The Urban GISc Lab at Lehman College is located within the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Geospatial Sciences, and focuses on exploring the urban environment through Geographic Information Science.  Current research concentrates on spatial analyses of urban environmental burdens, environmental justice, health disparities, health and the built environment, urban demographics, and the connections between social and environmental conditions.  Our aim is to provide the data, analyses, and findings to inform local communities and policy-makers in order to help make constructive changes in the Bronx and improve health and the urban environment. 

We also frequently lend our expertise to local community-based organizations to assist with spatial analyses and data acquisition/integration, and for Public Participatory GISc (PPGIS), involving environmental health justice advocacy, historical and cultural preservation, and risk analysis and exposure assessment of vulnerable populations.  Although much of our work is New York City-based, and often specifically in the Bronx, we have also worked collaboratively with researchers in other cities around the world.  We have developed a number of innovative methodological advancements, which have since been used by other researchers and transferred to other locations.

The Urban GISc Lab is a participating partner in NOAA-CREST, the Cooperative Center for Remote Sensing and Technology at City College of New York, CUNY.

Director, Juliana Maantay, Ph.D.
Professor, Lehman College, CUNY Graduate Center, and CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, NOAA-CREST Research Scientist

Associate Director, Andrew Maroko, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, and CUNY Graduate Center

Research Associates, Angelika Winner, Ph.D.
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Lehman College, and CUNY Graduate Center

Christopher Herrmann, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Research Assistants, Rose Jimenez
Ph.D. Candidate, CUNY Graduate Center, and NOAA-CREST Fellow

Paradorn Wongchanapai
Ph.D. Student, CUNY Graduate Center

Yanitza Piedra
MS-GISc Student, Lehman College

Rachel Carew
MS-GISc Student, Lehman College

Brian Morgan, GISc Lab Manager
Former Urban GISc Lab Research Assistants 2002-2021

Former Urban GISc Lab Research Assistants 2002-2021

• Natalia Brzezinska
• Tiffany Brown
• Gretchen Culp, Ph.D.
• Kristen Grady
• Adam Jessup
• Keith Miyake, Ph.D.
• Lesley Patrick, Ph.D.
• Rosa Perez
• Holly Porter-Morgan, Ph.D.
• Michelle Althaus Ottmann, Ph.D.
• Juan Carlos Saborio
• Zakkiyyah Shah
• Dellis Stanberry
• Jun Tu, Ph.D.
• Laurel Mei Turbin, Ph.D.
• Rachel Weiss, DPH

• Maroko, A.R., Maantay, J.A., Machado, R. P. P., & Barrozo, L.V. 2019. Improving Population Mapping and Exposure Assessment: Three-Dimensional Dasymetric Disaggregation in New York City and São Paulo, Brazil. Papers in Applied Geography. (13 pages) DOI: 10.1080/23754931.2019.1619092
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., and Maroko, A.R., 2017. 3-Dimensional Dasymetric Population Disaggregation in Data-Rich and Data-Poor Cities: New York City and São Paulo, Brazil.  Proceedings of the International Population Conference – IPC - IUSPP Cape Town, SA.  (10 pages).

• Maantay, J. A., and Strelnick, A. H., 2009.  Geographic Information Systems, Environmental Justice, and Health Disparities:  The Need for An Interdisciplinary Approach to Study Asthma and Air Pollution in the Bronx, New York, in Freudenberg, N., Saegert, S., and Klitzman, S., eds., Urban Health and Society: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Research and Practice, Chapter 5, pp. 93-126.  Jossey Bass.
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., Tu, J., Maroko, A., 2009.  Loose-coupling an Air Dispersion Model and a Geographic Information System (GIS) for Studying Air Pollution and Asthma in the Bronx, New York City. International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 19(1):59-79.
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., 2007.  Asthma and Air Pollution in the Bronx: Methodological and Data Considerations in Using GIS for Environmental Justice and Health Research.  Health and Place, 13:32-56.  Special issue: Linking Population Health, Critical Theory, and Geographical Information Science.
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., and Strelnick, H., 2003.  Mapping Asthma Hot Spots: The Geography of Asthma and Air Pollution in the Bronx.  Journal of Urban Health, Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 80 (Supp. 2):11.

• Maantay, J.A., and Maroko, A.R. 2018. Brownfields to Greenfields: Environmental Justice Versus Environmental Gentrification. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15, 2233; 17 pages.

• Maantay, J.A., Maroko, A.R., Anguelovski, I., & Connolly, J.  2020. The Paradox of Urban Greening: Does it Harm the Very People Who Need it the Most?  The Constructed Environment, 10(4): (25 pp.)
  
  
• Anguelovski, I., Checker, M, Connolly, J.J.T., Gould, K., Lewis, T., Maantay, J.A., Maroko, A.R., Pearsall, H., Timmons Roberts, J., Shokry, G. 2019. Why green "climate gentrification" threatens poor and vulnerable populations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(52).

