Staff Profile

I am a Lecturer in Quantitative Human Geography in the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS) and the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology. For the past year and a half (September 2021-December 2022), I was a postdoctoral researcher in CURDS. 

I completed my Ph.D.  in Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in August 2021 with a specialization in social vulnerability to natural hazards, geodemographics, and geospatial data analysis. My research leans toward socio-spatial inequalities to environmental hazards and health risks in urban areas, adopting various spatial demographic datasets and quantitative methodologies. 

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Guidance and Consultation Hours: Mondays 1:00 – 2:00 PM & Thursdays 1:00 – 2:00 PM

To schedule a meeting, please send me an email or schedule an appointment here.

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I am co-teaching the following modules: 

• GEO1018 Geographical Analysis
• GEO2043 Key Methods for Human Geographers
• GEO3130 Mapping the City 
• GEO3098/3099 Dissertation 

Before joining Newcastle, I served as a lab Instructor during my Ph.D. program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the Department of Geography. I have developed the course materials and taught the following courses.  

• Geographic Information System
• ArcGIS Programming with Python
• Introduction to Data Science with R, Python, and ArcGIS
• Spatial Analysis 
• Quantitative Analysis in Geography 
• Introduction to Environmental Geography 

I am broadly interested in population vulnerability with particular emphasis on social vulnerability to natural hazards using geospatial data analytics. My ongoing and future research agenda is interdisciplinary in nature given that human-environment interactions are largely rooted in an integrative framework of place-based vulnerability, which considers the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of people and places that would situate them in more vulnerable situations. My research seeks to better understand the extent to which human society is susceptible to extreme natural disasters and health-related risks.

Currently, I am involved in several research projects:  

• Depopulation and Shrinking Cities in the United States”, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology (PI: Professor Rachel Franklin)
• Estimating Pandemic Effects on Publication in Regional Studies Journals”, funded by The Regional Studies Association (PI: Professor Rachel Franklin) 
• Synthetic Data Sandpit Research Grant “Sea level rise and coastal population impact in the Northeast England regions using synthetic population data (PI: Gainbi Park) 

Recent Awards

2022

• Articles

  • Park G, Franklin R. The changing demography of hurricane at‐risk areas in the United States (1970–2018). Population, Space and Place 2023, 29(6), e2685.
  • Schendl A, Park G, Xu Z. The spatial prevalence and associated factors of opioid overdose mortality in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin (2003-2018). Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology 2022, 43, 100535.
  • Park G, Xu Z. The constituent components and local indicator variables of social vulnerability index. Natural Hazards 2021, 110, 95-120.
  • Park G. A Comprehensive Analysis of Hurricane Damage across the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic Coasts using Geospatial Big Data. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 2021, 10(11), 781.
  • Park G, Xu Z. Spatial and temporal dynamics of social vulnerability in the United States from 1970 to 2010: A county trajectory analysis. International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research 2020, 11(1), 36-54.