Reflections on a White Discipline

Utilizing a partially autobiographical format, this article considers the practice and study of race within geography. I argue that the overwhelmingly white composition of the discipline has very real implications for both individual experiences and our intellectual production and disciplinary culture. I explore these issues by drawing on my own experiences as a Chicana within geography, and by examining the extent to which one area of research, environmental justice, has engaged questions of race and the consequences of that engagement. I conclude with some general remarks on what it might take to significantly diversify geography.     

The Spaces of Conservation and Development around Lake Nakuru National Park,Kenya

Geographically or sociologically defined resource management units, such as buffer zones or community resource management territories, seek to harmonize local land–use practices with protected–area management objectives. The geographically restricted nature of these models often results in simplistic representations of society–nature relations over time and space. Conservation areas are misrepresented as ecologically and socially homogeneous, as well as politically neutral. This study examines the limits of a spatially defined conservation and development project designed around the physical geographical unit of the watershed at Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya. It argues that politically motivated violence that has plagued the area since the early 1990s has severely undermined the suitability of such narrowly defined conservation territories. Specifically, the case study points to the permeability of the Lake Nakuru watershed to national and regional political forces that ultimately constrain participation in conservation activities. The spaces of conservation and development must be enlarged to include these extralocal arenas and processes if environmental problems are to be effectively addressed.     

Markets, ethnicity and environment in a vulnerable landscape: the case of small-scale vegetable production on the Jos Plateau, Nigeria, 1991–2001

This paper explores changing socio-environmental interactions in the vegetable producing areas of the Jos Plateau over the decade 1991–2001. It considers the pressures of market forces and ethnic competition and the tensions which arise as interactions between the two are played out in a fragile physical, social and institutional environment. The region has seen a remarkable expansion in irrigated vegetable production, as dry season surveys in 1991 and 2001 attest. Local farmers appear extremely positive in their perceptions of change, pointing not only to expanded production, but also to other improvements, like growing percentages of children in school and improved transport. But behind this rosy view of change there are tensions and a series of unresolved questions which may soon have to be addressed. We examine the changing nature of socio-environmental interactions over the decade and ask whether and how current levels of production can be sustained in the context of a currently largely unregulated production system and growing competition for land. Given the important role of the Plateau as a source of temperate fruit and vegetables in West Africa, these questions have significance far beyond the Plateau region itself.     

BELGIAN SETTLEMENT AND SOCIETY IN THE INDIANA RUST BELT*

ABSTRACT. At first glance the industrial city of Mishawaka, near the northern border of Indiana, appears to be ethnically homogeneous. Closer examination, however, reveals the rich ethnic heritage of Mishawaka, as it does in so many other Rust Belt cities from Pittsburgh to Chicago. One of the most fascinating of these immigrant stories is the rise of Belgian Town, on Mishawaka's southwest side. This study examines residential, commercial, and social patterns of this evolving ethnic community during the first three decades of the twentieth century. Although industrial jobs attracted immigrants to the city, creation of a Flemish Catholic church provided the foundation on which to build a tightly knit Belgian community.     

The current ethnic panorama in Bulgaria

Although a constant trickle of outmigrants and several larger waves (mostly to Turkey) are characteristic for the modern history of Bulgaria, its ethnic composition was relatively stable. The ethnic Bulgarians are a clear majority, the largest minority groups being in descending order the Turks, Roma (Gypsies), the Muslim Bulgarians and several much smaller groups. The geographical patterns of distribution have been analysed. Over time, the policies of the Bulgarian state towards the minority groups have been varying between benevolence and restriction measures. The ethnocultural communities have worked out moduses of co-existence preventing the escalation of conflicts at the local level.     

Koreatown and Korean Small Firms in Los Angeles: Locating in the Ethnic Neighborhoods*

The locations of Korean firms in Los Angeles reflect spatial segmentation in markets and the provision of labor, in that the ethnic neighborhoods facilitate positive business environments for ethnic small firms. While Korean small businesses serve both community needs and broader local markets, firm locations are closely associated with the residential patterns of some ethnic populations. To address the specificity of firm locations, this paper examines Koreatown using historical sources and recent property development, identifies changes in the locational patterns of Korean firms between 1975 and 1986, and analyzes relationships between business density and density of ethnic populations for zip code areas. The findings of this study indicate that both the development of Koreatown and the presence of ethnic neighborhoods are important influences on the location of Korean businesses.     

