Chapter 20 (Hawaii)

Chapter 20 talks a lot about Hawaii. There is a section that talks about tourism in Hawaii and how it all started. The book states "It has proved successful and provided profit for globalized business concerns, but only for short term. The total dependence on tourism and fossil fuels is a questionable formula in the twenty-first century" (553). Tourism became big in Hawaii once the plane prices began to lower so that it was more affordable for people to visit. The beaches are very known in Hawaii because it is very beautiful. This section of the book relates to my city Philadelphia, PA because there are a lot of tourist people that go to see all the historical buildings. One place that a lot of tourist people love to see in Philadelphia is the Art Museum. Some people want to see it because of the Rocky Movie (the big stairs), but others just want to see it for historical reasons. 

Philadelphia Art Museum

The Philadelphia Art Museum is on of the largest art museum in the United States. A lot of people from around the world love to visit this famous Museum. It holds collections of more then 227,000 objects that includes world class holdings of European and American paintings, prints, drawings, and decorative arts. The main building is visited by more than 800,000 people annually, and is located at the west end of Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway. As a child living in Philadelphia, I have to say I visited this museum at least twice a year. The exterior and interior of this building is very beautiful. Below is a short YouTube clip explaining how important the Art Museum is to Philadelphia.

Lastly, while there's great places to be seen in both Hawaii and Philadelphia, there are other important things that are going on. The book also explains how Hawaii Islands face the same urban ills as the rest of the nation. Drugs, high crime rates, lack of good water, a growing prison population, and failing educational systems is the problems Hawaii faces. This really relates to Philadelphia because all of these problems are the same problems that is occurring in Philadelphia to this day. No one really knows how to fix all of these problems to make the city a better place. Below are two photos of the crimes in both Hawaii and Philadelphia. As we can see the numbers are starting to decrease but in Philadelphia, the numbers are beginning to rise again. So while there's positive things about both places there are also the negatives.

Hawaii Crimes

Source:

Mayda, Chris. A Regional Geography of the United States and Canada: Toward a Sustainable Future. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2013. Print.

www.google.com (Google images)

www.YouTube.com

Chapter 19 (California)

California Earthquakes

VS

Philadelphia Rainstorms 

Chapter 19 has a section on California natural hazards. California is a very beautiful place to live but there are three major natural hazards that everyone should be aware of which are: earthquakes, fire, and landslides. Moving to California from Philadelphia, I was not use to earthquakes. That was the only nature hazard out of the three that I have experience since living in California. My first earthquake experience was very scary. It was not a big earthquake but everything in my room moved. California is always waiting for the "big one" as stated in the book. The state averages about two hundred earthquakes a week. Most of them are small and only felt by seismographs. Earthquakes are so normal in California no one really react to them anymore. One thing that is different about California and Philadelphia is that CA is prepared and know what to do during an Earthquake. Philadelphia had its first earthquake in 2011. Many people did not know what to do because they were not prepared for an earthquake. Below is short YouTube clip of Philadelphia the day the earthquake occurred.

 

One thing that Philadelphia is use to having and not California are Rainstorms. Philadelphia gets very bad rainstorms. It does not really rain as much in California. I want to say the five years I have lived in Northridge it would rain maybe two weeks in one year only. In Philadelphia it rains almost every other day. When there are rainstorms in Philadelphia, the streets usually get flooded. It is one of the worse times to drive anywhere when it rains that hard. The winds are usually really strong and an umbrella does not save anyone from getting wet during a storm. The only way people can be safe during a rainstorm is to stay indoors. Even though California and Philadelphia have different hazards, they all can caused severe damage.

It does not really drizzle a lot in Philadelphia when it rains, it pours down.

 

Source:

Mayda, Chris. A Regional Geography of the United States and Canada: Toward a Sustainable Future. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2013. Print.

www.google.com (Google images)

www.YouTube.com

Chapter 17 (Pacific Northwest)

Stanley Park in Vancouver

Stanley Park in Vancouver was the largest city park in Canada. Chapter 17 talks about this park and also has a section on The Spotted Owl. Since the 1960's, old growth forest have become a battleground. Its habitat was closed to logging, resulting in destroying the local logging industry. The owl population has decline about about one-half since 1990. Fires and the West Nile virus also played a part in changing the ecosystem. Saving the spotted owl is a larger issue than merely manipulating the habitat. There are always disasters happening to forest/parks and no one can stop it because its part of nature. The Stanley Park was closed for a year after a 2006 storm occurred. Even though it was closed no one for got about the park. Once it reopen people was going back as if it never closed. I connected this section of chapter 17 to Philadelphia because Philadelphia also has a park that is very famous. Fairmount Park in Philadelphia is the biggest park they have. If everyone looks at the photos above of Stanley Park and the photos below of Fairmount Park, you can see that it looks almost the same.

