ANALYSIS OF A POPULATION PYRAMID

A population pyramid is a traditional way of visualizing and explaining the age structure of a society. It is a graph that shows the structure of a society by sex and age at a given time and place.

The pyramid I am going to analyze shows us the demographic structure of country 1 in 2012.

First of all, I am going to explain the sex structure.

Females, according to different studies and as we can see in the graph, have higher life expectancy. This has different causes, historic and genetic ones. Throughout history, men have had harder works while their women were taking care of their childs and houses, so females had a healthier life. Because genetics may play a role in nine of the top 10 causes of death, according to the Centers for Disease Control, regarding to a genetic factor we should analysed the impact of some components of women's bodies that low the risk of suffering some diseases, like estrogen, that protects them eliminating cholesterol, lowering the risk of suffering heart diseases. Moreover, observing the sex ratio, we can say that more boys than girls are born, by looking the base of our pyramid, that is a datum that we can see in graphs of countries all around the world, this may be because of genetic and biologic reasons.

On the other hand, regarding to the pyramid structure, we can say that it has the expansive pyramid profile with the characteristic pagoda shape with a broad base, which indicates that the birth rate is high, and a very narrow trunk and cusp, which indicates that the life expectancy of the society is very low, the mortality is very high and society has very low aging. As a conclusion we must say that it is a not developed country in which the young population, is the highest and birth rate is very high: 39.29 ‰, the population increase in the first years of young life, but then the rate decrease, what indicates that the infant mortality rate is very large: 121.6 ‰. The adult population, is very low. This indicates that the mortality rate is very high, 14.5 ‰, with a life expectancy of 49.7 years. The elderly population is very low, so we must say that life expectancy is low.

To end, I am going to describe the transition model that is show in this pyramid.
First, we can say that the in the graph there are not important variations which means that the country follows a constant line, without ups and downs caused by wars where men would be in lower percentage. As a conclusion, and regarding to the information that we have contrasted, we can say that the country we are analyzing is in the first transition model, and it will advance to the second one, in which natality will still high, mortality will decrease and as a consequence it will have a demographic expansion and of growth.In this model, there will be investments in health, access to vaccines and medicines and water treatment, to promote the development.

CENTRAL AMERICAN MIGRATION ROUTE

SPAIN AND GERMANY

Germany:

The top 10 countries from which Germany receive immigrants are Poland, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, Romania, Czech Republic, Italy, Ukraine, Austria and Greece, and it is the country with more immigration of the European Union.

We can differentiate between less developed countries like Turkey or Kazakhstan from which their emigration is caused by the political instability of these countries and the search for social and economic opportunities abroad. The pushing factors could be the lack of jobs there, the social inequality or the bad living conditions because as we can see, those other countries have a worse economic situation.

Immigrants prefer this destiny because it has better salaries, easily access to services and better living conditions and also because of its social benefits and for a series of guarantees that the Constitution establishes as the right of asylum, which is more developed compared to the rest of the European countries. As soon as they set foot in the country, the German law attributes to the State the responsibility to feed, provide medical services and accommodation to any kind of refugee. Other countries such as Italy or Greece, that are members of the EU and whose inhabitants immigrate to Germany, may go looking for better salaries and work important industries that have headquarters in that country and can attract workers from other countries. Another attraction factor could be the prosperous economy of this country, one of the most developed in EU.

On the other hand, emigration from Germany moves princilly to the United States, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Turkey, France, Austria, Italy, Kazakhstan, Spain and Canada. Usually this people migrate to countries that are developed such us Spain or the United Kingdom were they look for jobs and good salaries in this countries that have sustainable economies. They may go away of their origins also because they want to live in a place with better weather.




