Diffusion: Geographical Aspects

Abstract

Geographic diffusion involves propagation of innovation or other phenomena, focusing on spread from place-to-place, leading to maps that differ from one time to another. Innovations receive most attention—a new product, idea, technology, organizational structure, way of doing things—where new means new to a particular place through adoption. Geographical diffusion, a long research tradition, has changed focus and content from epoch to epoch in social science. In the early-middle 1900s, the concern was cultural formation (a) The Cultural Geography Tradition; later, economic phenomena, mathematical modeling, and positivist social science; (b) The Hagerstrand Tradition. At the end of the twentieth century, focus turned to structural influences on diffusion; (c) The Market and Infrastructure Perspective; spread of technological and organizational innovation in economic activity; (d) Technological Diffusion; Third World development; (e) Development as a Diffusion Process. Geographical diffusion represents one approach in a multi-disciplinary suite that includes contributions from anthropology, communications, economics, marketing, political science, psychology, sociology. Accordingly, constructs of geographic diffusion also may occur in research by others, for example interpersonal interactions, media effects, utility-maximization, marketing strategies. In these instances, the critical contributions of a spatial perspective to understanding diffusion dynamics are apparent.