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Space-Time Integration in Geography and GIScience pp 7–19Cite as

Perspectives on Space and Time in US and Chinese Science

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Abstract

The pursuit of scientific knowledge has evolved along different paths in Chinese and Western civilizations. Bridging the human and natural sciences, geography is about the dynamic interaction between humanity and its environment. Space and time are naturally the prime concern in the field of geography. In the US, the debate between nomothetic and idiographic perspectives has been to some degree addressed through the advent of geographic information systems. Impacted by a unique culture, traditional Chinese science is primarily descriptive, with rather restricted dissemination. But China is quickly catching up with the Western world’s approach to modern science. Empowered by the increasingly rapid development of information technology, geography is entering into a Big Data age in which detailed spatial data can be collected by volunteers and the general public in a timely manner. Despite barriers to data sharing and other difficulties within the Chinese science community, the gap between the US and Chinese science is expected to decrease in the future. In the meantime, we anticipate that many new discoveries in geographic knowledge will be made through international collaboration under the framework of a more complete coupling of space and time.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106-4060, USA

    Michael F. Goodchild

  2. Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Peng Gong

  3. Center for Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Peng Gong

Authors
  1. Michael F. Goodchild
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  2. Peng Gong
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael F. Goodchild .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Geographic Information Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA

    Mei-Po Kwan

  2. Association of American Geographers, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Douglas Richardson

  3. Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China

    Donggen Wang

  4. Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Chenghu Zhou

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Goodchild, M.F., Gong, P. (2015). Perspectives on Space and Time in US and Chinese Science. In: Kwan, MP., Richardson, D., Wang, D., Zhou, C. (eds) Space-Time Integration in Geography and GIScience. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9205-9_2

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