On Being a Geographer

I serve as Head of Department of Geography and Environment at University of Aberdeen in beautiful northeast Scotland.

An urban geographer, my research interests revolve around place-making, urban politics, housing and property, the logics of race in urban development, and sustainability.

Geography is about synthesis, bringing together social and physical insights through a spatial lens. The discipline is cognate with urban studies, planning, sociology, environmental studies, ecology, climatology, geology, biology, and more. Geographers seek insights hidden in juxtapositions between such cognate disciplines via spatial analysis.

Over the past few years I have been working on research examining Community Land Trusts in Minnesota, USA. Recently, I've been taking a closer look at large-scale redevelopment and institution-led neighborhood change in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. My ultimate aim is to better understand the potential for maximal justice in urban contexts. More information about my current efforts is available in a section on research projects.

Information about my past and current roles as an educator and mentor is available. My C.V. has a complete downloadable history of my academic career; a list of publications formatted for your browser can be found here.

Please feel free to be in touch. I can be reached via email at:
my first name {at} joe pierce {dot} org.
You can also find me on Mastodon.