Incorporating geographies of health into public policy debates: The GeoHealth Laboratory

Abstract:  The restricted influence of geographers in the policy arena has been the source of some angst. This paper reports on a new initiative at the University of Canterbury, which aims to strengthen geography's contribution to health policy debates in New Zealand. The GeoHealth Laboratory is a joint initiative between the Department of Geography and Public Health Intelligence group at the Ministry of Health that seeks to provide a pathway for the integration of health geography research into policy development. This new facility aligns the expertise in health geography, GIS and other spatial analytical methods with policy-relevant research priorities. An overview of the strategic aims of the GeoHealth Laboratory is provided along with some examples of recent research activities that are contributing to understandings of the health landscape in New Zealand. It is argued that such partnerships provide important opportunities for geographers to engage with policy-relevant issues.     

Sentinels of geography: legacy,public policy and contemporary relevance

Many geographers, past and present, have addressed public policy issues facing nations and peoples and in the process offered solutions to highly complex problems. Three ‘sentinels’ of the discipline, Halford Mackinder, Carl Sauer and Thomas Griffith Taylor, served as protectors of geography speaking up for the science in a way often confronting public officials, politicians and others. They contributed significantly to the development of geography in Britain, the USA, Australia and Canada, while engaging in public policy debates on topics such as geopolitics, geographical constraints on land use and natural resource management. All three were advocates for the unity of geography, stressing how an understanding of the interconnectedness of natural and human phenomena can assist in decision making. They were often frustrated by what they saw as ill-informed policies which did not respect geographic realities. Given their varied contributions, it is difficult to fully assess their impact both during their long and productive lifetimes, and subsequently, especially given the interdisciplinary and contested nature of their research. Today, academic geographers are faced with having to increasingly ‘prove the impact’ of their research, something beyond the comprehension of previous generations. Lessons from an analysis of the work of these ‘sentinels’, as well as my own experience, show how difficult a task this will be.     

Doing groups: Situating knowledge and creating stories

This paper presents group research as a potentially powerful research tool for cultural geographers interested in the ways knowledge is produced at the interpersonal level. I argue that groups can create unique research spaces that incorporate 'sociality', the everyday social norms, logics and languages that guide ordinary conversations, into the research agenda. By concentrating on these discursive norms, insights can be obtained into the ways that knowledge is negotiated, produced and constrained in different places. To demonstrate the value of group research, a case study involving Australian environmentalists is analysed, to show how forests are constructed, contested and naturalised within this particular subculture. The article concludes by emphasising the importance of group research to critical geographers interested in social empowerment and change.     

From salvage to recycling – new agendas or same old rubbish?

Recent years have seen increased attention paid by geographers to the phenomenon of household waste recycling. Much of this attention by geographers has focused on contemporary recycling, especially contemporary policy and behaviour. This article takes a wider temporal perspective and considers the antecedent 'National Salvage Campaign' of the Second World War. It considers the conceptual lessons from this recycling campaign, drawing out the importance of themes of scale, relatedness, civic duty and positive identity. The article explores the socially constructed boundaries that attempt to find an 'appropriate' place for waste and how such boundaries are constantly reconsidered and redefined.     

多样性的区域影响效应研究进展和展望

深入认识多样性的区域影响效应是解决专业化与多样性之争并为区域选择合理发展路径的前提。演化经济地理学对相关多样性与不相关多样性概念的区分,为解释多样性经济效应的作用机制提供了新的分析框架。论文系统归纳总结了多样性的相关概念与测量方法,并论述了不同类型多样性与区域经济发展的关系及内在机理,包括其在经济增长、经济稳定、就业与创新等方面发挥的作用。通过对该领域前沿研究成果的梳理,最后提出在未来应从扩展相关性类型、补充多样性的长期与短期效应、关注企业家等行为主体的作用等领域展开进一步深入研究。     

Financial market actors as urban policy-makers: the case of real estate investment trusts in Brazil

Focusing on the growth of Real Estate Investment Trusts in Brazil, the paper explores how financializing policy instruments intertwine financial markets and the urban built environment. It studies the career of REITs and questions the role of financial market capital and actors in urban dynamics. The paper uncovers three processes usually considered separately: i) how a network of public and private financial market actors coaxes state bodies into using their regulatory powers and financial resources to transform real estate into an asset class; ii) how the government-run financial market authority and banks lure urban households into liquid real estate through marketing and education campaigns; and iii) how asset managers are “applied economic geographers” insofar as they channel households’ capital into a selected cities and properties. The active role played by financial actors in the design, enhancement and implementation of such a policy instrument leads us to conclude on their role as urban policy-makers.     

