Quantitative geography is a subfield of

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

that develops, tests, and uses mathematical and statistical methods to analyze and model geographic phenomena and patterns. It aims to explain and predict the distribution and dynamics of

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

and

physical geography Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, h ...

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

observational studies In fields such as epidemiology, social sciences, psychology and statistics, an observational study draws inferences from a sample (statistics), sample to a statistical population, population where the dependent and independent variables, independ ...

. This has received criticism, and in recent years, quantitative geography has moved to include systematic model creation and understanding the limits of their models. This approach is used to study a wide range of topics, including population demographics, urbanization, environmental patterns, and the spatial distribution of economic activity. 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

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. It is a direct product of the

quantitative revolution The quantitative revolution (QR) was a paradigm shift that sought to develop a more rigorous and systematic methodology for the discipline of geography. It came as a response to the inadequacy of regional geography to explain general spatial dynam ...

in geography. It was influenced by developments in statistics, mathematics, computer science, and the physical sciences. Quantitative geographers sought to use mathematical and statistical methods to better understand patterns, relationships, and processes in the spatial distribution of human and physical phenomena. Computers perhaps had the most profound impact on quantitative geography, with techniques such as map analysis, regression analysis, and spatial statistics to investigate various geographic questions. In the 1950s and 1960s, advances in computer technology facilitated the application of quantitative methods in geography, leading to new techniques such as

geographic information system A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing Geographic data and information, geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with Geographic information system software, sof ...

s (GIS). Notable early pioneers in GIS are

Roger Tomlinson Roger F. Tomlinson, (17 November 1933 – 7 February 2014) was an English-Canadian geographer and the primary originator of modern geographic information systems (GIS), and has been acknowledged as the "father of GIS." Biography Dr. Tomlinson ...

and

Waldo Tobler Waldo Rudolph Tobler (November 16, 1930 – February 20, 2018) was an American-Swiss geographer and cartographer. Tobler's idea that "Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things" is referred to ...

. Simultaneously, new data sources, such as

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...

and

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...

, were incorporated into geographic research. These tools enabled geographers to collect, analyze, and visualize large amounts of spatial data in new ways, further advancing the field of quantitative geography. 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. Today, research in quantitative geography continues, focusing on using innovative quantitative methods and technologies to address complex geographic questions and problems.

Techniques and subfields

File:Worldwind.png,

Geoinformatics Geoinformatics is the science and the technology which develops and uses information science infrastructure to address the problems of geography, cartography, geosciences and related branches of science and engineering, such as Land Surveying. O ...

File:Fig 4.4.png,

Geographic information science Geographic information science or geographical information science (GIScience or GISc) is the scientific discipline that studies geographic information, including how it represents phenomena in the real world, how it represents the way humans unders ...

File:Interpolation-nearest.svg,

Geostatistics Geostatistics is a branch of statistics focusing on spatial or spatiotemporal datasets. Developed originally to predict probability distributions of ore grades for mining operations, it is currently applied in diverse disciplines including petro ...

File:MapAlgebra.png,

Map algebra Map algebra is an algebra for manipulating geographic data, primarily Field (geography) , fields. Developed by Dr. Dana Tomlin and others in the late 1970s, it is a set of primitive operations in a geographic information system (GIS) which allows ...

File:Euclidean Voronoi diagram.svg, Statistical geography File:Example_krig.png,

Spatial analysis Spatial analysis or spatial statistics includes any of the formal techniques which studies entities using their topological, geometric, or geographic properties. Spatial analysis includes a variety of techniques, many still in their early deve ...

Quantitative revolution

Laws of geography

The concept of laws in geography is a product of the quantitative revolution and is a central focus of quantitative geography. Their emergence is highly influential and one of the major contributions of quantitative geography to the broader branch of

technical geography Technical geography is one of three main branches of geography and involves using, studying, and creating tools to obtain, analyze, interpret, and understand spatial information. The other two branches, human geography and physical geography, can ...

