The Dynamics and Governmental Policies of Shanghai’s International Financial Center Formation: A Financial Geography Perspective

This article first provides a conceptual and theoretical analysis of international financial centers (IFCs) by focusing on IFCs’ main characteristics, categories, and policy regimes. It then reviews the policy initiatives driving Shanghai’s IFC, coming from the central and local governments, and evaluates their strategic effects. Finally, I emphasize the disadvantages of Shanghai’s IFC dynamics by focusing on the level of internationalization, the financial hinterland, the English professionals, and the legal system. The empirical study reveals that the construction of Shanghai’s IFC has achieved great advances, motivated by its policy dynamics since 1990, but its global impact is still limited compared to New York and London. This study sheds light on the dynamics of Shanghai’s IFC as a government-led model.     

Geography Deserts: State and Regional Variation in the Formal Opportunity to Learn Geography in the United States, 2005–2015

The formal opportunity to learn geography in the United States is unevenly distributed across space, creating possible geography deserts. Data on the number of exams taken in Advanced Placement Human Geography (APHG) and bachelor’s degrees earned in geography are mapped at the state and regional scales. Normalized rates are ranked and grouped into quintiles. For APHG exams, states in the southeastern region of the United States are in the uppermost quintiles while states in the northeastern region are in the lowermost quintiles. The pattern for bachelor’s degrees in geography is somewhat the spatial inverse of that for APHG.     

Regional Geography and the Culture Area Construct—Western Europe: A Case Study

Abstract

The SYMAP program for producing line-printed maps on the computer is considered with respect to problems the new user is likely to have. Two groups of electives or options in the F-MAP package are discussed in detail: those that control map size and orientation and those that permit manipulation of the interpolation algorithm. Some classroom examples are suggested that emphasize the heuristic nature of the SYMAP program.     

Meeting the Challenge of Systemic Change in Geography Education: Lucy Sprague Mitchell’s Young Geographers

The history of K–12 geography education has been characterized by recurrent high hopes and dashed expectations. There have, however, been moments when the trajectory of geography education might have changed to offer students the opportunity to develop a thorough working knowledge of geography. Lucy Sprague Mitchell’s geography program developed in the 1920s and 1930s was brilliant in its conception and execution but it did not lead to large-scale systemic change. Analyzing the origins, development, and outcome of her program suggests the conditions that facilitate and inhibit systemic change, and therefore perhaps we can learn to capitalize on comparable moments in the future.     

Geopolitics and “The Courage to Teach”: Identity,Integrity and the Subject of Political Geography

Abstract

Previous literature discussing and exemplifying the teaching of political geography has emphasized the material to be disseminated. Building upon those contributions, this paper offers a means of connecting student, teacher, and subject matter. Using the perspective of Parker Palmer, as illustrated in his book The Courage to Teach, it is suggested that placing the subject at the center of the classroom will result in the effective teaching of political geography. Two classroom exercises are used to exemplify the argument.     

The Changing Geography of U.S. Hispanics from 1990–2006: A Shift to the South and Midwest

Abstract

Between 1990 and 2000 the U.S. Hispanic population increased by 14 million, which is the largest decadal population rise in United States history. This increase was not spread evenly throughout the United States, nor was it isolated to locations that already had large Hispanic populations. On the contrary, areas that previously had a relatively small Hispanic population experienced large percentage increases. In this article the regional variability in Hispanic population growth is explored, along with an emphasis on the economic pull factors driving those demographic changes. This analysis illustrates how restructuring in the meatpacking industry, and the associated economic impacts, have created a dependence on a low wage, illegal labor force that has shaped the recent demographic trend in the South and Midwest.     

A Road to Conflict: Stakeholder’s and Social Network Analysis of the Media Portrayals of a Social-Environmental Conflict in Bolivia

Society’s understanding of a conflict is mediated by information provided in mass media, for which researchers stress the importance of analyzing media portrays of stakeholders in a conflict. We analyze information from the Bolivian press regarding the construction of a road crossing the Isiboro-Sécure Indigenous Territory and National Park (TIPNIS). Using stakeholder’s and social network analyses, we explore stakeholder’s positions and alliances as represented in the media and contrast it with previous scholarly work. We found that some actors cited as central in scholar analyses of the conflict are largely absent in the media (e.g., private investors, conservationist sector) and that the media tend to present stakeholders as having more homogeneous positions than the academic literature does while also neglecting some important alliances in their account. The media also suggests that Indigenous communities are forging stronger alliances with urban sectors and civil society, alliances not stressed by researchers.     

