Mexico’s cities are ballooning in population while rural and indigenous communities, where there are still over 60 indigenous languages other than Spanish spoken, are disappearing. For many indigenous families, illiteracy and the powerful forces of racism and discrimination can often offset the lures that brought them to migrate to urban centers.
The northern border with the United States is not the only destination for Mexican migrants. For millions, the bustling cities, which offer hopes of better jobs and education lure many from their traditional rural, and often indigenous communities. What they find in the cities is a mix of hope and hardship.
Mexico is having a lot of internal migration within cities. Many different languages are disappearing and for a lot of the people literacy, racism, and other forces can often bring them to urban areas. Also the border isn't the only hope for migrants, bustling cities offer hopes of better lifestyle as well. L.K.
I believe migrants should be allowed to migrate to their destination. But there should of course be policies as to how many people come to one area at a time and such. In my opinion the main problem lies with those who exploit the border and migrate illegally as well as those who don't belong such as terrorists. Once this is resolved migration from Mexico to the United States or to anywhere will be much smoother. CN
The internal migration going on in Mexico is mainly comprised from the indigenous communities. They think that if they move to the city they can better their lives by getting an education and a wealthy paying job. But as they soon find out there is more problems than jobs and education. many of the personal videos show the hard path many of the people endure with very little success.
Last Thursday, France passed legislation that new commercial buildings are required to have green roofs.
In order to decrease the environmental impact of new construction, new buildings in commercial zones must have either rooftop plants or solar panels. These rooftop gardens not only insulate the building with their thermal mass, but they also filter water and help prevent excess runoff and storm water overflows.
France is not the first government to legislate green roofs. In 2009, The City of Toronto began requiring some new buildings to include rooftop planting in their design, and in Switzerland, all buildings must have a green roof if they have a suitable pitch...
Its amazing how much traffic can affect air pollution, especially in such a small place. Dhaka is heavily populated, traffic in this small but heavily populated community is very stressful, even to look at in the photo provided above. I can't imagine living in such a heavily populated area. I guess you can compare it to downtown New York City. However the pollution is more intense in Dhaka than it is in NYC.
This is a prime example of a megacity and the population that it cohabits the city. The huge populaiton that is se densley populated in such a small area creates for a large traffic and pedestrian issues. After watching the video you would think that there would be more accidents but living in a city like this you would get use to the population ways and learn the ways of life.
Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, suffers from overpopulation. As funny and nerve-wrecking this video was, it shows an instability on how important technology is in order for safety. In the video we can see cars just passing by fast and furociuosly within centimeters of crashing in the car in front of it. There is no one guiding traffic and nonetheless, any stop and traffic lights on the streets. It is a free for all in the middle of the capital when it comes to driving and this is a lack of safety for the people in Bangladesh. It is almost impossible for people to cross the road without a high risk of getting driven over. We can also see how there are so many cars in the are was well. The region is very overpopulated and to think how worse it would be if everyone in the area owned a car.
The German city is planning a green network that will cover 40% of the city area, contributing to resilience and allowing biking, swimming and nature watching in the city
The European commercial hub promotes bicycling as the main mode of transportation, and plans to build a network around bikes and pedestrians, linking car-free roads to parks and playgrounds, from the city centre to the suburbs.
Welcome to Hamburg, an environmental pioneer whose planned green network will cover 40% of the city's area. "It will connect parks, recreational areas, playgrounds, gardens and cemeteries through green paths", says Angelika Fritsch, a spokeswoman for the city's department of urban planning and the environment. "Other cities, including London, have green rings, but the green network will be unique in covering an area from the outskirts to the city centre. In 15 to 20 years you'll be able to explore the city exclusively on bike and foot."
Picture this: Tourists visiting one of your city's most prominent attractions are unable to see it because of smog, haze and a bevy of other airborne pollutants. What's the solution?
