Globalization and population drivers of rural-urban land-use change in Chihuahua, Mexico

Nate Currit, William E. Easterling

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

A thorough examination of the causes of land-use change is necessary to effectively deal with the magnitude of changes across the globe. Chihuahua, Mexico is experiencing rapid land-use changes due to processes of globalization. The emergence of Mexico's maquiladora program is an indicator of economic globalization that has had far-reaching social and environmental consequences. This article examines population and income patterns from 1970 to 2000 as part of a hierarchical system and tests whether or not processes of globalization can be detected in the patterns. Findings indicate that population and income concentrate primarily in Juarez, while simultaneously deconcentrating in most other municipios of the State. Moreover, these patterns correlate with patterns of maquiladora concentration. Additional findings identify proximity to the US and established urban centers as drivers of population concentration. These findings support the notion that patterns and processes of globalization are important drivers of population and income concentration at the local level in Chihuahua, Mexico. Finally, the findings support the conceptualization of population land-use and income concentration as part of a hierarchical system.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)535-544
Number of pages10
JournalLand Use Policy
Volume26
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2009

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Forestry
  • Geography, Planning and Development
  • Nature and Landscape Conservation
  • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Globalization and population drivers of rural-urban land-use change in Chihuahua, Mexico'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this