Hubbert’s Legacy: A Review of Curve-Fitting Methods to Estimate Ultimately Recoverable Resources

A growing number of commentators are forecasting a near-term peak and subsequent terminal decline in the global production of conventional oil as a result of the physical depletion of the resource. These forecasts frequently rely on the estimates of the ultimately recoverable resources (URR) of different regions, obtained through the use of curve-fitting to historical trends in discovery or production. Curve-fitting was originally pioneered by M. King Hubbert in the context of an earlier debate about the future of the US oil production. However, despite their widespread use, curve-fitting techniques remain the subject of considerable controversy. This article classifies and explains these techniques and identifies both their relative suitability in different circumstances and the level of confidence that may be placed in their results. This article discusses the interpretation and importance of the URR estimates, indicates the relationship between curve fitting and other methods of estimating the URR and classifies the techniques into three groups. It then investigates each group in turn, indicating their historical origins, contemporary application and major strengths and weaknesses. The article then uses illustrative data from a number of oil-producing regions to assess whether these techniques produce consistent results as well as highlight some of the statistical issues raised and suggesting how they may be addressed. The article concludes that the applicability of curve-fitting techniques is more limited than adherents claim and that the confidence bounds on the results are wider than usually assumed.     

China’s food security situation and key questions in the new era: A perspective of farmland protection

As the world’s largest developing country, the ability of China’s agricultural resource utilization to effectively support the current and future food security goals has been affected by a variety of factors (e.g., transformed supply channels, tightening international situation and frequent emergencies) in recent years and has attracted extensive attention from the academic community subject to multiple factors. This study uses literature review, statistical analysis, and spatial analysis methods to systematically explore China’s food security situation in the context of farmland resource constraints. It is found that the demand-side pressures such as demographic changes, social class differentiation, and dietary structure adjustments derived from economic growth and rapid urbanization have placed extremely high expectations on food supply. However, the quantitative restrictions, utilization ways, and health risks of farmland resources on the supply side constitute a huge hidden concern that affects the stability of food production. Although China’s farmland protection system is undergoing a transition from focusing on quantity management to sustainable use, the matching and coordinating demand pressure and supply capacity for food security is unbalanced. Therefore, facing uncertain future development scenarios, policymakers should focus on building a resilient space for China’s farmland protection to withstand the interference of major emergencies. The existing farmland protection space policy can be integrated by establishing a national farmland strategic reserve system (based on resilient space), and further development of targeted use control measures for zoning, grading, and classification will help realize sustainable China’s farmland resources use.     

Model employers and model cities?: Bangalore’s public sector and the rise of the neoliberal city

Bangalore is held up as a model for how cities, particularly in the global south, should develop in the globalized information age, in which entrepreneurs with new access to international capital fuel service-sector-driven development. Expanding market forces cultivate cities of skilled middle-class workers whose increased consumption generates broad developmental benefits. Now known as the “Silicon Valley of India,” Bangalore was previously the capital of India’s public sector enterprises (PSEs), which laid important groundwork for the city of today, including the IT sector. I show how, by providing access to homeownership along with high wages and benefits tied to secure employment, Bangalore’s PSEs created the foundation for the city today and its middle-class character. The skilled workforce that PSEs created helped the IT sector emerge in the city. By examining this erased history, we see the role of the state in development projects, and consider alternative models for urban change.     

“A Salute to the Bandido”: A Political Ecology of Voice Exploration into Peru’s Freedom of Voice Surrounding Hydrocarbon Development

This paper sets out to evaluate the freedom of voice for Peruvian stakeholders affected by hydrocarbon development. This occurs through the utilization of a political ecology of voice (PEV) theoretical framework based upon the theory of voice by Albert Hirschman and political ecology. PEV can be defined as the study of economic, political, social, and geographical factors over a specific time period and their impact upon the use of voice by stakeholders. Peru’s case study was focused on its main oil-producing Loreto Region and incorporated evaluation of hydrocarbon voice mechanisms (prior consultation and environmental impact assessments) supported by interview testimony of stakeholders and state officials. PEV analysis reveals a political environment which is dangerous, inflexible, and intolerant of Peruvian stakeholders voicing over hydrocarbon development. This is due to the state’s zealous pursuit of its “selva (rainforest) hydrocarbon and development vision” which severely undermines Peruvian stakeholder’s freedom of voice.     