Major cities in the world should take a deeper look into controlling pollution problems in their cities. At some point, these places will no longer attract people to live in these areas, thus lowering the impact that these industries may have. But as long as people are still living here by the millions and there is tourism, and buisness is booming, nothing will be done about the issue.
Pollution is a huge issue facing both Hong Kong, and the rest of China in general. So far the government has done little to actually combat the problem. The Chinese governments response has been to pretend that the problem does not really exist. A fake skyline can just erase the problem. In reality dealing with the pollution issue would actually help the Chinese economy. When people seek to go on a vacation, they are seeking a destination that is clean and safe. Who wants to visit a place were, you have to ware a mask to prevent the breathing in of armful chemicals. A cleaner less polluted china would lead to an expanded tourism industry.
Geography can be difficult to teach - sometimes it can seem like it's mostly just facts and places. Regions. Types of mining in different places. Weather patterns. Vegetation. Lots of, well . . . b...
This picture taken by a photographer with the perfect lighting is brilliant....that is, if you're into deceiving people that the pollution from these power plants stays away from the higher class businesses and residences. Looking at this picture you see the smoke coming from the power plant in China far in the distance creating a yellowish hue that could be thought to be from the sun. Then closer in the scene we see what appears to be businesses and potentially some peoples homes. This area is in a totally different color from the yellow we see to be associated with the pollution from the power plant. Here we see a blue, commonly associated with clean water, covering the entirety of this area. With the difference in colors these places seem to be as different as possible from each other. In reality though, smog doesn't just stay in one area of the city where it is produced, but spreads throughout the entirety of a city. There are no restraints on where the pollution can and can't be, it is free flowing into communities where people work and live. If you're trying to sell a house here this picture wouldn't be a bad idea to use, although most natives aren't oblivious to what is really going on.
This picture is interesting to say the least, it depicts two different cities, even though it is the same city. the picture does a good job at showing the major problem that pollution is causing to Beijing. While showing a smog surrounded city behind a clean, yet clouded looking city, drives this point of pollution home and raises the question is putting large factories and toxic fumes in the air, more important than the well being of your citizens?
An awesome photo in the original use of the word. This photo shows two sides of the city the industrial giant that it launched China to the top and the commercial giant that tells of China's development. But above both lies the true enemy, pollution. The smog is the capital city is terrible, not only for the environment but for the people breathing it in all day. Look up Beijing two week car ban and you notice how blue the sky can be. But think during this car ban emissions from the vehicles dropped but were those factories still spewing as much as normal?
The results of India's once-in-a-decade census reveal a country of 1.2 billion people where millions have access to the latest technology, but millions more lack sanitation and drinking water.
More Indians are entering the middle class as personal wealth is transforming South Asia's economy in the private sector. Yet the government's ability to provide public services to match that growth still lags behind. Why would it be that it is easier to get a cell phone than a toilet in India? What will that mean for development?
With the lack of toilets and the uprising in the use of cell phones in India, the sanitation and living standards of the people of the country are lacking which in turn comes to a place of hazard. With more people moving into the country and from other areas it is causing a massive uprise in the use of technology but government funding and jobs do not create enough money to continuously keep up with the upgrades needed in sanitation and public safety.
there is a constantly recurring theme here, mass population growth and the government of said country not being able to grow at the same rate to provide simple services to its people
In the last few decades the population in India grew to 181 million, but now, the population is more that 1.2 billion people and is on track to overtake China. India's rapid economic growth also reflects in census too. Almost all households in India have cellphones but fewer households don't even have toilets!
I don’t find nothing right about tourist visiting the slum, I feel that the tourist are violating there privacy. They are human being not some historical landmark. If the tourist are not helping this people why are they going? If you are going to visit this places do it because you want to help them, not because you think is interesting their way of living.
