Geography and Technology

It is particularly appropriate that the AAG's Centennial Celebration should prompt the publication of a volume devoted to Geography and Technology. New technologies have always been important in advancing geographic understanding, but never have they been so thoroughly and rapidly transformative of the discipline as at this stage in geography's evolution. Just as new technologies have profoundly expanded both research possibilities and the knowledge base of other disciplines, such as biology, physics or medicine, so too are the revolutionary new geographic technologies developed during the past few decades extending frontiers in geographic research, education and applications. They are also creating new and resurgent roles for geography in both society and in the university. This trend is still accelerating, as the integration of geographic technologies, such as the global positioning system and geographic information systems (GPS/GIS), is creating an explosion of new "real-time, real-world" applications and research capabilities. The resultant dynamic space/time interactive research and management environments created by interactive GPS/GIS, among other technologies, places geography squarely at the forefront of advanced multidisciplinary research and modeling programs, and has created core organization management tools (geographic management systems) which will dramatically change the way governments and businesses work in the decades ahead. While these and other important geographic technologies, including remote sensing, location-based services, and many others addressed in this book, are forging new opportunities for geography and geographers, they also pose challenges.

"Just as new technologies have profoundly affected both research possibilities and the knowledge base of other disciplines, such as biology, physics, or medicine, so too are the revolutionary new geographic technologies developed during the past decades extending frontiers in geographic research, education, and applications."
(Douglas Richardson, Executive Director, Association of American Geographers)
"Geography and technology are not just related; each fundamentally defines the other. How we understand and use the earth is conditioned by technology, even as technology itself has developed as part of the effort to remake places and alter the meaning of geographical distance. In light of the scope of technological change in today's world, this book's focus on the geography-technology nexus is vital. It represents a research agenda of signal importance as the twenty-first century opens."
(Alexander B. Murphy, President, Association of American Geographers)
"Geographical questions about nature-society relations, climate change, processes of economic and political globalization, the shifting grounds of health, conflict and democratization across the globe, all entail critical analysis of technological change. This book reflects on the ways in which geographical and technological processes are mutually produced, as part of a vital research agenda for the coming century."
(Victoria A. Lawson, Vice President, Association of American Geographers)