Transhumance as a driving force of landscape change in the marginal grabens of northern Ethiopia

Transhumance between the Afar lowlands and Tigray escarpments has been a common practice in northern Ethiopia. However, the impact of transhumance on landscape changes in the marginal grabens has not been significantly researched. Hence, this study aims to understand the process of transhumance and the linkages between social and biophysical aspects of the graben landscapes of northern Ethiopia. Google Earth (2010?2016) and Landsat Imageries (1995?2015) were used to analyse the spatio‐temporal landscape changes. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was applied to measure the change in vegetation cover. Interview and Focus Group Discussions were used to collect perceptions of communities on transhumance and landscape change. The findings reveal that transhumance caused conflicts between the lowlanders and highlanders, which in turn led to displacement of communities. Consequently, the NDVI value of the abandoned settlement increased over time. Conversely, the analysis of Google Earth Imageries and NDVI values show that vegetation cover of the new settlement has decreased. Moreover, the NDVI values of the transhumance areas showed little increase due to the establishments of exclosures in the escarpments. The findings of this study can, therefore, be used to develop targeted interventions aimed at solving transhumance‐induced conflicts, displacement of communities and conservation of natural resources.     

Human ecology,ethnobotany and traditional practices in rural populations inhabiting the Monte region: Resilience and ecological knowledge

In this study, we looked for insights on how human populations inhabiting the Monte, interact with arid environments and how they use ecological knowledge on wild plants for their subsistence. Rural communities living in the Monte region have been undergoing extreme changes in both social and ecological scenarios. Most of them are agro-pastoral societies living under precarious conditions, and whose land shows marked signs of degradation. Wild plants represent an important part of their dietary components; i.e. these resources probably act as a sustenance buffer in periods of seasonal scarcity. In the present study, we analyzed some ethno-ecological strategies undertaken by these rural communities. The ethnobotanical knowledge of greatest cultural and nutritional significance includes the use of many wild plants such as Prosopis spp., Schinus spp., Ephedra spp., Condalia and Larrea spp., among others. Since ancestral times, these xeric species have been utilized as edible, medicinal, tinctorial, fodder and fuel resources. Many rural populations not only maintain wild plant use, but they also practice cattle transhumance, a tradition which tends to reduce over-grazing, allowing for the recovery of most palatable plants. Cattle transhumance, also an ancient practice, is based on landscape patchiness use. Both practices appear to be associated with an adaptive and resilient natural resource management. We refer to resilience as the capacity to cope with disturbances and changes, prevalent features in populations inhabiting this arid region. We also explore, through a study case in Patagonia, the present use of wild edible plants, its relationship with summer-cattle-transhumance, and the most salient socio-cultural factors affecting these practices. Summer-transhumance contributes to the utilization of a greater richness and quantity of wild edible plants. This activity, which used to be a family tradition, seems to be changing given that nowadays it is mainly carried out by single family members. Wild plant gathering and summer-transhumance traditions tend to be diminishing at present, probably caused by acculturation processes and socio-economic pressures. Consequently, by abandoning these ancestral customs, a negative impact on the resilience capacity of these rural communities might be occurring. This erosion process leads to a decrease in their long-term wellbeing as well as an increase in their socio-ecological vulnerability.     

FARMWORKER HOUSING AND SPACES OF BELONGING IN WOODBURN,OREGON*

ABSTRACT. This article traces the history of efforts to build subsidized farmworker housing in Woodburn, Oregon, during the early 1990s. Although the northern Willamette Valley has been dependent on Mexican and Mexican American farmworkers since the 1940s, until the 1980s most of those workers had been migratory and lived in labor camps. Political economic transformations shifted these dynamics, causing an increasing number of farmworkers to settle permanently in towns such as Woodburn. Rising housing costs, in combination with skyrocketing demand for low‐income housing, led to a housing crisis in the late 1980s. The Farmworker Housing Development Corporation, established in 1991, successfully built two housing projects in Woodburn despite fierce resistance from city leaders and many longtime residents. These housing projects not only provided safe and affordable housing for farmworkers but also claimed a space of belonging for a group profoundly marginalized in terms of economics, race, and legal status in Oregon and throughout the United States.     

