About William Garrison
Lived 1924 – 2015 (aged 90). William Garrison was an American civil engineer, engineer, geographer, analyst, university teacher and transportation engineer, known for Quantitative revolution.
William Louis Garrison (April 20, 1924 – February 1, 2015) was an American geographer, transportation analyst and professor at the University of California, Berkeley. While at the Department of Geography, University of Washington in the 1950s, Garrison led the "quantitative revolution" in geography, which applied computers and statistics to the study of spatial problems. As such, he was one of the founders of regional science. Many of his students (dubbed the "space cadets") went on to become noted professors themselves, including: Brian Berry, Ronald Boyce, Duane Marble, Richard Morrill, John Nystuen, William Bunge, Michael Dacey, Arthur Getis, and Waldo Tobler. His transportation work focused on innovation, the deployment of modes and logistic curves, alternative vehicles and the future of the car.
Education Garrison attended the University of Washington and received his PhD from Northwestern University in 1950.
Books by Garrison Studies of Highway Development and Geographic Change (with Brian Berry, Duane Marble, John Nystuen, and Richard Morrill) Greenwood Press, New York. (1959) Tomorrow's Transportation: Changing Cities, Economies, and Lives (with Jerry Ward) , 2000 The Transportation Experience: Policy, Planning, and Deployment (with David M. Levinson) , 2005 The Transportation Experience: Policy, Planning, and Deployment (with David M. Levinson) (Revised, re-organized, and expanded version of 2005 volume). Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. , 2014
Important papers Berry, B.. and Garrison, W. L. 1958: "The functional bases of the central place hierarchy". Economic Geography 34, 145 – 54.
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Important facts
People in William Garrison's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped William Garrison's
Frequently asked questions
Who was William Garrison?
American geographer & academic
When was William Garrison born?
William Garrison was born on 20 April 1924 in Tennessee.
When did William Garrison die?
William Garrison died on 1 February 2015 in Lafayette.
What was William Garrison's occupation?
William Garrison was a civil engineer, engineer, geographer, analyst, university teacher and transportation engineer.
What was William Garrison known for?
William Garrison was known for Quantitative revolution.
What nationality was William Garrison?
William Garrison was American.
Sources & further reading
· DBpedia: William Garrison (geographer)
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). William Garrison. https://biography.guide/william-garrison/
MLA: "William Garrison." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/william-garrison/.
Chicago: "William Garrison." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/william-garrison/.
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