Enhancing the effectiveness of policy-relevant integrative research in rural areas

There has been much debate about the importance of policy-relevant research in geography over the last decade. There has also been an increasing recognition by policymakers of the importance of integrative (interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary) approaches to policy-relevant research. However, geographers have been more reluctant than their colleagues in other social and natural sciences to embrace integrative research collaborations. For integrative research to achieve its full potential and to encourage greater participation from the geographical research community, we need to increase our understanding of its potential value, but also some of the challenges that it poses, and how these can be overcome. In this paper, we consider the processes involved in conducting successful integrative research from the perspective of researchers involved in these projects. We base our analysis on the results of a questionnaire survey of international integrative research programmes on environmental issues in rural areas, combined with our own experiences of working in integrative research. We conclude that effective integrative research depends on the establishment of a clear conceptual framework, the use of appropriate temporal and spatial scales in the research, effective language and communication, time and commitment, and trust and respect. We also highlight the value of stakeholder involvement in integrative research to ensure the policy relevance of the work and provide a mechanism to assist with effective knowledge transfer of the results.     

论全球化与地区发展之间的辩证关系--被动嵌入

全球化是当今世界发展的重要趋势之一。地理学家基本上都承认这种趋势正在对地区发展产生深刻的影响,但对具体影响还缺少比较一致的看法。在过去的10多年中,国外经济地理学者主要借用社会经济学的思想和概念来为全球化下地区的作用来辩护。本文继承了这种学术思路,利用“嵌入”的思想建立了“被动嵌入”模型,来反映外资与地方制度环境之间的相互作用关系。“被动嵌入”模型表明,全球化是依赖于地方制度环境的一个过程,离开地区谈全球化是一种“理想主义”。另一方面,地区如何在全球化浪潮中获得益处取决于自身的知识创新与制度创新。     

Wellbeing, health and geography: A critical review and research agenda

Abstract:  This paper explores different conceptual and policy spaces of wellbeing. The increasing use of wellbeing in contemporary health debates affords geographers of health new arena in which to explore the processes that promote, remedy or regenerate health and ill-health. The paper first critically reviews the theoretical approaches and challenges for operationalizing the concept of wellbeing in both research and policy. We then present a framework of the spaces of wellbeing to provoke discussion and research amongst geographers of health. The paper concludes with proposals for future research orientations.     

产业集群研究的新视角

本文从垂直、水平、制度、外部和权力因子分析了集群的生成、成长和再生现象。笔者认为,具备可持续发展能力的集群必须与外部的供应商、市场和技术建立系统的联系,多种文化的融合、合理的权力结构、有效的调控手段是集群环境建设的重要内容。同时,在制定区域政策时,不能简单地将一地的产业集群政策移植到另外一个区域。此外,不是世界上的所有地区都具备形成产业集群的前提条件;产业集群政策也不是提升区域经济竞争力的唯一途径。     

去中心化和（逆）全球化背景下中国人文地理学的批判性理论探索与方法创新

文章以去中心化和（逆）全球化为背景评估中国的人文地理学研究现状与未来去向。笔者认为近年贸易保护主义和中美争端的不断升级会减缓但不会扭转知识全球化的长期趋势。中国人文地理学者不应该对进入世界舞台失去信心,而应该勇敢正视当前理论和研究创新的重要机遇和挑战。文章通过对比中国人文地理学科与西方同行的研究,发现两者有不少共同的历史和传统,包括研究命题、研究框架和解释方式。比较而言,中国人文地理学更加规范统一、富有组织和系统性,并积极支持国家发展议程;而西方人文地理学强调个人自由、多样性、天马行空（“Blue-sky enquiry”）以及独立于政府的批判性视角。文章指出三种不同的价值观作为供中国人文地理学者进行理论批判的重要视角。其他可能的理论探索方式包括将问题置于不同的时间和空间,使用不同的数据和方法进行多重验证,从基本假设出发来进行理论解构,批判性地辨析因果关系,以及在不同的尺度下重新检视研究问题等。中国人文地理应通过更好地理解三种不同的地理知识,建立有利于激励研究创新的评估体系,探索国际研究和跨学科研究的前沿领域,促进比较研究,以及融合利用不同风格的研究方法等策略来促进研究创新。文章结尾提出三种可能的（逆）全球化情景供中国人文地理学者思考如何迈向充满新挑战和新机遇的未来。     

