New Books for Geographers

New Books: February 2013

Every month the AAG compiles a list of newly-published books in geography and related areas. Some are selected for review in the AAG Review of Books.

Publishers are welcome to send new volumes to the Editor-in-Chief (Kent Mathewson, Editor-in-Chief, AAG Review of Books, Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803).

Anyone interested in reviewing these or other titles should also contact the Editor-in-Chief.

February 2013

  • A Place We Call Home: Gender, Race, and Justice in Syracuse. Ducre, K. Animashaun. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press 2012. $24.95 Cloth (ISBN 978-08156-3306-8).
  • A Theory of Grocery Shopping: Food, Choice and Conflict. Kock, Shelley L. New York, NY: Berg 2012. $34.95 Paper (ISBN 978-0-8578-5151-2).
  • Ageing and Youth Cultures: Music, Style and Identity. Bennett, Andy and Paul Hodkinson. New York, NY: Berg 2012. $34.95 Paper (ISBN 978-1-8478-8835-8).
  • Brazilian Food: Race, Class and Identity in Regional Cuisines. Fajans, Jane. New York, NY: Berg 2012. $29.95 Cloth (ISBN 978-0-85785-042-3).
  • Captial Fictions: The Literature of Latin America’s Export Age. Beckman, Erika. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press 2013. $25.00 Paper (ISBN 978-0-8166-7920-1).
  • Car Country: An Environmental History. Wells, Christopher W. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press 2013. $40.00 Cloth (ISBN 978-0-295-99215-0).
  • Changing Lanes: Visions and Histories of Urban Freeways. DiMento, Joseph F.C. and Cliff Ellis. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press 2013. $34.00 Cloth (ISBN 978-0-262-01858-6).
  • Cities, Regions and Flows. Hall, Peter V., and Markus Hesses. New York, NY: Routledge 2013. $145.00 Cloth (ISBN 978-0-415-68219-0).
  • Climate Change and Social Ecology: A New Perspective on the Climate Challenge. Wheeler, Stephen M.. New York, NY: Routledge 2012. $39.95 Paper (ISBN 978-0-415-80987-0).
  • Climate Change in the Midwest: Impacts, Risks, Vulnerability, and Adaptation. Pryor, Sara C. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press 2013. $65 Cloth (ISBN 978-0-253-00682-0).

  • Development, Security, and Aid: Geopolitics and Geoeconomics at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Essex, Jamey. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press 2013. $24.95 Paper (ISBN 978-0-8203-4454-6).

  • Digital Anthropology. Horst, Heather A. and Dniel Miller, eds. New York, NY: Berg 2012. $29.95 Paper (ISBN 978-0-85785-290-8).

  • Essential World Atlas, Seventh Edition. Oxford. New York, NY: Oxford University Press 2012. $24.95 Paper (ISBN 978-0-19-97155-8).

  • GIS Tutorial 2: Spatial Analysis Workbook, 10.1 edition. Allen, David W. Redlands, CA: ESRI Press 2013. $79.95 Paper (ISBN 978-1-58948-337-8).

  • Gods of the Mississippi. Pasquier, Michael, ed. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press 2013. $27 Paper (ISBN 978-0-253-00806-0).

  • Life in Crisis: The Ethical Journey of Doctors Without Borders. Redfield, Peter. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press 2013. $29.95 Paper (ISBN 978-0-520-27485-3).

  • Liminal Landscapes: Travel, experience and spaces in-between. Andrews, Hazel and Les Roberts. New York, NY: Routledge 2012. $146.00 Cloth (ISBN 978-0-415-66884-2).
  • Making Borders: Engaging the threat of Chinese textiles in Ghana. Axelsson, Linn. Stockholm, Sweden: Stockholm University Library 2012. $114,48 SEK Paper (ISBN 978-91-86071-99-8).
  • Mallorca: The Making of a Landscape. Buswell, Richard. Edinburgh, UK: Dunedin Academic Press 2013. $55 Cloth (ISBN 978-1-78046-010-9).

  • Metropolitan Governance in the Federalist Americas: Strategies for Equitable and Integrated Development. Spink, Peter K., Peter M. Ward, and Robert H. Wilson. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press 2012. $38.00 Paper (ISBN 978-0-268-04141-0).

  • Museums: A Visual Anthropology. Bouquet, Mary. New York, NY: Berg 2012. $29.95 Paper (ISBN 978-1-8452-0812-7).

