Introduction: Networks

Networks represent connections between people, things, ideas, and events in physical, digital, or hybrid spaces. The topic has long piqued geographers’ curiosity in regard to enduring fundamental questions in our field: How and why do we perceive and represent geographic phenomena as networks? Do networked spaces challenge established geographic thoughts? What kinds of new knowledge inform or transform how we view geographic phenomena as networks? Might this network thinking collectively foster new policies or approaches to social and spatial problems? The collection of twenty-three articles included in this special issue addresses these questions by showcasing theoretical, epistemological, ontological, and methodological innovation in contemporary geography scholarship on networks. Insights gained from the discussion advance our discipline forward and meet societal needs.