Contributor Bios, 12
Presidential Address: It’s Women’s Work
by Jenny Zorn, 14
Articles
Mediated Geographies: Critical Pedagogy and Geographic Education
by Chris Lukinbeal, Christina B. Kennedy, John Paul Jones III, John Finn, Keith Woodward, David Nelson, Zane Austin Grant, Nicole Antonopolis, Ari Palos, and Carol Atkinson-Palombo, 31
Abstract: Motivated by a need to engage students in the critical evaluation of visual information, and by a desire to teach students how to use digital technologies as a way of exploring and expressing geographical constructs and processes, the geography departments at Arizona’s three universities sought and received funding from the Arizona Board of Regents for learner-centered curricular development organized around the theme of “Mediated Geographies.” In this paper, we explore how critical pedagogy and learner-centered education strategies were used to engage students in semester-long documentary and photo essay projects. Some of the student projects discussed in this essay are posted for viewing at the project Web site. This project was funded by the Arizona Board of Regents’ (ABOR) Learner Centered Education Grant Program.
Concrete Babylon: Life Between the Stars
by Giorgio Hadi Curti, John Davenport, Edward L. Jackiewicz, 45
Abstract: In this paper, we utilize Martin Heidegger’s notion of dwelling and juxtapose it with an examination of touristic consumption in order to elucidate the effects the consumption of place has on the lives of those directly involved—tourists and residents. Hollywood, California, serves as the empirical focus of this study. Here, we discuss how a popular imagination—fueled by an assemblage of emotion, thought, and perception—has come today to dominate the purpose(s) and trajectories of this space/place. To illustrate this, we show how recent gentrification projects—particularly the entertainment and shopping complex we call Concrete Babylon—attempt to actualize and validate this imagination through building(s) for consumption to the detriment of dwelling; the politics, ethics, and real-life effects of which are often largely overlooked or simply ignored. Keywords: Hollywood, Tourism, Dwelling, Consumption, Heidegger, Social Imaginary
The Changing Cultural Landscape of El Paso de Robles
by Gary Peters, 74
Abstract: In and around the city of El Paso de Robles, the cultural landscape is changing rapidly. Two major causes of these landscape changes are population growth and the shift from cattle ranching to viticulture in the surrounding area. This paper focuses first on population growth and some of its impacts on the cultural landscape, then on the rise of viticulture and landscape features associated with it. Whereas most of the landscape changes driven by population growth are typical of places almost everywhere, those created by the upsurge in viticulture and the wine tourism associated with it are often unique and give the city and its environs a distinctive character and sense of place.
Urban Expansion in Oaxaca: Mexico: Research on the Fringe
by Marissa Smith, 88
Abstract: This research examines the land use change on the urban edge of Oaxaca, Mexico, and the associated environmental and social consequences of this transformation in the peri-urban community and municipality of San Jacinto Amilpas (SJA). The city of Oaxaca is expected to grow from a current population of approximately half a million to over a million by 2010. The dramatic growth and subsequent environmental change embodied in the process of urbanization is altering the economic, cultural and political face of SJA. Interviews with community members indicate that these changes have resulted in increased crime and conflict, amplified class divisions, and a population increasingly focused on individual pursuits and new sources of livelihood which are slowly eroding traditional community cohesiveness.
The Hottest and Coldest Places in the Conterminous United States
by Guy King, 101
Abstract: National Weather Service data published in USA Today are used to analyze daily hottest and coldest places in the lower 48 states. The dataset of national weather stations is restricted by population and elevation. Between 1995 and 2005, 264 places in the lower 48 states got the daily hottest record, while 364 places got the coldest record. Death Valley, California, had the highest number of hottest days (803). Stanley, Idaho, had the highest number of coldest days (398). The top coldest and hottest places were then climatically compared to other extreme weather stations in the conterminous United States using data compiled by the Midwest Regional Climate Center. The locations of hot and cold places vary considerably depending on what climate measure is used to determine mean temperatures. Death Valley has the highest mean July maximum temperature in the nation. If mean yearly maximum temperature is used, Death Valley ties with Lake Havasu City, Arizona, for being the hottest place. Key West, Florida, has the highest mean yearly temperature. For the coldest place in the conterminous United States, Darwin Ranch, Wyoming, gets the title if mean yearly minimum temperature is used. Tower, Minnesota, has the lowest mean January minimum temperature. Mount Washington, New Hampshire, has the lowest mean yearly temperature in the conterminous United States. The results of this study show that there is no single place in the conterminous United States that can claim to be the hottest or the coldest.
Current Issues in Global Warming and Mitigation Efforts: Focus on California
by Helen Cox, 115
Abstract: Global warming is almost certainly the most important problem addressed by the atmospheric community today and has recently become one of the hottest on the political agenda. Because it is such a vast and complex problem, the majority of atmospheric researchers are carrying out investigations on some aspect of it. The results of these studies are assimilated in computer-intensive global circulation models to simulate the earth’s climate. Despite such intensive efforts, there is still much contention over the nature and degree of global warming, over long-term climate prediction, and over the implementation of mitigating measures. In this paper, I review the scientific basis for global warming, present outstanding issues in climate modeling, and examine the reasons for the uncertainty in future predictions. Global impacts—those on California in particular—are discussed together with the measures that have been taken worldwide and at the state level to combat it.
The Changing Faces of Skagway, Alaska: A Story So Far
by Christopher Moreno, 133
Abstract: In this paper, I explore the multiple trajectories and relational politics from which Skagway, Alaska, has “become the new.” I engage Skagway through a “language of movement.” I tell “a story so far” about Skagway, Alaska, as a “place in motion.” The paper unfolds through an ethno-historic narrative of the multiple lines of social and economic differentiation, processes of change, and numerous face-lifts Skagway has undergone since the Klondike Gold Rush on through to today’s connectivity with the global cruise tourism industry.
Book Review
Book Review: Coming to Stay: A Columbia River Journey by Mary Dodds Schlick
Reviewed by Ralph K. Allen, 150
President’s Plenary Session
Geography in a Diverse World
by Jenny Zorn, 154
The Importance of International Students on Our Campuses
by Kavita Pandit, 156
Geography Diversity Initiatives at California State University, Long Beach: The Geoscience Diversity Enhancement Program
by Christine Rodrigue, 160
Recruiting and Retaining a Diverse Faculty in a Public University
by Nancy Lee Wilkinson, 168
Report of the Sixty-ninth Annual Meeting, 173
APCG Distinguished Service Award, 176
APCG Student Paper Award Winners, 177
