Geography in America at the Dawn of the 21st Century

This comprehensive survey captures American geography at a pivotal moment, offering a systematic examination of how the discipline evolved across 47 distinct specialties as the new millennium began. The collaborative nature of this project—with each chapter authored by experts selected through the American Association of Geographers—ensures authoritative coverage of everything from urban development and environmental systems to cultural landscapes and geospatial technologies. Rather than presenting a unified narrative, the book functions as both a state-of-the-discipline assessment and an essential reference work that documents the field's intellectual diversity.

What makes this collection particularly valuable is its snapshot quality, freezing a rapidly transforming discipline just before digital mapping and GPS would revolutionize geographic practice. Students and researchers will appreciate how it captures the methodological shifts and emerging subfields that defined turn-of-the-century American geography, while general readers interested in spatial analysis will find accessible entry points into specialized topics. The result is an important historical document that continues to provide context for understanding how contemporary geographic approaches developed from their late-20th century foundations.