336.334.3895
s_sultan@uncg.edu
Specializations:
Urban and Transportation, Urban/Transport GIS, Race/Ethnicity, S. Asia
Ph.D., University of Georgia
CV
A native of Bangladesh, Dr. Selima Sultana (PhD, 2000, Geography, University of Georgia) is a Professor and Associate Head in the Department of Geography, Environment, & Sustainability (GES) at UNC Greensboro. Her research interests in various domains, including urban and transportation studies, and national parks. She employs diverse methodologies such as quantitative, qualitative, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to explore topics across various spatial scales. Her research often delves into the interactions between neighborhood-built environments, social factors like class, race/ethnicity, gender, and daily mobility. While her past research has utilized the most sophisticated spatially explicit urban transportation and demographic data, in recent years, the potential of big data analytics in human movements and behaviors are also explored. This approach allows her to investigate a topic at various scales to capture the range of spatial dimensions relevant to neighborhood-built environments, class, race, and daily mobility. She also has extensive expertise in archival study, conducting web-based surveys, focus groups and interviews to further understand Black perspectives of nature and National Parks and their interest and motivation to visit them. Dr. Sultana’s work has contributed on two critical areas: first, how urban growth and structure affect commuting times and transportation decisions; and second, how transportation impacts accessibility and spatial equity among different race/ethnic groups. She has investigated the degree to which commuting volumes are the result of inefficiencies in matching jobs to housing, the spatial structure of a city, the contemporary processes of urban-economic restructuring and resulting social changes, the role of dual-earner households, and residential location decisions. Secondly, her work examines how transportation systems affect accessibility and spatial fairness among different racial and ethnic groups, including accessibility and the low visitation rates of African Americans at National Parks. The outcomes of my research significantly contribute to shaping inclusive and sustainable urban and transportation policies aimed at fostering equity and justice.
Dr. Sultana published numerous journal articles, book chapters, research reports, reviews, and blog posts that appeared in a wide variety of outlets including some of the highly respected journals in her field of specialization that including Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, Geographical Review, Journal of Transport Geography, The Professional Geographer, Transport Policy, Transport Reviews, Urban Studies, Urban Geography, Tourism Geographies, Southeastern Geographer, and in London School of Economics and Political Science’s (LSE) blog website. Her co-authored book entitled ‘The Parks Belong to the People: The Geography of National Park System’ will be published in early 2024 by the University of Georgia Press. Dr. Sultana also has extensive experience in serving as editors in multiple outlets, including the Southeastern Geographer from 2019–2023, and served as a guest editor for a couple of special issues in journals such as the Journal of Transport Geography and Sustainability. She also published an edited book, in which approximately 25 authors were involved. Lastly, she has a record of long-term commitment to mentoring graduate students, early career scholars, and colleagues from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds (specially women and BIPOC students and colleagues) and published numerous coauthored publications with them. She also has held significant leadership positions for professional organizations and her university. Currently she is serving as President of the Southeastern Division of American Association of Geographers, and served as an AAG councilor representing SEDAAG, a board member of AAG Protected Areas Specialty Group and Race and Place Conference Group. She is a co-founder of creating an American Association of Geographers Protected Area Specialty Group. She received the 2021 Edward L. Ullman Award from the American Association of Geographers Transportation Geography Specialty Group (AAG TGSG) for her significant contribution to the field of transport geography. She is also a recipient of the 2019 Southeastern Division of Association of American Geographers (SEDAAG) Research Honors Award for her outstanding research and leadership in the field of geography, and the 2024 AAG Fellows Award for her significant service to the discipline.
In sum, her research interests are in the following areas:
Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability
UNC Greensboro
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