Stanley D. Brunn

Evacuation from a Nuclear Technological Disaster

unique peacetime technological disaster occurred in northeastern United Ag States in the spring of 1979: an accident in a nuclear-generating plant. Because of the proliferation of nuclear power plants throughout the world, the possibility of comparable disasters elsewhere increases. We chose to examine one aspect of the 1979 American disaster: evacuation of the affected population. The nuclear accident at Three Mile Island (TMI) near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, March 28, 1979, dramatically emphasized the need to broaden the range of evacuation studies to include technological disasters, particularly ones of nuclear origin. The crisis at Three Mile Island provided the first opportunity for an empirical examination of the evacuation process in the aftermath of an unexpected and unprecedented nuclear disaster. We used it as a case study in order to seek a foundation for geographical research in the nascent field of evacuation behavior and planning in response to technological disasters. Our objectives are to identify the spatial and temporal dimensions of evacuation behavior among TMI residents, to offer a conceptual model of evacuation-decision making in response to a nuclear disaster, and to suggest the role for geographers in evacuation planning. Because of the uniqueness of the case study, we offer generalizations and models to explain the decision-making process for nuclear evacuation not as definitive conclusions but rather as hypotheses for future studies. Joseph Hans and Thomas Sell compiled a list of more than 500 natural and technological disasters that required evacuation during the period 1960 to 1973.1 Their figures indicated that an average of almost 90,000 persons per year were forced to evacuate their homes because of hurricanes, floods, train derailments

From Podes to Antipodes: Positionalities and Global Airline Geographies

Abstract Questions of cost and time distance have long been of interest to geographers and have become a more central concern as globalization advances. We analyze the global air travel system by examining the differences in the costs, distances, and times of one aspect of globalization. We review the extant literature on airline transportation by geographers and others, noting especially the near-century-long interest in unraveling cost, time, and distance issues and designing innovative ways to map these interrelated variables. We expand on this base to bring recent scholarship on power and positionality of cities to our understanding of air travel. Our analysis expands on previous work on airline transport geographies in four distinct ways. First, we developed an international database for a large number of cities worldwide that includes measures of distance, cost, frequency and flight duration of airline connections. Second, this database is examined statistically through ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions to measure variations in airline volume with selected socioeconomic variables. Third, these global airline data are mapped using conventional mapping techniques, and finally, we prepare a set of “position-grams” or intersecting spheres of regional variation that measure and map regional patterns and variations in airline connectedness.

VISUALIZING FINLAND: POSTAGE STAMPS AS POLITICAL MESSENGERS

ABSTRACT. Postage stamps are a very political, territorially grounded and yet overlooked part of visual culture. We argue that the mundane omnipresence of stamps gives them considerable nation‐building power and makes them exemplary tools of what Michael Billig calls ‘banal nationalism.’ By focusing on the socially constructed visual qualities of stamps, we argue that their ‘reading’ as political, socioculturally and territorially specific texts offers valuable insights into the evolution and outlook of the issuing state and the ‘imagined community’ within its boundaries. Our examination of 1 457 stamps issued in continental Finland between 1917 and 2000 shows how the desired visual representation of the Finnish state, nation and society has evolved over time, along with the changing outlook of the national elite, its relationship with ordinary citizens and the countrys geopolitical context. The stamps illustrate how the states focus shifted from war to peace, Finlands economy diversified and specialized, and the Finns reached a relatively high level of social welfare and equality. The myth of Finlands cultural homogeneity remained strikingly strong despite dramatic changes in Finlands cultural make‐up, suggesting that not only presence but also absence of a narrative from a visual scene can be strongly meaningful. Over the course of the twentieth century, Finnish nationalism grew increasingly ‘banal’ and inclusive in character, but the stamps maintained their central role in citizenship education. Our findings promote the use of postage stamps in the teaching and research of political geography and identity‐political iconographies.

Mapping the 'Worlds' of the World-Wide Web: (Re)Structuring Global Commerce Through Hyperlinks

The World Wide Web is barely 10 years old and already spans the globe, comprising more than a billion public pages and 3 million servers. It is a decentralized information space, created and controlled by many different authors, and has much lower barriers to entry than conventional information media. The authors analyze the connections between 180 different Internet “nations” using data on the number of Web pages and hyperlinks gathered from a commercial search engine in 1998. They also analyze and describe the geography of the hyperlinks, revealing the most and least connected regions and countries, with a particular focus on African and Central Asian countries. A metric is created, the Hyperlink Index, which is similar to the Export-Import Index common in economics and used to measure the flows of physical goods.

