New PC Geographies (post coronavirus) v4.0

New Geographies : New Curriculum
PC (Post Coronavirus) School Geographies
A provocation & some curriculum making
‘Geography, like all dynamic areas of disciplinary thought, is
in a constant state of becoming’.
(Lambert & Morgan, 2010)

Alan Parkinson
V4.0
May 2020
Image source and copyright: Brian Stauffer
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/12/coronavirus-killing-globalization-nationa
lism-protectionism-trump

Alan Parkinson’s text shared under CC license
1

Moments of crisis, such as the one we are living, are deeply painful in ways
that cannot be underestimated. The social and emotional impacts of Covid-19
will be felt even after we return to normal global health conditions. We will
emerge, albeit more slowly, from the unprecedented economic paralysis. The
question is how we emerge: whether we return to the ways of the past or
whether we derive valuable lessons, to emerge wiser and better equipped to
continue to deal with our longstanding emergency of climate change.
The coronavirus tragedy has shown that we are only as safe as the most
vulnerable among us and that cross-border threats require global, systemic
solutions, as well as individual behaviour changes. Over the past few weeks,
governments and businesses have acted swiftly to mandate drastic, but
necessary measures to stem the coronavirus, keeping people indoors,
grounding air travel, cancelling events and closing borders. Citizens, equally,
are uniting to shift their behaviour en masse, by working and teaching their
children from home, washing their hands more frequently, protecting the
elderly, and helping neighbours shop for food.
The same decisive spirit is needed in the climate crisis. We need both
significant government policies and important personal behaviour changes.
Governments will need to intentionally design economic recovery packages
that support the most vulnerable and promote innovation and clean
technologies as the moving force of the economy, while removing subsidies
from polluting industries.
Individuals will need to change their diets, consumption patterns and travel
behaviour. We have learned that every person’s individual effort actually does
count.
The Covid-19 pandemic has unleashed humanity’s instinct to transform itself in
the face of a universal threat and it can help us do the same to create a
livable planet for future generations.
Christiana Figueres, former chair of UNFCCC

Source of the quote:

https://www.carbonbrief.org/coronavirus-what-could-lifestyle-changes-mean-f
or-tackling-climate-change
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Contents -
Introduction p. 5
Thinking through the changes p. 10
Geographical themes and possible changes p. 12
Physical Geography topics
1. Landscape processes and change p. 12
2. Land use p. 13
3. Weather and climate / air quality p. 14
4. Tectonics p. 15
5. Our relationship with nature p. 16
6. Plate Tectonics p. 17
7. Biodiversity p.18
At the interface between physical and human
8. Climate Change p. 18
Human Geography topics
9. Urbanisation p. 20
a) Urban spaces and hierarchies (and the return of communities)
b) LIC urban areas
c) Sounds of the city
d) Future urban structures
e) The role of neighbourhoods
f) Urban resilience
10.Employment: primary, secondary and tertiary p. 26
a) Retail
b) Gig Economy
c) Agriculture
d) Service sector
e) Garment workers
f) Supply chains
g) Remittances
h) Corporate social responsibility
i) The death of the Office as a workplace
j) The social contract
k) Contact tracing - a new job in demand?
l) Games Industry booming
11.Development and Inequality p.40
12.Changing leisure time and working hours p.45
13.Demographics p.45
a) Natural increase - a baby boom or bust?
b) Migration
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c) Non Covid-19 mortality
14.Globalisation & Geopolitics p.47
15.Carbon footprints p.48
16.Tourism p.49
17.Crime p.52
18.Transport p.53
19.Geographies of Convenience p.58
20.Sustainable Development Goals p.58
21.Food Security p.59
22.Superpowers: Hard and Soft Power p.62
23.Sense of Place p.62
24.Energy p.62
25.New communities p.63
26.Surveillance (link to D3 Erasmus project) p.63
27.Geography of Disease p.65
28.Borders p.67
29.Van lifers - modern nomads p.67
30.The ultimate ‘postcode lottery’ p.68
31.The island mindset p.69
Geographical Skills and Tools
32.Fieldwork p.70
33.Geographical Information Systems (GIS) p.71
34.Statistical Literacy p.72
Pedagogical Approaches and thinking incl. DPSIR p.73
PC Curriculum Making - some early thoughts p.75
- Learning outside the classroom p.77
- Teaching about Covid-19 - GeographyalltheWay p.81
An early update for the Specifications? p.83
A better world ahead? p.84
Reading list and References incl. ‘Slowdown’ p.91
Appendices p.96
- Lockdown Dérive by Claire Kyndt
Testimonials p.99
4

Introduction
Welcome to V4.0 of this document, which has been edited and had additional content
blended in over the first week of May 2020.
Let’s hope we reach that important moment soon, where R= <1 although even that is
unlikely to be enough for us to resume movement of the kind we had.
I’ll continue to embolden what I think is particularly valuable content, which
may then feed into a final ‘resource’ outcome from this project.
If you have seen other versions you will have noticed there are several new sections added
to this version in response to particularly insightful pieces I’ve come across, very often from
academic geographers. It’s good to see in the long tradition of academic geographers
informing the school subject that this may be a feature of the next phase of curriculum
development. There’s also a slow shift towards possible contexts for some curriculum
making and outputs from academic geographers.
As those who’ve read previous versions of the document will know, this came about from
some thinking through the weeks of lockdown about the eventual return to school and
teaching back in the classroom at some future point, probably no earlier than September
2020, although some people still think it’s possible to keep 2m away from each other in a
school. Those people obviously haven’t been in a school lately.
I've been thinking in particular about what I/we (as a subject community) will be teaching
in Geography when we do. While writing my biography of every Geographical President on
my GA Presidents Blog at http://gapresidents.blogspot.com I’ve encountered numerous
occasions where the subject has changed in response to particular events or new ways of
thinking. This pandemic will have an impact on many geographical topics, and places that
are studied at all key stages, and may result in another ‘turn’ in the subject.
For the GCSE and ‘A level (and equivalent) exam specifications, they will remain as they are
- there have been no plans to change them, no consultations on those changes, and
probably no desire to either. A little more clarity over examination results for this year has
been published, with predicted grades and other data being used to provide grades for 2020,
but students (who may not have been at school for 6 months by then) may choose to sit
rescheduled exams at a later date if they feel their grades weren’t a true reflection of their
ability, or want to take the chance to improve or simply to have the experience that they
might otherwise miss out on.
One issue is that some elements of the geography in these specifications will
have changed out of all recognition by the time we return, as will many of the
topics taught lower down the school. Our own motivation for continuing to
select those same subjects to devote curriculum time to will also change.
In my final week at school before I self-isolated in mid-March, I was teaching what had
previously seemed to be ‘important’ topics but was constantly thinking as each day passed
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“this doesn’t really matter anymore…” or rather that the context had changed and meant
they were not as significant. This is significant as a choice to teach a particular topic at KS3
means a decision not to teach something else. It also has a bearing on the powerful
knowledge students are introduced to, and then encouraged to explore further.
To give one example, jobs which we previously thought of as being important to protect in
the garment industry may well be swept away by the cancellation of contracts, and the
contraction of the industry. The close confinement of sweatshop workers would also
increase their vulnerability to the virus, and stories soon started of desperate workers
travelling to find work and having to face impossible decisions: to continue working, or to
starve.
It was also a reminder that some people in the UK, who may have voted for political
decisions which tried to stop migrants from making the effort to escape war zones, were now
struggling to cope with the fact that the pubs were shut and they might have to stay at home
and read a book, or were fighting over toilet roll and preventing those who had worked all
day to save lives from buying the basics for themselves.
Here then is a chance to challenge the status quo.
What we are likely to be teaching when we return will need to be adjusted. I’m already
thinking that I want to ‘firm up’ the geography in what I teach, and reflect the changes that
will have happened during school closure/lockdown and remove some of what could be
called the more ‘trivial’ geographies that are in the National Curriculum and other school
based curricula which (I and others) have developed over recent years. John Morgan also
referred to these as ‘zombie geographies’.
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/pluginfile.php/631194/mod_resource/content/1/geog_t
1_10t_3.pdf
A few themes have emerged over the last few weeks in the growing number of items I've
been reading for what may also become some ‘new geographies’ or even new theories of
the way that things work in future economies and society.
I’ve started to pull together some thoughts and ideas and will eventually create some new
curriculum materials for the return to school in some format for our new PC Geography
curriculum. These ideas are also feeding into a book that I am currently writing on why
geography matters.
I am not an academic geographer, and I would guess that geography academics in their
different geographical specialist areas are also currently thinking about their own area of
expertise and how it may change their teaching too. I’ve come across a few of those ideas,
but I would love to hear from you if you have started developing your own ideas in this area
and have made a start on your own thinking, or have identified some of these stories
emerging in the media, or via your own social media contacts.
There is a free editorial in the RGS’ ‘Transactions’ which has some ideas:
https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/tran.12389 - PDF
6

