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Many scholars believe that the modern concentration camp was born during the Cuban war for independence when Spanish authorities ordered civilians living in rural areas to report to the nearest city with a garrison of Spanish troops. But the practice of spatial concentration—gathering people and things in specific ways, at specific places, and for specific purposes—has a history in Latin America that reaches back to the conquest. In this paradigm-setting book, Daniel Nemser argues that concentration projects, often tied to urbanization, laid an enduring, material groundwork, or infrastructure, for the emergence and consolidation of new forms of racial identity and theories of race. Infrastructures of Race traces the use of concentration as a technique for colonial governance by examining four case studies from Mexico under Spanish rule: centralized towns, disciplinary institutions, segregated neighborhoods, and general collections. Nemser shows how the colonial state used concentration in its attempts to build a new spatial and social order, and he explains why the technique flourished in the colonies. Although the designs for concentration were sometimes contested and short-lived, Nemser demonstrates that they provided a material foundation for ongoing processes of racialization. This finding, which challenges conventional histories of race and mestizaje (racial mixing), promises to deepen our understanding of the way race emerges from spatial politics and techniques of population management.

Background The use and knowledge of medicinal plants play an essential role in community health in rural Mexico. Medicinal plants are part of the local heritage and provide a source of economic income. Nevertheless, knowledge of their use has declined due to factors like accelerated urbanization. Some authors have proposed that by reducing natural spaces, urbanization generates changes that impact the recognition, use, and management of natural resources. Here, we evaluate how urbanization affects the knowledge, use, and perception of medicinal plants in a Biosphere Reserve in Mexico. Methods Using a mixed methodology including quantitative and qualitative analyses, we generated a list of medicinal plants, methods of preparation, prevalence of illness, and use in two communities with different degrees of urbanization. Results A total of 217 medicinal plants were identified. The more urbanized community had greater knowledge of, and used, a larger number of introduced plant species, while the less urbanized community used and had more knowledge about wild plants. One of the factors explaining these differences was occupation, with people who work outdoors showing greater knowledge of wild plants. Conclusions Urbanization can lead to a loss of knowledge of the use and management of local wild species, with implications for the conservation of biocultural heritage. Substitution of native medicinal plants by introduced species shows disinterest and disuse in the local medicinal flora, which could be reflected in their ecosystems.

Urbanization is a phenomenon where humans concentrate in high densities and consume more per capita energy than in rural areas, imposing high pressures on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Although Mexico is recognized as a megadiverse country and there is an understanding of ecological and evolutionary processes underlying this high diversity, only some efforts have been devoted to understanding how urban biodiversity has been shaped. Here, we compiled a set of socioeconomic and ecological variables to explore macroecological patterns in urban biodiversity across Mexican municipalities. Specifically, we tested the species-area relationships (SAR) between rural and urban areas across municipalities and evaluated the relative role of different socioeconomic and ecological variables driving urban species richness for terrestrial vertebrates. Finally, we explored the exposure of Mexican municipalities to future urban expansion, the urban heat island (UHI) effect, and climate change. Urban and rural settlements show differences in the shape of SAR models. We found that urban area, size of the network of urban protected areas, the number of ecoregions, and GDP explained the urban total species richness relatively well. Mexican cities in the northeast region may be at a higher risk than others. Based on our analyses, policymakers should identify priority urban conservation sites in cities with high species richness and low urbanization development. These actions would alleviate future urban biodiversity loss in these growing cities.

