GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

Our car-dependent lifestyle has led to a dramatic rise in obesity-related illnesses. But we can do something about it.

What does urban planning have to do with our health?  Plenty.  More walkable cities not surprisingly have citizens that are healthier and more fit.   

See on www.theatlanticcities.com

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

Rick Reilly tells the story of a woman’s efforts to swim topless after a double mastectomy.

We have deeply ingrained social norms about what is and is not acceptable within public spaces.  Certain cases come along that show that these norms often treat the world as though it is black and white without varying shades of gray.  In this case, a woman who has had both of her breasts completely removed after breast cancer, discovered that convention swimsuits physically pained her and she wanted to swim topless in a public pool.  Controversy predictably ensued.  What do you think?  Big deal?  Non-issue?  Acceptable in public or not?  Why?

See on espn.go.com

See on Scoop.it – Cultural Geography

A citizen asks: How do different countries deal with underage drinking? Latitude News listens, then responds.

Age limits are more determined by culture than by data.  What other age-restricted activities are culturally based?  Why are they different in particular regions? 

See on www.latitudenews.com

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

Residents of hillside shanties above the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince protest against plans to clear their homes for a flood-protection project.

Even before the earthquake, Port-au-Prince was a city filled with slums.  The earthquake exacerbated so many of the urban, economic and environmental issues.  This eviction of the flood plains has class implications as the poor feel that they are being unfairly targeted in plans to improve the city. 

See on www.bbc.co.uk

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

Conservation experts say ancient terraces and a Roman-era irrigation system in Battir, the West Bank, are threatened by Israel’s plans to build a section of its security barrier.

A site that many consider a cultural landscape worth international efforts to preserve it, are might be threatened by proposals to expand Israel’s Barrier Wall.  Culture, politics, landscapes, borders…this topic is full of geographic themes worth having students investigate.  

See on www.nytimes.com

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

Brace yourselves, East Coasters….

Thinking spatially, it’s important to remember that not all places will be impacted equally.  Even among the coasts, not all spots would receive the same sea level rise when the ocean’s systems are quite dynamic. 

See on www.huffingtonpost.com

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

The author talks about her new book, Urban Farms, the difference between a farm and a garden, and how city farmers are moving beyond the trend factor.

Too often we teach about cities and urban systems one one side of a spectrum and agricultural and rural land use on the other.  Here is some fuel for the gristmill.     

See on grist.org

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

As immigration levels from Mexico have plunged, the number of new arrivals from Asia has increased.

Don’t listen to the election year rhetoric about immigration policies if you want to understand the shifting demographic profile of immigrants entering the United States.  For years now, immigration from Latin America has been at incredibly low levels mainly from 1) limited job market in the U.S. (weakening the pull factor), 2) increased deportation (weakening the pull factor) and 3) a sharp drop in Mexican birth rates (weakening the push factor).  What other push and pull factors are influences this change in the demographic profile of migrants?   Considering that Asian migrants are more highly educated that the rest of the American population (and Hispanics have less education than the general U.S. population), how will this change the labor market within the different sectors of the economy?

See on www.washingtonpost.com