Spain:

The top 10 countries from which Spain receives immigrants are Morocco, Romania, Ecuador, Colombia, United Kingdom, Argentina, France, Germany, Peru and Bolivia, in this order. We can see that this countries have worse economic situations, so the pushing factors could be the lack of jobs there, the social inequality or the bad living conditions, if we talk about countries like Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador… Spain has a strategic location and share language with Latin America so this could be an attracting factor for these Latin countries, but there are other attracting factors like better salaries, or the access to services and better living conditions that attract people for different and variegated countries that are less developed. Spain also receive immigrants from countries in the EU, like Italy, Belgium, UK… In these case the reason could be our climate or the offer of work in some important industries have headquarters here.

On the other hand, emigration from Spain moves to France, Germany, Argentina, United States, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Switzerland, Belgium, Brazil and Mexico mainly. We have been submerged in an economic crisis and this has caused a growth of emigration in our country. People emigrate looking for work and better salaries and there are cases of people who decide to move from city or country because they have the chance of study some course or profession in an institution.





Europa is a very good place to live in because this union promotes the intercommunication of states and improves economy and citizens’ well-being. It has an unique international market that suppresses borders and that establishes an economical collaboration between its countries, helping to avoid inequality between its poorest and richest regions; due to that, it is one of the most desired destinations by immigrants because of the economic and social stability. Those migration is mainly caused by pushing factors, containing economic, social and natural conditions and, in turn, some attracting factors for immigrants, also economic, social and natural.

Spain and Germany belong to this institution and now, we are going to analyse the migration trends of both countries in two ways: First of all, we are going to talk about immigration and finally about their emigration.




Regarding to immigration and economy, we have two general factors that contrast and could create controversy; the ones that helps to improve the country and the ones that do not beneficiate it. The countries that nowadays have more immigration are the developed ones. People usually think that the arrival of foreigners is a problem for their stability, but it is not true. In the destination country, social security improves, while employment aggregates consumption, fiscal policy and monetary and economics growing. But it is also true, that depending on the country situation, this arrival could increment unemployment, reduce salaries and damage social security. One attracting factor for immigrants is the economic stability.

In the other hand and talking about social effects, we can say that there is a small cultural shock between the local residents and the new ones because of their habits, traditions, religions, beliefs and healthy conditions are usually different. Although I think that this point should not be a problem since it could create diversity and help globalization. Immigrants could feel outcasts and isolated because the loose of social supporting. Another attracting factor for immigrants is the social stability and the fact of living in a place with less violence and a minor probability of suffering a war conflict. Also because of the better healthy conditions, since they have less possibilities to be infected by an illness.

In some countries, where immigrants come from, there are usually natural disasters, so they sometimes run away of this.

As a conclusion, we can say that immigrants are looking for stability.




Spain principally receives people from Morocco, Romania, Ecuador, Colombia, United Kingdom, Argentina, France, Germany, Peru and Bolivia, in this order, having one of the biggest immigration rates. Our country has a political immigration relatively permissible and because of that, and also due to its geographic position, is one of the most busiest borders of Europe and the main one used by latin americans and africans; this point stimulates economic expansion and increases labour forces. They also help Spanish economy by paying taxes, taking into consideration all the economic, social and natural factors that we have analyzed before. Another important fact to analyse in our country is that we have a very aged population and we need immigrants who help us to increase natality, a way to improve our demographic situation.




Germany principally receives people from Poland, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhastan, Romania, Czech Republic, Italy, Ukraine, Austria and Greece, and it is the country that more immigrants receive in the European Union. This country is being pressure by people that are running away from Syria's war and whose only dream is to have a better live. Spain and Germany are so similar, so regarding to the facts that we explained before, immigration would be mostly good for both countries taking into consideration demography, social and economic facts, health and natural factors.




Now let's talk about emigration. In the first place, we can say that when someone is emigrating, they leave their country of origin to settle in another region, especially due to economic or social reasons. When we analyze the country of emigration, we generally see that the emigrants send money to their families, and as a consequence, the economy of these countries benefits, but they also lose workers, making the labor forces worse. Taking into account the social effect, the emigrant countries reduce social conflicts, but they lose population, birth rate and society is unbalanced and, in terms of cultural effects, the emigrant countries benefit in education, but they lose identity and tradition.




