Applied Geography

First mentioned in the late 1800s, applied geography is a relatively recent discipline that has enjoyed controversy, acclaim, and change in its short life. Beginning as a merger of natural sciences and social sciences, applied geography has faced critics from both sides of science; however, it has also been hailed by both as having the ability to help humanity. The term first appeared during a time when educational programs at the high school and college level were reevaluating the curriculum being taught then. Until this time, the discipline of geography had included only the natural sciences, such as geology and meteorology. John Scott Keltie (1890) was influential in suggesting that it is possible for the gap between natural and social sciences to be bridged through the application of geographic science to human behaviors. Most of what was written about applied geography during this time emerged from Europe. The first college to develop an applied geography program in the United States was the University of California, Berkeley, and even then it was only included as a part of an economics program. Applied geography uses geographical theory and methodology to solve problems on many topics as long as a problem has a geographical component, and therefore, the field has found a home in disciplines outside of geography. Some 20 years after the first academic program was created, applied geography classes and research emerged throughout the country.