  • Ownership and Appropriation. Strang, Veronica and Mark Bussee. New York, NY: Berg 2011. $34.95 Paper (ISBN 978-1-8478-8685-9).

  • Python Scripting for ArcGIS. Zandbergen, Paul A. Redlands, CA: ESRI Press 2013. $79.95 Paper (ISBN 978-1-58948-282-1).

  • River of Dark Dreams: Slavery and Empire in the Cotton Kingdom. Johnson, Walter. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 2013. $35.00 Cloth (ISBN 978-0-674-04555-2).

  • Routledge Handbook of Cosmopolitanism Studies. Delanty, Gerald, ed. New York, NY: Routledge 2012. $225.00 Cloth (ISBN 978-0-415-60081-1).

  • Space, Place, and Sex: Geographies of Sexualities. Johnston, Lynda, and Robyn Longhurst. Lanham, MD: Altamira Press 2010. $29.95 Paper (ISBN 978-0-7425-5512-9).

  • The Anthropology of Alternative Medicine. Ross, Anamaria Iosif. New York, NY: Berg 2012. £55.00 Cloth (ISBN 978-1-84520-801-1).

  • The Interview: An Ethnographic Approach. Skinner, Jonathan, ed. New York, NY: Berg 2012. $99.95 Cloth (ISBN 978-1-84788-940-9).

  • The Right to Water: Politics, Governance, and Social Struggles. Sultana, Farhana and Alex Loftus. New York, NY: Routledge 2012. $53.95 Paper (ISBN 978-1-84971-359-7).

  • The Routledge Handbook of Tourism and the Environment. Holden, Andrew and David Fennell, eds. New York, NY: Routledge 2013. $225.00 Cloth (ISBN 978-0-415-58207-0).

  • The White Rose of Stalingrad: The Real-Life Adventure of Lidiya Vladimirovna Litvyak, the Highest Scoring Female Air Cace of All Time. Yenne, Bill. Long Island City, NY: Osprey Publishing 2013. $27.95 Cloth (ISBN 978-1-84908-810-7).

  • Time and Memory in Indigenous Amazonia: Anthropological Perspectives. Fausto, Carlos, and Michael Heckenberger, eds. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida 2013. $29.95 Paper (ISBN 978-0-8130-4479-8).

  • Unlearning the City: Infrastructure in a New Optical Field. Chattopadhyay, Swati. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press 2012. $30.00 Paper (ISBN 978-0-8166-7932-4).

  • Worldwide Destinations: The Geography of Travel and Tourism, 6th Edition. Boniface, Brian, Chris Cooper, and Robyn Cooper. New York, NY: Routledge 2012. $49.95 Paper (ISBN 978-0-08-097040-0).

  • Territory, the State and Urban Politics: A Critical Appreciation of the Selected Writings of Kevin R. Cox. Jonas, Andrew E.G. and Andrew Wood. Farnham, England: Ashgate 2012. $ Paper (ISBN 978-0-7546-7998-1).

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New Books for Geographers

New Books: January 2013

Every month the AAG compiles a list of newly-published books in geography and related areas. Some are selected for review in the AAG Review of Books.

Publishers are welcome to send new volumes to the Editor-in-Chief (Kent Mathewson, Editor-in-Chief, AAG Review of Books, Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803).

Anyone interested in reviewing these or other titles should also contact the Editor-in-Chief.

