Dr. Alec Foster
Associate Professor
Geography-Geology-Environment
Office
FHS Felmley Hall Of Science
Office Hours
T 10:00-12:00AM, W 12:00-1:00 PM/or by appointment
Office Phone
Email
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Research
Biography
I am a broadly trained human-environment geographer. My work seeks to understand processes of urban environmental change, especially in postindustrial cities in the United States.
Current Courses
205.001Environment, Resources, and Sustainability
142.001Human Geography
287.009Independent Study - Geography
287.009Independent Study - Geography
138.001Maps and Geographic Reasoning
322.001Sustainable Cities
422.001Sustainable Cities
Ph D Geography and Urban Studies
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
MA Geography
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL
BA Environmental Studies
New College of Florida
Sarasota, FL
Outstanding College Service Award
Illinois State University, College of Arts and Sciences
2024
Research Initiative Award
Illinois State University
2022
Book Review
Foster, A. Igoe, J. 2017. The nature of spectacle: on images, money, and conserving capitalism. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-3044-1; US$29.95. Journal of Political Ecology 26.1 (2019): 2.
Conference Proceeding
Lindquist, M., Campbell-Arvai, V., Foster, A., Sylte, S., & Deatom, F. 3D‐DSS: A NOVEL DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR COMMUNITY DIRECTED GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN. United States Forest Service General Technical Report NRS-P-183 (2018): 286.
Journal Article
Dunham, I., & Foster, A. FRINGE FINANCIAL ECOLOGIES AND PLACE-BASED EXCLUSION: A Tale of Two Cities. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH 47.6 (2023): 18.
Foster, A., Wissman, N., Bray, L. A., DeBoer, J., Ergene, S., Stewart, O. J., & Dunham, I. M. (2023). Rising to the Challenge: Embedding Environmental Justice in Management and Organization Studies. Organization and Environment. https://doi.org/10.1177/10860266231201992
Foster, A., Dunham, I., & Bukowska, A. An environmental justice analysis of urban tree canopy distribution and change. Journal of Urban Affairs (2022): 16.
Foster, A., Olson, A., Dunham, I., & Kunches, D. Documenting Land Use Practices in South Kensington, Philadelphia. Illinois Geographer 62.1 (2021): 49-69.
Foster, A. Volunteer Urban Environmental Stewardship, Emotional Economies of Care, and Productive Power in Philadelphia. Sustainability 2021, 13, 7867. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147867
Presentations
Harmonizing Habitats: Investigating the Socioecological Impacts of Floating Gardens in the Chicago River. American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting. American Association of Geographers. (2025)
Developing a Research Agenda for Climate Justice in Management and Organization Studies. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management,. (2023)
Planting Justice? The Environmental Justice Impacts of Urban Tree Planting Campaigns. American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting. American Association of Geographers. (2023)
An environmental justice analysis of urban tree canopy distribution and change. Annual Meeting of the Illinois Geographical Society. (2022)
An environmental justice analysis of urban tree canopy distribution and change in Philadelphia. Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences Annual Conference. (2022)
The Impact of Revitalization on Access to Nature: Analyzing Greenspace Change in South Kensington, Philadelphia. University Research Symposium. Illinois State University. (2022)
There Goes the Neighborhood? Understanding Rapid Socioecological Change in Philadelphia. American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting. American Association of Geographers. (2022)
Mapping Detroit’s Lines of Desire: Green Infrastructure, Vacant Land, & Mobility in the Motor City. Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers. (2021)
Planting Justice? Procedural Urban Forest Environmental Justice in Philadelphia. Applied Geography Conference. (2021)
Planting Justice? Sustainability, Urban Forests, and Environmental Justice in Philadelphia. Illinois Geographical Society 81st Annual Meeting. Illinois Geographical Society. (2021)
Grants & Contracts
Use of Satellite Remote Sensor Data to Evaluate Residential Inequality. Advancing Research and Creative Scholarship (ARCS). Illinois State University. (2023)
2018-2019 IGS Research Grant Award. Illinois Geographical Society. State. (2019)
Urban Environmental Change in Detroit and Philadelphia. University Research Grant Program, College of Arts and Sciences, Illinois State University. Illinois State University. (2019)