Land use change from wildlands to urban and productive environments can dramatically transform ecosystem structure and processes. Despite their structural and functional differences from wildlands, human-modified environments offer unique habitat elements for wildlife. In this study, we examined how migratory birds use urban, productive, and wildland environments of a highly anthropized region of Western Mexico known as “El Bajío”. We used Generalized Linear Models to compare species richness, abundance, and the functional traits of migratory bird assemblages among these three environments. Results revealed differences in species richness, composition, and the functional traits of migratory birds among environments. Regardless of wildlands showing medium to high levels of human disturbance, they presented the highest species richness and abundance of migratory birds, with urban environments presenting the lowest values. Insectivorous and granivorous birds were dominant in the migratory bird assemblages of the three environments. The migratory bird assemblages of productive environments had more grassland granivorous birds. In contrast, insectivorous birds with dense habitat preferences and short culmen lengths dominated the urban bird assemblage. Migratory bird assemblages in productive and urban environments showed similar species richness and abundance of insectivorous birds, but they differ in their composition. Our results reveal that urban trees allowed cities to function as simplified forests, showing that the urban environment has the untapped potential to support complex assemblages of migratory birds. To promote migratory birds in human-modified landscapes, we must maintain complex vegetation areas that allow birds with diverse functional traits to overwinter in urban and productive environments.

Poor people living in slums are at particularly high risk from the impacts of climate change and natural hazards. They live on the most vulnerable land within cities, typically areas deemed undesirable by others and thus affordable. This study analyzes the key challenges facing the urban poor, given the risks associated with climate change and disasters, particularly with regard to the delivery of basic services, and identifies strategies and financing opportunities for addressing these risks. The main audience for this study includes mayors and other city managers, national governments, donors, and practitioners in the fields of climate change, disaster-risk management, and urban development. The work is part of a broader program under the Mayor's task force on climate change, disaster risk and the urban poor. The study is organized in four chapters covering: 1) a broad look at climate change and disaster risk in cities of the developing world, with particular implications for the urban poor; 2) analysis of the vulnerability of the urban poor; 3) discussion of recommended approaches for building resilience for the urban poor; and 4) review of the financing opportunities for covering investments in basic services and other needs associated with climate and disaster risk.

Urbanization is a global trend associated with key socio-economic issues, one of them being to control the transmission of infectious diseases to a urban fraction of the world’s population that shall reach 68% in 2050. While urban growth has been shown to favor mosquito species responsible for the transmission of the West Nile Virus (WNV), a major human arbovirosis, the effects of concomitant changes in the host bird communities remain hard to anticipate albeit essential to quantify disease risk and to plan control initiatives. We developed a R0 modelling of WNV transmission in a urban bird community to assess the risk of outbreak in Merida, one of the cities with the highest growth rate in Mexico. The model was parameterized using ecological and epidemiological data collected over the past 15-years on the local vector, Culex quinquefasciatus , and avian community. We identified a 3-weeks summer period during which the vector population strongly amplifies the WNV enzootic transmission and lead to a significant risk of outbreaks in humans. Extensive sensitivity analyses showed that urbanization induced changes in the bird community could lead to an up-to 6-fold increase in the duration of the risk period, while the daily risk could rise by 40%. Interestingly, the increase in Quiscalus mexicanus abundance had 4–5 times larger impact than any other change in the bird community. In such a context, annihilating the current and future risk of WNV outbreaks in Merida requires reducing the mosquito population by 13% and up to 56%, respectively. This study provides an integrative assessment of the current and future risks of WNV outbreak in the fast urbanizing city of Merida, and points toward the implementation of epidemiological monitoring combined with preemptive measures targeting both C . quinquefasciatus and Q . mexicanus populations, as they are expected to have synergistic effects.

Teotihuacan was the first urban civilization of Mesoamerica and one of the largest of the ancient world. Following a tradition in archaeology to equate social complexity with centralized hierarchy, it is widely believed that the city's origin and growth was controlled by a lineage of powerful individuals. However, much data is indicative of a government of co-rulers, and artistic traditions expressed an egalitarian ideology. Yet this alternative keeps being marginalized because the problems of collective action make it difficult to conceive how such a coalition could have functioned in principle. We therefore devised a mathematical model of the city's hypothetical network of representatives as a formal proof of concept that widespread cooperation was realizable in a fully distributed manner. In the model, decisions become self-organized into globally optimal configurations even though local representatives behave and modify their relations in a rational and selfish manner. This self-optimization crucially depends on occasional communal interruptions of normal activity, and it is impeded when sections of the network are too independent. We relate these insights to theories about community-wide rituals at Teotihuacan and the city's eventual disintegration.

