Dr. Melissa Heil
Assistant Professor of Geography
Geography-Geology-Environment
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Research
Biography
Melissa Heil is an urban geographer who studies cities of the American Rustbelt. Her research has focused on urban planning, economic development, social services, and community development in cities like Detroit and Flint, Michigan. Dr. Heil’s most recent research examines urban water systems and barriers to water access in US cities.
Current Courses
142.003Human Geography
287.011Independent Study - Geography
336.001Urban Geography
436.001Urban Geography
PhD Geography
University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign
MA Geography
University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign
BA Organizational Studies
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor
Research Initiative Award
Illinois State University
2023
Winner, Graduate Student Paper Competition
Urban Geography Specialty Group American Association of Geographers
2020
Book Review
Heil, M. Review: "Nor Any Drop to Drink: Flint's Water Crisis" (2018 Film). Water Alternatives (2022)
Heil, Melissa. "Won’t you be my neighbor? Race, class, and residence in Los Angeles, by Camille Zubrinsky Charles." Book Review. Urban Geography. (2015)
Book, Chapter
Melissa Heil, Lou Turner, and David Wilson. “People of Color: Countering White Supremacy in Planning" Alternative Planning History and Theory. Routledge.
Heil, M. Community Development Corporations in the Right-Sizing City: Remaking the CDC Model of Urban Redevelopment.. The Affordable Housing Reader (2022)
Journal Article
Heil, M. Negotiating Infrastructural Citizenship Beyond the State: Philanthropy, Non-Profit Organizations, and The Flint Water Crisis. Urban Geography (2023)
Heil, M., Bollin, R., & Gallagher, L. The Geography of Water Disconnection Policy in Central Illinois. Illinois Geographer (2023)
Heil, M. Barriers to Accessing Emergency Water Infrastructure: Lessons from Flint, MI. Water Alternatives (2022)
Heil, Melissa (2021). Debtor Spaces: Austerity, Space, and Financialized Dispossession. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space
Wilson, David and Melissa Heil (2020). Decline Machines: Economic Development in the American Rustbelt and Flint, MI.
Presentations
Building Civic Connections for Students: Designing Courses for Civic and Political Engagement. 2023 University Teaching and Learning Symposium. Illinois State University. (2023)
Grants & Contracts
New Faculty Initiative Grant. College of Arts and Sciences, Illinois State University. Illinois State University. (2021)
Illinois Geographical Society Research Grant. Illinois Geographical Society. Private. (2020)
Graduate College Dissertation Completion Fellowship. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Other. (2019)
Charles S. Alexander Fellowship Graduate Fellowship for Women in Geography. Department of Geography and GIScience University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Other. (2018)