Population, Development & Sustainability
Our geographers study sustainable population growth and development. The United Nations
has projected that by 2050 the world’s population will be 9.7 billion, with much of
that growth occurring in urban areas. These urban regions vary in their level of development,
and environmental dynamics, such as climate change, threaten populations living there.
A lack of sustainable development in the future will worsen problems associated with
poverty, such as environmental justice and public health crises.
Courses and Degrees
Courses in Population, Development, and Sustainability cover topics of population growth, cities, transportation, politics, public health, energy, economy, and more broadly, sustainability. Students taking these courses will gain an understanding of today’s major issues with population, development and sustainability globally and develop best practices to alleviate burdens of future growth. These courses can be combined within the Population, Development, and Sustainability undergraduate emphasis for the Geography BS.
Faculty
Tim Collins
Professor, Director of Undergraduate Studies – human-environment interactions; vulnerability; hazards and disasters; environmental justice; health disparities; climate change, water, wildfire, and air pollution
Tom Cova
Professor – environmental hazards, emergency management, transportation, geographic information science
Andrew M. Linke
Assistant Professor – political geography, political violence, Kenya, spatial statistics, GIS, climate change and conflict
Neng Wan
Associate Professor, Director of the Utah Geo-Health Lab– GIS and spatial methods in understanding and solving environmental health problems. Director of the MSGIS program.
Yehua Dennis Wei
Professor – economic/urban geography, global urban and regional development, regional science and spatial analysis, China