Sustainable gardening activities can be the basis to reduce poverty while preserving culture. By generating economic inclusion, gardening can provide the entry point into society for vulnerable communities. Community stakeholders in Mexico City and Northeast Ohio were studied to analyze whether sustainable gardening can generate economic inclusion while preserving culture. Through in-depth interviews, the relationship between these three components is analyzed. In particular, topics such as gardening experience, family traditions, institutional support, economic barriers, use of technology, cropping methods, and social integration were explored. From conception to implementation and analysis, the goal of agency building reinforced social sustainability. In addition to interpretive qualitative interviews, experiential research was conducted through a “working-with” model where the communities in reference contributed intellectual resources to the project-based research design. Primary results fall into three primary categories including gardening methods, cultural preservation, and economic factors. In each analyzed case, implications of cultural preservation emerge as a foundational motivation to maintain the particular agricultural practice. Despite significant economic barriers, including high poverty rates, the cases in reference nonetheless maintain traditions, thus highlighting the importance of culture. Negative economic implications suggest an absence of institutional support, which contribute to issues of poverty and low quality of life. Social implications indicate a level of marginalization that contributes to the aforementioned economic and institutional barriers.

Background Traditional mycological knowledge (TMK) is complex, not distributed equally among the entire population, and constantly adapting to current social situations. There are sociocultural factors that could influence the fact that some people retain a greater wealth of knowledge, for instance, cultural affiliation, migration, occupation, level of schooling, and person's age. Methods We analyze the distribution of the TMK based on sociocultural variables and 12 indicators to quantify the TMK based on a literature review. We chose two sites where there was a Wixarika and Mestizo population with records of use and consumption of wild mushrooms. In each site, 150 semi-structured interviews were conducted. The format of the semi-structured interviews was made up of sociocultural questions plus 12 questions corresponding to each of the indicators. With the data obtained, we performed linear regression tests and principal components analysis (PCA); furthermore, the significance of the groupings obtained by PCA was tested with a discriminant function analysis. Results We find that TMK was determined by the cultural group to which a person belongs. Contrary to what was expected, age and formal schooling did not influence people's level of knowledge. Likewise, migration and occupation were not determining factors either, although in some specific cases they did influence the differences in knowledge about mushrooms between people. The indicators that most helped to differentiate between the Wixarika people, and the Mestizos were knowledge of the nutritional contribution, propagation methods, and knowledge about toxic mushrooms. Conclusions In general, sociocultural differences did not affect the transmission of the TMK due to the valorization of this knowledge among the young generations and the maintenance of the use of wild resources. Specifically, the Wixaritari had and preserved a greater TMK thanks to their pride in their cultural identity, which had allowed them to adapt to modernity while preserving their traditions and knowledge. On the other hand, the Mestizos increasingly disused wild resources due to urbanization. The indicators proposed here provided a good tool to quantify TMK; however, to replicate the study in other sites it is necessary to adapt the indicators to the context of the place.

Increasing urbanization on the Baja California Peninsula threatens ant diversity. Reductions in ant species diminish ecosystem services provided to semiarid coastal scrub areas. Peri-urban areas in particular are at high risk of reductions in ant biodiversity due to development. To document and evaluate ant species diversity and richness in a rapidly developing area, nine sites were sampled within areas of coastal sage scrub (CSS) encircling the urban periphery of Ensenada, Baja California. Forty species and 17 genera of ants were collected, only one of which was non-native. Although the sampled area represents less than 1% of the peninsula and 3% of the State of Baja California, approximately one-third of the total species recorded for the peninsula and state were collected. Environmental variables (compass orientation, slope, and vegetation cover) were not significant determinants of species richness. Sandy soils were associated with the highest species abundance, richness, and functional diversity of feeding guilds. Despite limitations, our results present a historically significant snapshot of ant diversity in the sage scrub areas surrounding Ensenada. Sandy regions of semiarid coastal scrub are prime conservation management areas as they support the greatest functional diversity and have the highest potential to supply environmental services to the surrounding CSS ecosystem.