Robert J. Mason

Areas of Expertise:

Environmental policy, land-use planning and growth management, parks and protected areas, Japan

Education:

1986- Ph.D. in Geography, Rutgers University
1979- M.A. in Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Toronto
1977 - B.A. in Geography and Environmental Studies, State University of New York at Buffalo

Courses:

GUS 0842 Sustainable Environments
GUS 1051 Environment and Society
GUS 3051 Environmental Policy Issues
GUS 3052 Environmental Problems in Asia
ES 4198 Senior Research Seminar in Environmental Studies

ISSUES

Selected Publications

2007. Collaborative Land Use Management: The Quieter Revolution in Place-Based Planning . Lanham , MD : Rowman & Littlefield.

(link: www.RowmanLittlefield.com?ISBN/0742547000 )

2004. Solecki, W., R. Mason, and S. Martin. The Geography of Support for Open Space Initiatives: A Case Study of New Jersey's 1998 Ballot Measure. Social Science Quarterly 85(3): 624-639.

2004. Mason, R. The Pinelands. In Mark B. Lapping and Owen Furseth, eds., Big Places, Big Plans . Aldershot , Eng: Ashgate Pub, pp. 27-51.

2002. R. B. Taylor and R.J. Mason. Responses to Prison for Environmental Criminals: Impacts of Incident, Perpetrator, and Respondent Characteristics. Environment and Behavior 34(2): 194-215.

2001. R.J. Mason and S. Michaels. Sentimental Ecology, Science and Sustainable Ecosystem Management. In Ecology, Uncertainty and Policy: Managing Ecosystems for Sustainability . Eds. J.W. Handmer, T.W. Norton, and S.R. Dovers. Harlow, Essex, Eng: Prentice-Hall, pp. 66-82.

1999. Whither Japan's Environmental Movement? An Assessment of Problems and Prospects at the National Level. Pacific Affairs 72(2): 187-207.

1992. Contested Lands: Conflict and Compromise in New Jersey 's Pine Barrens . Philadelphia : Temple University Press.

(link: www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/559_reg.html )

1990. Atlas of United States Environmental Issues . With Mark Mattson (cartographer). New York : Macmillan. Received American Library Association Dartmouth Medal for Outstanding Reference Work.

(link: www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0028972619/qid=931453588/sr=1-14/002-6318484-9984463 )

Research and Teaching:

Dr. Mason's research and teaching interests center on environmental policymaking and land-use management. He is the author of three books: Collaborative Land Use Management: The Quieter Revolution in Place-Based Planning ; Contested Lands: Conflict and Compromise in New Jersey' Pine Barrens , and (with cartographer Mark Mattson) the Atlas of United States Environmental Issues . He also has written articles and book chapters about greenline parks (parks with a mix of public and privately-owned lands), land trusts, management issues in New York State's Adirondack Park and New Jersey's Pine Barrens, and environmentalism in Japan.

Professor Mason teaches courses in basic human-environment interactions, environmental policy issues in the United States , and environmental problems in Asia . He taught for several years at Temple University Japan ; during 2004-05, he was Bryant Drake Guest Professor at Kobe College in Nishinomiya , Japan . Dr. Mason's research interests in Japan include the role of non-governmental organizations in shaping environmental policies, as well as management issues in the Shirakami Sanchi World Heritage Area in the Tohoku region of northern Japan .

Dr. Mason currently is interested in emerging trends in land-use management in the United States , including the “smart growth” movement. He has examined the spatial aspects of New Jersey 's open-space funding programs and local impacts of Pennsylvania 's “Growing Greener” legislation. More generally, he is interested in broad-scale urban and regional approaches to furthering environmental sustainability, and in evaluating the environmental effectiveness and equity implications of collaborative approaches to land-use management.