Doing space relationally: Exploring the meaningful geographies of local government in Wales

Recent years have seen significant advancements in the theorising of relational space through conceptual frameworks which recognise the polymorphic organisation of sociospatial relations (e.g. Territory, Place, Scale and Network). Less understood, however, are the methodological challenges inherent in ‘thinking space relationally’. In particular, how can such conceptual vocabularies be sustained through the contingent practices of doing research? In this article, we address these concerns empirically through an analysis of the sociospatial responsibilities of local government actors across Wales, as new modes of spatial planning require them to think and act across administrative boundaries and policy areas. We introduce the notion of ‘patch’ as a means for eliciting conceptually open and grounded accounts of relational space as situated within personal/professional interests, cultures and ideologies. We identify different ways in which patch is relationally located, and how understandings of its boundaries and coherences relate to public policy remits. Yet while invoking different kinds of material and imagined spatiality, patch remains largely defined by the responsibilities and resources tied to local government boundaries. Institutional configurations continue to inform the way different spaces are discursively organised and practised. We conclude by reflecting on the need for accounts of relational space to be open to its everyday material groundings in relations of fixity and flow. Gesturing towards recent studies which display complementary concerns, we consider where attentiveness to patch and other ‘meaningful’ spatial frames has the potential to develop geographical analyses in new directions.     

Claiming space and community: rural women’s strategies for living with, and beyond, fear

Following the well-established literature on women’s fear in urban contexts, a small but important literature has also begun to document accounts of boldness, fearlessness and empowerment. We extend this work by considering ways in which women live with, and beyond, experiences of fear. We argue that fear and fearlessness are not discrete and separate states, but rather they are often simultaneous conditions that women negotiate in complex ways. Moving away from a sense of victims and passivity, we suggest that women have spatial and social strategies that can be adopted when they face fear or take up forms of action that might be termed ‘bold’ or ‘courageous’. Consequently, this work draws on Koskela’s [Gender, Place and Culture 4 (1997) 301] previous discussion of ‘bold women’ in Finland to develop a notion of agency and highlight strategies that some rural women adopt in New Zealand.     

Urban space, ethnic community, and national belonging: the political landscape of memory in Little Tokyo

The “Little Tokyo” neighborhood of Los Angeles was the center of pre-internment community life for Japanese immigrants and their children and is still considered the symbolic home of later generations of Japanese Americans in Southern California. Drawing on three years of ethnographic research in Little Tokyo, I explore in this article how contemporary Japanese Americans have used and transformed this ancestral landscape in order to express, contest, and formalize collective memories of the Japanese American experience, particularly with regard to their place in the national body politic. Historical narratives inscribed at many places in Little Tokyo, both informal and institutional, project a narrative of sacrifice, suffering, and redemption in the context of internment and military service, articulating neatly with mainstream American tropes of overcoming hardship as a process of ‘earning’ citizenship and its benefits. However, such narratives are also contested by alternative interpretations and representations of these spaces that describe a special role for Japanese Americans in making demands of their government, rather than just sacrifices to it. The resulting debates, disagreements, and even occasional consensus around constructions of nation, identity, community, and belonging are rooted in the ‘sacred ground’ of Little Tokyo, gathering meaning and persuasive power through their connection to a symbolically dense site of shared memory. The multiple memory projects of this landscape reveal how Japanese Americans have envisioned their relationship to the concept of America, to each other, and to other communities with shared experiences in a diverse metropolis.

Race, space and place in suburban Durban: an ethnographic assessment of gated community environments and residents

This paper explores gated community culture and development in the suburbs of North Durban in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Using perspectives from the anthropology of space and place as a theoretical and methodological framework, ethnographic fieldwork in one community in this area explores the cultural reasoning behind the movement to a fortified suburban enclave in South Africa by problematizing why, in a newly democratic society based on an ethos of desegregation, do individuals feel the need to segregate themselves along class and racial lines in fortified developments in a fashion reminiscent of homeland demarcation during apartheid? And, is the movement to gated communities within post-apartheid South Africa solely a white cultural and class phenomenon? While these questions are necessary, and perhaps commonsensical in terms of the unique social history of South Africa, research also attempts to complicate these lines of inquiry to apprehend the cultural reasoning and lifestyles of gated community residents to move past racial and class stereotypes and delve into the complex culture of these environments and the different rationalizations that individuals work with to justify their surroundings.     

