Cultural geography You'll complete your Puerto Rico research paper. You will add a minimum of two additional pages to the first half of the paper is attached. this unit should contain the follo
Running head: URBAN PROBLEMS IN PUERTO RICO 0
Urban Problems in Puerto Rico
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Urban Problems in Puerto Rico
Background of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico was originally known as island San Juan Bautista, but the name was later changed to Puerto Rico, which literally means “rich port”, due to the gold in the river. Due to other businesses like the importation of slaves from Africa, Puerto Rico got a culture comprising of the Spanish who colonized the port, Africans who were being traded during the slave trade, and the Carib Indian and Indigenous Taíno races that shared the island (Bergad, 2016). The population of the island is approximately 3.4 million people from the United States, Spain, and Afro-Caribbean people. The Spanish constructed the ramparts and forts still found on the island to safeguard the port from the French, Dutch, and English conquests, but ceded the port to the United States in 1898 (Del Moral, 2019). This explains why Spain and English are used as official languages. Today, Puerto Rico is mostly a manufacturing center producing top-selling American pharmaceuticals and high-tech equipment as well as a leading tourist destination center.
Problems Faced in Puerto Rico
One of the problems that are facing Puerto Rico is the high rates of poverty. According to Rodríguez-Díaz (2018), 80 percent of the food in Puerto Rico is imported with 40 percent of residents living in poverty with a median poverty income of $19,775 as of the year 2017. Part of this problem emanates back in 1920 when the US laws were signed that required all goods carried to the island be transported by ships built, operated, and owned by Americans. These ships tend to be much more expensive. The Puerto Rican government has also been overspending which made the country default its monthly debt in 2015 and filed for bankruptcy in 2017 (Falcón, 2018). The high government spending has contributed to high poverty levels in the country.
Another problem affecting Puerto Rico is natural disasters. One of the strongest storms is the hurricane known as Maria that left approximately 4,945 people dead in 2017 (Rodríguez-Díaz, 2018). This hurricane was disastrous destroying power for months, destroyed infrastructure across the island, and damaged more than 90% of homes in Puerto Rico. The destruction cost approximately $95 billion which is almost the same as the total economic output for the entire year in Puerto Rico (Falcón, 2018). Such destructions are costly and hinder the growth and development of the infrastructure on the island. Much of the income is invested in reconstructing facilities after natural disasters.
The connection between Globalization and Poverty and Natural Disasters
Globalization fosters economic growth by allowing trading activities. As people are able to get an income and sustain their basic needs through trade, they are able to directly boost the economy of their country. According to Lee and Sissons (2016), countries that are open to trade are more likely to grow faster and the living standards of the people increase drastically. This is not the case for Puerto Rico as the signing of the Jones Act back in 1920 hindered free transportation by ships built, operated, and owned by other people other than Americans. To make matters worse, the Jones Act allowed Americans to build, operate, and own the ships required for trade despite the fact that they were more expensive compared to when other ships were to be used. This affected the people as life became unbearable leading to poor living conditions, defaulting to pay their monthly debts, and bankruptcy in 2017. Locking of the country from trading activities hindered globalization which negatively affected the economic growth leading to poverty in Puerto Rico. In other words, economic instability has hindered globalization, leaving Puerto Rico in poverty.
Globalization allows investors to invest in a country. However, natural disasters might scare away investors, which means that the investments that could be brought to a country are drawn away. This negatively affected Puerto Rico’s economy and the living standards of the people.
The connection between Geography and Poverty and Natural Disasters
After the signing of the Jones Act in 1920, Puerto Rico allowed only ships built, owned, and operated by Americans (Glassman, 2019). The ships owned, operated, and built by Americans were more expensive which meant that people had to pay more to access what they wanted to be shipped from other islands or other regions. The location of the island hindered people from accessing their basic needs like food, considering the island imported 80% of its food, which can only be brought in through the ships owned, operated, and built by Americans (Glassman, 2019). The people were limited to access necessities and trade with other nations due to their geography.
Natural disasters also were connected to the geography of the island. Being an island surrounded by waters that experience strong hurricanes from time to time, Puerto Rico is subjected to hurricanes and strong storms that are destructive in nature. Botzen, Deschenes, and Sanders (2019) posit that occasional reconstruction and destruction of homes, infrastructure due to the alignment of the island in the direction of hurricanes wastes resources the people could have invested in other forms of development. The geography of the island thus makes the island prone to natural disasters like storms and hurricanes.
References
Bergad, L. W. (2016). Slave Families and the Hato Economy in Puerto Rico by David M. Stark. Labor, 13(3-4), 258-259.
Botzen, W. W., Deschenes, O., & Sanders, M. (2019). The economic impacts of natural disasters: A review of models and empirical studies. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 13(2), 167-188.
Del Moral, S. (2019). Language and Empire: Elizabeth Kneipple's Colonial History of Puerto Rico. Centro Journal, 31(1).
Falcón, A. (2018). Colonial reparations for Puerto Rico: A framework for a postcolonial transition. Latino Studies, 16(4), 559-562.
Glassman, B. (2019). A Third of Movers from Puerto Rico to the Mainland United States Relocated to Florida in 2018. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/puerto-rico-outmigration-increases-poverty-declines.html on February 23, 2020.
Lee, N., & Sissons, P. (2016). Inclusive growth? The relationship between economic growth and poverty in British cities. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 48(11), 2317-2339.
Rodríguez-Díaz, C. E. (2018). Maria in Puerto Rico: natural disaster in a colonial archipelago.
