Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
example, adjudicating boundary disputes. The
American geographer I.Bowman played a major
role as chief territorial specialist in the Versailles
Peace Conference following the First World War,
and was involved in the resolution of territorial
disputes both within the USA (notably between
Oklahoma and Texas) and between a number of
Latin American states during the inter-war period,
including those between Chile and Peru (1925),
Bolivia and Paraguay (1929) and Colombia and
Venezuela (1933).
The growing academic importance of applied
geography was recognised by the creation in 1964
of an International Geographical Union
Commission on Applied Geography. An
indication of the concerns of contemporary
applied geography is provided by the programme
for the 1972 meeting of the commission. This
included study of:
relevance debate that was shortly to impact on
geography in his observation that 'no
geographical study can have validity unless the
wishes of people are taken into full
consideration' (p. 41).
The last quarter of the twentieth century saw
the greatest change in the practice of applied
geography. Foremost among these developments
was the emergence of a welfare-oriented socially
responsible applied geography. This was stimulated
by theoretical and methodological changes within
the discipline, and more generally within wider
society. After two decades of relative prosperity, the
economies of Britain and America began to
experience difficulties during the late 1960s as the
post-war boom faltered. At the same time, major
societal events such as the US involvement in the
Vietnam War, racial unrest in American cities, the
civil rights movement, feminism and consumer
rights and environmental groups contributed to a
concern over the general issue of 'quality of life'.
In contrast to the optimistic growth-centred
outlook of earlier years, poverty and inequality
were rediscovered in the American city. 'By the
end of the 1960s urban policy in the United States
was in disarray, and by any measure the American
central city was in severe distress'. (Ley 1983: p. 1).
For some radical geographers, these trends
provided clear signs that 'the late twentieth
century will be a period of continuing and
escalating societal crises, the likes of which we
have not yet known' (Peet 1977: p. 1). Similar
tensions were being experienced to varying
degrees in Britain and Europe.
These societal influences were reflected in the
changing substantive concerns of applied
geography. The direction of change is indicated
clearly by the content of papers delivered to
annual meetings of the American Association of
Geographers in the early 1970s. At the 67th annual
meeting, held in Boston in 1971, themes included
geographical perspectives on poverty and social
well-being, ethnic and religious groups, and urban
policy, with a general session devoted to discussion
of the problems and strategies facing 'socially
responsible geographers'. This trend was continued
at the 68th annual meeting in Kansas, where topics
problems relating to the management of
resources in developing countries;
planning for urbanisation;
forecasting the impact of technology and
development programmes in different
countries;
problems of water supply and environmental
pollution; and
exploration of new methods of research using
computers in all branches of applied
geography.
The continued emphasis on land-use issues is
apparent in the IGU agenda, as well as in the
main themes of applied geography in British
universities identified by Freeman (1972). These
documents provide a snapshot of key
contemporary issues (such as regional planning),
emerging specialisms (e.g. mathematical
modelling) and issues of continuing concern
(including environmental pollution and conflict
over urban sprawl), as well as the notable absence
of themes that have come to the fore
subsequently (such as poverty and deprivation,
the geography of AIDS, and applications of
global positioning systems). Probably unwittingly,
as he was talking in the particular context of
land-use issues, Freeman also gives a hint of the
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