GEOGRAPHERS IN GOVERNMENT

Geographers are working in federal, state, and local government agencies in many diverse positions. Historically and presently, geographers have held key policy positions in government agencies. In recent years the employment base for geographers in government has been broadened. Geographers working in government generally must have a pragmattic outlook that enables them to do the tasks assigned regardless of how geographical those assignments may be.     

The Study of Human Action in the Physical Environment

Scientists have been formally studying the consequences of human action at least since Buffon and Humboldt in the 1700s. In 1864, Marsh published Man and Nature, a comprehensive synthesis documenting how people had been transforming Earth. This prominent catalogue of how people disturb Nature's harmonies was updated by Marsh in 1874 and by geographers in 1956 and 1990. Today the leading conceptions of human-environmental interaction are similar to Marsh's theme that people are the disturbers of Nature's harmonies. Effects of human action are considered using conceptions such as direct/indirect, intentional/accidental, and beneficial/detrimental. For a fresh approach, physical geographers could consider action more directly. Human action can be studied as any other process is. Systems concepts and energy flows used to evaluate natural forces can also be used to evaluate human forces. The centennial of the Association of American Geographers is an appropriate time to reflect on how physical geographers have been studying human-environmental interactions and to consider new approaches.     

Policy Boosterism,Policy Mobilities,and the Extrospective City

Abstract

This study develops the notion of “policy boosterism,” a subset of traditional branding and marketing activities that involves the active promotion of locally developed and/or locally successful policies, programs, or practices across wider geographical fields as well as to broader communities of interested peers. It is argued that policy boosterism is (1) an important element of how urban policy actors engage with global communities of professional peers and with local residents, and (2) a useful concept with which to interrogate and understand how policies and policy knowledge are mobilized among cities. A conceptualization of policy boosterism and its role in global-urban policymaking is developed by combining insights from the burgeoning “policy mobilities” literature with those of the longstanding literature on entrepreneurial city marketing. It is supported by illustrative examples of policy boosterism in Vancouver: the city's Greenest City and Green Capital initiatives, the use of the term “Vancouverism” among the city's urban design community, and demonstrations of new urban technologies during the 2010 Winter Olympics that were used to market a particular vision of the city's governance to people from elsewhere, but also—crucially—to local audiences. The article concludes by highlighting four foci that might frame future work at the intersections of policy boosterism and policy mobilities.     

地理学史研究范式——科学地理学史与知识地理学史

当前主流地理学史研究可归结为两种互补性范式。一种是科学地理学史：① 从近现代地理学形象出发,遵循“自上而下”的叙事模式,选择性地建构切合当前地理学的历史;② 主张一元传统的科学史观,从而导致了不同传统的对立;③ 其性质是建构性的、抽象性的,造成了自然与人文的分裂;④ 强纲领的叙事模式不仅造成了“古代思想的现代解读”,且挣扎于科学分化的大潮中。另一种是在批判科学地理学史基础上兴起的知识地理学史：① 从地理实践本身出发,遵循“自下而上”的叙事模式,从地理学知识体系的底层诠释历史;② 主张多元论传统的科学史观,从而一定程度上消解了不同地理学传统之间的对立,为多样的地理学传统纳入叙事框架奠定了基础;③ 其历史的性质是实践论的或语境论的,旨在阐发不同地理学知识形态的意义;④ 表现为对称性原则的叙事纲领,大大扩展了地理学史研究的视野,为理解作为地理学与自然并社会统一的实践统一体提供了可能。科学地理学史和知识地理学史当前表现为一种批评性关系,但这并不意味着应当制造更多的二元论对立,相反,整体的方向应当是加强科学精神与人文主义的相互对话。     

