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{{Expand section|date=February 2023}}
{{Expand section|date=February 2023}}


Critical geography has levied many criticisms against the positivist approach in quantitative geography including:
Critical geography has levied many criticisms against the positivist approach in quantitative geography, including:


Reductionism: Critics argue that the focus on quantifying data and using mathematical models can oversimplify complex social and spatial phenomena.
Reductionism: Critics argue that the focus on quantifying data and using mathematical models can oversimplify complex social and spatial phenomena.
Line 39: Line 39:
Dependence on technology: Quantitative geography heavily relies on technology and digital mapping tools, which can limit its ability to address certain geographical issues.
Dependence on technology: Quantitative geography heavily relies on technology and digital mapping tools, which can limit its ability to address certain geographical issues.


Bias: Data collection methods can introduce bias into the analysis, and existing power structures may influence the collected and analyzed data types.
Bias: Data collection methods can introduce bias into the analysis, and existing power structures may influence the types of data collected and analyzed.


Limited scope: Quantitative geography narrowly focuses on spatial data and can miss important aspects of human geographies, such as culture, politics, and social relations.
Limited scope: Quantitative geography narrowly focuses on spatial data and can miss important aspects of human geographies, such as culture, politics, and social relations.

Revision as of 17:29, 7 February 2023

Quantitative geography is a subfield of geography that develops, tests, and uses mathematical and statistical methods to analyze and model geographic phenomena and patterns.[1][2] It aims to explain and predict the distribution and dynamics of human and physical geography through the collection and analysis of quantifiable data. The approach quantitative geographers take is generally in line with the scientific method, where a falsifiable hypothesis is generated, and then tested through experimentation.[3] This has received criticism, and in recent years, quantitative geography has moved to include systematic model creation and understanding the limits of their models.[3][4][5] This approach is used to study a wide range of topics, including population demographics, urbanization, environmental patterns, and the spatial distribution of economic activity.[1] The methods of quantitative geography are often contrasted by those employed by qualitative geography, which is more focused on observing and recording characteristics of geographic place.

History

See also: History of geography

Quantitative geography emerged in the mid-20th century as a response to the increasing demand for more systematic, empirical, and data-driven approaches to studying geographic phenomena.[3] It is a direct product of the quantitative revolution in geography.[1][6]

It was influenced by developments in statistics, mathematics, computer science, and the physical sciences.[7] Quantitative geographers sought to use mathematical and statistical methods to understand better patterns, relationships, and processes in the spatial distribution of human and physical phenomena.

Computers perhaps had the most profound impact on quantitative geography, they used techniques such as map analysis, regression analysis, and spatial statistics to investigate various geographic questions.[1] In the 1950s and 1960s, advances in computer technology facilitated the application of quantitative methods in geography, leading to the development of new techniques such as geographic information systems (GIS).[8][9] Notable early pioneers in GIS are Roger Tomlinson and Waldo Tobler.[7] Simultaneously, new data sources, such as remote sensing and GPS, were incorporated into geographic research.[10][11] These technologies enabled geographers to collect, analyze, and visualize large amounts of spatial data in new ways, further advancing the field of quantitative geography.[1]

In the late 20th century, quantitative geography became a central discipline within geography, and its influence was felt in fields such as urban, economic, and environmental geography.[1] Today, quantitative geography continues to be a thriving area of research, focusing on using innovative quantitative methods and technologies to address complex geographic questions and problems.

Techniques and subfields

Quantitative revolution

This section is an excerpt from Quantitative revolution.[]

Criticism

See also: Critical geography

Critical geography has levied many criticisms against the positivist approach in quantitative geography, including:

Reductionism: Critics argue that the focus on quantifying data and using mathematical models can oversimplify complex social and spatial phenomena.

Lack of context: Some argue that quantification can ignore a particular place's unique cultural and historical contexts.

Dependence on technology: Quantitative geography heavily relies on technology and digital mapping tools, which can limit its ability to address certain geographical issues.

Bias: Data collection methods can introduce bias into the analysis, and existing power structures may influence the types of data collected and analyzed.

