Geography 1050- midterm 1

intro,demographics, workshop week

The Anthropocene

• The Anthropocene is a claim about how we distinguish units of time in the Earth’s history, and about the human influence on global systems.

• This term has emerged as a popular scientific idea to designate: the period of Earth’s history during which humans have a decisive influence on the state, dynamics, and future of the Earth system.

What was before the anthropocene?

The holocene

What is an epic?

A division of time ~ smallest time unit

• Deciding when the previous epic has ended and the new one starts

What time period are in right now?

We are currently in the holocene.

Time placement of golden spikes

A Global Boundary Stratype Section and Point, abbreivated GSSP, is an internatally agreed uopn stratographic section which serves as the reference section for a particular boundary on the geologic time scale.

Do we have any Golden Spikes in Newfoundland?

Yes, we do. They are located in Fortune Head (marking the end of the Precambrian Era and the Cambrian Period) and out in Green Point in Gros Morne National Park (marking the end of the Cambrian Period and the start of the Ordovician Period)

The Great Acceleration

The gist: by 1945, things get real

A number of socioeconomic and Earth system parameters are used to show that, since ~ 1945, key trends are increasing significantly/ exponentially.

Critiques of the anthropocene

• It’s premature to declare a new epoch (yet); What is the potential “golden spike”?

• It’s not the “end of nature”: natural processes & feedbacks remain important drivers of change;

• Human exceptionalism: other life forces have changed the planet before

• “Global” change is highly unevenly distributed

• Not all humans: some humans are more responsible than others for these changes

• Impacts of these changes are also unequally distributed

• The Anthropocene has a geography

What is demographics?

Demographics is the study of populations. It includes births, deaths, and migration known as the demographics truimvirate.

Demographic accounting equation

Births, deaths, and migration are linked in the equation.

Pt + n = Pt + (B -D) + (I + O)

What does Pt + n mean?

population at n intervals in the future

What does Pt mean?

population at a point in time

What does B mean?

Number of Births

What does D mean?

Number of Deaths

What does I mean?

The amount of in - migration

What does O mean?

Amount of out - migration

What is geodemography?

Geodemography specifically looks at the intersection of population and place, becuase populations are different spatially. Always.

Defining problems that define solutions

The way you define a problem also defines its possible solutions. For example, if you understand lead poisoning as an issue of toxic products, then you will have a very different approach to reducing lead poisoning than if you understand it as a problem of poverty.

Example: childhood lead disorder

What is Intersectionality?

Coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw to explain compunded forms forms of oppression and inequity: how Black women have to deal with forms of oppression that are different than white women or Black men, for instance.

Doing population Geographies

“Doing population geographies” can include quantitative analysis of statistical sources like:

• National censues

• Population registries

• Large - scale surveys

• “Big data” sources like Facebook

Are population geographies qualitative, quantitative, or both?

The answer is uncertain but there are a few examples: population pyramids, life histories and surveys with follow up interviews.

What is Migration

It refers to the relocation of people from one place to another.

Different types of migration

• internal or international

• Temporary or permanent

• Forced or voluntary

Migation from a global perspective

• 304 million international migrants worldwide

• 119 million forcibly displaced people: forced to move because of conflict, violence, persecution, food or water insecurity, or no viable livelihood

• 68.7 million internally displaced persons, 416 million refugees

Economic Geography Lens

Concerned with questions about migration shapes and is shaped by economy (labour markets, uneven development).

Political Geography Lens

Concerned with questions of power and migration: who can migrate? Who can remain in place? (e.g., immigration policy, border policing, geopolitics of migration).

Cultural Geography Lens

Concerned with how migration shapes culture and landscape in sending and receiving societies

The rural urban continuum

Recognizes that places have a wide variety characteristics and highlights the range of place types from ‘rural’ to ‘urban’.

Population - size

More population = more urban… or does it?

Thresholds of ‘urban’ by population vary: In the US, 2000 people =
urban; in Canada, 1000 people = urban; in Japan, 50,000 people =
urban!

Population Density

The size of the settlement relative to the
population matters too. So, urban places are more densely populated than rural.

Why do cities matter for understanding demographics

• Age and household structure

• Population centres and growth

• Migration and diversity

What is urbanization?

Urbanization refers to an increase in the share of people living in urban areas and the complex changes associated with the:

• movement of people to towns and cities

• physical expansion of the city into rural countryside

• natural increase in urban population

Why is urbanization important?