Moral questions are always fun. Personally I don't think going to see slums is all that exploitative in itself, but I would make a distinction between guided tours that cost money, and self-directed tours though. In a guided tour you are paying money to walk through a community and view what life is like for those people, but in a self-directed tour you are just another person walking down the streets and viewing whatever you stumble upon. There are plenty of tours within neighborhoods of different economic value the world over, but these tours are scrutinized because the people touring are as wealthy, or less wealthy, than the people living there. I don't think that a poor community changes this dynamic in an immoral way, as the perceptions of which group is superior come from the own minds of those who feel uncomfortable with it.
This article rises in interesting question. Are tours of slums exploitive or beneficial to the slum dwellers? On the one hand the tours could feel like exploitation and the tourist is viewing attractions at a “zoo”, on the other hand it brings people far removed from slum life in contact with it and can change people’s point of view on the slums. It can be beneficial if the tour guides donate money to the slums or jobs are sought by slum dwellers to become tour guides. The question is should slums be hidden away from view or opened up to tourists so that they can see the hardships first hand. I think that this is an issue that is not clearly black or white; there are many shades of gray involved in this issue.
The key facts and figures about refugees, IDPs, asylum seekers and stateless people from UNHCR's annual Global Trends report.
Not all migation is voluntary. Refugees and other non-voluntary migrants often are in their situation due to complex geographic factors beyond their control at the national scale.
I've used similar videos in my classes and students are usually quite shocked to see how a city like Bangkok, Thailand operates. I've used this as a 'hook' for lessons of population growth, urbanization, economic development, sustainability, megacities and city planning.
On the one hand this disturbed me. All I kept thinking when I saw the people go back on the tracks is that they could easily be killed.In fact, I wonder how many accidents have ever occurred near this area. All it would take is some sort of malfunction on the train in which the horn wasn’t sounding to provide ample warning or someone gets in another person’s way so there isn’t enough time to close down the shop. On the other hand, this made me realize just how efficient a population could become at using space. Everything was timed so that the entire area moved out of the way without an issue. So rather than let any land go to waste, the area uses it despite the risk to its population. Though it really isn't like the population has a choice though. So in instances where there is such overpopulation, it is interesting to see how well the society can adapt to the phenomenon. I do wonder what would happen if the country becomes more developed and the population declines. Would this type of land continue in the future or be disband? I know that in our country there are many laws that would make this illegal, but our country also has the space avoid developing the land in such a manner. When comparing it to the laws of the United States, I would think the country would eventually drift away from this use of land when possible. However, now that I watch the video, I have a new appreciation for maximizing land and I hope that the efficient could continue. Just in a less scary manner.
Talk about using every inch of space available to you. I find this video crazy not only because of the safety hazards, but just how people seem to go about this like it is normal. This would never take place in America!
An absolute amazing dynamic is seen in this video. To say that Bangkok is trying to use most of its open space up would be an understatement. In developed countries, you would not only never see this happen but you would not even see a thought of doing something like this. There are violations every where you look.
One billion people worldwide live in slums, a number that will likely double by 2030. The characteristics of slum life vary greatly between geographic regions, but they are generally inhabited by the very poor or socially disadvantaged.
There was significant publicity last year when the world population reached 7 billion. Barely a whisper was heard when the global population of slum dwellers exceeded 1 billion. When the world's population reached 7 billion, it was used as a moment to reflect on sustainable growth, resources and the common good for humanity. This 'milestone' of 1 billion slum dwellers needs to also serve as a teaching moment to reflect on urbanization, migration, human development and the underlying causes that have lead to this explosive growth primarily in the developing world.
So, by 2030, its likely that there will be 2 billion people living in slums.
Wonderful.
What I find most peculiar is, that no matter how much the first world nations insinuate that they are doing their best to solve the problem, work together to end world hunger, blah blah blah. The fact is, according to a video I recently watched, that no matter how much money in alms are given to those in poverty, the country will almost always include taxes, pay deductions, etcetera, and this amount is more than the amount that they had given to them. So technically, the situation is getting worse.
Fantastic.