Archaeological evidence for pastoralist land-use and settlement in Namaqualand over the last 2000 years

Despite the extreme aridity of the region, there is good evidence that sheep were being herded in small numbers in Namaqualand up to 2000 years ago. Archaeological research at Spoegrivier Cave on the Atlantic coast confirms the presence of sheep at 2100 years ago. Increasing aridity in Namaqualand around 1300 years ago lead to the abandonment of the cave. Jakkalsberg on the banks of the Orange River in the Richtersveld was occupied around 1300 BP by people who were herding sheep rather than hunting game. People with sheep and goats were herding their livestock at Bethelsklip, in central Namaqualand, between 800 and 360 BP. The archaeological evidence clearly supports a long tradition of herding in the region. The question is whether these early herder groups are the ancestors of the Namaqua Khoekhoen pastoralists who occupied Namaqualand during historical times?Historical records from the 17 to 20th centuries testify to the seasonal transhumance of the Namaqua with cattle, sheep and goats between the Kamiesberg Mountains and the plains. On occasions pastoralist groups also moved to the interior plateau of Bushmanland to make use of the seasonal grasses after summer thunderstorms. Traditional land-use practices have a long history in the region and a study of these land-use patterns may assist in interpreting the archaeological record and in developing a sustainable land-use policy for the region.     

文学地理学视野下香港文化认同

通过文本分析和档案分析的方法,立足文学地理学分析框架和研究范式,分析了香港70年代、过渡时期、后殖民时期三部文学界热门且公认具代表性的作品——《我城》《烦恼娃娃的旅程》和《后殖民食物与爱情》,解构了作品中“本土”“国家”和“全球”3个空间维度下再现的地理物象、空间想象、人物活动、地方文化,窥探其内部隐含的文化认同与身份意识问题。结果发现,由于香港社会历史和文化背景不断变迁等原因,香港的文化和身份意识处于不断重塑的状态。通过文本分析,发现香港文学作品中最早萌芽的是“本土”意识。西西的《我城》被认为是本土意识的发轫之作,其在港英政府和回不去的家这一夹缝中在“城”这一空间尺度上勾勒出浓浓的地方意识。其次,在中国恢复行使香港主权这一背景下,《烦恼娃娃的旅程》这一极具回归题材代表性的作品深刻地刻画了香港人在身份认同尺度升级过程中的迷惘。最后,也斯的《后殖民食物与爱情》通过“食物”为线索讲述了回归后的香港故事,为读者认识后殖民时期多元文化混杂下的香港社会提供了细致的观察。通过对三部文学作品的分析,发现港人经历了由殖民统治时期本土身份意识的觉醒以及对中国文化的归属,到回归过渡阶段身份意识的尺度升级及其不适,再到回归后多元文化的交织和协商,不仅在尺度上实现了由地方到国家再到全球化的身份意识塑造,而且在结构上存在中华文化、西方文化和香港本土文化不断协商与冲突的三重性。更为重要的是,通过文学地理视角的讨论,发现这样的文化和身份意识不是属于某个群体的特有特征,而是根植于香港社会的每一寸肌肤,不仅反映了小说作者对香港社会的细致观察,在一定程度上也反映了社会本身所面临的文化和身份困扰。     

中越边境乡村民居景观的符号象征与认同建构——广西龙州县边境乡村案例

以广西龙州县边境乡村的法式民居景观为例,从历史的角度分析法式民居景观兴盛的缘由,并探讨其象征意义及认同建构。研究发现,法式民居景观作为承载文化意义的符号,是财富和社会地位的象征;又因其宫殿式形态,成为当地人幻想更大权欲以获得自我满足的源泉。此外,法式民居景观强化了当地村民对自身身份的认同建构,并唤起了他们对历史的缅怀、对家的归属感和对地方的认同感。研究既是对新文化地理学关于景观研究向社会文化意义转向的例证,也是对新文化地理学中关于地方、景观与认同关系研究的回应。     

NOHO: UPSCALING MAIN STREET ON THE METROPOLITAN EDGE

This paper traces the relationships between downtown revitalization, housing markets, and a growing lesbian presence in the small city of Northampton, Massachusetts, located on the northern edge of the Springfield Metropolitan region. In Northampton, lately known as NoHo, a self-consciously “cosmopolitan” and urbane revitalized downtown has been created since the 1970s, drawing on a regional set of markets. The downtown also forms a core for lesbian businesses and services, and lesbians have contributed to cultural changes in the area. However, this group had little direct involvement in the booming commercial property market of the 1980s except as a market for rental space. Northampton's downtown residential neighborhoods also underwent cultural and demographic changes in the past decades, but these shifts were more complex than a simple economic upgrading. This paper lends support to studies finding diverse gentrification and revitalization processes.     

