Posts Tagged ‘geography’
The rise of the Arctic north
We don’t usually think of the Arctic region in terms of geopolitics or economic development. But a new book – “The World in 2050″ -posits that the Arctic will become a global force in the decades ahead, driven both by its untapped natural resources and its impact on climate change.
How geography can become destiny
How much influence does geography have on a nation’s culture? Quite a bit, actually, and not only for the reasons you might initially consider…While pivoting off the current Greek debt crisis, he suggests that Greece’s geography has, in many ways, determined its destiny.
Dreams of Cascadia
Ever heard of Cascadia? Or Ecotopia? This is the geographical and cultural region – both real and mythical at the same time, it seems – that stretches from the Pacific Northwest up through British Columbia and includes such cities as Seattle, Portland and Vancouver. The NY Times recently published a story on the region. And, [...]
Which American states are the happiest?
If you want to be happy, apparently, it helps to be wealthy, to live in a family-oriented community, or to be surrounded by natural beauty. Those are at least some of the conclusions that can be drawn from the recently released study of well-being scores that ranked Americans by state and congressional district. Utah and [...]
The geography of the American mind
Where would you like to live? If you could be guaranteed a reasonable facsimile of your current job, family situation and network of friends anywhere in the country, where would you choose? The Pew Research Center did an extensive study on where Americans would like to live, and the top three cities were Denver, San Diego and [...]
Global cities
What makes a global city? Foreign Policy magazine just came out with what they call the Global Cities Index – a ”comprehensive ranking of the ways in which cities are integrating with the rest of the world.” They explain their Index this way: The world’s biggest, most interconnected cities help set global agendas, weather transnational dangers, [...]
Not countries or cities, but mega-regions
Richard Florida wrote an interesting article a while back in which he suggested that government policy makers would be wise to forge new ideas based on the economic and innovation potential of so-called mega-regions around the world. Much more so than countries or cities, he contends, mega-regions are actually the prime drivers of the global economy. While [...]
The geography of personality
A few months ago, I had a post about the personality traits of cities. Now along comes a study on the personality traits of states, so perhaps there is something to this whole concept. The Wall Street Journal has the story. Certain regional stereotypes have long since become cliches: The stressed-out New Yorker. The laid-back Californian. [...]
Geography quiz
How well do you know your U.S. geography? Here is a unique geography quiz that doesn’t ask you to identify locations, but rather gives you outlines of each state and then asks you to place them onto a map. Then it shows you where the state is actually located and tallies your average error in miles. Maddening but [...]
Do cities have personality traits?
We often talk about the cultures of different regions of the world. We talk less often about the cultures of different regions of one country, though they certainly exist. But what about the psychological characteristics of geographical regions? Is it actually possible that people in New England, for example, have not only different traditions and foods than [...]
Future of the Middle East
If you’re interested in the intersection of culture and geography with politics, and if you have any interest in the Middle East, then I highly recommend a story from the recent issue of The Atlantic. Titled “After Iraq,” the story written by Jeffrey Goldberg looks at how history, geography, culture and politics have combined to give us the current [...]
Could Belgium split up?
In 1993, the country of Czechoslovakia agreed to an amicable divorce and divided into two countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Some observers are now wondering if a similar future awaits Belgium. Although the country has survived for almost two centuries as a federation with Flemish and French-speaking provinces, politicians there are having increasing difficulties in forming a [...]
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Bob Riel is a writer and a traveler. Go here to read more about Bob, his work and the Travels in the Riel World blog.
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