The East African monsoons and their effects on agriculture

Though the East African monsoons may be considered as mere extensions of the South Asian monsoonal system, they possess a number of characteristics which make them unique amongst the world's monsoons. The most important of these is the relative dryness of both the North and the South monsoon, caused by a prevalent low-level divergence over eastern Africa. Most rainfall in the region therefore occurs during the intermediate seasons between the monsoons, when this divergence is temporarily replaced by more convergent flow patterns. As a result, total rainfall in East Africa is relatively low. Over most of the region it is strongly concentrated during two short seasons and it is highly variable from year to year, both in total amount and in time of occurrence.As in most parts of the tropics, rainfall is the main limiting factor in agricultural production in East Africa. The relations between rainfall and agriculture can be illustrated by the usual water balances, but an alternative method, employing the Agricultural Rainfall Indicator, is more useful for planning purposes. Drought frequencies, based on a simple relation between actual and average rainfall, also represent the effects of the monsoons on East African agriculture very clearly.     

Seismo-induced effects in the near-earth space: Combined ground and space investigations as a contribution to earthquake prediction

The paper aims at giving a few methodological suggestions in deterministic earthquake prediction studies based on combined ground-based and space observations of earthquake precursors. Up to now what is lacking is the demonstration of a causal relationship with explained physical processes and looking for a correlation between data gathered simultaneously and continuously by space observations and ground-based measurements. Coordinated space and ground-based observations imply available test sites on the Earth surface to correlate ground data, collected by appropriate networks of instruments, with space ones detected on board of LEO satellites. At this purpose a new result reported in the paper is an original and specific space mission project (ESPERIA) and two instruments of its payload. The ESPERIA space project has been performed for the Italian Space Agency and three ESPERIA instruments (ARINA and LAZIO particle detectors, and EGLE search-coil magnetometer) have been built and tested in space. The EGLE experiment started last April 15, 2005 on board the ISS, within the ENEIDE mission. The launch of ARINA occurred on June 15, 2006, on board the RESURS DK-1 Russian LEO satellite. As an introduction and justification to these experiments the paper clarifies some basic concepts and critical methodological aspects concerning deterministic and statistic approaches and their use in earthquake prediction. We also take the liberty of giving the scientific community a few critical hints based on our personal experience in the field and propose a joint study devoted to earthquake prediction and warning.     

Sweating bodies: Men,masculinities, affect,emotion

This paper investigates sweat to deepen theoretical understandings of how gender is lived. To do so we adopt a visceral approach that opens possibilities of thinking geographically about the affective ties and emotional bonds of sweat to engage with feminist logics of embodiment. Our interest is in what sweaty bodies can ‘do’. Attention is given to the way that affects, emotions and sensations associated with being sweaty, smelling sweat, as well as touching one’s own sweat, and that of others, provides insights into the gendered lives of people as they move through different context. Our analysis of how gendered is lived through sweaty bodies draws on ‘Summer Living’ narratives of 17 participants who understand themselves as men and live in Wollongong, a city of around 280,000 people on the east coast of New South Wales, Australia. We illustrate the theoretical significance of thinking about sweat for gender and geography by discussing the ambiguity, proximity and collectivity of sweaty bodies; and, the fragility, multiplicity and vitality of sweaty bodies. To conclude we outline how a visceral approach provides possibilities to improve household sustainability policies.     

Urban agriculture in South Africa: Scope,issues and potential

This paper examines the present state of urban agriculture in South Africa and analyses its potential for poverty alleviation. Currently, the scale of cultivation taking place in South Africa is relatively small as compared to other developing countries. The key explanation for the undeveloped urban agricultural sector is the greater returns to land and labour which may be earned from backyard shacks and alternative informal income opportunities in the city. Informal cultivation is primarily a survival niche of the most marginalized and most vulnerable groups in urban areas, in particular for elderly women. Policy issues are raised concerning urban agriculture in post apartheid urban reconstruction.     

The effects of agriculture on the volcanic aquifers of the canary islands

Agriculture is a basic economic activity in the Canary Islands, a Spanish region in the Atlantic Ocean, facing the Sahara. The main crops are bananas, tomatoes, and other special ones suitable for exportation. Fertilizers are applied in high quantities on the scarce land available. The relatively good vertical permeability of the soils favors the deep infiltration of irrigation return flows. Water is obtained by an extraordinary net of shaft wells and water galleries, supplemented when possible by surface reservoirs in the deep gullies. Water is distributed by an extensive network of pipes and canals, allowing the transportation of water to virtually any point from any water source. Water quality is widely variable, from almost rain water to brackish, with a high frequency of sodium bicarbonate types. Return flows, especially when water is applied with good irrigation techniques and the original quality is poor, are saline and contain chemicals leached from the fertilizers. On Tenerife Island, most of the return flows go to coastal aquifers, while most of the water comes from high-altitude water galleries. Agricultural pollution is not generally appraised, but it exists. It can be masked by the frequent, high natural nitrate content in groundwater. On Gran Canaria Island, since water comes mainly from deep shaft wells near the irrigated areas, the nitrate pollution is much more clear. On La Palma Island, besides the nitrate pollution, a potassium pollution of agricultural origin has been mentioned. Other situations on the remaining islands are also discussed. It can be concluded that agriculture is a big concern for the water quality in many areas and impairs its suitability for other uses. Because of the great depth of the water table, the nitrate pollution may not become obvious for many years, especially for the deep-water galleries. Presented at the 16th Congress of the International Association of Hydrogeologists, “Impact of Agricultural Activity on Ground Water Quality and Quantity,” September 1982, Prague, Czechoslovakia.     

