Human Geography Case Study Review

A comprehensive set of vocabulary-style flashcards covering Human Geography case studies including TNCs, global trade, environmental governance, place studies, and urban sustainability.

Apple Inc.

A tech TNC worth over $3\,\text{trillion}$ with its R&D based in Cupertino and manufacturing outsourced to centers like Foxconn in China to exploit spatial differences in labor costs.

Foxconn

A major manufacturing company in Shenzhen and Zhengzhou where extreme conditions, including $70+$ hour weeks, led to $14$ suicides in $2010$.

Apple's Tax Evasion

The practice of using subsidiaries in Ireland to exploit a low corporation tax rate of $12.5\%$, leading to a $2016$ EU ruling to pay \text{\euro}13\,\text{bn} in back taxes.

Dollar Bananas

Bananas produced in Latin American countries like Ecuador and Costa Rica, dominated by TNCs like Chiquita and Dole, representing a 'race to the bottom' in global trade.

Banana Trade Value Chain

A distribution where only $9-10\%$ of the retail price stays with the producer, while up to $90\%$ is retained by HIC supermarkets and shippers.

Antarctic Treaty (1959)

An international agreement currently signed by $54$ parties that bans military activity and nuclear testing on the continent.

Madrid Protocol (1991)

An agreement that designates Antarctica as a natural reserve and bans all commercial mining activities until at least $2048$.

CCAMLR

The body that regulates fishing in the Southern Ocean, currently managing the pressure on krill stocks from fleets including Norway and China.

IAATO

An organization that manages Antarctic tourism, restricting landings to a maximum of $100$ passengers at any one time.

Endogenous Character (Wimbledon)

The internal demographic and physical features of the area, defined by extreme affluence and the $1,140\text{-acre}$ Wimbledon Common.

The Championships (Exogenous Influence)

An annual global event that brings $500,000$ visitors and generates over $\text{\pounds}50\,\text{million}$ for the local London economy.

Brick Lane Migration Layers

The successive historical shifts in Spitalfields from $17\text{th}$ Century Huguenots and $19\text{th}$ Century Jewish refugees to $20\text{th}$ Century Bangladeshi migrants.

Banglatown

The official rebranding of Brick Lane, where over $41\%$ of the population is Bangladeshi, aimed at asserting cultural identity and attracting tourism.

Cereal Killer Cafe Protests

A $2015$ anti-gentrification protest targeting a shop selling $\text{\pounds}4$ bowls of cereal in an area of high child poverty.

Dharavi

Asia's largest slum in Mumbai, housing $1\,\text{million}$ people in $2.1\,\text{km}^2$ with an informal economy turning over $\$1\,\text{billion}$ annually.

SPARC

An NGO in Mumbai that uses bottom-up strategies to improve slum housing, such as building community toilet blocks and adding extra floors to existing structures.

London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC)

A top-down, private-sector focused UDC that created the Canary Wharf hub and $85,000$ jobs, but was criticized for ignoring original community cohesion.

City Challenge (Hulme)

A $1990s$ UK policy where local authorities partnered with communities to clear failed housing like the 'Crescent' flats and build $3,000$ homes with local input.

Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ)

A London air quality initiative that reduced toxic $\text{NO}_2$ concentrations by $46\%$ in its first year in central London.

Lamb Drove, Cambourne

A residential development using SUDs (permeable paving, swales, and detention basins) which resulted in a $10\%$ reduction in peak water flow.

Cheonggyecheon River Restoration

A $\$281\,\text{million}$ project in Seoul that removed a highway to restore a river, cooling the urban heat island by up to $3.6^{\circ}\text{C}$.

AEB Incineration Plant

A facility in Amsterdam that burns $1.4\,\text{million tons}$ of waste annually to power $300,000$ homes and save $438\,\text{kilotons}$ of $\text{CO}_2$.

Green Exchange Program

A sustainability initiative in Curitiba where slum dwellers swap $2\,\text{million kg}$ of trash for fresh produce and transit tickets.

BedZED

Britain's first major zero-carbon community, which achieved an $81\%$ reduction in heating energy use through super-insulation and solar panels.