Geographies of Development: An Introduction to Development Studies

Citation

Potter, R. B., Binns, T., Elliott, J. A., Nel, E., & Smith, D. W. (2018). Geographies of Development: An Introduction to Development Studies (4th ed.). Routledge.

Chapter Summary

The fourth edition has ten chapters in three parts, framed by an introduction before Part I and a conclusion after Part III, and runs to more than 600 pages. The parts move from concepts to practice to places: "Conceptualising development: changing meanings of development", "Development in practice: components of development", and "Spaces of development: places and development". The publisher calls the book a core, balanced and comprehensive introductory text for development studies and development geography that integrates theory and practice and shows that ideas about development have been "many and varied and highly contested".

Part I, Chapters 1–4: Questioning development; Understanding colonialism; Theories and strategies of development; Globalisation, development and underdevelopment

The conceptual part opens with the meaning of development and why it is contested, and then takes colonialism as a separate chapter, the shortest in the book at about thirty-six pages. The third and fourth chapters set out theories and strategies of development and the relationship of globalisation to development and underdevelopment. The chapters are mostly about fifty pages each, so this part is a substantial grounding in the vocabulary used later.

Part II, Chapters 5–7: People in the development process; Resources and the environment; Institutions of development

"Development in practice" examines the components of development. It treats people, the resource and environmental base, and the institutions through which development is pursued. The resources and environment chapter, at about sixty pages, is the longest of the three.

Part III, Chapters 8–10: Movements and flows; Urban spaces; Rural spaces

"Spaces of development" is where the geographical approach is most explicit. It looks at movements and flows, and then at urban and rural spaces. Urban spaces, at about sixty-eight pages, is the longest chapter in the book, and movements and flows follows at about sixty-four.

Key Concepts

Part I: Conceptualising development

• Contested meanings of development: the point that the term has meant different things at different times and places, which is why the opening chapter questions it.
• Colonialism: a subject given a chapter of its own, between the opening questions and the theories.
• Theories and strategies of development: the main bodies of thought about how development occurs and how it should be pursued.
• Underdevelopment and globalisation: the relationship between a globalising world economy and unequal development.

Part II: Development in practice

• People in the development process: the human dimension of development, including how people are affected by and take part in it.
• Resources and the environment: the natural base on which development depends and the pressures placed on it.
• Institutions of development: the organisations and arrangements through which development is pursued.

Part III: Spaces of development

• Movements and flows: the movement of people, goods and capital between places.
• Urban and rural spaces: the settings in which development is lived and contested.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• Theory tied to practice and place. The publisher says the book integrates theory alongside practice. William Moseley (Macalester College), quoted on the publisher's page, singles out the mix of theory and practice, the illustrative case studies, the prompts for critical reflection and the maps and conceptual diagrams.
• An organising geographical logic. Moving from concepts to components to spaces gives the book a clear structure and makes the geographical approach visible in the contents itself.
• Plenty of teaching support. The publisher lists chapter outlines, case studies, key thinkers, critical reflections, key points and summaries, discussion topics and further reading, with over 200 maps, charts, tables, text boxes and pictures.
• Written for newcomers and updated. The publisher says the book is clearly written and accessible for students with no prior knowledge of development. David Simon (Royal Holloway) wrote that the fourth edition takes account of shifts in thinking and keeps the book relevant.

Limitations

• Length. Chapters of around fifty to seventy pages, and a book of more than 600 pages, are more than a single module can use. Instructors will need to choose chapters, especially in Parts II and III.
• Breadth rather than a single argument. The publisher stresses a balanced, comprehensive survey of competing ideas, so readers who want one sustained argument about development, such as Amartya Sen's, will find it in other books.
• Fixed at publication. This is a 2018 text, so more recent events, data and policy debates are outside it; readers should supplement the case studies with current sources.

Where It Fits in the Course

Within this course list, Potter and colleagues are the main geography-led textbook for a development geography or development studies course. Katie Willis's Theories and Practices of Development is a concise textbook on the main theoretical traditions and how they shaped policy; it goes with Part I and is a lighter alternative if a course focuses on theory. Eric Sheppard and colleagues' A World of Difference is a substantial geographical text that treats development as a contested idea and asks how people encounter and reshape it, and it suits a more advanced second course.

Amartya Sen's Development as Freedom is an argument for judging development by the real freedoms people enjoy and offers a counterpoint to the survey approach of this book. Jeffrey Sachs's The Age of Sustainable Development is a broad, illustrated introduction by an economist that combines economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability. The Companion to Development Studies is a large edited reference of short chapters, useful for looking up a concept or debate.

How to Use This Book

The publisher presents the book for students of development studies, development geography and related fields, and for anyone in area studies or international studies, and says that no prior knowledge of development is needed.

• Core: Part I in order. Chapter 1 sets up the debate, Chapter 2 supplies the colonial background, and Chapters 3 and 4 give the theories that the rest of the book draws on.
• Choose from Parts II and III by theme: Chapter 6 for environment and resources, Chapter 7 for institutions, Chapter 8 for movements and flows, and Chapters 9 and 10 for urban and rural development.
• Use the features: read the critical reflections and discussion topics alongside the case studies, and compare how the same place or policy looks under two of the theories from Chapter 3.
• Follow up: the further-reading lists at the end of each chapter lead to the specialist sources.