Environmental knowledge and small-scale rural landholding in south-west England

This paper explores the environmental knowledge of small-scale rural landholders and comments on the implications of this for environmental policy. The paper draws on conceptualisations of knowledge as 'know what', 'know why', 'know how' and 'know who', recognises a distinction between tacit and codified environmental knowledges and highlights the need to consider the politics of knowledge surrounding environmental issues. Both quantitative and qualitative data are reported, and are derived from structured interviews with 30 small-scale landholders who were participants in a nature and landscape conservation initiative – the Landscape Heritage Scheme – within South Devon, England. These data are used to explore the place of environmental concerns within the land management objectives of respondents; the nature and extent of their environmental knowledge; how a range of factors alongside their environmental knowledge shaped the environmental practices of respondents; and the politics of knowledge associated with the Landscape Heritage Scheme. The paper suggests that small-scale landholders should be of interest to environmental policy, prioritising environmental objectives in their land management, being relatively knowledgeable about the environment and highly responsive to environmental advice and financial incentives that support environmental management. A case is made for developing research in this area, given ongoing processes of rural demographic change and the rising importance within this of an increasingly diverse landholding population.     

GEOGRAPHERS IN GOVERNMENT

Geographers are working in federal, state, and local government agencies in many diverse positions. Historically and presently, geographers have held key policy positions in government agencies. In recent years the employment base for geographers in government has been broadened. Geographers working in government generally must have a pragmattic outlook that enables them to do the tasks assigned regardless of how geographical those assignments may be.     

基于公共价值的沙漠化治理政策绩效评价研究

首先从分析沙漠化的物理机制入手,将生态建设政策对沙漠化的作用以政策指数PIX来表示,分解为空间广度[PSS]和时间强度[PEF]两个变量,PIX=（PSS+PEF）/2,定量计算政策指数与沙漠化变化的相关性。其次以公共价值为基本框架,构建沙漠化治理政策的执行过程+生态效果的绩效评价体系,从政策过程的“公平性”、对“合作生产”主体的尊重性、政府部门管理的“效率性”、生态效果的“可持续性”、政策对沙漠化变化的相关性等方面提取指标因子,定量评价沙漠化治理政策的绩效。以宁夏盐池县草地禁牧政策为例进行研究。结果表明：禁牧政策与沙漠化面积减少显著相关,草地禁牧政策公共价值绩效得分0.378 3,效果较差。因此,提出的基于公共价值的沙漠化治理政策绩效评价指标和模型都是可行的。     

地理学方法论演变与价值判断

主观和客观是地理学方法论研究的一对重要范畴。价值判断是主客观问题争论的焦点。外在的科学或哲学理论和方法论等因素为客观范畴,地理学家的价值判断、目的等方面的因素为主观范畴。客观层面的分析表明:专业化和交叉化并行的整体科学发展特征,以及科学哲学理论发展多元化的趋势强烈影响了地理学方法论;交叉化的倾向使二战以后的地理学频繁地向其它学科借鉴理论和吸取方法,从而在范围上拓展了地理学方法论;而科学哲学理论从范式、研究纲领向多元主义的演替路径使地理学方法论也经历了单一范式向多元主义发展的过程;科学社会学理论的发展使地理学家深切认识到制度、社会文化背景和语言修辞对地理学的强烈影响。主观层面的分析表明:研究者不可能摆脱他的价值判断,价值判断也不可能"中立"于研究对象;在处理价值判断与研究对象之间关系时,研究者要持有审慎的态度和逻辑严整性的原则。在科学研究的目的论上,研究者最终应该具有一种人本主义的"自向性",即从认识研究对象回复到认识自身。从客观和主观结合的角度看,方法论是科学发展的一般规则与研究者个性和目的相结合的产物。     

Loose threads: The translocal making of public space policy in Hanoi

This paper analyses the recent developments in public space policy in the city of Hanoi, Vietnam. It has three aims. The first is to look at a potentially progressive urban policy in contrast to most work on ‘policies in motion’ that has primarily been concerned with neoliberal policies. The second is to put the process of public space policymaking in Hanoi in historical and cultural perspective. We therefore describe public space in Hanoi as historically constituted by different layers of meaning and physical urban patterns. The paper's third aim is to analyse the translocal connections involved in a policy that is still in the making, and therefore characterized by a series of ‘loose threads’. We show how different types of connections – policy mobility, topological relations and inter‐referencing – relate Hanoi to multiple locales elsewhere. The conclusion reflects on the ‘politics of reception’ showing how analysing a policy in the making develops a critical analysis of policies in motion.