WorldMinds: Geographical Perspectives on 100 Problems: Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Association of American Geographers 1904–2004

601 Pages·2004·13.89 MB·English

by  Ron Johnston (auth.)

WorldMinds: Geographical Perspectives on 100 Problems
WorldMinds:
Geographical Perspectives
on 100 Problems
Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of
the Association of American Geographers
1904-2004
Celebrating Geography - the Next 100 Years
Ediled by
DONALD G. JANELLE
BARNEY WARF
KATHY HANSEN
Editorial Assis/(UJts
BENJAMIN SPRAGUE
GAMAIEL ZAVALA
Springer-Science+8usiness Media, B.V.
A c.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 978-1-4020-16l3-4 ISBN 978-1-4020-2352-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4020-2352-1
Printed on acid-free paper
AII Rights Reserved
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2004
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2004
Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1s t edition 2004
No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or oth
erwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material
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exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
FOREWORD
Geography today is a vibrant amalgam of theories, methods, and data about
past, current, and emerging worlds. Geography and the geographers who
produce it dwell at the intersection of the natural sciences, the social sciences,
and the humanities, and various admixtures of their theories, methods, and data
constitute the 100 chapters included in WorldMinds. Arrayed under the rubrics
of politics and power, human wellbeing, cities, livelihood, ecosystems, human
environment interactions, hazards, natural systems, new methods, and human
perceptions, these 100 short essays reveal and exemplify the conceptual and
topical richness of contemporary North American geography.
As is evident in these rubrics and essays, geography today is a many
splendored enterprise ranging, as the editors note, "from feminist deconstruc
tion to fluvial geomorphology." Geographers have something strikingly
valuable to say about many, if not most of the problems that confront indi
viduals and groups in locales and regions ranging from the plots of smallholders
to the entire globe. The diverse chapters of WorldMinds well illustrate some
of the key geographical perspectives that contribute usefully to the broader
understanding of common problems.
• Geographers, more than those who profess or practice any other disci
pline, focus on places as phenomena of intrinsic interest or as the stages
on which events take place and processes unfold. The majority of the
chapters in WorldMinds are rooted in places. The new recognition of place
based analysis in the natural and social sciences is a tribute by other
scientists to the enduring power of the geographical perspective.
• Geographers have always attended to the connections that tie places to
each other, and to the complex flows of commodities, people, and infor
mation that move over those connections. How events that occur or decisions
that are made at one place affect other places is another fundamental ingre
dient of geographical analysis. Many of the chapters in WorldMinds explore
such linkages, either as the focus of the contribution or as critical aspects
that foster explanation and understanding of an event or process at a place.
• Human-environment interactions have been central to geographical thinking
for centuries, finding early modern expression in George Perkins Marsh's
1864 volume entitled Man and Nature: Or, Physical Geography as Modified
by Human Action, revised and republished in 1874 as The Earth as Modified
by Human Action. More vital than ever in an era of widespread concern
about global climate change and its consequences for peoples and the places
v
VI FOREWORD
they occupy, the human ecology tradition finds rich expression in many
of the contributions to WorldMinds, especially in sections VI and VII. The
value of the "integrated analysis" and "coupled systems" perspectives in
global change research comes as no revelation to geographers.
• Scale is an abiding component of geographic description and analysis, and
few of these essays miss an opportunity to illustrate the profound ways
processes vary with geographic scale and the reciprocal ways scale of
analysis affects conclusions about geographic processes of all kinds.
• Maps, of course, are as critical to geography as the skeleton is to anatomy.
It's difficult even to conceive of the arrangements of places on the earth's
surface and the connections among them at various scales without maps.
Mapping has been at the forefront of geographic description and analysis
since the origins of the discipline in Ionia 2,400 years ago. At times mapping
has defined the discipline and has indeed often been the definition of
"geography" in the popular imagination. Contemporary mapping is powerful
and flexible beyond the wildest imaginings of Claudius Ptolemy or Gerard
Mercator. It is no less useful than mapping was at the dawn of Western
science and during the age of Western discovery, however. Section IX on
Mobilizing Geographic Technologies gives appropriate emphasis to this
essential geographic method.
