As a new initiative, CSAW projects are in development. A sample of what faculty associated with CSAW are working on include:
- National Science Foundation REU Site: Addressing Social and Environmental Disparities through Community Geography and Geographic Information Systems: The innovative six-week summer research experience engages a diverse group of students, faculty and community members in community-based geographic inquiry of social and environmental disparities in Atlanta neighborhoods. With an explicit focus on community geography, university-community partnerships and participatory methodologies, the research training program is the first of its kind for undergraduates in the United States. Undergraduate researchers will quantitatively and qualitatively examine neighborhood change, property markets, air and soil quality, urban green spaces, and neighborhood visioning in partnership with neighborhood residents and community groups. Participating disciplines include geography, geology, public health, education, and library sciences.
- Mapping Urban Resilience: Actively involving community members in articulating a conception of ‘resilience’ as well as identifying strategies for promoting it in low-income communities, this research group seeks to understand community responses to global processes in the different institutional, political, and cultural contexts of the US and the UK. With research partners in Glasgow, the group will identify and test a host of creative methods, including ethnographic observation and participatory mapping, for working with communities on the topics of globalization, deindustrialization, environmental justice, and climate change.
- Environmental Health in South Atlanta: With community partners SAFE (South Atlanta for the Environment) and Eco-Action, and collaborators in the Institute for Public Health, this research group seeks to facilitate risk-reduction strategies of air pollutants in Neighborhood Planning Unit V, a collection of neighborhoods in Atlanta with high rates of asthma and other respiratory problems. This research group seeks to develop community-based data collection to document and ultimately mitigate the negative health outcomes of the built environment.
- Environmental Metrics: Geosciences researchers are developing and applying analytical approaches to understanding the physical and biogeochemical processes leading to human exposure to hazardous materials. This work includes research into the generation of ground level ozone linked to asthma, heavy metal contamination linked to child lead poisoning, and petroleum contamination leading to the release of cancer-causing hydrocarbons.