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Scooped by Seth Dixon onto Geography Education |
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The National Geographic Education team has produced a fabulous site that has online GIS tools for understanding the environment of the Cheasapeake Bay watershed. Students can upload their data, click on various layers, and use drawing and measuring tools. Other "Fieldscope" projects are available as well at: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/program/fieldscope/
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Seth Dixon's insight:
Ironically, some land use patterns become more visible as the sun goes down. There are some sharp borders in this image of Toronto that was taken by the Canadian astronaut, Chris Hadfield and it is a wonderful teaching image. Questions to ponder: Why is there such sharp divisions between the illuminated and obscure portions of the image? What does this sharp division say about the land use patterns? Would we see this pattern in the United States? Why or why not? What urban model(s) can help explain the spatial layout of Toronto? Tags: urban, planning, remote sensing, geospatial, Canada, models, unit 7 cities. Delete the scoop?
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Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Seven million people living in 423 square miles (1,096 sq km).
Seth Dixon's insight:
These apartments are so small that they can only be photographed from the ceiling. Massive urbanization with limited space means that real estate is at a premium and many laborers will not be able to afford large living spaces. Hong Kong is an extreme example of this and it brings new meaning to the term "high-density housing." Tags: housing, urban, planning, density, urbanism, unit 7 cities. 
Kevin Cournoyer's comment,
May 1, 12:52 AM
Apartments that are so small, they can only be photographed from the ceiling. That’s pretty ridiculous. I think that most Americans, in fact, most Westerners, could not imagine such cramped and seemingly uncomfortable living conditions. As people who live in a Western culture, we value the idea of space because of the freedom it affords us and also just for basic safety reasons.
The fact that these apartments are in Hong Kong is, to me, very telling. It indicates a cultural difference between East and West. Asian cities tend to be very densely populated, and so anything that can be done to make more room for people is being done. This may have something to do with a lower standard of living in China that makes its people less picky about the environments in which they’re living because they are used to making do with what they have. 
Thomas D's comment,
May 2, 11:53 AM
This article of how people are living in Hong Kong is absolutely incredible. You can tell just by these pictures how densely populated Hong Kong is. These people have almost their entire home packed into a closet space. They eat and sleep in the same exact spot which is incredible to me. That these people’s entire lives are bunched into a closet space. When you hear that these people pay almost 30 percent more than the price of a person living in Manhattan pays is astounding. I couldn’t imagine living in such a small space like this, even from these pictures it’s hard to tell the actual square footage of the area but I’m confident in saying that my dorm room is probably bigger. It’s really hard to understand how much 7 million people living in Hong Kong really is until you see pictures like this.
Jess Pitrone's comment,
May 5, 5:34 PM
I’m getting claustrophobic just looking at these photographs. Surely, Hong Kong can’t be such an amazing city that people are willing to live like this just to be a part of it? New York City is mentioned in the article as having famously high rents, but not nearly as high as in Hong Kong. New York is also famous for tiny living spaces, but I’m sure none of them are as squished and compact as these. This seems to be almost inhumane, as people are slotted into these tiny apartments that resemble cages at a slaughter house. I think that the best way for Hong Kong to solve this problem is to build up and out, instead of dividing what they’ve already got. Like most cities in the world, when room becomes tight the buildings get higher and farther out of the city limits. Let’s look at New York again; the rents and the spaces in Manhattan became too pricey and too small, so people began to move out of the city limits to places like Brooklyn, and now Brooklyn is one of the hippest, most sought after areas in New York. I think that Hong Kong city planners need to take a step back and see what other people are doing so that they can rebuild and customize their city to make room for their bustling population.
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SimCityEDU - Create & Share SimCity Learning Tools
Seth Dixon's insight:
I will confess that I have personally never played SimCity, but I do know educators that have tapped into that gaming experience to teach spatial thinking and some principles of urban planning. This link is designed with those teachers in mind. Tags: urban, planning, spatial, unit 7 cities, edtech. 
Jamie Strickland's comment,
March 11, 2:36 PM
I played the original when it first came out--it was a lot of fun to watch the city grow and change. I had a colleague that used one of the more recent versions in his land use planning course. This will be interesting to poke around in.
Leslie G Perry's curator insight,
March 11, 9:20 PM
It's all about gaming to help them get connected. I heard a story from a colleague today. He said that every year at this school, an veteran would come and talk to the students about the military and World War II but students really didn't get it. So the next year, he had them all play Call of Duty right before the veteran visited the school. He had them storm the beaches of Normandy (on the hardest level). They all failed. The next time the veteran came to speak, they were animated and asking questions about how could they have managed such a feat. 
