Focus on GeographyVolume 52, Issue 3-4 p. 39-47 The City as a Ride Larry Ford, Larry FordSearch for more papers by this author Larry Ford, Larry FordSearch for more papers by this author First published: 10 June 2010 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1949-8535.2009.tb00253.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume52, Issue3-4December 2009Pages 39-47 RelatedInformation

Ethnic neighborhoods have long been used to facilitate urban revitalization in older, inner-city neighborhoods in American cities, but this strategy is much less common in European cities. This is especially surprising because immigrants make up a significant percentage of the population in a large number of those cities. This article explores the role that a largely invented Little Italy has played in revitalizing a section of downtown San Diego in contrast to the difficulty of creating such districts in European cities. The question posed here is, Will this contrast in approaches and outcomes remain indefinitely, or will the use of ethnically themed revitalization strategies become more alike as globalization and the expansion of the European Union serve to lessen historic ethnic tensions and increase the number of distinctive immigrant districts in Europe?.

Resolutions of the 2007 APCG Meeting Long Beach, California Bill Crowley, Nancy Wilkinson, Paul Starrs, Larry Ford, and Jennifer Helzer Whereas, the geography faculty of CSULB has hosted the 70th meeting of the APCG with wondrous zest, skill, and aplomb, and Whereas, we have all benefited from their splendid efforts at organization, planning, and hospitality, and Whereas, we particularly want to recognize the efforts of our dedicated conference co-chairs, Vincent Del Casino and Deborah Thien; the other members of the CSULB geography faculty, including part-time members doing full-time service; our magnificent, knowledgeable field trip leaders, the conference’s technical specialist Jim Woods; the volunteer coordinator Paul Perret, the most helpful student volunteers; Julie Ortiz and Carol Phillips, the Geography Department Academic Support staff ; Paul Laris for his poster board efforts; President F. King Alexander and Dean Jerry Riposa for their generous financial support; the Center for India Studies for Internet Support; and others too numerous to mention, and Whereas, and regretfully, despite all of the aforementioned expertise and effort, certain events, occurrences, and slippages have come to the attention of your ever-vigilant Resolutions Committee and its literally hundreds of well-placed informants, such that they require special mention in the accounts of this meeting, to wit, and Whereas, Dr. Vincent Del Casino has been awarded the collective Yahoo!, Hotmail, and AOL “Golden E-mailer of the Year Award” for having sent the membership a total of 1,347 e-mails regarding these meetings, and Whereas, some of us have remained slightly suspicious why our CSULB friends chose the site for these meetings at a hotel conjoined with something called the World Trade Center, and Whereas, our hosts cleverly chose a site for these meetings with no restaurants within a one-mile radius, apparently in cooperation with our friends from Herbalstrife, and Whereas, our hosts are to be commended by their incredible physical juxtaposition, layering and co-discoursing in one socially constructed, human depositional nexus of three apparently unrelated phenomena: in-your- face mega-decibel wedding disco, Herbalife revivalism that met us at every turn, and our own pre-post-prandial 21st Century Geography exposition, and [End Page 175] Whereas, the locals insist on convincing us that Long Beach is truly a Central Place by holding its opening and closing ceremonies in what should be called the Walter Christaller Memorial Hall, based on its singular Hexagon- dedicated wallpaper, and Whereas, the Herbaldeath folks apparently reached one of our own committee members, Jennifer Helzer’s absence from our committee meeting being explained by her sighting in one the Herbal folks’ official stretch Hummers, soaking in their mobile hot tub, and Whereas, the Hilton Hotel, in promoting the divine-like status of its founder, provides Conrad Hilton biographies in every room in place of the usual Gideon Bible or Book of Mormon, and Whereas, for the first time, one of our Saturday afternoon sessions was displaced by a Thai wedding, the pastor performing the ceremony known as the Thai that binds, and Whereas, the geography department as CSULB went to extraordinary lengths to try to convince those of us who know better that there really is a Los Angeles River, by importing an environmental historian to make false testimony wherein she demonstrated with her own slides that there is really only a giant concrete drainage channel, and Whereas those of us from outside SoCal are led to wonder if Angelinos really have as many entertainment options as reported, since evidence was provided that large groups of people actually make special trips that they pay for to go and look at this large concrete ditch, and Whereas, on the field trip to the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, fieldtrippers learned that, inexplicably, rock material that has naturally moved downslope is then transported back upslope and redeposited there, the transporters apparently unaware of gravity and the ability of those same rocks to descend again, leading to a new term, “rock recidivism,” wherein the same rocks frequently reappear at the bottom of the slopes, resulting in a new law wherein the rocks are shot if this happens more than three times, and Whereas, our host, Vinnie “You Tube” Del Casino, alias...