January 2013

  • Landscapes Beyond Land: Routes Aesthetics, Narratives. Árnason, Arnar, Nicolas Ellison, Jo Vergunst and Andrew Whitehouse, eds. New York, NY: Berghahn Books 2012. $65.00 Cloth (ISBN 9780857456717).
  • Migration and Development. Bakewell, Oliver, ed. Cheltenham,  England: Edward Elgar Publishing 2012. $490.00  (ISBN 978-1-84980-970-2).
  • Immigration Dialectic: Imagining Community, Economy, and Nation. Bauder, Harald. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press 2011. $35.00  (ISBN 978-1-442-61076-7).
  • Sugarlandia Revisited: Sugar and Colonialism in Asia and the Americas, 1800–1940. Bosma, Ulbe, Juan A. Giusti-Cordero, and G. Roger Knight, eds. New York, NY: Berghahn Books 2007. $29.95 Paper (ISBN 9781845457846).
  • Animism in Rainforest and Tundra: Personhood, Animals, Plants and Things in Contemporary Amazonia and Siberia. Brightman, Marc, Vanessa Elisa Grotti, and Olga Ulturgasheva, eds. New York, NY: Berghahn Books 2012. $90.00 Cloth (ISBN 9780857454683).
  • Roots of Brazil. Buarque de Holanda, Sergio. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press 2012. $28.00  (ISBN 978-0-268-02613-4).
  • Writing Food History: A Global Perspective. Claflin, Kyri W. and Scholliers, Peter, eds. New York, NY: Berg 2012. $39.95  (ISBN 978-1-84788-808-2).
  • A Secret History of Coffee, Coca & Cola. Cortes, Ricardo. New York, NY: Akashic Books 2012. $17.95  (ISBN 978-1-61775-134-9).
  • The Reindeer Botanist: Alf Erling Porsild, 1901–1977. Dathan, Wendy. Calgary, Canada: University of Calgary Press 2012. $51.95  (ISBN 978-1-55238-586-9).
  • The Locavore’s Dilema: In Praise of the 10,000-Mile Diet. Desrochers, Pierra and Shimizu, Hiroko. New York, NY: Public Affairs 2012. $26.99  (ISBN 978-1-28648-940-3).
  • The Population of the UK. Dorling, Daniel and Henning, Benjamin. London, England: Sage 2013. $45.00  (ISBN 978-1-4462-5297-0).
  • Signifying Europe. Fornäs, Johan. Bristol, England: Intellect Books 2013. $40.00 Paper (ISBN 9781841505213).
  • The Humn Shore: Seacoasts in History. Gillis, John R. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press 2012. $27.50  (ISBN 9780-226-92223-2).
  • Civilizing Nature: National Parks in Global Historic Perspective. Gissibl, Bernhard, Sabine Höhler, and Patrick Kupper eds. New York, NY: Berghahn Books 2012. $95.00 Cloth (ISBN 9780857455253).
  • Dictionary of American Regional English: Contrastive Maps, Index to Entry Labels, Questionnaire, and Fieldwork Data. Hall, Joan Houston and von Schneidemesser, Luanne, eds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 2013. $85.00  (ISBN 9780-67406-653-3).
  • Building a Market: The Rise of the Home Improvement Industry, 1914–1960. Harris, Richard. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press 2012. $45.00  (ISBN 978-0-226-31766-3).
  • Medieval Maps of the Holy Land. Harvey, P.D.A. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press 2013. $75.00  (ISBN 978-0-7123-5824-8).
  • The Scramble for the Amazon and the Lost Paradise of Eclides da Cunha. Hecht, Susanna B. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press 2013. $45.00  (ISBN 978-0-226-32281-0).
  • The Routledge Companion to Landscape Studies. Howard, Peter, Ian Thompson, and Emma Waterton. New York, NY: Routledge 2013. $205.00  (ISBN 978-0-415-68460-6).
  • Ecologies and Politics of Health. King, Brian and Kelley A. Crews, eds. New York, NY: Routledge 2013. $160.00  (ISBN 978-0-415-59066-2).
  • Landscape Archaeology between Art and Science: From a Multi- to an Interdisciplinary Approach. Kluiving, Sjoerd and Erika Guttmann-Bond. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Amsterdam University Press 2013. $69.95  (ISBN 978-90-8964-418-3).
  • The Taste Culture Reader: Experiencing Food and Drink. Korsmeyer, Carolyn. New York, NY: Berg 2005. $35.95  (ISBN  978-1-84520-061-9).
  • The Paraguay Reader: History, Culture, Politics. Lambert, Peter and Andrew Nickson, eds. Durham, NC: Duke University Press 2013. $27.95  (ISBN 978-0-8223-5249-5).
  • Environment and Citizenship in Latin America: Natures, Subjects and Struggles. Latta, Alex, and Hannah Wittman, eds. New York, NY: Berghahn Books 2012. $70.00 Cloth (ISBN 9780857457479).
  • Slipping Away: Banana Politics and Fair Trade in the Eastern Caribbean. Moberg, Mark. New York, NY: Berghahn Books 2008. $32.95 Paper (ISBN 9781845451974).
  • Between Ruin and Restoration: An Environmental History of Israel. Orenstein, Daniel  E., Alon Tal, and Char Miller, eds. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press 2013. $27.95 Paper (ISBN 978-0-8229-6222-9).
  • Eat Drink Delta: A Hungry Traveler’s Journey Through the Soul of the South. Puckett, Susan. London, England: Yale University Press 2013. $24.95  (ISBN 978-0-8203-4425-6).
  • Arcadian America: The Death and Life of an Environmental Tradition. Sachs, Aaron. London, England: Yale University Press 2013. $35.00  (ISBN 978-0-300-17640-7).
  • The Disappearing South: Studies in Regional Change and Continuity. Steed, Robert P., Laurence W. Moreland, and Tod A. Baker, eds. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press 2012. $29.95 Paper (ISBN 9780817357450).
  • Africa South of the Sahara: a Geographical Interpretation, 3rd Edition. Stock, Robert. New York, NY: Guilford Press 2012. $75.00  (ISBN 978-1-60623-992-6).
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John B. Rehder

