You might have been wondering why there are so few new cartograms appearing on this blog. Continue reading
Trading with the Commonwealth: A future perspective for the UK?
Commentators have suggested that the Commonwealth could become more important for UK trade after Brexit. This article for Political Insight (June 2018, Volume 9, Issue 2) maps the current state of British-Commonwealth trade and finds a more mixed picture of UK-Commonwealth trade relations. Continue reading
The growth and decline of urban agglomerations in Germany
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Approximately half the population of Germany lives in the 30 major urban German agglomerations, such as Berlin, Hamburg, Munich (München), and Cologne (Köln) but also in smaller cities including Münster, Freiburg, Leipzig, and Dresden. These urban regions (Stadtregionen) are also major analytical units of the Federal institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) within the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning that advises the Federal Government in the fields of spatial planning, urban development, housing and building. Therefore, these regions that cover approximately 32 per cent of the built-up area used for settlement or transport infrastructure are of particular interest in understanding urban dynamics in Germany in a regional and national context (Baumgart et al, 2016).
Fortress Europe?
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“The right to asylum shall be guaranteed with due respect for the rules of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 and the Protocol of 31 January 1967 relating to the status of refugees and in accordance with the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.” Article 18 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights outlines the European Union’s legal framework for its asylum policies that have come under intense scrutiny and political pressure since the height of the significant number of refugees trying to literally reach the shores of the continent from conflict zones in Africa and the Middle East. While refugee numbers went down again to pre-2015 levels and below due to considerable political interventions, the political debate has not disappeared and continues to heavily influence European politics including major shifts towards the right end of the political spectrum in many member states. In an article for the “In Focus” section of Political Insight (September 2018, Volume 9, Issue 3) I looked at recent developments in Europe’s “refugee crisis”. Continue reading
A Year Of Maps
2018 has seen the new Worldmapper come to light, which is also why this blog has become a bit more quiet in recent months. This year’s Christmas greetings show a collage of the 569 new maps that we have published on Worldmapper since its launch in April:
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The Diamond Dimensions
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Due to its distinct geologic conditions for their formations, the occurrence of diamonds is confined to around 35 countries in the world. While countries such as Australia, India, or Canada focus more on mining industrial diamonds, African countries such as Botswana and South Africa are better known for their production of gem diamonds. Diamond mining activities in many African countries are often also linked to conflicts and controversial human rights conditions.
According to data collected by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), which covers an about 99.8 per cent of global diamond production, 134 million carats of diamonds worth US$ 12.4 billion were produced in 2016. This most recent figure is slightly up from the average annual production since the start of the financial crisis in 2008.
