Oikumene

Articles

• Oikumene
  29 September 2005, by J.-L. T.

  Oikos : residence, Oiken : to inhabit / inhabited, (implied gê) oikoumené : inhabited land
  Notion relative to the "meaning and object of human geography", quoting the title of the article of Paul Vidal de la Blache which opens the "Principes de géographie humaine". The object is the Earth, as the residence of the human species, while the meaning questions the interdependence relation between mankind and its habitat. The "oikumenal" perspective is unevenly explicit in human geography works. (...)

• Protected area
  6 February 2016, by L. L.

  In French the phrase used in "Espace naturel protégé", or protected natural space, the addition of the epithet "natural" being intended not so much to distinguish its content, which is debatable, as to differentiate this type of protected space from others, for instance in urban areas (e.g. AVAP, Aire de Valorisation de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine formerly ZPPAUP, Zones de Protection du Patrimoine Architectural, Urbain et Paysager), or historical monuments. These areas are (...)

• Pioneer front
  27 July 2009, by M.L-D

  The pioneer or settlement front can be defined as a spatial feature reflecting a process of appropriation of new territories, where such territories are viewed as a virgin environment void of any trace of modern "civilisation". The main form of action, which is also symbolic, but not unequivocal, is clearance of grassland or forest by burning. This clearance is conducted simultaneously with the opening up of tracks, and the construction of permanent points of settlement. The negation of the (...)