Geography Commons^™

Protecting Brazilian Amazon Indigenous Territories Reduces Atmospheric Particulates And Avoids Associated Health Impacts And Costs, Paula R. Priest, Florencia Sangermano, Allison Bailey, Victoria Bugni, María Del Carmen Villalobos-Segura, Nataly Pimiento-Quiroga, Peter Daszak, Carlos Zambrana-Torrelio

Geography

Indigenous territories are considered important for conservation, but little is known about their role in maintaining human health. Here we quantified the potential human health and economic benefits of protecting these territories in the Brazilian Amazon, by using cardiovascular and respiratory diseases cases, pollutant and forest cover data. Between 2010 and 2019, 1.68 tons of Particulate Matter of small size (PM_2.5) were released every year, with negative effects for human health. A lower number of infections was also found in municipalities with more forested areas, and with a low level of fragmentation, which probably is related to the …

Demonstration Of Large Area Land Cover Classification With A One Dimensional Convolutional Neural Network Applied To Single Pixel Temporal Metric Percentiles, Hankui K. Zhang, David P. Roy, Dong Luo

GSCE Faculty Publications

Over large areas, land cover classification has conventionally been undertaken using satellite time series. Typically temporal metric percentiles derived from single pixel location time series have been used to take advantage of spectral differences among land cover classes over time and to minimize the impact of missing observations. Deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have demonstrated potential for land cover classification of single date images. However, over large areas and using time series their application is complicated because they are sensitive to missing observations and they may misclassify small and spatially fragmented surface features due to their spatial patch-based implementation. This …

Structural Tensions Limiting Success Of Infrastructure Upgrading: A Multi-Regime Perspective, George Kiambuthi Wainaina, Bernhard Truffer, James T. Murphy

Geography

Unfettered growth of slums is a daunting transition challenge and many upgrading programs fail to sustainably improve the livelihoods of slum residents. This paper elaborates a transitions perspective on structural tensions that may lead to success or failure of slum upgrading programs. We conceptualize slums as urban subsystems, governed by sociotechnical (infrastructure) and socioeconomic livelihood regimes (related to production and social reproduction). The framework permits examination of the tensions due to mis/alignments of rules associated with newly introduced infrastructures, and those that regulate existing production and social reproduction practices of slum residents. This approach extends transition studies by accounting for …

Wildfire Risk Governance From The Bottom Up: Linking Local Planning Processes In Fragmented Landscapes, Matthew Hamilton, Max Nielsen-Pincus, Cody Evers

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The growing scale of natural hazards highlights the need for models of governance capable of addressing risk across administrative boundaries. However, risk governance systems are often fragmented, decentralized, and sustained by informal linkages among local-level risk mitigation planning processes. Improving resilience to the effects of environmental change requires a better understanding of factors that contribute to these linkages. Using data on the patterns of participation of 10,199 individual stakeholders in 837 community wildfire protection plans (CWPPs) within the western U.S., we document the emergence of a locally clustered but spatially extensive wildfire risk governance network. Our evaluation of factors that …

Urban Sustainability Implementation And Indicators In The United States: A Systematic Review, Heejun Chang, Arun Pallathadka, Idowu Ajibade

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Urban sustainability is the goal of many cities in the world, yet very few have achieved a level of sustainability that goes beyond the most basic environmental objectives. The practice and assessment of sustainability implementation are greatly compounded by lack of funding, technical know-how, political will, and the power disparity between dominant institutions and marginalized communities. This systematic analysis of urban sustainability literature involved the review of 241 studies published between 2010 and 2022. We critically examined current debates and challenges in urban sustainability, identifying gaps and opportunities and providing recommendations for creating equitable, just, and sustainable urban futures. We …

Rethinking Resident Perceptions Of Tourism In British Columbia, Canada, Jarrett R. Bachman, Erin Hodgins, Michael W. Lever

ICHRIE Research Reports

This joint academic/practitioner report segments British Columbia, Canada residents to provide destination managers with new ways to better understand resident perceptions of tourism. The data collection was conducted in April and May of 2022 and had a total of 2,265 valid responses. It was also a practical objective to conduct this research in a manner that is repeatable in jurisdictions beyond British Columbia. This report has confirmed five distinct categories of residents’ perceptions toward tourism, including socio-cultural, economic, environmental, job/career, and Indigenous impacts. In addition to the categories of impacts, a cluster analysis has revealed six clusters of residents based …

