269 research outputs found
Does the region still have relevance? (Re)considering "regional" political ecology
Full text linkAlthough the field of political ecology began as fundamentally regional, a clear, coherent regional political ecology approach has failed to emerge. This introductory essay frames a collection of articles compiled to take up the idea of pursuing a specifically regional political ecology, discussing both the problematic and the beneficial aspects of regions and regional approaches. In this introduction, we discuss the strengths and the weaknesses of using the region as a heuristic within the field. Our focus, and that of the articles introduced, is to consider what analytical work this concept can do, addressing the question: how and why how are regions useful within political ecology? Our intention is not to provide a guide to using the concept in political ecology but rather to highlight how regions are currently being used, and to reopen discussions of the utility of the concept for scholars explicitly working towards justice and sustainability in a variety of contexts. After describing the value of a using regional political ecology approach, we emphasize the work still yet to be done, prompting other scholars to consider regional political ecology approaches as they do the work that they do.
Keywords: regional political ecology; region; political ecology; geography
This is the introductory paper in Innisfree McKinnon and Colleen Hiner (eds.) 2015. "(Re)considering regional political ecology?", Special Section of the Journal of Political Ecology 23: 115-203
Land Management Trends of Small Acreage Landowners in a High Growth Exurban Watershed in Central Texas
No full textThe lifestyle- or amenity-oriented landowner is a major force on the rural and xurban landscape and creates an ecology that is unique, yet even in its heterogeneity, is present across most developed areas of the planet. The land management behaviors of these landowners, often living on parcels between 2 to 40 acres, is overlooked by many land conservation studies in favor of the large acreage tracts targeted for protection by conservation agencies and organizations. As a group, however, these landowners control vast amounts of the rural countryside in many areas, and, rather than devaluing those landscapes as vast ecological losses, research can illuminate the type of landscape these actors may produce and why. These inquiries can also inform county extension service programming and other conservation actors seeking to encourage implementation of best practices in these landscapes.
This research explores the link between land management attitudes, actions, and ideologies of small acreage exurban landowners and their implications for the landscape as a whole. In particular, this research is a case study of the land management dynamics in a high growth exurban region of Central Texas. A survey gathered in-depth landscape preferences and management actions for a random sample of small acreage landowners in the Onion Creek watershed outside of Austin, Texas. The study’s focus on small acreage residential landowners provides new insights into this class and type of exurban actor, by using survey data to create three recognizable exurban land management aesthetics or archetypes and linked land management actions that are at work across the exurban landscape. “Ranchland”, “suburban”, and “wild / natural” land management archetypes engage in various degrees of brush management, suburban-style gardening, native planting, and relative non-management. Regardless of their archetype, however, many of these actors demonstrate a high motivation for various kinds of conservation actions mediated by a desire to enact their idealized vision of the Texas Hill Country landscape on their parcel of land. The archetypes presented in this research are an opportunity to visualize the various idealizations of a natural Texas Hill Country that effect the types of management actions each actor is likely to employ. These actions, in turn, will create emerging exurban ecologies that will shape the future landscapes in these amenity rich regions. Conservation educators and other programmers can work in concert with these landowner variables to strategize the implementation of land management best practices with small acreage landowners in these regions.Geography and Environmental Studie
The Ganges River: Symbology, Sustainability, and the Confluence of Cultural and Fluvial Connectivity
No full textThe Ganges River Basin is one of the largest in the world and is also one of the most spiritually and religiously connected to society. In order to understand the extensive relationship between the Ganges River and those who live in its basin, I will employ a framework based on The Six Degrees of Connectivity, a tool commonly used in the study of rivers. Through a detailed literature review this paper will analyze and address the anthropogenic influences on the river. Although each of the six degrees are equally important when examining river systems, for the purposes of this paper three will be analyzed in depth: longitudinal connectivity, lateral connectivity between the river and the floodplain, and vertical connectivity between the river and the atmosphere. Through these parameters, this paper will examine how the values, management systems, socioeconomic stratification, political marginalization, and livelihood of the population are effected geospatially within the Ganges River Basin. This research is pertinent to cultural ecology, as well as river basin management, because it demonstrates that cultural connectivity and fluvial connectivity should be analyzed in conjunction with one another for a more holistic understanding of the system. The definition of the river’s significance does not solely rely on its physical magnitude, or the volume of water that is transported, but its significance must also be evaluated in terms of its cultural magnitude. The Ganges River is not simply a resource for consumption and use, but is essential to Indian culture through the lenses of spirituality, symbology, and moral regard.Geography and Environmental Studie