. The discipline of geography is unlikely to settle the matter anytime soon. Several laws have been proposed, and Tobler's first law of geography is the most widely accepted. The first law of geography, and its relation to spatial autocorrelation, is highly influential in the development of technical geography. Some have argued that geographic laws do not need to be numbered. The existence of a first invites a second, and many are proposed as that. It has also been proposed that Tobler's first law of geography should be moved to the second and replaced with another. A few of the proposed laws of geography are below: *

Tobler's first law of geography The First Law of Geography, according to Waldo Tobler, is "everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things." This first law is the foundation of the fundamental concepts of spatial dependence and spati ...

: "Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant" *

Tobler's second law of geography The second law of geography, according to Waldo Tobler, is "the phenomenon external to a geographic area of interest affects what goes on inside." Background Tobler's second law of geography, "the phenomenon external to a geographic area of inte ...

: "the phenomenon external to a geographic area of interest affects what goes on inside." *

Arbia's law of geography Arbia’s law of geography states, "Everything is related to everything else, but things observed at a coarse spatial resolution are more related than things observed at a finer resolution." Originally proposed as the 2nd law of geography, this is ...

: "Everything is related to everything else, but things observed at a coarse spatial resolution are more related than things observed at a finer resolution." *

Uncertainty Uncertainty refers to epistemic situations involving imperfect or unknown information. It applies to predictions of future events, to physical measurements that are already made, or to the unknown. Uncertainty arises in partially observable or ...

principle: "that the geographic world is infinitely complex and that any representation must therefore contain elements of uncertainty, that many definitions used in acquiring geographic data contain elements of

vagueness In linguistics and philosophy, a vague predicate is one which gives rise to borderline cases. For example, the English adjective "tall" is vague since it is not clearly true or false for someone of middling height. By contrast, the word "prime" is ...

, and that it is impossible to measure location on the Earth's surface exactly."

Criticism

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

Dana Tomlin Charles Dana Tomlin is an author, professor, and originator of Map Algebra, a vocabulary and conceptual framework for classifying ways to combine map data to produce new maps. Tomlin's teaching and research focus on the development and application ...

– developer of map algebra *

Edward Augustus Ackerman Edward Augustus Ackerman (1911 in Idaho – 1973 in Washington D.C.) was a noted American geographer and an authority in the management of hydric resources in US. He was member of several committees and advisory groups on management of natural r ...

(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 Michael N. DeMers is a geographer and Emeritus, Professor Emeritus of geography at New Mexico State University. Education and field DeMers earned his Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D. in geography from the University of Kansas in 1985 and has taught g ...

(born 1951) – geographer that wrote numerous books contributing to geographic information systems *

Mark Monmonier Mark Stephen Monmonier (born February 2, 1943) is a Distinguished Professor of Geography and the Environment at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University. He specializes in toponymy, geography, and geographic in ...

(born 1943) – cartographic theorist that wrote numerous books contributing to geographic information systems *

Mei-Po Kwan Mei-Po Kwan (, born 1962) is an American geographer and academic. Her contributions to the field include environmental health, human mobility, transport and health issues in cities, and geographic information science ( GIScience). Career Kwan is ...

(born 1962) - geographer that coined the uncertain geographic context problem and the neighborhood effect averaging problem. *

Michael Frank Goodchild Michael Frank Goodchild (born February 24, 1944) is a British-American geographer. He is an Emeritus Professor of Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara. After nineteen years at the University of Western Ontario, including th ...

(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 Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems, i.e. cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or human-made. Every system has causal boundaries, is influenced by its context, defined by its structu ...

to geography. *

(1933–2014) – the primary originator of modern geographic information systems *

Torsten Hägerstrand Torsten Hägerstrand (October 11, 1916, in Moheda – May 3, 2004, in Lund) was a Sweden, Swedish geographer. He is known for his work on Human migration, migration, cultural diffusion and time geography. A native and resident of Sweden, Hägers ...

(1916–2004)- established the discipline of

time geography Time geography or time-space geography is an evolving transdisciplinary perspective on spatial and temporal processes and events such as social interaction, ecological interaction, social and environmental change, and biographies of individuals. T ...

(1930–2018) – coined the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

law of geography *

William Bunge William Wheeler Bunge Jr. (born 1928, La Crosse, Wisconsin; died October 31, 2013, Canada) was an American geographer active mainly as a quantitative geographer and spatial theorist. He also became a radical geographer and anti-war activist in th ...

(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

{{Geography topics, state=uncollapsed Technical geography