Teaching Geography through Cartographic Analysis by Identifying New Forms of Risk, Urban Geomorphology, Mexico City

Abstract

The various forms of teaching geography through digital cartographic elements should be present at all educational levels. This can be seen in the way certain existing risks in Mexico City (CDMX) are currently taught. Specifically, this article addresses the recent urban forms, understood as the inadequate evolution of the construction of the city due to existing risks and threats. The analysis of these elements, according to studies on prevention against earthquakes, landslides, floods, geological faults, sinkholes, among others, is crucial because, in recent years, there have been various affectations, such as the 1985 and 2017 earthquake and, more recently, the location of the geological fault Plateros-Mixcoac as well as floods in various municipalities, and landslides in the municipality of Alvaro Obregón and Miguel Hidalgo. The above shows the problems that arise from the current urban form being at latent risk. The incorporation of new terminologies in the teaching of geography, such as urban geomorphology, has the purpose of updating students at a higher level on the diverse affectations in cities, specifying that urban geomorphology is a field that is currently understudied. The actualization of geography teachers should be done through digital cartographic samples that allow the renewal of information, understanding the current urban geomorphology as the result of the modification of natural relief due to urban growth. Therefore, several mappings are shown that integrate the current urban geomorphology of the city and, along with it, the existence of certain risks in Mexico City, which can be studied by students, identifying elements of slope, curvature of the terrain, flatness index of valleys, topographic index of humidity and urban areas to make contrasts using Geographic Information Systems (gis), and identify multiple risk variables as well as possible solutions according to cartographic analysis.