Seth Dixon's comment,
March 12, 4:43 PM
The game is getting more sophisticated: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/26/simcity-is-smarter-than-you-even-if-you-re-an-urban-planner.html
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Read the Transcript: http://to.pbs.org/b6sR86 The capital of the South Asian country Bangladesh, Dhaka, has a population that is booming. However, it stands ...
Seth Dixon's insight:
This is a great introduction to the demographic explosion of the slums within megacities. This is applicable to many themes within geography. Tags: Bangladesh, water, pollution, poverty, squatter, planning, density, South Asia, development, economic, megacities. 
Lauren Jacquez's curator insight,
April 8, 9:00 PM
Another look at a growing megacity and its shantytowns. 
Chris Magee's comment,
April 28, 3:40 PM
As Tony Hall says, this is a very sobering and educating video. This shows how much a population boom and high birth rate can create problems for a developing country. With all of the people there it is hard for enough jobs to be available and most are forced to work for pennies. The migration to Dhaka, about 4000 people a year, can create a huge issue for the city in the future as we have seen how extremely dense populations can effect a city.
These changes will shape the country for many years to come. The political geography will have to adapt to the booming population. How will new policies be put into effect to handle this growing population? The population will become more diverse and less unified as it is taking in new people from many neighboring cities. 
Peter Siner's comment,
April 30, 5:37 PM
A city that is home to 15 million people… this is a scary thought especially since the idea of massively overpopulated cities is a new trend around the globe. The megacities help house those who cannot live in the rural areas surrounding them. It also shows how growing populations can have quite negative effects. While the city is growing quickly there is also widespread poverty and the city is riddled with slums. High poverty rate generally converts to high crime rate. The impacts of overpopulation have lasting effects on not only the land use but also consumption rates. The example we are given is a small family in which their income was based off of a farm that was washed away, now they are forced to move to Dhaka.
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Melani Smith is Director of Planning and Urban Design at downtown Los Angeles based Meléndrez, a landscape architecture, urban planning, and urban design firm. Melani’s…
Seth Dixon's insight:
Changes are afoot to make Downtown LA (the center of a metropolitan area that is notoriously tied to freeways and the private automobile) more walkable and reshape the look and feel to make it more of a neighborhood. Tags: Los Angeles, transportation, AAG, urban, planning. Delete the scoop?
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A new study finds that urban minds don't pay as much attention to their surroundings unless they're highly engaging.
Seth Dixon's insight:
It's often noted that people from smaller towns prefer a slower pace of life and people from large cities enjoy the hustle and bustle more. So does the urban environment change how we handle the vast quantity of information in major metropolitan areas? This article points to data that says it does. Tags: rural, housing, urban, planning, density, urbanism, unit 7 cities. Delete the scoop?
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Seth Dixon's insight:
The highway system (and the widespread usage of air conditioning) in the later half of the 20th century dramatically changed the population settlement patterns of the United States and reshaping our cities.
Tags: transportation, urban, planning, density, unit 7 cities.
Lauren Jacquez's curator insight,
April 8, 9:30 PM
Very Interesting HUGGERS...we didn't always have highways to cruise on! Delete the scoop?
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Wal-Mart de Mexico was an aggressive and creative corrupter, offering large payoffs to get what the law otherwise prohibited, an examination by The New York Times found.
Seth Dixon's insight:
Wal-Mart officials worked hard to ensure that zoning regulations were changed so that they could bring a store to a coveted location. They built a Wal-Mart in the shadows of arguably Mexico's most important world heritage site--the pyramids of Teotihuacán. This investigative report uncovers the illegal steps that Wal-Mart took to force through their agenda. Questions to Ponder: Why would Wal-Mart be so keen on this particular location? Why would some in Mexico oppose this project so fiercely? Would Wal-Mart behave in such a manner in the United States? 
Sam Capron's curator insight,
February 13, 10:35 PM
I knew that Wal-Mart was rather devious in its uses of force, using both bribery and elbow rubbing to get exactly what they want. That being said the extent of the misdoings in Mexico was shocking. In my opinion Wal-Mart is ruining a national landmark and a great tourist attraction. The question I ask myself is, is there any chance that Egypt would ever allow a Wal-Mart to be built next to their Great Pyramids? Delete the scoop?
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TED Talks How can we fit more people into cities without overcrowding? Kent Larson shows off folding cars, quick-change apartments and other innovations that could make the city of the future work a lot like a small village of the past. This talk is relevant not just because it focuses on many urban issues; it also is a fantastic demonstration of how to use spatial thinking to solve problems.
