The Anderson Lectures are presented by recipients of the Anderson Medal, which is awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of applied geography. Click here for information about the Anderson Medal in Applied Geography and brief biographical notes on award recipients.
The Anderson Lecture series was approved in 2001 by the AGSG Board, and was launched in 2002 at the Los Angeles meetings of the AAG. Below are recipients of the Anderson Medal who have participated in the James Anderson Distinguished Lecture series, along with abstracts of their presented remarks. Inquiries about the presentations should be directed to the Lecturers.
"Carbon Lock-In: Barriers and Enablers of a Climate-Friendly Future"
Taking steps towards the end of the automobile era, related 1975 article from the Ottowa Citizen
Barry Solomon's comments on Marilyn Brown's lecture
"Increasing the Flexibility of Legacy Systems"
“The Entrepreneurial City in the Global Marketplace”Contemporary globalization differs from earlier versions in context, underlying processes and manifest forms. Activities of global corporations, aimed at economies of scale in knowledge, economies of scope in corporate networks and favorable factors prices, drive a globally organized production system. This is initiating worldwide urban economic competition. Global network corporations use cities and urban regions as organizational structures to maximize returns on capital.
This paper highlights the rise and role of the entrepreneurial city with redefined concepts of urban public goods provision. It discusses the emergence of the American entrepreneurial city and the spatial restructuring of urban activities and land use, which increase efficiency but also widen inequality and polarization
“Significant Advances in Applied Geography from Combining Client-Driven and Curiosity-Driven Research Methodologies.”The central thesis of the 2005 Anderson Lecture in Applied Geography is that significant achievements in applied geography occur when the principles and practices of curiosity-driven research and client-driven research are combined in specifying and implementing the research statement of problem, the idealized and operational research design, and the criteria and procedures to be used in results evaluation.
An associated thesis extends previous Anderson Lectures by Jack Dangermond (2002), Brian Berry (2003), and Tom Wilbanks (2004) by arguing that the best of applied geography incorporates a commutative perspective when establishing the parameters of an inquiry. That is, using pairwise combinations for illustration, research study parameters such as epistemology-ontology, epistemology-praxis, ontology-praxis, global-local, exploit-sustain, benefit-cost, real-virtual, spatial-aspatial, theory-hypothesis, theory-catalogue, hypothesis-catalogue, method-technique, cause-effect, analysis-synthesis, process-product, input-output, structure-function, concept-fact, word-number, word-graphic, number-graphic, and system-science are equally regarded as necessary considerations in applied research studies that validate geography as a science-based, societally-relevant discipline, and geographers as professional practitioners.
Drawing upon assignments undertaken for governments, businesses and community groups, the 2005 Anderson Lecture presents examples of research programs and projects in environmental assessment, GIS, transportation, pedestrian safety, regional development, index design and testing, urban planning, housing, and urban policy formation which combined the principles and practices of curiosity-driven and client-driven research, and the commutative perspective, to make significant contributions to science and to society.
“Pursuing Global Sustainability in Practice as Well as Theory.”Sustainable development is the kind of challenge applied geographers can embrace and help to meet:
A challenge that will continue for many decades, with dimensions that are highly geographic Requiring the integration of knowledge and action Being addressed on the knowledge side by the emergence of “sustainability science” – but needing equivalent attention to the action side and links between knowledge and action This kind of bridging is what applied geographers do – an opportunity to focus our special talents on making the world more sustainable. In this presentation I propose to:
Comment briefly on why the knowledge-action linkage is often so hard Offer three case studies of recent or current efforts to make the linkage a reality, along with a few of the lessons learned about linking knowledge and action: The AAG Global Change in Local Places (GCLP) Project A pioneering assessment of vulnerabilities to climate change in a developing country city – Cochin, India - and sensible response strategies A project to work toward sustainable energy futures in the Eastern Caribbean Conclude with some thoughts about strategies to improve the knowledge–action linkage in the near future
“Confessions of an Applied Theoretician.”(no abstract available at this time)
“GIS and Applied Geography.”Applied geography has long utilized the best available theory and methods to contribute solutions for a client, whether in the public or private sector. Geographical information systems have revolutionized our ability to visualize and analyze complex problems across a wide spectrum, and propose solutions to those problems. As GIS continues to evolve, it will be become an even more important tool for geographers and others who wish to contribute to the solution of global and local problems and improve life on our planet.
Geographical information systems have become a leading technology across the globe due to their ability to visualize and solve problems. GIS has been used to address a wide range of environmental, socioeconomic, and political problems from a geographic perspective. On the one hand, it contributes to daily planning and management activities of agencies at various scales, addressing logistical issues and facilities management. On the other hand, GIS helps scientists and practitioners better understand and tackle global problems and pressing local/regional challenges. This presentation provides a number of examples of this geography in action, including in areas ranging from forestry and other natural resources to educational issues, from national security challenges to heath problems and health care, and from poverty to changing ethnic patterns and their potential consequences. GIS is used to analyze impaired waters, to monitor Atlantic forest losses, and to measure pollution plumes. In business, it provides visualization of sales territories and market potential analyses to improve the bottom line. GIS also has become crucial to emergency management by assisting in field operations planning, maximizing the spatial allocation of resources in a crisis. It is assisting Homeland Security through detection and protection, and can enhance preparedness and recovery planning.
Beyond visualization of important geographic patterns, GIS is contributing to futuristic planning scenarios and is directing actions at the global and local levels. It is generating visualizations of future landscapes and providing analyses that are the bases for recommended strategies. GIS is an effective tool because it provides the basis for data organization and creates a process for spatial analysis and planning. It is a system that integrates information, activities and processes.
GIS will continue to evolve as an enabling technology and, therefore, will be an increasingly important method for our local and global communities. Improvements and increases in the availability of real time data, remotely sensed imagery, and other information will further improve GIS effectiveness. GIS communities are growing in size and complexity. They are evolving on the World Wide Web and mobile clients are becoming the foundation for locally based services. The future of GIS technology and its uses to solve problems look very bright. Thus, applied geography, with its emphasis on working with clients to solve spatial problems at all scales, should prosper and become increasingly important with the continued evolution and pervasive use of geographical information systems.