John B. Rehder of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) has died at the age of 68. He was a cherished teacher and colleague in the UTK geography department and a well-known figure on the UTK campus, where he had taught since 1967. Rehder earned both a master’s degree (1965) and a Ph.D. from Louisiana State University (1971) and a bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University (1964).

A historical and cultural geographer, Rehder’s research focused on material folk culture as reflected in traditional architecture in the American South. A distinguished author, two of his books received prestigious awards. Delta Sugar: Louisiana’s Vanishing Plantation Landscape (1999) received the Vernacular Architecture Forum’s Abbott Lowell Cummings Award in 2000. Rehder was later presented with the Pioneer America Society’s Fred B. Kniffen Book Award for Appalachian Folkways (2004), a detailed account of southern Appalachia and its cultural milieu. Both books were published by Johns Hopkins University Press. Tennessee Log Buildings: A Folk Tradition is due to be published by the University of Tennessee Press in November of 2012.

John B. Rehder (Necrology). 2012. AAG Newsletter 47(7): 30.

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Josh Winheld

Josh Winheld died at the age of 32. Winheld was a master’s student in the Department of Geography and Urban Studies at Temple University. He was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy at a very early age and was in a wheelchair since the age of 10. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism before pursuing a master’s degree in urban studies. In 2009, Winheld published an autobiography, “Worth the Ride: My Journey with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy,” chronicling his experiences living with DMD, and with disability in general.

Josh Winheld (Necrology). 2009. AAG Newsletter 45(6): 18.

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Robert W. Durrenberger

Bob Durrenberger, Professor Emeritus of Geography at Arizona State University, and a noted climatologist, passed away on October 20, 2012, at the age of 94.

Robert Warren Durrenberger was born in Perham, Minnesota, on October 2, 1918, the second of John and Angela Durrenberger’s five children. Both his parents came from German immigrant families. His paternal great-grandfather, the first Durrenberger in the States, migrated from Württemberg in southern Germany in 1854 and settled as a farmer in the Minnesota River Valley. Likewise, both his maternal grandparents emigrated from Germany and settled in Minnesota.

Durrenberger began his higher education at Moorhead State Teachers College (now Minnesota State University Moorhead) in 1936, graduating four years later with a bachelor’s degree in education.

In October 1940 he enrolled in the United States Army but immediately attended California Institute of Technology for a year, earning a B.S. in meteorology in 1941. He then served in the Air Corps in the southwest Pacific as a meteorologist.

After the Second World War, he was honorably discharged as a Major. He then married Bernadine Ann Stiegel from Minnesota in July 1946 and embarked upon his graduate education. First he attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison and studied for a master’s degree in geography, his advisor being the cartographer Arthur Robinson.

Having graduated in 1949, Durrenberger and his wife moved to California where they adopted two babies – Daniel in 1952 and Mary Ann in 1954 – and he pursued a doctorate in geography at the University of California, Los Angeles. He worked under the supervision of Clifford Zierer, an expert in changing land use and urban expansion. His thesis, completed in 1955, was entitled “Climate as a Factor in the Production of Lemons in California.”

Durrenberger worked briefly at the University of Kentucky before being appointed to San Fernando Valley State College (now California State University, Northridge) in 1956 where he was a founding faculty member of the geography department. During his time there he served as department chair and dean of graduate studies.

During his time in California Durrenberger consolidated his focus on arid land research, environmental problems, agricultural geography and the southwest United States. Among his publications specifically about the state were the atlas Patterns on the land: geographical, historical, and political maps of California (1957 with many later editions), the books California and the Western States (1963), Elements of California Geography (1968), and California, the Last Frontier (1969), and the edited volume California: its people, its problems, its prospects (1971).

Other important publications during this period were Environment and man; a bibliography (1970) which covered topics such as ecology, natural resources, pollution, climate and conservation, and Geographical research and writing (1971), an aide for students.