Whereas, the geography faculty of the University of Oregon has hosted the 69th meeting of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers with great distinction, aplomb, and good humor, and Whereas, we have all benefited from their splendid efforts at arrangements, planning, and hospitality, and Whereas, we particularly want to recognize the efforts of our tireless conference chair, Alexander Murphy; his chief staff lieutenants, Jacob Bartruff and Sandra Knauber; the organization and leadership of our stalwart and able field trip leaders; the rest of the Oregon Geography Department’s faculty and staff; and a large number of friendly, smiling, and invaluable student volunteers, and Whereas, and nonetheless, it has come to the attention of the evervigilant Resolutions Committee that certain occurrences, performances, and actions merit special mention and acknowledgement, to wit, and Whereas, the organizers, in a plot to con APCG by falsely misrepresenting what Oregon weather is truly like, attempted a feeble imitation of Phoenix (site of the previous year’s meeting), and Whereas, in a splendid example of geocaching, our hosts hid the meeting refreshments so well that attendees found it necessary to obtain latitude and longitude coordinates to locate them, and Whereas, meeting organizers, in a misreading of the true powers of the organization’s future president, Kate Berry, scheduled her in two sessions meeting at the same time, and Whereas, with the presidents of both the AAG and APCG present at the President’s Reception it was clear that the APCG is the organization of greater stature, and Whereas, given Alec Murphy’s ability to obtain amnesty for parking violations, members are encouraged to send all future parking tickets to him, in care of the Geography Department, and Whereas, these meetings made clear that APCG needs to attract a more literate audience since so many presenters found it necessary to project their text on a screen and then read it to us, and

Whereas the Geography faculty of Arizona State University and Mesa Community College has hosted the 68th meeting of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers with considerable zest, skill, and savoir faire, and Whereas we have all benefited from their splendid efforts at organization, planning, and hospitality, and Whereas we particularly want to recognize the efforts of our tireless conference co-chairs, Dan Arreola and Chris Lukinbeal; our program organizers Steve Bass, Nicole Ceverny, and Duncan Shaeffer; our cartographer Barbara Trapido-Lurie; the financial support from ASU Dean Alan Artibise, ASU Geography Chair Richard Aspinall, and MCC Vice President for Academic Affairs Gaile Mee; and the assistance of our stalwart and able field trip leaders, as well as the innumerable, friendly, smiling, and invaluable student assistants, and Whereas, and regretfully, the ubiquitous arm of the Resolutions Committee, now bolstered by satellites, cell phones, GPS units, iPods, and TIVOs has been able to extend its all-enveloping reach, thereby having been made aware of instances and occasions that because of their singularity merit, no, we say, require a footnote and recognition in the accounts of this meeting, to wit, and Whereas our host committee, to prove, most especially to Californians, that water is no problem in Phoenix (of which we were repeatedly reminded), sponsored a float rip down the Salt River, and Whereas to illustrate that the real quantifiers are still in Tucson, not Tempe, for Susan Sargent’s field trip, the 14 registrants found themselves confronted with a 15-passenger van that sat only 12, and Whereas Professor Jennifer Helzer, upon entering the environs of the APCG meeting on the first day, saw free food and immediately filled her plate, only to find out she was at a lawyers’ convention, not the APCG, but she still ate the food, and