I was also reminded of this cartoon that I was sent - source unknown - but from a cartoonist
called Alxe?
This reminds us of another coming catastrophe which we will similarly need concerted global
action to fight. I’ll return to that at the end of the document.
The climate emergency will require even more concerted global action, and this must
be a major element of the new curriculum. With the cancellation of COP26 which the
UK was due to host, this has built in further delays into the world getting together to
solve this crisis which is far more ‘visible’ and urgent to many.
Also, will we actually want to teach about Coronavirus (preferring to try to forget it about
it, particularly if our family or friends have been touched by tragedy, and inevitably those of
our students and colleagues). Is it too raw for a while to be an object of study, or is it
something that we just should be teaching? Just as earthquake drills are taught and
practised in earthquake-prone areas, perhaps we will need to cover pandemics and their
spread so that we are ready to act more promptly if there are further similar events in the
future. Lessons are being learned currently, so should these lessons also be learned (and
taught)?
I do not intend teaching about Covid-19 as a topic, even if it is an excellent
opportunity to show a GIS Dashboard which has almost a billion views every day.
What about some of the other topics we’ve traditionally taught which are also
potentially problematic for some students and colleagues.
Should we be more empathetic, and focus on more positives? I’ll explore that idea
too.
It’s worth remembering that the risk of Pandemic influenza has always been there. Do we
use this to explore topics like resilience, and disaster management - the Sendai Framework
perhaps.
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I was reminded by someone who posted a section of Hans Rosling’s essential ‘Factfulness’
book - what a huge pity it is that Hans is not here to guide our response and work
with WHO as he did during the Ebola outbreak that he helped with in 2015. However
his son Ola came out with some useful thoughts in the last week or so, and they are
included in this 4th version of the document.
Hear Hans talking so clearly about the work here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60H12HUAb6M
In it, he describes a number of things that we should be concerned about and Pandemic is
in there alongside Global Warming, as those who have read ‘Factfulness’ may remember.
There’s also an understanding of the
risk of Pandemics in the
Government’s own Risk Register -
something I referred to previously in a
unit we taught called ‘Risky World’,
which I guess will be one we
reevaluate next time round.
Here’s an image taken from the 2017
version of the document, which
Brendan Conway reminded me of
recently, which has pandemics
illustrated at the top of the intensity
scale.
And yet knowing this, few
preparations were made, and vital
equipment wasn’t stockpiled when it
should have been.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-risk-register-of-civil-emergencies-2017-
edition
There has been a lot talked about the climate crisis, and the actions of Greta Thunberg and
others to popularise and publicise the desperate need for change have started to galvanise
young people, and geography is the appropriate place for this to happen in the school
curriculum.
I’d like to see more personal action being part of the Geography curriculum: practising
what we are preaching perhaps. Our lockdown means an end to many of the practices that
we have become used to: easy consumption, take-away coffees, pub lunches, air travel,
clothes shopping etc.
Geography is firmly back on the agenda, as outlined in this essential Wired piece by
David Wolman:
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https://www.wired.com/story/amid-pandemic-geography-returns-with-a-vengeance/ - not that
it ever went away, or had vengeance in mind of course..
Pandemic throws the importance of space back into sharp relief.” We’re
thinking about it at the smallest scale, navigating supermarket aisles or
converting closets into serviceable home offices.
Erik Steiner
The curriculum needs to be considered as a process, and a continual work in
progress. My curriculum is always changing from year to year. Rosalind Walker reminds us
of this in this well written piece:
https://rosalindwalker.wordpress.com/2020/04/24/curriculum-is-forever-but-not-how-you-thin
k/
And this week, Dylan Wiliam spoke to ResearchED about the overloading in the curriculum.
He said, quoted in the TES:
"There is no doubt that there’s far too much stuff in our curriculum – I’ve wondered about
why this is, and my conclusion is that curriculum developers cannot bear the thought that
any children might have spare time on their hands.
"So they actually make sure there’s enough stuff in the curriculum for the fastest-learning
students to be occupied all year. And so there’s far too much for most students … some
teachers just teach the curriculum, they metre it out and they go from beginning to end and
20 percent of the kids get it and the rest don’t – I think that’s logically consistent but immoral.
"When the curriculum’s too full, you have to make a professional decision about what
stuff you’re going to leave out, and the important point here is that not all content is
equally important.”
So perhaps now is the time to drop some of that ‘trivial’ stuff I mentioned earlier to
make space for greater thinking about futures and a changed world.
At the same time, we are waiting for a vaccine, which may well be the most rapidly
produced in medical history - a good thing.
Bill Gates, writing in ‘The Economist’ set out some important things to consider including the
fact that we have a long way to go.
https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2020/04/23/bill-gates-on-how-to-fight-future-pande
mics
“When historians write the book on the covid-19 pandemic, what we’ve
lived through so far will probably take up only the first third or so. The
bulk of the story will be what happens next.”
With that in mind, it’s time to get on with the geographical thinking and curriculum
making for Post-Corona Geographies.
9

Thinking through the changes
One of the prompts that initially got me started on the production of this document was a
tweet from Helen Young: the original GeographyGeek.
I wondered whether there are indeed studies going on, although fieldwork is going to be
difficult - data collection via Google Form etc. could be possible, and I’ve used some myself.
There was also a Guardian article by Adam Tooze on the link with the economy which was
one of the first I added into v1.0 of this document.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/20/coronavirus-myth-economy-uk-bu
siness-life-death
Also this piece by Neal Lawson provided some ideas:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/19/coronavirus-stripping-state-societ
y
I was also really interested in this piece by Stuart Dunn on the Digital Humanities - he
works in the field of GIS which also connects with the GI Pedagogy ERASMUS project that
will be mentioned later in the document.
https://stuartdunn.blog/2020/04/03/what-and-versus-how-teaching-digital-humanities-after-co
vid-19/
Stuart’s post led me to an existing roundup of posts in the same field as this document, but
at a higher level of education:
https://digitalhumanitiesnow.org/2020/03/editors-choice-covid-19-roundup/
And some thoughts on separating the signal from the noise from Futures
https://jfsdigital.org/2020/04/03/triple-a-governance-anticipatory-agile-and-adaptive/
Further thoughts came from Paul Ganderton on the Facebook group set up to support
Geography Teachers during Covid-19 by Matt Podbury:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/geographycovid19
Follow Paul Ganderton here: https://twitter.com/ecogeog
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GA eConference 2020 Teachmeet
I used the production of this booklet as my theme for the Teachmeet which formed part of
the GA’s eConference 2020 which replaced the face-to-face event due to take place in
Surrey from 16th-18th of April 2020.
I put together a quick 2 minute LOOM video for use in the event.
You can see the link to the video here and watch if you like:
https://www.loom.com/share/2dad4d5d47a64d2e833d3d3d2e3483dc
Ben Hennig and Tina Gotthardt at
WorldMapper have been tracking the cases
and producing regularly updated maps and
animations. Check in for the latest maps and
animations. They are all shared under CC
license. You are also able to support their work
if you feel able to.
https://worldmapper.org/map-animation-covid19/
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Geographical Themes and possible changes
These ideas are presented separately, but in reality, a piece of work in a classroom would
need to connect several of these together, and bring in appropriate questions, analysis of
text and images and some sort of final presentation format and review.
A: Physical Geography themes
1. Landscape processes
These will largely be unchanged of course, and may be our refuge with memories of the
landscapes we can visit when we are allowed out, of mountains we want to climb and places
we want to return to after an absence. Several of us may well be making a list of the places
we intend visiting as soon as we are able.
Rivers have continued to behave as always for the last few weeks, and waves have reached
the shore as usual.
Rivers will still flow downhill, and waves will still hit the coat every few seconds.
The landscape can be one permanence in our lives, and in the curriculum… I’m working on
a unit on the development of The Fens as a consequence, to encourage people to get out
into this landscape explained so well by Francis Pryor in his recent book.
Watch this space for links to that new unit.
Landscapes being reclaimed by the wild.
Goats are reclaiming the streets of a Welsh village - coming down from the Great Orme into
Llandudno.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/apr/02/llandudno-goes-from-ghost-town-to-goat
s-town
Ghost town to goats town - the new kids on the block etc. were the headlines.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/31/europe/wild-goats-wales-streets-lockdown-scli-gbr/index.
html
This image was excellent - unsure of the source but quite powerful - in time the roads will be
covered over…
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Spanish officials also sprayed a beach with bleach. Not sure if that would speed up chemical
weathering in the area
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/28/spanish-official-apologises-for-spraying-bea
ch-with-bleach-coronavirus
Coastal Management
Many sand dune ecosystems need management including fencing to avoid trampling of the
marram that holds them together. The Maspalomas Dunes on Gran Canaria are apparently
recovering their natural look after years of damage from tourist visitors:
https://www.greenme.it/informarsi/natura-a-biodiversita/dune-maspalomas/
2. Land Use
I would be interested to see how the landscape is changed as a result of decisions made
now and in the period when we are able to move around again.
e.g Agricultural use of land.
Tim Lang book - this came out March 2020 - has it already been overtaken by events?
● Forestry land left unmanaged.
● Reduction in construction projects.
● Floodplain development reduced.
● Housing densities questioned.
Will the UK’s land-use as recorded by Daniel Raven Ellison in
his wonderful ‘The UK in 100 seconds’ be different if he was to
remake it in a few years’ time?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0drvdLYGNuc&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i1vuFK7ZQw
A debate started about opening access to golf courses for open space, which connects with
ideas of public and private land ownership, and rights of way.
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https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fca14214-7bcb-11ea-b535-542bda4e2a5f?shareToken=c3
1eca40f84593cdc35621d7b79271f2
There was a similar theme to many stories regarding people travelling to rural areas. Rights
of Way which run close to farms have been chained off, and some politicians have been
forced to resign.
https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-holidays-stoke-rural-fury-135779 - this also relates
to the use of second homes in rural areas and the impact on rural communities, but gives the
story a different dynamic. Thanks to Claire Kyndt for this story. This I think will become more
significant when the lockdown lifts, as people will head to places like Devon and Norfolk, for
example, bringing the virus with them into areas with relatively low population density.
3. Weather and Climate / Air Quality
We could consider the short term impact in carbon reduction and whether it might help any
country towards meeting carbon emission and air quality targets. Europe’s air is certainly
getting clearer: https://twitter.com/i/status/1248669136676425735 (video on this link)
Skies have emptied of planes - will we go back to flying when this is all over?
Will there still be the same number of airlines / competition for flights / cheap flights?
https://www.carbonbrief.org/coronavirus-what-could-lifestyle-changes-mean-for-tackling-clim
ate-change
In India, there is a visual sign that the air is clearing as well:
https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/audio/himalayas-visible-for-first-time-in-30-years-a
s-pollution-levels-in-india-drop
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/11/positively-alpine-disbelief-air-pollutio
n-falls-lockdown-coronavirus?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) is concerned about the impact of
Covid-19 on the observation system. It also describes some of the effects of reduced air
traffic which they have already observed, for example in flight observations of temperature
and wind speed are an important part of the observation network.
https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/wmo-concerned-about-impact-of-covid-19-obs
erving-system
Also check satellite data here: https://www.lobelia.earth/covid-19
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In terms of weather, we are also going to enter the Hurricane season shortly. Imagine the
issues of trying to deal with a disaster (I’ll avoid involving the word ‘natural’ there) with all the
additional complications of the coronavirus.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/18/politics/coronavirus-natural-disaster-response-fema/index
.html?utm_medium=social&utm_content=2020-04-18T20%3A44%3A05&utm_source=twCN
N&utm_term=link
There may be some short term changes, but not the long term ones required to change the
climate.
4. Tectonics
The lack of human activity has reduced a lot of the background noise which seismometers
have to be calibrated to ignore / account for
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/apr/06/lockdown-has-cut-britains-vibrations-seis
mologists-find?CMP=share_btn_tw
https://weather.com/en-IN/india/coronavirus/news/2020-04-05-coronavirus-lockdown-reduce
s-earth-seismic-vibrations
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52509917
There are also fears that other hazards such as earthquakes may happen, and people will
be unable to help each other for risk of infection. This is a real fear as we move into
Hurricane season as mentioned previously.
15

