Contents

Cover

Dedication

Acknowledgments

1 Geography’s Nature and Perspectives

The Allure and Power of Geographical Understanding
Geography’s Historical Roots
Geographical Thinking
Studying Geography
Notes

2 Spaces

Spatial Patterns
Variations across Space
Interconnections across Space and Scale
Questioning Spatial Assumptions
Conclusion
Notes

3 Places

Place as a Platform for Integrated Thinking
Encouraging Curiosity About, and Insight into, Earth’s Diversity
Human Attachments to Places and Regions
Questioning Stereotypes About Places and Regions
Conclusion
Notes

4 Nature and Society

Studying Distributions and Patterns
How Places Influence Human – Environment Interactions
Interconnections across Space and Scale
Conclusion
Notes

5 Why We All Need Geography

Promoting Awareness of the Wider World
Enriching People’s Lives
Strengthening Civil Society and Policy-Making
Facilitating Understanding and Use of Geospatial Technologies
Conclusion
Notes

Coda

Further Reading

General Books on the Nature of Geography Written by Geographers
Studies by Geographers on Particular Topics and Themes
Geographical Studies by Non-Geographers

Index

End User License Agreement

Plates

1 Based on data from United Nations Environment Program and DIVA-GIS.

2 Modified from P. J. Bartlein, S. P. Harrison, and K. Izumi, “Underlying Causes of Eurasian Mid-Continental Aridity in Simulations of Mid-Holocene Climate,” Geophysical Research Letters, 44:17 (2017): 9022.

3 Figure originally created by Alexander B. Murphy and Nancy Leeper for Geographical Approaches to Democratization: A Report to the National Science Foundation (printed by the University of Oregon Press for the Geography and Regional Science Program, National Science Foundation, 1995).

4 Reproduced with permission from D. J. Weiss, A. Nelson, H. S. Gibson, W. Temperley, S. Peedell, A. Lieber, M. Hancher, E. Poyart, S. Belichior, N. Fullman, B. Mappin, U. Dalrymple, J. Rozier, T. C. D. Lucas, R. E. Howes, L. S. Tusting, S. Y. Kang, E. Cameron, D. Bisanzio, K. E. Battle, S. Bhatt, and P. W. Gething, “A Global Map of Travel Time to Cities to Assess Inequalities in Accessibility in 2015,” Nature, 533 (2018): 334.

5 Modified from Richard Edes Harrison, Fortune Atlas for World Strategy (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1944), pp. 8–9.

6 Modified from Kai Krause, The True Size of Africa (2010). Available at http://kai.sub.blue/en/africa.html.

7 Reproduced with permission from K. O’Brien, R. Leichenko, U. Kelkar, H. Venema, G. Aandahl, H. Tompkins, A. Javed, S. Bhadwal, S. Barg, L. Nygaard, and J. West, “Mapping Vulnerability to Multiple Stressors: Climate Change and Globalization in India,” Global Environmental Change, 14:4 (2004): 307.

8 Map by Derek Watkins that appeared in conjunction with Andrew E. Kramer and Andrew Higgins, “Ukraine’s Forces Escalate Attacks Against Protesters” (New York Times International, February 21), pp. A-1 and 11. Reproduced with permission, © New York Times.

9 Reproduced with permission from Matthew J. Kauffman, James E. Meacham, Alethea Y. Steingisser, William J. Rudd, and Emiliene Ostlind, Wild Migrations: Atlas of Wyoming’s Ungulates (Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press, 2018), p. 139. © 2018 University of Wyoming and University of Oregon.

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Acknowledgments

The ideas set forth in this book first took root when I chaired a US National Research Council study outlining strategic directions for the geographical sciences. I am grateful to the other participants in that study for the many ideas and insights that made their way into the study report and into this book. A residency fellowship several years ago at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center gave me the opportunity to develop my thinking about geography’s significance, and a return engagement in the summer of 2017 gave me the time to put together a first draft of this manuscript. On both occasions I benefited from the ideas and insights of my fellow Bellagio residents. It is no exaggeration to say that support from the Rockefeller Foundation was crucial to the completion of the project.

I am also grateful to many geography colleagues and students at the University of Oregon and beyond who shared ideas and suggestions. I am particularly indebted to Patrick Bartlein, Eve Vogel, Mark Fonstad, Jerilynn “M” Jackson, Daniel Gavin, Leslie McLees, Anna Moore, Craig Colton, Diana Liverman, Carlos Nobre, and David Kaplan. Dean Olson served as my research assistant as I finished up the manuscript; his input and help with research and figures were invaluable. I also thank my sister, Caroline Murphy, and my brother (to whom the book is dedicated) for insightful feedback on portions of the book.

The manuscript benefited greatly from the comments of two anonymous reviewers and from the helpful input of my editor, Pascal Porcheron. Finally, Susan Gary has been at my side throughout my work on this book and so much else through the years. My debt to her is beyond words.