Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Dry farming
: A method of cultivation appropriate to dry, sub-arid regions, used
to grow plants, especially cereal plants, without recourse to irrigation. The
development of this practice responded to catastrophic wind erosion of the western
Great Plains, especially in the 1930s.
Dust Bowl
: Popular name for the Great Plains region most affected by a series of
dust storms during the 1930s. A succession of storms destroyed crops, caused severe
erosion, and drove 3 million people from their homes, mostly to California. The
states most affected were Oklahoma and Arkansas, whose emigrants were called
Okies and Arkies respectively. John Steinbeck's novel,
The Grapes of Wrath
recounts these events.
E
East Bank
: Refers, in New Orleans, to the left bank of the Mississippi River,
because it is contiguous with the east side of the mouth of river. The orientation of
the bend where the city is sited is such that the East Bank of the river lies to the west
of the West Bank which is actually east of downtown New Orleans.
Los Angeles School
: An approach to urban geography developed at the
University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), building from a (leftist)
postmodern paradigm. Papers by Allen Scott, Edward Soja, and Mike Davis turn
their backs on the “normative” patterns of the Chicago School to focus on
representations and lived spaces. Examples of this trend include
City of Quartz
, in
which Davis [DVS 90] dissects the lives of Angelinos, Edward Soja's manifesto,
Postmodern Geographies
[SOJ 89] and the jointly authored synthesis,
The City: Los
Angeles and Urban Theory at the End of the 20th century
[SCO 96].
Edge city
: Has referred, since the 1960s, to a commercial and recreation center,
located peripherally in relation to a central business district, usually located near a
highway interchange on the ring road surrounding US cities. The concept was
coined by Joel Garreau in 1991.
F
Floodgate
: An anti-flood barrier established at the outlet of a canal to prevent
flooding.