In a way, the 1970s were a golden age for urban geography. Although spatial science was still dominant, a number of new approaches, methodologies, and worldviews were added to the field. For a while, it seemed as though many of these approaches could be mixed and matched in complex ways in order to adequately address the complexity of the urban world. The era also ushered in a new political awareness, however, and urban geographers were increasingly differentiated into those who wanted to incorporate a political stance into their work and those who advocated scientific neutrality. Over the past two decades, urban geography has become fragmented as the "politicals" have moved into social theory while the "neutrals" have merged with the boom in high technology. The inevitable age of specialization has been accentuated by polarized political stances. A focus on the city has been largely replaced by specialization in social theory or technology and mainstream urban geography may be disappearing.

This article examines key topics and concepts in the cities and urban land use section of the Advanced Placement human geography course. Among the topics discussed are definitions of urbanism, the origin and evolution of cities, functional character of contemporary cities, the built environment and social space, and responses to urban growth.

RESOLUTIONS OF THE 1998 ANNUAL MEETING FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA W h e r e a s the Geography Department at Northern Arizona Uni­ versity so generously volunteered to host the 1998 Meetings of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, let it be noted that the department— in carrying out its duties and responsibilities— has per­ formed magnificently in a host of ways. The Resolution Committee believes that certain persons and events, however, merit special rec­ ognition, to wit: W h e r e a s our gracious hosts sought to give new meaning to the term “barbeque”— a function normally associated with shorts, Tshirts , and sandals— by replacing it with an apparently Inuit version requiring parkas, gloves, and fur-lined boots, and this event, which might better have been called “Where the cryosphere meets the exo­ sphere,” featured Navajo “freeze bread,” rather than the more traditional fry bread; and W h e r e a s the organizers chose the only hotel in Arizona without a bar or cocktail lounge, thereby denying more senior geographers their traditional gathering place, and in conjunction with a dry open­ ing session, dry social hour, and (almost) dry annual banquet, gave new meaning to the Southwest as an arid environment; and W h e r e a s — speaking of climate— Northern Arizona University shamelessly attempted to top the 1922 Bellingham meeting’s mul­ tiple killer whale pod feeding frenzy by demonstrating the entire annual range of Flagstaff weather in a single 24-hour period; and W h e r e a s the organization decided to reinvent the old treasure hunt game in the guise of “coffee, coffee, who’s got the coffee?,” having hidden it deep in the bowels of the DuBois Center far from the arena of social intercourse and from those who needed it most, and for refusing to post any hints or clues as to its whereabouts, thus assuring numerous brief naps in longer paper sessions; and 217 218 APCG YEARBOOK • VOLUME 61 • 1999 W h e r e a s the program committee unexpectedly performed a sur­ prise— yet painless— gender change on one of our longtime members, with Marlyn becoming Marilyn, possibly a ploy to get a larger turn­ out at the W omen’s Network luncheon; and W h e r e a s there is apparently an Arizona state law requiring horizontal -format slides only, any presenter with vertical slides found titles and other key visual elements projected into the stratosphere; and W h e r e a s a paper entitled “Statutes of Liberty” was rendered in the program as “Statues of Liberty,” numerous attendees seeking information on icons were instead subjected to a presentation on laws', and W h e r e a s young Clare Warren gave audible 5-, 2-, and 1-minute notices to her mother Stacy’s paper presentation, thus ensuring that the session chair would not have to bother; and W h e r e a s no two clocks in the DuBois Center could be found to agree, be it resolved that Alan Pred or other eminent geographer of time be invited to assist with next year’s program; and W h e r e a s Flagstaff, Arizona, our host city, so well represents a vital urban enclave in the rugged frontier West, and because the rep­ resentation of bovine herdspeople in these meetings has been minimal (except of course for Paul Starrs, our cowboy laureate), and whereas we geographers fully realize that we must reach out to any and all underrepresented groups, factions, and interests, be it therefore re­ solved that the following six epigrams of Arizona philosophy be adopted as the official Regional Guidelines to the 1998 Flagstaff Meeting: 1) Don’t squat with your spurs on. 2) The outcome of a rain dance has a lot to do with timing. 3) Always drink upstream from the herd. 4) If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. Resolutions 219 5) Good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment. 6) If you’re riding ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to be...

