Geography is a discipline that examines connections between people, places and environments. Geographers study the why and how of where: where things are located and why they are located where they are, how places are connected to one another and how they may differ, and how places and peoples interact with the environment. In investigating these themes, geographers study some of the world’s most pressing issues, such as climate change, water shortages and loss of biodiversity, globalization and economic systems, urban and regional development, immigration and social change, and poverty and inequality.
Research in geography is rich and exciting because it brings together diverse theoretical and methodological approaches with empirically grounded examinations. One of the many strengths of the discipline of Geography lies in its ability to integrate ideas about natural environments, human activities, and social institutions.
Faculty and students in Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have disparate research interests and agendas, but we are united though our passion for understanding more about the interactions among places, peoples, and environments. Faculty research and departmental degree programs are aligned along an overall theme of “changing environments” with three major axes: Human Geography and Urban Environments, Physical Geography and Environmental Studies, and Geographic Information Science and Remote Sensing.
Our renowned faculty has the following specific areas of expertise:
- GIS (Geographic Information Science) and Society;
- Transportation and GIS; Environmental Change and Sustainability;
- GIS, Remote Sensing, and Spatial Analysis;
- Social and Environmental Justice;
- Race, Class, and Gender;
- Urban Inequality;
- Urban Housing and Landscapes;
- Globalization and Economic Development;
- Immigration and Refugees;
- Biogeography;
- Climate Change and Water;
- Vegetation-Climate Interactions; and
- Ecological Response to Environmental Change