Evacuation Compliance and Actual Wildfire Risk in Austin, Texas: Determining the Effects of Risk Education through Online Community Surveys
No full textNo abstract prepared.Geography and Environmental Studie
Spatial Analysis of Traffic Congestion and Transit Accessibility in Austin, Texas
No full textNo abstract prepared.Geography and Environmental Studie
Spatial-Temporal Cluster Analysis to Identify Emerging Agglomeration of Texas Wineries, 1973-2014
No full textWine is of interest to geographers for a variety of reasons. To fully understand the geography of wine, one must consider many factors. For example, the geology, biology, climate, culture, economics, and politics of a particular region influence the wine produced there. In Texas, wine production dates back more than 350 years. However, only within the past few decades has the wine industry in Texas grown significantly. This paper has two goals: 1) an examination of the history of the Texas wine industry, and 2) a spatial-temporal cluster analysis to determine emerging patterns of agglomeration of wine production in Texas. Understanding the Texas wine history and identifying these patterns establishes a baseline that will be useful for future study which examines the factors driving growth and development patterns of the Texas wine industry from a geographical perspective.
To conduct the spatial-temporal analysis, I used ArcGIS 10.2.1. I created histograms and decadal snapshots to show change over time. I then created standard deviational ellipses using the decadal snapshots to examine emerging trends. Prior to processing the data with the mapping clusters tools, I used the Incremental Spatial Autocorrelation to determine that there is one statistically significant peak distance, at 198550 meters. I also created a spatial weights matrix to be able to include temporal factors.
I used all three of the mapping cluster tools (Grouping Analysis, Cluster and Outlier Analysis, and Hot Spot Analysis) to examine spatial clustering and, using the spatial weights matrix, spatial-temporal clustering. The Grouping Analysis divided along spatial lines and when time was added as a factor, separated out the early wineries and then along the spatial lines. The Cluster and Outlier Analysis also divided out similarly without time as a factor. When time was added the clustering and outliers were no longer in distinct spatial divisions. The Hot Spot Analysis gave similar results to the Cluster and Outlier Analysis tool, with and without the temporal weighting.
I created another spatial weights file, only using the wineries established after 2003. The spatial results appeared similar, with the exception that almost all of the clusters identified are now shown to have a 99% confidence level.
This study identified provides a solid baseline for further research into the Texas wine industry. It establishes the historical context of the industry and identifies statistically significant emerging agglomeration of wineries in Texas. This information can be used as the basis to study why this agglomeration is occurring.Geography and Environmental Studie
Growing Social Capital? A Comparative Study of a Community Development Initiative in Cleveland, Ohio
No full textUsing the case of a recently established community-based vineyard in Cleveland, Ohio, this research explores the extent to which grassroots, collaborative community development initiatives might have the capacity to improve conditions in persistently declining neighborhoods in the U.S. Drawing on numerous indicator variables from a variety of secondary data sources, descriptive and inferential statistical analyses are employed in a comparative study of “social capital” in three Cleveland neighborhoods: (1) Hough, which is where the vineyard was created in 2010; (2) Fairfax, a comparison neighborhood adjacent to Hough; and (3) Central, a second comparison neighborhood southeast of Hough. Change in surrogate variables of social capital are analyzed in Hough as well as the two comparison neighborhoods for the period 2005-2009 through the period 2011-2015. Because social capital is not well defined as an empirical measure, multiple indicators are drawn from existing literature and analyzed for reasons of validity and robustness. That is, by bringing together data from multiple sources and comparing Hough to two similar neighborhoods over time, the paper aims to create strong circumstantial evidence that community-based vineyards—and grassroots, community-based urban agricultural projects more generally—plausibly have value for improving conditions in neighborhoods with histories of urban decline.Geography and Environmental Studie
Assessing Environmentally Responsible Design in Ecological Intentional Communities: Examples from Texas, USA
