Planetary boundaries as spatial constraints: rethinking regional development under ecological limits

Abstract Economic geography has increasingly engaged with environmental change, yet ecological limits are rarely treated as binding constraints on regional development. This article argues that planetary boundaries remain underexplored in economic geography and reframes them as spatially differentiated constraints that define region-specific ecological feasibility. This perspective shows how non-linear limits, uneven exposure, and burden shifting reshape development trajectories, challenge assumptions of convergence, and generate new forms of regional inequality and spatial conflict. It also outlines an agenda for research on feasibility and governance in the Anthropocene.