In 1971, Durrenberger moved to Arizona State University (ASU) as a full-time professor of geography and continued with his research into the environmental challenges presented by rapid population and economic growth of the American southwest. Among his publications during this period was the Dictionary of the environmental sciences (1973) which explained 4,000 terms and concepts concerned with the environment drawn from many academic disciplines.

In the early 1970s, the federal government decided to turn over responsibility for maintaining state climate records and assisting with state-focused climate questions from NOAA to the individual states. Durrenberger saw the opportunity to situate the Arizona State Climate Office at ASU. The state named him as Arizona’s first state climatologist in 1973. He was also the President of the American Association of State Climatologists in 1978-1979.

In the role of state climatologist, Durrenberger authored numerous publications specifically relevant to Arizona, including studies of precipitation, historical storms and floods, drought, and climate and energy in various regions of the state. He also served as editor-at-large for the National Weather Digest, the journal of the National Weather Association.

Concurrently, Durrenberger developed the climatology program at ASU into an internationally-recognized center for teaching and research. At the same time the Arizona Board of Regents also established of the Laboratory of Climatology, an independent unit at ASU with a mission to serve the public, state agencies and businesses of Arizona by maintaining historical climate data for Arizona and conducting research in climate-related issues.

Minnesota State University Moorhead, where Durrenberger earned his undergraduate degree, presented him with its 1977 Distinguished Alumni Award, citing his contributions in education, climatology, and service to state and federal governments.

He stepped down from his post as state climatologist in 1979 and focused on solar energy development, directing a project to assess Arizona’s solar energy resources and authoring a report on a solar radiation monitoring system for Arizona. He also served on the executive board of the Solar Radiation Division of the American Section of the International Solar Energy Society.

Durrenberger retired in 1982 and settled in Sun City, Arizona, where he enjoyed golfing, playing bridge, and spending time with friends and family.

Bob was preceded in death by his son, Dan, but survived by his beloved wife of 66 years, Bernadine, his daughter, Mary Ann, as well as three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

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Robert G. Raskin

Robert G. Raskin died on March 2, 2012 at the age of 55.

Raskin was Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California from 1997 to 2006, and since 2006 had served as Supervisor of the Science Data Engineering and Archiving Group, Instrument Software and Science Data Systems, at JPL.

Raskin received a PhD in atmospheric science from the University of Michigan in 1992. He was the co-founder and first chair (2008-2009) and board director (2009-2011) of the AAG’s Cyberinfrastructure Specialty Group (CISG). Raskin made significant contributions to broadening the connections between cyberinfrastructure (CI) and geography over the past 20 years. He was an expert in geoinformatics, which combines theoretical knowledge of Geographical Science with the technical innovation of Computer Science, and in the field of data interoperability in the Earth and environmental sciences. He was lead developer of the POET (https://poet.jpl.nasa.gov/) user interface for online data access from the Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PO.DAAC), a tool used for many years by PO.DAAC and various ESIP/MEASURES efforts. Raskin had also served as Vice President, Chair of the Products and Services Committee, Chair of the Information Technology and Interoperability Committee, Chair of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee, Chair of the GIS Cluster, and Organizer of the Interagency Forum on Data Preservation and Stewardship for the Earth Science Information Partner (ESIP) Federation.

Raskin was well known through the development of Semantic Web Terminologies for Earth and Environmental Science (SWEET), and his paper on knowledge representation in SWEET was acknowledged as the one of the top 10 most cited articles published between 2005 and 2010 by Computers & Geosciences (see https://sweet.jpl.nasa.gov/ontology/). Raskin organized and chaired over 20 sessions at AAG Annual Meetings covering a wide range of advanced CI topics, including geospatial semantics, virtual organization, spatial decision support systems and high performance computing. He co-edited special issues in two prestigious GIScience journals – International Journal of Geographic Information Science, and Computer, Environment and Urban Systems – capturing the state of research progress taking place in cyberinfrastructure and fostering significant discussion on future research.

In addition to his exceptional research achievements and tireless service, Raskin demonstrated a keen desire to inspire and guide young researchers to successful careers.

Robert G. Raskin (Necrology). 2012. AAG Newsletter 47(6): 28.

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Publications

Practicing Geography

Practicing Geography Cover

This book examines career opportunities for geographers and geospatial professionals in the business, government, nonprofit, and education sectors. A diverse group of academic and industry professionals shares insights on career planning, networking, transitioning between employment sectors, and balancing work and home life. The book illustrates the value of geographic expertise and technologies through engaging profiles and case studies of geographers at work.

