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The future as an emergent problematic in geographical scholarship

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  • Dragos Simandan

Abstract

In this paper, I argue that what makes geography stand out among other academic disciplines is not its collection of methods, but instead the collection of key geographical concepts that are encountered with high frequency in its corpus of published scholarship. I illustrate how this way of thinking works in practice by taking as a case study the emergent field of the geographies of the future and suggesting that it is the very same set of key geographical concepts that makes this field stand out from the more amorphous realm of “futures studies.†I begin my analysis by providing a brief literature review of the seven main research clusters within the field of the geographies of the future: (1) risk, uncertainty, contingency, and surprise; (2) neoliberal governmentality and its management of the future; (3) prefigurative politics and visions of a postcapitalist future; (4) technological progress as a key dimension to foreseeing the future; (5) the future in light of social difference; (6) culture and the historicizing of the future; and (7) economic geographies of the future. Then, in the final part of the paper, I offer some suggestions on how the careful and creative deployment of these key geographical concepts can deepen and enrich the way we think about the future and its geographies. Specifically, I organize these suggestions into three analytical clusters, focusing on (1) distance and proximity; (2) scale; and (3) borders and territory. I then provide some final thoughts about the key concepts versus key methods controversy, arguing in favor of the former.

Suggested Citation

  • Dragos Simandan, 2026. "The future as an emergent problematic in geographical scholarship," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 58(2), pages 159-173, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:58:y:2026:i:2:p:159-173
    DOI: 10.1177/0308518X251388768
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hendry, David F. & Clements, Michael P., 2003. "Economic forecasting: some lessons from recent research," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 301-329, March.
    2. Rosemary-Claire Collard & Jessica Dempsey & Juanita Sundberg, 2015. "A Manifesto for Abundant Futures," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 105(2), pages 322-330, March.
    3. Mei-Po Kwan & Tim Schwanen, 2018. "Context and Uncertainty in Geography and GIScience: Advances in Theory, Method, and Practice," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 108(6), pages 1473-1475, November.
    4. Martin Mahony, 2019. "Historical Geographies of the Future: Airships and the Making of Imperial Atmospheres," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 109(4), pages 1279-1299, July.
    5. Jason Henderson, 2020. "EVs Are Not the Answer: A Mobility Justice Critique of Electric Vehicle Transitions," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 110(6), pages 1993-2010, November.
    6. Emma Ormerod, 2023. "Level with us, regional development is still ‘man shaped’: feminism, futurity and leadership," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(9), pages 1893-1902, September.
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