The Values of Practicing Historical Geography

Abstract

Academic offerings in historical geography may be in a period of eclipse, but scholarship on geographies of the past is prolific. There are several reasons for this, and one that is often overlooked is the fundamental value of this line of inquiry beyond the academy. This lecture considers three historical maps as tools to examine the values of historical geography to current and future societies. A 1940s depiction of a chemical plant's toxic dump exposes knowledge of hazardous wastes well before federal legislation addressed this danger. It had significant value in recent environmental litigation and federal efforts to clean up damaged landscapes. An 1850s sanitary map of New Orleans reveals early efforts to depict threats and to delimit the sources of epidemic disease that foretold the emergence of risk assessment and served as a stepping stone in hazards mapping. New Orleans's "Green Dot" map released in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina highlights the erosion of social memory in adapting to hazardous situations and the need for planners and government bodies to allow thorough and effective citizen participation in responding to changing environments. Each represents a different type of value, while underscoring the deep and enduring social contributions that can arise from well-researched and clearly written historical geography.