Appalachian State Department of Geography and Planning

In case you missed it, CBS news broadcast 60 minutes featured the subject of Dr. Rob Brown’s research, the Black Masking Indians of New Orleans (aka the Mardis Gras Indians). Numerous pieces of footage used in the segment were filmed by Dr. Brown himself as he worked alongside CBS producers during his recent visit with his friends in the Golden Eagle Tribe and Big Chief Monk. Dr. Brown’s work continues to play an important role in drawing attention to this unique and vibrant portion of American folk culture. Great job Dr. Brown! You can watch the entire segment at the link in the bio, or below! https://www.cbsnews.com/video/mardi-gras-indians-60-minutes-video-2026-04-05/

Congratulations to Dr. Chris Quattro, who has been selected to receive the 2025 Journal of the American Planning Association Emerging Scholar Award! Dr. Quattro is receiving the award for the paper, "Zoning for Infill Development: San Antonio's Create-Your-Own Zoning District."

Read more: https://www.planning.org/blog/9327436/from-the-field-and-the-academy-japa-honors-its-2025-award-winners

From the Field and the Academy: JAPA Honors Its 2025 Award Winners

Congratulations to Marc Doussard and Kevin Quinn, AICP, on receiving Article of the Year, and to Christine Quattro, AICP, on being named Emerging Scholar.

Read more: https://plnn.org/4vMLy1m

Congrats to Dr. Chris Quattro, AICP for the publication of a dedicated single author manuscript titled “Reform and Consequence: The Mid-Century Roots of Twenty-First Century Zoning.” Quattro’s seven years of archival research into the origins and trajectories of zoning shows that contemporary planning goals for mixed-use, housing opportunity, and walk-ability may be better met by reverting zoning ordinances back to their original standards of the early 20th century before mid-century revisions.

Last week while many faculty and students were attending the AAG meeting in San Francisco,  we learned that three of our graduate students will be receiving awards from the Cratis D. Williams Graduate School at their annual awards ceremony in April. Caleb Blackburn (Advisor Dr. M. Sugg) will be receiving the Domer Graduate Student Research Award, Caroline Fehlman (Advisor Dr. M. Sugg) will be receiving the Outstanding Graduate Thesis Award, and Chris Lucero (Advisor Dr. Martin) will be receiving the Wachovia Environmental Research Award! Meanwhile, at AAG the Department of Geography and Planning was well represented with numerous faculty and students attending and presenting research. All of our students did a fantastic job with their presentations, and Chris Lucero was awarded the Outstanding Masters Poster award from the Geomorphology Specialty Group of the AAG. Great job everyone! 👏 👏

Dr. Martin spent the last week representing US Geomorphologists at the 11th IAG International Conference on Geomorphology in Christchurch, New Zealand. Dr. Martin served as one of two US representatives, representing the Geomorphology Specialty Group of the AAG, along with Anne MacDonald representing the Quaternary Geology & Geomorphology group of the Geological Society of America. They were among nearly 1,000 participants representing 48 countries. Among the MANY fantastic talks, the meeting highlighted the critically important role of geomorphologists in a world that is increasingly fraught with climate-induced geomorphological hazards.

theAAG IAGAIG ICG2026 newzealand

Congratulations to Dr. Sugg!

Supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, Appalachian State Department of Geography and Planning's Dr. Maggie Sugg is studying the challenges rural healthcare systems and their communities face during recovery from floods like those caused by Hurricane Helene.

To read more about the project, visit the link in the comments. ⬇️

The Department of Geography and Planning had three participants in this year’s three minute thesis (3MT) competition: Analee Monrreal, Sierra Lawing, and Lilly Baer. All did a FANTASTIC job describing their research and representing the Department of Geography and Planning! Lilly Baer made the finals with her 3-minute description of her thesis entitled “Documenting Shoreline Changes along Jamaica’s Southwest Coast Following Hurricane Beryl: Implications for Future Vulnerability”, advised by Dr. Martin. Way to go GHY-PLN grad students! 👏 👏

The latest issue of the Appalachian State University Appalachian Institute for Health and Wellness's AppWell Journal centers on Hurricane Helene’s enduring impact—and the resilience of the people of Western North Carolina who came together in the most challenging of times.

The issue features articles by Dr. Chris Quattro, Dr. Maggie Sugg, Sophia Ryan ’23, and Caleb Blackburn ’21. Read them here: jihhs.pubpub.org/vol-5-hurricane-helene---one-year-later

The American Planning Association recently spotlighted two studies by Dr. Chris Quattro, Assistant Professor of Community and Regional Planning in the Department of Geography and Planning!

Read the stories:

✨ What Happens When Zoning Meets 'Privatopia'?: planning.org/blog/9317228/what-happens-when-zoning-meets-privatopia

✨ San Antonio's Infill District Zoning: planning.org/blog/9317925/san-antonios-infill-district-zoning

Geography and Planning graduate student Chris Lucero had the privilege of being invited to give a presentation about his research to the ASU Board of Trustees at their 2025 fall meeting. Chris did a great job and served as a wonderful representative for the Department of Geography and Planning, the Cratis D. Williams Graduate School, and the College of Arts and Sciences. The board members were truly impressed!