Limited scope: Quantitative geography narrowly focuses on spatial data and can miss important aspects of human geographies, such as culture, politics, and social relations.

Lack of critical perspective: Critics argue that the focus on objective and empirical data analysis can detract from a critical perspective on geographical issues and lead to a lack of engagement with important social and political questions.

Influential geographers

See also: List of geographers
  • Dana Tomlin – developer of map algebra
  • Edward Augustus Ackerman (1911–1973) - advocated for approaching human environment interaction as an interaction between systems.
  • Fred K. Schaefer (1904–1953)- called for a scientific approach to geography based upon the search for geographical laws
  • Michael DeMers (born 1951) – geographer that wrote numerous books contributing to geographic information systems
  • Mark Monmonier (born 1943) – cartographic theorist that wrote numerous books contributing to geographic information systems
  • Mei-Po Kwan (born 1962) - geographer that coined the uncertain geographic context problem and the neighborhood effect averaging problem.
  • Michael Frank Goodchild (born 1944) – GIS scholar and winner of the RGS founder's medal in 2003
  • Richard J. Chorley (1927–2002) - played an instrumental role in bringing in the use of systems theory to geography.[12]
  • Roger Tomlinson (1933–2014) – the primary originator of modern geographic information systems
  • Torsten Hägerstrand (1916–2004)- established the discipline of time geography
  • Waldo Tobler (1930–2018) – coined the first and second law of geography
  • William Bunge (1928–2013) - early quantitative geographer
  • William Garrison (1924–2015) - Early leader of the quantitative revolution and one of the founders of regional science.

Notes

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Fotheringham, A. Stewart; Brunsdon, Chris; Charlton, Martin (2000). Quantitative Geography: Perspectives on Spatial Data Analysis. Sage Publications Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7619-5948-9.
  2. ^ Murakami, Daisuke; Yamagata, Yoshiki (2020). "Spatial Analysis Using Big Data: Chapter Six - Models in quantitative geography". Methods and Urban Applications: 159–178. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-813127-5.00006-0. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Murray, Alan T. (February 2010). "QUANTITATIVE GEOGRAPHY". Journal of Regional Science. 50 (1): 143–163. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9787.2009.00642.x. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  4. ^ Franklin, Rachel (2022). "Quantitative methods I: Reckoning with uncertainty". Progress in Human Geography. 46 (2): 689–697. doi:10.1177/03091325211063635. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  5. ^ Franklin, Rachel (February 2023). "Quantitative methods II: Big theory". Progress in Human Geography. 47 (1): 178–186. doi:10.1177/03091325221137334. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  6. ^ Haggett, Peter (16 July 2008). "The Local Shape of Revolution: Reflections on Quantitative Geography at Cambridge in the 1950s and 1960s". Geographical Analysis. 40 (3): 336–352. doi:10.1111/j.1538-4632.2008.00731.x. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  7. ^ a b Ferreira, Daniela; Vale, Mário (5 Oct 2020). "GEOGRAPHY IN THE BIG DATA AGE: AN OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORICAL RESONANCE OF CURRENT DEBATES". Geographical Review. 112 (2): 250–266. doi:10.1080/00167428.2020.1832424. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  8. ^ Tobler, Waldo (1959). "Automation and Cartography". Geographical Review. 49 (4): 526–534. doi:10.2307/212211. JSTOR 212211. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  9. ^ "The 50th Anniversary of GIS". ESRI. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  10. ^ Hegarty, Christopher J.; Chatre, Eric (December 2008). "Evolution of the Global Navigation satellite system (GNSS)". Proceedings of the IEEE. 96 (12): 1902–1917. doi:10.1109/JPROC.2008.2006090. S2CID 838848.
  11. ^ Jensen, John (2016). Introductory digital image processing: a remote sensing perspective. Glenview, IL: Pearson Education, Inc. p. 623. ISBN 978-0-13-405816-0.
  12. ^ Jackson, Michael C (2000). "Systems approaches to management". Springer Science & Business Media.
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