Historical Background During the 1960s, welfare economics emerged as a branch of economics to study socio-economic inequality, however, it was just a vertical analysis of distribution of wealth. It did not address spatial, regional or territorial distribution or inequality. Consequently, welfare geography emerged to fill the gap of horizontal or spatial analysis. So, we can … Read more
Nicholas John Spykman envisioned the Rimland theory of geopolitics in 1942 in his book ‘America’s Strategy in World Politics’. Later In 1944, his book titled ‘The Geography of Peace’ was published, posthumously. This book provides a more elaborate description of Spykman’s Rimland Theory. Spykman’s work emerged as a critique of Mackinder’s Heartland Theory which envisages … Read more
Sir Halford Mackinder was a pioneer political geographer who formulated Heartland Theory to demonstrate the importance of strategic location of powerful nations in determining balance of global power. Mackinder’s heartland theory was first published in 1919 in a book titled ‘Democratic Ideals and Reality’ and modified it slightly in 1943. However, the basic idea of … Read more
Soil refers to the top layer of the continental crust which supports the growth of plants, trees and crops. This layer is formed by weathering of larger rocks into finer fragments. India has a diverse range of climatic conditions and geological history. These two factors lead to formation of different types of soil in India. … Read more
Graph theory is a brand of mathematics concerned with how networks can be encoded and their properties measured. Please note that the purpose hovers over the topology representation, not the network’s underlying geography. Graph theory in transport geography is an adoption of mathematical techniques to measure and identify the various characteristics of transport network for … Read more
James E. Vance propounded the model of transport development based on the historical propagation of mercantilism in his book The Merchant’s World: The Geography of Wholesaling (1970). Vance model of transport originated as a reaction to Christaller’s Central Place Theory which aims to explain pattern of settlements and transport in a universally stagnant manner. This … Read more
Ideal-Typical Sequence Model of Transport Development is an abstract explanation of sequence of various stages of development of transport network in underdeveloped countries. This model of transport development was given by Edward J. Taaffe, Richard L. Morril and Peter R. Gould in 1963 in their paper titled Transport Development in Underdeveloped Countries: A Comparative Analysis. … Read more
In common parlance, transport is defined as the movement of tangible goods and people from one place to another. However, there are various aspects of transportations such as time, space, cost, effort, reach, velocity etc. Since, the concept of space and place is closely connected to transportation, it becomes a subject matter of geographical analysis. … Read more
A. H. Thiessen proposed thiessen polygon method to show the area of influence of corresponding weather stations in a given area. However, various fields of sciences and social sciences use this technique of regionalisation for research purposes. It is based on division of a given area into polygons of different sizes and shapes. In fact, … Read more
There are two archipelagoes under the sovereignty of India i.e. Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep. Archipelagoes refers to a group of islands. These islands of India are located in the India ocean. These island are very important economically, environmentally and strategically. A student of geography should know about the process of formation of these islands … Read more