Population growth and urbanization in Latin America

The population of Latin America will be increasing by 130 % between 1970 and the year 2000. Due to excessive rural exodus the urban population grows almost twice as fast as the rural does. The urbanization of the subcontinent must be regarded as being the dominant spatial process in Latin America. It results in fundamental changes of the structure and the way of life of the population as well as in the size and character of the settlements.Three case studies (Popayán/Colombia, Sucre/Bolivia and Santiago/Chile) show that a process of westernization can be observed within the analogous to their size, in the course of which the compact structure of the colonial town pattern is succeeded by a sectorially or cellularly arranged cityorganism.From today's point of view a definite judgement on urbanization as a relevant phenomenon of development cannot yet be made. It can be stated, however, that the southern countries of Latin America which have been urbanized the most show distinct signs of a social and economic take off.     

Natural hazards and disasters in Latin America

Natural hazards and disasters occur widely throughout the world. Disasters can be costly both in terms of human lives and property and ecosystem disruption. Higher death tolls in developing nations may be the result of poverty, rapid population growth, urbanization, and inadequate communication facilities. The purpose of this study is to show patterns of major catastrophic events in Latin America so that their impacts can be evaluated and compared.Latin America was selected because of the variety of recent events commanding wide attention: earthquakes in Mexico, volcanic eruptions in Colombia, hurricanes and floods in Haiti, and drought and mudflows in Brazil. Spatial and temporal aspects of natural disasters are presented in nine tables and 21 maps. The tables give selected disaster data by country for volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, and atmospheric disturbances from the 16th century to 1989. Most data is derived from disasters occurring during the 20th century and include number of events, people killed, people affected, and U.S.$ damage. Maps show environmental settings for disasters and allow detailed comparison among countries. Floods account for the greatest number of major events in the most countries, earthquakes cause the most deaths and damage, while droughts affect the most people. Peru surpasses all others in susceptibility to major disasters. Assessment of vulnerability to hazards, improved economic opportunities, and an increased social and political concern for poor people should help reduce future losses from natural disasters in Latin America.     

北方寒冷地区城市哈尔滨人口城市化与土地城市化协调关系研究

以哈尔滨市为研究范围,构建了人口城市化、土地城市化指标体系,运用熵值法计算各指标的权重,结合协调发展模型,分别研究了哈尔滨市1997-2014年期间人口城市化的内部协调性、土地城市化的内部协调性以及人口城市化和土地城市化的协调度及协调发展水平,并对人口城市化、土地城市化与协调发展水平进行了研究。结果表明：哈尔滨市的人口城市化内部协调性和土地城市化内部协调性都表现出前期加速,后期平稳的状态,在20世纪90年代,人口城市化内部协调性和土地城市化内部协调性都迅速提高,进入21世纪以后,协调度均保持在0.9左右,波动较小,内部协调度较高;综合人口城市化和土地城市化的协调度和相对发展度来看,除1999-2000年处于高级协调外,在研究期的其余时段哈尔滨市人口城市化和土地城市化基本处于初级协调状态,人口城市化与土地城市化的非同步性,是制约两者协调发展的关键因素,其中人口城市化对协调发展水平的影响更大。     

Spatiotemporal analysis of the atmospheric and surface urban heat islands of the Metropolitan Area of Toluca,Mexico

The dynamic of consolidation of urban areas in Latin America has allowed that almost 80% of the population concentrates in cities; this has produced changes in land covers and modified regional climate, propitiating the appearance of urban heat islands. The Metropolitan Area of Toluca, State of Mexico, Mexico, holds the fifth national place in population size and experiences this process, because of this, the objective is to analyze and compare the spatiotemporal characteristics of the atmospheric urban heat island obtained from data gathered from 12 urban and rural weather stations with the surface urban heat island obtained from the digital processing of four Landsat 8 images. Results show the year-round presence of night-time atmospheric urban heat islands, which reach a peak in autumn (up to 6 °C). Daytime atmospheric urban heat islands occur in summer and autumn with a maximum intensity of 4 °C. For their part, surface urban heat islands occur in spring, summer and autumn and reach maximums of 19 °C in intensity. A strong correlation was found between wetness and surface temperature (coefficient of determination, 0.8) in spring and winter. Soil wetness directly impacts the formation of weak urban heat islands in dry season, and intense ones in wet season, while the green areas and the winds affect the spatial distribution of the same.     

