Critical Spatial Thinking

Abstract

Critical spatial thinking incorporates spatial concepts and geographic principles to guide and inform reasoning. The regular practices of critical thinking are applied within a context or situation involving geographic information, whether the thinker is the producer or consumer of such information. By applying knowledge of scale, location, distance, and other spatial concepts and notions, a critical spatial thinker understands problems, derives solutions, and communicates effectively about geographic processes, patterns, and outcomes. Different approaches to reasoning are strengthened and informed by following principles of critical spatial thinking. Decision‐makers who rely on critical spatial thinking acknowledge and mitigate uncertainty associated with their situation or problem, practice the tenets of visual and media literacy most often associated with map‐reading and interpretation, and use location‐based information in a reflexive and deliberate manner.