Australian Geographical Studies 

About: Australian Geographical Studies is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Population & Human geography. It has an ISSN identifier of 0004-9190. Over the lifetime, 734 publications have been published receiving 9992 citations.

Decentralisation and Environmental Management in Australia: a Comment on the Prescriptions of The Wentworth Group

Abstract: The prescriptions of The Wentworth Group of scientists for delivering improved environmental management and remediation are reviewed against the backdrop of international experience with decentralisation. The Group's preferred means of implementation — here referred to as decentralised regionalism — is examined and shown to be idealised and therefore naive to its complexities and potential pitfalls. Five problem areas are highlighted: 1. defining a 'region'; 2. power, conflict and community; 3. developing mechanisms for accountability; 4. subsidiarity, and 5. the tensions between democracy and technocracy.

Embodied geographies : spaces, bodies and rites of passage

Abstract: Embodied Geographies provides a comprehensive account of different types of life crises which develop our identities and affect how we live our lives. Chapters focus on: * pregnancy, childbirth, teenagers and parenthood * migration * the threat and reality of violence * illness and disability * bereavement, the ensuing family responsibilities and death itself. It includes case studies from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada and the USA.

Frontiers, Borders, Edges: Liminal Challenges to the Hegemony of Exclusion

Abstract: Spatial metaphors that presuppose exclusion and separation rather than interaction and co-existence dominated in representations of landscape on Australian frontiers prior to the 1990s legal, parliamentary and social recognition of native title. Metaphors of co-existence have emerged from the public debate about native title. This constitutes a major challenge to previously hegemonic ideas that indigenous Australians were marginal to the Australian national identity. This paper reviews the implications of metaphors used to represent frontiers, borders, boundaries, edges and complex relations within and between indigenous and non-indigenous territories in Australia. It argues that the liminal notion of co-existence unsettles many of the hidden legacies of colonial exploitation infecting Australian geographical imaginations to the detriment of reconciliation and sustainability. This opens avenues for geographers to address the burdens the discipline carries from its roles in creating geographies of exclusion.

Commodification and Creative Destruction in the Australian Rural Landscape: The Case of Bridgetown, Western Australia

Abstract: This paper examines the destructive tendencies associated with the commodification of rurality in some of Australia’s more scenic and accessible rural areas. While development based on the consumption of idealised rural landscapes and cultures can contribute to the accumulation of capital in rural areas, it can also result in the destruction of those aspects which consumers find attractive. These attributes include traditional farming landscapes, picturesque country towns, scenic rural environments, and perceptions of congenial and cohesive local communities. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the processes that lead to the degradation of these attributes. The discussion is set within the context of the ‘commodification of rurality’ and ‘creative destruction’ perspectives, and uses the case of Bridgetown in the south-west of Western Australia to illustrate how an almost unfettered pattern of development is leading to the gradual destruction of the countryside ideal.

Children’s Diminishing Play Space: a Study of Inter‐generational Change in Children’s Use of their Neighbourhoods

Abstract: A survey of 421 children and 165 parents from three suburban primary schools in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia has provided information on the nature and location of children’s play, both at present and a generation ago. Although modern children have greater access to individual transport in the form of higher bicycle ownership, other constraints appear to have restricted their play space. These include the availability of home-based leisure technology such as computer games and greater parental restriction on where children might play. The results of the survey would appear to indicate that children prefer to play at home. However, analysis of the children’s stories and drawings suggests that, given the chance, a majority of children would choose to engage in outdoor activities in the bush, in parks or on the beach. Their actual choice of play space may thus be determined by a knowledge of parental constraints.