PEOPLE
Director
Mahbubur R. Meenar, Ph.D., GISP
Dr. Meenar is an associate professor in the Department of Geography, Planning, and Sustainability in the School of Earth and Environment at Rowan University. He is also the director of Community Planning + Visualization Lab, which uses a Biophilic Urbanism lens to explore the connection between people and their social, natural, and built environments and the influence this connection has on the planning process for developing sustainable, healthy, equitable, just, and "smart" communities. Having a diverse academic background in architecture (Dhaka), urban planning (Buffalo), and geography/urban studies (Philadelphia), Dr. Meenar concentrates on four research tracks: Community food [systems + environment + security], [Green + blue + grey] infrastructure, Sustainable [development + design + policy], and Digital [tools + technologies + societies]. He has served as the principal investigator on many research grants funded by federal, state, and local agencies and has published 30+ articles in leading journals. He teaches environmental planning, community engagement, planning studio, and Geovisualization in graduate and undergraduate planning programs. Dr. Meenar was the recipient of the ACSP Rising Scholar award in 2020.
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Research interests: built environment, green infrastructure, food environment, environmental health, urban regeneration & sustainable development, participatory planning, digital civic engagement, smart cities, geospatial planning, social equity
Affiliated Faculty @ Rowan University
Thivanka Ariyarathna, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor, Environmental Science | Research Interests: environmental pollutants, contaminant monitoring, biodegradation
Megan Bucknum | Senior Lecturer, Geography, Planning, & Sustainability | Research Interests: food systems planning, collaborative planning, oral history
Mireille Bright, Ph.D., MPH, RDN | Lecturer, Nutrition | Research Interests: community nutrition, nutrition & minority health, health promotion
Zachary Christman, Ph.D. | Associate Professor, Geography, Planning, & Sustainability | Research Interests: GIS, remote sensing, environmental change, population health
Jordan Howell, Ph.D., MBA | Associate Professor, Sustainable Business | Research Interests: waste management, environmental policy & governance, sustainable business
Ted Howell, Ph.D. | Lecturer, Writing Arts | Research Interests: environmental humanities, climate change fiction, community writing, the Anthropocene
Kul Kapri, Ph.D. | Associate Professor, Political Science & Economics | Research Interests: international economics, development economics, applied microeconomics, and econometrics
Kevin Keenan, Ph.D. | Associate Professor and Chair, Geography, Planning, & Sustainability | Research Interests: urban policy, hazards, vulnerability, resilience, urban violence
Jennifer Kitson, Ph.D. | Associate Professor, Art | Research Interests: public art, senses and the city, sustainable urbanism, historic preservation
Dara LoBuono, Ph.D., RD | Assistant Professor, Health & Exercise Science | Research Interests: nutrition assessment, nutrition for older adults, nutrition for adults with disability, digital health
Leslie Spencer, Ph.D. | Professor, Health Promotion & Wellness | Research Interests: motivational Interviewing and health behavior change, student success coaching, fitness for people with IDD
Melanie Stewart | Associate Dean, College of Performing Arts; Professor, Theatre & Dance | Research Interests: creative placemaking, creation and performance of movement driven theatre
Ashley York, Ph.D. | Lecturer, Geography, Planning, & Sustainability | Research Interests: GIS, remote sensing, spatial analysis and statistics, climate change, the cryosphere
Present non-Rowan Collaborators
Deepti Adlakha, Ph.D. (Landscape Architecture, Public Health - North Carolina State University, USA) | Ashraful Alam, Ph.D. (Geography, Planning - University of Otago, New Zealand) | Sarah Bauer, Ph.D. (Civil Engineering - Mercer University, USA) | David Salas-De La Cruz, Ph.D., Chemistry, Rutgers University, USA) | S. M. Labib, Ph.D. (Spatial Data Science, Utrecht University, Nederlands + University of Cambridge, UK) | Eli Moore, Ph.D. (Environmental Science - US Geological Survey) | Jirka Panek, Ph.D. (Community Development, GIS - Palacký University, Czech Republic) | Md Shahinoor Rahman, Ph.D. (Earth Science, GIS - New Jersey City University, USA)
Past Collaborators
Nader Afzalan, Ph.D. (University of Redlands) | Saleh Ahmed, Ph.D. (Boise State University) | Sanjana Ahmed (Delft University of Technology) | Ayman Ali, Ph.D. (Rowan University) | Leonard Bonarek (Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia) | Helen Cole, Ph.D. (Barcelona Laboratory for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability) | Bradley Flamm, Ph.D. (West Chester University of Pennsylvania) | Amir Hajrasouliha, Ph.D. (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo) | John Hasse, Ph.D. (Rowan University) | Sally Harrison (Temple University) | Megan Heckert, Ph.D. (West Chester University of Pennsylvania) | Lynn Mandarano, Ph.D. (Temple University) | Alfonso Morales, Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin – Madison) | Smitha Mysore (SJB School of Architecture and Planning, Bangalore, India) | John Sorrentino, Ph.D. (Temple University) | Robert Whyte (Robert Whyte Design)
Past & Present Consultants
Shaneka Boucher, Social Responsibility Through Me | Margaret DelPlato, Economic development planner, public administration specialist | Robert Gladfelter, Landscape designer | Jason Hachadorian, Urban planner | Kyle Hearing, Urban planner | Jenna Otto, Landscape designer | Cassie Shugart, Urban planner | August Tarrier, Editor | Shane Walsh, Physical geographer | Jonathan Wetstein, Urban planner | Cerulean, LLC | Econsult Solutions Inc.
