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SPACE → PLACE → ENVIRONMENT → INTERCONNECTION → SUSTAINABILITY → SCALE → CHANGE → LANDSCAPES

SPACE → PLACE → ENVIRONMENT → INTERCONNECTION → SUSTAINABILITY → SCALE → CHANGE → LANDSCAPES

This sequence explains how geographers think:

  • Where things are (Space),
  • What makes locations unique (Place),
  • What surrounds them (Environment),
  • How they are connected (Interconnection),
  • How they can be protected (Sustainability),
  • At what level they are studied (Scale),
  • How they change over time (Change),
  • And how nature and humans shape the Earth's surface (Natural and Cultural Landscapes)


Geographical Concept Major Contributor(s) Contribution
Space Immanuel Kant, Fred K. Schaefer, David Harvey Kant viewed geography as the science of space. Schaefer emphasized spatial science, while Harvey explained spatial organization and spatial justice.
Place Yi-Fu Tuan, Edward Relph Developed the concept of sense of place, place identity, and human attachment to places.
Environment Alexander von Humboldt, Carl Ritter Explained relationships between humans and the natural environment, laying the foundations of physical geography.
Interconnection Alexander von Humboldt, Richard Hartshorne Emphasized that natural and human phenomena are interconnected across regions.
Sustainability Gro Harlem Brundtland and the World Commission on Environment and Development Popularized the modern concept of sustainable development through the 1987 Brundtland Report.
Scale Peter Haggett, Richard Chorley Explained geographical analysis at local, regional, national, and global scales.
Change William Morris Davis, David Harvey Davis explained landscape evolution, while Harvey focused on social, economic, and spatial change.
Landscape Carl Sauer Introduced the influential concept of the Cultural Landscape (1925), explaining how human culture transforms the natural landscape.

Important Classical Contributors

1. Immanuel Kant (1724–1804)

  • Regarded geography as the science of space.

  • Distinguished geography (organized by space) from history (organized by time).

Key Concept: Space

2. Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859)

  • Often called the Father of Modern Geography.

  • Showed that climate, vegetation, landforms, and humans are interconnected.

Key Concepts: Environment, Interconnection

3. Carl Ritter (1779–1859)

  • Viewed Earth as an integrated system.

  • Emphasized regional studies and the relationship between people and nature.

Key Concepts: Environment, Region

4. Carl Sauer (1889–1975)

  • Published "The Morphology of Landscape" (1925).

  • Distinguished between:

    • Natural Landscape

    • Cultural Landscape

Key Concept: Cultural Landscape

5. Yi-Fu Tuan (1930–2022)

  • Developed the idea of Place and Sense of Place.

  • Explained how emotions and experiences shape places.

Key Concept: Place

6. Peter Haggett (1933– )

  • A leader of the quantitative revolution in geography.

  • Developed spatial analysis and emphasized scale.

Key Concepts: Scale, Spatial Analysis

7. David Harvey (1935– )

  • Advanced theories of spatial organization, globalization, and urban change.

Key Concepts: Space, Scale, Change

8. Gro Harlem Brundtland (1939– )

  • Chaired the Brundtland Commission.

  • Defined sustainable development as:

"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Key Concept: Sustainability

The eight core concepts commonly taught today—Space, Place, Environment, Interconnection, Sustainability, Scale, and Change (often with Landscape included)—were not introduced together by one individual. They were formalized by geography curriculum authorities, including the Australian Curriculum: Geography, to provide a conceptual framework for teaching geography at school and university levels.


Concept Scholar Most Commonly Associated
Space Immanuel Kant
Place Yi-Fu Tuan
Environment Alexander von Humboldt
Interconnection Alexander von Humboldt
Sustainability Gro Harlem Brundtland
Scale Peter Haggett
Change David Harvey
Cultural Landscape Carl Sauer




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