Urban/Economic
Systems
Urban geography
is the study of the city as a spatial phenomenon. Faculty at the University
of Utah are particularly interested in the interface between urban processes
and the broader economic system within which cities are embedded. Specializations
include national/regional urban systems, urbanization processes, migration
and urban planning. Faculty are interested in urban processes both in
developed and developing regional settings.
Economic geography is the study of the spatial dimensions and implications
of production, distribution and consumption activities. The economic
geographer wishes to understand not only the spatial variation in these
activities, but also why these processes are located where they are
and how to locate them in order to improve efficiency as well as societal
and environmental welfare. Economic geography specializations at the
University of Utah include location theory, facility locational analysis
and transportation. Activities in these areas are closely allied with
the department's geographic information science specialization.
Recent advances in geographic information analysis (GIA) and geographic
information systems (GIS) technologies are reinvigorating the fields
of economic and urban geography. These methodologies are increasing
the ability of the economic geographer to address and solve practical,
"real world" location, distribution and planning problems. With training
combining a substantive area with the appropriate GIA techniques, the
economic or urban geographer can find employment in the private sector
(e.g. retail or industrial location analyst, facilities management),
public sector (e.g. transportation analyst, economic development analyst)
or in academia. Excellent computing facilities are located in the Department's
DIGIT Lab.
DIGIT LAB FACILITIES
Established in 1987, the DIGIT Lab is an auxiliary facility of the
University of Utah Department of Geography.
We operate within the University's research infrastructure to provide
support for both theoretical and applied geographic information analysis and
application development. Our goal is to offer students real world
experience, and at the same time, deliver the highest quality of geographic
information services.
The computing facilities at the DIGIT Lab provide instructional
support for courses in the science and application of GIS, remote sensing,
and spatial data analysis. In addition, the DIGIT Lab offers 2-day workshops
providing the basic tools to utilize ArcGIS.
The DIGIT Lab also supports faculty research in the Department of
Geography as well as other departments at the University of Utah. Within the
last year (2006-2007), the DIGIT Lab has worked for (or with) more than a
dozen different department across campus.
Faculty contacts:
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