• Global urbanization is increasing

• the rate of urbanization is accelerating

• It’s not happening evenly across the globe

Two narratives of urbanism

Cities are black holes or white knights

Why a city is categorized as a ‘Black hole”

Cities as central sources of future and present problems.

Why a city can be categorized as a ‘White knight’

Cities are our best chance fro developing solutions.

Narratives of Black holes

1. Cities are resource-hungry

2. Cities are sprawling

3. Cities are spaces of inequality and exclusion

4. Cities are fragile and brittle

1. Cities are resource hungry

Cities consume disproportionate amounts of energy, water, and raw materials, often sourced unsustainably from distant regions.

Cities require tons of material, water, and energy inputs to function. These inputs are metabolized and converted into wastes and discards.

2. Cities are sprawling

Poorly planned cities encourage sprawling suburbs and car-centric cultures, worsening emissions, and social fragmentation.

Cities around the world have sprawled outwards – covering some of the world’s most valuable farmland in the process. Globally, the result has been a steady “de-densification of urban settlements, by about –2% per annum.”

3. Cities are spaces of Inequality and Exclusion

Cities often reproduce and intensify inequality through gentrification,
segregation, and housing crises.

Marginalized populations may be displaced, denied access to services, or excluded from economic and/or social benefits.

4. Cities are Fragile and Brittle

Urban infrastructure (food, transport, energy) are vulnerable to shocks (climate disasters, pandemics) and hacking (cybercrime).

Cybercrime is a major challenge facing the world and its cities. The financial costs are expected to rise into the trillions of dollars.

Why are cities ‘White Knights’?

Cities are the best sources of solutions to our biggest challenges.

Narratives of White Knights

1. Cities are Dense

2. Cities are innovative & smart

3. Cities are diverse

4. Cities are green

5. Cities are powerful

1. CIties are Dense

Density offers a pathway to greater efficiency (in mobility; in transportation; in infrastructure) and reduced carbon emissions

Dense cities

Transport-related energy consumption decreases as urban density increases since commuters choose collective and non-motorized forms of transportation (when available).

2. Cities are Innovative & Smart

Internet of things (IoT) and networked cities mean new and rapid forms of integrated mobility, access to services (health, security), commodities, etc.

Smart cities

Urban areas where ICT and sensors are merged with
traditional infrastructures. These help to coordinate and integrate a variety of industry, commercial and community functions using new digital technologies.

3. CIties are Diverse

They encourage tolerance, collaboration, and cultural vibrancy, supporting social sustainability. Cities are leaders in progressive policies around equity, inclusion, and climate action.

Sanctuary Cities

Jurisdictions that limit how much the local police cooperate with requests from federal authorities to hold immigrants in detention.

4. Cities are Green

Advancements in infrastructure and the integration of nature (wetlands, parks) can improve climate resiliency and biodiversity.

Highline in New York: Adaptive reuse of rail line in the heart of the city, integrates public space and green space.

5. Cities are Powerful

Cities are more nimble than higher levels of government, they can experiment and adopt ambitious climate/sustainability agendas.

In Paris, the mayor is using the Rue de Rivoli as a prototype for a future metropolis in which no Parisian should need to travel more than 15 minutes on foot or by bike to work, shop, or deal with a government agency.

B L A C K H O L E S ’ V S . ‘ W H I T E K N I G H T S ’ ...
A N O V E R S I M P L I F I C A T I O N ?

The “White Knight” and “Black Hole” metaphors
highlight a paradox: cities are both the source of many problems and important sources for solutions.

What is an arrival city?

Canadian journalist Doug Saunders defines an arrival city as a transitional space where migrants first settle when they move to the city, whose characteristics can either prevent or support their upward social mobility.

Key indicators of an arrival city

• High in-migration;

• Populations in flux

• Arrival cities are products of urbanization.

• While arrival cities struggle with social disadvantages, they act as resource hubs and launching points for newcomers.

What is adaptive reuse?

as part of a systemic process of contemporary city (re)building, a globalized practice of placemaking, and a critical engagement with buildings.

What is secularization?

The process by which a society moves from a religion-centered framework to a more worldly or secular one, where religion's influence in public life, government, and personal belief gradually declines.

(*this is not ubiquitous! It is uneven)

What is spolia?

latin term used to describe the reuse of building materials like stone and marble (often derived from the spoils of appropriation).