Solar shield: forecasting and mitigating space weather effects on high-voltage power transmission systems

In this paper, central elements of the Solar Shield project, launched to design and establish an experimental system capable of forecasting the space weather effects on high-voltage power transmission system, are described. It will be shown how Sun–Earth system data and models hosted at the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) are used to generate two-level magnetohydrodynamics-based forecasts providing 1–2 day and 30–60 min lead-times. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) represents the end-user, the power transmission industry, in the project. EPRI integrates the forecast products to an online display tool providing information about space weather conditions to the member power utilities. EPRI also evaluates the economic impacts of severe storms on power transmission systems. The economic analysis will quantify the economic value of the generated forecasting system. The first version of the two-level forecasting system is currently running in real-time at CCMC. An initial analysis of the system’s capabilities has been completed, and further analysis is being carried out to optimize the performance of the system. Although the initial results are encouraging, definite conclusions about system’s performance can be given only after more extensive analysis, and implementation of an automatic evaluation process using forecasted and observed geomagnetically induced currents from different nodes of the North American power transmission system. The final output of the Solar Shield will be a recommendation for an optimal forecasting system that may be transitioned into space weather operations.     

Proximity,subjectivity, and space: Rethinking distance in human geography

This paper critically reviews the current status of the concept of distance in human geography in order to argue that recent experimentally-driven work in construal-level theory offers ample opportunities for recasting distance as a key geographical trope. After analysing the four entangled dimensions of distance revealed by construal-level theory (spatial distance; temporal distance; social distance; and hypothetical distance), the paper articulates this research program from experimental psychology with geographical work on non-representational theory, geographical imaginations/imaginative geographies, learning as a geographical process, TimeSpace theorising, and ontogenetic understandings of space. It is argued that the subjective understanding of distance afforded by construal-level theory can rescue distance from its entrenched association with positivistic geography and spatial analysis.     

State,capital and spaceships: A terrestrial geography of space tourism

Over the past decade, there has been a significant structural and geographical change in space travel. Following policy, budgetary and regulatory changes in the United States, space travel may now be conducted by private companies. This privatization has also led to some geographical competition and shifts between states within the US. In this paper, I respond to MacDonald’s (2007) call for more critical geographies of outer space activity. Building from his suggestion that we look more closely at the ways in which outer space activity is constituted by “numerous familiar operations” with respect to the practices of international relations and war and to the “basic infrastructural maintenance of the state and the lives of its citizenry”, this paper explores why the US Government has allowed for private space travel and why this privatization drove some states in the US to invest heavily in such a nascent industry sector. It argues that federal and state governments both saw private space travel as a means to fulfill their “basic infrastructural maintenance” with regard to economic expansion, development and competitiveness. The paper analyses these processes through the development of space tourism. In doing so, it provides more detail and geographical context to Dickens and Ormrod’s (2007) overview of the connections between outer space and the circuits of capital. It also demonstrates the many familiar political-economic processes involved in the privatization of space travel and, as such, the possibilities for further critical geographies of space activity.     

开采沉陷数值计算的空间效应和层面效应分析

数值计算结果的实用性主要取决于模型和参数的选取。在相同地质、开采条件下，笔者探讨了平面模型与三维模型、设置弱面与不设置弱面、弹性与弹塑性等不同状态对矿山开采沉陷计算结果的影响，通过计算模型之间的对比，分析了空间效应、层面效应等对计算结果的影响程度和原因。其结论对今后矿山开采沉陷数值计算具有参考价值。     

Role of nuclear energy,geothermal energy,agriculture, and urbanization in environmental stewardship

The global issue of atmospheric variations and global warming caused by diverse anthropogenic behaviors is a global concern. There is apprehension about preserving an uncontaminated atmosphere and attaining optimal nuclear and geothermal energy utilization with agriculture sector development. In this regard, this paper investigates the influence of nuclear energy, geothermal energy, agriculture development, and urbanization on carbon emissions and ecological footprint from 1990Q1 to 2019Q4 in the case of China. The findings of unit root tests reveal that all variables are stationary at first integration order, and cointegration test findings confirm the presence of long-run relationships among series. The quantile autoregressive distributive lag (QARDL) method findings demonstrate that nuclear energy, geothermal energy, and urbanization statistically correlate with CO2 emissions and ecological footprint across all quantiles, indicating that these determinants have contributed to environmental degradation. Whereas agricultural development has a statistically significant and negative influence on the environment, implying that agriculture has a pollution-mitigation impact. Based on these empirical findings, several policy implications are presented to preserve environmental quality to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target.