INTRODUCTION - The Geography of Tourism and Recreation - page 27

research” poses the basic questions of useful for whom? Who decides what is useful'
(Pacione 1999a:4) is part of the wider relevance debate which continues in human
geography as paradigm shifts, and new ways of theorising and interpreting information
question the central role of the discipline. In P.J. Taylor's (1985) provocative and
thoughtful analysis of 'The value of a geographical perspective', a cyclical function
emerged in the development of eras of pure and applied research. What Taylor (1985)
observed was that when external pressures are greatest, problem-solving approaches are
pursued within the discipline. Conversely, in times of comparative economic prosperity,
more pure academic activity is nurtured. Taylor (1985) related these trends to longer-term
trends in the world economy, identifying three distinct periods when applied geography
was in its ascendance: the late nineteenth century, the inter-war period and the mid-
1980s.
However, Johnston (1991) also points to a liberal contribution to an applied geography
which can be dated to Stamp's land use survey of Britain in the 1930s and his
involvement in post-war land use planning (Stamp 1948). While much of this early
'applied geography' was set in an empiricalist tradition, Sant's (1982) survey of applied
geography traces the use of the term back to the late nineteenth century with the early
conferences of the International Geographical Union (IGU). While the title lapsed until
the 1960s, the principal interest in applied geography has been promulgated by that
organisation and a number of publications have resulted (e.g. Ackerman 1963). Sant's
(1982) study concurs with Johnston's (1991) analysis, in that geographers' interest in
applied geography between the 1930s and 1950s was based on:
• administrative regionalisation (E.W.Gilbert 1951)
• land use surveys (Stamp 1948)
• terrain analysis and air-photointerpretation (G.Taylor 1951)
• urban and regional planning.
Stamp's (1960) influential topic on Applied Geography documents his own research
activities in geography, and the spirit of the topic highlights how a spatial focus could
offer so many potential areas for study. Sant (1982) assesses Stamp's contribution as
follows:
There is a deceptive innocence about Stamp's topic which stems not from
naivety but from confidence in his own judgement and experience. He had
achieved much and his credentials commanded attention. Today we live in
a less confident age. Perhaps this is because we have a greater propensity
to invent complexities. …At any rate, the scope and methods of applied
geography are more elaborate than they were a generation ago.
(Sant 1982:8)
Sant (1982) argued that applied geography was not a subdiscipline but had a dependent
relationship with academic geography. It has a different modus operandi . It is intended to
offer prescription, has to engage in dialogue with 'outsiders' not familiar with the
discipline, its traditions, problems and internal conservatism, and an ability to overtly
criticise developments which are not central to the prevailing paradigm. While the
discipline has published a range of journals with an applied focus (e.g. Applied