THE PORT CITY OF SALINA CRUZ, MEXICO: SCENARIOS OF SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL VULNERABILITY

Abstract

Following the contemporary geography to gather fields considered dichotomous, physical geography and human geography, this article aims to show the relationship between those two in an analysis of the socio-environmental vulnerability of the port city of Salina Cruz through three axises. One axis is that of the geoecological units obtained from the analysis of satellite images with a Multiscale Approach methodology, with which the social characteristics of the place are related. Another axis is that of the Special Economic Zones that seek to develop ports and the surrounding region located in states of extreme backwardness such as Oaxaca, where Salina Cruz is located. A third axis that interweaves the others is that of the Socio-environmental Vulnerability inability of a community to absorb the effects of a change in its environment. After that, polygons of socio-environmental problems were obtained with an Approximation Index methodology, and the severe situation of Salina Cruz is evidenced by natural events to which it is subjected and the urban characteristics that are deficient to face this type of phenomenon.