Fairmount Park Philadelphia, PA

Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with 9,200 acres, all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010. Today, the commission divides the original park into East and West Fairmount parks. This park is very big and beautiful and is considered to be Philadelphia's biggest parks. There are a lot of family activities that goes on at this park like cook outs, picnics etc.

Fairmount Park is even beautiful during winter season. The park is always full of snow and kids are always going to play. There is not a time where Fairmount Park is empty.

Source:

Mayda, Chris. A Regional Geography of the United States and Canada: Toward a Sustainable Future. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2013. Print.

www.google.com (Google images)

Chapter 16 (Intermontane)

Chapter 16 has a section that talks about the Hispanic Culture. The book says that for four hundred years, Spanish culture has influenced the southwestern landscape.They created the following cultural artifacts: The influence of the Spanish language in speech and toponyms, the world famous Mexican cuisine, which is based on local ingredients and emphasizes the importance of community through the enjoyment of food and etc. Philadelphia PA has a large Hispanic culture. Philadelphia is the home for many Puerto Ricans. Every year Philadelphia has a Puerto Rican parade for every Hispanic living in Philadelphia. This is one the most famous days for the Hispanic culture.This is a day for everyone to come together as one and enjoy their culture with out any one judging them. I would go to this parade every year growing up when I was still living in Philadelphia. Below is a short YouTube clip of how the Puerto Rican parades in Philadelphia are. 

The Hispanic culture is very interesting to me because many Hispanics do things different. Every Culture has certain things that they do. Puerto Rican are a very proud culture. I can say that because I am Puerto Rican and I witness many times how proud my culture is. One thing that I can say about the Mexican culture as explained in the book and how they connect to Puerto Ricans are that they emphasize family unit more then education. I notice that all Hispanic cultures really make family an important subject. They believe in sticking together no matter what. That is one of Hispanics strong qualities about them. The book also explains how Mexicans are famous for their cuisine food. Puerto Ricans also has their food that they are famous for. They are famous for their rice and beans. Both white rice and yellow. 

One product that Puerto Ricans love cooking with are Goya products. Goya products are use for almost everything while cooking especially to season the food with.This gives the food a great taste.

Source:

Mayda, Chris. A Regional Geography of the United States and Canada: Toward a Sustainable Future. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2013. Print.

www.google.com (Google images)

www.YouTube.com

Chapter 15 (The Rocky Mountains)

Chapter 15 has a section on Ghost Towns near the Rocky Mountains. There are hundred of Rocky Mountains ghost towns which are spread through out the Southern Rockies Mineral Belt. Outside the Mineral Belt are other ghost towns, such as the Alberta coal mining towns of Nordegg and Bankhead, or Garnet, a well preserved gold mining town high in the Northern Rockies near Missoula, Montana. I could connect this section of the chapter to my city Philadelphia because there are two different ghost towns that are right outside of Philadelphia, Pa. They are: Hopewell Furnace which is in Berks County and also Valley Forge which is in Chester County. 

Hopewell Furnace

Hopewell Furnace is located 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia. It isn't in Philadelphia but it is very close. The history of this ghost town dates back to the fall of 1743, when William Bird erected a forge near Birdsboro, which he called Hopewell Forge. By spring 1744, pig iron was being produced. William died in 1761, and the forges were taken over by his son. By 1850 coal powered furnaces out produced the charcoal furnaces, and activity declined until the civil war. In 1935 the old village stood deserted. There were a couple of people who were living in run down cabins. The Federal government purchased the site and in 1946, the historic old community was made a historic site and reconstruction began. By looking at the picture above, it really does look like a ghost town.

Valley Forge

There is not a lot of times when people now and days come across a sign like the one above in the picture. Today, we have newer street signs. The sign in the picture above makes this place seem as a ghost town. Valley Forge is most famous for being where the Continental Army, under the command of General George Washington, spent cold, nasty winter of 1777-1778. It was here that they recuperated, rebuilt and resupplied, as they kept a wary eye on the British army occupying the colonial capital, in Philadelphia 18 miles east. If it was not for general Washington's winter encampment here, Valley Forge would just be another forgotten iron forge community. Just another hundreds of anonymous sites that have nearly been forgotten. 