I understand that money is a sensitive matter, but really, if you think about it, the government of poorer countries would be overrun by corruption. All because the richer nations care about making money and put that priority over everything else. And here in the fourth richest nation in the world (as of now), our ministers are getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars monthly to prevent corruption, but we're still rolling in seas of money.So why not help these less privileged countries?
I can think of only one reason, and that reason i have mentioned earlier: Corruption. We might be donating to the people of a country, but before that money goes to the people, it would have to go through the government. And there it begins. Say we donate 2 Million Dollars. A lot of money, right? Well, say that Country X has a hundred members of parliament. And to shut everyone up, everyone gets ten thousand dollars. Common sense tells us that they will not get the full amount. Count the authorities the money has to pass through, how many hands the money has exchanged with, the number of pockets that amount of money has filled, and you get only a fraction of what we gave. Considering Country X is a fairly large country, the amount of money will get further divided and the people will only get probably a millionth of what they were supposed to get.
Now I have lived in Singapore all my life, and I know I am not in the right position to say this, because i probably will never know how the poorest of the poor survive. But I'm gonna say it anyway.
WHY SO MATERIALISTIC???????
The money you have is only temporary. Its just a piece of paper. If you have been corrupted, please stop. Because the poorest people in your country are probably farmers. And farmers make food. More money for them, more incentive for them to work. More work done, more food you get. The more food you get, the less starved you are, the better your country will improve, and eventually, Country X could be a powerful nation.
Singapore is a perfect example. Back when it gained independence in 1965, the entire country was practically a slum. But now, less then half a century later, we are now the fourth richest nation in the world.
And for the record, I have no idea why I sounded so angry at the beginning.
It is not so easy as you think. There are many countries that does not have land suitable for farming. Also, farming requires water and many countries does not even have water for people to drink. If it was so easy for a country to be wealthy, there might not even be a poor country at all. There must be a good reason behind it and we, for now should not interfere. At most we can do is to donate :)
What impact will this escalator have on this poor neighborhood? Was this a wise use of funds? If you had $7 million to invest in a shantytown with the goal of revitalizing the neighborhood and benefiting the lives of the residents, how would you spend these funds?
This escalator seems like a waste of money. I understand that it will make life easier for the locals and possible cut down crime. But I feel with $7 million the government is choosing to attack the symptoms of living in the shantytown rather than treating the cause of inequalities. Perhaps they could have opened up local markets, started some sort of commercially viable industry, or help educate citizens that could provide the community members with a way to get out of poverty rather than.just making it easier to live in these shantytowns.
This is an interesting idea simply because of the discussion that can arise from it. Would the construction of this escalator actually benefit the people living within the slum to any foreseeable degree? On one hand some claim that yes it will have a positive impact as it could cut back on the number at attacks and muggings of those stopping to catch their breath as well as simply allowing them to conserve energy. While those on the other side of the issue say that the benefit the escalator my bring doesn't out weigh the cost of building it. Simply throwing money at a situation like this wont actually bring any relief.
I sincerely believe that was a waste of money. Sure people can now get out of the area in “6 minutes” instead of “30 minutes” which, as was mentioned in class, can get people out of the area so as to get to jobs quicker. However what good does that really do in the grand scheme of things? Do the citizens still have poor jobs? Are their homes unsafe? Are there still sanitation issues? I am pretty sure the answer is yes, to all of the above. Clearly, these issues are more pressing than an escalator. So even if investing in an area can benefit a population, I think the improvement could have been greater because there are other more pressing needs of the area where the money could have been invested.
I am actually surprised people were happy with the new addition. Given that it was a short clip, not all sides were seen. However, I feel that once people get over the novelty of the new toy and back to the reality of their everyday situation tensions could raise. Especially if the outdoor elevator breaks down, which is bound to happen given its exposure to mother nature, as the escalator just adds more of a maintenance cost in a place that doesn't seem to have money. It wouldn't surprise me if people were later angered by the addition. In fact, I am actually surprised their wasn't protests that stopped the escalator from being built in the first place.
