L’Espace géographique 1/01

Without summaries


Towards a typology of spatial representations (2 tabl., 1 fig.)

Difficulties appropriating geographic information technologies often stem from differences between the users’ cognitive representation of space and the spatial models offered by the technology. The typology of spatial representations proposed in this paper — supported by numerous examples — aims to establish a frame of reference for validating this general hypothesis. The typology is based on a categorisation of determinants in the cognitive process of representing geographical space.

keyword: GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM, GEOMATICS, SPATIAL REPRESENTATION, TERRITORY


Jean-Luc BONNEFOY, François BOUSQUET, Juliette ROUCHIER. Using multi-agent systems to model interaction between individuals, space and society: pasture in a virtual forest (3 tabl., 10 fig.)

Multi-agent systems can be used to construct models in which the actions of virtual individuals are spatialised and autonomous. It is possible to model the interaction between the dynamic representations that the individuals or the group have of the space in question and the constraints that the community imposes on them. In this example, we have simulated the use of a forest by a community of shepherds, each of whom tends a flock. The results show strong retroaction between the construction of the individual or collective representations that underpin choices of actions, the impact that these representations have on the way the space is structured, and the subsequent transformation of the representations. We conclude that this simulation technique is particularly well suited to testing geographical hypotheses.

keyword: FOREST, GEOGRAPHICAL SPACE, MODELLING, MULTI-AGENT SYSTEM, SOCIAL REPRESENTATIONS, SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT


Jean DEBRIE, Benjamin STECK. Theoretical re-evaluation of the concept of “landlocked” and the example of West Africa. Enclavamiento, reevaluación teorica y aplicación al espacio de Africa del Oeste (1 fig.)

“Landlocked” is a key spatial category. However, the term is so overused that its validity is in doubt. There is therefore a need to redefine it clearly. This theoretical work is a preliminary to the study of so-called landlocked countries, generally defined by their remoteness from dynamic networks. This investigation finds fertile ground in West Africa. “Landlocked”, cited as the reason for numerous development problems, is not a spatial attribute that identifies the territories in question in terms of inland location only. It is a relative concept based on discontinuities caused mainly by historical mechanisms that have led to territorial inversions. Landlocked is a condition generated by the strategies of private and public players — strategies that are reversible.

keyword: BORDER, CLOSED, CORRUPTION, DISCONTINUITY, LANDLOCKED, OPEN, RELATIVITY, STATE


Roger BRUNET. Attractive and repellent sites in Kazakhstan (1 tabl., 6 fig.)

Since becoming independent, Kazakhstan has changed the names of towns, simplified the administrative divisions it inherited and chosen a new capital, Astana. Precise information is now available on strategic sites — particularly Stepnogorsk and the environs of Semei — on uranium mines and on the most serious ecological problems. The country is counting on the support of foreign firms to clean up and revitalise its mineral and tourist wealth. However, the State has firmly regained control of the main economic sectors since 1996 and privatisation is still only partial.

keyword: ATTRACTIVE SITES, KAZAKHSTAN, MILITARO-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX, NUCLEAR, POLLUTION, SECRET CITY, TOPONYMY, URANIUM


Sophie BAUDET-MICHEL. A century of the spatial diffusion of producer services in the urban systems of France, Great Britain and West Germany (2 tabl.,8 fig.)

West Germany, Great Britain and France have very different urban systems: from a networked system in West Germany to a primate system in France. The change in the spatial distribution of producer services is observed to explore the influence of the type of urban system on the spatial diffusion of innovations. Three main phases are identified, highlighting different behaviours related to the type of urban hierarchy: the diffusion process is rapid during the appearance phase of an innovation in West Germany and slows during the expansion phase. The opposite occurs in a centralised system, such as that in France.

keyword: CENTRALISATION, DIFFUSION, NETWORK URBAN TYPE, PRIMACY, PRODUCER SERVICES, URBAN SYSTEM


Daily mobility and changes in urban organisation: reference space and analysis of process of change (1 tabl., 2 fig.)

This paper deals with the links between daily mobility and intra-urban change. Since clarifying processes of change first requires the description of a stable state, the paper starts by defining an urban geographic reference space. Regarding the processes of change, several differentiations are established, namely urbanisation versus disurbanisation and functional urbanisation versus morphological urbanisation. The issue of urban mobility is also addressed, leading to some reflections on peri-urban transition, i.e. the process of urban change induced by mobility through cars.

keyword: CITY, DISURBANISATION, MOBILITY, PERI-URBANISATION


Gated communities in the cities of the United States: geographical aspects of an urban secession (6 fig., dont 4 photos)

Gated communities raise new issues for American cities. In these walled residential neighbourhoods with security and controlled access, public space has been privatised. The result is the division of the city into homogeneous, self-sufficient communities, pushing for political or tax independence. These closed, segregated territories are studied through the discontinuity of urban forms, their degree of differentiation with the neighbouring areas, and the political and legal issues they raise. This paper assesses the integration into the city of these communities and their new urban lifestyle.

keyword: COMMUNITY, INTRA-URBAN, URBAN PLANNING, SEGREGATION, USA


Book reviews


In this issue of l’Espace géographique, you will find critical reviews of the following books

BARON-YELLES Nacima (2000). Recréer la nature: écologie, paysage et société au marais d’Orx. Paris: Éditions Rue d’Ulm.

BONNAMOUR Jacqueline (2000). Du Bonheur d’être géographe. Paris: ENS Éditions Fontenay/Saint-Cloud, coll. «Sociétés, Espaces, Temps», 86 p.

CHIFFELLE Frédéric (2000). L’Arc jurassien romand à la frontière des langues. Faut-il craindre la germanisation ? Lausanne: Payot, 133 p., coll. «Hic & Nunc», tabl. et fig.

FOUCRIER Annick (2000). Meriwether Lewis et William Clark. Paris: Michel Houdiard, 104 p.

MALAVIELLE Anne-Marie, PASCO Xavier, SOURBÈS-VERGER Isabelle (1999). Espace et puissance. Paris: Ellipses, Fondation pour la recherche stratégique, 204 p.


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Last modified: March 16, 2001