Source:

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gtusa/usa/pa/hopewell.htm

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gtusa/usa/pa/valley-forge.htm

Mayda, Chris. A Regional Geography of the United States and Canada: Toward a Sustainable Future. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2013. Print.

www.google.com (Google images)

Chapter 14 (The Great Plains And Canadian Prairie)

Chapter 14 talks a lot about The Great Plains and there is a section that is about urban life. The Great Plains is not known for its urban centers but for its dispersed farms and ranchers. There are a lot of small towns that serves the local farming population. This chapter does not really relate to my city Philadelphia because both places are very different. Philadelphia is not a small town, it does have urban life. There are no farms in Philadelphia. The economic, social, and political viability of The Great Plains towns are waning. Most of the middle class has left to live in urban areas.While The Great Plains population is decreasing, large cities like Philadelphia population is increasing.

                                                              Philadelphia

Philadelphia is the second largest city in the East Coast. It is the largest city of the common wealth on Pennsylvania. Philadelphia is the economic and cultural center of the Delaware River, home to over 6 million people and the countries sixth largest metropolitan area. By no means is Philadelphia known for being a small town like The Great Plains. Below is two photos showing how different the homes are in both places. In Philadelphia, the homes are big and they are town homes. There are some homes that are not together but they are still big. In the photo of The Great Plains home, it is very small and the only home on the farm. The book explains how The Great Plains towns are every fifteen miles. I can not imagine living at a place where I wont see another family until fifteen miles. You don't have to worry about that in Philadelphia because there is a big population living there. There's always a lot of people around you when you live in a big city. 

Philadelphia Homes

 

VS

The Great Plains Homes

There are pros and cons to living in a small town then living in a big city. People living in the The Great Plains I suppose have more privacy because not that many people are around. They get to produce their own food on their farms. Living in a city, everyone tends to know about everything a person does. You don't get too much privacy because there's so many people around everywhere you go. People living in large cities don't understand how hard it is to maintain a farm because all they have to do is go to the closest grocery store and buy all the food they need.


Source:

Mayda, Chris. A Regional Geography of the United States and Canada: Toward a Sustainable Future. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2013. Print.

www.google.com (Google images)

Chapter 13 (The Midwest)

Chapter 13 has a section on Auto Industry. A little background on automobiles is that it is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally for the transport of people rather than goods. In 1886 Karl Benz invited the modern automobile which began the birth of cars.

Chapter 13 discusses how the Midwestern auto industry grew during the first half of the twentieth century. Currently the domestic automotive industry is shifting away from upper mid-west toward the mid-south posing a structural threat to the Midwestern economy.  The mid-west was home to the Big Three automobile manufacturers which are: Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. In the 1960s, overseas auto manufacturers began entering the U.S. market. Two major reason why the Big Three lost their grip on the automobile industry are the high cost of union contract labor and poor fuel efficiency. Below is a video on "Invention of the Automobile Documentary Clip".

 

Philadelphia is known for the Budd Company which was founded in 1912 by Edwin Gown Budd. Budd took with him 13 men and together they developed and manufactured the first American all steel touring automobile body. Budd then developed a pressed steel railroad car seat, which replaced wooden seats and economized production. The first Budd Company plant was located at Tioga and Aramingo Avenues in 1912. The Oakland auto with its all steel body was the first vehicle produced. One year later, the facility moved to a larger space at the Bogg's Mill at I and Ontario Streets. By 1915, Budd employed over 600 men and was forced to relocate to larger facilities at the present site. Production immediately rose from 100 to 500 car bodies per day. One year later, the company produced its 100,000th Dodge touring car body, less than two years after its initial order. Shortly thereafter, they developed an all steel automobile roof for Dodge. Also in 1916, the Budd Wheel Company was formed to produce all steel wire spoked wheels.

Philadelphia as well as the Midwestern both have things they were popular with back then when the automotive industry was blooming. As every one can see, there has been a big change in the design of cars since 1886 to 2013. 

How cars in America look today.........

It is amazing to see how far the automobile industry has come since 1886.  

 

Source:

Mayda, Chris. A Regional Geography of the United States and Canada: Toward a Sustainable Future. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2013. Print.   

www.google.com (Google images)

www.wikipedia.org

www.YouTube.com