HIGHWAY ACROSS AFRICA Real World Scenario – The World Bank has turned down a loan for a proposed highway across Africa from Tunis, Tunisia, to Cape Town, South Africa. You have been hired to submit to the World Bank a proposal for a better route for the highway. Your team of transportation consultants will study a series of maps, data, and atlases (and other references), to explain why the first route was turned down, and create a new and improved route with reasoned support for it. Focus Question – How does the human and physical geography of Africa influence its economic interdependence? The African Union has made the building of a highway across the continent a major priority. The purpose of the highway is to foster political cooperation among the African nations and to promote economic development, trade, and tourism. The highway would be financed by the World Bank, which, with the African leaders, recently rejected an initial proposal for the highway and is now seeking alternate proposals. Your assignment will cover 2 class days: You will need to draw the original proposal for the highway and list 3 reasons the proposal was rejected. Then you will need to research and map an alternate proposal and explain how it improves on the original. This will be broken into several mini-tasks and a final task for you and your team. MINI TASK 1: DETERMINE THE ROUTE OF THE FIRST REJECTED HIGHWAY. 1. Create a map of the Rejected Map Route using the list of cities on the next page. You will need to create a new map in Scribblemaps. Save it with the title “Rejected Africa Highway”. 2. Outline each country touched by the proposed highway in a color (no blue). Only outline those touched by the route. 3. Add a dot for each city along the route. 4. Use the straight line tool to show the highway route as close as you can to reality. 5. Trace major rivers and lakes that would be bridged in blue. Add a name label in blue for each river or lake that is crossed. 6. Save often, and submit online when finished. Connect the Cities: “Building a Highway across Africa” Create a map of Africa to draw the rejected route, which attempted to connect the following cities in this order: 1. Tunis, Tunisia 9. Nairobi, Kenya 2. Algiers, Algeria 10. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 3. Niamey, Niger 11. Lilongwe, Malawi 4. Abuja, Nigeria 12. Lusaka, Zambia 5. Yaounde, Cameroon 13. Harare, Zimbabwe 6. Brazzaville, Congo 14. Johannesburg, South Africa* 7. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo 15. Port Elizabeth, South Africa* 8. Kampala, Uganda 16. Cape Town, South Africa* Heads Up: the last 3 cities listed are ALL in the country of South Africa. Rejected Map Route MINI TASK 2: RESEARCH THE COUNTRIES AND BARRIERS ALONG THE ROUTE TO DETERMINE WHY THE HIGHWAY WAS REJECTED. 1. Collect your findings with the help of your team. Each team member will be responsible for one part of the data. 2. Use the tracking sheet provided. Highway Across Africa Research Tracking Sheet Country Climatologist Landforms Water Demographer Ethnic Groups Religions Economist Land Use Resources Vegetation Climate Languages Government GDP per capita HDI Level Cartographer Environmental Hazards Health Hazards Dangerous Conflict Zones Excellent Web Resources for Highway Across Africa CIA WORLD FACTBOOK https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html BBC NEWS http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/country_profiles/default.stm Human Development Index http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/ most recent GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_gdp_percap-economy-gdp-per-capita Current Conflict & Wars www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/index.html CULTUREGRAMS If you want to read about the countries of Africa, you can use this web site. http://online.culturegrams.com/world/index.php username: shslibrary password: Trojans Health & Safety issues for travelers http://www.lonelyplanet.com/africa/practical-information/health Flags http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/flags/flagcnty.htm Population Pyramids http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/pyramids.html Political leaders infoplease.com/world/leaders/nameofcountry.html Use this website will work for looking up political leaders...just be sure to put the name of the country where it says name of country in italics. MINI TASK 3: CONSIDER THE CRITERIA OF THE WORLD BANK TO DETERMINE WHY THE HIGHWAY WAS REJECTED AND CREATE A NEW ROUTE ON THE PROVIDE MAP. CONSTRUCTION CRITERIA Proposal for a Highway across Africa The purpose of the highway is to foster political cooperation among nations and to promote economic development, trade, and tourism. the African Construction costs: Terrain and climate influence the cost of road construction. Listed below are kinds of terrain ranked in order of expense for road construction that is mountains are the most expensive, savanna the least expensive. •Mountains - most expensive $$$$ •Rainforest / Jungle •Desert •Bridge over major rivers •Steppe / Chaparral •Savanna - least expensive $ Roads are more expensive to build in humid, subtropical climates than in Mediterranean climates. Your surveyors, engineers, and construction crews must have a reasonable chance to do their job safely. Use the Africa Outline map to create a new route proposal: (see rubric for additional requirements and grading criteria) •Cover a major portion of the continent – do not ignore a region. •Connect major population centers •Cross a minimum of 13 countries and a maximum of 25 •Pass through a capital city on the Atlantic Ocean and a capital city on the Indian Ocean. NEW ROUTE PROPOSAL Final Task: Write a memo to the World Bank identifying problems and arguing a solution of where to build an economic superhighway and why it is important. Support your position with evidence from your research. Be sure to examine competing views. Give examples from past or current events or issues to illustrate and clarify your position. REPORT AT LEAST 3 REASONS WHY THE HIGHWAY WAS REJECTED AND GIVE PROPOSED SOLUTIONS. You may use the template included here to frame your memo. Be detailed - use actual place names and the language of geography. Each reason should be supported by research and be specific to the task. Discuss your sources as you go. MEMO EXPLAINING THE REJECTION OF THE HIGHWAY ACROSS AFRICA To: African Union Leaders and the World Bank From : Crockett Partners Inc Research Team Members_______________________________________________________________ Subject: Recent Proposal for “Building a Highway Across Africa” After considering the data and the rejected highway route, our research has shown that the highway as planned will not be feasible at this time. The World Bank has asked for the highway to do several things. Cross a major portion of the continent Connect major population centers Visit at least 13 countries, but not more than 25 Pass through at least one capital city on the Atlantic Ocean and a capital city on the Indian Ocean Promote the economic development of Africa We have emphasized the influence of the physical and human geographic features of the continent in researching your proposal. Keeping in mind the purpose of the highway, we submit the three specific reasons your route was rejected and the following possible solutions. Reason #1 (Physical Geography)… Reason #2 (Human Geography)… Reason #3 (Team choice – Human or Physical)… Write a short letter in the space provided stating why this proposal should be accepted by The World Bank. Please include the following topics: The Physical Geography and Human Geography of the continent of Africa. Dear Sir or Madam, Sincerely, REJECTED and New Africa Highway Maps and Memo MAP FEATURES Points Possible The Map 25 Shows physical features of Africa that would impact the route 15 Rejected and New Map Shows cities connected by the highway Rejected and New map has names 20 of all affected countries and shows their boundaries Rejected and New map shows 10 context (Atlantic & Indian oceans, Mediterranean Sea, Europe and Asia) Rejected and New map clearly 30 communicates our group’s 3 hazards that kept this highway from being built Maps are colored and labeled 10 clearly. Shows neatness and craftsmanship of the cartographers Total 100 Points Comments Rubrics MEMO FEATURES Points possible Memo is clearly written, 15 shows good grammar, meets all requirements of the task, and is informative in its voice Hazard #1 (physical) is 20 explained in detail and shows mastery of the subject matter Hazard #2 (human) is 20 explained in detail and shows mastery of the subject matter Hazard #3 (choice) is 20 explained in detail and shows mastery of the subject matter 3 reasons for rejection are 25 geographically accurate, specific to their country, and relate to the goals of the highway project. Reasoning for New proposal route is logical and defensible. Total 100 Points Comments