In looking at the world around us, there is a temptation to say, “Well, that’s how it is, that’s how it’s going to be.” It is difficult to imagine alternative futures. Yet it is crucial that today’s students understand possibilities if they are to make informed choices as citizens.

From the perspective of students in the United States, Mexico looms larger and larger. Whether the issues are migration (legal or illegal), trade, economic development along the border, or water resources, the two countries are becoming more intertwined. The future of Mexico will affect the future of the U.S.A. and vice versa.

This activity encourages your students to act as geographically-informed people: to see meaning in the arrangement of things in space; to see relations between people, places, and environments; to use geographic skills; and to apply spatial and ecological perspectives to life situations. The challenge is to think about the demographic future of Mexico and to explore the possible ramifications of that future on trade, migration, urban development, and so on.

Click on Mexico Population Data Table and U.S. Population Data Table to obtain handouts which you can print for class use.

We suggest the following:

• divide your class into working groups of three or four students.
• give each group a copy of the data tables.
• ask them to supplement the tables with other information, especially maps.
• assign groups one of the following two questions:
  1. Given these data, what will be the possible effects of population changes on the spatial organization of Mexico itself? The focus is the world from Mexico’s perspective.
  2. Given these data, what will be the implications for the U.S.A.? The focus is the world from the perspective of the U.S.A.
  
• ask each group to generate at least two scenarios.
• ask groups to present reports in any form that is appropriate for your classroom.
• compare different groups’ answers to the same questions. One suggestion is to post alternative scenarios and then ask groups, or the entire class, to critique them. You can also ask those whose scenarios are Mexico-centered to respond to U.S.A.-centered scenarios and vice versa.