Gustav Stenseke Arup, senior lecturer in jurisprudence at Karlstad Business School, has served as guest editor for the Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law. The special issue focuses on legal geography – a relatively unexplored area within law.
– This is a first step toward establishing Karlstad Business School as a center for legal geography, says Gustav Stenseke Arup.
Explain the field of legal geography
– In legal geography, cultural geography theories and methods are used to understand geographical phenomena. It can involve how legal rules shape or are shaped by different places and landscapes. For example, researchers explore how borders are constituted and how law is understood differently depending on location. It is also a useful perspective in land-use planning and biodiversity issues.
Why is legal geography important?
– Legal geography is important for understanding how law affects our surroundings and how it can be used to develop and manage landscapes. In a time of major environmental challenges, this perspective provides insights into how laws interact with the environment – from forest protection and species conservation to urban planning and residential areas.
Why is this area relatively unexplored?
– There are some geographers who have taken an interest in law, but far fewer legal scholars have engaged with geography. One reason may be that legal scholarship traditionally has close ties to legal practice, and much of the research has therefore focused more on legal analysis than on understanding, for example, the spatial dimensions of law.
What does it mean for Karlstad Business School and the field of law that you were guest editor for this special issue of the Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law?
– During the work on the special issue, I have established contacts with legal geographers in Sweden and abroad. My hope is that this special issue will be the first step toward establishing Karlstad Business School at Karlstad University as a center for legal geography in Sweden.
