The Nature of Geography TN

Geography is concerned with place. Understanding the nature and causes of aerial differentiation on

the global surface has been the geographer’s task since people first noticed differences between

places.

Through geography we seek to understand these differences in patterns of human distribution,

interrelationships between human society and the physical environment, people’s use of the Earth in

time and space, and how these differences are related to people’s cultures and economies. These, and

other related themes, express major concerns of our time and reflect the consequences of spatial

decisions.

In geography’s pursuit of this understanding the questions “where?,” “why?,” and “how?” are central.

The first of these introduces the issues of location and spatial choice; the latter two signify that

modern geography is not content merely to describe, but seeks to explain. Beyond these questions,

geographers also ask a fourth―“what if?”―as a means of seeking alternatives and giving the subject

an applied dimension that can assist decision makers in planning and development at a variety of

geographical scales.

The idea of place is not an examinable objective but an ultimate goal, whose pursuit gives direction to

geographical study. As a geographical concept it refers to the aerial context of events, objects, and

actions; in other words, to the patterns resulting from human occupancy of the global surface over

time. The areal context is set in space which, though measurable, has by itself no meaning. Space

becomes place when humans invest it with meaning, most commonly by giving it a name and all of the

associations that that name evokes. The terms place and region may, therefore, be distinguished by

spatial scale, rather than by inherent differences, for both involve space that has been invested with

meaning. Two important implications flow from this understanding of place:

First, geography is strongly influenced by the norms of the social sciences. The complexity and

changing nature of human society seldom permit the type of precision expected in the physical

sciences. Instead, the social sciences offer a variety of perspectives and methods of study by which

to examine the consequences of human behaviour on the global surface. In studying the idea of place

from a spatial perspective, geographers inevitably encounter the problem of change through time; for

them, landscape is document. Historians, too, are concerned with change through time as they

document the consequences of human behaviour. Thus, like geographers, historians are also concerned

with place. Indeed, a common concern with place brings the work of geographers and historians close

together.

Second, physical geographers, no less than human geographers, contribute to an understanding of

place; for the concept of site―the physical characteristics of a place―is integral to understanding

aerial differentiation on the global surface. Nevertheless, geographers focus on the patterns and

interactions to be found on that surface, and not primarily on the natural processes that act on it

from above or below. They recognize that interaction between humans and their environment has

always been mutual, and that the growth of technology has increased the human capacity to modify

the environment.

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Antiti The Nature of Geography TN

That growth in technology has greatly aided geographers in their traditional tasks. It has given them

increasingly refined techniques for gathering and interpreting data, whether in the field by means of

GPS or by aerial and satellite imagery. Spatial relationships are at the heart of geography. Using

software to analyze spatial relationships among objects being mapped, GIS, in particular, has greatly

assisted geographers in depicting the character of place. Not only can they now process larger

quantities of data more quickly and with greater refinement, but also they can manipulate variables

and thus project alternatives that give geography an applied dimension. Finally, their work can be

displayed using advanced techniques of computer-generated mapping.

The view of geography presented here is that of a core sharply focused on the concept of place one

in which both physical and human elements play an important part. The subject has an applied

dimension that can affect our daily lives. It can, therefore, be a powerful medium for the

development of skills contributing to citizenship and cultural awareness.