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ESPN Video: With the FIFA World Cup two years away, will Brazil be ready to host soccers premiere event? This short sports documentary (12 minutes) looks at some of the socioeconomic and urban planning issues that are a part of the logistics for a country to prepare for a sporting event on the magnitude of the World Cup. The discussion of demolitions in the favelas (squatter settlements) is especially intriguing. Major sporting events of this magnitude that last for two weeks can reshape local geographic patterns for decades.
Sam Capron's curator insight,
February 20, 9:19 PM
There is a massive amount of prep work that is going to hosting the FIFA world cup and the next Olympic games. I wonder what will happen to these beautiful stadiums after the games are over. My bet would be a slowly worsening level of disrepair. Delete the scoop?
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TED Talks As Vicki Arroyo says, it's time to prepare our homes and cities for our changing climate, with its increased risk of flooding, drought and uncertainty. Our major cities are suceptible to environmental catastrophes for a whole host of reasons. Cities depend on a smooth of goods, money and services provided by infrastructure that we take for granted and assume will always work 24/7. Presented in the video are some ideas about how we should rethink our cities with a different ecological paradigm to protect our cities more in the future. Tags: planning, urban ecology, environment adapt, sustainability. Delete the scoop?
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"Schools used to be the heart of a neighborhood or community. Children and not a few teachers could walk to class, or to the playground or ball field on the weekend. This was relatively easy to do, because the schools were placed within, not separated from, their neighborhoods. They were human-scaled and their architecture was not just utilitarian, but signaled their importance in the community. Now it has become hard to tell one from a Walmart or Target." What better way to demonstrate the concepts of urban sprawl, automobile-dependent city planning and economies of scale than by analyzing the very geographic context of our schools themselves? This is a very nicely arranged photo essay that most could spark conversation and would foster some discussion on how best to plan neighborhoods and spatially arrange the city. Tags: transportation, planning, sprawl, education, scale. Delete the scoop?
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What if you put all 7 billion humans into one city, a city as dense as New York, with its towers and skyscrapers? How big would that 7 billion-sized city be? As big as New Jersey? Texas? Bigger? Are cities protecting wild spaces on the planet?
Seth Dixon's insight:
This NPR article pulls together some great images of dense urban housing as well is some stellar infographics to show the importance of cities to a growing global population. Tags: density, sustainability, housing, urban, planning, unit 7 cities. 
John Peterson's comment,
April 30, 10:36 AM
This article brings up very interesting point on the benefits of densely populated cities. While these cities can be very far from ideal living circumstances, they provide numerous opportunities and benefits to their populous. Because of the introduction of cities in our society, we have been able to reach the enormously high population numbers that we see today. Without these crammed together spaces, the world would not be able to sustain such large numbers. This can also be seen as detrimental to our society because with the increased strain on the surrounding areas to support these cities, we are harming the earth and the resources these cities so desperately need. Although the article points out that we could use some densely populated cities as models to condense earth’s population, it does also state how this would still not be fully beneficial to the planet. This is because although only a small area will be directly populated; there will still be large strains on the surrounding environments for resources. This argument shows how it is not a matter of condensing the population in order to save the earth, but to rather change our living habits, and maybe having fewer children as well.
Kevin Cournoyer's comment,
May 1, 12:50 AM
Overcrowding and overpopulation have become of increasingly greater concern over the last decade or two. We as human beings want more things and more space, but there is only so much space in the world in which we live. Cities have proved a viable, if still malignant solution because they allow for people to live in close quarters and still carry on normal, productive lives.
Some cities are more densely populated than others, and this leads to the issue of how much space they take up. This article was interesting because it showed how much room the world’s population would take up if they lived as densely populated as people in six different cities do. In terms of physical space, there were of course large differences between the six. Maybe more interesting was the infographic that showed how much of the earth the world’s population would need to live like the people of nine different countries. Here we can see the correlation between economic prosperity, standards of living and geographic impact. Those with less money and a resulting lower standard of living have adjusted to live with less and therefore physically take up less room than those in more developed countries. If everyone lived like those in more developed countries, we would literally need several more earths for everyone to live within their means constantly. 
Magnus Gustafsson's comment,
May 2, 2:59 AM
Yes. Keviin. I think the infograph about developed countries are most interesting and useful for my students.
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Two Yale architects pose the question in an ambitious research project. "Hsiang and Mendis have increasingly come to believe that the only way to study and plan for our urban planet is to conceptualize its entire population in one seamless landscape – to picture 7 billion of us as if we all lived in a single, massive city." Delete the scoop?
