Pioneers Of Modern Geography

For decades, Milton Santos (1926-2001) has been considered one of the most influential thinkers in Brazilian and Latin American social sciences and geography. Yet his writings, most of which have not been translated into English, are largely unknown to European and North American audiences. This book introduces English-speaking scholars to Professor Santos through critical engagement with his ideas and writings. The chapters presented here reveal the breadth and originality of his critical thought, as well as its ongoing importance to contemporary debates. The book features a biography of Santos and includes an annotated translation of one of his most-cited texts, The Return of the Territory, offered here for the first time in English. This text demonstrates how Santos’s provocative insights continue to transform core concepts of political and human geography. The book also includes a number of short chapters written by scholars from Brazil, Spain and France. Through reflections on Santos’s work, the various authors demonstrate the value and possibilities of extending the geographer’s theories. They explore key geographical themes across political economy, rural studies, territorial planning, environmental crisis, digital networks, indigenous peoples, transportation and public health. This collection invites geographers from around the world to engage with this rich intellectual tradition from Brazil.

This book examines the works of the outstanding makers of modern geography and demonstrates the consistency of idea and purpose in their work. Geography as an explicitly defined field of knowledge is more than two thousand years old, but as a university subject, geography is only 150 years old, and in this period it has developed hugely. This study traces the development of modern geography as an organized body of knowledge, in the light of the works of its foremost German and French contributors.

Excerpt from Modern Geography In the year 1859 there occurred three events which, though not all comparable to one another, yet make the year one of such importance that we may take it as marking the beginning of the distinctively modern period of geographical science. These three events were, first, the deaths of Humboldt and Ritter, two great geographical pioneers who hewed tracks through the tangled jungle of unsystematised geographical facts, and second, the publication of the Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin, a book which supplied the compass which has made further road-making in that same jungle possible. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This book sheds light on Sir Peter Hall’s visions and contributions as recalled by experts. Specialists from the fields of transport and geography testify to Sir Peter Hall’s enormous impact on urban planning, urban geography, and transport geography, and The IGU Commission on Transport and Geography together with the IGU Urban Commission would like to commemorate this. After an Introduction by Richard Knowles and Celine Rozenblat, Peter Taylor presents his high-level contribution "Polymath in City Studies," and Jonathan Reades presents Sir Peter Hall's views on "Location and Innovation." This is followed by "An Innovator of Enhancing Transport and Urban Development Relationships" by Chia-Lin Chen. Kathy Pain explains their common work on "The Mega City Regions," while Michael Batty recalls how they collaborated on "World Cities and Information Cities." Celine Rozenblat and Dan O’Donoghue welcome "The Visionary for World and European cities".

This book charts the developments in the discipline of geography from the 1950s to the 1980s, examining how geography now connects with urban, regional and national planning, and impacts on areas such as medicine, transport, agricultural development and electoral reform. The book also discusses how technical and theoretical advancements have generated a renewed sense of philosophic reflection – a concern closely linked with the critical examination and development of social theory.