The publication of WorldMinds is particularly propitious at this time of
pressing needs for understanding our world and addressing the challenges posed
by issues such globalization, regional and ethnic conflict, environmental
hazards, terrorism, poverty, and sustainable development. As the AAG
celebrates its centennial - reflecting on its past and examining its future - it
is most appropriate that we consider how geography as a discipline can and
will contribute to the needs of society and the world at large.
Geographers are nothing if not eclectic, and we can think of no better way
for an organization of geographers to mark its centennial than by rejoicing
in the diversity that has animated WorldMinds and that is evident in every
section of the book. We are pleased to have played small parts in advancing
geography through our membership in the Association of American
Geographers and our service to the organization as recent and current exec
utive directors. We commend the editors and authors of WorldMinds for
conceiving and producing this most suitable celebration of the discipline's value
in today's world, and are pleased on behalf of the Association to make it
available to a wide audience as a memento of the AAG's centennial year.
Ronald F. Abler, Executive Director Emeritus, AAG
Douglas B. Richardson, Executive Director, AAG
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
WorldMinds is a gift from geographers to the broader community in com
memoration of the IOOth anniversary of the Association of American
Geographers. This IOO-chapter volume has involved geographers from
academia, business, government, and non-government organizations; authors
include students, practitioners, and senior scholars. Their contributions high
light the breadth of what Geography renders to society, science, and
scholarship. The editors thank the 151 authors and co-authors for volun
teering talent to provide insight on how geographical thinking and
methodologies help to interpret and to resolve the many problems that confront
society and environment.
The Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science (Michael Goodchild,
Director) at the University of California Santa Barbara provided logistical
support for managing the project. We extend special thanks to Benjamin
Sprague and Gamaiel Zavala. Ben assisted with copyediting and file man
agement. Gamaiel set up an interface on the World Wide Web to coordinate
the editing and communication among editors and provided technical assis
tance for graphics. We also thank the staff of Kluwer Academic Publishers -
Myriam Poort, Susan Jones, and Andre Tournois - for being so supportive
under a tight publication schedule.
As editors, it has been a pleasure to work with so many dedicated geog
raphers and to help oversee the production of a commemorative volume of this
scope. We thank the Association's executive officers and the AAG Council
for this privilege and honor.
Donald G. Janelle, Santa Barbara, California
Barney Warf, Tallahassee, Florida
Kathy Hansen, Bozeman, Montana
vii
CONTENTS
Foreword v
Ronald F. Abler and Douglas B. Richardson
Acknowledgements vii
Introducing WorldMinds XVll
Barney Warf, Donald G. Janelle, and Kathy Hansen
Part I
MIXING GEOGRAPHY WITH POLITICS
1. Environmental Problems and International Democracy 3
Ron Johnston
2. Geographies of Power in the Post-Cold War World-System 9
Thomas Klak
3. Rural Property Rights in a Peace Process: Lessons From
Mozambique 15
Jon D. Unruh
4. Globalization and Protest: Seattle and Beyond 21
Bruce D'Arcus
5. Allah's Mountains: Establishing a National Park in the Central
Asian Pamir 25
Stephen F. Cunha
6. Energy, Territory, and Conflict: Place-Based Research in the
Caucasus 31
Shannon O'Lear
7. Hidden Killers: The Problem of Landmines and Unexploded
Ordinance 37
Carl Dahlman
8. Evaluating the Geographic Compactness of Representational
Districts 43
Gerald R. Webster
9. Environmental Conflict, Collaborative Solutions, and the Politics
of Geographic Scale 49
Randall K. Wilson
10. Putting Memory in its Place: The Politics of Commemoration