The Impact Of Climate Change On Selected Pnw Watersheds Through The Lens Of Western Red Cedar Habitat, Jordan T. Hamann

Dissertations and Theses

Climate change is a real phenomenon that is exacerbating existing natural processes and developing into a new normal for the planet. This change may be devastating for Pacific Northwest populations of Western Red Cedar (WRC) west of the Cascade Mountain range in the states of Oregon and Washington. WRC is a valuable tree species for reasons both economic and cultural. Dieback among WRC is following an accelerating trend. Since dieback is usually followed by tree mortality, understanding its causes and distribution is beneficial to the overall success of the species going into the future.

Through the use of ESRI's ArcGIS …

Comparing Drone2map Versus Pix4dmapper When Creating Orthophoto Mosaics Over Homogeneous Land Features, Victoria Williams, Daniel R. Unger, David Kulhavy, I-Kuai Hung, Yanli Zhang

International Journal of Geospatial and Environmental Research

This study evaluated two popular software packages currently used within the natural resources profession to create orthophoto mosaics: Drone2Map and Pix4Dmapper. Of particular concern was how effective these two software packages would perform in creating orthophoto mosaics over a city park in East Texas consisting of forest, open grass, and urban concrete surrounding a lake. Two drone flights over the city park were conducted. One flight was at 76 meters (250 feet) above ground with a single pass configuration. The other flight was at 122 meters (400 feet) above ground with a double pass configuration. Upon the completion of each …

State Of Urbanization In Nepal: The Official Definition And Reality, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari, Shiva Gautam

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Nepali government’s official delineation of several human settlements as new urban areas has been questionable because many important criteria such as urban infrastructure and services, open space, population density and economic viability are not thoroughly analyzed while defining what is urban. Many settlements in Nepal officially defined as urban, often driven by political considerations, are operating in the rural framework forming ruralopolises. This paper analyzes various criteria needed for defining urbanization that are internationally accepted to assess Nepal’s official definition of urban settlements. Urban areas have been expanding in Nepal at the cost of agricultural, forest, and shrubland land uses. …

Participatory Mapping Of Tree Equity, Preferences, And Environmental Justice In Portland, Or, Katharine Vezin Gregory

Dissertations and Theses

Studies have shown that marginalized communities do not have the same access as more privileged groups to urban tree canopy cover due to historic and current processes of discrimination and disinvestment. This study explores the lived experiences, narratives, and values related to trees and greenspaces for residents of Portland, OR, through participatory mapping focus groups. It uses an environmental justice and urban political ecology framework to examine how values, lived experiences, and narratives compare for Portland residents across neighborhoods, socio-economic status, and racial or ethnic identity and how the changes that matter to residents can inform more just urban greening …

The Relationship Between Water Temperature And Proximity To Surface Urban Heat Islands Within The Lower Chesapeake Bay Watershed For The Summer Of 2019, Sarah Kerner

Student Research Submissions

Surface urban heat islands (SUHIs) are land surfaces with high concentrations of impervious surfaces like roofs, roads, sidewalks and other infrastructures that trap, absorb, and re-emit heat throughout the day/night and typically present higher temperatures than their surrounding rural areas. In this study, I evaluate how presence of and distance to SUHIs are associated with water temperature in the lower Chesapeake Bay watershed for the summer of 2019. When heavy precipitation events occur, flooding creates stormwater runoff, which is exposed to the hotter temperatures in urban areas. This introduces thermal pollution to nearby rivers and streams disrupting aquatic ecosystems. The …

The State Of Homelessness In Nevada, 2020, Annie Vong, Mae Ling Catayong, Christine Guardian, Abigail Boron, Maria Jerinic, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet examines data on homelessness in Nevada between 2007 and 2020. The original report, “State of Homelessness,” by the National Alliance to End Homelessness includes the number of homeless individuals that slept outside on any given night, how many beds in shelters went empty, and the number of homeless individuals per 10,000 individuals in each continuum of care in Nevada.

Converting Vacant Lots To Parks: Shamokin Survey Results, Matt Mcmullen, Shaunna Barnhart

Student Project Reports

No abstract provided.

