Wreford Watson, J.
Date
2009
Authors
Robinson, G.
Editors
Kitchin, R.
Thrift, N.
Thrift, N.
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Book chapter
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Source details - Title: International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, 2009 / Kitchin, R., Thrift, N. (ed./s), pp.279-280
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Abstract
Wreford Watson was a geographer-poet who brought a love of poetry and literature to his geographical writing, regarding Geography as an art form and a vehicle for elegant prose. From the early 1940s to the 1980s he used his talents as a writer to transform regional geographies of North America from the tedious lists of facts that they could be when presented by those less skilled. He developed new insights on the social character of urban areas and the importance of people's images of place as key determinants in their decision making. His significant contributions to geographical thought can be summarized under four headings: the nature of social regions, the conceptualization of various forms of distance (e.g., social distance, time distance), recognition of the importance of mental maps and 'image regions', and the notion of Geography as an art.
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Copyright 2009