University of Chicago Geography Research Papers – serie

How do the places where people live help structure and restructure their sociopolitical identities and interests? In this book, renowned political geographer John A. Agnew presents a theoretical model that addresses the relation of place to politics and applies it to a series of historicogeographical case studies set in modern Italy. For Agnew, place is not just a static backdrop against which events occur, but a dynamic component of social, economic and political processes. He shows, for instance, how the lack of a common "landscape ideal" or physical image of Italy delayed the development of a sense of nationhood among Italians after unification. And Agnew uses the post-1992 victory of the Northern League over the Christian Democrats in many parts of northern Italy to explore how parties are replaced geographically during the periods of intense political change. Providing a fresh new approach to studying the role of space and place in social change, "Place and Politics in Modern Italy" should interest geographers, political scientists and social theorists.

State capitals are an indelible part of the American psyche, spatial representations of state power and national identity. Learning them by heart is a rite of passage in grade school, a pedagogical exercise that emphasizes the importance of committing place-names to memory. But geographers have yet to analyze state capitals in any depth. In American Capitals, Christian Montes takes us on a well-researched journey across America - from Augusta to Sacramento, Albany to Baton Rouge - shedding light along the way on the historical circumstances that led to their appointment, their success or failure, and their evolution over time. While all state capitals have a number of characteristics in common - as symbols of the state, as embodiments of political power and decision making, as public spaces with private interests - Montes does not interpret them through a single lens, in large part because of the differences in their spatial and historical evolutionary patterns. Some have remained small, while others have evolved into bustling metropolises, and Montes explores the dynamics of change and growth.All but eleven state capitals were established in the nineteenth century, thirty-five before 1861, but, rather astonishingly, only eight of the fifty states have maintained their original capitals. Despite their revered status as the most monumental and historical cities in America, capitals come from surprisingly humble beginnings, often plagued by instability, conflict, hostility, and corruption. Montes reminds us of the period in which they came about, "an era of pioneer and idealized territorial vision," coupled with a still-evolving American citizenry and democracy.

On the open landscape of Israel and the West Bank, where pine and cypress forests grow alongside olive groves, tree planting has become symbolic of conflicting claims to the land. Palestinians cultivate olive groves as a vital agricultural resource, while the Israeli government has made restoration of mixed-growth forests a national priority. Although both sides plant for a variety of purposes, both have used tree planting to assert their presence on--and claim to--disputed land. Shaul Ephraim Cohen has conducted an unprecedented study of planting in the region and the control of land it signifies. In The Politics of Planting, he provides historical background and examines both the politics behind Israel's afforestation policy its consequences. Focusing on the open land surrounding Jerusalem and four Palestinian villages outside the city, this study offers a new perspective on the conflict over land use in a region where planting has become a political tool.For the valuable data it presents--collected from field work, previously unpublished documents, and interviews--and the insight it provides into this political struggle, this will be an important book for anyone studying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel, is a surprising example of ethnic harmony in a region dominated by conflict. A recent trend toward integration of its historical Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Muslim quarters, however, has disrupted the harmony. In this book, Emmett provides an analysis of the complex relationship between the structure of Nazareth's quarters and the relations between its ethnic communities. Emmett describes both the positive and negative effects of Nazareth's residential patterns. He shows that the addition of new and ethnically mixed quarters has promoted mixed schools, joint holiday celebrations, a common political culture and social networks that cross ethnic boundaries. But he also finds that tensions exist among Christian groups and between Muslims and Christians in regard to intersectarian marriages, religious conversion, attempts to establish a joint Christian cemetery and the emergence of a local Islamic party. Extensive interviews with leaders of religious groups, political parties and residents reveal the way in which members of each ethnic community perceive one another.A survey of 300 families provides details about the make-up of Nazareth's population, including residential histories, religion, level of religious conviction, friendship and shopping patterns. The maps trace changes in the distribution of religious groups and political affiliation in Nazareth from the mid-19th century to the present. This book should be of interest to cultural geographers, historians, demographers, political scientists and anyone who would like to learn more about an ethnically divided community in which the residents co-operate more than they fight.

In this cultural-geographic study of the American Indian reservations in the 48 contiguous states, Klaus Frantz explores the reservations as living environments rather than historical footnotes. Although this study provides researched documentation of the generally deplorable living conditions on the reservations, it also seeks to discover and highlight the many possibilities for positive change. Informed by both historical research and extensive fieldwork, this book pays special attention to the natural resource base and economic outlook of the reservations, as well as the crucial issue of tribal sovereignty. Chapters also cover the demography of American Indian groups and their socioeconomic status (including standard of living, employment, and education). An afterword treats some of the developments since the book's initial publication in German, such as the effects of the 1988 Indian gaming law that allowed Indian reservations to operate gambling establishments (with mixed success).

In the mid-1800s, a group of High Anglicans formed the Universities' Mission to Central Africa (UMCA). Inspired by Dr. David Livingstone, they felt a special calling to bring the Church, education, and medical care to rural Africans. To deliver services across a huge, remote area, the UMCA relied on steamer ships that were sent from England and then reassembled on Lake Malawi. By the mid-1920s, the UMCA had built a chain of mission stations that spread across four hundred miles.In The Steamer Parish, Charles M. Good Jr. traces the Mission's history and its lasting impact on public health care in south-central Africa-and shows how steam and medicine, together with theology, allowed the Mission to impose its will, indelibly, on hundreds of thousands of people. What's more, many of the issues he discusses-rural development, the ecological history of disease, and competition between western and traditional medicine-are as relevant today as they were 100 years ago.