ABANDONING MADISON AVENUE: THE RELOCATION OF ADVERTISING SERVICES IN NEW YORK CITY

This paper contributes to the literature on global cities by exploring the locational dynamics of advertising agencies in New York City. Like other cultural products industries, advertising agencies occupy dense agglomeration complexes and engage in multiple relationships of exchange with other industries. However, while historically concentrated around Madison Avenue, there have been significant changes in the location of advertising services in the 1980s and 1990s. Shifts in the geography of advertising are tied to a number of factors, including the trans-nationalization of agencies, which has led to financial pressures and a desire to cut real estate costs. The globalization of agencies has also fueled the need for improved access to telecommunication technologies. This has motivated agencies to abandon older buildings in search of newer real estate developments. Finally, the increased demand for creativity has been central to changes in the spatiality of advertising. Locational shifts have not diminished the importance of place, however. Centripetal forces continue to keep advertising firms clustered in dense spaces.     

广州城市水文化遗产及保护利用

自广州建城2000多年来,对水的开发、建设、利用、审美、娱乐等活动为广州水文化的衍生提供了丰厚而独特的温床,使广州产生了独具特色、种类繁多的城市水文化遗产。伴随着广州城市的转型,城市水文化的功能也将发生重大变化,但其遭受破坏现象十分严重。为便于广州水文化遗产的保护和利用,通过对广州水文化、水遗产进行的全面梳理,发现广州城市水文化遗产可划分为聚落文化遗产、水利文化遗产、园林文化遗产、宗教文化遗产、民俗文化遗产和语言文化遗产六大类,并且具有类型多样、品质高、分布集中,连接了广州历史的文脉,对广州城市发展影响重大等特点。广州应加大对水文化遗产的挖掘和保护,要格外注重水文化遗产廊道的开发,营造多样性的水景观,丰富广州水文化遗产内涵。     

青藏高原史前时期交流路线及其演变

欧亚大陆史前文化交流是当前学术界研究的热点问题,尤其是“一带一路”的国家倡议提出后,青藏高原重要的地理位置确定了其在东西方文化交流中的重要地位。本文基于自然地理因子和不同时期遗址点,在最低成本的控制下实现节点间累积联结的方法,使用GIS（R语言）工具进行空间数值计算,将其结果作为史前时期（新石器—青铜时期)的交流路线。本文重建新石器时期路线27条,总距离约为6000 km;青铜时代30条,总距离约为7800 km。路线的形态由新石器时期的东北—东部—东南—西南边缘呈月牙形环绕发展至青铜时期的由边缘延伸至腹地呈网络化发展的趋势,这是由高原边缘的交流逐步演化成边缘—腹地的交流、并不断强化的表现。重建路线验证了由考古证据支持的农业、驯化动物、彩陶、青铜技术在高原的传播路线,并将其具体化。此外,明确了高原史前交流路线的发展和演变宏观上是受到气候变化的影响,同时受到种植农业技术、驯化动物的传入以及战争等多因素的综合影响。     

浅析文本在地方性形成中的作用——对近年文化地理学核心刊物中相关文章的梳理

新文化地理学是英国一批文化地理学者在1980年代建立起来的知识体系。它与传统文化地理学有所不同,区别之一在于是否关注电影、文学作品、绘画等文本所再现的地方性。近年在英美文化地理学的核心刊物中,许多文章研究了由文本再现出来的地方性。地方性是文化地理学最主要的研究议题之一,它是文化地理学与其他人文地理学分支结合的关键概念。梳理这些文章,旨在归纳出文本在地方性形成中所起的作用。分析结论如下:① 文本可以通过再现3种内容来建构地方性:当地的景观、日常生活实践和业已消失的文化;② 文本再现地方性的机制多来自人们的意识形态需要,"我"与"他者"的精神诉求不同,再现的地方性也不同;③ 文本的再现对地方性既会有强化作用,也会有削弱作用。归纳出这种三种结论后,尚需要进一步讨论如下问题:在地方性的形成中,文本的作用是否是或缺的。如果不是或缺的,而是必须的,那么文化地理学者则必须研究文本中再现的地方性。     

