Abstract: Geographic analysis of East Asia has in part followed traditional modes of scholarly inquiry in the social sciences, through the use of empirically based studies of the location and spatial arrangements of various human phenomena associated with the economic and social development of China, Japan, and the Koreas. More recently, new theories and conceptual approaches that seek explanations through the analysis of social and political structures and their ties to the economy at local and regional scales have also been used. Geographic studies have centered on analysis of regional development, investment, trade, urbanization, and migration in China, while studies of Japan and Korea have focused more on the changing nature of the firm-centered economy and its impact on industrial location and investments at the local, national, and global levels. Rapid economic growth and structural transformation of the economies and societies in East Asia have prompted geographers to examine these topics, although pressing matters in geopolitics and military/security issues have been ignored. Humanistic and cultural studies also continue with an emphasis on examining individual cities such as Beijing and Tokyo and investigating the relationships among landscape, people, and cultures. New methodologies for acquiring and analyzing spatial data such as remote sensing and geographic information science (GIS) have also changed the manner in which such data are examined, and the effects of these methodologies may hold the greatest promise for expanding environmental studies of East Asia and the human–environment relationships that are crucial for future development of the region and its 1.5 billion people.
Publication Year: 2001
Publication Date: 2001-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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