Introduction: immigrants and transnational experiences in world cities

Today, in the early 21st century, goods, information, services, financial capital and human beings are flowing across national borders at an ever-accelerating rate. In this context, transnationalism has become a key paradigm in the study of international migration and urbanism. This theme issue on “Immigrants and transnational experiences in world cities” explores these new trends in contemporary international migration, with respect to transnational communities and geographies, in articles grouped according to four themes: international migration and world cities; highly-skilled and low-skilled immigrants; economic impacts; and immigrant experiences in world cities.     

The fifth edition of the Atlas of Finland —thematic and methodological guidelines

Finland has a most extraordinary experience in the field of thematic and expecially atlas cartography. The traditions of national atlases go almost 100 years back through five extensive editions (1899, 1910, 1920, 1960 and the fifth 1977–1991). Thematically these atlases have acted as thruthful mirrors of the rather dramatic changes Finland has lived through both from the point of environment (including political boundaries), economy, settlement and cultural features. Methodologically the series of Finnish atlases show many interesting aspects of development, in many respects important new approaches have been introduced and also the fifth edition has in international reviews been described as “innovative”. Finally one can stress the purposeful geographical emphasis in the content of these atlases; they are no mechanistic interpretations of e.g. statistical data. The presently-day work in the field of national atlases faces many new demands. Automation has enhanced the cartographic processing of data, there is a much extended information base concerning all the aspects of the modern societies which must be taken into account and there is also a number of new outlets for the ready product (printed and numerical). The greater scope and diversity must not, however, restrict the scientific unbiased editorial work of analyzing and synthetizing the data for cartographic expression; a clearcut geographical philosophy must be the guideline. In the future the thematic and atlas cartography must also be dealt increasingly in problem-oriented and international frames.     

The national landslide database of Great Britain: development, evolution and applications

Landslide inventories are essential because they provide the basis for predictive landslide hazard and susceptibility assessments and because they allow for the manipulation and storage of temporal and spatial data. The National Landslide Database has been developed by the British Geological Survey (BGS). It is the most extensive source of information on landslides in Great Britain with over 15,000 records of landslide events each documented as fully as possible. This information is invaluable for planners and developers as it helps them investigate, avoid or mitigate areas of unstable ground in accordance with Government planning policy guidelines. Therefore, it is vital that the continual verification, collection and updating of landslide information is carried out as part of the Survey’s ‘National Capability’ work. This paper describes the evolution from a static database to one that is continually updated forming part of a suite of national digital hazard products. The history of the National Landslide Database and associated Geographical Information System (GIS) is discussed, together with its application and future development.     

From national to post-national territorial identities in Israel-Palestine

Territory remains a central component of national identity in the contemporary political discourse between Israelis and Palestinians, both populations opposing power sharing within the same space, for fear of the other's domination. The contemporary political discourse relates to conflict management and the desire for separate spaces within which national identities are strengthened through territorial/national homogeneity. The Zionist national ideology of most Jewish citizens of Israel has strong territorial roots; hence they reject the post-Zionist post-nationalist ideology, regardless of whether they accept the possibility of change in Israel's territorial configuration or of a diminishment in the importance of the territorial dimension of national struggle. The rights of residency and citizenship even of second and third generation Jewish citizens remain linked with the territorial configurations of a State that will continue to be called Israel and have a national anthem expressing the aspirations of a single, exclusive, national group. But within territorial readjustment, issues of configuration may become less relevant and in it is this sense that post-Zionism focuses on a discourse of territorial pragmatism, rather than the disappearance of territory from the nationality-citizenship debate altogether. It is part of a process of re-territorialization and spatial reconfiguration of political and national identities, not a reversal of territorialization, if only because there is no such thing as a post-territorial notion of the organization of political power. The boundaries of national identity become more permeable, more inclusive, but they do not disappear altogether.     

