Environment and Society
Many geographers are interested in the interaction between society and the natural environment: how humans shape the earth by using its natural resources and how the changing characteristics of the physical environment affect human life. In fact, because it is so interdisciplinary, geography is the ideal discipline to explore these issues.
Students and faculty members working in this area of geography study how humans use, value, perceive, manage, and alter the environment, paying particular attention to the role of cultural, demographic, economic, political, and social factors in shaping these relationships. They consider diverse solutions for managing resources sustainably and equitably, and analyze the impacts of various environmental policies at local, state, national, and international scales.
Faculty at SDSU conduct research and teach courses on a variety of environmental issues, including water supply and quality, coastal and marine resource use and management, deforestation and land use change, payments for ecosystem services, human-wildlife interaction, conservation policy, climate change, access to recreational natural resources, and the impacts of the global industrial food system. Some of us focus on how local and global political and economic forces influence people’s ability to control and access natural resources. Others study how certain groups are more vulnerable than others to environmental stress, resource depletion, and climate change. Many of us explore different ways that local communities and societies have responded to environmental changes and/or concerns, managed resources, and promoted sustainability. Collectively, we’ve conducted research in locations such as China, India, Ghana, South Africa, Ecuador, Brazil, Hawaii, Samoa, as well as locally in California and San Diego County.
Specialities
In a world characterized by ecological and social change, the field of Geography provides tools to better understand natural resource systems and inform environmental planning and policy. Our faculty explore natural resources management in theory and in practice in a variety of ways. We look at the impacts of climate change on marine and terrestrial systems, explore ways to facilitate and better account for ecosystem service provision, examine the dynamics of wildfires and other natural disasters, study the effects of changes in water availability on agriculture and watershed processes, and work to improve mechanisms for protecting forest, rangeland, and ocean ecosystems. We also explore the use of GIS, and public participation in GIS, to improve natural resource decision-making and planning.
Faculty doing research in this area:
Courses offered in this area:
- GEOG 170: Sustainable Places and Practices
- GEOG 370: Conservation Science and Policy
- GEOG 570: Environmental Conservation Practice
- GEOG 572: Land Use Analysis
- GEOG 573: Population and the Environment
- GEOG 575: Geography of Recreational Land Use
- GEOG 670: Environmental Conservation Theory
- GEOG 770: Seminar in Environmental Conservation
- GEOG 780: Seminar in Techniques of Spatial Analysis
Everybody has to eat; the procurement and consumption of food are some of the most mundane and basic activities of humankind. At the same time, these practices are deeply influenced by economic, political, social, and cultural forces that operate at various geographic scales. Food provides a wonderful window to explore how the everyday is shaped by global food regimes, political ideology, consumption cultures, environmental resources and climate change. Of particular interest to geographers are questions related to the spatial distribution of food production and consumption, the organization of local and alternative food systems, and the relationship between foodways and place.
SDSU faculty specializing in this area have conducted research on alternative food spaces, food and gentrification, ethnic food economies, and the social significance of food in the lives of immigrants, including young people.
Faculty doing research in this area:
Courses offered in this area:
- GEOG 340: Geography of Food
- GEOG 440: Food Justice
- GEOG 590: Community-Based Geographic Research (a project-based class that involves students in field research on topics as varied as food deserts, young people’s food routines, ethnic food businesses, and more recently the creation of a “good food district.”)
Land cover change is one of the most important causes of environmental change. This research addresses the patters, drivers, and consequences of land cover change using remote sensing, modeling, and mixed-methods including qualitative and interview methods. Field sites include China, California, and Mexico.
Faculty doing research in this area:
Courses offered in this area:
- GEOG 572: Land Use Analysis
- GEOG 591: Remote Sensing of Environment
- GEOG 591L: Remote Sensing of Environment Laboratory
- GEOG 592: Intermediate Remote Sensing of Environment
- GEOG 592L: Intermediate Remote Sensing of Environment Laboratory
- GEOG 780: Seminar in Techniques of Spatial Analysis
Political ecology is a field of human geography that explores the connections between environment and society from a critical perspective, emphasizing the power relations and political-economic factors underlying them.
SDSU Faculty working within this field are interested in a wide range of issues including the privatization of public resources like water, access to green space and urban natures, children’s relationship to nature, governance of natural resources, and the political ecology of urban agriculture and local food systems.
Faculty doing research in this area:
Courses offered in this area:
- GEOG 348: Environment and Development
- GEOG 454: Sustainable Cities
- GEOG 496: Selected Studies in Geography
- GEOG 554: World Cities: Comparative Approaches to Urbanization
- GEOG 770: Seminar in Environmental Conservation
In environmental analysis and decision-making, it is essential to link ecological and social processes for a more complete understanding of problems, drivers, and potential solutions. The concept of “social-ecological systems” or “complex human-environmental systems” has become central to these interdisciplinary discussions. As geographers, we explore the complex ways in which social-ecological systems are structured and interact, and frameworks for analyzing and understanding these complex systems. Faculty and students study social-ecological systems in a variety of contexts, including marine, rangeland, and forest ecosystems, as well as interactions between human and hydrological systems. We are interested in the drivers and environmental implications of human behavior, the role of institutions and governance frameworks, and outcomes for ecosystem health and management.
Faculty doing research in this area:
Courses offered in this area:
- GEOG 506: Landscape Ecology
- GEOG 511: Hydrology and Global Environmental Change
- GEOG 576: Advanced Watershed Analysis
- GEOG 585: Quantitative Methods in Geographic Research
- GEOG 670: Environmental Conservation Theory
- GEOG 770: Seminar in Environmental Conservation
- GEOG 780: Seminar in Techniques of Spatial Analysis
We study the places and spaces of children and young people’s lives, emphasizing their agency in their families and communities. We also focus on child rights and youth activism.
Faculty doing research in this area:
Courses offered in this area:
- GEOG 102: People, Places, and Environments
- GEOG 348: Environment and Development
- GEOG 354: Geography of Cities
- GEOG 554: World Cities: Comparative Approaches to Urbanization