in the American South 55
Derek Alderman and Owen J. Dwyer
ix
x CONTENTS
II. Banner Headlines: The Fight Over Confederate Flags in the
American South 61
Jonathan Leib and Gerald Webster
Part II
ADDRESSING HUMAN NEEDS: HEALTH AND EDUCATION
12. Halting the AIDS Pandemic 69
Harold D. Foster
13. Detecting Spatial Clusters of Cancer Mortality in East Baton
Rouge Parish, Louisiana 75
Esra Ozdenerol and Nina Lam
14. A Geographic Approach to Identifying Disease Clusters 81
Arthur Getis
15. Mortality Rates Across Time: Does Persistence Suggest "Healthy
and Unhealthy Places" in the United States? 87
Ronald E. Cossman, Jeralynn S. Cossman, Wesley L. James,
and Arthur Cosby
16. Learning Geography in the Absence of Sight 93
Reginald G. Golledge
17. Haptic Soundscapes: Developing Novel Multi-sensory Tools to
Promote Access to Geographic Information 99
Dan Jacobson
18. The Finnish Kaamos: Escapes From Short Days and Cold Winters 105
Stanley D. Brunn, Pauli Tapani Karjalainen, Rikard Kuller, and
Mika Roinila
19. Applied Geography in the Provision of Educational Services 113
Richard Morrill
20. Spatial Analysis and Modeling for the School District Planning
Problem 110
David S. Lemberg
2I. A Model for Collaborative Research: Building a Community-
University Institute for Social Research 125
James E. Randall, Allison M. Williams, Bill Holden, and Kate
Waygood
22. Struggling Against Illiteracy in a Global City: The New York
Experience 131
Werner Gamerith
CONTENTS Xl
23. Reaching New Standards: Geography's Return to Relevance in
American Education 137
Michael N. Solem
Part III
ENHANCING LIFE IN CITIES
24. Poverty and Geographical Access to Employment: Minority
Women in America's Inner Cities 145
Sara McLafferty and Valerie Preston
25. Ethnic Segregation: Measurement, Causes, and Consequences ]5]
David H. Kaplan
26. Flat Break-Ups: The British Condominium Conversion Experi-
ence 157
Chris Hamnett
27. The Geography of Environmental Injustice in the Bronx, New
York City 163
Juliana A. Maantay
28. Commuting, Congestion, and Urban Transport Sustainability 171
vv.
Mark Horner
29. Charting Urban Travelers 24-7 for Disaster Evacuation and
Homeland Security 177
Frederick P Stutz
30. The Walking Security Index and Pedestrians' Security in Urban
Areas 183
Barry Wellar
31. Clean Streets - Clean Waterways: Street Sweeping, Storm Water
Runoff, and Pollution Reduction ]91
Graham A. Tobin and Robert Brinkmann
32. Reclaiming Brownfield Sites: From Toxic Legacies to Sustainable
Communities 197
Mark D. Bjelland
33. Land Cover Change in the Seattle Region: Linking Patterns of
Growth to Planning Efforts Through Land Cover Change
Assessments 203
Melissa HYatt
34. How Smart is Smart Growth? The Case of Austin, Texas 209
Daniel Z. Sui, Wei Tu, and Jose Gavinha
Xli CONTENTS
Part IV
INTEGRATING LOCAL AND GLOBAL ECONOMIES
35. Cultural Exploration and Understanding: A Framework for
Global Business 217
Nanda R. Shrestha, Wilbur I. Smith, and Kenneth R. Gray
36. Geography in Crisis: Perspectives on the Asian Economic Crisis
of the 1990s 225
Philip Kelly and Jessie P. H. Po on
37. Modeling Space for Regional Regeneration: High-tech Districts
in China 231
Susan M. Walcott
38. Why Offshore? Exploring the Geographies of Offshore Financial
Centers 237
Sharon C. Cobb
u.s.
39. Call Centers: The Undiscovered Country 243
David L. Butler
40. Gender and Globalization: Maquila Geographies 249
Altha J. Cravey
41. Promoting Development in the Canadian North 255
James C. Saku
42. U.S. Land Use and Land Cover Change: 1973-2000 261
Darrell Napton and Thomas Loveland
43. Periodic Markets Now and Then 267
Allison Brown
Part V
MAINTAINING HEALTHY ECOSYSTEMS
44. The Biodiversity Crisis 273
John A. Kupfer and George P. Malanson
45. Biodiversity Inventory: Kamiali Wildlife Management Area 279
F. L. (Rick) Bein
46. Anthropogenic Soils and Sustainability in Amazonia 287
William I. Woods
47. Tropical Deforestation 293
David L. Carr
48. Deforestation of the Ecuadorian Amazon: Characterizing Patterns
and Associated Drivers of Change 299
Stephen 1. Walsh, Joseph P. Messina, and Leo Zonn