This article evaluates the learning outcomes of a month-long cities in film course offered during an intensive, four-week semester at a liberal arts college in the United States. The course was divided into four shorter units that explored specific cities and subregions in detail through multiple, and often conflicting, perspectives. It begins…

The processes and implications of urban growth are studied in a variety of disciplines as urban growth affects both the physical and human landscape. Remote sensing methods provide ways to visualize and mathematically represent urban growth; and resultant land cover change data enable both quantitative and qualitative analysis. This article helps…

Creating opportunities for students to actively apply hazards theory to real-life situations is often a challenge in hazards geography courses. This article presents a project, the Jocko Lakes Fire Project, that implemented learning strategies to encourage students to be active in wildfire hazards research. Wildfire hazards stand out as an…

Music is not often utilized in teaching geography, despite the fact that many scholars orient their research around analyzing both the historical and spatial dimensions of musical expression. This article reports on the use of a teaching module that utilizes blues culture as a lens to understand the geographical history of the United States. The…

Most towns were crucial to the initial colonization and economic development of the Great Plains. Many were, directly or indirectly, creatures of railroad corporate planning, owing their location as well as their physical layout to the townsite companies controlled by railroad officials. This article examines how these facts shaped the fundamental…

This article presents a lesson plan used to teach about African urbanization using Kenyan novels. Specifically, three urban novels written by Meja Mwangi are used. Based on a qualitative survey of student preference and learning, this lesson plan uses these novels alongside more traditional academic texts to achieve effective student learning.…

This essay attempts to identify those historical-geographic processes in American development that have given the United States its distinctive characteristics. (Author)

Addresses the beachfront urbanization of the Dominican Republic's coastline resulting from domestic and international tourism. Explains that the distribution of beach resorts reflects both quality and quantity of natural resources, proximity of urban centers, and intensity of development efforts. Describes five discrete types of coastal resorts.…

The evolution of American cities is examined as the essential prior element in the creation of rural America. (Author/ND)

Discussed is whether or not Uruguay's elaborate welfare system can be maintained by a deteriorating economy plagued by social tension and political unrest. Historical background is presented, demographic variables are discussed and modern influences are measured. (Author/DB)

Identifies the rapid growth of cities in developing nations as one of the most significant demographic phenomena of modern times. Comparative data and policy considerations are presented for the world generally, and for Africa, Latin America, and Asia, specifically. (DB)

The question, Are there good reasons to teach urban geography to secondary and college students?'' is answered positively by briefly exploring (1) the concepts of wave theory analog, the critical isochrone, filtering, and equifinality; (2) the techniques of analysis of computer mapping, probabiltiy, models, and remote sensing; and (3) some recent…

A course entitled Geography in an Urban World" at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada, is described. Objectives and rationale are given as well as the content: history, cultural, economic, political, environmental, transportation, and future aspects of cities. (NH)

Squatter settlements or "shanty towns" are often viewed as a problem confined to poorer countries of the developing world. Turkey is centered neither in the impoverished Third World nor the industrialized West, but has experienced rapid urban growth and related modernizing social tensions attendant with its headlong pitch into the…

Presents an activity designed to improve students' basic mathematics, reading, and reasoning skills while involving them in the application and understanding of human geography concepts. Describes the activity's background, place in the curriculum, development, implementation, and learning outcomes. Provides the activity in a form ready for…