Using small spatial units to refine our perception of rural America

More than half of the US rural population lives inside metro or micropolitan areas and even at more disaggregated scales, such as the census tracts, most spatial units mix rural and urban population. At a national scale, only 30% of the country are inhabited by 100% urban or 100% rural population, implying that more than two third of the US territory are somewhere in between both situations. As the rural/urban dichotomy appears today to be blurred by the emergence of new phenomena like rurbanization or exurbanization, our perception of rural America may be somewhat twisted and the reality of rural areas underplayed. This paper focuses on using finer-grade spatial units such as the census blocks and block groups, in order to provide new elements about the extension, localization and characteristics of rural America as well as about its inner dynamics. To that end, we analyze and process geographical and social data at these two levels of information, and use population density as a main factor of analysis. This allows us not only to propose new measurement of the extent of rural space in the USA but also to propose a new vision of its spatial dynamics by studying how several social indicators such as income, median age or sex ratio reveal regional and micro-regional variations and situations in the rural part of the US.     

Life histories in cyberspace: life writing as a development tool for rural women

Increasingly, information and communication technology (ICT) is being used as a development tool. For example, a recent innovative experiment by the FIDAMERICA development cybernetwork (sponsored by IFAD, the International Fund for Agricultural Development) in Latin America used an electronic network to collect, post and discuss rural women's life histories, intending to support gender mainstreaming in IFAD projects. However, cybernetworking processes can also reflect contradictory agendas and power relations that ultimately make them a site of contestation. In the FIDAMERICA case, the authors did not participate in the electronic conference, nor were there any subsequent efforts to connect them or to develop this process further.In this paper, I argue that the analysis of increasingly complex cybernetworked development efforts must incorporate a correspondingly sophisticated technique that can uncover the nuanced relations of transnational cyber communication; and I propose that an actor-network approach should be investigated as an analytical framework in these cases. I then apply this approach to the case study, using field research conducted with the participants of the FIDAMERICA electronic life history project in Central America. I conclude that an actor-network approach is a fruitful means by which these processes can be both understood and improved.     

苏南地区城乡聚落空间演化过程及其格局特征

当前,城乡聚落空间正由自然和经济社会条件存在差异的等级体系转变为密切联系的网络化结构,城乡融合已经成为中国城乡聚落空间演化发展的重要方向。以苏南地区为例,对20世纪90年代以来的城乡聚落空间演化过程及其格局特征进行分析,发现2000年以后城镇聚落扩张强度远高于乡村聚落,城乡聚落空间结构可进一步归纳为集中、双心、多核和密集4种基本格局。该研究对乡村振兴背景下的城乡聚落空间优化布局具有一定指导作用。     

Bvölkerung und erwerbsquellen in RomänienThe population and work resources in RomaniaLa population et les ressources de travail en Roumanie

Romania's territory has been continually settled from palaeolithic times. Romania's population has constantly increased, particularly in the second half of the 19th century and especially after 1948, when an increasing birth-rate and a reducing death-rate led to an increasing rate of growth. In 1973, the population was 20 828 000 inhabitants, and it is expected to reach about 32.1 million by the year 2000. The increase was accompanied by changes in the geographical distribution of population in general and of labour in particular. The complex process of the economic development in contemporary Romania can also account for the migrational phenomenon, especially in the rural environment. The village-to-town migrations (and to a lesser extent the reverse process) reveal two extremely important aspects: increased urbanization, which becomes more and more important in Romania today, and the urbanization of the Romanian village.     

ICL Latin-American Network: on the road to landslide reduction capacity building

There is a clear need for integrated research on landslide disaster risk. Landslide disasters have major impacts in developing countries due to the increasing social vulnerability of both rural and urban communities. In recent decades, landslide disasters in Latin America triggered by both precipitation and earthquakes have also increased considerably. Thus, scientific contributions based on integrated risk research are quite urgent for improving the knowledge base for reducing the vulnerability of exposed communities to landslides. Thus, there is a parallel necessity to promote capacity building for young scientists in Latin America by considering the shift of disaster paradigm to recognize the “unnaturalness” of disasters. Under such a framework, there are particular goals to be pursued including: (1) Development of landslide regional networks with a commitment for understanding risk as a socially constructed process; (2) Engagement of young scientists in integrated landslide risk research; (3) Inducing a scientific multi- and transdisciplinary approach for integrated landslide risk research; (4) Development and implementation of capacity building; (5) Contributing to the dissemination and application of common methodologies on landslide disasters investigations; and (6) Strengthening collaboration on integrated landslide disaster risk research in Latin America. In this paper, we present one of the main activities of the ICL Latin-American network in terms of capacity building carried out in 2013; to that end, the first international workshop on forensic investigations of disasters associated with landslides was held in the University of Sciences and Arts of Chiapas in the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico, from June 26th to July 4th, 2013.     