5. Our relationship with Nature
The closure of so called ‘wet-markets’, which are found all over the world and not just in
China, for the sale of ‘bush meat’ and other animals needs to be stopped to avoid another
pandemic emerging in the future.
At the root of the problem is a social phenomenon called “human-wildlife conflict”. This is
when the interests of humans and the needs of wildlife overlap in a negative way.
https://theconversation.com/most-laws-ignore-human-wildlife-conflict-this-makes-us-vulnerab
le-to-pandemics-135191?fbclid=IwAR37QneFaWgUeG7KQ3JpEgBjEj_Ub72HTpTmzfDd58q
JEf4Z3XqVFx-SZGM
In terms of food sourcing, cultural norms over bush meat and wildlife markets may now have
to face more legislation if this does turn out to be the source of the outbreak
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/06/ban-live-animal-markets-pandemics-un-biod
iversity-chief-age-of-extinction - biodiversity
There is also a suggestion we may see more wild flowers. Council services are being cut,
and focussing on the vital services, so verge cutting etc. may be stopped.
The people with the closest link with nature perhaps are the indigenous peoples such as
those who live in the rainforest areas such as the Amazon Basin, who live in harmony with
the forest - they are its guardians in many respects - and who practice their faming
techniques which many students will have learned about.
This article suggests the virus may lead to the extinction of some of these groups:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-52139875
Worth remembering that tackling some issues with landscapes may also reduce risk of future
pandemics - image from UN
This relationship is explored in this piece from the 7th of May on our ‘promiscuous treatment
of nature’.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/07/promiscuous-treatment-of-nature-wil
l-lead-to-more-pandemics-scientists?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
There has also been an increase in fly-tipping as council recycling centres are closed.
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/environment/lorry-load-of-waste-dumped-in-thetford-forest-1-
6613641
Many people are also looking for jobs to do, and clearing out their houses and wanting to do
DIY which has created extra waste. Some councils are also burning recycling as there are
fears over virus contamination of card etc.
Costing the Earth on BBC Radio 4 had some thoughts in an episode hosted by Tom Heap
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000h7yb
Tom Heap talks through the environmental issues emerging during the coronavirus pandemic and
asks what the legacy might be. He's joined by climate change expert Dr Tamsin Edwards from King's
College, London to examine the effect of the lockdown.
With millions of people now working from home, planes being grounded and fewer cars on the roads,
what level of environmental improvement has there been, and will that be reversed once our lives
return to normal?
With the help of experts from the fields of climate change, remote working, ecology and environmental
standards, we track the changes in air pollution and global temperature.
What will the return to ‘normal' look like? With the UK aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050, Tom asks
whether the pandemic can be seen as a trial run for a zero-carbon world. And, with the international
climate meeting COP26 postponed, Tamsin considers how international climate targets might be
affected.
With contributions from Christiana Figueres - architect of the Paris climate agreement, environmental
psychologist Lorraine Whitmarsh, air quality expert David Carslaw, Gina McCarthy of the Natural
Resources Defense Council, business communications specialist Jon Sidwick and Julian Newman
from the Environmental Investigation Agency.
This is likely to be a useful resource and you can download the programme. I like how
Tamsin is introduced as a geographer and Tom also declares himself as a geographer.
It mentions removal of EPA environmental protections in the USA which may lead to further
pollution.
The world’s oceans are now much quieter places because of the reduction in the
movements of shipping with fewer passenger vehicles e.g. cross channel ferries.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/27/silence-is-golden-for-whales-as-lock
down-reduces-ocean-noise-coronavirus
Andy Owen shared this link to some satellite imagery showing areas which were paused -
changing human behaviour in certain environments.
https://www.planet.com/gallery/
6 .Plate Tectonics
One would expect little change to the layout of countries, although Twitter user Karl Sharro
https://twitter.com/KarlreMarks suggested how the world map would change in this tweeted
image:
17

7. Biodiversity
Given the fact tourists aren’t travelling to Thailand, there are benefits to some of the
rare turtles.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/20/coronavirus-lockdown-boosts
-numbers-of-thailands-rare-sea-turtles
Connection to work done previously for TUI.
At the interface between physical and human, we have several other major
issues:
8. Climate Change - the big one!
Climate Change will still need to be at the heart of the curriculum when we
return, perhaps even more so.
The Greenhouse: What We're Learning
I’ve avoided too much on this theme as it’s a whole extra booklet by itself. The reduction in
carbon emissions through industrial closedown and far fewer journeys is obvious.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/12/global-carbon-emisions-could-fall-by-
record-25bn-tonnes-in-2020
We’re also likely to see changes to school and hospital meals as a result of supply chains,
but also the drive for less meat - one campaign here is the #20percentlessmeat campaign
which has had some significant success.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/16/school-and-hospital-caterers-vow-to-
cut-meat-served-by-20
18

About a quarter of the UK’s population eats the food from these caterers
https://www.publicsectorcatering.co.uk/psc100 in a typical working week
http://20percentlessmeat.co.uk/let%E2%80%99s-do-what%E2%80%99s-right
Check out the free Harvard Online courses.
This one explores the health impacts of climate change.
https://online-learning.harvard.edu/course/health-effects-climate-change?delta=0
Perhaps we at least will see an end to ‘big oil’
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/business/energy-environment/coronavirus-oil-prices-co
llapse.html?referringSource=articleShare
A useful podcast for Earth Day 2020 discussing parallels between Coronavirus and Climate
Change:
https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5hZGtuaXQuY29tL2FwcC1zZ
WFyY2gvY25uL2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWZhY3QtdnMtZmljdGlvbi9hbGwvNzIwLzIwMC8&epis
ode=Mjk2YTI0ZmQ2MTNiZTcxOGRhNTQxY2EwOWM1NGZlMDEubXAz&hl=en-GB&ved=2
ahUKEwiSheWK7_7oAhXToXEKHShSCIQQjrkEegQIChAI&ep=6
Don’t forget to take Paul Turner’s Climate Change Ignorance Test
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe_ucwzm5MfjprKxYqrr5mX8AVX2sS4SSh-O4h
R9pQAyWaX1Q/viewform
Mark Maslin’s piece too on the reports of warming climates in the future.
https://theconversation.com/will-three-billion-people-really-live-in-temperatures-as-hot-as-the
-sahara-by-2070-137776?utm_medium=amptwitter&utm_source=twitter
https://app.educcateglobal.org/blogs/342403/experts-see-parallels-between-coronavirus-crisi
s-and-climate-change?fbclid=IwAR2h7IwBI8L4WCMhCcR4RJYASbuU-zmKGGlhlUNhx-tbJ
HZ6asTzJZBMa1A
Also check out the RGS Policy paper on Net Carbon Zero published in early May
https://www.rgs.org/geography/news/briefing-report-financing-net-zero/?utm_source=Twitter
&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SocialSignIn
19

B: Human Geography themes
9. Urbanisation and Urban Spaces
“This was the week our cities died” is the title of this provocative piece which got me
going on some thinking in this regard, and the nature of our teaching on urban models and
structure.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/20/after-coronavirus-well-be-poorer-a
nd-more-broken-but-we-might-be-more-tender-too
Melbourne is also featured here.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/it-s-a-tumbleweed-town-with-data-showing-cbd-
getting-emptier-each-day-20200318-p54be7.html#comments
Daniel Whittall suggested we are seeing new iterations of ‘the city’ or ‘urban spaces’ and
we will see another iteration ‘post-covid’. I guess this document is suggesting we will have
another iteration of the geography specifications and agreed powerful knowledge.
a) Urban Spaces and Hierarchies (and the return of communities)
Thanks to Claire Kyndt for this link, which started some thinking about the way we use
urban spaces and how we live within them.
https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-locked-down-italys-changing-urban-space-133827
Those people who live in rural areas have greater options when it comes to social distancing
and finding a safe space to exercise. I am fortunate, in this respect, to live in a small rural
village, 8 miles from the nearest town but equally that means longer ambulance response
times.
Where we live is influenced by what we can afford.
Lynsey Hanley has produced an essential piece of writing on the class divide here as a
consequence.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/07/lockdown-britain-victorian-class-di
vide?CMP=share_btn_tw
In it she references another great thinker Joe Moran, in a piece from 2004. She also talks
about the value of public parks and open spaces.
Space – how it’s apportioned, how it’s governed, how it’s made available to some and
denied to others – is always political. The middle classes, accustomed to constant mobility
while valorising the home as a place of comfort and safety, balk at the thought of being
unable to up sticks at will.
It seems that the Bartlett Centre of UCL is also definitely ‘on it’ with some thinking in the sort
of areas that Helen wondered about earlier.
“people survive difficulty by coming together as communities of care, not pulling apart in a
retreat into individualism” OluTimehin Adegbeye, 2020
20

“Housing is a condition to the right to life” Laia Bonet, 2020
The quotes above are an entry into this piece by Catalina Ortiz and Camillo Boano on
housing as the key infrastructure of care, and the difficulty for many of social distancing in
some housing designs.
https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/dpublog/2020/04/06/stay-at-home-housing-as-a-pivotal-infrastructure-
of-care/
The piece is part of a series on Post Covid 19 Urban Futures put together by UCL - a useful
blog and webinar series which will grow over time.
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/development/post-covid-19-urban-futures
The Alexandra Panman blog is also excellent:
https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/dpublog/2020/04/01/urban-economics-in-the-time-of-covid-19-what-ha
ppens-when-the-thing-that-makes-cities-great-also-makes-them-dangerous/
Inequalities are explored here:
https://news.trust.org/item/20200217002430-yvuj7
This gives me hope that more work like this is happening in other universities.
Let me know if you spot it and we can add it in.
This piece by Gaby Hinsliff suggests social pods of people as a future model.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/23/social-distancing-social-pods-coro
navirus-lockdown
b) LIC Urban areas
Will the virus lead to a growing exodus from cities or will people still want to live close to
services (and each other)?
Here’s a South African waste-picker on life under lockdown and the impossibility of
continuing to work without risk.
https://news.trust.org/item/20200407102057-bcmya/
Diana Mitlin also picked up some of the issues facing cities in the ‘global South’ in this
blogpost
https://www.iied.org/dealing-covid-19-towns-cities-global-south
For those in Kibera, no work means no food, and quarantine is not an option:
21

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/work-food-kibera-dwellers-quarantine-option-2003
20052738905.html
Follow Faith Taylor’s work as she maps Covid-19 interventions in the slums of Kibera:
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/how-do-you-manage-covid-19-with-a-population-density-of-130000-pe
ople-per-square-kilometre
However, could the climate which has caused issues for countries for decades have been a
factor in low numbers of cases?
https://www.ft.com/content/e9cf5ed0-a590-4bd6-8c00-b41d0c4ae6e0?fbclid=IwAR0BZXMh8
Ab1RnA9bicGHumdK_voINyA1mKCZT-eftcQ8kOWv6qI7y6TiIk
The Financial Times piece here is definitely worth reading. It is free to read and not
behind the paywall.
The article describes the potential impacts of warmer climate, a lifestyle where people are
outdoors more, measures taken by governments and also the fact that African countries
have the most youthful populations - something we explore with Year 9.
In this pandemic, the mask reveals far more than it hides. It exposes the world’s political
and economic relations for what they are: vectors of self-interest that ordinarily lie
obscured under glib talk of globalisation and openness. For the demagogues who govern so
much of the world, the pandemic has provided an unimpeachable excuse to fulfil their
dearest wishes: to nail national borders shut, to tar every outsider as suspicious, and to act
as if their own countries must be preserved above all others.
c) Sounds of the city
The virus is changing the aural map of cities. Bird song is louder. The skies are quieter.
The Cities and Memory website has been collecting sounds of cities and now has a new
lockdown sounds map to capture cities in these very different circumstances.
https://citiesandmemory.com/sounds/
https://citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds/ - check out some of the sounds.
It also featured on Radio 3’s ‘Late Junction’ programme:
https://audioboom.com/posts/7560668-stayhomesounds-on-bbc-radio-3-late-junction
London as an example of ‘changing places’:
22

d) Future urban structures
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/26/life-after-coronavirus-pandemic-change-wor
ld
https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/dpublog/2020/04/01/urban-economics-in-the-time-of-covid-19-what-ha
ppens-when-the-thing-that-makes-cities-great-also-makes-them-dangerous/ - mentions
Edward Glaeser and the importance of density, and the comments thread is also
interesting.
Some cities are giving over space to transport other than the car:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/11/world-cities-turn-their-streets-over-to-walker
s-and-cyclists
Rachael Unsworth mused on the potential for improving things:
http://www.createstreets.com/moving-on-moving-better/
It included a quote from this Carbon Brief collection of views:
https://www.carbonbrief.org/coronavirus-what-could-lifestyle-changes-mean-for-tackling-clim
ate-change#5mike
Also efforts to reduce light pollution in future cities:
https://www.citylab.com/life/2019/11/dark-sky-night-stars-netherlands-light-pollution-map-nac
ht/601846/?utm_content=citylab&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=
socialflow-organic
And Paris is planning to give less space to cars to help with the 15 minute city idea:
https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2020/04/paris-cars-air-pollution-health-public-transit-bi
ke-lanes/610861/
e) The role of neighbourhoods
Social distancing is producing more of an engagement with our personal space and
place currently, and also a recognition of some simple everyday pleasures such as a
walk and meeting friends or going out for a pint:
● Queueing for long periods - a chance to talk, or isolating on mobile phones
● How is this playing out in other countries?
23

● Spacing in supermarkets changing these everyday interactions and negotiations
in aisles
● Facebook connections via group to support geographers being made.
A useful piece from Richard Florida on CityLab on the ‘Geography of Coronavirus’:
https://www.citylab.com/equity/2020/04/coronavirus-spread-map-city-urban-density-suburbs-
rural-data/609394/
CityLab also started sharing the first submissions of lockdown maps from readers:
https://www.citylab.com/life/2020/04/neighborhood-maps-coronavirus-lockdown-stay-at-hom
e-art/610018/?utm_content=citylab&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaig
n=socialflow-organic
Channel 4 put together a series of scenes showing cities before and after - and I guess there
will also need to be an ‘after after’:
https://youtu.be/vFZZF39fgWM
In some countries, houses vary in design. In Japan for example, houses are much smaller
than many other countries. This Reuters piece with excellent graphics explores the issues in
Tokyo for social distancing due to house design: a very pretty piece of work - thanks to
Richard Allaway for this link.
https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/TOKYO-HOMES/dgkvlabxpbx/index.
html
In other urban areas, there are concerns that the closure of public parks is disproportionately
affecting the poorer residents who may not have large gardens to access for exercise,
compared to the more affluent. A report in the Times explored this with regards to
Middlesborough. https://twitter.com/ryanleewatts/status/1253727753419046916
24

Thanks to Nik Griffith for the tip-off to this report.
Community also comes from sport:
https://www.ft.com/content/00ed3676-842c-11ea-b872-8db45d5f6714
Check out how Google and Apple’s social-distancing maps work:
https://www.wired.com/story/apple-google-social-distancing-maps-privacy/?fbclid=IwAR3F1Y
7K1fY0HGv2v48913pq96sSt10gAWW3fOSPsQOTc3onkWEhvVPjwDI
Compare Apple and Google’s maps. (You can see more
of them later in this document)
Also check out the Manchester Urban Institute Blog for a
range of useful blog-posts including a recent one on
social distancing and parks, and one on the data which
shows how our cities have changed.
https://blogs.manchester.ac.uk/mui/

https://blogs.manchester.ac.uk/mui/2020/04/21/how-has-coronavirus-changed-cities-using-urb
an-data-to-understand-lockdown/

f) Urban Resilience
Seaside and ex-industrial towns have already had a tough time economically, and they are
now potentially being affected by the impact of the virus.
This Sky News piece suggests they may also be worst hit by these:
https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-coastal-and-ex-industrial-towns-most-economically-a
t-risk-11977233?inApp=true&fbclid=IwAR1MUVtSN8Z7D2R1rkrZdf_dhkeHheEZBmWVSgo0
_U_W8w9_wgwAeMkk7cI
25

Even the city of LA, bastion of the car is apparently turning into a city of walkers
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/23/magazine/los-angeles-coronavirus-diary.ht
ml
There will definitely be some changes in urban areas.
For this I recommend following the work of Paul Chatterton, who is Professor of Urban
Futures at the University of Leeds. Twitter: @PaulChatterton9
https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/geography/staff/1015/professor-paul-chatterton
Events such as this Webinar show the groundswell for change in urban areas, with respect
to housing (people in one-bedroom flats while houses remain empty, wealthy politicians in
houses with extensive grounds preventing others from accessing parks etc.
https://climate.leeds.ac.uk/events/net-zero-research-forum-how-to-build-back-better/
Professor Paul Chatterton will present a talk titled ‘How to build sustainable cities after
COVID-19’.
The coronavirus crisis is creating a real-time laboratory of what a more sustainable
urban future might be. Professor Chatterton will discuss innovations including breaking car
dependency, creating socially useful production and mass urban greening. The key issue is
how these temporary innovations can be locked in and scaled up after lockdown to create a
‘just recovery’ that tackles the triple social, climate and nature crises.
The power of place.
I’ll refer to this in an IB Webinar later this month
Will share a link to the presentation in this document too.
10. Employment: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary
The Economy has changed… which jobs will disappear for ever? What will the UK /
global unemployment rate be like after this?
For example, ask students to analyse this cartoon and explain what its meaning is:
Source: Matt Kenyon/The Guardian
26

I had an email update in early April from Kate Raworth, author of ‘Doughnut Economics’ (a
speaker at the GA Conference in 2019) giving some suggestions for what they were doing
around this area.
Follow @KateRaworth to see what they are doing with regards to their economic thinking.
They are currently working in Amsterdam to apply their doughnut model to the city.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/08/amsterdam-doughnut-model-mend-post-cor
onavirus-economy
This alone would be enough for a whole unit of work based on some of the starting
questions which Kate outlines here:
https://www.kateraworth.com/2020/04/08/amsterdam-city-doughnut/
They also recorded a chat on pandemic-resistant economics here which may be of
interest.
https://www.pscp.tv/w/1nAJEdVLLmnGL?q=revkin
Perhaps growth is no longer the best measurement of development (if it ever was) and
quality of life needs to be adopted instead, or Gross National Happiness:
https://thecorrespondent.com/357/outgrowing-growth-why-quality-of-life-not-gdp-should-be-o
ur-measure-of-success/413218170519-b4d036a5
This is Danny Dorling’s premise in his book ‘Slowdown’, which is a recommended
read at the end of the document.
He has also recorded a podcast on the book with Zoe WIlliams for the Guardian and this is
worth some of your time here:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/at-the-bookshop/danny-dorling-and-zoe
-williams-slowdown?fbclid=IwAR38rwxB-CAr5rviy0XyWiwXIwFNGH577LfHI7MWYM8__23r
CPrQnWC4X7o&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fl.facebook.com%2F
27

There’s also a related one on ‘Lockdownonomics’ - one for the dictionary of Covid-19
terms:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/talking-politics/lockdownonomics
Employment options for people are changing.
People will also perhaps remember those companies that looked after staff by protecting
them once the lockdown started, and those that didn’t. Furloughing is not going to benefit
people evenly either.
Oxfam’s campaign also reminds us how many people are in danger of being pushed into
poverty.
https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/half-billion-people-could-be-pushed-poverty-corona
virus-warns-oxfam
This piece also points out the gender imbalance in impact as well.
Women are on the front line of the coronavirus response and are likely to be hardest hit
financially. Women make up 70 percent of health workers globally and provide 75 percent of
unpaid care, looking after children, the sick and the elderly. Women are also more likely to
be employed in poorly paid precarious jobs that are most at risk. More than one million
Bangladeshi garment workers –80 percent of whom are women– have already been laid off
or sent home without pay after orders from western clothing brands were cancelled or
suspended.
The ILO (International Labour Organisation) is the organisation that is particularly interested
in the impact on labour markets and collects statistics in that area. It’s thoughts on the
potential impacts are here, and would be useful going forward to explore the impacts in a
number of industrial areas.
https://ilostat.ilo.org/topics/covid-19/
What follows are some examples of particular industries which may see
dramatic change.
28

a. Retail
An excellent article to start off the retail section. This is a key area for many discussions:
https://www.esquire.com/uk/life/a31915611/coronavirus-timeline/?fbclid=IwAR2O_wGutNkiX
_mIKDjxqjBqsAQSK7IZw55mmlVieRXAZ6IjagQxw4AuF8o
Changing retail patterns, with Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy.
“Supermarkets actually account for only about 60 percent of the food we
[normally] consume,” says Tim Lang, professor of food policy at City
University, London. The rest comes from your Friday fish and chips, your
Saturday brunch, and all those al desko Pret lunches (oh, falafel flatbread,
how we miss thee). “If 40 per cent [of the food supply] is cut off, and 60 per
cent has to deal with 100 per cent, well, you’ve got stress and strains. It’s
inevitable.”
“We need to be thinking very carefully about renationalising supply chains, out of resilience
preparedness,” says Lang, the food policy expert. “We’ve developed, over 60 years, a
culture that says, 'I can eat what I like, when I like, and it’ll be cheap forever, and I’ll overeat
as well.' That culture has got to change.” Tropical fruits will disappear from shelves and
seasonal fruits will become so again, thanks to hold-ups at borders due to decreased freight
flights. That means no more strawberries in winter. “Coronavirus is going to take a scythe
through the normality of food."
This Economist Article outlines how Coronavirus rewrote our shopping lists, and also
introduced the German word for hoarding: hamsterkauf.
https://www.1843magazine.com/food/panic-at-the-supermarket-how-covid19-rewrote-the-sh
opping-list
Amazon meanwhile is benefitting (although in France, they are not allowed to deliver
anything other than essential items)
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/apr/15/amazon-jeff-bezos-gains-24bn-corona
virus-pandemic
The High Street may not recover from this setback and we may end up with Amazon and
similar online retailers growing their monopoly. They are taking on many more staff.
Delivery drivers are bringing our purchases to the door.
An excellent NYT piece suggested that we are going to see the end of the department store,
as many were already struggling before this crisis, and we are not shopping in the same
way.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/business/coronavirus-department-stores-neiman-marc
us.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
There are limited reads of articles on the New York Times, but I recommend a cheap
subscription to access the pieces (charge it to your departmental budget)
This had an excellent graphic referencing the classic store Macy’s.
29

Image by Andrew Sondern/New York Times.
There were also mentions of Hudson Yards, an exclusive shopping mall which I visited while
in New York last year, which is likely to be suffering quite a lot.
“The genre is toast, and looking at the other side of this, there are very few who are likely to
survive.”
Mark A Cohen
The High St will also be reshaped:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/30/pandemic-will-vastly-accelerate-decline-
of-uk-high-street-mps-told
It’s also worth remembering that in the UK we have a choice of stores, from Aldi and Lidl up
to Waitrose and M&S for food. In most of India, people shop at stores called kirana shops.
https://medium.com/@VaidyRajamani/the-power-of-kirana-stores-transforming-indian-retail-f
5ac198f7bbc
https://www.rediff.com/business/interview/what-if-kirana-shops-run-out-of-stock/20200329.ht
m
These have little stock, precarious supply chains and crowded interiors which are difficult to
social distance inside. There are apparently millions of these stores, and 90% of food is
bought in them. This means there are few alternatives for food supplies. People in India
have never seen their cities so quiet, as they are always teeming with people:
https://www.rediff.com/news/report/mumbai-after-the-lockdown/20200322.htm
WIthin a few weeks, in early May they were able to launch an online store offering deliveries
and orders. Remarkable ingenuity.
b. Gig Economy
This sector of the economy, which has grown dramatically in recent years, has been
particularly affected by the virus.
Uber - sharing a car not safe - black cabs with screens still relatively OK.
Tube travel in London - still continuing despite difficulty of social distancing.
30

Food delivery - most take-aways closing, even McDonalds and Nandos, but person to
person possible - the local fish and chip shop in the village was still open, but selling off their
potatoes as seeing less trade (I bought a sack and am still working my way through them)
A huge queue built up in Wakefield when Costa reopened:
Uber - released an ad thanking people for staying at home:
https://adage.com/creativity/work/uber-thank-you-not-riding/2249401
https://youtu.be/_e8XLnMiCOE
Airbnb - this has the potential to return some properties to longer term rentals and may see
a change to the dominance of Airbnb in some city centres. We shall see what the appetite is
for short term rents and going into a space that somebody else occupied the day before
without deep cleaning between each tenant?
Picked up in this CityLab article about the longer time impact on airbnb, which is cutting
staff and key staff salaries”
https://www.citylab.com/life/2020/04/coronavirus-safe-travel-airbnb-rental-business-host-bail
out/608917/
https://www.boston.com/travel/travel/2020/04/01/airbnb-letter-coronavirus-pandemic
More of us will work from home in the future.
https://www.realcommercial.com.au/news/experts-deliver-verdict-on-workplaces-post-corona
virus-future?rsf=ps%3Afacebook%3Arcanews%3Anat&fbclid=IwAR2bOkHIyJCylwXqu9921v
BKB9SV_YjJkHotU_WU3PcAu6VeXmK4141TClI
I was interested to see that Uber paid for an ad which didn’t include a single car
https://adage.com/creativity/work/uber-thank-you-not-riding/2249401
31

c) Agriculture and the Food System
There is a need for more workers to pick food in the UK or it will rot in the fields as the
season progresses.
● Will farming be changed in terms of what is grown?
● Will this see a continued need for migrant workers and visas?
● Will we need a Pick for Britain campaign in the same vein as Dig for Victory?
The Fishing industry is suffering with a loss of overseas shellfish sales and closure of
supermarket fish counters:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/10/scottish-fishermen-turn-to-food-bank
s-as-covid-19-devastates-industry?CMP=share_btn_tw
Singapore is almost wholly reliant on food imports (around 90% of its food) as it is so small
and urbanised. It is now bringing forward plans to grow more of its own food on rooftop
gardens.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-singapore-farming/singapore-ramps-up-r
ooftop-farming-plans-as-virus-upends-supply-chains-idUKKBN21Q0QY?fbclid=IwAR3qbVU_
38ylZ9MlregwS-o5PAxQ2l1KSpixvKTjXIPWwPA__a8v7ktDSTc
Only 1% of Singapore is apparently used for growing food at the moment, but that is set to
increase.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-singapore-agriculture/from-sky-farms-to-lab-grown-shrimp
-singapore-eyes-food-future-idUSKCN1T00F2
Similarly, Australia has taken a fresh look at its own agricultural system to increase their self
sufficiency - Sydney Morning Herald piece here:
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/coronavirus-triggers-australian-self-sufficiency-push-
20200412-p54j5q.html
Consider this very useful model of the Food system from the Centre for Food Policy.
Identify the current stresses that are being placed on elements of this model.
Image source: Centre for Food Policy
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The Plant based sector was making good strides before the crisis. This piece is not entirely
without bias but makes a few interesting points with respect to the cost of food..
https://www.sacredcow.info/blog/plant-based-coronavirus
The rural economy will need help to bounce back as well - will there be changes to the
typical English countryside?:
https://www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk/research/recharging-rural-2
There is of course one very important food related link and that is the cultural issues behind
the consumption of animals. In some countries, including the USA, there are so called “wet
markets” where animals are sold live. The presence of these markets has been suggested
as one origin for pandemics due to hygiene and other aspects of the operation of these
markets.
Some Chinese cities are now banning the sale of meat from dogs and cats it seems, and
there may well be other cultural changes in what meats are consumed. The consumption of
‘bush meat’ such as bats was thought to be a source for the Ebola outbreaks of 2015.
https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/coronavirus-china-wet-markets-dog-cat-meat-st
op-the-wildlife-trade-campaign-a9466136.html
In the middle of April we also saw the first of a series of flights bringing Romanian fruit and
vegetable pickers to the UK:
https://metro.co.uk/2020/04/15/fruit-pickers-flown-romania-brits-failed-answer-call-help-1255
9562/
Remarkably the Daily Mail had this as its cover, after years of front covers denigrating
migrant workers. All those people who wanted to ‘support their country’ and ‘take back
control’ weren’t up to helping it seems when it really mattered.
.
Some other workers are interviewed here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52504186
Food production has been connected with the emergence of new viruses, as well as other
issues. This is an area to develop in the curriculum I would say.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/20/factory-farms-pandemic-risk-covid-
animal-human-health
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One of the areas linked to this was the demand for food. Some people have been stockpiling
for years in anticipation of some issues. They are called ‘Preppers’, and geographer
Bradley Garrett, who is writing a book on this, has written a good piece in ‘The
Atlantic’ - suggesting that we will all be doing some prepping next. I think we will be mindful
of what we have in our homes, and be more aware of being ready.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/we-should-all-be-preppers/611074/
His book is out in August. It may be of interest to many.
d) Service sector
https://www.ft.com/content/f8e58c8a-de5e-44ac-84c4-dac767e6cfca - service sector has
been badly affected by the lockdown, and also certain sectors placed at increased risk of job
losses.
This includes food services and entertainment of course, with pubs and music venues
closed.
The world’s largest service industry of course is Tourism, and this is unlikely to be back to
anything like normal for at least six months with many countries closing their borders to
international tourists. A recalculation of the P/S/T employment mix may be needed.
e) Garment workers
Various campaign groups were quick off the mark to publicise the plight of garment workers.
https://cleanclothes.org/news/2020/live-blog-on-how-the-coronavirus-influences-workers-in-s
upply-chains?fbclid=IwAR0pfQvjJ4vZM6aLNZImo3N2PtTGsju4NhYljif17sQQZRxSSIApdmn
53vQ
Many garment workers feared for their lives with a lack of social distancing.
Fashion Revolution was an important account to follow in this
area as it kept track of stories relating to garment workers and
how they tried to cope.
Also Follow the Things Facebook page is an important resource
here.
https://www.facebook.com/followthethings/
This CNN piece is interesting, connecting fast fashion with climate
change:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/03/business/cheap-clothing-fast-fashion-climate-change-intl/i
ndex.html
Some companies like Primark cancelled crucial orders at a time when the garment workers
needed support and certainty over future payment:
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/bangladesh-urges-global-partners-honour-terms-
rmg-purchasing-contracts-1890838
Vietnam’s workers were in debt and worried as well:
https://www.voacambodia.com/a/mounting-debt-and-factory-closures-squeezes-kampong-sp
eu-garment-workers/5364643.html
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Check our Dana Thomas’ ongoing work to explore how garment workers are being affected
here: https://mailchi.mp/traid/behindtheseamsdec_2020-weekly-2663238
https://www.traid.org.uk/traid-blog/ - excellent interview
https://www.traid.org.uk/education/education_resources/ - education toolkit
The Clean Clothes Campaign have published a report on Garment Worker exploitation in
Japan.
https://cleanclothes.org/news/2020/forced-labour-and-debt-trap-migrant-workers-in-japan-fac
e-substantial-risks-during-coronavirus-outbreak-
This final article connects sections e) and f)
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/kalpona-akter-interview-bangladesh/
f) Supply chains
Just-in-time economies have been disrupted. This has caused issues for many industries
which relied on supplies arriving just when they were needed.
Perhaps we need more teaching about the nature of supply chains perhaps and the
vital work of logistics. This is one area which we always did well at my current school.
I am working with one of the country’s leading logistics companies to put together a
teaching resource on this topic.
It will be appearing in the next couple of months.
Or perhaps we recalibrate the idea that we could order one day and get it the next day, and
relearn the act of patience e.g. queueing to walk into a supermarket.
Shipping containers are an important technology here. Mariners on container ships were
relatively safe there and could be tracked on MarineTraffic continuing their global
wanderings. http://www.marinetraffic.com
Will we start manufacturing closer to home if this is possible?
3D printers have certainly been used by many to start printing PPE: a big well-done to
Patrick Carberry, Head of DT at my school for printing and distributing PPE to local health
care agencies and pharmacies. It seems that quite a few teachers have gone to a similar
effort to support local healthcare workers.
Suddenly the face mask is the most important commodity it seems:
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/28/face-masks-coveted-commodity-coronavirus
-pandemic?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR0upcfvvGj6TR1lFkrSt2m55IGfiJO4fzH0QngmW
l0QWHloXwf7TUu0-wM
BBC Radio 4 programme on this theme: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000gvd3
In Business Programme - Radio 4
How can companies change their way of working? Some thoughts here
https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2020/03/will-your-supply-chain-thrive-in-a-post-coron
avirus-world/
As China’s supply lockdown passes the six-week mark, we are reaching a tipping point. With
only a slow build-back of supply from China, we are inevitably going to see shortages of key
components across a range of sectors.
The type of exports affected by the lockdown in China’s Hubei province are garments and
textiles; mobile phones; electronics; medical products; small components and machinery.
Therefore, the disruption caused is likely to be seen mainly in automotive, consumer
electronics and pharmaceuticals, meaning the immediate impact on European consumers
will be less directly felt.
To finish the Economies Section, check out Kit Rackley’s latest GeogRamblings video,
released at the end of March 2020.
https://geogramblings.com/2020/03/31/the-downward-spiral-and-the-coronavirus/
This explores the potential downward spiral of the de-multiplier effect which countries find
themselves in with people not spending money as they normally do because of fears over
their wages in the medium term producing financial uncertainty. There is plenty of useful
advice here as well as an analysis of the situation.
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Image: Kit Rackley of GeogRamblings - used with permission
Here’s the data on the lockdown
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/uk-shopping-travel-data-coronavirus
g) Remittances
Thanks to Paul Ganderton for this article on Remittances.
https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-pandemic-could-hit-the-billions-migrant-workers-sen
d-home-in-cash-135602?fbclid=IwAR3K7Girt-N6Mlvx1bTCm2b53qKeChyv1jKTswS3MMkf0
xL1QrgR6lsfEig
These are the financial flows which head back to countries like the Philippines from those
residents who work in other countries, and often earn more money than they could if they
stayed at home. These payments help support large numbers of families, whose spending is
then ‘multiplied’ in the economy. How will the reduction in flows of people and finances
potentially impact on those families involved. Migrant workers aren’t as well supported during
the pandemic, and also are likely to contemplate a return home if that is possible.
In 2019, an estimated 200 million people in the global migrant workforce sent home
US$715 billion (£571 billion). Of this, it’s estimated US$551 billion supported up to 800
million households living in low- and middle-income countries.
h) Corporate Social Responsibility
There’s an element of this in the previous work on garment workers / links to globalisation,
but it’s worth considering this as a new topic for discussion when teaching about industry
and the role of TNCs.
Some companies are particularly affected. Primark had no sales at all in April:
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https://www.itv.com/news/2020-04-21/primark-owner-furloughs-68-000-retail-staff-and-reveal
s-248m-stock-hit/
The way firms treat their workers will be remembered after this is over.
i) The death of the Office as a workplace
An excellent piece in the Economist, with wonderful illustrations (this is a golden period for
those to be created) on the death of the office and why we don’t need it anyway…
https://www.1843magazine.com/features/death-of-the-office
j) The social contract
Start with this on the social contract from the Financial Times
https://www.ft.com/content/7eff769a-74dd-11ea-95fe-fcd274e920ca?list=intlhomepage
"Governments will have to accept a more active role in the economy. They must see public
services as investments rather than liabilities, and look for ways to make labour markets less
insecure."
"As western leaders learnt in the Great Depression, and after the second world war, to
demand collective sacrifice you must offer a social contract that benefits everyone.”
What is clear is just how awfully the Government handled the pandemic from mid-February
onwards. Their lack of action has massively increased the death toll.
And the last line of that article:
Beyond the public health war, true leaders will mobilise now to win the peace.
And we will need to keep our distance for quite some time.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1248317963566006272
This Lancet piece places the clapping in context. It’s simply not good enough.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30983-1/fulltext?fbclid=I
wAR2AiQeb38O4UcMewUjXuRz7eRImg-g8JlaMp8fvqVqq7uMhQP3RSXuC-RE
“Allegiance, after all, has to work two ways; and one can grow weary of
an allegiance which is not reciprocal.”
James Baldwin
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k) Contact Tracing - a new job in demand
In an interview on the Andrew Marr Show in early May 2020 had an interview with WHO
representative who talked about the need for more contact tracing experts.
It would seem to me that geographers might make ideal recruits for this sort of job.
This is going to be trialled with an app on the Isle of Wight.
l) Gaming Industry booming
As we are all at home, the games industry has boomed. Games have become a way for
people to escape reality and, if they have time to spare and don’t have a hobby or something
that they can do, they are ideal for escapism. Some games have really sold tremendously
well, as they are calm, or allow a world to visit which is away from the cares of our own.
Early on in the lockdown, my daughter asked me to order a copy of the new Nintendo Switch
version of ‘Animal Crossing’ as it was likely to sell out. It certainly did.
Animal Crossing is mentioned in this piece here:
https://www.economist.com/prospero/2020/04/24/the-lockdown-is-a-boon-for-social-simulatio
n-games?fsrc=scn/tw/te/bl/ed/
It’s doing well as it’s not got the violence of other games - it’s calming:
https://www.ft.com/content/4531a734-c25d-4f1f-a6b3-6be692dade5c
Sales are estimated at 12 million.
“It’s a kind of endless experience — it’s not something that people can complete.”
A limited edition “Animal Crossing” Switch console sold out within 10 hours of its launch,
according to a spokesperson from Currys PC World.
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Some games have previously been used to help with collecting data before and changing
society. The book ‘Reality is Broken’ by Jane McGonigal is useful here.
The board game Pandemic is a collaborative game. I wonder how
sales have been. It’s also available as an app.
Jigsaws have also sold out on many sites as another way of passing
the time. Board games are perhaps having a resurgence as well.
VR headsets are also available for extra immersion.
I can see a new unit on the geography of gaming emerging, with a
look at the communities that develop around certain games,
placement of servers in cold places e.g. Facebook servers placed up
in Finland, and plans to place them under the oceans as well, as the cooling costs are
otherwise very high.
11. Development and Inequality
https://www.ft.com/content/d184fa0a-6904-11ea-800d-da70cff6e4d3?list=intlhomepage
Inequality is as big an issue as ever.
The definition of key workers was explored by George Monbiot in a tweet.
Some are reminding us that there is a gap between those of us that can quarantine because
of the jobs that we have, or our ability to work from home.
http://theoreti.ca/?p=7321
Also mentioned in this piece here:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/05/whether-in-the-uk-or-the-developin
g-world-were-not-all-in-coronavirus-together?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
China points out the digital divide:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/technology/china-schools-coronavirus.html?action=clic
k&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation reminds us that this is also the case in the UK of
course:
https://www.jrf.org.uk/blog/coronavirus-response-must-include-digital-access-connect-us-all
Along with this article:
The Food Foundation report is here: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/
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YouGov Report is here: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/covid-19-latest-impact-on-food-2/
You can browse through all the graphics here:
Social distancing is a dream for many, particularly in Indonesia, refugee camps and other
such places.
e.g.https://theconversation.com/indonesia-was-in-denial-over-coronavirus-now-it-may-be-faci
ng-a-looming-disaster-135436?fbclid=IwAR2n3VTWJW9LXn7NK3Q6UJIx-0h41DYiOGE619
dVaV0ibgn6UHTWU9Rgfr8
A race element to the pandemic began to emerge in the USA too
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/us/coronavirus-race.html
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With this piece from the Washington Times (click for limited free articles each month to read
it)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/04/11/grocery-store-owner-new-orleans-coron
avirus/?arc404=true
A powerful quote:
And this report has images of empty hotels in Las Vegas, and yet the homeless sleep in
taped off boxes in a car park:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/14/las-vegas-strip-closed-coronavirus
Even in London, this is not easy sometimes - interesting use of Datashine here to identify
areas with crowded households and little access to open space without some sort of
intervention...
Here’s Emily Maitlis on Newsnight doing a very good job of debunking the myth that this is
a ‘great leveller’ - some people are at greater risk, some people are always at greater risk.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1248113709546975232
Wealth inequality is visualised here - thanks to Paul Turner
https://mkorostoff.github.io/1-pixel-wealth/
This was a theme followed up by Owen Jones:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/09/coronavirus-inequality-managers-z
oom-cleaners-offices?fbclid=IwAR0bdkacNKk-kgfJIV2HcgxXjsV_un34fRE9NGx6YP2bztPRt
3le4Uk7WR4
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And a reminder that some will be profiting at this time, including business with
connections to prominent politicians although price gouging is presumably still being
monitored:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/09/hedge-funds-raking-in-billions-during-cor
onavirus-crisis
The link between inequality and pandemics is explored in this Guardian article:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/12/inequality-pandemic-lockdown?C
MP=fb_cif&fbclid=IwAR2_UK2fXIZGQ4ArF7KO4Vi21I1hdfFjYT5BWmN_2vosEg7YXFv5rCLr
PEU
Perhaps the best piece on this was written by the remarkable Rebecca Solnit who always
seems to get the right tone.
She wrote in a piece in the Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/17/coronavirus-discriminate-humans-r
acism-sexism-inequality
Read this.
Nearly everyone on Earth is, or will be, affected by this pandemic but each of us is affected
differently. Some of us are financially devastated, some are gravely or fatally ill or have
already died; some face racism outside the home or violence within it. The pandemic is a
spotlight that illuminates underlying problems – economic inequality, racism,
patriarchy. Taking care of each other begins with understanding the differences. And
when the virus has slowed or stopped, all these problems will still need to be addressed.
They are the chronic illnesses that weaken us as a society, morally, imaginatively, and
otherwise.
And on the 1st of May, we had confirmation of the inequalities within the UK being
reflected in Coronavirus deaths.
It is becoming clear that we acted too late, and without a clue of who was infected because
of no testing and tracing, we had no chance unless we locked ourselves away… and now
they want teachers to be the next profession in line?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/01/covid-19-deaths-twice-as-high-in-poorest-a
reas-in-england-and-wales
43

Graph copyright: The Guardian
With 55.1 deaths per 100,000 people in the most deprived places compared
with 25.3 in the least deprived, the King’s Fund health thinktank demanded
the government focus new resources to reverse health inequalities as the crisis
eases.
This could be connected to other health factors which are also found in the more deprived
areas of course.
https://theconversation.com/evidence-obesity-is-a-risk-factor-for-serious-illness-with-coronavi
rus-is-mounting-even-if-youre-young-137081
Here’s the London borough of Newham:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/01/covid-19-coronavirus-newham-london-u
k-worst-affected-area?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
NESTA was hoping for a more inclusive Scotland after Covid-19 - this piece is developing
over time:
https://www.nesta.org.uk/feature/scotland-after-covid-19/
Of course, we don’t have the same additional pressures as some people in other parts of the
world.
e.g. Brazilians facing deforestation and the virus
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-52502369?fbclid=IwAR0_rBGVXaXRXSNzg
76X7TWcPlwFXBLQBdJidzSoEVjrjCkv0gnaTB89e9k
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12. Changing relationship with leisure time and working hours
With people adapting to home working, if productivity stays the same will more people want
to work from home in the future and this will change the nature of work-life balance perhaps,
and also the nature of the ‘separation between work and home’ which commuting offers
along with associated nature of costs / insurance / tax implications.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/look-workweek-hours-differences-cultures-around-world-0450156
79.html
Don’t forget the DataShine Commuting map for the UK so that you can see where the
flows of people are for each settlement. Here’s Ely for example, where I work, although my
particular journey isn’t represented on the map as I’m the only one doing it.
https://commute.datashine.org.uk/#mode=allflows&direction=both&msoa=undefined&zoom=
8.686666666666667&lon=-0.2588&lat=52.1461
Hopefully we may see an end to celebrity culture as well, although they are desperate to
remain in the public eye by ‘teaching us’ how to do stuff, and even trying their hand at being
teachers. They pop up on the news on Zoom telling us they are just like us...
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/03/celebrities-have-never-been-less-entert
aining-coronavirus/608452/
Workers who are clearly the most valuable will hopefully have a large pay rise, particularly
those in the NHS. Let’s also consider the wage rate levels which allow workers to remain in
the UK. And perhaps cancel Brexit while we’re at it.
We are already seeing some real issues with supply chains and sourcing - imagine the
additional delays and issues with paperwork and carnets at boundaries in the future, and
with quarantining of visitors etc. It would also affect the research towards a vaccine
potentially:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/03/no-deal-brexit-could-wreck-uks-chance-of
-leading-covid-19-global-research?fbclid=IwAR1v-w1N3nqZpHGRVMpbhh4yyDbk6QITYmQ
3tAnplA3NjxdxYe_WgNufVuk
Will the internet be able to cope?
This New York Times article has an excellent illustration by Pete Gamlen exploring whether
the infrastructure will be able to cope with us all working from home.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/technology/coronavirus-working-from-home-internet.ht
ml?referringSource=articleShare
13. Demographics
a) Natural Increase: a baby boom or bust?
One would imagine that if people were in the house together for weeks there would perhaps
be a baby boom nine months later.
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But will people actually keep their distance within the home as well? There was even a page
on the BBC News website answering questions people were asking about whether sex was
still safe.
From seeing images of people outside carrying on as normal even in late March, one would
suspect that there may be a mini baby boom in December / January - more Capricorns,
which is the best star sign.
These experts think there won’t be a baby boom:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/04/us/baby-boom-coronavirus-demographics/index.html
Could there be a slight change to the population pyramid in some countries if the virus
disproportionately affects older people?
"There's no way that the number of births is going to go up," says Kenneth Johnson, a
professor of sociology and demographer at the University of New Hampshire. "This is not the
kind of environment in which people say, 'Let's bring a child into the world now.'"
b) Migration
Where are people heading during this time? Did extra migration happen because resources
were diverted elsewhere.
Coronavirus as a reason for migration and as unwanted as other people
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/30/couple-flees-north-arctic-circle-coronavirus-15587
8
How were migrants coping?
Even social distancing could be argued to be a luxury.
Migration is featured here.
Coronavirus is described as the great amplifier.
https://www.mideq.org/en/blog/great-amplifier-covid-19-migration-and-inequality/
c) Non Covid-19 Mortality
With cleaner air, there will be fewer deaths as a result of that.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/30/clean-air-in-europe-during-lockdown-
leads-to-11000-fewer-deaths
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“We have seen many fewer patients admitted with exacerbations of asthma and COPD
[chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] over the last month and there is no doubt that a
fall in air pollution is part of the reason,” said Dr LJ Smith, a consultant in respiratory
medicine at King’s College hospital in London.
14. Globalisation and geopolitics
Our increasingly interconnected world has contributed to the spread of the virus.
Will this be an end to globalisation? Several commentators have talked about this issue, and
it is likely to form part of a future geography curriculum to explore the unravelling of some of
its strands.
Borders have been shown to be meaningless in many ways, but in some cases have also
been locked down to prevent access e.g. Iceland banned flights.
Will this mean an end to Globalisation?
Parag Khanna, who wrote the book ‘Connectography’ comments on this in an interview with
Andrew Keen
Listen to the interview and read the article
https://lithub.com/parag-khanna-on-what-wont-change-about-globalization-after-coronavirus/
In early May he had another conversation which can be watched here:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=2681661355448812&ref=watch_permalink
In it he says that certain trends were in place anyway, and would accelerate. He refers to
these as secular or irrevocable.
I also liked the phrase that earthquakes have shocks and aftershocks, so we will expect to
see some aftershocks from this.
One is regionalism - regionalisation is the new globalisation he says.
The USA trades with Mexico and Canada more than it does with China, and the EU trades
within itself.
Travel and migration has paused, so it will be hard for the same processes as before -
countries have retreated into their shells at the moment.
Some aftershocks will affect countries more - the petro-states (oil prices crashing)
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It’s also worth keeping an eye on the tweets of Klaus Dodds:
https://twitter.com/klausdodds
This LSE piece is useful and has some relevant quotes:
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2020/04/21/are-us-and-chinese-leaders-passing-the-stress
-test-posed-by-the-covid-19-crisis/
The use of the term, the “Chinese Virus” by President Trump is an example of the
geopolitical theme here (could also relate to ideas of soft power)
The final sentence is useful:
“We are likely entering a new phase of the globalization drama, but it is not at all certain that it
will be one defined by countries around the world building walls and pulling up drawbridges.”
Emmanuel Macron piece is also relevant here. In the FT which offers limited reads of
articles: https://www.ft.com/content/3ea8d790-7fd1-11ea-8fdb-7ec06edeef84
In terms of approaches to the virus, there’s an interesting piece here on whether different
types of governments handle pandemics better - is authoritarian better than democratic?
https://carnegieendowment.org/2020/03/31/do-authoritarian-or-democratic-countries-handle-
pandemics-better-pub-81404?fbclid=IwAR3IU7lqD2p0gcR45gscFvHrlZUK2mD1zbTCa1_JO
yHeOYEvJj2kPt-xFlE
If a leader is a denier like Jair Bolsonaro this can have major implications:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-52080830
A piece by Madeleine Albright which returns to her previous points about Geography being
particularly important.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/12/opinion/madeleine-albright-coronavirus.html
15. Carbon Footprints
At the moment we are driving a lot less and travelling less generally. Industries are shut
down, lights are turned off in millions of retail premises and these producers of carbon are
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much reduced. What is the link between the increased streaming of data we are all using,
and the production of carbon.
How much carbon are we creating by staying at home?
Each Google search produces carbon, so how much does Netflix streaming generate?
https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-what-is-the-carbon-footprint-of-streaming-video-on-net
flix
Carbon Brief have tackled this theme as they have other carbon related topics and fact
checked some other claims. It seems the amount of carbon produced is a lot less than some
people estimated, and isn’t counteracting the benefits of staying at home and doing some of
the other activities that we have started to do instead.
Greta Thunberg - some recent tweets on this theme.
Thanks to Kate Stockings for this idea to use these quotes from Greta’s book to spark
discussion about the continued threat that this poses, not least as we enter hurricane
season.
16. Tourism
The issues with tourism have been forgotten in those locations which used to have them.
There is a realisation of how many jobs were reliant on the visitors. I’ve seen some tweets
saying how people miss the tourists...
Totnes - Ben King has been sharing images on his morning exercise through this Devon
town. Here’s a view which one would hardly ever see, taken by Ben King.
Image copyright: Ben King - used with permission
Some people are concerned that areas like Devon and Norfolk will see surge in cases after
lockdown is lifted as people travel there in large numbers.
They could also be the areas where there are the most job losses:
49

