Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an Assistant Professor in the Regional + City Planning Department, recently co-authored the article “Combining social network analysis and geographic information system for communication research: an application to immigrant communities” in Cogent Social Sciences. Dr. Lee and her co-author, Professor Sun Kyong Lee, found that GIS is a useful tool for other fields – such as communications studies – to understand spatial residential patterns.
The authors used a case study of communication networks of immigrant church members in New Jersey to test theories of spatial versus strategic assimilation, visualize social networks, and city racial composition. Through this case study, they found that future research involving questions related to physical locations and space can benefit from combining Social Network Analysis and Geographic Information System techniques in innovative ways.
The article was supported by the OU Libraries’ Open Access Fund.
The University of Oklahoma College of Architecture is proud to announce that Model Schools in the Model City, authored by Director of the Institute for Quality Communities, Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., has been named one of ten finalists for the 2026 ASALH Book Prize for Best New Book in African American History and Culture.
This semester, students in the LA 5535 Studio: Ecological Planning and Design, led by Prof. Afsana Sharmin, took on an ambitious hypothetical project to redesign key parts of the OU campus. Their mission: to tackle the critical real-world challenge of stormwater management through innovative green design.
Petya Stefanoff, Chair of the Educational Committee with the American Planning Association, Oklahoma Chapter (APA-OK) and Gibbs College PhD candidate, has developed a new training program for local government officials. The program, focused on land use, zoning principles, and land development, recently certified its first graduates with Certified Citizen Planner status.