Geography Education

China wants a railroad linking it to Thailand and on to the Bay of Bengal in Myanmar, but some international groups warn that it may put a big burden on Laos.

View Full Lesson on TED-ED BETA: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-pandemics-spread In our increasingly globalized world, a single infected person can board a pl...

This is a great demonstration of why spatial thinking is critical to so many fields, including medicine.

Tags: diffusion, medical, historical, spatial.

The death and life of the industrial corridor linking New York and Washington.

This article is a great example of analyzing the landscape to observe changes in any given place.  This corridor is home to 8 of the 10 wealthiest counties; at the same time this transportation corridor is also home a half a dozen of the country's most broken cities.  Exploring this area is way to analyze the changing economic geographies of the United States.  For a visual representation of these same themes, see this 5 minute video that corresponds to this NY Times magazine article. 

Tags: industry, economy, unit 6 industy, transportation, neighborhood, landscape.

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spatial information in a useful manner for your audience and 3) how mapping a place can be the impetus for changing outdated systems.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.

"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. 

USA Route 66 Cross Country Road Trip Map, Data, Summary, Photos, Equipment Used: http://www.defreesproductions.com/road-trip-route-66-cross-country-usa-2012 ...

I saw this video on an Atlantic Cities article and was struck by the rural and "off-the-beaten path" feel that timelapse of the Mother Road manages to capture.  Route 66 looms large in Americana, in part because it represents a bygone era, a time when the automobile was new and exciting. This empowered many to make a cross-country road trip, but during this time the car was not so ubiquitous that it was the overwhelming force that is so visually prominent in urban landscapes as it is today.  The historical and cultural critique of the U.S. automobile culture in the Pixar movie Cars may be fictional and for a child audience, but it is quite accurate in noting that cities disconnected from the interstate system sharply declined and were never the same.  These places represent for many people then, a classic pop culture landscape of yesteryear.  

Tags: transportation, landscape, place, culture, timelapse.

For over 1400 years, Mecca has been one of the most important cities in the Arabian Peninsula. By the middle of the 6th century, there were three major settl...

As the heart of Islam, Mecca brings in pilgrims from around the world.  This documentary gives a great overview of the historical, spiritual and cultural reasons why this is sacred space to over one billion Muslims.  Additionally, this documentary contains an analysis of the logistics that are a part of the Hajj.  

Tags: Islam, tourism, place, transportation, religion, Middle East, culture. 

Every spring, China's cities are plunged into chaos as 130 million migrant workers journey to their home villages for the New Year in the world's largest human migration.

I've posted in the past about this documentary which portrays the The cultural importance of New Year's in China and the massive corresponding migratory shifts that take place.  What is new is that the 85 minute documentary is now available online.  "Last Train Home takes viewers on a heart-stopping journey with the Zhangs, a couple who left infant children behind for factory jobs 16 years ago, hoping their wages would lift their children to a better life. They return to a family growing distant and a daughter longing to leave school for unskilled work. As the Zhangs navigate their new world, Last Train Home paints a rich, human portrait of China's rush to economic development."

Tags: China, EastAsia, migration, development, labor, development, transportation, unit 2 population.

Our modern society depends on greater connectivity between places.  Regionalized economies, politics and transportation networks are increasingly integrated with far-flung places now more than ever before.  Our biosphere and natural environments are exceptions to this pattern.  Wilderness areas are 'islands' in an ocean of human controlled environments.   We create transportation linkages that unite people economies and cities, but separate herds from there extended habitat. 

We've all seen road kill on major highways.  Species like deer, elk, and grizzly bears and other large-bodied animals need a wide range for numerous ecological reasons.  These bridges are an attempt to ameliorate some of the problems that our roads pose for the non-human species that still call Earth home.  From a purely economic standpoint, many argue that these bridges save society money given the accidents and property damage that can be avoided. 

UPDATE: This is a hilarious/painful video of a woman who clearly doesn't understand these principles.

Tags: biogeography, transportation, environment, land use, sustainability, environment adapt.