Spatial Reorganization Part 2 Spatial Reorganization Borders and

Spatial Reorganization Part 2

Spatial Reorganization • Borders and regions consistently change throughout history for many reasons (migration, politics, trade, cultural exchange, etc. ) • The changing of regions or borders is referred to as Spatial Reorganization • We will look at some different examples of political and trade based spatial reorganization.

How did the building of the Panama Canal alter trade routes for the United States? What potential benefits could the building of the Panama Canal have for the U. S. ?

Background: “Spillovers” refers to the effects or benefits that the Panama Canal would provide for the Panamanians rather than American business owners and architects. Source B: Maurer, N. , Yu C. “What Roosevelt Took: The Economic Impact of the Panama Canal, 1903 -37, ” 2006 The major exception to the lack of spillovers from the Panama Canal was the great American anti-malarial campaign in 1906 -09. These efforts greatly reduced deaths from malaria and yellow fever in Panama City and Colón, at no expense to the Republic of Panama. Few contemporaries, however, ever mentioned the great reduction in the prevalence of disease as a benefit of the Panama Canal. Ironically, the great benefits for Panama that contemporaries expected did not materialize, while the greatest benefit proved to be the precocious and unexpected arrival of new public health technology on the Isthmus.