Volumen 17 (2013): Heft 2 (June 2013)

This paper is largely autobiographical: I chart my own intellectual journey across the history, culture and identity of so-called `small` islands, with a special reference to the Caribbean. To do so, I reflect on my own forays into literature that discussed Caribbean history and culture; my own research experience in Barbados in connection with my doctoral research; and coming up to the present with insights that have emerged in the pursuit of an island studies imagination in my professional work. The paper concludes with a calling, and a justification, for the pursuit of island studies.

The aim of the article is to identify the role of Latin America in the global economy between 1990 and 2010. The analysis is based on the indicators that define social and economic potential (regional GNI, GNI per capita, growth rates, share in global production output, etc.). The article examines in detail the structural and regional shifts in Latin America’s foreign trading: the share of manufactures in Latin American exports has shrunk sharply since 2000; primary commodities have become more important for the region’s trade; China has become a privileged trading partner for Latin America; the region’s resilience to the crisis has renewed trade interest from the EU ; the USA’s share in the region’s trade has reduced. The analysis allowed a proposal for decision methods addressing major issues in the region’s trade through the diversification of Latin American export and the intensification of intra-regional trade.

Although the socio-spatial aspect of cities in the globalisation era has gained a new dimension, it cannot be explained by the globalisation process alone. The article presents the problem of social and ethnic segregation in Île-de-France between 1999 and 2009. Socio-economic and demographic data are used to measure indices of segregation and the description of characteristic chosen districts to show its spatial inertia. The analysis revealed a higher degree of social segregation in the entire Paris metropolitan region than in the city of Paris itself. The upper class is the most segregated group, followed by foreigners, immigrants and the lower class. The pattern emphasises the important role of autosegregation factors and functions. It is observed that a constant division into homogenous parts exists in the prestigious and affluent western districts and the impoverished immigrant north-eastern districts. Socio-spatial tendencies reveal the growing importance of the upper class.

The article refers to the economic analysis of behavior of the urban population living in the ethno-region of Kashubia. The study measured the intensity of local entrepreneurship in the cities, the effectiveness of obtaining EU funds, as well as the assessment of the local units’ own income. The study was conducted in three spatial dimensions, treating the Tri-City, the cities of Kashubia and the remaining cities of Pomerania as separate entities. The analysis showed a clear separation of the Tri-City as a metropolitan area and the main center of economic growth, accumulating the largest share of economic, social and innovation capital. In almost every respect, the Kashubian cities confirmed a strong concern for the development of local entrepreneurship, which makes them more dynamic in comparison to other cities of Pomerania.

The subordinated position of soil in the geosystem allows it to be used as an indicator of the landscape balance. Examples where soil plays such an indicative role are presented in this paper. The theory of the “geochemical landscape” has been used as the theoretical-methodological basis. Soil properties indicating direction, intensity and quality of matter migration in the landscape have been discussed (profile environment, pH, redox, quantitative and qualitative humus properties). The indicative role of soil in the monitoring of “sustainable landscape” has also been characterized. According to the authors, three models of this landscape can be created: natural, rural and urban sustainable landscapes.