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Allen Hellman

Allen David Hellman was born in Dollar Bay, Michigan on November 29, 1921 and after leading a very full life passed away in his sleep on December 29, 2011. A veteran of WWII, he served with the first group of rescue pilots in the Pacific theatre, and was promoted to Commander of Naval Reserves while teaching geography at the University of Southwest Louisiana in Lafayette. His formal education culminated with Ph.D. in Geography through the University of Michigan while married to the late June Iris Dement.

Moving to San Marcos to become the chairman of the Geography Department at Texas State University, then Southwest Texas State University, were wonderful years, as Dr. Hellman’s leadership and support through administration began to orchestrate the framework for where the department is today.

Allen’s other interests during his professional career extended to involvement with NASA’s moon mission projects, aerial and infrared photogrammetry, remote sensing, and aerial cartography in addition to petroleum exploration. During this time he met and married Majorie Wheatly, who proceeded him in death.

His best friend and the love of his life was the late Gloria Motovick who watched Allen swim competitively on the international level into his 70’s and enjoyed many travels together.

He is survived by his family: Donald and Debbie Hellman of California, John and Susan Hellman Franzetti and grandchildren Canyon, Dakota, Gianna Gortva and husband Ricky, and John and Renae Hellman and grandchildren Sarah and Zach of Manor, Texas.

The family expresses a heartfelt “thank you” to Texas State University, the First Presbyterian Church family and their “Sunshine Girls”, and to those showing such kindness during his later years.

Published by Legacy.com, and originally published by Austin American-Statesman on Jan. 8, 2012.

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Establishing an NIH-Wide Geospatial Infrastructure for Medical Research

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Dennis Ehrhardt

Dennis Ehrhardt, who spent 38 years teaching geography and urban planning at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, passed away on July 24, 2011, at the age of 69, after a long and courageous battle with cancer.

Dennis Karl Ehrhardt was born on December 16, 1942 in Waterloo, Iowa. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Iowa, as well as his doctorate. His PhD thesis, completed in 1972, was entitled “An ecological analysis of the zoning variance requests and approvals: a case study of Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1959-68.”

Although he was destined for an academic career, Ehrhardt’s first publications were about improving geography teaching at lower levels and co-authored with his wife, Shirley, who was an elementary school teacher. Together they wrote “Teaching World Geography Concepts: A Kindergarten Approach” (The Missouri Geographer, Fall 1972) and “Let’s Learn Our States: A Gaming Strategy” (Journal of Geography, April 1973).

Ehrhardt’s first teaching positions were at the University of Wisconsin-Oskosh and then Saint Louis University before moving to the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette) where he stayed for almost four decades. He began as an Associate Professor and the Coordinator of City and Regional Planning, working his way up to head of the Department of Geography when the department was created. He remained the Coordinator of Geography when the department merged with the History Department.

Over the years Ehrhardt taught numerous undergraduate and graduate geography classes related to planning including city and regional planning, environmental and recreation planning, preservation planning, and housing and community development. But his expertise stretched across the breadth of human geography; at various points in his career he taught general courses on political geography, economic geography, urban geography, and social geography, as well as regional geography courses – the geography of the United States and Canada, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and the Soviet Union. Ehrhardt contributed to the intellectual development of generations of students. He truly loved teaching and mentoring the students, with many keeping in touch with him even during his final days.

In addition to his university responsibilities, Ehrhardt worked as a private consultant, including as the Planning Consultant for Iberia Parish Government, providingexpertise and consulting services for a variety of projects, such as preparing the Iberia Parish Infrastructure Master Plan, revising the subdivision regulations, and implementing a comprehensive zoning plan.

He was also an expert witness on numerous court cases concerning matters of urban planning in Louisiana and Mississippi. One of the court cases for which he testified, James Hernandez v. City Council of Lafayette 3-15, was eventually heard by the Supreme Court.

Ehrhardt was involved in several professional organizations, serving on boards and committees and presenting papers at annual conferences. He was a member of the Association of American Geographers, particularly involved in the Southwest Division, serving one year as Chair in 1981. He was also a member of the American Institute of Planners and the Southwestern Social Science Association.

Ehrhardt loved sports. He was a life-long fan of the University of Iowa’s football and basketball teams, and at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette he was actively involved in athletics.

In his spare time, he loved to fish with friends, travel around the world, and visit his family. He is survived by his two daughters and four grandchildren.

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