Human geography has undergone a conceptual and methodological renaissance that has transformed the field into one of the most dynamic social sciences. Earlier traditions such as Marxist, feminist and phenomenological inquiry remain vibrant. In addition, human geographers have embraced a variety of newer philosophical approaches emanating from political economy and post-structuralism to engage new topics. Critical perspectives have been brought to bear on fields such as geographical information systems, and the long-standing schism between human and physical geography has been narrowed by the emergence of perspectives such as political ecology.

This Encyclopedia, on this relatively new strand of geography, considers all these new developments and helps to further establish this field.