GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

Source: www.originalgreen.org

What is a reasonable distance to walk around town?  Research shows that cities with improved sidewalks, less parking lots, attractive storefronts and other amenities that encourage walking.  If  walking the urban environment is and of itself an experience worth having and makes the person feel like a flâneur, experiencing the city on a deeper level, automotive transport goes down and walking goes up.  Urban infrastructure is more important for most people than distance in deciding whether to get in the car or walk down the street (for distances under 2 miles).   Bottom line: neighborhoods that have an appealing sense of place are more walkable.

Tags: urban, place, transportation, planning, urbanism, architecture.

“Art meets science in a new geographical profiling study from Queen Mary University of London, which probably just revealed the identity of the art world’s most and least iconic figure.”

Source: i-d.vice.com

I’m deeply ambivalent about this.  The spatial analyst in me loves see that mapping patterns can uncover truths but the cultural geographer in me feels sad that anonymity has been removed since that led to a greater mystique to his subverse, place-based art installations.  You can read the article to find out who he is, but I prefer the Banksy of my mind’s eye. 

Tags: place, spatial, images, art, landscape, socioeconomic, class. 

The Independent’s concerns over Hindu nationalism led to a change in policy.

The city has been officially known as Mumbai since 1995 when it was renamed by the far-right regional party Shiv Sena, an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which currently holds national office in India. Shiv Sena advocates the use of the Marathi language, which is dominant in the state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital. Marathi speakers have long referred to the city as Mumbai, after the Hindu goddess Mumbadevi, the city’s patron deity.

Shiv Sena had argued that the previous name, Bombay, was an unwanted relic of British colonial rule in India. That name is believed to be an Anglicized version of the city’s name from when it was occupied by the Portuguese — “Bom Bahia,” which means “good bay.” Both Bombay and Mumbai are now used interchangeably by locals during casual conversation.

Tags: culture, India, South Asia, colonialism, place, regions, language, toponyms.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Some experts argue overemphasis on reading and math tests is to blame for narrowing of content curriculum, reducing motivation to learn and breadth of knowledge.

Source: www.deseretnews.com

Do you speak African? Well, neither do the 1 billion people on the continent.Africa is home to 54 different nations, more than 2,000 languages and four of the world’s 10 fastest growing economies, but is often painted with a sweeping stroke of doom and gloom. In this week’s Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan exposes popular misconceptions about the African continent.

Source: www.youtube.com

This short video is full of with examples and statistics that show that many of the ‘doom and gloom’ perspectives and ways of thinking about Africa are outdated (at best).  Here are some good facts to update how we talk about Africa. 

Tags: Africa, perspective.

“The 2 Aussie legends that prevented a fast food shop robbery get interviewed!”

Source: www.youtube.com

A celebration of who we are, where we are and how we operate. It belongs to the 30+ communities who make Omaha—Greater Omaha.

Source: wedontcoast.com

This website is a great example a city selling it’s regional distinctiveness to create a sense of civic pride, promote tourism, and attract more businesses.  Often Omaha’s distance for the coasts is portrayed as a major weakness, but in a clever play on words, the weakness is acknowledged and reformed into a strength.   

Questions to Ponder: How would you promote your own city/region/state?  What would be highlighted on a similar page for your city?  What slogan would you use?

Tags: place, tourism, urban, culture, economic. 

A geography textbook that prompted a complaint from the Ukrainian embassy for showing Crimea as part of Russia is changed.

Source: www.bbc.com

How we describe and categorize geopolitical shifts matter, and can ocassionally ruffle some feathers.  More important than the ruffled feathers is the fact that how we present the issues helps to shape students’ perspectives.  In a somewhat related article, the Russian annexation of Crimea has magnified internal divisions in Kazakhstan.  

Tags: Ukraine, Russia, geopolitics, political, Kazakhstan.

“The Whitney Plantation near Wallace, Louisiana, is the first and only U.S. museum and memorial to slavery. While other museums may include slavery in their exhibits, the Whitney Plantation is the first of its kind to focus primarily on the institution. John Cummings, a 78-year-old white southerner, has spent 16 years and more than $8 million of his own fortune to build the project, which opened in December of last year.

Cummings, a successful trial attorney, developed the museum with the help of his full-time director of research, Ibrahima Seck. The duo hope to educate people on the realities of slavery in its time and its impact in the United States today. ‘The history of this country is rooted in slavery,’ says Seck. ‘If you don’t understand the source of the problem, how can you solve it?'”

Tags: race, conflict, racism, historical, the South, landscape.

Source: www.youtube.com

Additionally, here is a list of 13 honest books about slavery that young people should actually read.