Community Engaged Work

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Biography Dr. Fushcia-Ann Hoover is an interdisciplinary researcher specializing in social-ecological urban systems. She employs a range of approaches and perspectives from the fields of planning, engineering, social and environmental sciences. Her research centers environmental justice, green infrastructure planning, and relationships between people, place and the environment. Dr. Hoover joined the department in 2021 as […]

Katherine Idziorek, AICP, PhD, is a community-engaged researcher who examines the role of social networks and social infrastructure in community-scale resilience and disaster preparedness. Bridging the disciplines of hazard mitigation, urban geography, and urban planning, Katherine’s research explores the role of place-based resources in supporting community resilience and wellbeing.  Dr. Idziorek leads the Charlotte Heat […]

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Teaching and Research Interests Urban & Social Geography Immigrant Settlement & Adjustment Globalizing Cities & New Gateways Urban Revitalization & Gentrification Socio-spatial Polarization Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Read More

Deborah Thomas, PhD, is Professor and Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Research. I arrived at UNC Charlotte in August 2018 from the University of Colorado Denver, where I was a faculty member in geography and environmental sciences for 18 years and department chair for the last 3-1/2 years. I was also one of the founding […]

Michelle E. Zuñiga, AICP (she/her/ella) holds a PhD in Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy from the University of California, Irvine. Since 2012, Michelle has focused her research on Latinx communities particularly, low-income, immigrant communities and how they experience and respond to environmental injustice and threats of displacement. Michelle explores their perspectives and experiences in […]