Preliminary analysis of the development of the Carbon Tracker system in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Carbon Tracker system will play a major role in understanding CO₂ sinks and sources, gas exchange between the atmosphere and oceans, and gas emissions from forest fres and fossil fuels in Latin America and the Caribbean. This paper discusses the trends in carbon fluxes in the biosphere and ocean, as well as emissions from forest fres and fossil fuel use in the above-mentioned region, using the Carbon Tracker (CT) system. From 2000 to 2009, the mean carbon fluxes for the biosphere, fossil fuel use, wildfires and the ocean in Latin America and the Caribbean were −0.03, 0.41, 0.296, −0.061 Pg C/yr, respectively, and −0.02, 0.117, 0.013, −0.003 Pg C/yr, respectively, in Mexico. The mean net carbon flux for Latin America and the Caribbean was 0.645 Pg C/yr, and 0.126 Pg C/yr for Mexico. The terrestrial sinks in Latin America and the Caribbean are dominated by the forest, agricultural, grass and shrub regions, as well as the Andes mountain range and the net surface-atmosphere fluxes including fossil fuel are dominant in regions around large cities in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, and areas undergoing deforestation along the Amazon River. The results confirm that forest fres are an important source of CO₂ in Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, we can confirm that policies encouraging the use of ethanol in light vehicles in Brazil have helped to decrease carbon emissions from fossil fuel, and assume the effects of the Proárbol program on carbon sinks from the biosphere and from fire emissions sources in Mexico. Based on this analysis, we are confident that the CT system will play a major role in Latin America and the Caribbean as a scientific tool to understand the uptake and release of CO₂ from terrestrial ecosystems, fossil fuel use and the oceans, and for long-term monitoring of atmospheric CO₂ concentrations.     

滨州市城镇化建设中的土地管理探析

土地问题是城镇化建设的一个突出问题。目前城镇化进程中还存在依赖土地程度过高、土地闲置、浪费、利用率偏低、城乡用地不能统筹、管理粗放等问题。新型城镇化要走集约、智能、绿色、低碳的道路,由速度扩张向质量提升转型,这就要求城镇化进程中土地规划要更加科学、土地利用要更加节约集约,土地管理要更加精细。     

The relationship between administrative hierarchy position and city size development in China

China's urbanization process in the past 20 years has drawn much academic attention, and as a result, many attempts to explain the uniqueness of China's urbanization have emerged. Some argued that Tolley's model (1987), the well known theory explaining global urbanization, or the `Murray-Szelenyi' thesis (1984), which focus on the investigation of urbanization in socialist countries, can be applied in China. Most western literature, however, claimed either a `rural-bias' or an `urban-bias' from the state took place in China's urbanization process. This paper suggests another perspective in the analysis of this process, as it argues that it was the state bias for the allocation of production and human resources in the cities of higher hierarchical ranking that is behind China's urbanization. The objective of the paper is to test it through two hypotheses. The first hypothesis suggests that the higher the city is in the urban hierarchy, the more population it has; and the second argues the higher administrative position a city has, the better social and economic performance it will show. Using statistical data to validate these two hypotheses, this paper attempts to justify the role of `state-bias' of resources allocation and the dominance of the administrative hierarchy in China's urbanization process. Lastly, the paper argues, the state itself is a major factor or source for China's urbanization development.     

Looking North and South: Ideals and realities of inclusive environmental governance

This paper addresses the dynamics of real processes of inclusive environmental governance by looking at the decision-maker/expert/lay person interplay. Specifically, we present a comparative ethnographic study that leads to a critical examination of Marteen Hajer’s concept of technological citizenship and its role in normative models of so-called inclusive environmental governance. First, we present the Bionatur project of MST (Movimento Sem Terra/Landless People’s Movement), the largest rural movement in Latin America. The project explicitly attempts to include lay/traditional knowledge into the processes of defining and protecting a regulatory space for “Creole seeds”. Second, we describe the formally open and inclusive environmental management of polluted sediments during harbour dredging in Norway. In both cases the actors are confronted with difficult problems bound by contradictory constraints of the institutional and cultural contexts. In complex relationships, trust, dependency, responsibility and opposition, encompass the decision-maker/expert/lay interplay. Embedded in these contexts, it is not always clear that non-experts want full autonomy and responsibility. In complex relationships, trust, dependency, responsibility and opposition, encompass the decision-maker/expert/lay person interplay. The results suggest that ideals, if instantiated, are reshaped within concrete contexts of action. Participatory ideals such as “technological citizenship”, inclusiveness, transparency and accountability need not be relativised, but they would better be expressed as regulative norms for practice rather than ideals from which an acontextual model or structure may be deduced.     

