Center for Sustainable Tourism

Serving the Region, State, and Nation

Affiliate Faculty

Affiliate Faculty share an interest and enthusiasm for the Center's mission, conduct tourism research activities in conjunction with the Center, serve as thesis advisors and members, and mentor students working on sustainable tourism related research.

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Housing and Migration Tom Crawford Assistant Professor Department of Geography Director Center for Geographic Information Science Brewster A-234 East Carolina University Greenville, NC 27858 Voice: 252-328-6082 FAX: 252-328-6054 crawfordt@ecu.edu

Community Outreach Interests

I am interesting in communicating geographic information in the form of digital maps and related technologies. Thematic topics include cultural and environmental amenities, coastal development, weather and climate, and hazard risks.

Research Interests

My research investigates human–environment interactions from spatial analytical perspectives that involve linking populations to environments using geospatial data and methods. Recently, I've been working on the impacts of migration and development pressure on land use and cover in coastal regions of the southeastern US. This project was funded by NC Sea Grant and is titled "Linking Demographic Patterns to Landscape Indicators of Coastal Development: A Spatial Characterization of Changing Land Use/Cover Metrics Associated with Tourism and In-Migration." I also participate as a research associate with the Renaissance Computing Institute at East Carolina University (RENCI at ECU) in projects that investigate human perceptions and behaviors in response to coastal hazards such as shoreline erosion and tropical storms.

Notable Publications

• Crawford, T. W., & Mageean, D. (In press). A coupled natural and human systems approach towards biodiversity: Reflections from social scientists. In R. P. Cincotta& L. J. Gorenflo (Eds.), The demography and geography of homo sapiens and their influences on biological diversity. Springer-Verlag.
• Luchette, J. L., & Crawford, T. W. (2008). A public participation GIS application for citizen based watershed monitoring in the Pamlico-Tar River Basin, North Carolina. Southeastern Geographer, 48(2), 184–200.
• Wilson, R., & Crawford, T. W. (2008). Tracking collaboration: Forest planning and local participation on the San Juan National Forest, Colorado. Local Environment, 13(7), 609–625.
• Bin, O., Crawford, T. W., Kruse, J., & Landry, C. (2008). Viewscapes and flood hazard: Coastal housing market response to amenities and risk. Land Economics, 84, 434–448.
• Crawford, T. W. (2007). North Carolina's final coastal frontier: Land cover change in the Inner Banks, 1996–2001. The North Carolina Geographer, 15, 37–52.
• Crawford, T. W. (2007). Where does the coast sprawl the most? Trajectories of residential development and sprawl in coastal North Carolina, 1971–2000. Landscape and Urban Planning, 83(4), 294–307.
• Curtis, S., Crawford, T. W., & Lecce, S. A. (2007). A comparison of TRMM to other basin-scale estimates of rainfall during the 1999 Hurricane Floyd flood. Natural Hazards, 43, 187–198.

Courses

• GEOG 3430: GIS I (Intermediate GIS)
• GEOG 4430/6430: GIS II (Advanced GIS)