NIMBY localism and national inequitable exclusion alliances: The case of syringe exchange programs in the United States

Syringe exchange programs (SEPs) aim to reduce the harm associated with injection drug use (IDU). Although they have been accepted as critical components of HIV prevention in many parts of the world, they are often unwelcome and difficult to set up and maintain, even in communities hardest hit by IDU-related HIV transmission. This research examines socio-cultural and political processes that shape community and institutional resistance toward establishing and maintaining SEPs. These processes are configured and reinforced through the socio-spatial stigmatizing of IDUs, and legal and public policy against SEPs. Overarching themes the paper considers are: (1) institutional and/or political opposition based on (a) political and law enforcement issues associated with state drug paraphernalia laws and local syringe laws; (b) harassment of drug users and resistance to services for drug users by local politicians and police; and (c) state and local government (in)action or opposition; and (2) the stigmatization of drug users and location of SEPs in local neighborhoods and business districts. Rather than be explained by “not in my back yard” localism, this pattern seems best conceptualized as an “inequitable exclusion alliance” (IEA) that institutionalizes national and local stigmatizing of drug users and other vulnerable populations.     

Generation of a landslide risk index map for Cuba using spatial multi-criteria evaluation

This paper explains the procedure for the generation of a landslide risk index map at national level in Cuba, using a semi-quantitative model with ten indicator maps and a cell size of 90 × 90 m. The model was designed and implemented using spatial multi-criteria evaluation techniques in a GIS system. Each indicator was processed, analysed and standardised according to its contribution to hazard and vulnerability. The indicators were weighted using direct, pairwise comparison and rank-ordering weighting methods, and weights were combined to obtain the final landslide risk index map. The results were analysed per physiographic region and administrative units at provincial and municipal levels. The Sierra Maestra mountain system was found to have the largest concentration of high landslide risk index values while the Nipe–Cristal–Baracoa system has the highest absolute values, although they are more dispersed. The results obtained allow designing an appropriated landslide risk mitigation plan at national level and to link the information to the national hurricane early warning system, allowing also warning and evacuation for landslide-prone areas.     

‘Seeing red’ in national parks: How visitors’ values affect perceptions and park experiences

People’s reasons for visiting national parks have been well researched. So too have their park activities and how diverse activities potentially affect visitors’ park experiences (e.g. perceptions of overcrowding). Far less research has examined how park users’ environmental values might affect their perceptions of other users and the appropriateness of different activities – a potential source of conflict. Relationships between personal environmental values and environmental and social perceptions are complex and interactive in the context of park visitation. Visitors’ encounters with other users can powerfully affect their experience and enjoyment of parks, in turn reflecting such factors as values-related expectations and judgments in the context of national parks. Personal and social values may also play an important role in influencing whether different activities are perceived as ‘out of place’ in the context of national park place meaning, yet the conceptualization of values within geographic literature on parks remains comparatively weak.This paper utilizes a definition of values, derived from a concise review of the geography and social psychology literatures, to explain the results of survey research we undertook within national parks in Queensland, Australia. We use a ‘values-behavior hierarchy’ conceptual framework to consider how the personal environmental values of a sample of park visitors (n = 404) potentially affected patterns of park visitation, user activities, and user conflicts. Findings suggest that visitors’ environmental values shaped how they perceived other park users and the appropriateness of their activities. This has international implications for geographic research and other disciplines and professions involved in national park visitation, park use, and human impacts, on and of these powerful places.     

Evidence of women’s empowerment in India: a study of socio-spatial disparities

Various national and international communities have addressed women’s issues and taken various efforts to empower them so as to enhance their social and health status and involve them in developmental activities. The Indian DHS survey (National Family Health Survey, 1998–1999) provides an opportunity to study women’s empowerment in India. The survey collected information on several dimensions of women’s empowerment from 90,303 ever-married women (ages 15–49), from all the states of India. Utilizing these data sets, four indices – household autonomy index, mobility index, attitude towards gender index and attitude towards domestic violence index – are constructed to measure the different dimensions of empowerment. Using these indices, the spatial and socio-economic and cultural disparities that exist within India are analyzed. Finally, an attempt is made to identify some important determinants for women’s empowerment using multiple logistic regression analysis. The results show that at the national level, 43% of the women have high household autonomy; 23% of the women have high freedom to move outside their home; 40% of the women have no gender preference attitude; and only 43% of the women defy domestic violence. But there are significant divergences in these indices of women’s empowerment across the different states and socio-economic and cultural settings within India. Women’s educational levels emerged as an important predictor for all the four dimensions of women’s empowerment. Additionally, media exposure and age have emerged as the important predictors for some dimensions of woman’s empowerment. This paper was presented by Prof. Kamla Gupta at the International Geographical Union Conference (IGU), held in Canada, 2002.     