民族文化旅游产品的体验化设计与创新——以彝族十月太阳历文化园为例

体验经济赋予了民族文化旅游产品新的内涵,也促使民族文化旅游产品的体验化设计成为必然.民族文化旅游产品体验化设计应遵循产品独特性、体验主题化、高度参与性、文化真实性的原则,从体验主题的确定、体验氛围营造、体验活动的策划、体验线路的安排和旅游纪念品的设计等5个方面进行.     

数字经济对中国经济高质量发展的空间效应与影响路径

数字经济已成为推动经济高质量发展和共同富裕的重要抓手。本文梳理数字经济对中国经济高质量发展的影响机制,并构建了创业与创新两条传导路径。基于2011—2018年中国287个地级及以上城市的面板数据集,从时空两个维度对数字经济与经济高质量发展的演变特征进行分析,并运用空间杜宾模型和中介效应模型对其影响过程、机理与空间异质性进行实证检验。结果表明：① 2011—2018年间,中国数字经济和经济高质量发展水平呈现整体提升趋势,但两者均存在明显的时空差异特征。② 数字经济水平的提高有助于本地经济高质量发展,而对邻近地区经济高质量发展没有表现出显著的积极影响,即存在一定的数字隔离。③ 在东部、中部和东北地区,数字经济对经济高质量发展具有显著的积极作用,且在东部地区的影响效果最为明显。数字经济对不同类型城市经济高质量发展的影响程度大致呈现从特大城市到中小城市依次递减的趋势。④ 中介效应模型的结果验证了创业和创新水平是数字经济推动经济高质量发展的中介变量,但同时这种传导效应存在明显的空间异质性。     

基于乡村多功能理论的少数民族传统聚落景观风貌演化特征及影响机制研究——以湖南怀化皇都村为例

在快速推进城镇化的背景下,以湖南省怀化市皇都村为例,基于乡村多功能理论,探究乡村聚落景观风貌演化过程和驱动机制。采用参与式农村评估方法,以Google Earth高清影像数据为基础,通过影像纠正拼接,结合实地调研数据,探究景观风貌的演变特征。研究显示：① 乡村多功能变化与聚落景观风貌变化是相互联系的,具有紧密的相关性;② 皇都村景观风貌演化阶段可分为缓慢且稳定的乡村传统功能型、无组织有方向的乡村生产功能型、矛盾到趋于协同的乡村现代功能型;③ 聚落的生活居住功能、生产保障功能、生态保育功能、商业服务功能、文化传承功能等多功能发展特征明显,多功能协调发展对景观风貌保护和演化具有积极意义;④ 皇都村景观风貌演变是一个动态的持续的过程,是内生驱动力、外源驱动力以及自然驱动力共同作用的外在表现,皇都村从单一的农业生产功能逐步向多功能路径转变,实现了景观风貌的多样性。     

不均衡的跨国人口流动：对美墨移民历程与政策的思考

美国是全球最大的移民接收国,墨西哥是美国最大的移民来源国,特殊的地缘关系和巨大的发展差距使众多墨西哥人移民美国。墨裔移民为美国提供了充足的劳动力,在美墨边境地区,移民集聚带动了两国边境地区的发展。但族裔矛盾始终是美国主要社会问题之一,特别是“9·11”事件后,少数族裔和非法移民问题加剧美国社会分裂和对立,成为美国国内政治博弈的焦点。基于区域地缘关系的视角来看,美国与墨西哥之间长期不对等的国际关系决定了跨国移民的流入状态和生存境遇,也是美国族群矛盾的主要原因之一。移民问题政治化将持续强化墨裔移民政策的不确定性,使移民个人与家庭面临更大的融入困难。