I am an urban geographer with interests in the meanings and understandings of place, local politics, legal geography, qualitative methodologies, and social movements (particularly neighborhood activism). My research focuses on the United States, including past research in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, and Athens, Georgia, as well as cities in Massachusetts. My work has examined place meaning and representation in community organizing and local politics, as well as in community land trust housing. My current work is based primarily in Massachusetts. I co-direct Clark’s HERO program with Geography colleague John Rogan, which engages undergraduate students in research on socio-ecological dimensions of tree planting programs. The broad areas of geography and related disciplines that I seek to address in my research include meanings of place and place-making, geography and law, and human-environment relations. I advise graduate students working on a range of topics in those areas, loosely coalescing around the themes of activism, politics, place, social theory, and qualitative research. My graduate teaching focuses on urban political theory, urban theory, and qualitative research methods. My undergraduate teaching emphasizes how geographers study cities (Geog 020 American Cities), research design (Geog 141) and history and ideals of urban planning (Geog 258/356 Utopian Visions, Urban Realities –a cross-over graduate course as well).
Deborah Martin
Professor, Geography
- About
- Scholarly and creative works
- Awards and grants
Degrees
- Ph.D. in Geography, University of Minnesota, 1999
- M.A. in Geography, University of Minnesota, 1994
- B.A. in Geography and International Studies, Macalester College, 1991
Affiliated Department
Scholarly and creative works
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Exploring place(-making): insights from urban geography
43rd Annual Charles Henry Hackley Distinguished Lecture in the HumanitiesMuskegon, MIMay2025Sponsored by Friends of the Hackley Public Library -
“I don’t think anybody’s ever been to scale:” the imperative for growth and the implications of scale for Community Land Trusts in Minnesota, USA
Urban Geography2024 -
A quiet influence shaping lines of inquiry: Rethinking ‘cities in pursuit of economic growth’
Political Geography2024Vol. 110 -
Residents’ roles as environmental policy actors using an urban governance framework: A case study of a tree planting program
Cities2023Vol. 135 -
Urban Forest Management Motivations and Practices in Relation to a Large-Scale Tree Planting Initiative
Society & Natural Resources2023Vol. 36Issue #11 -
How to Think about Cities
2023CambridgeUK -
Historical Urban Tree Canopy Cover Change in Two Post-Industrial Cities
Environmental Management2022 -
Ownership is a habit of mind: how community land trusts expose key consensual fictions of urban property
Urban Geography2022Vol. 43Issue #8 -
Historical Urban Tree Canopy Cover Change in Two Post-Industrial Cities
Environmental Management2022 -
PLACE IDENTITY AMONG NATIVE MINORITIES: LESSONS FROM ARABS IN ISRAEL
Geographical Review2021 -
Modeling the spatial distribution of the current and future ecosystem services of urban tree planting in Chicopee and Fall River, Massachusetts
Urban Forestry & Urban Greening2021Vol. 66 -
Modeling the spatial distribution of the current and future ecosystem services of urban tree planting in Chicopee and Fall River, Massachusetts
Urban Forestry & Urban Greening2021 -
Ownership is a habit of mind: how community land trusts expose key consensual fictions of urban property
Urban Geography2021 -
Exposure to the majority social space and residential place identity among minorities: evidence from Arabs in Israel
Urban Geography2020 -
URBAN POLITICS
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Meanings of limited equity homeownership in community land trusts
Housing Studies2020Vol. 35Issue #3 -
Routledge Handbook of Place
Chapter: Place as human-environment network: Tree planting and Place Making in Massachusetts, USAPublished by Routledge2020 -
