Geography of social well-being
Topic: Human Geography: Nature, Scope and Approaches · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Human Geography: Nature and Scope"
Meaning
Geography of social well-being is a sub-field of social geography. Its sister discipline is welfare economics. It studies how the quality of life differs from place to place. That includes housing, health, education and access to basic services. It grew out of the humanistic school of the 1970s, also called the welfare school. That school turned geography towards people's real living conditions. "Geography of Social Well-being" later became a postgraduate paper.
Example
A geographer might map Dharavi, a large slum in Mumbai on India's west coast. The map would show how far its homes are from schools, clinics and clean water. Such maps help planners see which pockets are left behind.
Don't confuse with
- Behavioural geography: it studies how people see and feel about space. Geography of social well-being measures the actual gaps in their living conditions.
Related concepts
- Social geography
- Cultural geography
- Gender geography
- Historical geography
- Medical geography
- Geography of leisure