Environmental and socio-economic transformations in developing areas as the effect of globalization

Abstract

For a number of years now, we have been witnessing the acceleration of globalization. This process is beginning to affect many different areas of everyday life. While most changes are social and economic in nature, the natural environment is also experiencing indirect changes caused by the globalization of human society. Changes caused by globalization are most visible in countries and regions usually described as developing. The inclusion of said countries and regions has forced accelerated change at the local level and the recognition of global standards. The role played by countries, regions, cities, and local communities in the global economy has also changed since the onset of globalization. The new global situation is forcing a change in existing paths of development. New development goals are created, which helps countries, regions, cities, and local communities redefine their place in the world, as well as in the context of particular geographic regions and nations as a whole. This book is a collection of research papers on the process of globalization on a variety of spatial and temporal scales. A number of different global regions are discussed and the themes touched upon in this book cover a wide spectrum of analysis, which reflects the research interests of the authors who work at a number of institutions in Poland and Mexico. The book can be divided into three basic sections that cover the social, economic and environmental effects of globalization on societies in Poland and in Latin America. The first part of this book includes chapters analyzing the effect of globalization on social and demographic aspects of society at a variety of spatial scales. First chapters delve into a broad array of issues associated with social and demographic differentiation in cities and large metropolitan areas in Mexico, Brazil, and Poland. The second part of the book includes chapters on the economics of globalization across the world, analyzed at a variety of levels. The last section of the book includes chapters on the effects of globalization on the natural environment.