Gated communities and urban fragmentation in Latin America: the Brazilian experience

Since the mid-1970s, gated housing areas of the privileged have been spreading in Latin American cities. They have to be seen as a visible consequence of the deepening social disparities within Latin American societies and the resulting fragmentation of urban space. Condomínios fechados (Brazil) or barrios cerrados (Argentina) can be typified following different criteria, such as formation, location, size, fittings, construction typology, as well as social structure. Three groups of actors influence the process of their expansion: the real estate companies, for which the new form of living offers an attractive market segment, the target groups, whose increasing expectations regarding security and living comfort need to be met, and the public authorities, who have to find adequate responses concerning the further orientation of urban development. Based on case studies from Brazil, the paper will discuss the different phases of gated community expansion and the reasons why this is happening. Their internal structure and differentiation, as well as consequences for socio-spatial development and urban planning will also be dealt with.     

发展中等城市是中国城市化的科学之路

我国人口众多,农业人口所占比例高,土地资源相对短缺。为了确保经济可持续发展,我国在城市化的进程中应该搞好顶层设计,发展中型城市。发展中等城市有利于建立劳动致富的小康社会制度,避免在城市化的过程中形成过富和过贫穷群体,防止大城市病产生的资源浪费和环境恶化。本文从城市结构与城市的经济发展,地质资源环境对城市化的承载力方面讨论发展中等城市的必要性。     

The relationship between urbanization and socio-economic development in the Sudan

The study of urbanization has, in recent years, assumed increasing importance in developing countries not only because these countries are in the process of facing rapid urbanization, but also because the process of urbanization has been recognized as a part of a larger process of economic and social change which is affecting the rural areas.     

Rural development and rural to urban migration in China 1978–1990

Economic reforms since the late 1970s have brought about significant changes in rural China. A large number of surplus rural labourers have been released from the agricultural sector and there has been a massive transition of rural residents from agricultural to non-agricultural employment. These changes will be analyzed by examining the changes in the employment structure of rural residents. Rural to urban migration is another important option for many rural labourers. The size of China's urban population and the scale of rural to urban migration continue to be an ‘enigma’ due to several changes in the definition of the urban population. Several data sources will be used to provide more realistic estimates of rural to urban migrations on a set of comparable though different bases. Data on the new entries into urban employment and the urban ‘non-agricultural population’ will be used to illustrate the scale of migration by rural residents to the formal urban sector. This may only record those migrants who have changed their registration status from ‘agricultural population’ to ‘non-agricultural population’ which is tightly controlled by the government. The 1990 Census data provide some evidence on the rural to urban migration by the registered ‘agricultural population’. The 1987 1% population sampling data will be used to analyze the actual migrations among cities, towns and counties over the period 1982–1987. It is found that town and county populations tended to move to towns at the intra-provincial level, but to cities at the inter-provincial level. Out-migrants from cities tended to move to cities at both the intra- and inter-provincial levels.     

拉丁美洲铝土矿地质特征及资源潜力

介绍拉丁美洲铝土矿资源概况、地质特征及成因类型。拉丁美洲铝土矿资源主要分在巴西、苏里南、牙买加、圭亚那、委内瑞拉等国家,储量为60.3×10~8t,占世界铝土矿总储量的21.54%。巴西为拉丁美洲最大的铝土矿生产国和出口国。拉丁美洲铝土矿成因类型主要为红土型和岩溶型2种,主要的铝土矿矿山有45座。牙买加岛弧、圭亚那地盾、中巴西地盾、圣弗朗西斯科地盾为4个铝土矿勘查开发潜力区。     

Disruption, yet community reconstitution: subverting the privatization of Latin American plazas

Latin American scholars have recently discussed the privatization of urban public space. A fundamental aspect of this process is the disintegration of communities because it often targets and affects a peculiarly Latin American kind of public space: the plaza. Plazas have traditionally functioned as cultural centres in Latin American cites. They are central meeting points for political groups, sites of civic expression and public resistance, as well as places to purchase relatively cheap goods and services. Plazas are, therefore, sites in which families, neighbours, and political organizations mingle, interact, and also challenge authority. This paper uses these sorts of insights on public space in Latin America to develop a conceptualization of the plaza as a community centre. However, the multiple practices and interactions that occur in these forms of public space have been disrupted by state-led strategies which seek to privatize and sanitize public space, thereby disrupting??or even destroying??the community centre. I use primary materials on Mexico City??s Historic centre and its plaza to explore the ways in which this specific type of urban public space has been affected physically and symbolically by a regeneration scheme known as the Programa de Rescate.