmosphere, lithosphere, biosphere,
ries of operating processes through the use of and hydrosphere).
inductive logic. Data collection included activi- The growth of physical geography as a disci-
ties such as determining the elevation of land pline exploded in the 1970s. It was now becom-
surfaces, the classification and description of ing common for departments of geography in the
landforms, the measurement of the volume of United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand,
flow of rivers, the measurement of various phe- and various European countries to have one or
nomena associated with weather and climate, more faculty members specializing in climatol-
and the classification of climate, soils, organ- ogy, geomorphology, biogeography, or hydrol-
isms, biological communities, and ecosystems. ogy. During the 1970s, remote sensing and
During the 1930s and 1940s, physical geogra- geographic information systems (GIS) were estab-
phy slid into steady decline in importance in the lished as valuable tools for research in physical
academic world. At the heart of this decline was geography. At first, these tools were mainly used
the fact that the discipline was having problems to monitor Earth’s surface, to collect descriptive
attracting new students, with fresh ideas. Descrip- data, or to generate maps. But this trend quickly
tive-based approaches to physical geography that became less important as researchers began using
were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th these technologies with spatial statistics and to
centuries had become tired and uninteresting. build interactive models of systems.
Physical geography needed a radical shift in phi- In the last two decades of the 20th century,
losophy to attract new scholars. there was an important change in the purpose of
investigation in physical geography. Because of
mounting environmental problems, physical
Twentieth Century: Second Half
geographers moved away from theoretical stud-
Starting in about 1950, research in physical geog- ies. Instead, these scientists started applying
raphy experienced a fundamental shift in philoso- knowledge common to their disciplines to find
phy. Physical geographers began adopting a solutions to these problems. For instance, clima-
different scientific approach. This approach relied tologists suggested that global warming was
on logical deductive reasoning, model building, caused by human activities that result in the emis-
experiments, and other quantitative techniques. sion of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
This quantitative revolution was also associated Biogeographers argued that losses of biodiversity
with a change in the way physical geographers were mainly due to the conversion of ecosystems
studied the Earth and its phenomena. Researchers to agricultural fields and urban land use. Geo-
now began investigating the operating processes morphologists identified the potential hazard
rather than merely describing the facts associated associated with building human settlements near
with natural phenomena. Today, this quantita- earthquake faults. Hydrologists suggested that a
tive approach is becoming even more common number of human activities were responsible for
due to advances in software, computers, and the pollution of rivers, lakes, and groundwater.
other measurement technologies used in the field
and in the laboratory to perform research.
The 21st Century
The modeling of natural phenomena using a
systems theory approach became an important Physical geography in the 21st century has been
component of many studies beginning in the early characterized by the following key developments.
'&-' P I C K LES , JOHN

First, advanced measurement technologies and

Further Readings
information-processing capabilities are becoming
more frequently used for gathering and process- Gregory, K. J. (2000). The changing nature of
ing data. As such, our planet is now being actively physical geography. London: Arnold.
monitored by a number of satellites, each with an Holden, J. (2005). Approaching physical geography.
array of sensors for gathering information about In J. Holden (Ed.), An introduction to physical
the changing nature of Earth’s atmosphere, bio- geography and the environment (pp. 3–24). Essex,
sphere, hydrosphere, and surface landscape. Fur- UK: Pearson Education.
thermore, the vast amounts of data collected by Lyell, C. (1997). Principles of geology. London:
these technologies no longer require sophisticated Penguin Books. (Original work published
processing by supercomputers. Standard personal 1830–1833)
computers now suffice. Marcus, M. G. (1979). Coming full circle: Physical
Human population growth and a steady rise in geography in the twentieth century. Annals of the
resource consumption per capita have drastically Association of American Geographers, 69(4),
increased the number of environmental problems 521–532.
in need of action. Some of the more important Marsh, G. P. (1864). Man and nature. New York:
problems include global warming, acid deposi- Scribner.
tion, stratospheric ozone depletion, ocean acidifi- Rhoads, B. L. (2004). Whither physical geography?
cation, natural land cover loss, biodiversity Annals of the Association of American
reduction, the introduction of exotic species, and Geographers, 94(4), 748–755.
the alteration of biogeochemical cycles. As
explained earlier in this discussion, physical geog-
raphers are well prepared academically to exam-
ine these serious problems facing our planet.
Finally, collaborations between physical geog-
raphers and individuals from other natural and PICKLES, JOHN (1952– )
social science disciplines are becoming more com-
mon. This trend is being driven by the fact that John Pickles currently holds the Earl N. Phillips
single disciplines do not have all the answers Distinguished Chair of International Studies and
required to tackle current complex environmental Geography at the University of North Carolina,
problems. Complete investigation of these prob- Chapel Hill, where he is chair of the department
lems often requires an economic or sociological of geography. He has also held academic appoint-
perspective to explain why human activities cre- ments at the universities of Kentucky, Minnesota,
ate environmental degradation. Furthermore, and West Virginia; at the Ohio State University;
these problems can be rectified only through eco- at the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State);
nomic or societal changes. and at Natal Pietermaritzburg and Trieste.
Michael Pidwirny For the past 20 yrs. (years), two main strands
of scholarship have been the hallmark of Pickles’s
See also Biogeography; Climatology; Darwinism and research work. The first and perhaps most well-
Geography; Davis, William Morris; Environmental known aspect of Pickles’s scholarship concerns
Determinism; Eratosthenes; Geologic Timescale; critical geographic information systems (GIS)
Geomorphic Cycle; Geomorphology; Gilbert, Grove and, more recently, critical cartography. The pub-
Karl; Guyot, Arnold; Human Geography, History of; lication of the groundbreaking edited collection
Humboldt, Alexander von; Hydrology; Köppen, Ground Truth: The Social Implications of Geo-
Wladimir; Köppen-Geiger Climate Classification; graphical Information Systems in 1995 contrib-
Marsh, George Perkins; Maury, Matthew Fontaine; uted to a critical rethinking of the nature of GIS
Penck, Walther; Plate Tectonics; Powell, John Wesley; as a social technology imbued with power rela-
Strahler, Arthur; Thornthwaite, C. Warren; Trewartha, tions. Importantly, this work injected critical
Glenn; United States Geological Survey (USGS); White, social theory into understandings of technologies
Gilbert; Wittfogel, Karl of control, analysis, and surveillance. More
 P IC K LES, J OHN '&-(