RESOLUTIONS FOR THE 1993 MEETING OF THE APCG BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA HE APCG RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE met in solemn and resolute deliberation and we wish to submit the following heartfelt text as a contribution to the interpretive deconstruction of this 55th annual meeting project. In the spirit of David Letterman’s “10 reasons” for appreciating this meeting, we prepared this multi-element discourse. WHEREAS the host department did its best to keep us in suspense as to whether the meetings would occur this year at Berkeley or whether it would be yet another 30 years before we met here; they sustained this strategic ambiguity by failing to communicate any reassurances to the APCG during the 3 years since Berkeley’s chair impetuously offered up his department as the host, by failing to divulge the location of the Berkeley Conference Center or even the correct address of the Shattuck Hotel, and by making substantial last-minute revisions to the program and thereby heightening the sense of suspense with regard to when paper sessions would be held and ... WHEREAS the meetings have been a tremendous success by the quantitative measures so dear to the Berkeley School’s methodology: there were 29 ses­ sions, 109 papers, 250 paid attendees, 160 banquet tickets, thereby, in this demographic triumph, demonstrating adherence to the wisdom of David Hooson who declared in 1961 that “population is the essential geographic expression” and... WHEREAS the host department illustrated the ephemeral qualities of space and place by giving the vital role of Local Arrangements Co-chair to the ubiquitous Paul Starrs of the University of California Berkeley at Reno and ... WHEREAS for the first time, one program had last names only (no affiliation or paper title) while another schedule had complete names and affiliation but no clues as to where these papers might be heard and ... WHEREAS we applaud the self-congratulatory spirit of the meeting in which the rooms were named for Dead Berkeley Geographers (and just in case some of the younger people in attendance did not recognize these names, a field trip was designed to point out their actual former homes in the Berkeley Hills).. .and WHEREAS the cost of registration, having set an all-time record by APCG stan­ dards, nevertheless failed to include the cost associated with placating the panhandlers on the way from the Shattuck Hotel to the Berkeley Conference Center, nor did it include the cost of the taxi ride from the Oakland Airport (which Tom McKnight empirically determined to be $47—overcharging in the best tradition of Bay Area taxi drivers) and ... 187 188 APCG YEARBOOK • VOLUME 56 • 1994 WHEREAS the facilities selected by the program committee showed a daring con­ tempt for the usual requirements of academic meetings—in our era of financial shortages, it was decided not to provide an anteroom for casual conversation, with the result that “rump sessions” were consigned to the rest rooms and ... WHEREAS the paper sessions had abundant manifestations of a distinctly Berke­ ley tinge, to wit: Berkeley graduate Mark Blumler’s paper implied that “studies of climax communities in successionary models” were in fact unconscious male psycho-physical wish fulfillment (he seemed to relate this insight to his expo­ sure to Berkeley Chair David Stoddart’s techniques for sneaking up on mating sea tortoises) and ... WHEREAS as one measure of the high quality of the meeting, the Latin American theme was convincingly done—perhaps too convincingly: although the ambi­ ance of Latin America was successfully recreated in the over-crowded morning sessions, many papers ran late, resulting in a 45-minute lunch break (a short time frame distinctly lacking in Latin flavor); in the spirit of Latin American economies, $450 was spent on a spectacular luxury buffet on Thursday evening— but there was no money left for forks or plates or even toothpicks, and in grasping the soft brie, the hot pepper cheese, or the marinating mushrooms, few geogra­ phers could avoid getting dirty fingers (perhaps this was a subtle reference to the muddy boots tradition of Latin American geographers) and ... WHEREAS in appreciation for Bill Crowley having read these resolutions for most of the past few years, the organization has seen fit to change the...