Definitely a good way for multi-purpose land use. They are utilizing the space they have conservatively, they really nailed this one on the head coming up with an idea to put a market right on a railroad track. Is this concept even safe or sanitary? Most definitely not. First off, it is not sanitary because that train on a daily basis has gone through all sorts of dirt and the train is literally passing right over the farmer's food that he is still going to sell to customers. Also, probably not the safest, because the people are just inches away from the passing train and with the wrong move, they can possibly fall onto the track and they are dead. I will hand it to them though, they act in an orderly fashion and move swiftly both when it comes and when it leaves. As a matter of fact, they go on with life so well after it leaves, it is almost like the train never passed through in the first place.
In one video we see issues surrounding urban development, city planning (or lack thereof), population density, and land use, among other topics. As more and more people move into Southeast Asia's unplanned cities, there will be more crowding and people will have to use every last available inch of land, even if that means going right up to the train tracks. This is a culture shock to people in the West, where most land is single-use only.
Urban planning in a rapidly urbanizing area can be difficult, but in this area two very different urban entities use the land together so beautifully. This market was built around the train tracks and when the train passes through at a slow speed the market clears the tracks and both work together so flawlessly. This is uncommon for us to see because many cities in America had room to grow and expand and had ample planning time because urbanization happened much slower than it is in Asia, with urbanization happening so fast the countries need to use their space flexibly.
These cities that are doing the best at embracing the future are focusing on improving technology, equality, sharing, civic participation, and more.
Over the past several years, the idea of the being "smart" has emerged as a key mechanism for cities to find innovative solutions to the challenges that they are facing. Increased demand for infrastructure, housing, transportation, jobs, energy, food and water are all straining city governments and infrastructure, as people around the world flock to urban centers in hopes of a better life and more opportunity. For many years, the push to create smarter cities was led by technology companies looking for uses (and buyers) for their products. But in recent years, cities have begun to think more holistically about what being a smart city could mean, and have innovated new ways to modernize how a city serves its citizens.
Work has begun on stage one of The Goods Line Project, a railway-turned-urban park project connecting Sydney’s Central Station to Darling Harbour.
Located in inner Sydney, the project includes a pedestrian and cycle network, creating a new urban hub and connecting more than 80,000 students, residents and visitors to the harbour’s recreational and pedestrian precinct.
The new corridor is being compared to the High Line in New York City, a public park and walkway constructed on a historic freight train line elevated above the streets of Manhattan’s lower west side...
With train travel regaining popularity and high-speed passenger rail projects or improvements under construction in California, Michigan, and the Northeast Corridor, another era of railroad station construction is dawning.
In the last decades of the 20th century, many of the projects undertaken during the golden era of railroad station restorations across the country involved anything except trains. Today, with train travel regaining popularity- Amtrak ridership has jumped 49 percent since 2000- nearly every station project includes intercity train service, and most incorporate other forms of transit, too.
In this era, train service is returning to some stations that had abandoned it, and rail hubs once again are seen as magnets for real estate activity and opportunity...
The slum-mapping movement began in India almost a decade ago and migrated to africa, the idea of this is to make slums a reality to people who have never set foot in one before. The maps can be used in court to stop evictions or simply to raise awarance. I think this idea is on the right track of what needs to be done. These people need help and so many people incuding the governement pretend they arent their but with these maps as proof they can no longer do that.