• Ottmann, M., Maantay, J.A., Grady, K., and Fonte, N., 2012. Characterization of Urban Agricultural Practices and Gardeners' Perceptions in Bronx Community Gardens, New York City. Cities and the Environment, 5(1): Article 13 (27 pages).
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., Ottmann, M., Grady, K., 2010. Urban Agriculture, Green Infrastructure, and Urban Ecology: A Case Study of the South Bronx, NYC.  Cities and the Environment, 3(1): article 20. 

• Maantay, J.A., 2003.  Zoning, Equity, and Public Health, in R. Hofrichter, ed., Health and Social Justice: A Reader on Politics, Ideology and Inequity in the Distribution of Disease, Jossey Bass/John Wiley & Sons, pp. 228–250.
  
  
• Maantay, J.A, 2002.  Zoning Law, Health, and Environmental Justice: What’s the Connection?  Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics, pp. 572-593.  Special issue: Health, Law, and Human Rights.
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., 2002.  Industrial Zoning Changes in New York City and Environmental Justice: A Case Study in “Expulsive” Zoning.  Projections: the Planning Journal of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), pp. 63-108.  Special issue: Planning for Environmental Justice.
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., 2001.  Zoning, Equity, and Public Health.  American Journal of Public Health, 91(7):1033–1041. 

• Maantay, J.A., Culp, G., Grady, K., Maroko, A.R., Patrick, L., Shah, Z., 2015.  Assessing the “Riskscape” - Exposure and Vulnerability from Current and Projected Coastal Flooding in New York City. Climate in Context, CUNY Graduate Center. [Presentation]
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., Maroko, A.R., and Culp, G., 2010.  Using Geographic Information Science to Estimate Vulnerable Urban Populations for Flood Hazard and Risk Assessment in New York City, in Showalter, P., and Lu, Y. eds., Geotechnical Contributions to Urban Hazard and Disaster Analysis, Chapter 5, pp. 71-97, Springer-Verlag.
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., Maroko, A.R., 2009.  Mapping urban risk: Flood hazards, race, & environmental justice in New York.  Applied Geography, 29 (1):111-124.

• Maantay, J.A., and Zeigler, J., 2006.  GIS for the Urban Environment, Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) Press, Redlands, CA.
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., 2013.  Cartography and Communication: Telling the story with maps. Presented in conjunction with the exhibit “Contemporary Cartographies,” at the Lehman College Gallery. [Presentation]

• Maantay, J.A., Winner, A., Maroko, A.R., 2021. Spatial Analysis of Urban Health, Chapter in Faruque, F., ed. Geospatial Technology for Human Well-Being and Health,” Springer. [in press]
  
  
• Maantay, J.A. and Maroko, A.R., 2017. Assessing population at risk: Areal interpolation and dasymetric mapping, in: Walker, G., Holifield, R., eds., Handbook of Environmental Justice, Routledge, UK.  Pp. 190-206.
  
  
• Chakraborty, J., Maantay, J.A., and Brender, J., 2011. Disproportionate Proximity to Environmental Hazards: Methods, Models, and Measurement. American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 101 (S1): S27-S36.
  
  
• Brender, J. and Maantay, J.A., and Chakraborty, J., 2011.  Residential Proximity to Environmental Hazards and Adverse Health Outcomes.  American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 101 (S1): S37-S52.
  
  
• Chakraborty, J., and Maantay, J.A., 2011. Proximity Analysis for Exposure Assessment in Environmental Health Justice Research.  in Maantay, J.A., and McLafferty, S., eds., Geospatial Analysis for Environmental Health, volume in series “Geotechnologies and the Environment” Springer-Verlag, pp. 111-138.
  
  
• Maroko, A.R., Maantay, J.A., and Grady, K., 2011.  Using Geovisualization and Geostatistics to Explore Respiratory Disease and Environmental Health Justice in New York City, in Maantay, J.A., and McLafferty, S., eds., Geospatial Analysis for Environmental Health, volume in series “Geotechnologies and the Environment” Springer-Verlag, pp. 39-66.
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., 2007.  Asthma and Air Pollution in the Bronx: Methodological and Data Considerations in Using GIS for Environmental Justice and Health Research.  Health and Place, 13:32-56.  Special issue: Linking Population Health, Critical Theory, and Geographical Information Science.

