Stage 5 Changing Places

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

A Chinese firm (HKND) is planning to construct a canal to rival Panama's.  I've been following this issue as I prepared to co-author an article  for Maps 101 with Julie Dixon and it is clearly a major environmental issue.  However, this issue is much more geographic than just the angle; China and Nicaragua are vying for greater control and access to the shipping lanes that dominate the global economy and international trade.  This shows that they are each attempting to bolster their regional and international impact compared to their rivals (the United States for China and Panama for Nicaragua).   

Tags: transportation, Nicaragua, globalization, diffusion, industry, economic.

And again in Brazil

http://civitasinclusive.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/paraisopolis-brazil-by-tuca-vieira-2004/

The pictures show the deep divide between rich and poor in Mexico. These settlements are built to the point where luxurious condos share a wall with decaying slum housing. The roads do not connect the areas, showing how these places were constructed separately by to distinctly different communities. While the proximity between sections shows that sights, sounds, and smells most likely carry across the two sections, the rich area looks as if it has no idea what lies directly beyond their walls. The fact that the rich areas are literally walled off from the rest of the surrounding area says a lot about the deep economic divides found around the world today.

Right away from looking at this picture, you can tell which side is which. I didn't even have to read the article yet to find out where the wealthier people lived and where the not so wealthy lived. The colors stood out the most to me. In the picture on the left, it is clear that this is the not so wealthy part in Mexico. The color is just filled with dark and gloominess, mostly shown in gray. The houses are also pushed very closely together. On the right side, it appears that this is the richer side of Mexico. Although the houses are closer together like the picture on the left, they are colorful. They have firm built roofs and appear to be built and taken care of much better. Something else that gives you the sense of which community is more rich is the cars. There is a whole line of cars in the right picture while in the left picture we see a few here and there. The right picture also illustrates lawns. We slightly see some grass in the left, but it is clearly not as well taken care of as the lawns in the right picture. This picture was done as an advertisement to draw attention to the gap between the two different communities. The campaign goes by the name "Erase the Differences" and hopes to get people to realize the differences in poverty that are right in front of them.

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.

Summer reading KQ4: pollution, smog, megacity, sustainability

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.

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?

The most surprising piece of information in this article is that white Britons are leaving London because of the minorities that are moving in. As of 2013 only 59.9% of London was white, meaning that the miniorities are taking over Ethnic part of London much faster then first anticipated.   

Since immigrants have flocked into London, it appears some of the White population has left the city because of it. The ethnic change is happening very quickly in London and White British population is no longer the majority. As large numbers of immigrants enter London, large numbers of White people leave the city. London is becoming a melting pot rather quickly. 

If white flight is happening in Europe, where are all of its native migrating to? I know for years, there has been a large migrant population from the continent of Africa migrating to Europe, more specifically London, but where in the world could Britain's native be migrating to? Its common to hear of people migrating from rural areas to better neighborhoods, but with the influx of people looking for a better livelihood resemble that of the people living in countries such as India, China and Japan?

This is a good article about immigrants in America because it talks about all of the different places people have immigrated from and now live and work in the U.S. Since my topic is European Immigration, It shows that there are 2.4 million Europeans currently working in the U.S.

Another testament to why gentrification is effective yet harmful to the political status of a country or area, not producing accurate results to fit the people's needs.

Cet article parle de la gentrification dans le quartier d'Highland Park à Los Angeles. Ce quartier est un quartier avec une population majoritairement hispanique est constitué durant les dernières années une enclave résidentielle pour les habitants. Ce quartier était un symbole de la ségrégation raciale que connaissent une partie des villes américaines avec une concentration d'une seule population d'une seule origine ethnique dans le même quartier sans mixité sociale. Mais ces dernières années le quartier a été touché par un processus de gentrification qui a été plutôt bien accepté par les populations du quartier car cela a apporté de la mixité sociale dans le quartier avec l'arrivée de populations plus aisées provenant de différentes communautés et qui ont également créé des commerces dans le quartier. Cette gentrification qui est la plupart du temps vue d'un mauvais œil par les anciens résidents du quartier est ici acceptée car elle bénéficie en partie à la population du quartier, de plus la communauté hispanique est très importante culturellement et le fait savoir. Il y a donc une intégration des nouveaux arrivants mais en gardant tout de même l'identité originelle du quartier qui est très forte.

Andrea's Inshight: I feel like the author is trying to make himself sound a little bit above the "barrio" when he says "multiethnic mount Washington".  And then  continues by  sarcastically mentioning the charms and dysfunctions of the neighborhood. At first I was put off because I've never viewed HLP as a barrio. When I see that word I think of a ghetto slum. Which I don't think my nieghboorhood ever is. I've always viewed it as a working class neighborhood. I just dont like the barrio I think it puts a negative connotation towards the neighborhood.

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. 

Interesting idea - I wonder if it will take hold. Worth watching - 

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?

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

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.

This is a great introduction to the demographic explosion of the slums within megacities.  This is applicable to many themes within geography.   

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.

The plight of Chinese workers today is incredibly great. This TED talks explains the situations many in China find themselves in the terrible conditions they must work in. While us in the west see this as unthinkable China's model for success and expansion comes at the cost of their workforce who are subjugated to poor working conditions as very low pay. The real hope for this to change is for the nation as a whole to become wealthy enough that these workers will be able to demand fair wages and work environments. 

These workers do see their jobs as opportunities. This video is a great eye opener for people who tend to fall into the trap of looking at globalization as a system of haves and have nots.