John Mercer

Urban Form in Canada and the United States: an Examination of Urban Density Gradients

Differences between urban patterns in the United States and Canada are analyzed. The focus is on differences in urban form identified through a comparative investigation of the density gradients of residential population for metropolitan centers in both countries. (ANNOTATION)

Canadian Cities and their Immigrants: New Realities

Following new federal regulations and procedures introduced in the 1960s, the nature of immigrant flows to Canada has changed radically. Over the last two decades, the immigrant population has increasingly become nonwhite and now comes mostly from macroregions other than Europe (including Britain) and the United States—notably, Asia. Thus the new immigrants exhibit greater cultural and racialized diversity than ever before. Most immigrants settle in Canadas cities, principally the leading metropolitan centers. Certain metropolitan areas—especially Toronto—attract large numbers; others participate relatively little in the settlement process. This, together with new social geographies at the municipal and neighborhood scales, has important implications for public debates over immigration and intergovernmental policymaking. The new immigrants have brought about important changes in urban social life, including education, health care, policing, business development, and labor markets. New urban realities challenge Canadian society at a critical period in its statehood.

Reconsidering faculty roles and rewards in geography

Abstract In the USA there has been a reassessment of public and faculty attitudes to higher education and its practices. One concern has been the priority faculty and administrators in different disciplines attach to the roles and rewards accorded to teaching, research and public service. The Association of American Geographers (AAG) set up a task force to examine these issues with respect to geography. The proposals of that task force are presented here together with an introduction by Ron Abler, the AAGs Executive Director. These proposals have now been sent to all US geography departments for consideration. They should interest geography associations and departments in other countries, where the tension between faculty roles and rewards are issues for staff and/or public concern.

Small worlds and local heroes : the 1987 General Election in Scotland

ABSTRACT Two myths about Scottish politics have become deeply entrenched. One is of Scotland as a monolithic stronghold of the Labour Party; the other is ofthe Scottish National Party (SNP) as a potentially Scotland-wide party. These myths are dispelled in a geographical analysis of the 1987 General Election in Scotland and of changes since the 1983 General Election. An argument is made for the crucial role of localsocial contexts or places in determining electoral outcomes. More specifically, the appeal of the Labour Party and the SNP is seen as restricted largely to certain types of place where “small worlds and local heroes” allow them to succeed. Geographical analysis, therefore, reveals a different Scottish politics from that foundin most contemporary commentaries by journalists and political scientists.

The Fiscal Condition of American and Canadian Cities

The fiscal condition of American and Canadian cities is examined in this paper using municipal bond ratings from Moodys Investors Service for the period 1970-1980. Two hypotheses are posited: that Canadian central cities will exhibit greater fiscal health than will American central cities; over time Canadian and US cities will exhibit differences in changes in bond ratings with changes being more positive for the Canadian case. Neither hypothesis is refuted by the bond rating evidence presented in the paper. While the limited size of the Canadian sample of cities with Moodys bond rating precludes rigorous statistical tests, the findings are consistent with previous work which suggests that there are significant differences between Canadian and US cities and that the North American City concept must be used with care.

Asian migrants and residential location in Canada

Abstract As in other ‘advanced’ market societies, Canadian communities manifest an important social change. Relatively small but rapidly increasing groups, perceived and labelled as racial minorities, constitute an important part of a new social and geographical reality. This paper describes the urban and regional contexts in Canada for the settlement of Asian migrants who now dominate numerically amongst all migrants. They are chiefly concentrated in seven metropolitan centres. The residential location of Asian born peoples in Vancouver and Toronto, the principal centres, is quite different but shows evidence of relative concentration; locally, however, large migrant majorities are rare.

The City in Cultural Context

1. Introduction, John A. Agnew, John Mercer and David E. Sopher 2. Reflections on the cultural geography of the European city, Paul Claval 3. Culture and the urban order, Amos Rapoport 4. Culture and economy in the shaping of urban life: general issues and Latin American examples, John Walton 5. Culture, modes of production and the changing nature of cities in the Arab World, Janet Abu-Lughod 6. The urban culture and the suburban culture: a new look at an old paper, Peter Hall 7. The Soviet city: continuity and change in privilege and place, James H. Bater 8. Japanese urban society and its cultural context, Gary D. Allinson 9. City as a mirror of society: China, tradition and transformation, Rhoads Murphey 10. Autonomous and directed cultural change: South African urbanization, John Western 11. The built environment and cultural symbolism in post-colonial Madras, Susan J. Lewandowski 12. A cultural analysis of urban residential landscapes in North America: the case of the anglophile elite, James S. Duncan and Nancy G. Duncan 13. Commentary, John A. Agnew, John Mercer and Davide E. Sopher

Book reviews : Taylor, P., and House, J. editors, 1984: Political geography: recent advances and future directions. Beckenham: Croom Helm. 239 pp. £17.95 cloth

for. Since a number of the leaders in political geography are represented in this collection, we might hope that they will contribute major books, developing some of the ideas outlined here. Consider a few examples. Waterman’s work on partition sits well within a traditional concern for territory and conflict, and a major wideranging treatise could reasonably be anticipated. Similarly, Knight’s essay on the concept of self-determination is related to the central dimension of territory and, again, the seeds of a major work spanning the globe in its scope are apparent. Attention to indigenous peoples and their struggle for political rights and freedoms is also much needed. Taylor and Johnston have already made major contributions in electoral studies. There is now a realization on their part, evident in these contributions, that previous research has been insufficiently political. Taylor advances an intriguing distinction between the politics of power and those of support. The first connects with material interests for specific groups (or classes) and the relevant arena is that of elites. The politics of support, however, are to do with mobilizing sections of the population to ensure the successful taking of office so that the politics of power may be better practised. Johnston, too, is at pains to emphasize the political geography of regimes. His essay is concerned to situate electoral geography, as a means of legitimation, within democracies. He argues strongly that because elections often become a focus for class conflict, they are an impediment to accumulation. Hence democracy is abandoned in favour of authoritarianism, particularly in postcolonial contexts, to accelerate accumulation. The problem is then to explain geographical variation in types of regimes through an understanding of states in the world economy. Electoral geography must always be a very partial geography at the level of the world system. Global perspectives are of increasing importance in geography. Conflicts are central