Geozoo Whitepaper, Tara Vansell

Documentation

This project’s main objective was to create and test how GIS and VR technologies could work together out-of-the-box to produce meaningful and equitable Open Educational Resources (OER = Free) learning activities for K-16 students. Our team comprising of expertise from Lindenwood University (Tara Vansell, GIS Instructor – Joseph Weber, Assistant Professor Art and Design, and Keegan Favors, Research Assistant Information Technology major) and the St. Louis Zoo (Michael Dawson, Conservation Education Liaison) were able to leverage ArcGIS Story Maps to deliver the interactive digital maps and immersive experiences together so that students could complete the created learning activities on an …

Using Story Maps Tp Deliver Vr Experiences -Powerpoint, Tara Vansell

Documentation

PowerPoint for the Using Story Maps tp Deliver VR Experiences presentation.

Enhancing The Definitions Of Climate-Change Loss And Damage Based On Land Conversion In Florida, U.S.A., Elena A. Mikhailova, Zhenbang Hao, Hamdi A. Zurqani, Mark A. Schlautman, Gregory C. Post, George B. Shepherd, Sarah J. Kolarik

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Loss and damage (L&D) from climate change result from past and current greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Current definitions of L&D exclude GHG emissions even though they represent L&D to human beings and the environment. This study’s objective was to identify and quantify the L&D from GHG emissions associated with land developments using the state of Florida (FL) in the United States of America (USA) as a case study. All land developments in FL caused various L&D (20,249.6 km2, midpoint 3.0 1011 of total soil carbon (TSC) losses with midpoint $50.3B (where B = billion = 109, USD) in social costs …

What Explains Spatial Cariations Of Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy?: A Social-Ecological-Technological Systems Approach, Arun Pallathadka, Heejun Chang, Daikwon Han

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

While COVID-19 vaccines have been available since December 2020 and efforts have been made to vaccinate the maximum population, a large number of people are continuing to be hesitant, prolonging the pandemic in the US. While most previous studies investigated social, economic, and demographic variables that are associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, we added ecological and technological variables to better understand the spatial variations of vaccine rates in the contiguous United States using spatial regression and geographically weighted regression (GWR) models. We aim to identify spatially varying social, ecological, and technological factors that are associated with COVID-19 vaccination rates, which …

A Constructivist Analysis Of China’S Geopolitical Economic Strategy Toward Africa: A Case Of Sino-Tanzanian South-South Cooperation, Azza Bimantara

Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional

This article discusses China’s foreign policy toward African countries by examining Sino-Tanzanian South-South Cooperation (SSC). By utilising a modified, state-centric social constructivism, this study identifies domestic and international realms of China’s normative structure responsible for shaping China’s identities within the international community. It also explains how China can reconcile its competing identities between a Global South and rising great power statuses, which gives China the ability to combine its normative interest (i.e., Global South solidarity) and material interest (i.e., the geopolitical-geoeconomic strategy) into a diverse project of SSC with positive and proactive perception from Tanzania. This study contributes toward the …

Remembering The Ladies! A Decision-Making Activity For Teaching The American Revolution, Presley Shilling, Jeffrey Byford, Deanna Owens-Mosby

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This content-centered American Revolution activity encourages students to utilize Robert Stahl’s rank-order approach to promote decision-making in the social studies classroom. The incorporation of women’s contributions in the years leading up to the American Revolution influences students to analyze various perspectives surrounding this historical event. Employing Robert Stahl’s four phases of decision-making, students examine a situation and rank-order the efforts of the daughters of liberty, while investigating the political, economic, and social causes of the American Revolution. Students, individually or in groups, determine which of the seven solutions will be most effective in undermining the British and King George III’s …

Creating Law And Order: A Content-Centered Manifest Destiny Activity, Presley Shilling, Jeffrey Byford, Alisha Milam

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This content activity shows how Robert Stahl’s negotiation activity approach can promote decision-making in the social studies classroom. The effects of the activity on students’ ability to replicate the actions of settlers taking the journey to the western territories in search of gold. Incorporating Robert Stahl’s four decision-making phases, students negotiate social, political, and economic issues associated with the mining town of Bodie, California. In doing so, students must, individually or in small groups, decide and prioritize a series of proposals to better the living conditions, economic struggles, and social problems that have plagued Bodie for some time.