Fresno State Geography and City & Regional Planning

Dr. Neil Conner presented his paper titled "Teaching Place with Sports Jerseys" at the American Association of Geographers (AAG) Conference in San Francisco over the weekend. Dr. Conner's paper was part of a special session on "Teaching geography to non-geographers" that was sponsored by the Geography Education Specialty Group.

Professor Mohan Dangi conducted fieldwork in Nepal to learn about the relocation of residents in the remote Himalayan village of Dhye, examining the impacts of global climate change. He also delivered multiple plenary talks covering the work of his students in green waste management in Fresno and his own global research on the topic, at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India; the CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur, India; and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, Thailand. Recently, he also served as an external reviewer for the Environmental Engineering and Management Curriculum at AIT. During his three-nation academic visit, he actively promoted the relationship between Fresno State and the host institutions, and he was instrumental in having Fresno State sign a memorandum of understanding with India’s top engineering university, the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. At the conclusion of his visit, the Ambassador of Nepal to Thailand, who is also a board member at AIT, hosted a meeting with representatives from regional organizations in Thailand.

Students in the course CRP 150 have been exploring the relationship between land use, spatial design and crime along Blackstone Avenue, between Gettysburg and Dakota, in order to develop a presentation and a clear articulation of these connections with residents and stakeholders involved in the revitalization of Blackstone.

This project aims at (1) providing the community a clearer analysis of the problems they are facing (crime and disinvestment); (2) reinforce the interest for investment among developers by showing how certain land use and redevelopment projects can displace crime variables; and (3) gain some experience in community engagement.

In order to gather more insight to add to the class' research, students facilitated a community meeting on October 11 at Fresno City Center. Students created a team with an MC for the event, a presentation shedding light on the students' analyses of Blackstone, a panel with key voices (business representative, homeless advocate, lieutenant officer, community leader, and a planner) notetakers, timers, and greeters. Students applied the community action research approach to their engagement with over 20 folks. Students will follow up on Nov. 18 with a larger crowd.

Dr. Ashley Penir presented GEO-STRAT; her online, scenario and problem based geography learning game at the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) this past weekend. Geography teachers from around the U.S. explored geographic topics through game play. Now hundreds of teachers have this game available to use in their K-12 classrooms, inspiring future geographers for years to come!

Instructor Michael Sigala welcomed Clovis Mayor Vong Mouanoutoua to CRP 80 (Intro to City Planning) to discuss issues related to land use planning.

🌍✨ First meeting of the Geography and Planning Club! Whether you’re passionate about cities, sustainability, culture, or exploring the world, this is your space to connect, collaborate, and make an impact. Join us as we chart new paths, one map, one project, one conversation at a time. 🌎💬 Contact advisor Dr. Hongwei D**g ([email protected]) for future meeting times!