170 APCG YEARBOOK • VOLUME 55 • 1993 RESOLUTIONS FOR THE 1992 MEETING OF THE APCG BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON Whereas Western Washington University so generously agreed to host this 55th Meeting of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, and Whereas the extensive efforts of certain individuals merit special citation because of their contributions to organizing these meetings, especially those ofJim Scott as overall honcho, Howard Critchfield for putting together the program, Janet Collins and Bob Monahan for local arrangements and Tom Terich for organiz­ ing the field trips, and staff members and students for all their assistance, and Whereas in selecting this particular motel complex for the meetings the locals demonstrated especial savvy as anyone who has tried to leave here by carknowsthis place is not made to leave, thus guaranteeing that we all had to go listen to papers, and Whereas our hosts craftily arranged to have a political meeting in the room next to our geography sessions so that we would realize no matter how bad a given paper session might be, things could be worse—we could be listening to a poli­ tician, and Whereas the Western Washington faculty clearly demonstrated that the mathemati­ cal revolution never took root in Bellingham—how else can you explain the fact that they hoped to transport 65 people in one 12-passenger van to reach the departure point for the San Juan Islands cruise, and Whereas various geographers once again demonstrated their skills and insight in improbable ways, to wit: a. Clyde Patton, refusing to be limited to giving one paper, sheepishly claimed that his son wrote the second paper he delivered; b. Jerry Towle, reaching for new heights for inventive phrasing, namely, claiming that one Livingstone Stone (some fish person none of us had ever heard of) was guilty of “demented optimism”; c. Bill Preston, on the other hand, making the seemingly obvious state­ ment that “Today the Tulare Lake Basin resembles exactly what it is” (Is there any other possibility??); Professor Preston also demonstrated a new technique in slide presentation by insisting that his audience first view every single slide backwards, then frontwards. d. Larry Ford, for obviously giving the best paper he has ever given be­ cause Les Rowntree did not use the word “epistemological” a single time in any question of Larry; e. Les Rowntree for not using the word “epistemological” a single time in any question to anyone for the duration of these meetings (one can only wonder what he’s saving for his presidential address next year); and Annual Meeting Report 171 f. Ed Price for actually appearing to be interested in all his former stu­ dents’ papers here, even though he first heard some of them 25 years ago, and returning to our hosts, Whereas, Bob Monahan, in giving final go-ahead for the San Juan Islands boat trip, potentially opened up a host of new positions in various geography depart­ ments by sending 65 people into a pod of over 100 frenzied, feeding killer whales during what was predicted to be a period of 30 knot gales, and Whereas, special kudos go to Howard Critchfield for being so wise as to organize the program and then leave town before the meetings even began so no one could possibly complain, and Whereas, the University of Washington (that’s the school in Seattle) faculty dem­ onstrated a new meaningof “distance decay”by theirinability tofindBellingham and these meetings, and Whereas, Dan Turbeville demonstrated the enigma ofChinatown when he insisted that everyone on the Vancouver Field Trip get offthe bus and spend three hours there with no map while he immediately disappeared elsewhere, and Whereas, in fact, the Western Washington folks have done a truly superbjob host­ ing us with smoothly run field trips, well-organizedpaper sessions and beautiful Northwest weather, Therefore, be it resolved that we express our sincere gratitude and heartfelt appre­ ciation to you and hope that we shall be able to return in the near future. Respectfully submitted, Members of the Resolutions Committee Bill Crowley, Chair Larry Ford Bill Preston ...

