Distance, as measured in an absolute sense, is indeed less important, but place,space,locality and the relative distance between these things are not. 'Global' processes are actually stretched ' local to local' processes, and they unfold in localities that have a unique history and character. In the economic sphere,tncs choose to locate in particular places due to a complex mixture of local characteristics in the destination area and factors specific to the firm influenced by the nature of their source location. In culture, hybridity becomes the new normality as ' global' trends mix with local ones to create new cultures, for example, new yoricsn salas or Polynesian rock. Geography is indeed transforming, both as a concrete reality and as a discipline that seeks to analyses those changes, but it is not irrelevant. This new, highly volatile unevenness makes geography-'the study of spatial differentiation' - more important than ever as the world fragments and recrystallizes along new political, economic, social and cultural lines.