Christopher
G.
Boone
Associate Professor,
School of Human Evolution &
Social Change,
School of Sustainability |
Christopher
G.
Boone
Associate Professor,
School of Human Evolution &
Social Change,
School of Sustainability |
| HomeResearchCourses |
| Research
expertise: environmental justice and vulnerability, urban
socio-ecological systems, GIS, public health, urban sustainability For my complete c.v., click here (.pdf)  Major Projects Book: City and Environment |
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In 2006, I co-authored City and Environment
with
Ali Modarres. The book is a comprehensive examination of urban
environmental issues and designed to serve as an introduction to major
environmental concerns in cities, now the primary habitat for humanity.
In 2007, the book was reprinted by Pearson Edication India
(image on right). The book is divided into 6 chapters:
1. Urban Morphology and
the
Shaping of an Urban Ideal
Unlike the usual anti-urban lamentations, we are optimistic about the potential for cities and urban life to lead to sustainable solutions. I was pleased to see that the latest UNFPA report on urbanization feels the same way. |
| NSF
Grant: Environmental Inequity in Baltimore
In 2006, I was awarded a National Science Foundation grant through the Human and Social Dynamics competition. The co-investigators on that grant are Geoff Buckley, a geographer at Ohio University, Morgan Grove, a social ecologist at the USDA Forest Service in Vermont, Charlie Lord, an environmental attorney at Boston College, and Austin Troy, an economist at the University of Vermont. Senior staff include Jarlath O'Niell-Dunne, a remote sensing expert at the University of Vermont, and Chona Sister, a GIS expert and a post-doctoral fellow at Arizona State University. This award provides funds to investigate the long-term (1880-2000) dynamics of environmental inequity in the Baltimore Metropolitan Region. Findings from this research will be extremely helpful in understanding the processes of environmental inequity formation, which are often legacies of past decisions and dynamics. As a region that has experienced severe economic decline in the core and rapid urbanization on the periphery, lessons from the study will inform the human-environmental dynamics of other cities, and hopefully lead to more sustainable and equitable management of cities in the future. The complete abstract of this project is available here. |
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| NSF Grant: Human and Social Dynamics in Response to Shifting Immigration Policy and Practice I am senior personnel on a NSF award (Jennifer Glick, p.i.) that examines the impact of stricter immigration policies and practices on Latino communities in Phoenix, Arizona. In particular, it assesses how a "chilling" immigration environment influences social networks, resource flow, and household reorganization, and how those social dynamics may impact the well-being (health and economic) of individuals and households. LTER Network Since 1999, I have been actively involved in the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) network. This network of 26 sites seeks to monitor and understand ecological systems and dynamics over long periods of time. In particular, I have conducted research for the two LTER sites that are explicitly urban: Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) and the Central Arizona Phoenix (CAP) project. Both of these projects adopt a broad view of urban ecology, one that includes human beings as internal rather than external to the system. Urban ecology examines of the interactions of coupled human and ecological dynamics, what is sometimes called socio-ecological systems. This line of thinking is now being adopted across the LTER system, and I had the good fortune of helping to draft a document that will lead the network in that direction. Most of my work for the BES and CAP has focused on environmental inequity analysis, including the legacy of historical processes on present patterns and dynamics. For the BES, I have also undertaken research that examines health conditions and infrastructure, including the politics of sewer provision. |
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International Research In December 2006, I was a member of a ASU delegation that visited Beijing to begin collaborations of joint interest between scholars and students in the Chinese Academy of Sciences and ASU. The establishment of the Joint Center for Urban Sustainability (JCUS) between ASU and the CAS was an important mechanism for collaborative research. Next November, I will present a conceptual paper on linking ecology and environmental justice and attend a meeting of the International Human Dimensions Program (IHDP) in New Delhi, India. I will be collaborating with Michail Fragkias, director of the Urbanization and Global Environmental Change (UGEC) project, now housed at ASU. |
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| Climate,
Vulnerability, and Health
With Jay Golden, co-director of the NCE SMART lab, I have begun research that explores the linkages between climate change, urban heat island, and human vulnerability to conditions that amplify morbidity or mortality patterns. Chona Sister, a post-doctoral fellow at ASU, is also involved in the project. With Alex Brewis, professor of medical anthropology at ASU, and others, I have also started some research on health disparities in South Phoenix, a historically latino community. In spring 2007, I participated in a research study on the walkability of neighborhoods in Phoenix, as well as a park equity study. PhD students Bethany Cutts and Kate Darby are the lead authors on a paper we plan to submit shortly for review that summarizes our findings. |
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