Today, Spain is sending people to France, Germany, Argentina, United States, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Switzerland, Belgium, Brazil and Mexico mainly. Our country has become one of the European countries with the highest emigration rate. Although most of people left Spain because they did not have a job, some also did it to improve their careers.



On the other hand, emigration from Germany moves to the United States, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Turkey, France, Austria, Italy, Kazakhstan, Spain and Canada.

A LOMOS DE LA BESTIA - DOCUMENTARY

1. Summarize in a few lines the documentary.

This documentary talks about the illegal migration of people riding the dangerous and treacherous train called “La Bestia”. This train helps every day hundred of Central Americans to cross Mexico, trying to reach the United States boundaries, trying to settle there, to improve their living conditions. Only few of them achieve their wishing goal, because it is a very dangerous and long trip, in which humanity does not exist. Illegal immigrants face kidnapping, murder and rape by the hands of violent drug cartels and ever more ruthless human smugglers. Crossing treacherous desert areas makes the travelers to expose to heat exhaustion and dehydration. The documentary shows us the awful conditions in which this people are trying to survive, running away of their countries, leaving there their belongings and families, wishing they would have a chance of recovering their freedom and get some money, without paying attention to the possibility of dying along the trip. Through touching and impressive images, this documentary shows us the feeling of helplessness and vulnerability in which immigrants are exposed to.


2. Why is the train called the Beast?

This train is called “The Beast” because it destroyes immigrants' dreams and goals in its dangerous route from Mexico to U.S.A boundaries. People usually fall down of the carriages, being mutilated because of the speed of the train. Criminal acts committed against illegal immigrants include kidnapping, robbery, extortion, sexual violence, and death at the hands of cartels, smugglers, and even corrupt Mexican government officials and “collotes” or “polleros”. Many also were reported being deprived of food, or even beaten, tied, gagged, blindfolded, drugged, or burned. There is an obvious lack of humanity and, as a consequence, people call this train "la bestia". Immigrants life´s testimony shows us that the name of this train describes the treacherous travel they follow, looking for the American dream.


3. What countries are the immigrants from? Where do they go?


Immigrants that rides the Beast are mainly from Central and South America. All of them are looking for a better life, The American Dream. The majority comes from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Mexico. There are also alternative routes by the sea that are principally used by people fom Cuba, Haití and the Dominican Republic. Mexico serves as a starting point as well as a path of transit for people across Latin America seeking illegal entry into the United States. These individuals travel from their homeland throughout the region to Mexico’s shared border with Guatemala and Belize and then they go across other regions to their finish line, U.S.A.

4. What is the academic professional experience of the immigrants?


When Sistiaga board on the train, he met Marvin, Edgar, Miguel and Juan Carlos, his traveling partners. Marvin López is a Honduran carpenter, and the first immigrant that Jon interviewed. The second one was Edgar Vázquez, a Salvadoran who wanted to settle in Chicago. When Sistiaga stopped in “Jesús el buen Pastor” shelter, a hostel for people who had being mutilated by the train, he met Miguel Távora; he was also a Honduran immigrant from San Pedro Sula, one of the most violent cities of the world. He was trying to cross U.S.A border to reach Los Ángeles to work as an electrician and keep playing football. He met there also Marizza, who wanted to work as a house servant to send money back to her family to pay the education of her child and Fredy González who wanted to settle also there and work as a painter; both came from Honduras. In another stop, in Arriaga, Oaxaca, he interviewed Byron Campos, a Salvadoran immigrant who wanted to work as an air conditioner technician. There he also met Morena Alfaro, another Salvadoran girl who explained the lacks of respect and the agressions that women suffer in this travel. She told us that she prostituted herself to move forward from Vera Cruz to Tierra Blanca. She did not do it for money, she only wanted to survive and continue the trip, and it was the only thing she could do. When Jon said goodbye to his traveling partners, he talked us about one of them, Miguel Guerra, an Honduran draftsman whose only wish was to be useful for society. When he stopped in Medias Aguas, in Vera Cruz, he went to Santillos hostel, where he met Dimas Ernesto, an Honduran immigrant who wanted to cross the border and have the chance to settle and work there as a welder and also Rubén Avilés, another Honduran man who only wanted to pass to the U.S.A. As a conclusion, we can say that almost all the migrants who crossed the border with Sistiaga had studied and wanted to settle and also work, so that would had some benefits to the immigration country, not only economic, also social and cultural. Regarding to economy, we can discuss about the arrival of immigrants, affirming that work and consumption would increased. They also would have to pay taxes and they probably become a labour force. In another hand, talking about social effects, we would say that population and natality would increase and if this immigrants have academic or professional qualifications from their country they would work as native people, and ending, as a cultural positive effect, we would said that immigrants often bring to the immigration country languages, traditions, values and cultures that are different to natives ones, so as a consequence, they create diversity.