Determining factors of the development of a national financial center: the case of China

This study explores, theoretically and empirically, one of the important issues of the geography of finance, namely the location of high-level financial services. Specifically, we will try to explain why foreign financial services are spatially concentrated in a particular city so as to form a national financial center in China. By reviewing various forces behind the formation of a financial center, we argue that information problems have created the need for geographic agglomeration of financial activities based on the source of information. This is true even in an era when financial markets work through sophisticated telecommunication networks. Based on a survey of the actual location of multinational corporation (MNC) regional headquarters, and through investigation of reasons for the agglomeration of these headquarters, we anticipate that Beijing, as the prime source of policy information, is more likely than other Chinese cities to be the national pre-eminent financial center when the Chinese financial markets become more open to foreign firms in the near future. This study illustrates, using China as a case study, that geography still provides strong justification of why major financial services continue to have a high degree of spatial agglomeration in particular locations, despite the fact that the electronic transmission of information has substantially reduced the friction of distance.     

The environmental planning and management approach towards the development and management of the Osun natural spring project,Ibadan, Nigeria

There is a general shortage of potable water in Nigeria, partly through the lack of natural provision and partly because of rapid urban growth that has largely been unplanned. The paper describes the recent redevelopment of a public water facility in a run-down area of Ibadan which is part of the Sustainable Ibadan Project. Despite funding from national and international bodies, the development is strongly based at community level. The local inhabitants feel they have control over their own water supply through their representatives on the various planning and managing committees. This aims to reduce vandalism and to increase pride and involvement in the community. The project is a pilot for other projects around Ibadan, some of which have begun and others are being planned. This paper describes the administrative structures and management principles that have been employed. It forcefully advocates community-based planning and management which respects both the environment and the water-users, and involves a major “bottom-up” element. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Fitness-for-Purpose of Reference Material Reference Values in Relation to Traceability of Measurement, as Illustrated by USGS BCR-1, NIST SRM 610 and IAEA NBS28

As in all fields of sample analysis, reference materials play a large role in supporting measurements in the geosciences. While a rather large number of materials are in distribution (> 380), not all are equally effective or fit-for-purpose in supporting laboratory data quality and thereby assuring the desired comparability of measurements between laboratories. Equally important, reference values that are not fit-for-purpose cannot be used effectively to establish traceability links between laboratory measurements and national and international standards. The needed fitness-for-purpose is not achieved for reference values either when more than one reference value has been proposed and a consensus does not exist among users as to which should be used by all, or when reference value uncertainties are too large in comparison to those of routine laboratory measurements. The focus of this review will be, first to outline the current reality, and second to suggest ways in which certifications of RMs can be improved to provide reference values that are universally accepted and more fit-for-purpose in general laboratory use. The discussion will be illustrated largely by current uses of USGS BCR-1, NIST SRM 610 and IAEA NBS28, as these three materials are those for which the largest body of newly published data exists, according to recent bibliographies of the geoanalytical literature published annually in Geostandards Newsletter: The Journal of Geostandards and Geoanalysis.     

Beyond Chinatown,beyond Enclave: Reconceptualizing Contemporary Chinese Settlements in the United States

Profound changes in international geopolitics and national policies, as well as global economic restructuring, and technological and communicational development have occurred since Chinatown first emerged. With the rapid pace of globalizing economy, increasing flows of population, commodities, information, and financial resources across the Pacific Rim – particularly in the last two decades – it is imperative that we reexamine the international migration patterns of Chinese population and reconceptualize the resulting Chinese settlement forms in the globalization era. This article attempts to serve such purposes by briefly reviewing the debate centered around historical and contemporary Chinatowns; discussing the impacts of societal and structural factors on Chinese immigration and settlement; presenting a spectrum of contemporary Chinese settlement forms in the United States, and highlighting some key characteristics. The article ends with brief discussion and conclusion sections that summarize some issues in contemporary Chinese community studies.     

