Hall's concept of proxemics considers human uses of space within the context of culture. Implications relate to cross-cultural communication processes and to the design of built environments.

Semple is recognized as a pioneer in the study of human-environment interaction. Her research also foreshadowed contemporary concerns with cultural and political ecology in the social sciences.

Edge City and The Nine Nations of North America reflect observations by a journalist about the social and political forces transforming the geography of contemporary North America. Garreau's analysis has intrigued both academic and nonacademic audiences, especially his concepts of regionalization and ideas about the urban-regional transformation of landscapes at local and continental scales.

Clay's redefinition of spatial thinking in an urban environment made use of "Wordplay"  to capture the dynamic interrelationships of things and places, as acharacteristic of American cities in the mid-twentieth century.

Claudius Ptolemy helped bring geography to the forefront of scientific thought, his contributions influenced a broad range of disciplines to the importance of accuracy in locational measures and to the need for an equal-area perspective in evaluating spatial relationships among diverse phenomena and in making geographical comparisons.

With the publication of Über den Standort der Industrie (Theory of the Location of Industries) in 1909, Alfred Weber  developed  a general theory of industrial location. His model took into account spatial factors for finding the optimal location and minimal cost for manufacturing plants.

Georg Simmel developed many important insights on the social construction of space, linked to developments in urban ecology and communciation studies. These include concepts of personal space, social distance, and social boundaries.

The social disorganization theory, developed by Shaw and McKay based on their studies of Chicago, has pointed to social causes of delinquency that seem to be located in specific geographical areas. Although the theory contributed to the understanding of delinquency, critics note that it does not explain why delinquency is concentrated in certain areas of a city.

In the 1920s, Park and Burgess developed a distinctive program of urban research at the University of Chicago. In  projects focused on Chicago, they elaborated a theory of urban ecology that drew parallels with processes found in natural ecosystems, leading ultimately to  the division of the urban space into distinctive ecological niches or "natural areas" in which people shared similar social characteristics.

This brochure describes the SPACE program (2003-2009) and its National Education Workshops to provide undergraduate social science instructors with basic skills in GIS and spatial analysis, exposing them to the latest techniques, software, and learning resources.