GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

Although a front lawn is not ecologically the best use of urban space, there are strong cultural pressure to conform to that aesthetic ideal.  When individuals choose to grow vegetables and fruit, they often face some push-back from the city or homeowners associations with a different vision on the appropriate use of space.  Some have estimated though, that if we were to convert 10 percent the country’s grass lawns to vegetable gardens that they could supply roughly a third of our fresh vegetables. 

Tags: agriculture, food, urban, unit 5 agriculture.

I’ve posted on this topic now, so regular readers will know that I love a good flashmob that changes our perception of public places.  This flashmob from Quebec makes me wonder, “if there were a bottle on the ground, would I pick it up and recycle it?”  I’d like to think that I would, but the numbers show that most people would just walk right on by.  For more of my favorite flashmobs in public places, see https://geographyeducation.org/whats-new/articles/place-and-flash-mobs/

Who is rooting for which team in the Super Bowl?  How does regional geography play a role in this distribution of the data captured in this map? 

This is a crowd-sourced map of NFL fans very different from this more stylized version. 

Immigration is a sensitive topic so I’ll tread lightly.  There appears to be some support for a campaign that would target would-be migrants specifically from Romania and Bulgaria that life in the U.K. isn’t as as grand as it may seem (ironic coming of the heels of the Olympics).  This obviously isn’t something that is universally supported by the British, but it does highlight the fact that more and more European countries are seeking ways to deter migrants from crossing their borders as economic struggles continue. 

Tags: migration, UK, immigration, Europe, unit 2 population. 

Modern consumers are increasingly seeking diverse options and don’t want to passively accept the most economically efficient method of food production.  City-dwellers sometimes feel disconnected from the land and their food and some are trying to culturally re-establish that connection in the 21st century.  So how can you engage in some urban agriculture using your food scraps?  This could be a way to make an agricultural unit more hands-on with a fun project

Tags: agriculture, food, urban, unit 5 agriculture, unit 7 cities. 

What is taught in biology classes varies considerably in the United States for a host of political and religious reasons that are particular to each state.  What influences the educational decisions being made in your state?

There are many types of housing development patterns throughout the world.  This article provides a summary of approximately 20 different housing patterns with a visual example demonstrate the impact on the urban footprint (Pictured above is an example of new urbanism in Boulder, CO).  Each neighborhood has distinct cultural amenities and attracts particular socioeconomic market segments. 

Questions to Ponder: What housing patterns are you drawn to?  How come?  What are the advantages for the residents to live in that type of community?  What are the impacts that the housing pattern has on the physical environment and the urban system?  What systems are most profitable for developers?  How does the layout of the neighborhood alter the sense of place?  

Tags: housing, urban, planning, density, urbanism, unit 7 cities.

The highway system (and the widespread usage of air conditioning) in the later half of the 20th century dramatically changed the population settlement patterns of the United States and reshaping our cities.

Tags: transportation, urban, planning, density, unit 7 cities.