Women's status, environmental changes and child health in the riverine area of Ondo State, Nigeria

The viewpoint that most health problems are environmentally related has always been promoted by medical geography. In recent times, concern about environmental degradation has been of high priority for many national and international organizations as ‘we human beings become a threat to our planet’. There is also a need to specifically focus attention on the impact of so-called development efforts on the health of women and children, in particular those living in highly marginalized regions which often contribute substantially to the overall development of their countries. This paper uses the concept of vulnerability as a departure point from which to map the health risks to children in Igbekun area of Ondo State, the ‘transgressive muddy’ oil-rich coastal area of Nigeria. The paper attempts to highlight the poor quality of life and health of children in particular, and how it is becoming much more difficult to practice health intervention programmes, especially oral rehydration therapy (ORT) in the area. The Igbekun area is an unhealthy and harsh environment, complicated by the devastating effects of oil drilling in recent years. The siltation and sedimentation of the creeks and lagoons have serious health dimensions as human faeces float in and around villages because the ‘bush toilets’ can no longer be reached. The on-going environmental crisis has also deprived women of their traditional means of livelihood; fishing. There is a relatively high level of ignorance (compared with other women living in the same local government area (LGA) of causes of the commonest diseases such as diarrhoea, acute respiratory infection (ARI) and measles. A majority of the women have never heard of family planning, immunization against diseases and interventions such as ORT. Promotive health care services, especially those that strive to reduce the high mortality of children have passed the mothers by. It is also becoming impracticable to promote ORT because of the widespread ‘salty and oily’ water supply in the area. The greatest concern of the women now is that oil drilling activities have further amplified their stressful conditions especially their health and that of their children. Unfortunately, their plight is not acknowledged by the Nigerian authorities and the oil companies are least concerned about alleviating the poor health status of the community, in particular the most vulnerable groups, children under the age of five. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Earthquake shaking probabilities for communities on Vancouver Island,British Columbia,Canada

Comprehensive risk assessments are fundamental to effective emergency management. These assessments need to identify the range of hazards (or perils) an entity is exposed to and quantify the specific threats associated with each of those hazards. While hazard identification is commonly, if not formally, conducted in most circumstances, specific threat analysis is often overlooked for a variety of reasons, one of which is poor communication with subject matter experts. This poor communication is often attributable to an adherence to scientific jargon and missed opportunities to simplify information. In Canada, for example, earthquake hazard calculations have been readily available to engineers and scientists for decades. This hazard information, however, is expressed in terms of peak ground accelerations (PGA) or spectral accelerations (SA) that are foreign concepts to most emergency managers, community decision-makers and the public-at-large. There is, therefore, a need to more clearly, simply and effectively express seismic hazard information to the non-scientific community. This paper provides crustal, sub-crustal and subduction interface earthquake shaking probabilities, expressed as simple percentages for each of 57 locations across Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Calculations present the likelihood of earthquake shaking on Vancouver Island as the probabilities of exceeding each of three shaking intensity thresholds (“widely felt”; onset of “non-structurally damaging” shaking; and onset of “structurally damaging” shaking) over four timeframes (10, 25, 50 and 100 years). Results are based on the latest Geological Survey of Canada hazard models used for the 2010 national building code and are presented in both tabular and graphic formats. This simplified earthquake hazard information is offered to aid local residents, organizations and governments in understanding and assessing their risk and to encourage and facilitate sound earthquake preparedness funding decisions.     