Slums and squatter settlements are a problem that a lot of the developing world has to deal with. The unsafe and unsanitary buildings cause headaches and problems for the leaders of the cities they surround. This story is hopeful in that the city did manage to bring a water line out to get clean water to the people living in this area. Perhaps this will lead to a better quality of life of the inhabitants of this particular slum. Also the project of mapping such areas can be a useful tool for city planners to better regulate these areas and help the people that live there.,
This picture taken by a photographer with the perfect lighting is brilliant....that is, if you're into deceiving people that the pollution from these power plants stays away from the higher class businesses and residences. Looking at this picture you see the smoke coming from the power plant in China far in the distance creating a yellowish hue that could be thought to be from the sun. Then closer in the scene we see what appears to be businesses and potentially some peoples homes. This area is in a totally different color from the yellow we see to be associated with the pollution from the power plant. Here we see a blue, commonly associated with clean water, covering the entirety of this area. With the difference in colors these places seem to be as different as possible from each other. In reality though, smog doesn't just stay in one area of the city where it is produced, but spreads throughout the entirety of a city. There are no restraints on where the pollution can and can't be, it is free flowing into communities where people work and live. If you're trying to sell a house here this picture wouldn't be a bad idea to use, although most natives aren't oblivious to what is really going on.
This picture is interesting to say the least, it depicts two different cities, even though it is the same city. the picture does a good job at showing the major problem that pollution is causing to Beijing. While showing a smog surrounded city behind a clean, yet clouded looking city, drives this point of pollution home and raises the question is putting large factories and toxic fumes in the air, more important than the well being of your citizens?
An awesome photo in the original use of the word. This photo shows two sides of the city the industrial giant that it launched China to the top and the commercial giant that tells of China's development. But above both lies the true enemy, pollution. The smog is the capital city is terrible, not only for the environment but for the people breathing it in all day. Look up Beijing two week car ban and you notice how blue the sky can be. But think during this car ban emissions from the vehicles dropped but were those factories still spewing as much as normal?
It is nice to see an organization that is not just blindly giving resources to people in need but actually empowering them and training them to be able to get the things they need through work. The women in this story describe how they have learned to make and sell things in order to take care of their families and they describe how empowering that feels.
Megacities are beginning to populate the entire globe. In the developing world, more and more megacities are beginning to form. Jakarta Indonesia is an example of a rising megacity. This rapid urbanization has placed a special burden on the resources and local economies of many developing nations. This areas are not prepared to deal with the rapid population growth associated with the development of a megacity. This strain placed on the local areas, will often lead to terrible living conditions for the lower classes of society. Sanitation will often become a major issue in many of these megacities. Large portions of the population will often lack a proper sanitation system. The lack of proper sanitation will lead to the onset of deadly diseases. The effects of rapid urbanization can be deadly, for those living in the pooper regions of society.
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.
"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."
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 ...
To be a megacity like this, you have to conform to urbanization. There is no possible way to have such a populated and crowed city with farmlands around. This is a place of business yet residential areas, it also is where the marketplaces are and where kids go to school. Megacities need to be a part of an urban society in order for them to stay afloat.
I can't image or even relate to the experience of living in a place like this. With rivers polluted right outside your house. And those rivers are what people bathe in and wash their clothes. I can't imagine not being able to access clean drinking water or lacking food. The people in Dhaka endure so much their whole lives, a good percentage of them will always live in poverty.
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.
"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."
A 3-minute journey through the last 250 years of our history, from the start of the Industrial Revolution to the Rio+20 Summit. The film charts the growth of...
This video is a great primer for discussing human and environmental interactions as related to industrialization, globalization and climate change.
A good video about global population trends since 1950. The is rich with charts, maps and data (from Hans Rosling it would appear) many about accelerated population growth, total fertility rates. China, Iran, South Korea and France are all individually showcased to show how global patterns were at play within local settings.
This video shows how the global population has changed throughout time. It illustrates how the population went on a massive incline, and based on the DTM, will soon go onto the decline as more countries become developed.
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Mexico is having a lot of internal migration within cities. Many different languages are disappearing and for a lot of the people literacy, racism, and other forces can often bring them to urban areas. Also the border isn't the only hope for migrants, bustling cities offer hopes of better lifestyle as well. L.K.
I believe migrants should be allowed to migrate to their destination. But there should of course be policies as to how many people come to one area at a time and such. In my opinion the main problem lies with those who exploit the border and migrate illegally as well as those who don't belong such as terrorists. Once this is resolved migration from Mexico to the United States or to anywhere will be much smoother. CN