Economy,culture and environment: perspectives on the Australian food industry

Intersections between economy, culture and environment pose exciting future challenges for human geography. Part of Griffith Taylor's pioneering role as a geographer was to investigate relationships between these three aspects of human life, although his agenda was that of environmental determinism. This paper considers these intersections as they relate to contemporary geographical studies of restructuring, in particular the emergence of a genuinely global economic system since about 1980. Recent developments in cultural geography argue that geographical analysis of restructuring has been dominated by an economic determinism which has buried other stories which could be told about industrial change. The paper sketches lines of possible dialogue between economic geography and cultural studies, illustrating the argument with examples from restructuring in the Australian food industry. In opening such a dialogue, economic geography would be better placed to return to interactions between economy, culture and environment. In his day, Taylor was not afraid to upset the conventional wisdom about these relationships and this may be one of his most enduring legacies.     

空间的文化解读与转型期中国的和谐发展

20世纪80年代以来,西方社会文化地理学的研究逐步由文化的空间研究转向空间的文化研究,以文化的视角解读空间成为新文化地理学的重要研究特色,并由此赋予了文化地理学以新的广阔研究空间。本文在解析新文化地理学“解读空间”特色的基础上,着重探索了解读空间对于中国社会文化地理学发展的借鉴意义,强调应该结合转型期中国的特殊语境进行文化空间的解读,以适应中国在工业化、城市化、国际化、现代化和生态化背景下谋求经济社会和谐发展的特殊要求。     

"They Changed the Rules": Farm Family Responses to Agricultural Deregulation in Southland, New Zealand

Agricultural deregulation in the mid-1980s altered the economic and political climate in which farm families in New Zealand operate. The results of a survey of sheep/beef farmers in Southland shows that the main response to the new conditions and the rural downturn was to 'self exploit'. Impacts varied, depending on farm finances at the start of the downturn. Farming practices and farmers' attitudes changed… but only partly because of deregulation.     

ONE NATION OR TWO? THE CHANGING GEOGRAPHY OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN, 1983–1988*

Unemployment affected large numbers of people in Great Britain during the 1980s. An economic upturn since the mid-1980s has resulted in declining numbers of unemployed. Disaggregated data show that the geography of unemployment decline has not led to regional convergence in numbers out of work: unemployment has fallen most in those regions which were least affected by it.     

Landscapes of transhumance in Norway and Spain: Farmers' practices,perceptions, and value orientations

The mountain areas of Europe have been of vital importance in the system of summer farming whereby the movement of livestock between different altitudinal levels is a key element. However, summer farming has been downscaled considerably during the 20th century. The article describes two areas where summer farming is still practised: Forollhogna in Norway, and Asturias in Spain. The authors document the transhumance system in the two areas, and investigate how farmers view the summer farming system and landscape, how they relate to nature protection, and whether specific value orientations can be detected in their views. The findings show that the logic behind summer farming is the same in both areas: economic motivation and access to grazing grounds. With regard to nature and landscape protection, the opinion that wild nature is given priority and that ‘managed nature’ of transhumance is overlooked was found in both areas, although it was expressed more strongly in Asturias than in Forollhogna. Opinions and ideals related to ‘good farming’ were found in both contexts, and were reflected in well-kept fields and productive and healthy livestock.     