PLACE ELASTICITY: EXPLORING A NEW CONCEPTUALIZATION OF MOBILITY AND PLACE ATTACHMENT IN RURAL AMERICA

Abstract. Migration and place attachment are often coupled within the migration decision‐making literature with the underlying assumption that individuals with strong place attachments are less likely to migrate than individuals with weaker ties to place. As communication technologies have improved, however, new forms of place attachment and connections between individuals and places are evolving. We introduce the concept of place elasticity as a new conceptualization of place attachment made possible by innovations in communication and transportation technologies. Place elasticity allows individuals to live in distant locales while maintaining close interaction with a particular place. We explore this concept with questionnaires and interviews from a sample of individuals from rural Appalachian counties in eastern Kentucky. Rural residents of this region have been noted for their strong place attachments and connections to their home county. Based on our questionnaires and interviews from family reunions we propose that place elasticity has three distinct characteristics: portability, strong place bonds, and permanence and that these traits allow individuals to remain connected to home counties and family, thereby allowing migration and settlement in distant locations with minimal loss of connectedness.

STAMPS AS MESSENGERS OF POLITICAL TRANSITION

Previous studies of postage stamps noted their importance in promoting national identity and the objectives of the state. Neglected in this literature by geographers and others is a discussion of stamp themes and issues during political and economic transitions. A content analysis of issues during the Soviet Unions last three years and Russias first three years revealed some significant changes. The Soviet Union issued many stamps and sets on a wide variety of topics, including nature, folk items and legends, international ties, and ideology. Russia issued fewer stamps: Nature was important, but religion and issues that promoted Russias heritage replaced ideology and international themes. Early Russian stamps evoked an “inward” worldview that promoted a nascent nationalism. In its final years the Soviet Union noted evidence of these changes in priorities and themes with issues that depicted Soviet environmental disasters or honored the individuals killed in the failed Russian coup attempt in August 1991.

The Bible Belt in a Changing South: Shrinking, Relocating, and Multiple Buckles

The term “Bible Belt,” a familiar label associated with religion in the South, was coined by journalist H.L. Mencken following his coverage of the Scopes “monkey” trial in Dayton, Tennessee in 1925. It has been used regularly since that time to refer to a religiously conservative or fundamentalist region in the American South and sometimes the Midwest, though its exact geographic extent remains debatable. Geographers have attempted to define the location of the Bible Belt in the past. Most notably Heatwole defined the geographic extent of the Bible Belt in a 1978 article using 1971 data from the Glenmary Research Center. We replicate his effort for 1971, but add cartographic and statistical analyses for 1980, 1990 and 2000. Changes in the Belt’s location have occurred as a result of new migrants to the South as well as shifts within the region itself. The Bible Belt region today stretches from northern Texas to western North Carolina, and from Mississippi north to Kentucky. Also the region’s core or “buckle” was located in eastern Tennessee in the 1970s, but by 2000 it had moved west to north-central Texas and southwestern Oklahoma. Dynamism and fluidity as well as tradition continue to be important forces shaping the region’s religious landscapes.

Picturing a nation: Finland on postage stamps, 1917–2000

Imagery on postage stamps contributes to the construction of national narratives, collective memory and a nations self-image because stamps are products of the state and constantly present in quotidian situations. An examination of 1,457 Finnish stamps issued during the countrys independence in the twentieth century is based on a mix of visual method(ologie)s. The stamps are read as multilayered, identity-political texts in their time- and space-specific contexts. The stamps narrate the evolution of the Finnish state, nation and society, and reflect the changing relationship between the state and its subjects.

Hierarchies, Regions and Legacies: European Cities and Global Commercial Passenger Air Travel

Air travel has established itself as an integral part of the globalization process and Europe provides a compelling case study on the scope and shape of air travel vis-á-vis globalization. The major goals of this article are twofold: (1) to describe, analyze, and map the distinctive time, cost, and distance features of the air transportation for European cities and (2) to examine how individual European cities are positioned both within a European and a global context. Utilizing unique datasets on world travel, we show that despite its global nature, air travel to and within Europe remains remarkably variegated with both cores and peripheral cities located in relatively close proximity. The longest times and highest costs are associated with European cities in the south and east (particularly former communist countries) while cities in central and northern Europe that are among the cheapest and easiest to reach time-wise. The cost and time of air travel, however, do not adequately illuminate the specific contours of this system vis-á-vis historical and cultural connections. The persistence of colonial empires, are evident in linkages of colonial powers to their former colonies in the Caribbean, Africa, South America and Asia.

Slow growth: a new epoch of American metropolitan evolution

N a landmark article John Borchert divided the evolution of the urban system in the United States into four major epochs: the Sail-Wagon Epoch, 1790 to 1830; the Iron Horse Epoch, 1830 to 1870; the Steel-Rail Epoch, 1870 to 1920; and the AutoAir-Amenity Epoch, 1920 to the 1960s.1 Each of the four epochs was characterized by a set of distinctive economic/technological, demographic, and geographical patterns that affected the regional and internal structure of urban growth. Cities grew, or declined, in response to innovations, especially those in industrial energy sources and transportation technology. Borchert described the importance of such innovations as follows: