Doctoral Dissertation Research: Construction Industry and Rural Communities in Mexico: Changing Agricultural Landscapes at the Rural-Urban Interface

城市发展和建筑是现代墨西哥的突出方面，对开采的建筑材料产生了巨大的需求。本博士论文研究项目采用人-环境地理学方法研究墨西哥中部韦拉克鲁斯州Xalapa-Perote地区的建筑材料开采。具体而言，它将农村家庭生计和土地使用决策置于更广泛的社会、政治和经济背景下。这项研究的动力有四个方面：1)建筑材料是当今全球基础设施中普遍存在但尚未得到充分研究的方面；2)建筑材料是连接城乡进程的重要纽带；3)广泛存在的建筑材料矿山对土地利用和土地利用变化的影响较大；4)非农收入来源对农村家庭越来越重要。研究方法包括结构化和半结构化访谈，土地利用测绘，档案研究，以及使用航空照片和地理信息系统进行空间分析。Xalapa-Perote地区位于跨墨西哥火山带的东部，各种地质沉积物是多种建筑材料的来源。快速发展的中型城市哈拉帕推动了对这些材料的需求。Perote市是一个农业区，距离Xalapa仅48公里，是Xalapa最广泛使用的材料之一的主要来源。访谈将提供有关研究区域正在使用和需求的建筑材料类型、材料来源以及材料开采和加工对当地决策的影响的信息。土地利用制图将揭示建筑材料开采和火山沉积的空间范围，也将用于估计材料提取的规模。总之，这些方法将提供关于建筑材料采矿业的复杂性和结果的深入信息。本研究将对当代人文环境地理学的文献做出贡献：1)引入一个重要的当代课题的研究；2)推进城乡结合面变化研究；3)提供关于非农业和非森林资源利用的信息；四是提高对非农就业来源的认识。此外，该研究对农村发展政策具有重要意义。发展研究人员越来越主张将非农活动作为发展政策的重要目标。然而，过度依赖宏观数据集降低了诊断这些活动的广泛和最重要类型的效率。解决区域建筑材料需求与地方决策之间的关系将为全球重要的非农活动提供精细数据。这项研究还将促进我们对农村社区非农业资源的可得性和利用的重要性的理解。此外，由于墨西哥最近的城市化主要发生在中型城市，因此在Xalapa-Perote地区提出的案例研究将是墨西哥当代城市文学的重要补充。最后，这个博士论文研究进步奖为有前途的学生提供了重要的支持，以建立一个强大的研究轨迹作为一个独立的学者。

Urban growth and building are prominent aspects of modern Mexico and create massive demand for mined construction materials. This doctoral dissertation research project uses a human-environment geography approach to examine construction material mining in the Xalapa-Perote region of Central Veracruz, Mexico. Specifically, it situates rural household livelihoods and land use decision making within a broader social, political, and economic context. The impetus for the research is fourfold: 1) construction materials are a pervasive, yet understudied aspect of today's global infrastructure; 2) construction materials are an important link between rural and urban processes; 3) widespread construction material mines have dramatic effects on land use and land use change; and 4) non-agricultural sources of income are increasingly important for rural households. Research methods include structured and semi-structured interviews, land use mapping, archival research, and spatial analysis with the use of aerial photographs and a Geographic Information System. The Xalapa-Perote region is located on the eastern portion of the Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt, where diverse geological deposits are the source of numerous types of construction materials. Xalapa, a rapidly growing medium-sized city fuels demand for these materials. The municipality of Perote, an agricultural area located just 48 km from Xalapa, is the main source of one of the most widely used materials in Xalapa. Interviews will provide information about the types of construction materials being used and demanded in the study region, the sources of materials, and the effects of material mining and processing on local decision-making. Land use mapping will reveal the spatial extent of construction material mining and volcanic deposits, and will also be used to estimate the scale of material extraction. Together, these methods will provide in-depth information on the intricacies and outcomes of the construction material mining industry.This study will contribute to the literature in contemporary human-environment geography by: 1) introducing research on an important contemporary topic; 2) advancing research on change occurring at the rural-urban interface; 3) providing information on the use of non-agricultural and non-forest based resources; and 4) advancing our knowledge of off-farm sources of employment. In addition, the research has important implications for rural development policy. Increasingly, development researchers advocate off-farm activities as important targets for development policy. However, over-reliance on macro data sets reduces the efficiency of diagnosing the wide range and most important types of these activities. Addressing the relationship between regional construction material demand and local-level decisions will provide fine-scale data on a globally important off-farm activity. This research will also advance our understanding of the importance of the availability and use of non-agricultural resources in rural communities. As well, because recent urbanization in Mexico has disproportionately occurred in medium-sized cities, the proposed case study in the Xalapa-Perote region will be an important addition to the contemporary urban literature in Mexico. Finally, this Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award provides critical support for a promising student to establish a strong research trajectory as an independent scholar.