Thinking Geographically

Abstract

Based on a recent presentation at the GA Annual Conference (Manchester 2006), this article presents an argument for the power of thinking geographically, emphasising the discipline's grammar (its concepts and theories) as well as its vocabulary (a virtually endless list of place-names). The article makes a case for four key concepts: space and place, scale and connection, proximity and distance, and relational thinking. These ideas are then put to work in addressing some of the ethical complexities facing contemporary consumers, including the charitable demands of ‘caring at a distance’. The article concludes that thinking geographically offers a uniquely powerful way of seeing the world and making connections between scales, from the global to the local.