After reading this chapter you should be able to:

• Describe the conceptual framework of world regional geography.

• Identify the different components of globalization, including controversial aspects, and list several ways in which globalization is changing world geographies.

• Summarize the major tools used by geographers to study Earth’s surface.

• Explain the concepts and metrics used to document changes in global population and settlement patterns.

• Describe the themes and concepts used to study the interaction between globalization and the world’s cultural geographies.

• Explain how different aspects of globalization have interacted with global geopolitics from the colonial period to the present day.

• Identify the concepts and data important to documenting changes in the economic and social development of more and less developed countries.

Manhattan, the hub of New York City, has experienced a demographic and economic rebirth in the past two decades. A prominent symbol of the creative redesign of the city is the High Line, an elevated linear park on a former abandoned railroad line, which first opened to the public in 2009. With spectacular views of the skyline, the High Line meanders through neighborhoods such as Chelsea and the Garment District, revitalizing interest in these parts of the city. The park has become a highly desirable place to walk, enjoy green space, observe art installations, or just sit and watch the world go by. Its success has inspired other cities to create “elevated” parks by repurposing outdated or abandoned infrastructure. The High Line has also driven a real estate gold rush, with developers competing to construct luxury properties in neighborhoods that used to be known for gritty tenement buildings.

New York City is the quintessential global city; a center of global finance, marketing, and entertainment, it is also a long-standing immigrant gateway with people from every country of the world. In the city that never sleeps, nearly 40 percent of the population is foreign-born, with the Dominican Republic, China, Mexico, Jamaica, Guyana, and Ecuador being the top sending countries. While its industrial output has declined, New York City has made up for it through financial services and creative industries such as fashion, design, art, advertising, and education. It’s a city of 8.5 million, in a metropolitan area of 20 million that attracts 60 million tourists a year. Many businesses and institutions in New York City are leaders in the economic, cultural, and political aspects of globalization. At the same time, globalization has transformed New York City’s economy, which has attracted a diverse range of people with varying skills who call this place home.

Through the lens of geography, a discipline that examines Earth’s physical and human dimensions, Globalization and Diversity investigates these global interactions and patterns. The analysis is by world regions, which invites consideration of long-term cultural and environmental practices that characterize and shape these distinct areas. Yet we contend that globalization—the increasing interconnectedness of people and places through converging economic, political, and cultural activities—is one of the most important forces reshaping the world today. Pundits say globalization is like the weather: It’s everywhere, all the time. It is a ubiquitous part of our lives and landscapes that is both beneficial and negative, depending on our needs and point of view. While some people in some places embrace the changes brought by globalization, others resist and push back, seeking refuge in traditional habits and places. Thus, globalization’s impact is highly uneven across space, which invites the need for a geographic (or spatial) understanding. As you will see in the pages that follow, geographers, who study places and phenomena around the globe and seek to explain the similarities and differences among places, are uniquely suited to analyze the impacts of globalization in different cities, countries, or world regions. In our opening New York City example, consider how millions of migrants over decades have transformed this city by bringing with them different languages, foods, musical traditions, and ways of organizing their environments. Collectively, this diverse yet highly unequal city has been a driving force for cultural, political, and economic change.

As a counterpoint to globalization, diversity refers to the state of having different forms, types, practices or ideas, as well as the inclusion of distinct peoples, in a particular society. We live on a diverse planet with a mix of languages, cultures, environments, political ideologies, and religions that influence how people in particular localities view the world. At the same time, the intensification of communication, trade, travel, and migration that result from global forces have created many more settings in which people from vastly different backgrounds live, work, and interact. For example, in metropolitan Toronto, Canada’s largest city, over half of the area’s 5.5 million residents were born in another country. Increasingly, modern diversifying societies must find ways to build social cohesion among distinct peoples. Confronting diversity can challenge a society’s tolerance, trust, and sense of shared belonging. Yet, diverse societies also stimulate creative exchanges and new understandings that are beneficial, building greater inclusion. The regional chapters that follow provide examples of the challenges and opportunities that diverse societies in an interconnected world experience today. We begin by introducing the discipline of geography and then examine this ongoing diversity in the context of globalization from a geographer’s perspective.