The Importance of Geography is related to the need to know the geographic space. This can be understood as the space produced by man and which is constantly changing over time. We can say, then, that the geographic space has a historical character and, therefore, it is capable of telling the history and characteristics of human action on the environment in which it lives. Furthermore, the entire surface dynamics of the Earth are also a field of study in Geography.
In the second half of the 20th century, the expression geographic illiteracy, given the general ignorance of the population of that country regarding the knowledge proposed by Geography. Many investors made mistakes because they didn't know the language, customs and culture of a particular place. Scholars in various areas suffered from not knowing the spatial dimension of their studies, as did many economists, political scientists and sociologists.
The importance of Geography, however, is not only in the knowledge about the names of countries, their capitals, population data, currency, religion etc., but also in explaining the dynamics of actions in space, which do not detach from the time. For example: the dynamics of the transformation of spaces in the city, the logic of agrarian production, the distribution of social movements, the Earth's surface geomorphological structure, among others.
The importance of maps for geography
Geography is not the science responsible for producing maps, as the field of knowledge that carries this objective is Cartography. However, for the geographer and for Geography students, knowledge about production is extremely necessary. and reading the maps, given that they are used to represent and explain the features placed in space.
In this sense, it is useful for the student to keep in mind questions regarding the elements cartographic and their utilities, such as scale and legend, types of maps and given attributions to each one.
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The objectives and uses of geography
Geography has as its main objective to understand the dynamics of space to assist in planning the actions of man on it. Understanding the landforms, climatic phenomena, social compositions, human habits in different places are essential for the maintenance of life in society.
This science was – and still is – widely used for military purposes, since it is extremely necessary to knowledge about a certain territory for its occupation or to gain advantages in a battle or war. Because of this, in 1977, geographer Yves Lacoste wrote a work entitled Geography serves - first of all - to make war, reaffirming the military and political utility of Geography, as well as its extremely ideological character of maintenance and consolidation of the capitalist system.
However, with the evolution of criticism, as highlighted by Ruy Moreira in his book Thinking and Being in Geography, this science also started to be used to unveil social masks, as it reveals how economic, political, ideological and social systems manifest themselves on people and on the space. Themes such as spatial segregation, the slum process, the evolution and spatialization of violence and marginality are studied and explained at their roots by Geography, which can help in social planning, as well as in criticism and popular actions that help to combat this and other problems sociospatial
Studying geographic space can be useful to unravel and understand socio-spatial problems
By Rodolfo Alves Pena
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PENA, Rodolfo F. Alves. "Importance of Geography"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/importancia-geografia.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