Monitoring the impact of planted trees on land surface and air temperatures in Massachusetts Gateway Cities
Adapting to Expanding and Contracting Cities2019 -
The Impact of Tree Planting Program Governance Structure on Tree Survivorship and Vigor: A Case Study using the Massachusetts Greening the Gateway Cities Program
Proceedings of the F’abos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning2019Vol. 6Issue #1 -
On the transformative potential of community land trusts in the United States
Antipode2019Vol. 51Issue #3 -
A Relational Theory of Risk: a Case Study of the Asian Longhorned Beetle Infestation in Worcester, MA
Journal of Risk Research2019 -
Urban tree survival and stewardship in a state-managed planting initiative: A case study in Holyoke, Massachusetts
Urban Forestry & Urban Greening2019Vol. 43 -
Unbundling property in Boston’s urban food commons
Urban Geography2019Vol. 40Issue #10 -
Chapter: Contextualizing neighborhood activism: spatial solidarity in the cityPublished by Edward Elgar Publishing2019 -
The Production of Community in Community Land Trusts
City & Community2019 -
Handbook of Urban Geography
Chapter: Neighborhood activism: Spatial solidarity in the cityPublished by Edward Elgar -
(Un) frozen Spaces: Exploring the Role of Sea Ice in the Marine Socio-legal Spaces of the Bering and Beaufort Seas
Journal of Borderlands Studies2018Vol. 33Issue #2 -
Place-framing against automobility in Montreal
Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers2018Vol. 43Issue #1 -
Predictors of mortality for juvenile trees in a residential urban-to-rural cohort in Worcester, MA
Urban Forestry & Urban Greening2018Vol. 30 -
Chapter: Place-based or place-positioned? Framing and making the spaces of urban politicsPublished by Routledge2018 -
A multi-city comparison of front and backyard differences in plant species diversity and nitrogen cycling in residential landscapes
Landscape and urban planning2018Vol. 178 -
Social Norms, Yard Care, and the Difference between Front and Back Yard Management: Examining the Landscape Mullets Concept on Urban Residential Lands
Society & natural resources2018Vol. 31Issue #10 -
The law is not enough: Seeking the theoretical ‘frontier of urban justice’via legal tools
Urban Studies2017Vol. 54Issue #2 -
Effects of urban tree canopy loss on land surface temperature magnitude and timing
ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing2017Vol. 128 -
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND URBAN GREENING: THE CASE OF URBAN TREE PLANTING PROGRAMS IN MASSACHUSETTS
2017 -
A ‘Bedford Falls’ kind of place: Neighbourhood branding and commercial revitalisation in processes of gentrification in Toronto, Ontario
Urban Studies2016Vol. 53Issue #5 -
Rights in places: An analytical extension of the right to the city
Geoforum2016Vol. 70 -
Identifying Optimal Planting Locations in Worcester, MA Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis
2016 -
Everyday Utopias: The Conceptual Life of Promising Spaces by Davina Cooper
philoSOPHIA2016Vol. 6Issue #1 -
Worcester, Massachusetts: A History of Urban Forestry Practices.
Northeastern Geographer2016Vol. 8 -
Social well-being and environmental governance in urban neighborhoods in Boston, MA
The Geographical Journal2015Vol. 181Issue #2 -
Mapping land development through periods of economic bubble and bust in Massachusetts using Landsat time series data
GIScience & Remote Sensing2015Vol. 52Issue #4 -
Placing Lefebvre
Antipode2015Vol. 47Issue #5 -
Training interdisciplinary “wicked problem” solvers: applying lessons from HERO in community-based research experiences for undergraduates
Journal of Geography in Higher Education2015Vol. 39Issue #3 -
Mapping Urban Tree Canopy Coverage and Structure using Data Fusion of High Resolution Satellite Imagery and Aerial Lidar
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts2015 -
Reprint of “The production of urban vacant land: Relational placemaking in Boston, MA neighborhoods”
Cities2014Vol. 40 -
Thinking critically about urban politics
Sage London -
Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity in Response to the Asian Longhorned Beetle Infestation in Worcester, Massachusetts
Human Ecology2014Vol. 42Issue #6 -
Struggling with Democracy’s Differences
Dialogues in Human Geography2014Vol. 4Issue #1 -
Beyond “Lawn People”: The role of emotions in suburban yard management practices
The Professional Geographer2013Vol. 65Issue #2 -
Reconceptualizing resistance: Residuals of the state and democratic radical pluralism
Antipode2013Vol. 45Issue #1 -
Up Against the Law: Legal Structuring of Political Opportunities in Neighborhood Opposition to Group Home Siting in Massachusetts
Urban Geography2013Vol. 34Issue #4 -
The production of urban vacant land: Relational placemaking in Boston, MA neighborhoods
Cities2013Vol. 35 -
URBAN POLITICS AS PARALLAX
Urban Politics: Critical Approaches2013 -
THE NEIGHBOURHOOD AS A PLACE FOR (URBAN) POLITICS1
Urban Politics: Critical Approaches2013 -
INTRODUCTION TO CITY AS COMMUNITY
Urban Politics: Critical Approaches2013 -
INTRODUCTION TO CITY AS MEDIUM
Urban Politics: Critical Approaches2013 -
Urban Politics: Critical Approaches
2013 -
The impact of tree cover loss on land surface temperature: A case study of central Massachusetts using Landsat Thematic Mapper thermal data
Applied Geography2013Vol. 45 -
Characterizing tree canopy loss using multi-source GIS data in Central Massachusetts, USA
Remote Sensing Letters2013Vol. 4Issue #12 -
Place Frames: Analysing Practice and Production of Place in Contentious Politics
Spaces of Contention: Spatialities and Social Movements2013 -
Heterogeneity in residential yard care: Evidence from Boston, Miami, and Phoenix
Human Ecology2012Vol. 40Issue #5 -
Subjectivity, Power, and the IRB
The Professional Geographer2012Vol. 64Issue #1 -
Urban Politics and Mental Health: An Agenda for Health Geographic Research
Annals of the Association of American Geographers2012Vol. 102Issue #5 -
Police, Urban Space, Politics, and Responsibility
Urban Geography2012Vol. 33Issue #7 -
Relational place-making: the networked politics of place
Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers2011Vol. 36Issue #1 -
Urban politics: an interdisciplinary dialogue
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research2011Vol. 35Issue #4 -
Regional Urbanization, Spatial Justice, and Place
Urban Geography2011Vol. 32Issue #4 -
Mobilising bodies: Visceral identification in the Slow Food movement
Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers2010Vol. 35Issue #2 -
Making law, making place: lawyers and the production of space
Progress in Human Geography2010Vol. 34Issue #2 -
Transnational tense: Immigration and inequality in American housing markets
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies2010Vol. 36Issue #2 -
Chapter: Reflections on teaching qualitative methods in geographyPublished by SAGE Publications Ltd2010 -
Making Law, Making Place: Lawyers and the Production of Space
2010 -
Whitewash: White privilege and racialized landscapes at the University of Georgia
Social & Cultural Geography2008Vol. 9Issue #4 -
What counts as activism?: The role of individuals in creating change
Women’s Studies Quarterly2007Vol. 35Issue #3/4 -
Bureacratizing ethics: Institutional review boards and participatory research
ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies2007Vol. 6Issue #3 -
Community, neighborhood, and political possibility
Political Geography2007Vol. 26Issue #2 -
Citizens, cops and power: Recognizing the limits of community
ELSEVIER SCI LTD THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KIDLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 1GB~… -
Charter schools and urban regimes in neoliberal context: Making workers and new spaces in metropolitan Atlanta
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research2006Vol. 30Issue #3 -
Book Review: Empowering squatter citizen: local government, civil society and urban poverty reduction
Progress in Human Geography2006Vol. 30Issue #5 -
New State Spaces: Urban Governance and the Rescaling of Statehood. By Neil Brenner
Economic Geography2006Vol. 82Issue #1 -
