Emerging Political Paradigms

Abstract

In a way, the 1970s were a golden age for urban geography. Although spatial science was still dominant, a number of new approaches, methodologies, and worldviews were added to the field. For a while, it seemed as though many of these approaches could be mixed and matched in complex ways in order to adequately address the complexity of the urban world. The era also ushered in a new political awareness, however, and urban geographers were increasingly differentiated into those who wanted to incorporate a political stance into their work and those who advocated scientific neutrality. Over the past two decades, urban geography has become fragmented as the "politicals" have moved into social theory while the "neutrals" have merged with the boom in high technology. The inevitable age of specialization has been accentuated by polarized political stances. A focus on the city has been largely replaced by specialization in social theory or technology and mainstream urban geography may be disappearing.