GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

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In ‘How to Make an Attractive City,’ a new video from the School of Life, London-based Swiss writer Alain de Botton offers a cheeky, thought-provoking, six-point manifesto on the need for making beauty a priority in urban architecture and design.”

Source: www.slate.com

Not everyone is a fan of Paris, but the author of this article feels that tourism can be seen as helpful proxy variable for what the general public perceives as good urbanism that makes for beautiful cities.  The six main points of this article are:

• Order and Variety
• Visible Life
• Compact
• Orientation and Mystery
• Scale
• Local

Tags: urban, planning, urbanism, culture, tourism.

“Based upon student reactions to their multiple choice exams, I can tell that the types of questions are NOT, ‘choose the correct definition for the vocabulary term.’ Instead, the types of questions are leading towards giving an example of a real world phenomenon and then requesting students to tell which term best applies. And though I have not seen an actual test, it sounds like the kids were saying that the questions require more reading than the answers (I would actually prefer that to the alternative).”

Source: magic.piktochart.com

This article (with the outstanding infographic above) from the Human Imprint is an excellent primer to get students ready for the APHG exam.    

Tags: APHG, infographic.  

“All over the continent, potential parents have shown reluctance to have more babies. Hence, governments and advocacy groups are becoming increasingly creative about getting their citizens to make babies.”

Tag: Europe, declining populations, population, demographic transition model.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Satellite photos show the speed, scale and ambition China has exerted to assert ownership over South China Sea islands, far from the mainland.

Source: www.nytimes.com

In addition to the original BBC article, here is another article from the Telegraph with some aerial imagery showing the extent of this geo-engineering project.  This has plenty of geopolitical implications and the United States government is on record saying that it is “concerned.”

Questions to Ponder:  Why is China building up this island?  What advantage would that give them?  Why aren’t other countries with competing claims stopping China?

Tags: borders, political, conflict, water, China, East Asia.

The Greater Mississippi Basin is the United States’ core and serves as the underpinning of its role as a global superpower. For more analysis, visit: http://...

Source: www.youtube.com

I wouldn’t use the word “core” to describe America’s breadbasket, simply because of the economic core/periphery connotations.  Other than that, this video highlights some aspects of U.S. regional geography that I cover ever semester.  1) The United States is bi-coastal on the two most important oceans for global trade.  2) Between those coasts is a large agricultural region overlayed on the most navigable river network.  These two basic facts go a long way in explaining the United States’ position in global affairs.

Tags: USA. regions.

We’ve dammed mighty rivers, built hundreds of artificial islands, and made the world’s fourth-largest lake disappear.

Source: www.vox.com

The proposed Nicaragua Canal could be one of the largest engineering projects in history and promises to bring thousands of jobs to the impoverished country. But the government’s secretive deal with a Chinese-led firm has some Nicaraguans raising the alarm about displacement and environmental destruction in the canal’s path.

Source: www.youtube.com

I’m fascinated by massive geo-engineering projects.  Usually, the proponents of the project will support it claiming that by reconfiguring the geographic settings it will lead to the economic growth of the country and strengthen their political situation.  This proposed canal in Nicaragua has many supporters and detractors.  Opponents cite that traditional land use patterns will get disrupted, the poor will be displaced, and the environment will be degraded. This canal is not so very different from many other geo-engineering projects in that respect.

Tags: transportation, Nicaragua, globalization, industry, economic, environment, political, resources, political ecology.

A punishing drought is forcing a reconsideration of whether the aspiration of untrammeled growth that has for so long been the state’s engine has run against the limits of nature.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Major urban areas in California have limited local water resources so they draw water from large area to bring in sufficient water for these burgeoning metropolitan regions.  With this current drought getting worse, California has ordered emergency water restrictions on residents while companies and large farms have been granted exemptions even though they account for 82% of the state’s annual water consumption (residential accounts for 12%). Almond farms alone consume 10% of the state’s water, or as much as entire city of Los Angeles.

Questions to Ponder: How does the concept of carrying capacity relate to California urban growth/drought issues?  California passed its carrying capacity?  How are demographics, economics, politics and the environment intertwined in California?  What are the environmental limits on urban growth and development? 

Tags: physical, weather and climate, consumption, California, water, environment, resources, environment depend, urban ecology.