This is the third report to be published by the Rural Development Institute (RDI) at Brandon University, Manitoba, Canada that presents the results of collaborative research undertaken by members of a joint research team from the Universidad de Guadalajara Centro Universitario de la Costa, campus Puerto Vallarta and the RDI. Dr. Bryan H. Massam from the Department of Geography at York University, Toronto, Canada has been a member of the team since the beginning of the project in 2000 and other colleagues from Puerto Vallarta have provided valuable assistance. They include Laura Gabriela Hernández Cahou, Roberto Hernández Cahou, Jorge Ricardo Chávez Arce, and Carlos Munguía Fregoso. The joint research and teaching project has been undertaken under the aegis of a formal agreement between Brandon University and the U of G. The initial period of the agreement began in 2000 and extended to 2005. A new agreement is in place to extend the project until 2007.