Navigation research with the blind, urban heat islands, Kosovar refugee repatriation, and American trends in divorce and housing are among the topics to be presented at the 96th annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG), to be held in Pittsburgh, PA, April 4-8, 2000. Reporters are welcome to attend the meeting, which will include over 2,400 papers by scholars from the U.S. and overseas.
Among the studies of interest to be presented by geographers are:
NAVIGATION FOR THE BLIND: Research with blind pedestrians is providing geographers with insights that may someday help robots "see" more effectively. Dr. Reg Golledge, current president of the AAG, has recently completed a project at the Research Unit on Spatial Cognition and Choice at the University of California-Santa Barbara that compares the prowess of sighted and visually impaired pedestrians in learning routes through urban settings. Strategies that helped the blind create more accurate mental maps may also be applied in robotics.
Golledge, a blind geographer at UC-Santa Barbara, has researched several innovative technologies to aid the visually impaired. Golledge and UCSB colleague James Marston will report on a newly-designed system of talking signs and mobile receivers that has helped blind travelers in San Francisco to navigate unfamiliar buildings and transit stops, greatly increasing their spatial information, use of public transit and independence.
HEAT HUNTERS: NASA geographers Dale Quattrochi and Jeff Luvall will report on their ongoing application of remote sensing technology to analyze urban heat islands in four U.S. cities: Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Sacramento, and Salt Lake City. Heat generated by asphalt and concrete surfaces by day is retained at night, creating domes of heated air that aggravate ozone formation and can actually increase rainstorms over cities. The ongoing research at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center's Global Hydrology and Climate Center helps city planners determine ways to reduce urban overheating.
STATE DEPARTMENT GEOGRAPHERS ANALYZE CONDITIONS IN KOSOVO: A Friday meeting session will feature reports from geographers at the U.S. Department of State on how geographic analysis and U-2 satellite imagery have analyzed war atrocities in Kosovo and aided repatriation of Kosovar refugees.
DIVORCE MOVES: NOT SO FAR APART: An analysis of the spatial outcomes of divorce confirms that most couples remain in close proximity after they separate, according to geographer John F. Watkins of the University of Kentucky. Research on over 1,500 cases in the Lexington, KY area indicates that the duration of the marriage most strongly influences the choice of a new residence, as does the presence of children.
FASTEST-GROWING COUNTIES: U.S. population growth in the period between 1970 and 1990 was led not only by big cities getting bigger, but by small communities welcoming new retirees, resort growth, and surprising expansion in small towns in the mountain West, according to population geographer Frederick Day of Southwest Texas State University. In studying Census data for 299 U.S. counties, the researchers found seven distinct types of rapidly growing counties.
REPEAT HOMEBUYERS INCREASING MOVE OUTWARD: Homeowners in central cities, inner suburbs and outer suburbs who choose to move do so for a variety of reasons, but the direction most choose is clear: outward. In studying repeat home buyers in the Columbus metropolitan area, geographer Hazel A. Morrow-Jones of Ohio State University found a pronounced trend among homeowners leaving the central city. In 1995, the central Columbus school district lost over 40 percent of those selling their homes, while inner suburbs (municipalities completely surrounded by others with no room for growth) lost only five percent of their owners. Only the outer suburbs posted a gain--more than 35 percent. In overall location preferences, buyers showed a clear preference for outer suburbs. The study found that, while inner suburban movers were most likely to stay in the inner suburbs (50 percent), central city movers were most likely to move to the outer suburbs (50 percent), and outer suburban movers were overwhelmingly more likely to stay in those communities (86 percent).
An electronic press kit, with news releases and links to the AAG Meeting Press Room in Pittsburgh, researchers' web sites and e-mail, will be available April 3-8 online at <www.aag.org >. Reporters may register by e-mail < news@aag.org > or in person at the AAG meeting press room, open April 4 through 8 in the Armstrong Room, Doubletree Hotel, 1000 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh. Meeting sessions take place in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and the adjacent Doubletree Hotel.
The Association of American Geographers is a scholarly, nonprofit organization founded in 1904 to advance professional studies in geography and to encourage the application of geographic research in education, government, and business. With 6,900 members in the U.S. and 60 other nations, it is headquartered in Washington, D.C.