Research_Memos_2_Harry

= __Research_Memos_2_Harry__ = [| Edit] 0[| 6][|…] RESEARCH MEMO 2

These answers won’t be easy to find, and some will have to be left unanswered for lack of data. Your RPI mentors will work with you to help find sources.

Use the following analytic framework to research the environmental history of your city. Please be sure to keep track of your sources.

Describe at least three notable features of the natural landscape of your city. Are there mountains nearby? Is it located near an ocean? Are there lakes? Rivers? How does this setting impact life of residents in the city? For example, cities located in valleys often have bad air pollution. Cities located on coasts often rely on the fishery industry as important parts of the economy. Beijing has some mountains called the Taihang mountain and the Yanshan mountain range. Beijing is also pretty close to the Bohai sea. The mountains allows the city to emit large amounts of pollution. The ocean may have fish as an important trade for Beijing. [|__http://www-basin.nies.go.jp/project/lugec/ReportIIX_E/019_Landscape01.pdf__]

Why was this site chosen for the development of the city? When the end of the Tang dynasty was approaching, Ji, or present day Beijing, was the major place where most soldiers were kept. So, the emperors decided to make Ji a city.

[|__Beijing's History - China.org.cn__]
Does your city have an urban planning committee? Describe the history of how the city was developed. Who had a say in deciding what space would be used for what?  Beijing has multiple urban planning committees. During the Ming dynasty, Dadu was being reconstructed while Nanjing was capital. Because of the extraordinary skill some sculptors had with stone and wood, Dadu was renamed Beiping and then Beijing when Beijing became the capital. The different committees depend on what the problem was, but there was a committee for 4 main things. One was construction. Another was sculpture art. A third was housing and the last was transportation.

=== [|__Beijing's History - China.org.cn__]  and ===

[|__Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning__]
What sort of nearby natural resources drive your city’s economy? For example, does your city rely on the logging industry or coal mines? The mountains near Beijing produce a number of mines witch gathers iron, marble, granite, and coal. I assume that with all the freshwater bodies of water, there would be fish.

=== [|__Beijing - China.org.cn__] ===

Does your city have protected forest or park lands? Who is responsible for maintaining these areas? Yes,IUCN is reponsible for these areas. === [|__IUCN - Forest Restoration in Beijing's Miyun Watershed__] === = [|__National Park Development in China: Conservation or ...__] = What sort of environmental disasters has your city faced? Keep in mind that disasters aren’t always “big” in scale or fast in speed. Notable environmental disasters might include: Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Love Canal in Buffalo, the Dust Bowl of the 1930's in the US, the Black Plague in Europe, the Goiânia accident in Brazil, or Minimata Disease in Japan. How did the city respond to these disasters? Did they pass laws or regulations in response? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">Currently, Beijing has been drenched with water, which comes as a surprise as it stands next to the Gobi desert. The city government did nothing, but the citizens took action. When the water started pouring, the citizens hopped into their car and drove to the airport, picking up stranded people. Of course, the vehicles sometimes got stuck, but the citizens just pushed it till it was unstuck.

[|__Floods in Beijing: Under water and under fire | The Economist__]
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">How is your city zoned? For example, Houston, Texas has little to no zoning, while <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">How does zoning protect human health? How does zoning drive or help alleviate social disparities? (For example, zoning in Birmingham, Alabama and zoning in Singapore had very different aims in racial segregation)

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Read about the history of zoning in the United States here: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__ [] __