Regional Geography

I often hear people say that Mexicans are crossing the border because they want to take all the things we have in the states, like it is some kind of 'greed' on their part. I have always said that people do not leave a place unless they are forced to, whether it is forced by other people or because their life is at stake. If there are not enough resources in an area, people will move to the nearest place with adequate resources. Instead of starving and living in the dirt, these people chose to risk their lives for the possibility of having their basic needs met. It is nice to see that Mexico is finally becoming a self-sustaining country that can offer its citizens enough to keep them from risking their lives for survival.

This article discusses how there is a significant decline of undocumented migration from Mexico into the United States.  Illegal immigration is becoming less attractive to Mexicans and they are deciding to stay in their country instead of coming to U.S. because Mexico is making some changes. It is expanding economic and educational opportunities in the cities. There is rising border crime, a major deterrent from emigrating, it is dangerous and expensive because of cartel controlled borders. Another change is the shrinking families. The manufacturing sector at the border is rising, democracy is better established, incomes have risen and poverty has declined. Also a tequila boom has taken place and has created new jobs for farmers cutting agave and for engineers at the stills.

(Mexico topic 4)

Unlike other articles and videos, this one seems to possess a different "tone" towards the recent drop in immigration. It seems to imply that the drop in immigration will be mutually beneficial to both the US and Mexico. Mexico would benefit from having more workers to help grow its emerging economy, and the US would have fewer Welfare dependents. I'm not saying that I necessarily agree or disagree with this viewpoint, but I do find it to be a very unique take on the situation. I wonder if the reduction in immigration into the US has allowed more funds to be diverted away from collection and deportation to an increased emphasis on security and patrol efforts? In other words, I think that it is a possibility that the United States was, figuratively speaking, too busy "scooping water from the boat" to get around to "plugging the leak".

Now this is very interesting.  First of all I live along the coast of Eastern Connecticut, which essentially is a battleground between New York and Boston.  Sure there is Patriots and Jets/Giants, Celtics and Knicks, but nothing is comparable to the Red Sox and Yankees rivalry.  Fortunately my area is covered by the New York radio stations, as well as the Boston stations, but in an area where you're either "for them or for us" it's almost a judgement depending on which team you favor.  Growing up it was always fun to have half your friends root for the Red Sox, and half for the Yankees.  Yet as I've grown older I've realized it's much more geographical and territorial than I had ever thought.  Hands down, the best rivalry in American sports, and I'm lucky enough to be right in the middle of it.

(North America topic 1)
This map of Red Sex vs. Yankees radio coverage caught my eye for 2 reasons. First, the general divide between radio broadcasts seems mostly identical to a map I've seen about fans by county and city. I wonder if the fans caused the coverage, OR if the coverage made the fans?? Hmm...

Also, I couldn't help but notice the uncannily-large Yankee coverage area posted right in the middle of Rhode Island. I'd think that Hartford would have a larger circle.

New England's most famed baseball team! The Red Sox have a storied rivalry with the New York Yankees from the 2004 MLB Playoffs where the Sox won the last four games of the ALCS to be the first team ever to win a series from being 3 games down and on the brink of elimination in all their remaining games in that series. They also compete with the Yankees with radio broadcasts. Fans mainly in Rhode Island, Massachusetts listen to the Red Sox radio Broadcasts. The areas up for dispute where there is competition is extreme southern Rhode Island, Western Connecticut, and areas on Long Island, and Greenwich Connecticut have people who listen to both broadcasts/

This video was all about getting students to voice their opinions and communicate in the classroom. Sometimes, raising your hand to ask questions and particpate can be hard for some personalities. Using Twitter for the classroom discussion gets everyone's input. Shy students really benefit from using this platform for classroom discussions. Texting can continue throughout the semester-- even when school isn't in session using social media to drive the conversation.

The United States, known for its industrial prowess in the past, has become a shadow of what it used to be. Our economy has taken a major turn to a majority service oriented one, with about 70 percent of our GDP coming from Consumption rather than production. Even since the year 2000 the US has lost around 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs. All that can be said through my limited knowledge on the topic is that a nation which switches from production to consumption will likely fall behind others on the path of technological advancement.

Unit 6

Its funny how in Florida, these ares are all layed out in a nice and neat plan of development, with some kind of structure, while in the northeast it is a free for all, build it where you can kind of area.  It is funny though how close these houses are to each other when there is so much land around in all areas.

As you can see Florida has grown not only with its population but with its economical development. With the Urban patterns being so widely distributed it has made a major imapct with how Florida is catorgarized. With the spread of development being so highly rated it has not only moved farther up into the upper parts of Florida, but all over, this has caused Florida's ubanized patterns to look scrambled and not in an orderly fashion.

these images give examples of areas/ regions that used to be empty, open fields but were developed into suburban areas with many subdivisions and housing for citizens. RE 

Our society has been shaped by the migration of its southern residents into northern and western cities. While our cities are overflowing with rural citizens, life in rural America is slowly vanishing to life in the city. Just like times in early America, lack of employment opportunities in the rural America and the blooming business industry in the city, those who had family roots set in rural America are having too uproot their family and relocate in order to participate in the economic trade.

I think society itself evolves from the past. Alot of new ventures emerge and society adapts to that. Alot of rural areas have evaporated as a new force of urban planning has emerged where more developed cities have increased and more small cities are being recognized and developed into a more open society. Ghost towns are being more destroyed and created into a opportunity where a driven society will create businesses  for people with no jobs.

People move from rural areas to urban areas in the US. This pattern has shifted the notion the founder fathers had when creating this great nation when they envisioned a mostly farming society where people own the land.

Despite Mexico making improvements to make Mexicans want to stay below the border. The drug trafficking violence does make people want to leave. Tens of thousands of well-off Mexicans, wealthy businessmen and average Mexicans are fleeing Mexico and have moved north of the border in a quiet exodus, and they're being warmly welcomed, unlike the much larger population of illegal immigrants. Mexicans are fleeing cartel wars that have left more than 37,000 Mexicans dead in just 4 years, 

This article is interesting because we were used to seeing poorer immigrants from Mexico looking for work and a new way of life.  However, the more affluent communities are migrating North to the U.S. and legally because of the turmoil of the drug wars in their country.  It is disappointing to see that drugs, violence and murder are pushing away people from their own country

For more affluent Mexicans the ability to migrate north is much easier than for the poor. They have the money and the skills to move into the United States. Also with the open lines of communication and ease of flux with business over the border make moving to the U.S. an excellent way to avoid being caught in the cross fire among drug cartels. For the poor however they are either forced to find work with the cartel or risk being an innocent bystander. It also makes you think about the terminology we use to describe Mexican immigrants, are they not refugees of this drug war?

North America topic 9)

Being a person who likes interactive maps and graphics, I found this website and its data to be especially interesting. I remember seeing the same graphics displayed a few years ago at the Boston Museum of Science. Aside from the actual clock, it was interesting to observe the distribution-by-age graphic, and use its slider bar to see the change over time. Right away I could pick out the year the "baby boom" started. Another discrete trend I noticed is that the percent of the U.S. population aged 100+ has gone up lately (though by hundreds of a percent), which reflects recent medical advances and confirms hypotheses previously made that this would happen.

This is a dynamic illustration of international migration in the US that fits nicely within Chapter 3.

This map show the immigration and emigration of people in the United States. It gives you a visual representation of all the people moving in and out of an area. 

Something I noticed by looking at the map was that there are a huge amount of people leaving and moving in the major cities. Initially I thought that there would be a larger income than outcome in the big cities but the flow seemed pretty stable.