Anne Kelly Knowles traces a community of Welsh immigrants to Jackson and Gallia counties in southern Ohio. After reconstructing the gradual process of community-building, the author focuses on the pivotal moment when the immigrants became involved with the industrialization of their new region as workers and investors in Welsh-owned charcoal iron companies. The text sets the southern Ohio Welsh in the context of Welsh immigration as a whole from 1795 to 1850 and explores how these strict Calvinists responded to the moral dilemmas posed by leaving their native land and experiencing economic success in the United States. A wide variety of sources, including obituaries and community histories are drawn upon to reconstruct the personal histories of over 1700 immigrants.

Long considered both best friend and worst enemy to humankind, fire is at once creative and destructive. In the endangered tropical paradise of Madagascar, the two faces of fires have fueled a century-long conflict between rural farmers and island leaders. For the farmers, wildland burning plays a key role in sustaining their agricultural livelihood and maintaining control of the island's rangelands, croplands, and woodlands. For the government, fire is the chief threat to the island's economic development and environmental stability. In Isle of Fire, Christian Kull argues that the antifire polemics of Madagascar's leadership are misdirected and that the most dangerous conflagration is the blaze that is fanned by the disagreements between outside authorities and farmers. Based on fieldwork in Malagasy villages and a thorough archival investigation, this volume offers detailed analysis of why Madagascar has always been atlame, why it always will be aflame, and ultimately, as Kull argues, why it should always be aflame.

The only quantitative deforestation study to focus on one country, this case analysis of the Philippines since 1946 yields more concrete data than previous cross-national studies. David Kummer's close examination of the interactions among political, economic, and cultural factors and their environmental consequences sheds light on similar situations in other countries.

If a city based its planning decisions on the needs of an international bureaucracy rather than on the traditional needs of local residents and businesses, how would that city change? How might it look? In Brussels, Belgium - home to the European Union since 1957 - such change is taking place. Observing the change, Alexis G. Papadopoulos explores a new geographical concept, the Central Executive District. This urban form is significantly different from the Central Business District, its conventional counterpart. Drawing on game and rational choice theories, spatial analysis and land economics, the author analyzes how the landscape of the city's centre has evolved over the last three decades under the influence of successive coalitions of local and foreign elites. He describes how foreign diplomats, international corporate executives and real-estate developers co-operate with one another to carry out major urban projects in the face of resistance from local neighbourhood groups, conservationists and political factions. This study explores the future of world cities like New York, London and Paris and applies the notion of co-operative regimes.

Tanga Region, Tanzania, is an area of persistent rural poverty with a long history of drought, floods, food shortages, famine, and social and economic disruption. Though farmers have been cultivating the land there for hundreds of years, they have consistently been unable to supply adequate food for the region's inhabitants. In "Challenging Nature", Philip Porter examines eighteen farming communities to understand what the farmers there know about their environment and which historical and economic factors play into the lack of food security. Porter first began work on this project in 1972, asking 250 farmers in the region about life history, environmental and agricultural changes, types of crops grown and methods of planting, environmental assessments, agricultural practices, food and water supplies, training and education, and attitudes toward nature. Twenty years later, he returned and reinterviewed as many farmers as could be found from the first survey. The result contextualizes the environmental history of the region while informing current and future agricultural development.

Many property lines drawn in early America still survive today and continue to shape the landscape and character of the United States. In this study, Price examines the process by which land was divided into private property and distributed to settlers from the beginning of colonization to early nationhood. He covers most areas of the United States in which the initial division of land was controlled by colonial governments - the original 13 colonies and Maine, Vermont, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana and Texas. By examining different land policies and the irregular pattern of property that resulted from them, Price chronicles the many ways colonies managed land to promote settlement, develop agriculture, defend frontiers, and attract investment. His analysis reveals as much about land-planning techiniques carried to America from Europe as innovations spurred by the circumstances of the new world. Price's analysis draws on his survey of property records from the first land plans in Virginia in 1607 to empresario grants in Texas in the 1820s.This data allows him to identify regional differences in allocating land, assess the impact of land planning by historical figures like William Penn of Pennsylvania and Lord Baltimore of Maryland, and trace changes in patterns of land division and ownership through transfers of power among Britain, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Mexico and the Republic of Texas.

How people perceive wetlands has always played a crucial role in determining how people act toward them. In this account, Hugh Prince examines literary evidence as well as government and scientific documents to uncover the history of changing attitudes toward wetlands in the American Midwest. As attitudes changed, so did scientific research agendas, government policies, and farmers' strategies for managing their land. Originally viewed as bountiful sources of wildlife by indigenous peoples, wet areas called "wet prairies," "swamps," or "bogs" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were considered productive only when drained for agricultural use. Beginning in the 1950s, many came to regard these renamed "wetlands" as valuable for wildlife and soil conservation. The book should interest geographers and environmental historians to government and private agencies, and individuals concerned with wetland research, management, and preservation.