5. What dangers do immigrants face during the journey?

Trying to immigrate illegally comes with tremendous risks, including kidnapping, extortion, injury, and death. Immigrants, especially woman and unaccompanied children, are too vulnerable and prone to get danger in this risky travel but they face the dangers and cruelty of this daily hell with courage and hope. All irregular migrants are at risk of abuse; they face serious risks of trafficking and sexual assault by criminals, other migrants and corrupt public officials. Very few of this abuses are condemned. Smugglers, that often ease the means of travel, are known to leave behind people who fail to keep up with the group due to exhaustion, injury, dehydration or simply their age. Furthermore, immigrants seeking to cross the southern border illegally increasingly do so in desert regions where the extreme heat can lead to over-exhaustion and death. Those left behind often lack of food and water, and face little chance of survival. Illegal immigrants may also be packed into trucks, hidden under seats, or smuggled in trunks to avoid detection. There they risk death and injury from suffocation or overturned vehicles. As we can deduce, the dangers in their day by day are countless, and, as a consequence of this journey, lots of them die.


6. What type of migratory routes are described in the documentary?




One of the world's busiest migrant corridors runs from Central America through Mexico.
For decades, migrants from the northern triangle of that region (Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala) have fled countries plagued by endemic levels of violence and crime in the hopes of crossing the Mexican border and eventually seeking asylum in the United States, looking for the American Dream. The route that the documentary describes is the Central American Route, that goes across Panamá, Guatemala, México and finally the arriving to the United states. Many immigrants have took the treacherous north journey along smuggling routes, increasingly controlled by drug cartels, towards the U.S. border.

7. Explain the consequences of migrations for both the countries that send the emigrants away and the countries that receive immigrants?

Talking about countries that receive immigrants, we can analyse it in two ways. First we can talk about the economy; we can say that the arrival of immigrants benefits the economical increasing of the country and provide labourforce to make those works that people who are living there, do not wanted to make and they also have to pay taxes and also consume.
The work of immigrants becomes a condition of economic growth, which will also be increasingly necessary due to the progressive aging of the population. Foreigners are blamed for economic problems, people have a wrong view of their impact on the economy. But I think that this is not the main problem, Undern my viewpoint, immigration is a challenge for cohabitation, social connection and increased of diversity and, overall, it increases natality, a very big problem in our society. As a conclusion, immigration is a very important factor in the development of the world and the war against poverty.
In the other hand, regarding to countries that send immigrants, countries of origin, social and political conflict could be reduced when a significant percentage of the productive population decides to emigrate. Thus, the levels of unemployment and discontent would decrease, since apparent possibilities would be created as a result of this movement of people towards other regions. Another possibility is that with the loss of the population, there is a decreasing in the possibilities of the economies whose development is based in its internal market. And as a conclusion of analysing emigration, the capacity for consumption of families can increase; as long as the migrant has been integrated into the receiving society, so that he is in a position to send his family a part of the money that he earns.