社会资本视角下历史文化名镇保护困境研究——基于苏州周庄、锦溪、黎里3镇调研

引入社会资本理论,从网络、信任和规范3个维度,建构社会资本与名镇保护间的一个分析框架,剖析保护背后的社会资本困境及其内在根源。基于对苏州周庄等3个名镇的实证研究发现：① 社会资本主要通过其3个关键要素从组织基础、制度体系、精神动力对名镇保护沟通机制、约束机制与合作机制进行作用;② 当前名镇社会资本呈现网络弱化、信任缺失、规范不足现象,致使名镇保护中各多元主体协商遇冷、合作受限、行为失范;③ 提升社会资本、推动自下而上参与模式,是解决名镇保护的社会问题、走出保护困境的有效途径。     

Changes in China’s Grain Production Pattern and the Effects of Urbanization and Dietary Structure

Grain production patterns are the basis of a nation’s food security. Since China’s reform and opening-up began in 1978, China’s urbanization process, driven by rapid social and economic development, has accelerated steadily. During this time, the dietary structure of urban and rural Chinese has also changed significantly. Accordingly, grain production patterns have undergone major changes. First, traditional grain production patterns in the north and the south have changed, and the food production center has shifted toward the north. In 1980, the grain yield of southern provinces accounted for 60% of China’s total, while that of northern provinces accounted for 40%. In 2015, the grain yield of southern provinces accounted for 56% of the total, while that of northern provinces accounted for 44%. Second, grain production by regions of the country is “shrinking in the east but expanding in the central regions,” meaning that grain production in eastern coastal provinces has decreased significantly, while that in the central region has expanded. The proportions of the nation’s total grain production from the eastern, central and western regions were 38%, 36% and 26%, respectively, in 1980. These had changed to 27%, 46%, and 27%, respectively, in 2015. Third, the spatial centralization of grain production has increased. The total grain yield of 13 major grain-producing provinces and regions in the country accounted for 69.27% of nation’s total in 1980, and it had reached 76.18% in 2015, showing that the impact of major grain-producing areas on national food security has increased. The influence of rapid urbanization on grain production areas shows remarkable regional differences. As the level of urbanization has increased, build-up land occupies a large number of high-quality farmland, especially in east coastal provinces and thus the grain planting area decreased obviously. The effect of dietary structure changes on grain production patterns was evident in two ways. On the one hand, as dietary diversity has increased, total grain consumption has decreased. The reduction in the proportion of planting area for grain crops to total crop planting area dropped from 82% in 1980 to 68% in 2015, making this change in total grain consumption evident. On the other hand, the ratio of grain for human consumption declined as the ratio of grain consumed by animals increased. The reduction in the proportion of rice and wheat grown and an increase in the proportion of feed grain production (mostly maize) from 20% in the 1980s to 36% in 2015 makes this change in grain production and consumption evident. In the future, with the establishment of national functional areas for grain production, the spatial pattern of grain production will return, while the demand for feed grains will continue to increase but with the space for expansion limited.     

文化/创意产业、创意城市等相关概念辨析

自20世纪80年代以来,西方国家的学术界以及政界政策报告中,出现了“文化/创意产业”和“创意城市”等诸多相关概念。本文对文化/创意产业、创意城市及其相关概念的背景、定义作了深刻的阐述和辨析,这既有利于学术界进一步的研究,也有利于各级政府相关政策的制定。我国在积极借鉴西方的理念之时,要注意分清它们的差异,以求合理运用。     

新疆博州地区近46年来的气候变化特征

根据新疆博尔塔拉蒙古自治州(简称博州,下同)四个气象代表站点的气温及降水资料,利用线性趋势函数及t检验法分析了该地区近46年的气候变化。结果表明,博州年平均气温、平均最高气温、平均最低气温均呈上升趋势,而且平均最低气温上升的幅度远大于平均最高气温的上升幅度。年平均气温及年平均最低气温约在20世纪80年代中期出现了显著的均值突变,而年平均最高气温在80年代末出现突变;除春、夏季平均最高气温无明显变化趋势外,其它各季平均气温、平均最高气温、平均最低气温均呈上升趋势,其中均以冬季增幅最大,秋季次之;80年代冬夜升温最强劲,90年代则明显减弱;夏季的平均气温与平均最低气温均在70年代中期出现突变,比其它任何突变时间都早;暖温年多发生在80年代后,冷温年多发生在20世纪60年代、70年代。年降水量略呈上升趋势,少雨年多在60年代、70年代,多雨年多在近20年,除春季外,其余各季降水略有上升趋势。