Economic geography and planetary boundaries
Human development is fundamentally dependent on the state of the environment. ‘Planetary boundaries’ define a set of limits with regard to the environmental conditions on the planet within which human societies can operate and thrive. As a consequence of anthropogenic activities, six out of nine of these limits are currently being (severely) exceeded. This predicament in which humanity finds itself has, among other things, implications for what should be priorities for scientific research. This paper examines what the research agenda should look like for the sub-discipline of economic geography from this point of view.
Changing the point of reference for economic geography
Arguably, economic prosperity and growth are the prevailing points of reference in economic geography. The subdiscipline has long been preoccupied with explaining why and how wealth is created and retained in certain regions and not others, leaving the primacy of economic growth unchallenged. In this paper it is argued that planetary boundaries have to be taken much more seriously within the sub-discipline. Subsequently, it is assessed what it means for economic geography when planetary boundaries are indeed taken as the baseline for conceptualisation and empirical studies.
Proposed agenda for economic geography
This paper offers a proposed agenda for economic geography. One aspect of this agenda is to better understand the geography of the relations between the economy and the natural environment, a topic which is currently somewhat neglected in the sub-discipline. Another aspect is to re-examine what ‘development’ in places and across space could look like if planetary boundaries are prioritised, and how the operation and organisation of different sections of the economy may be transformed as seen from a geographical point of view.
Authors
Specifications
- Publication title
- Economic Geography and Planetary Boundaries: Embracing the planet's uncompromising call for action
- Publication date
- 10 September 2024
- Publication type
- Article
- Publication language
- English
- Magazine
- Progress in Economic Geography: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949694224000154
- Issue
- vol 2, no. 2
- Product number
- 5582