• Clarke, M., and Maantay, J.A., 2006.  Optimizing Recycling in all of New York City’s Neighborhoods: Using GIS to Develop the REAP Index for Improved Recycling Education, Awareness, and Participation.  Resources, Conservation, and Recycling, 46(2):128-148
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., 2002.  Mapping Environmental Injustices: Pitfalls and Potential of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Assessing Environmental Health and Equity.  Environmental Health Perspectives, 110, Supp. 2:161-171.  Special issue: Advancing Environmental Justice Through Community-Based Participatory Planning.
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., 2001.  Race and Waste: Options for Equity Planning in New York City, Planners Network, Jan./Feb. 2001, No. 145, pages 1, 6-10. http://www.plannersnetwork.org/2001/01/race-and-waste-options-for-equity-planning-in-new-york-city/

• Maantay, J.A., 2019. Environmental Justice and Fairness, in Routledge Companion to Environmental Planning, Davoudi, S.; Cowell, R.; White, I.; and Blanco, H., eds. Routledge: Oxford, UK.
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., Chakraborty, J., and Brender, J., 2010.  Strengthening Environmental Justice Research and Decision Making.  U.S. EPA, Washington, DC.  [Presentation]
  
  
• U.S. EPA, 2010.  Nationally Consistent Environmental Justice Screening Approaches: A Report of Advice and Recommendations of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, A Federal Advisory Committee to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., 2008. Environmental Justice Strategic Enforcement Assessment Tool (EJ SEAT) in New York City. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Environmental Justice Advisory Council. [Presentation]
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., 2004.  The Geography of Environmental Injustice, in Janelle, D., Warf, B., and Hansen, K., eds. WorldMinds: Geographical Perspectives on 100 Problems. Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Association of American Geographers, 1904 – 2004.  Kluwer Academic Press: Dordrecht, NL. pp. 163-169. 

• Maantay, J.A., Becker, S., eds., 2012. The Health Impacts of Global Climate Change: A Geographic Perspective, Special Issue of the Journal of Applied Geography, Vol. 33: 1-106.
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., 2010.  Health Impacts of Climate Change: Warmer and Sicker?  Advanced Science Research Center, CUNY, NYC, NY [Presentation]

• Maantay. J.A., 2016.  The Collapse of Place, Chapter 1 in Urban Land Use: Community-Based Planning, Etingoff, K., ed. Pages 3 – 50. Taylor and Francis, Warestown, NJ
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., and Maroko, A.R., 2015.  ‘At-risk’ places: inequities in the distribution of environmental stressors and prescription rates of mental health medications in Glasgow, Scotland.  Environmental Research Letters, 10 (16 pages).
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., 2013. The Collapse of Place: Derelict Land, Deprivation, and Health Inequality in Glasgow, Scotland. Cities and the Environment, 6(1): Article 10 (55 pages).

• Weiss, R.C., Fahs, M.C., and Maantay, J.A., 2010.  Promoting Active Urban Aging: Creating a Combined Walkability Index for Older Adults Using a Geographic Information System.  Gerontologist, 50 (10): 35.
  
  
• Weiss, R., Maantay, J.A., Fahs, M., 2010. Promoting Active Urban Aging: A Measurement Approach to Neighborhood Walkability for Older Adults. Cities and the Environment, 3(1): article 12 (17 pages).

• Miyake, K., Maroko, A.R., Maantay, J.A., Grady, K., Arno, P., 2010. Not Just A Walk in the Park: methodological improvements for determining environmental justice implications of park access in NYC.  Cities and the Environment, 3(1): article 8 (17 pages).
  
  
• Maroko, A.R., Maantay, J.A., Sohler, N.L., Grady, K., Arno, P., 2009. The complexities of measuring access to parks and physical activity sites in New York City: a quantitative and qualitative approach.  International Journal of Health Geographics, 8(34):1-23.

• Strode, G., Mesev, V., and Maantay, J.A. 2018. Improving Dasymetric Population Estimates for Land Parcels: Data Pre-processing Steps. Southeastern Geographer, University of North Carolina Press, 58(3): 300–316.
  
  
• Maantay, J.A. and Maroko, A.R., 2017. Assessing population at risk: Areal interpolation and dasymetric mapping, in: Walker, G., Holifield, R., eds., Handbook of Environmental Justice, Routledge, UK. Pp. 190-206).
  
  
• Maantay, J. A., Maroko, A.R., 2009.  Asthma and air pollution in the Bronx: Using the Cadastral-based Expert Dasymetric System (CEDS) to improve population mapping and understanding the spatiality of disease in urban areas.  Journal of Urban Health (Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine), 86(3): 353-354.
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., Maroko, A.R., Porter-Morgan, H., 2008.  A New Method for Population Mapping and Understanding the Spatial Dynamics of Disease in Urban Areas. Urban Geography, 29(7):724-738.
  
  
• Maantay, J.A., Maroko, A.R., and Herrmann, C., 2007.  Mapping Population Distribution in the Urban Environment: The Cadastral-based Expert Dasymetric System (CEDS). Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 34(2):77-102.  Special issue: Cartography 2007: Reflections, Status, and Prediction.

• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• US Environmental Protection Agency
• US Department of Agriculture
• National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities
• South Bronx Environmental Justice Partnership
• NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation
• Bronx CREED- Center to Reduce and Eliminate Ethnic and Racial Health Disparities
• Lehman College EEGS Department
• The Graduate Center, EES Doctoral Program