Faculty Research

Our faculty are among the most research-active programs at SJSU and are nationally and internationally recognized scholars who help inform policy, shape planning practice, and contribute to the scholarly discourse.

Published Books

Urban High-Technology Zones
By Ahoura Zandiatashbar. Elsevier Publishing, July 26th, 2023.

The Help Yourself City: Legitimacy and Inequality in DIY Urbanism
By Gordon C. C. Douglas. Oxford University Press, 2018.

Essential Methods for Planning Practitioners
By Laxmi Ramasubramanian and Jochen Albrecht. Springer, 2018.

Understanding India's New Approach to Spatial Planning and Development
By Sanjeev Vidyarthi, Shishir Mathur and Sandeep Agrawal. Oxford University Press, 2017.

Knowledge Borders: Temporary Labor Mobility and the Canada-US Border Region
By Kathrine E. Richardson. Edward Elgar, 2017.

Derrida and the Future of the Liberal Arts
Edited by Mary Caputi and Vincent Del Casino, Jr.  Bloomsbury, 2013.

A Companion to Social Geography
Edited by Vincent Del Casino, Jr., Mary Thomas, Paul Cloke, and Ruth Panelli. Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.

Geographic Information Science and Public Participation
By Laxmi Ramasubramanian. Springer, 2008.

Faculty in the Media

How Climate Change Impacts Urban Streams and Unhoused People
Feb. 2025 - UC Davis YouTube posting. Costanza Rampini's current research on homelessness, climate change and urban streams.

How Urban Streams, Climate Change and Unhoused People Intertwine
Jan. 27, 2025 - UC Davis posting. Costanza Rampini's current research on homelessness, climate change and urban streams.

Santa Clara developer swaps office for industrial as market tanks
February 8, 2024 - Kelly Snider, Joseph Geha (Spotlight)

Environmental Studies Professor testifies before Congress on critical minerals
Dec. 7, 2023 - Professor Dustin Mulvaney testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Minerals Subcommittees. 

Dr. Cushing's interview with the Weather Channel
Mar. 2, 2023 - Our Dr. Cushing (Chair of the Environmental Studies Department) recently had an interview with the Weather Channel. Dr. Cushing commented on the flooding situation in the Bay Area after the severe storms and recommended dealing with reservoir management concerns.

27 million under flood alerts across California (NBC Nightly News)
Jan. 14, 2023 - Our Dr. Cushing was interviewed by NBC Nightly News about the recent storms and flooding period across the state of California. This news showed how urgent and significant the storming and flooding situation was. The state of California had to start the evacuations in many different cities, especially cities of Santa Cruz county. 

What to know: Yosemite fire threatens sequoia grove, some of Earth’s oldest, biggest trees
Jul. 11, 2022 - Professors Craig Clements and Will Russell were interviewed for the story about the Washburn fire in Yosemite and the iconic sequoia trees that it threatens 

Wildfire Research, Community Clinic Included in $1.5 Trillion Federal Spending Plan
Mar. 15, 2022 - Amanda Stasiewicz, an assistant professor in Environmental Studies, is co-director for the Wildfire Center. SJSU’s Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center (WIRC) will receive $1.2 million to support cutting-edge fire modeling and prediction technology. 

California Today's interview with Prof. Rachel O'Malley 
Feb. 22, 2022 - Sunnyvale residents use lasers to scare off local crows. Watch Prof. Rachel O'Malley in California Today explaining why the influx of ravens and crows could possibly affect the other surrounding environments close to Sunnyvale.

Fake poop helps evicted owls settle into new neighborhood
Jan. 27, 2022 - Professor Lynne Trulio commented on transplanted burrowing owls in an Associated Press story where scientists are using fake poop to help evicted owls settle into a new neighborhood.

Environmental Studies Professor Dustin Mulvaney quoted in the LATimes
Oct. 5, 2021 - There’s no comparison between those problems and the destruction wrought by fossil fuels, said Dustin Mulvaney, an environmental studies professor at San Jose State. 

Lurie College Case Study Illuminates Unequal Access to Internet in Central California Amid COVID-19
March 10, 2021 - Ahoura Zandiatashbar. Julia Halprin Jackson (SJSU NewsCenter)

Activating the Civic Commons in San Jose’s Guadalupe River Park
December 2, 2020 - Richard Kos. Justin Flynn and SJSU DUP graduate students (APA CA Northern)

Research Shows Lockdowns Did Not Decrease Park Visits
November 10, 2020 - Ahoura Zandiatashbar. John P. Deever (SJSU NewsCenter)

Urban and Regional Planning Department Chair to Lead a National Professional Organization
September 28, 2020 - Laxmi Ramasubramanian. John P. Neever (SJSU NewsCenter)