Will the real people's geography please stand up? Community, public, and participatory geographies in conversation

Abstract

Though Geography began as a tool of empire and war, now some of us are using this master's tool to dismantle the master's house. But we are tweaking the tool in various ways to make it more liberatory. People's geography aims to take Geography to the streets, and the streets to the ivory tower. It works to popularize radical geography, and radicalize popular geography. Community geographies focus on collaborations between academics and public scholars to co-produce knowledge that serves social change. This term has grown in use recently in the US, where there is a new community geographies specialty group. The term public geography has perhaps been more often used in the UK, where the focus on “impact” by the REF has given it more weight. That sort of push from funding agencies is a growing trend internationally, though the terms used vary. Participatory research aims to foster civic engagement and look alongside research subjects, rather than looking at them. It is a strong influence on both community and public geographies, though the overlap is not exact. Other terms used are engaged research and reciprocal research. This work takes longer and is often undervalued as simply service, rather than research. Too often it has been done despite, rather than with support from, academic policies. That is beginning to change. Some terms and traditions have more resonance in some contexts than in others, but whatever the label used, it is important that we organize to honor and nurture this work.