Boundaries Make a Difference: The Effects of Spatial and Temporal Parameters on Conservation Planning*

Conservation planning and resulting ecological target identification require selection of both a planning area boundary and temporal baseline or reference condition. We examined the effects that these selections can have on resulting amount and location of identified conservation targets. A gap analysis for California was conducted using five different sets of ecoregion boundaries to identify and compare existing conservation shortfalls in major land cover type representation in protected areas using a threshold of 30 percent per ecoregion per type as the minimum required for future ecological viability. Another gap analysis was run for a single ecoregion using two temporal baselines (current and pre-1900) for the land cover followed by a comparison of identified conservation needs. We found that the boundaries of different ecoregional schemes affected both the total area needed to meet the per ecoregion land cover conservation goals and the spatial location of underprotected land cover types. Choice of temporal baseline also had a significant effect on the establishment of conservation targets for the highly human-impacted Central Valley ecoregion. To meet the given conservation threshold using a historic rather than contemporary baseline, a substantial amount of restoration is required. The results can help identify areas of both conservation needs consensus and those that vary widely based on the chosen planning boundary, as well as aid in the selection of appropriate restoration targets in degraded ecosystems. Because all landscapes are continuous in nature and planning area boundaries are discrete, similar results are likely to be found in analyses conducted in other regions.     

Hypsographic Demography Across Scale

The typical framework for assessing human population distribution is across a flat, two-dimensional landscape. We alter this perspective by examining population distribution with respect to a third dimension, elevation. This alternative framework, termed hypsographic demography, conceptually provides a more complete visualization and understanding of population distribution. We apply hypsographic demography to North Carolina from the scale of the entire state to streams of different sizes. At the state scale, elevation and population are generally inversely correlated. The flat coastal plain contains the majority of the population at low elevations, whereas higher elevations contain smaller populations due to steep topography, which limits development. At the county scale, the historic location and expansion of cities was more closely correlated with observed patterns of hypsographic demography than elevation or topography. At the scale of the stream, the influence of topography on hypsographic demographics gains importance where topography limits the land available to develop. We use this approach to illustrate how changing the perspective for viewing population distribution can be applied to floodplain policy.     

Patterns of Racial Diversity and Segregation in the United States: 1990–2010

The growing ethnic and racial diversity of the United States is evident at all spatial scales. One of the striking features of this new mixture of peoples, however, is that this new diversity often occurs in tandem with racial concentration. This article surveys these new geographies from four points of view: the nation as a whole, states, large metropolitan areas, and neighborhoods. The analysis at each scale relies on a new taxonomy of racial composition that simultaneously appraises both diversity and the lack thereof (Holloway, Wright, and Ellis 2012). Urban analysis often posits neighborhood racial segregation and diversity as either endpoints on a continuum of racial dominance or mirror images of one another. We disturb that perspective and stress that segregation and diversity must be jointly understood—they are necessarily related, although not as inevitable binary opposites. Using census data from 1990, 2000, and 2010, the research points to how patterns of racial diversity and dominance interact across varying spatial scales. This investigation helps answer some basic questions about the changing geographies of racialized groups, setting the stage for the following articles that explore the relationship between geography and the participation of underrepresented groups in higher education.     

Applying the Political Geography of Scale: Grassroots Strategies and Environmental Justice

The grassroots environmental movement often protests locally unwanted land uses. Many grassroots groups have, however, expanded their agenda to the scale of environmental justice. Explanations for this scale transformation include historical circumstances, individuals' radicalization through activism, and the growth of environmental justice networks. This case study, grassroots environmentalists' opposition to a proposed electricity transmission line in Monroe County, WV, explores another explanation: appeals for environmental justice are also a strategic response to siting regulatory procedures. With concepts emerging from the political geography of scale, I interpret the Monroe Countians' efforts and show how their strategies link the grassroots scale with that of environmental justice.     

A Hierarchy of Spatial Marginality Through Spatial Filtering

Abstract

Taking a clue from classic time-series decomposition, this article demonstrates a spatial filtering and search technique that permits the partitioning of a measure of marginality, here measured as the percent of the population living at less than 50 percent of the poverty level, into macro, meso, and micro components. This approach supports theory that has argued for scale-specific explanations of spatial marginality. The technique also offers promise for many other types of investigations such as disease incidence, microclimate dynamics, and consumer preferences.     

Constructing Alterity in Ile De France?

Abstract

The aim of the article is to determine whether the Walt Disney Company has manufactured a landscape “other” to French culture around its parks in the Eastern Paris Basin. Val d'Europe is contentiously constructed by three main groups, not just one enterprise: the French state, the Walt Disney Company and local and regional governments, as well as by present and future residents, within the constraints of a contract based on French laws. The Company's investment has been a tremendous boost to the French state's project but did not lead to Disneyfication of the Briard landscape of agricultural lands in the Eastern Paris basin. In Val d'Europe the French state did not abdicate its authority in favor of commoditization of Paris as a global metropolis. The French state and French culture were never “weak” and overwhelmed.     

Ornamental plants and the production of nature(s) in the Spanish real estate boom and bust: the case of Alicante

The Spanish real estate boom and bust of the 2000s caused immense economic, social, and environmental changes across the country. Massive urbanization, however, does not necessarily entail the end of nature and natural processes, instead marking a radical transformation of environments and societies. Through a political ecology approach, we analyze how ornamental species have become a fundamental part of new natures induced by urbanization in the Spanish province of Alicante. We connect the economic and ecological characteristics of ornamental plants like the palm tree to urbanization and real estate trends in Alicante. Our evidence indicates that, in Alicante, economic recession and environmental crises (manifested in the pests affecting palm trees) have mutually reinforced one other, creating a new geography of ecological desolation in many areas.     

试论中国山区城镇化方向选择及对策

针对2012年中央经济工作会议上提出城镇化是我国现代化建设的历史任务,对中国山区城镇化现状、存在的问题进行分析,认为山区城镇化水平低且多呈无序状态,资源开发对山区城镇化的驱动作用较为明显,旅游业的发展则是山区城镇化的新动力.同时还从山区的边缘性、生态环境的脆弱性、经济结构的单一性、城镇空间组织的离散性及文化保护的重要性分析了山区城镇化的特殊性,初步提出“科学统筹、规划先行、中小城市为主、规模适度、高标准、集约化、特色化、功能化、可持续化”的山区城镇化发展的方向及相应的对策.     

Spatial correlations between urbanization and river water pollution in the heavily polluted area of Taihu Lake Basin, China

Water pollution in the Taihu Lake Basin has been the focus of attention in China and abroad for a long time, due to its position in the forefront of urban development in China. Based on data gathering and processing from 84 monitoring sections in this heavily polluted area, this study first analyzes spatial patterns of urbanization and the distribution of river water pollution, and then uses the GeoDa bivariate spatial autocorrelation model to investigate the spatial correlation between urbanization and river water pollution at the scale of township units. The results show that urbanization has adverse impacts on water pollution, and the influence varies in different levels of development areas. The urban township units have the highest level of urbanization and highest pollution, but the best water quality; the suburban units have lower level of urbanization, but higher pollution and worse water quality; however the rural units have the lowest level of urbanization and lowest pollution, mainly affected by upstream pollution, but worst water quality. Lastly, urban and rural planning committees, while actively promoting the process of development in the region, should gradually resolve the issue of pollution control lagging behind urban life and urban develop- ment, giving priority to construction of centralized sewage treatment facilities and associated pipeline network coverage in the rural areas and suburban areas.