Peter Batey (p)

The History of Spatial Thinking in Regional Science

Regional science is widely acknowledged to have its origins in the late 1940s and 1950s. In 1948, Walter Isard began a process of generating interest in an inter-disciplinary field centered on the analytical understanding of regions. He became a tireless advocate for ‘regional science’ first among economists, and later sociologists, geographers, planners and political scientists. In 1954 he founded the Regional Science Association and over the next fifteen years he devoted his energy to founding and promoting sections of the Association throughout much of the world.
In this paper I draw on archives and Isard's own account (Isard (2003) to examine the early development of spatial thinking in regional science. I examine the objectives of regional science as set out at the time and the scope of interest among those participating in this new venture. I describe Vining's early attempt to provide a conceptual framework for regional science.
I then turn to explore what went before these developments in the 1950s, drawing on four 'landmarks' in the pre-history of regional science and spatial thinking: The Regional Plan of New York and its Environs (1929); City Planning: Otto Neurath’s 1937 Map;
Industrial Location and National Resources: NRPB (1943); and
The Location of Economic Activity – Edgar Hoover (1948). I conclude that there was a considerable amount of activity that we would recognize today as regional science, drawing on a range of social science disciplines.
Reference: Isard (2003) History of Regional Science and the Regional Science Association International, Berlin: Springer.

Peter Batey (p)

The field of regional science owes its existence largely to the efforts of one man: American economist Walter Isard. Isard was deeply dissatisfied with the fact that his fellow economists failed to handle space in their deliberations and felt that, to remedy this, the rigorous analysis of cities and regions would benefit greatly from an inter-disciplinary approach. From the late 1940s he became a tireless advocate for ‘regional science’ (as he called it) among economists, geographers, planners, sociologists, mathematicians and economic historians. This led in due course to the founding of the Regional Science Association in 1954.

After 1960 , Isard turned his attention to extending the Association beyond North America. He successfully promoted sections and congresses that for the first time created an academic community for regional science research activity. Thanks to Isard’s boundless energy and outstanding organizational ability, sections were planted in Europe, Japan and elsewhere.

Interestingly, the founding of a ‘British Isles Section’ proved to be one of Isard’s biggest challenges. Only at the third attempt did he eventually succeed. During this year’s conference, I will describe the fascinating process that led to the creation of a British Section in the late 1960s and the particular difficulties that were encountered. I will draw upon archive material to show how the Section developed its conferences, its publications and its subsequent role as the British and Irish Section, thereby fulfilling Isard’s original aim. And, with an eye on the Cork Congress, I will outline the Section’s major involvement in hosting European Congresses.