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The federal government's relentless expansion has made Washington, D.C., America's real Second City. From 1890-1990, Chicago was America's second largest city. Since then Los Angeles has been the second largest city, acting as the west coast capital for the United States. Both of these cities have declined in economic and political importance in the recession, and in this article Aaron Renn argues that Washington D.C. (although demographically not in the same category) could be considered an emerging second city and chronicles it's historic development. Readers may also be interested in how Renn ("the urbanophile") argues that all our impressions about Detroit are inaccurate. Tags: Washington DC, urban, historical, unit 7 cities. Delete the scoop?
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The current rise or durability of the economies of the Global South do not signal that economic geography does not matter, but that current investment has simply shifted.
Seth Dixon's insight:
In an era where globalization has rendered distances a minor barrier to diffusion, some have erroneously concluded that geography is no longer relevant to economic development and urban planning. Nothing could be farther from the truth, but that doesn't mean that the 'old rules' of space and place aren't be re-written. This is a nice article that discusses the continued importance of spatial thinking and geography for urban planning. Tags: urban, planning, economic, urbanism, globalization, unit 7 cities. Delete the scoop?
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The South Bay Power Plant was imploded Saturday Feb 2, 2013
Seth Dixon's insight:
This powerplant was demolished primarily because of location (watch the cool videos of the implosion). The electrical powerplant provided energy for the region, but it's location right on the San Diego Bay doesn't line up with current land uses. When the area's economy was focused more on manufacturing, this was seen an ideal way to use the wetlands on the bay. Today our city planning priorites has shifted. First, how we view wetlands has changed and we no longer see them as "wasted" space. Second, an attractive waterfront that can be used to generate tourism is seen as a greater economic priority today than it was 50 years ago.
Tags: location, planning, economic, space, industry, California. Delete the scoop?
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See the big picture of how suburban developments are changing the country's landscape, with aerial photos and ideas for the future
Seth Dixon's insight:
There are many types of housing development patterns throughout the world. This article provides a summary of approximately 20 different housing patterns common in the United States with a visual example demonstrate the impact on the urban footprint (Pictured above is an example of new urbanism in Boulder, CO). Each neighborhood has distinct cultural amenities and attracts particular socioeconomic market segments. Questions to Ponder: What housing patterns are you drawn to? How come? What are the advantages for the residents to live in that type of community? What are the impacts that the housing pattern has on the physical environment and the urban system? What systems are most profitable for developers? How does the layout of the neighborhood alter the sense of place?
Tags: housing, urban, planning, density, urbanism, unit 7 cities. 
Scarpaci Human Geography's curator insight,
January 30, 8:01 AM
Questions to Ponder: What housing patterns are you drawn to? How come? What are the advantages for the residents to live in that type of community? What are the impacts that the housing pattern has on the physical environment and the urban system? What systems are most profitable for developers? How does the layout of the neighborhood alter the sense of place? 
Courtney Holbert's curator insight,
February 3, 10:16 PM
Planned Developments and their effects on geography 
chris tobin's curator insight,
February 3, 10:25 PM
My favorite is the one with wide roads for your own airplane to get home. Delete the scoop?
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Seth Dixon's insight:
This image is an excellent visualization to use when teaching about density, public transportation and urban planning. Questions to Ponder: How is this a persuasive image? Do you argee with the argument that the planning office is making? Are there something important factors that this image ignores? Tags: transportation, urban, planning, density, sustainability, unit 7 cities. 
plerudulier's curator insight,
January 15, 1:17 PM
If you define a "car" as "a separate enclosed vehicle for every passenger or party", then the geometric fact about all cars, self-driving or not, miniaturized or not, is that they take vastly more space per passenger than effective public transit. This will not be a problem in low-density suburbs, but cities, by definition, are places with relatively little space per person. Self-driving cars will certainly improve the efficiency with which cars use space, so they will shift the calculus somewhat. But the bottom line will still be that if you want two crash-safe metal walls between every two strangers going down the same street, you will need a lot more space than if those two people can sit next to each other on civilized public transit. You will also need vastly more metal and equipment, which means that the self-driving-car-replaces-transit fantasy involves massive industrial production with severe consequences for energy security and greenhouse-gas emissions. As for the idea that somehow these cars will replace buses but not rail, this may be true around the margins. 
Imran Ahmed Khan's comment,
January 17, 3:44 PM
Good picture! It defines the growth of the city that impact on urbanization rate, public health, socioeconomic environment. It also tell us that if we reduce vehicles on the road more space and clean environment may we get, that reduce motality and morbadity of several disease especially lung diseases.
Lauren Jacquez's curator insight,
April 8, 9:31 PM
What are the benefits for each? Drawbacks? You decide! Delete the scoop?
