Following so closely on the death of Andy Isserman, losing Walter Isard makes this a really sad week for regional science.
“The region has its own ‘essence’ which can be grasped in full only by tools, hypotheses, models and data processing techniques specifically designed for regional analysis.”
The National American Regional Science Council has a beautifully written obituary by David Boyce:
In Memoriam – Walter Isard – 1919-2010
Just this morning I googled Walter Isard to refresh my swareness of his work. What a shock to find he just passed. I attended the 50th European Regional Science Association meeting this summer and they sent an followup message including this link http://www.ersa.org/IMG/pdf/50YearsPeterBATEY2010.pdf
but there was no announcement of his loss.
Walter was that rare scientist deeply grounded in rigorous mathematical theory but who also tested those theories in the real world. It was this way of thinking that attracted so many of us to the field of regional science. We are all in debt to his vision. May he rest in peace.