Geographical System
🔹 What Is a Geographical System?
đź“Ś A geographical system is one in which space-related variables (like location, distance, density, area, etc.) are functionally important.
🧠In simple terms:
- If a system involves “where” things are—spatial aspects—it becomes a geographical system.
🧠What Are Spatial Variables?
These are the core of geography and include:
- Location (Where is it?)
- Distance (How far?)
- Extent (How large?)
- Sprawl (How scattered or expanded?)
- Density per unit area (e.g., people per sq km)
🧠So, when any system—whether economic, ecological, or social—is examined in terms of these variables, it transforms into a geographical system.
🧑‍🏫 Geographers & Systems Thinking – A Historical Shift
Over the last few decades, geographers have increasingly embraced systems thinking.
Here’s how some key thinkers used the systems approach in geographical studies:
| Scholar | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Chorley | Framed geomorphology (study of landforms) as an open system. |
| Leopold & Langbein | Applied entropy and steady state to fluvial systems (rivers). |
| Berry | Introduced idea of “cities as systems within systems”, using organisation and spatial information. |
| Wolderberg & Berry | Used systems to analyze central place theory and river networks. |
| Curry | Analyzed settlement locations using the systems framework. |
🧠The core shift: From static description → to dynamic understanding of interactions, feedbacks, and structures within space.
🧱 Static vs Adaptive vs Dynamic Systems in Geography
| Type | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Static Systems | Structure remains unchanged (e.g., mapping rivers at a fixed time). |
| Adaptive Systems | Adjust in response to environmental change (e.g., population migration based on resource availability). |
| Dynamic Systems | Change over time and across space. Require time + space modeling. |
🛑 Problem: Making a geographical system dynamic is difficult because it requires combining time (chronology) and space (cartography) in one model.
For instance:
- Time = Trends in population growth
- Space = Urban expansion on a map
- Combining both = Complex, but more realistic
🛠️ Controlled Systems in Geography
When planning and goal-setting is involved, we move into the realm of controlled systems.
🎯 A controlled system = A system where we define the objective and try to manipulate certain inputs.
Example:
- 🎯 Objective: Maximize agricultural yield
- âś… Controllable input: Fertilizers
- ❌ Uncontrollable input: Climate
🧠Controlled systems are especially useful in:
- Urban planning
- Agricultural optimization
- Transport development
- Disaster management
But they come with limitations—some inputs (like rainfall, public sentiment, etc.) cannot be controlled.
⚖️ Criticisms of System Analysis in Geography
While powerful, system theory is not without criticism:
❗ “It is too positivist.”
This means:
- It focuses only on measurable, observable, and objective variables.
- It ignores normative values like:
- Aesthetic appreciation of landscapes
- Cultural beliefs
- People’s attitudes, hopes, fears, and aspirations
- Emotional connection to space (e.g., sense of place, regional identity)
📢 Critics argue: Geography is not just science—it’s part philosophy, part art, part human experience.
🧠Final Thought
“Geographical systems help us model the world, but they don’t always capture what it feels like to live in it.”
This balance between objectivity and subjectivity, science and sensitivity, is what makes geography both challenging and beautiful.