Japan’s urban singles: negotiating alternatives to family households and standard housing pathways

In comparison to other advanced economies, the rise of people living alone in Japan has been late and rapid, with singletons now accounting for almost half of all households in major cities. The normative and structural frameworks surrounding standard family-household formation, however, remain formidable, reducing life-course opportunities for non-family formers. This paper considers the household and housing pathways being negotiated by younger-adults living independently. In addition to various secondary data sources, we draw on qualitative interviews with 35 individuals from 28 Tokyo households in addressing manifestations of, and resistance to, atomisation and individualisation in the Japanese context. Our analysis focuses on meanings and practices of homemaking among renters and buyers in the growing sector of single-person dwellings, as well as the recent emergence of commercial shared housing . This analysis provides a contrast to discourses surrounding the “singles boom” and “the growing appeal of living alone” in Western cities.     

Governance,Gender and the Appropriation of Natural Resources: A Case Study of ‘Left-Behind’ Women’s Collective Action in China

China’s rapid urbanization has created large scale of population migration, resulting in many villages being dominated by “left-behind” women, and weak governance of those collectively owned resources. The situation has required these women to take up the functions of decision-making and governance as a remedial mechanism as well as a new path. Based on a case study in a typical hollowing-out village in central China, this paper explores an example of left-behind women’s collective action to prevent the over-exploitation of community and resources. It finds out that although traditionally excluded from public activities and marginalized, the “left-behind” women were able to mobilize and enhance collective action. When empowered, they are growing fast with endurance and courage, and as capable as anyone of defending the common-pool resources. It suggests that the left-behind women offer a new governance option for those population hollowing out rural areas.     

China’s agricultural land use change and its underlying drivers: A literature review

Understanding the manifestations and underlying drivers of agricultural land use change in China is of great importance for both domestic and global food security.However,little is known about the holistic pattern of agricultural land use change across China,espe-cially from the perspective of intensity since the evidence has been gathered mainly through case studies at local levels.This study conducts a systemic review of agricultural land use change and its underlying drivers in China by aggregating 169 relevant case studies from 123 publications.The cases related to intensification and disintensification,which are the two types of agricultural land use change,are generally equal,accounting for 50％ of the total number of cases.Intensification and disintensification can be further divided into the same three categories:expansion/contraction of agricultural land,changes in agricultural land use activities and changes in land management intensity.Demographic,economic,technological,and institutional drivers,together with location factors,are frequently noted as significant underlying drivers,while sociocultural drivers and farm(er) characteristics are less frequently recognized.Finally,three major land use change trajectories are summarized mainly con-ceming rising labor costs and the concomitant increase in off-farm employment,the ecologi-cal improvement policy,and advances in agricultural technology.     

How Does Castells's The Rise of the Network Society Contribute to Research in Human Geography? A Citation Content and Context Analysis

Manuel Castells seminal work The Rise of the Network Society (RNS) is one of the top ten most frequently cited publications in human geography. RNS comprehensively investigates the theory of network society, which is of great significance to human geography. Citation count, however, cannot reflect the specific contribution of RNS to human geography. By jointly using citation content and context analysis on 898 journal articles on human geography, this study examines the citations of RNS to clarify the contribution. Results show that (1) “space of flows” is most frequently cited and (2) citations of RNS serve nine citation functions in human geography studies. Eight of them reveal three types of knowledge development contribution, namely, knowledge dissemination, knowledge inheritance, and knowledge innovation. Among the nine citation functions, the critique function is most thought-provoking, revealing the deficiencies of RNS: (1) spatial dualism is abstract and impersonal, (2) “space of places” is as important as “space of flows” in the network society, and (3) the lack of abundant data limits the development of empirical research on the space of flows and network of city. These critical citations provide implications for the development of network society theory in human geography. Key Words: bibliometric analysis, citation context analysis, content analysis, knowledge development, network society.