Scale and Geographic Inquiry - by Eric Sheppard & Robert B McMaster Hardcover

About the Book

This work represents one of the first modern works that integrates the various ways geographers think about and use scale.

Book Synopsis

This book is the first contemporary book to compare and integrate the various ways geographers think about and use scale across the spectrum of the discipline and includes state-of-the-art contributions by authoritative human geographers, physical geographers and GIS specialists.

• Provides a state of the art survey of how geographers think about scale.
  
• Brings together recent interest in scale in human and physical geography, as well as geographic information science
  
• Places competing concepts of scale side by side in order to compare them.
  
• The introduction and conclusion, by the editors, explores the common ground.

From the Back Cover

This book is the first contemporary book to compare and integrate the various ways geographers think about and use scale across the spectrum of the discipline and includes state-of-the-art contributions by authoritative human geographers, physical geographers, and GIS specialists.

The editors place competing concepts of scale side by side, demonstrating how different aspects are significant for each, and providing a detailed comparative assessment. They set out from the premise that there is much acknowledged common ground between these different approaches and that valuable insight can be gained by exploring it.

In light of the increased interest in global change and globalisation, there has been a huge surge of interest in the environmental and human sciences in the relationship between the global, the regional and the local. For this reason, this cutting edge survey of how geographers conceptualise scale should be of interest across a broad range of disciplines.

Review Quotes

"...engages incisively with what consideration of scale can offer to a wide range of crucial social, physical, and cartographic issues - from environmental monitoring to urban development - and provides an essential starting point in terms of the uses and meanings of the concept." John Agnew, University of California Los Angeles

"This volume is both timely and welcome. As society faces a new world order that reflects the increasing tension and simultaneity between local and global forces, it is essential to lay the foundations toward a comprehensive 'theory of scale'. This volume, through its integration and contemplation of disparate ideas drawn from the spectrum of geographical perspectives, is a crucial first step toward that grand agenda." Bernie Bauer, University of Southern California

"This is a fascinating book...it covers an intimidating array of subjects but shows how one aspect - scale - can affect all of them in surprisingly similar ways. The depth and breadth of coverage makes the text an invaluable one." Dr Paul Ganderton, Teaching Ecology News.

"This book is important reading for all geographers based on its catholic content and because it provides a lens into our diverse discipline. Few edited collections contain such consistently strong chapters. Scale and Geographic Enquiry is recommended for all geographers, especially graduate students and their instructors." The Geographical Journal

About the Author

Eric Sheppard is Fesler-Lampert Professor in Geography at the University of Minnesota. He is the co-author and editor of a number of books, including A Companion to Economic Geography (Blackwell, 2001) and Reading Economic Geography (Blackwell, 2003), and of over 80 scholarly articles. His current research interests include spatiality and political economy, environmental justice, critical GIS and interurban policy and activist networks.Robert B. McMaster is Professor of Geography and Associate Dean for Planning in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota. His areas of research include multiple scale databases and cartographic generalization, GIS and society, including environmental risk assessment and public participation GIS (PPGIS), and the history of US academic cartography. From 1990 to 1996, he served as editor of Cartography and Geographic Information Science, and is currently a Vice President of the International Cartographic Association.