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/27/uk-tourism-hotspots-could-face-worst-of-p
ost-lockdown-job-losses?fbclid=IwAR2F3VoW3RcoJsqyfqR8WQ1fpi6ktyxac15bb9yXo3Uqg
8Bt9GON4UFjwQw
Will we see more virtual travel? VR is being used by some during lockdown to try to escape
from their reality.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/2020/04/can-virtual-reality-replace-real-tourism-d
uring-pandemic-and-beyond/
More on this later, with the growth of gaming.
Travelling to places may also have its issues e.g. seating arrangements on planes, boarding,
disinfecting etc.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/22/ryanair-boss-says-airline-wont-fly-with-id
iotic-social-distancing-rules?CMP=share_btn_tw
Indeed airlines may well be forced to merge or close down:
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/transport-and-tourism/lufthansa-warns-of-10-000-job-cu
ts-as-covid-19-bites-1.4237445
I wonder what the impact will be on the price of international travel. Virgin has since pulled
out of Gatwick and is shedding thousands of jobs.
Some reports suggest second-home owners are accessing the business support that is
meant for small businesses as well, although they are unlikely to be living there:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-52420392
And in the meantime, it seems unlikely that with 14 day quarantine restrictions in place for
those wanting to enter most countries, that overseas tourism is unlikely to restart in 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-tourism/germany-warns-agai
nst-race-to-restart-tourism-idUSKCN22806H
Thousands of Icelanders have lost their jobs including many coach drivers for Gray Line who
serve the schools that visit the island.
Some places are looking at this as an opportunity to reboot, such as the Austrian ski resort
of Ischgl which is planning to ditch its party tourism reputation after it became a cluster for
infections in the early days of the pandemic:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/24/austrian-ibiza-of-the-alps-vows-to-ditch-part
y-tourism-after-covid-19-lockdown
One theme has emerged over the last week in this area.
However, the real ‘winners’ may be the resorts in the UK as overseas travel is unlikely
to be as easy therefore the STAYCATION is likely to be the norm for a while and some
places are poised to hopefully return to successful trading and a boom in visitors (with the
short term associated risks involved)
https://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/211/reader/reader.html?#!preferred/0/package/21
1/pub/211/page/105/article/37685
50

Iceland is apparently going to pay every adult something towards holidaying in Iceland this
year and supporting their own tourist industry as overseas tourists and school groups are
unlikely to be returning any time soon.
Michael Palin picked up on this theme, when interviewed by Andrew Marr on the 3rd of
May. He said:
"I think you can travel less and travel better.
If we have to be confined to travelling in the UK, it's not a bad place to travel - there are all
sorts of wonderful places - and different landscapes and different sorts of atmospheres -
Northern Scotland, Cornwall.
Go to places and learn more about them, enjoy them more….
Look more carefully
Look more thoroughly
Learn to enjoy your own country.”
Global travel will reduce for a while, affecting the many people globally who rely on
tourism.
Case Studies on this will have to change as the percentages of people travelling
change.
I wonder whether Cruise tourism will be affected by the bad press of events like the
Diamond Princess.
https://www.1843magazine.com/features/the-coronavirus-cruise-on-board-the-diamond-princ
ess
Air travel will be affected for years according to this piece, on the massive job losses at
Virgin Atlantic.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2020/may/05/uk-car-sales-tumble-services-pmi-r
ecession-covid-19-business-live and pulling out of Gatwick airport:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/05/virgin-atlantic-to-close-gatwick-operatio
ns-and-lose-3000-workers
One potential option is something I saw on a tweet, which is
regional agreements on travel between countries who have
few cases e.g. New Zealand and Australia, who also do a
lot of reciprocal trade and tourism and travel in any case.
This is referred to as a ‘travel bubble’.
After weeks of speculation, Australia and New Zealand
have now formally begun work on setting up a
"COVID-safe travel zone" between the two countries.
That means Australians and Kiwis might — within
months — be able to get a plane and fly across the
ditch in the "travel bubble" for a rare overseas holiday.
51

Keep an eye on this as it develops
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-06/coronavirus-travel-bubble-australia-new-zealand/1
2217656
And this article suggests we will also see an end to the issue of overtourism.
https://www.traveller.com.au/will-the-tourist-hordes-return-coronavirus-pandemic-could-be-th
e-end-of-overtourism-h1nq3l?btis&fbclid=IwAR2i0DUaMvJgih7VKDih7hy1lg95bhukBmCxJN
2PW8DagdQy2Fy_EPJAZB8
17. Crime
Smartphones track us wherever we go, often without people realising. Location services
tend to be switched on.
Surveillance will be used to ensure that people don’t break curfews. We have cameras to
check average speeds on roads which tag cars using ANPR, so those who drive when they
are supposed to be at home can be identified as they appear on numerous cameras which
are far from their home area. When I travelled to school during lockdown, which is an almost
50 mile journey I made sure I had my lanyard, ID, teacher union membership card etc. Many
cars also have black-box telematics for insurance purposes, or for safety purposes. Lorries
all have telematics, as do delivery vans.
Yuval Noah Harari mentions this use of surveillance in his piece for the FT, which has been
mentioned elsewhere in the document.
https://www.ft.com/content/19d90308-6858-11ea-a3c9-1fe6fedcca75
There was a very good report on the BBC News in mid-April showing the extremes of
surveillance and control in China, including monitoring of people leaving apartment blocks in
cities with thermometers to check on fever etc. Although the temperature checking may not
be as effective as people think, it is this surveillance and compliance which some countries
are used to, and others aren’t.
52

A US commentator reminded people that some of the measures introduced after 9/11 which
was in 2001 are still in place 19 years later, giving the government additional surveillance
powers. Civil liberties need to be balanced against the other regulations.
It showed how mobile phones can be used to trigger warnings when people find themselves
in particular locations which may be more risky.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-52104798/coronavirus-how-china-s-using-surveill
ance-to-tackle-outbreak
An RGS podcast explores how surveillance helped South Korea tackle the pandemic:
https://www.rgs.org/schools/teaching-resources/south-korea-is-a-success-story-for-managin
g-covid1/
As one would imagine, recorded Crime is well down as people are all at home.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/mar/26/coronavirus-crisis-leads-to-precipitous-d
rop-in-recorded
I imagine car crime is also down as people’s cars are outside their homes / inside garages.
However, with so many businesses closed down and not perhaps checked on for some time,
there may well have been some commercial / business premises which have been targeted
by criminals.
Tracking is being used in South Korea:
https://www.economist.com/international/2020/04/16/governments-are-starting-to-ease-restri
ctions?fsrc=scn/tw/te/bl/ed/emergencyexitgovernmentsarestartingtoeaserestrictionsinternatio
nal&__twitter_impression=true
A linked resource here (pun intended)
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6660905312444383232/
18. Transport
The key type of transport to be affected by this is air transport of course.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2020/apr/03/how-is-the-coronavirus-affecti
ng-global-air-traffic
53

https://www.itv.com/news/2020-04-03/uk-air-traffic-down-by-almost-90-compared-with-last-y
ear/
Heathrow is closing one of its runways in early April as it is not required at the moment.
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/coronavirus-heathrow-airport-runway
-close-british-airways-latest-news-a9444556.html
Luc Zwartjes led me to this FlightRadar24 analysis of air traffic - an app many of us have
used in the past to explore the air traffic in the skies above our heads, or track the flight of a
family member.
https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/scraping-along-the-bottom-april-air-traffic-statistics/?fbclid
=IwAR1ZbOq69uzwM1BcPMVQG2RS7FQyrzVpImiXFxaWmZ4R5nVWAiXotSOgqjo
An excellent graph showing the sudden decline in traffic. Planes (other than repatriation
flights) apparently now have an average of around 20 passengers.
Road traffic reductions have taken traffic back to 1955 levels apparently, and traffic speeds
are up as a result, particularly when it comes to the ‘rush hour’.
In London, there has been a major increase in speeding, including someone reported here
doing over 70mph in a 20mph zone.
http://news.met.police.uk/news/police-urge-drivers-to-slow-down-as-extreme-speeding-enfor
cement-soars-401835
Designing streets that save lives has come into focus, and giving more space to cycles and
encouraging commuting in that way for those who can:
https://www.curbed.com/2020/4/3/21203362/curbed-panel-design-safer-streets
Addition by Helen Young: This article by the BBC considers whether working from home will
be the new norm for many, questioning the need for improvements to transport infrastructure
- although woodland continues to be cleared to make way for HS2.
54

Jo Ward is a transport planner and shared her thoughts here:
https://tps.org.uk/tp-day-2020-announced/read-our-blogs/covid-19-response-by-joanna-ward
Travelling for business - will Zoom replace many meetings in the future as people realise
that they can still meet and make important decisions? How secure are these meetings?
Or will travelling become the preserve of the rich?
And it’s a Boom time for Bikes apparently (7th May) with bike shops busy:
Meanwhile CityMapper has a Mobility Index for cities around the world. This was useful as
cities started to shut down. Drag the top banner with 1 week ago, 2 weeks ago etc to see the
figures rise as we go back to before the lockdown.
https://citymapper.com/CMI
This article on the use of Smartphone Data has an image of the Oculus
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/u-s-wants-smartphone-location-data-fight-coronav
irus-privacy-advocates-n1162821
Compare with my image taken on April 15th 2019 below:
55

Many people are enjoying the reduced traffic flow to be able to enjoy cycling and even
walking more safely.
The associated pollution is not something people are missing.
Daniel Whittall sent me this article on the city of Milan, which is going to expand its cycle
network in the future - Belgian cities have been ahead of the curve on this for years.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/21/milan-seeks-to-prevent-post-crisis-return-of-
traffic-pollution
We could also see more adoption of the banning of cars with older, more polluting engines
as again happens in many European cities, with LEZ (Low Emission Zones)
I can see an activity perhaps where students map where these should go in their own home
town or city.
Ironically, London has currently suspended the Congestion charge to support key workers
travelling to work, as have cities in other parts of the world. The Congestion Charge in
London is £11.50 per day, Monday to Friday.
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge
https://urbanaccessregulations.eu/news-and-press/19-latest-news/1362-suspension-of-all-ro
ad-user-charging-schemes-in-london
The death of the car? Probably not:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200429-are-we-witnessing-the-death-of-the-car?fbclid=I
wAR36t8mGkpqlltZuVX5K18z_jqS8nj6enhHe_Wi50Q1S-oQ8dkdP-XYZZSc
56

Ola Rosling of the Gapminder Foundation appeared this week with a new video exploring
the realities of the impact of flight reductions on carbon dioxide emissions and climate
change. Can be viewed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_asLII6J0k
Apple’s mobility data came out in late April. Here’s the graph for London.
57

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