基于数据中心的国土资源信息系统基础平台的构建及技术问题

国土资源信息化建设是我国今后几年的工作重点.国土资源信息化的基础是国土信息的集成.在国土信息集成的工作中, 主要存在3个方面的问题: (1) 不同GIS间的数据无法共享; (2) 不同种类的国土数据无法集成; (3) 不同行政级别单位间数据无法共享.不同GIS的数据共享可以通过在GIS的ODBC层和数据库之间加一层GIS格式转换层来解决; 将不同种类的国土数据划分成不同的图层, 以空间控制点方式对这些图层进行叠合, 以使它们在空间关系上成为一个比较一致的统一系统; 借鉴数据仓库的管理模式, 不同的行政单位对应于不同的比例尺的数据, 高级别单位数据的综合度高, 存放的数据少, 低级别单位数据的细节性强, 存放的数据多, 整体上呈现出金字塔结构, 金字塔中不同层次的数据通过空间控制点进行传送.国土信息集成的目的是构筑一个国土信息系统的基础平台.国土资源信息系统基础平台是一个基于数据中心的、能统一管理信息的、支持现有流行GIS访问的、能与上下级数据中心无缝互连的国土资源基础设施系统.它处于整个国土信息系统的底层, 目的是向上层的信息系统提供一个能满足各种格式的数据需求的、而与具体的信息系统无关的独立的数据平台.      

A note on India’s water budget and evapotranspiration

Some recent analyses of India’s water budget are based on information attributed to the Ministry of Water Resources. An examination of the budget components indicates that they imply an evapotranspiration estimate that is significantly lower than what one may expect based on information from other sources. If such is the case, India’s water resources situation may be more dire than is otherwise perceived. For, higher evapotranspiration implies correspondingly reduced availability of water for human use. It should be worthwhile to investigate and reconcile the apparent discrepancy between water budget and evapotranspiration, considering the importance of water in the national context.     

Images and use of New Zealand's protected areas by domestic and international visitors

The images and use of national parks and other protected areas in both domestic and international tourism sectors is described. Despite the perceived importance of these areas, little is known about visitor characteristics, use patterns, or even use levels. Baseline data are presented from past and current research, which provide a tentative model of present user images, levels and patterns. Domestic use appears to be seasonal and regional in nature, with frequent users often utilizing less developed and hence less popular areas. International visitors, drawn to New Zealand by its clean, green, nuclear-free image, visit famous, easily accessible, highly developed protected areas. The possible effects of the present government's user pays policy on visitor use and behaviour are discussed, as well as other possible future concerns regarding the interface between tourism and protected areas.     

Transboundary air pollution and environmental justice: Vancouver and Seattle compared

This paper comparatively analyzes the association between urban neighborhood socioeconomic markers and ambient air pollution in Vancouver and Seattle, the two largest urban regions in the Georgia Basin-Puget Sound (GB-PS) international airshed. Given their similarities and common airshed, Vancouver and Seattle are useful comparators addressing not only whether socioeconomic gradients exist in urban environmental quality but also identifying clues to differences in these gradients between Canadian and American cities. Large air quality sampling campaigns and pollution regression mapping provide the pollution data, in this case nitrogen dioxide—a marker of traffic emissions considered the most important air pollutant for human health in the typical North American city. Pollution data are combined with neighborhood census data for regression and spatial analyses. Median household income is the most consistent correlate of air pollution in both cities, including their most polluted neighborhoods, although neighborhoods marked by immigrant populations do not correlate with high pollution levels in Vancouver as they do in Seattle.     

中国淡水湖泊沉积物地球化学背景与环境质量基准建立的思考

利用中国150余个淡水湖泊表层沉积物和深层沉积物的地球化学数据,采用中位数绝对中位差的方法统计获得了中国主要淡水湖泊沉积物的As、Cd、Cr、Cu、Hg、Ni、Pb、Zn、TN、TP、TOC及pH的地球化学背景值,为我国湖泊沉积物环境质量基准的建立和湖泊生态环境质量监管提供了重要依据。统计结果表明,我国表层湖泊沉积物中的As、Cd、Hg等重金属元素以及TP、TOC等发生了显著富集,显示出强烈的人类活动对湖泊沉积物环境质量的改变。在探讨国外环境质量基准值对我国淡水湖泊沉积物环境质量评价适应性的基础上,提出直接采用国外相关标准还不能客观评价我国湖泊沉积物的污染程度和生态风险,应充分考虑我国湖泊沉积物的地球化学背景,建立适应我国情况的沉积物环境质量基准。