recently, this interest has been extended to the There are two main hallmarks of Pickles’s schol-
development of a critical cartography. This arship. The first is theoretical. Since his doctoral
research strand has involved a series of contribu- studies at Penn State in geography and philosophy,
tions to a critical social theoretic understanding Pickles’s work has involved a deep-seated engage-
of mapping and cartography, most clearly repre- ment with critical social theory to try to understand
sented in the 2004 book A History of Spaces: the connections between space and power. This
Cartographic Reason, Mapping and the Geo- has been developed through his earlier work on
Coded World. This interest in critical cartogra- phenomenology and spatiality (Phenomenology,
phies has led to an engagement with a group of Science, and Geography, 1985) and more recent
scholars and community activists in the United work influenced by Marxist and post-Marxist
States and Europe aiming to produce alternative social theory, from regulation theory to the ideas
mappings of contemporary society through the of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. The second
Counter-Cartographies Collective. hallmark is methodological. A characteristic of the
The second area of Pickles’s research and schol- majority of his scholarship is that it involves col-
arship has focused on the development of a sig- laborative forms of research and engagement,
nificant body of influential work on the political described in Pickles and Smith (2007). From South
economies of power and development in South Africa to the critical cartographies research group
Africa and East-Central Europe. Much of this and engagements, to research on the globalization
research has focused on the political economy of of apparel production in East-Central Europe,
industrial and regional development and transfor- Pickles’s work has involved a deep commitment to
mation through some of the most important soci- building collaborative networks not only to
etal transitions of the past 30 yrs.: apartheid and enhance understandings of material transforma-
postapartheid in South Africa and transitions from tions but also to enable “local” scholars to engage
state socialism in East-Central Europe. The work in global circuits of knowledge production.
on industrial development and spatial power Adrian Smith
under late apartheid grew out of earlier PhD stud-
ies in South Africa. Part of this work focused on See also Countermapping; Critical GIS; Critical Human
the emergence of Bantustan industrial production Geography; Marxism, Geography and; Phenomenology;
and inward investment from Taiwan, as the South Representations of Space
African economy internationalized and as inves-
tors sought ways of overcoming the quota con-
straints on trade in the global apparel industry.
Further Readings
Since the late 1980s, following a series of
bilateral U.S.-Bulgarian research exchange visits,
Pickles, J. (1985). Phenomenology, science, and
Pickles’s focus on industrial transformation, soci-
geography: Space and the human sciences.
etal change, and power has resulted in a body
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
of work on the globalization of the apparel indus-
Pickles, J. (1995). Ground truth: The social
try in East-Central Europe. Seeking to explore
implications of geographical information systems.
the uneven integration and consequences of
New York: Guilford Press.
globalization and European integration in periph-
Pickles, J. (2004). A history of spaces: Cartographic
eral regions across that region, this work focused
reason, mapping and the geo-coded world.
mostly on the transformation of peripheral
London: Routledge.
regional economies through integration into global
Pickles, J., & Smith, A. (2007). Post-socialism and
circuits of apparel production and export and the
the politics of knowledge production. In A.
articulation between global commodity produc-
Tickell, E. Sheppard, & J. Peck (Eds.), Politics and
tion and local societal forms, including ethnicity.
practice in economic geography (pp. 151–162).
More recently, these interests have been extended
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
to consider the changing global economic geogra-
3Cs: Counter-Cartographies Collective:
phies of apparel production following the end of
www.countercartographies.org
quota-constrained trade in 2005.