150ASSOCIATION OF PACMC COAST GEOGRAPHERS REPORT ON THE FIFTY-THIRD ANNUAL MEETING San Diego, California September 28-October 1, 1988 If attendance is any measure, the 1988 meeting in San Diego was a great success. Paid registration was 196 with student workers, spouses, significant others, guests, and sneak-ins putting us well into the 200s (let's guess maybe 240). There were 92 papers on the program (including Bill Loy's presidential address), although this numberwas diminishedby afew "no-shows." Participation from the audience usually filled the time, however. Participants traveled from as far afield as New Hampshire, Alabama, Ohio, Minnesota, and Hong Kong, as well as from throughout the APCG region. Students participated in record numbers. Wednesday's Opening Sessionbeganwithapoolsidemixerandgreetingsfrom San Diego State University geography department chair Ernst Griffin and VicePresident for Academic Affairs Albert Johnson. Appropriately following the poolside event was an enlightening address by Lester Snow entitled "Where Will Southern California Get Its Water Next?" Thursday's events were capped by a harbor cruise around San Diego Bay and, judging by the fact that the evening was beautiful and that we easily surpassed our guaranteed minimum at the bar, people had a good time. Local arrangements chairJimBlick planned the cruise and added the commentary. AfterafulldayofpapersonFriday as well asthebusiness meetingandastudent networksession,peoplegatheredfora"hootiehour"andbanquetattheHolidayInn. BillLoy deliveredhis presidential address entitled "Geographic Names in Geography ," and Rodney Steiner (president-elect) emceed the presentation ofawards and the reading of resolutions. The Awards Committee, headed by Dale Courtney, announced that Howard Nelson and Bill Thomas were the recipients of the 1988 Distinguished Service Awards, and that prizes in the Student Paper Competition went to Anne O'Connor (first), Jeremy Browning (second), and Janie Leech and RuthAskevold (third). Bill Crowley (as usual) readtheResolutionofAppreciation with great gusto. For those with a field orientation, ten field trips were offered, ranging from Tijuana and Tecate in the south to the mountains and wineries ofnorth San Diego County. Several ofthe field trips filled early, and we apologize to those who may have "missed the bus." Phil Pryde (field trip coordinator) did an admirable job of getting everyone headed in the right direction. YEARBOOK · VOLUME 51 · 1989151 In addition to the above activities, there was a breakfast meeting for the Women's Group and luncheon meeting for the Membership Committee. Just to roundout the event, several ofus danced to the wee hours inthe lounge by thepool. I wouldlike to thankall ofthose who helpedthe meeting to succeed, including those who presented papers, served on panels or as chairs and discussants, and everyone else who contributedtothe intellectual and/orsocial atmosphere. Iwould especiallyliketothankthosewhoworkedhardesttocreatetheeventbyleadingfield trips, typing programs, finding extension cords and miscellaneous paraphernalia, and organizing workshops and special events. In addition to Blick and Pryde, Barbara Fredrich, Elmer Keen, David McArthur, Bob O'Brien, Anne O'Connor, James Switzer, BonnieGoldenGersch, RichardWright, Frederick Stutz, andStuart Aitken all helped to get things organized. Special thanks go to department chair Ernst Griffin forproviding the resources to "bootleg" many ofthe costs associated with running the meeting (thus allowing us to make a significant but as yet undeterminedprofitfortheorganization) andto YumikoTsuneyoshi whotooktime off (vacation time) from herjob as head secretary to keep me organized. Without these efforts, I would have gone bozo. I still might. Larry Ford San Diego State University ...

Social change in American inner cities has been dramatic in recent decades. Widespread neighborhood decline has been interpreted as a major national problem. Our understanding of the problem and our national policies in this area too often have been based upon stereotypes that ignore the tremendous variation in the conditions of individual cities. This paper establishes a standardized method for comparing central zones consisting of the oldest 12 square miles of large cities. Census data for 1960 to 1980 in nine urban places are examined, with greater detail presented for two central cities that have had contrasting architectural and social histories. In Columbus central zone neighborhoods underwent a variety of housing and population changes, while in San Diego most were consistently stable or growing.

(1984). A Core of Geography: What Geographers do Best. Journal of Geography: Vol. 83, No. 3, pp. 102-106.

Previous articleNext article No AccessArticlesHistoric Districts and Urban DesignLarry FordLarry Ford San Diego State University Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 4, Number 21980 Published for the American Society for Environmental History and the Forest History Society Views: 3Total views on this site Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/3984477 Views: 3Total views on this site Journal History This article was published in the Environmental Review (1976-1989), which was continued by the Environmental History Review (1990-1995). © 1980 American Society for Environmental History. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.