8. Give your personal opinion.

Hundreds of people die everyday because of immigration. In my personal opinion, citizens and countries leaders, do not want to interfere in this delicate theme and because of that, no one tries to improve their living conditions or even facilitate their dangerous travel to a better life, making them having psychological and physical damage. I think that immigration should be address with more sense, because all human should have the right to have a full life. I wish that in few years those poor countries that are being devastated because of wars and illnesses, could improve and become growing countries. As a final conclusion I would say that for me, immigration is a good supporting tool for globalization and to increase diversity.

SUSTAINABLE CITIES: GREEN AREAS

ANALYSIS OF AN URBAN PLAN; MADRID

                            

A city is a set of street and buildings governed by a town hall and whose dense and numerous population is usually dedicated to non-agricultural activities and, in an other hand, from the point of view of the study of landscapes, a city is an urban landscape in which anthropic elements predominate. In my case, I am going to analyse Madrid city.


Madrid is an autonomous community of Spain, and also its capital. This city is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, in Central plateau and border with the provinces of Guadalajara, Cuenca, Castilla la Mancha and Castilla y León. With a population of 6.507.184 inhabitants, Madrid is the third most populated city of our country in which most of its inhabitants lives in its metropolitan area.


If we date back to its origins, we can stand that it was a city built by Muslims in the IX century. They built it near Toledo`s border, which was a strategic geographical point. As a consequence, the primitive location of the Alcazar is situated i a plot that they named as Mayrit, over a cliff on the terraces of Manzanares river, in which nowadays we can find the Real Palace and the cathedral of Almudena. In 932, Ramiro II occup it and later, Alfonso XV included the city among Al-Andalus territories. Madrid village grew as a consequence of the repopulation laws, as the Fuero concession, in 1202, but Madrid would not be important until 1561.


The historical centre of this city, which has a muslim origin, is locate in those group of areas: the elevated river zones, in the cliff of the street of Segovia, the alcazaba, in the north, and the mozarad and jewish neighbourhoods, in the south. In XVII century, the urban center spread to the southern part of the territory, through the voulevars and to the east until the Castellana stream. The city urban expansion was always to the east, because of the river slopes that made building a very difficult task. In XIX the historical center start undergoing changes, like the opening of Gran Vía street.


The actual urban suburbs match with the “Almendra central” defined by N-30 road that belong to an ancient area restructurated after the Civil War. Constructors took advantage of the ancient farming floor to built new residential areas such us orcasitas and new neighbourhoods.


The urban layout of a city is a series of geometrical forms that is a result of different stages of growth and urbanisation. Cities are normally divided into a historic centre, the expansion zone and the outskirts.


In the first place, we are going to talk about the historical center of Madrid in which the short streets that form it are narrow and winding, and have a close and compact structure, with the exception of the ones that join the Real palace with la Puerta del Sol, where the pattern is irregular. The historical center has a radial form pattern that give protagonism to the main streets like Paseo del Prado and even el Retiro. With the industrialization, population increased and, as a consequence, streets expanded. The historical center usage is commercial, and traffic is forbidden to traffic.


Secondly, and talking about the expansion zone, we can observe an orthogonal layout, with wide straight streets that cross each other perpendicularly forming square blocks, although there are some irregular ones. The expansion zone functions are mainly residential, and cars are allowed to circulate.


Finally we are going to talk about outskirts. The urban growing caused that the closer villages get involved in the city, like if they were new neighbourhoods, forming a conurabation. These zones are also mainly residential, with close streets. In the south, industrial areas appear, and in the north, industrial and business parks. Madrid's outskirts are very good communicated, because they have train stations and bus services, and there are also lots of schools and hospitals and shopping centers for the suburban population.

PROCESS OF URBANIZATION OF ZAMORA