Welfare Geography: Concept, Scope, and Importance

Vocabulary flashcards covering the concept, definitions, key theorists, core principles, economic scope, human needs, and significance of welfare geography.

Welfare Geography (Emergence)

An approach in geography that originated in the 1970s as a critique of the Quantitative Revolution, focusing specifically on human wellbeing and welfare.

Wel + faran

The English root words from which 'welfare' originates, meaning 'Condition of doing or being well.'

Welfare Geography (Mashan's Definition)

A concept through which the aspects of society that determine the prevalent inequality inside society can be studied.

Welfare Geography (Nath's Definition)

A branch of human geography defined by Indian-British geographer Nath that operates on a human-centered scale to identify inequalities within society.

D.M. Smith (1971)

The geographer who first introduced the welfare approach to geography in 1971 under the central principle of 'Who gets What, Where and How?'

'Who' (Welfare Principle)

The component of D.M. Smith's framework that represents the people of society.

'What' (Welfare Principle)

The component of D.M. Smith's framework that refers to opportunities and resources.

'Where' (Welfare Principle)

The component of D.M. Smith's framework that refers to the scenes or space that generate opportunities.

'How' (Welfare Principle)

The component of D.M. Smith's framework that refers to the processes that generate opportunities.

Human Geography: A Welfare Approach

A book written by D.M. Smith stating that the primary task of geography is to identify problem-ridden regions and resolve the issues associated with them.

Aims of Welfare Geography

To address issues of social injustice, discrimination based on gender, women, and colour, unequal access to health and education, and crime.

Pareto Optimality (Welfare Geography)

An economic concept highlighted by Smith and Pareto showing that if the income of $A$ increases, the income of $B$ decreases at that same rate, indicating resources must be distributed equally to avoid rising economic inequality.

Physical Needs (Cox)

The basic developmental requirements outlined by Cox comprising shelter/home and food.

Cultural Needs (Cox)

The developmental requirements identified by Cox comprising education and a better society.

Economic Needs (Cox)

The developmental requirements identified by Cox referring to having sufficient money for a better quality of life.

Shift in Geographical Question Words

The transition initiated by welfare geography changing traditional inquiry words from (what, where, why) to (who, what, where, how) to focus on remedies rather than just spatial descriptions.

Key Contributors to Welfare Geography

Prominent geographers who advanced research in the welfare approach, specifically D.M. Smith, Knox, and Cox.