Reading Questions for Week 7

Students:

Here are the questions we will use in today's discussion. I hope they are helpful for you in preparing for the final exam as well.

-Andrew


GROUP 1
Scott, A.J. et al. “Global City-Regions” (2001).

(p11, the first page)
What do the authors mean by global city-region?
• Why do the authors use it instead of the city?
• What did scholars expect globalization to do to city-regions? What happened instead, and why?

(pp 15-18)
What are the economic benefits of city-regions? Or, why are city-regions the “motor force” of the world economy”?

(pp 18-21)
What are the three main effects that globalization has had on the “social geography” of global city-regions?

( pp27-8)
What are the two challenges that the increasing importance of city-regions, and declining importance of nation-states, pose to traditional notions of democracy & citizenship?
**Do you see any of these issues raised here in our city-region?





GROUP 2
Soja, E. W. “Economic restructuring and the internationalization of the Los Angeles region.” (1987).

I. Key terms on pp 178-9:

Restructuring:
What is its general definition?
What is its sequence?
What is it rooted in, and what is it a conflict between?
What is it NOT?

Internationalization:
What are the 2 definitions?
Does Soja’s argument about how restructuring and internationalization go with the argument made by Castells? Why or why not?

II. Three pairs of relationships
Soja spells out three paired relationships that together depict the underlying and often contradictory dynamic of contemporary urban and regional restructuring:

i. deindustrialization and reindustrialization (pp 181-5)
*Define these processes and give examples of industries experiencing each

ii. geographic decentralization and recentralization (pp 185-91)
*Define these processes and give examples of each [can skip historical section of decentralization on p 186]

iii. the peripheralization of labor and the internationalization of capital
*Define and give examples of each






GROUP 3
Yin & Wang “China’s urban environmental sustainability” 2000

(questions taken from pp. 155-159 of the article)
• What do the authors say about urbanization and rising levels of consumption in China?
• What does this mean (I = P x A x T) ?
• How are urbanization, incomes, and consumption linked? Remember Rees & Wackernagel!
• What challenges does this pose for China to achieve sustainability?


(pp. 170-2 of the article)
• What positive signs suggest China’s commitment to sustainable development?
• What challenges remain for China to carry out its strategy for sustainability?