Urban Studies

Cities are confusing places: in some locales, we find rapid economic growth, with an infusion of firms and high-paying jobs; in others, we find clusters of dilapidated housing and high crime rates. The range of issues across the social and economic landscape is also perplexing. What causes these phenomena to occur? Urban Studies research focuses on phenomenon and societal issues in the context of cities. The research topics include urban development, urban land and real estate economics, urban morphology, planning, housing, health, history, culture and geomatics. Current projects by members of the Department of Geography and Environment include research on: recent decline in the downtown quaternary functions in North American cities; spatial demographics of educational demand; urban opportunities for youth gambling; urban environmental influences on childhood obesity; geographic studies of paediatric trauma; urban forms for seniors' independence and mobility; property acquisition and social mobility; spatial patterning of urban crime; geographies of personal networks; urban demographics and housing choices; uncertainty and household mobility; and the Imag(in)ing London historical GIS project.

Find Faculty Supervisors in this Area:

Godwin Arku

Associate Professor Western Faculty Scholar garku@uwo.ca	519-661-2111, x. 85343 Room 2427, SSC
Research Areas Housing and economic development; Urban development and policy analysis; Regional and local economic development policy and planning; Third World development issues (esp. Africa) Teaching People, Places and Landscapes; Urban Development; Urban Economic Development; Urban Geography of the Developing World

Jamie Baxter

Professor Associate Dean Graduate Affairs (Social Science) jamie.baxter@uwo.ca	519-661-2111, x. 81241 Room 1407, SSC
Research Areas Social construction of risk, community responses to technological hazards, renewable energy policy, noxious facility siting, and methodology Teaching Environmental Hazards & Human Health; Qualitative Methods; Research Design, Environment, Economy and Society

Michael Buzzelli

Associate Professor Director, Western Centre for Urban Policy and Local Governance mbuzzell@uwo.ca	519-661-2111, x. 85329 Room 2429, SSC
Research Areas Higher education policy, research on teaching and learning, society-space relationships with a focus on housing, health and GIS Teaching Housing, The Geoweb & Geomedia, Research Design and Methodology

Jason Gilliland

Professor Director, Urban Development Program Cross Appointed with School of Health Studies and the Department of Paediatrics jgillila@uwo.ca	519-661-2111, x. 81239 Room 2432, SSC
Research Areas Urban studies, health geography, children's environments, GIS Teaching Land Use and Development Issues; Graduate Seminar in Urban Geography; Advanced Urban Social Geography

Jeff Hopkins

Associate Professor Graduate Chair jhopkins@uwo.ca	519-661-2111, x. 85027 Room 2423, SSC
Research Areas Cultural geography, gender, public places Teaching Social Geography; Urban Culture; Cultural Geography; Geography of Gender; Advanced Cultural Geography

Jinhyung Lee

Jin Lee

Assistant Professor jinhyung.lee@uwo.ca	519-661-2111, x. 85025 Room 2413, SSC
Research Areas GIScience, GeoAI, spatial data science, transport geography, mobility/accessibility analytics, urban studies Teaching GIScience, transport geography

Agnieszka Leszczynski

Assistant Professor aleszczy@uwo.ca	519-661-2111, x. 80161 Room 2425, SSC
Research Areas Digital geographies, platforms and cities, digital location/geolocation, GIScience & Society Teaching Geographic Information Science; Digital Geographies

Isaac Luginaah

Professor Distinguished University Professor iluginaa@uwo.ca	519-661-2111, x. 86944 Room 1409, SSC
Research Areas Environment and health, air pollution, GIS and health, HIV/AIDS Teaching Geography of Health and Health Care; Environment and Health; Advanced Studies in Environment, Development & Health

Roza Tchoukaleyska

Assistant Professor rtchouka@uwo.ca	519-661-2111, x. 85030 Room 2413, SSC
Research Areas Urban planning, Cultural geography, Public spaces Teaching Cultural geography, urban planning, experiential learning, community engaged teaching

Jinfei Wang

Professor jfwang@uwo.ca	519-661-2111, x. 85017 Room 2402, SSC
Research Areas Remote sensing and GIS Teaching Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS); Remote Sensing; Advanced Topics in Remote Sensing; Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (Graduate); Remote Sensing Digital Image Analysis (Graduate)