| Abstract: | The director of the Institute of Geography (Moscow) reviews a session of the Academy of Sciences USSR devoted to problems of technical progress and finds that geography as a research discipline is not mentioned once by the speakers. The author recalls his past proposals designed to transform traditional geography into a discipline concerned with constructive geographical engineering, or a constructive geography. He finds that in the light of current priorities, geography must be made even more relevant to the present-day needs of society. He outlines five problem areas that should become the main concern of the discipline: (1) economic evaluation of resources, (2) study of natural hazards, (3) the fight against environmental pollution, (4) locational patterns of production that will reduce or eliminate the effects of pollution, and (5) conservation of the environment for recreational and research purposes. |
