Trust - in Geography

Trust is central to the social world and to the knowledge claims we make as academics. Yet trust has not been a central focus of research in human geography. The paper examines the widespread divergent attention given to trust in disciplines other than geography and considers the limited research on trust in geography. Trust, the paper claims, is geographical in several senses. Distinction is made between the spatial dimensions of trust in the work of non-geographers; research on trust within geography; and trust in the performance of geography as a discipline and in geography’s institutions. The paper argues that trust and trustworthiness are important but under-examined elements in all we do as geographers.