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A promotional video shows planned development of a state-level development zone by government of Lanzhou, a provincial capital in China's arid northwest... The Lanzhou province is lightly populated mainly due to it's semi-arid climate and rugged topography. The goal is make a 500 square mile area (currently with 100,000 people) into a city with over 1 million people by 2030. To make this new metropolis, developers are planning to literally remove mountains to create a more 'ideal' urban environment. This makes some of the most ambitious environmental modification projects seem tame. For more read, the accompanying article from the Guardian. Questions to Ponder: What potential environmental impacts come from this scale of modification? How will this massive influx of the population impact the region? Could this type of project happen in other part of the world? Tags: environment, urban ecology, planning, environment modify, China. 
Elizabeth Allen's comment,
December 11, 2012 11:51 PM
The developer is claiming this will be "protective development." I am not sure if I buy that. They are moving mountains- which means everything that comes with that, wildlife, trees, etc... And they are building an airport and an oil refinery (amongst other things).. Urbanizing can be great for the economy- but at what cost.
Elizabeth Allen's curator insight,
December 11, 2012 11:51 PM
The developer is claiming this will be "protective development." I am not sure if I buy that. They are moving mountains- which means everything that comes with that, wildlife, trees, etc... And they are building an airport and an oil refinery (amongst other things).. Urbanizing can be great for the economy- but at what cost. Elizabeth Allen Delete the scoop?
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Neighborhoods that are perceived by outsiders as economically successful have created a cultural niche that draws in visitors with a mixture of shops and amenities that appeal to a particular demog... A vibrant cultural ambiance is not just a backdrop for selling commodities in shopping districts. The feel of a neighborhood and a sense of place can be the commodity as Air BnB is artfully demonstrating. Tags: neighborhood, place, culture, economic, planning. 
Don Brown Jr's comment,
November 20, 2012 11:34 AM
This is an interesting website but I can’t help but wonder what characteristics of a neighborhood is included or excluded when property is advertised to a specific audience. Does this advertisement reflect the values of the tourist or the residence and common people who already live in the community?
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One of the nation’s most influential groups of engineers said it presented detailed warnings that a devastating storm surge in the region was all but inevitable and proposed ways to prepare.
MH: Hey, you know what? A bunch of engineers accurately predicted the kinds of damage the East Coast would face from a strong storm surge. Maybe we should give that science stuff a little consideration in our future plans in designing our cities. Delete the scoop?
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Jerry Dobrovolny, Vancouver’s director of transportation, has a lot of nerve trying to spin a tale that the city’s new transportation plan isn’t “focused on a war on the car.” He should walk across the street from city hall to Yuk Yuk’s comedy club... Not everyone (especially not the author of the linked editorial) is a fan of Smart Growth and other urban planning paradigms that promote alternative forms of transportation (categorized in the editorial as anti-vehicle bullying).
Questions to Ponder: Does Vancouver's planning seem "anti-vehicle" to you? Are some places "anti-cycling" or "anti-walking?" What would these places look like? What do you see as the best transportation model for our cities? Tags: transportation, urban, planning, sustainability. 
Lauren Moss's comment,
November 2, 2012 8:20 PM
Thanks for sharing a very interesting perspective on a very relevant issue... I think LA exemplifies an 'anti-pedestrian/cycling' city, though the factors (historic patterns of development, social + cultural issues, etc.) that contribute to this condition are varied and complex. In a similar vein, though I advocate smart growth principles, implementation definitely has its own complexities, as expressed in the Op-Ed above. Regardless, always glad to learn more about the topic- appreciate the share!
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TED Talks Map designer Aris Venetikidis is fascinated by the maps we draw in our minds as we move around a city -- less like street maps, more like schematics or wiring diagrams, abstract images of relationships between places. This video touches on numerous themes that are crucial to geographers including: 1) how our minds arrange spatial information, 2) how to best graphically represent spatial information in a useful manner for your audience and 3) how mapping a place can be the impetus for changing outdated systems. This is the story of how a cartographer working to improve a local transportation system map, which in turn, started city projects to improve the infrastructure and public utilities in Dublin, Ireland. This cartographer argues that the best map design for a transport system needs to conform to how on cognitive mental mapping works more so than geographic accuracy (like so many subway maps do). Tags: transportation, urban, mapping, cartography, planning, TED, video, unit 7 cities. 
Jesse Gauthier's comment,
October 14, 2012 3:42 PM
When trying to graphically represent spatial information in a useful manner for your particular audience, you will have a lot to take into consideration. How familiar are the travelers with the area you map out? Are there visuals to precisely mark on the map so that will they accurately correspond to the area?
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