Department News

United States zoning laws are the legacy of racism, according to participants in the five-day Planning for Racial Justice Conference that begins Feb. 23.

Geography and Planning graduate student Christopher Plummer is spotlighted in eSpatially New York in the Geospatial Student Spotlight section. Chris is pursuing his masters in Biodiversity, Conservation, and Policy. His research focus is using drones to assess white-tailed deer abundance and habitat preference in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. Read the article.

The Department of Geography and Planning would like to welcome new full time lecturer Jared R. Enriquez this fall.  Jared begins his appointment in the Department of Geography and Planning following a year as Consortium Fellow for Faculty Diversity at St. John’s University in MN. Prior to his doctoral studies in City and Regional Planning at Cornell, Jared received a B.A. in Architecture from Yale College and Master’s in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan.

Christopher Plummer, a Geography and Planning Master’s student in the Biodiversity, Conservation and Policy program, has recently discussed his work to assess white-tailed deer abundance and habitat preferences in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve with the aid of thermal imaging drones. His study complements work that has already been performed and will help the Preserve staff to better understand the seasonal habits of white-tailed deer in the area. Christopher's presentation is titled, Using Drones to Assess the Winter Habitat Preference and Abundance of White-tailed Deer in the APBP.

Directed by Prof. Youqin Huang, Confucius Institute at University at Albany (CI) provides support and service in Chinese language instruction and culture programming, promotes China-related research, and facilitates academic exchanges and collaborations between UAlbany and its partner university in China -- Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu. Established in December of 2013, CI offers educational activities to not only the university population but also the large community in the Capital District.

“Chinese Cities in the 21st Century” published by Palgrave Macmillan and edited by Geography and Planning professor Youqin Huang, is an interdisciplinary examination of China's new urban development model and the challenges Chinese cities face in the 21st century. China is in the midst of a historic developmental inflection point, grappling with a significantly slowing economy, rapidly rising inequality, massive migration, skyrocketing housing prices, alarming environmental problems, and strong pushback from the West. In this volume, Western and Chinese scholars in different disciplines offer the clearest look yet at some of the main challenges China faces, including domestic and international contexts, the new urban development model, inclusion and well-b

Congratulations to the four Geography and Planning students who won awards in the Spring of 2020: Cody Arana - AICP Outstanding Student Award, Luis Roldan - Paul D. Marr Memorial Award for Excellence in Planning, Elizabeth Hayes - David Mark Prize in Geography: graduate award, and Zachary Perry - David Mark Prize in Geography: undergraduate award. The awards are described below.   AICP Outstanding Student Award: Cody Arana The MRP Program faculty at the University at Albany recommended Mr. Cody Arana for this prestigious award. Candidates must meet the award criteria of academic achievement, leadership, commitment to planning as a career, and community service.  

Geography and Planning Assistant Professor Kate Coddington won the 2020 Virginie Mamadouh Outstanding Research Award from the Political Geography Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers for her paper "The slow violence of life without cash: borders, state restrictions, and exclusion in the U.K. and Australia."