Review: Popular Culture in the Age of White Flight: Fear and Fantasy in Suburban Los Angeles, Manufacturing Culture: The Institutional Geography of Industrial Practice, Unequal City: London in the Global Arena, Egalitarian Capitalism: Jobs, Incomes and Growth in Affluent Countries, Life Events and the Housing Career: A Retrospective Analysis of Timed Effects, the Green City: Sustainable Homes, Sustainable Suburbs, Dropping Anchor, Setting Sail: Geographies of Race in Black Liverpool
Environment and Planning A2006Vol. 38Issue #5 -
Organizing diversity: scales of demographic change and neighborhood organizing in St Paul, MN
Environment and Planning A2005Vol. 37Issue #6 -
Lawyering landscapes: lawyers as constituents of landscape
Landscape Research2005Vol. 30Issue #3 -
Rescaling Autonomy? Reflections on Unmaking Goliath
Urban Geography2005Vol. 26Issue #4 -
Nonprofit foundations and grassroots organizing: reshaping urban governance
The Professional Geographer2004Vol. 56Issue #3 -
Reconstructing Urban Politics Neighborhood Activism in Land-Use Change
Urban Affairs Review2004Vol. 39Issue #5 -
“Place-Framing” as Place-Making: Constituting a Neighborhood for Organizing and Activism
Annals of the Association of American Geographers2003Vol. 93Issue #3 -
Space and contentious politics
Mobilization: An International Quarterly2003Vol. 8Issue #2 -
Enacting Neighborhood 1
Urban Geography2003Vol. 24Issue #5 -
Space, scale, governance, and representation: contemporary geographical perspectives on urban politics and policy
Journal of Urban Affairs2003Vol. 25Issue #2 -
Space, place, and contentious politics
2003 -
Observing Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia: Using an urban field study to enhance student experiences and instructor knowledge in urban geography
Journal of Geography2003Vol. 102Issue #1 -
Constructing the ‘Neighborhood Sphere’: gender and community organizing [1]
Gender, Place & Culture2002Vol. 9Issue #4 -
“Placing” interviews: location and scales of power in qualitative research
The Professional Geographer2000Vol. 52Issue #4 -
Constructing place: Cultural hegemonies and media images of an inner-city neighborhood
Urban Geography2000Vol. 21Issue #5 -
Missing Geography: Social Movements on the Head of a Pin?
Geography and Social Movements2000 -
on Michael P. Brown RePlacing Citizenship: AIDS Activism and Radical Democracy
ETHICS PLACE AND ENVIRONMENT2000Vol. 3 -
Factors Influencing Establishment and Post-Establishment Residential Yard Tree Survivorship in Worcester, Massachusetts
Arboriculture and Urban Forestry -
The Implications of Violence for Theories of Place-making
Environment and Planning F: Philosophy, Theory, Models, Methods and PracticeVol. forthcoming -
Transcending the fixity of jurisdictional scale
Political Geography1999Vol. 18Issue #1 -
Claiming place and community: place identity and place-based organizing in inner-city neighborhoods
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A richly textured culture of gay male life flourished in thetextregistered rst third of the twentieth century in New York City, but the history of this world has been lostDHlargely forgotten and actively
Gender, Place and Culture1996Vol. 3Issue #1 -
Community organizing and the state: The neighborhood revitalization Program (NRP) of Minneapolis, MN
Awards and grants
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Place-Making Practices and Imaginaries: Exploring Meanings of Place in Policy and Planning in Aberdeen, Scotland
Whiting Foundation
Aug. 1, 2025 – Dec. 31, 2025 -
Assessing the Survivorship, Condition and Growth of Trees Planted 2010-2014 in Worcester, Massachusetts
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Dept. of Conservation & Recreation
Jul. 1, 2023 – Dec. 31, 2024 -
Planting Trees for Improved Community Health in Two Small Low-Income Cities in Massachusetts
US Department of Agriculture
Sep. 17, 2019 – Sep. 18, 2022 -
Doctoral Dissertation Research: Governing Sustainability through Place-making: Ecodistricts in the Pittsburgh Metro Region
National Science Foundation
Apr. 1, 2020 – Mar. 31, 2021