Examining the links between society, space, and place, this unique text introduces students to the ecological and cultural richness of Mexico and the diversity, tenacity, and resilience of its people. David M. Walker presents compelling ethnographic case studies of Mexico City's historic center and the adjacent Tepito neighborhood; life in the border city of Tijuana; and urban Mexican garbage networks. Cases also explore Afromexican identity in the Costa Chica of Guerrero and Oaxaca, as well as the Indigeneous Zoque people's stewardship of the remote Chimalapas region. Readers are immersed in the stories of real individuals and their livelihood strategies; natural and built environments; values and faith practices; leisure activities; foodways; involvements in local to global cultural, political, and economic processes; and more. Instructive features include topical vignettes, discussion questions, and suggested readings and online resources related to each case.
David M. Walker, PhD, is Professor of Geography at the College of Southern Maryland. His international research centers on neoliberal urban governance, nongovernmental organizations, economic policies, and urban change in Oaxaca, Mexico City, and Tijuana. In the United States, Dr. Walker analyzes immigrant urban revitalization of first-tier suburban neighborhoods, contrasted with formal government revitalization planning practices. He is a lifelong traveler who has lived for long periods in Mexico and Spain.
"The rich empirical case studies in this useful book provide insights into the relationships between politics, economic change, and social differences in different Mexican locales. I will recommend this book to upper-level undergraduates and graduate students planning on doing field research in Mexico, both to learn about the country and as an example of how to produce ethnographic accounts that incorporate observation and interviews."--Derek A. Smith, PhD, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada "This text provides compelling points of entry for the study of social and spatial dynamics of contemporary life in Mexico. Unique for its combined geographic and thematic focus, the book is especially well suited to introductory courses. Walker's case studies encourage collective engagement, including through classroom-friendly features like discussion questions. More experienced readers in geography or interdisciplinary studies of Mexico will also find the book stimulating, as Walker's place-specific case studies reflect more generalized political-economic and cultural-political transformations of Mexico. Selected chapters can be used on their own (for readers thematically focused on urban dynamics, or on regional processes of racialization, for example), but the book also rewards being read from beginning to end."--Nicholas Jon Crane, PhD, School of Politics, Public Affairs, and International Studies, University of Wyoming-