No full textThis thesis builds a new model for assessing ecological intentional communities' environmentally responsible design, with a geographical perspective, by amalgamating concepts from the Built Environment Sustainability Tool and Living Environments in Natural, Social, and Economic Systems frameworks. Goals of the research were to (1) identify ecological intentional communities in the state of Texas, 2) determine if a relationship exists between their location in the physical environment and proximity to the built environment with their abilities to implement environmental-enhancing practices, and 3) to assess these capabilities and categorize the communities on a spectrum of environmentally responsible design. The overall objective was to determine if ecological intentional communities provided a framework for the future development on a larger scale to generate a more sustainable society. The study found 11 functioning communities in Texas, identified advantages and disadvantages to location and proximity, but no clear relationship between the factors. Ecological intentional communities were categorized as either regenerative, sustainable, or green on the spectrum of environmentally responsible design. This model, and study, serves as a foundation for assessing communities' capabilities of design through a geographic lens.Geography and Environmental Studie
Characterizing invasive species: the case of Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) in the Mesoamerican biological corridor Sian Ka’an-Calakmul, Mexico
No full textInvasive species are becoming a more relevant topic due to climate change and globalization altering the landscape. Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) is an invasive plant that has impacted land cover in Mesoamerican Biological Corridor region in Mexico. While much is known about its biology and presence elsewhere in the world and in some specific sections of the Southern Yucatan, greater understanding is needed concerning the extent and characteristics of the invasion in the MBC. This thesis serves as an inventory of the presence of bracken fern in the region and characterizing its relationship with land use and with fire regimes. In May and June of 2009, a total of 125 individual sites were studied through field mapping and interviews, based on the presence of bracken fern. Ancillary data including 24 previously surveyed plots in the region, land cover classifications, road networks, and MODIS fire data products were considered to gain a broader perspective of the bracken fern invasion there. Using GIS, these different datasets were considered together in effort to clarify the relationships between bracken fern and its surroundings. Overall, bracken fern is a more localized problem, but an issue for semi-subsistence farmers nonetheless. With varied spatial distribution and elevation, this plant invasion appears to be more driven by human activities such as the creation of pasturelands and agriculture. Human disturbance, especially fire regimes, reduces the biological competition and promotes permanent establishment of bracken fern, which may have implications for conservation efforts in the MBC.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesby Colleen Ear
Exploring the promises of intersectionality for advancing women's health research
Full text linkAbstract Women's health research strives to make change. It seeks to produce knowledge that promotes action on the variety of factors that affect women's lives and their health. As part of this general movement, important strides have been made to raise awareness of the health effects of sex and gender. The resultant base of knowledge has been used to inform health research, policy, and practice. Increasingly, however, the need to pay better attention to the inequities among women that are caused by racism, colonialism, ethnocentrism, heterosexism, and able-bodism, is confronting feminist health researchers and activists. Researchers are seeking new conceptual frameworks that can transform the design of research to produce knowledge that captures how systems of discrimination or subordination overlap and "articulate" with one another. An emerging paradigm for women's health research is intersectionality. Intersectionality places an explicit focus on differences among groups and seeks to illuminate various interacting social factors that affect human lives, including social locations, health status, and quality of life. This paper will draw on recently emerging intersectionality research in the Canadian women's health context in order to explore the promises and practical challenges of the processes involved in applying an intersectionality paradigm. We begin with a brief overview of why the need for an intersectionality approach has emerged within the context of women's health research and introduce current thinking about how intersectionality can inform and transform health research more broadly. We then highlight novel Canadian research that is grappling with the challenges in addressing issues of difference and diversity. In the analysis of these examples, we focus on a largely uninvestigated aspect of intersectionality research - the challenges involved in the process of initiating and developing such projects and, in particular, the meaning and significance of social locations for researchers and participants who utilize an intersectionality approach. The examples highlighted in the paper represent important shifts in the health field, demonstrating the potential of intersectionality for examining the social context of women's lives, as well as developing methods which elucidate power, create new knowledge, and have the potential to inform appropriate action to bring about positive social change.</p
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