Past & Present Organizational Partners & Collaborators
Acenda Integrated Health
Bullock Garden Project Inc.
Camden Community Partnerships
Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority
Camden Fire Works
Camden Urban Agriculture Collaborative
Creative Glassboro
Glassboro Borough
Heart of Camden
HopeWorks in Camden
Mosaic Family Success Center
New Kensington Community Development Corporation
Parkside Business and Community in Partnership
Social Responsibility Through Me
The National Consortium for Creative Placemaking
Current Lab Members
Hannah Genereux, Graduate Student, Urban & Regional Planning
Jonathan Hansel, Graduate Student, Urban & Regional Planning
Ben Woodward, Graduate Student, Urban & Regional Planning
Featured Alumni
Past Members / Alumni
Arianna Adan, Major - Journalism
Noah Berkowitz, Major - GIS, Minor - Community & Environmental Planning
Matthew Bettin, Major - Environmental Studies, Minor - Biology, GIS
Casey Bourke, Major - Community & Environmental Planning, Environmental & Sustainability Studies
Taryn Brickner, Major - GIS, Minor - Community & Environmental Planning
Christopher Campbell, Major - GIS, Minor - Community & Environmental Planning, History
Liz Cao, Major - Community & Environmental Planning
Alex Cervantes, Major - GIS, Minor - Community & Environmental Planning
Robert Chiaravalloti, Major - Community & Environmental Planning
Michelle Contarino, Graduate Student, Psychology
Carlos Cruz-Gallo, Major - Community & Environmental Planning, GIS
Santino D'Agostino, Major - Journalism
Gabrielle Davis, Major - Community & Environmental Planning, Environmental & Sustainability Studies
Marie DiLeonardo, Major - Spanish, Subject Matter Education K-12
Samantha Dimeglio, Major - Environmental Studies, Minor - Community & Environmental Planning, GIS
Lea Donaghy, Major - Psychology
Joseph Foti, Major - Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Management
Jonathan Hansel, Major - Community & Environmental Planning (Read Jon's exclusive interview here | Watch a video interview on YouTube)
Shantae Henry, Major - Public Health
​Oludayo Ibikunle, Major - Chemical Engineering
Robert Kearney, Major - Geography, Minor - Community & Environmental Planning, GIS
Jessica Lubitz, Major - Environmental & Sustainability Studies
Amy Mann, Major - English
Kenny Marte, Major - Community & Environmental Planning, Minor - GIS, Sustainable Built Environments, Spanish
Jack Meyers, Major - GIS, Minor - Community & Environmental Planning
Jenna Monaghan, Graduate student, Urban & Regional Planning
Donald Morrison, Major - GIS
Julia Moseley, Major - Community & Environmental Planning, GIS
Devon Moulton, Major - Community & Environmental Planning, Minors - Environmental Science, Environmental & Sustainability Studies, Geography
Devon Nealer, Graduate Student, Urban & Regional Planning
Brianna Pellegrino, Graduate student, Nutrition and Dietatics
Harman Ransi, Major - Computer Science
Giavanni Rizzo, Major - Community and Environmental Planning, Environmental & Sustainability Studies
Cassandra Rodriguez, Major - Community & Environmental Planning
Kira Rose, Major - Civil & Environmental Engineering
Samain Sabrin, Graduate Student, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Cassie Shugart, Major - Community & Environmental Planning, Geography
Herivin Simmasalam, Major - GIS, Minor - Geography
Sarah Sosa, Major - Biological Science, Minor - GIS, Environmental Science
Ben Stephens, Major - Geography, Minor - GIS
Jake Vitagliano, Major - Community & Environmental Planning
Christopher Tirri, Graduate Student, Urban & Regional Planning
Kristina Wallace, Major - GIS, Minor - Community & Environmental Planning
Dylan Williams, Major - Community & Environmental Planning, Minor - GIS, Sustainable Built Environments
Hunter Swanson, Major - Community & Environmental Planning, Minor - GIS
Meghan Wren, Major - Community & Environmental Planning
Hoi Yan Yu, Graduate student, Mathematics - Statistics
