Robert J. Mason, Temple University Geography & Urban Studies

Professor Mason holds an M.A. in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Toronto, and received his Ph.D. from Rutgers University in 1986. He joined Temple's Department of Geography and Urban Studies in 1986, following a short period as visiting lecturer at Ohio State University. He taught for several years at Temple University Japan in Tokyo. After returning to the Main Campus in Philadelphia, he became Director of the new program in Environmental Studies . During the 2004-05 academic year, Dr. Mason was on leave from Temple, holding the Bryant Drake Guest Professorship in the Department of Human Sciences at Kobe College in Nishinomiya, Japan.

Dr. Mason's research and instructional program is related to environmental policymaking and land-use management. He is the author of Collaborative Land Use Management: The Quieter Revolution in Place-Based Planning (Rowman & Littlefield, 2007), Contested Lands: Conflict and Compromise in New Jersey's Pine Barrens (Temple University Press , 1992) and--with cartographer Mark Mattson--the Atlas of United States Environmental Issues (Macmillan,1990). Professor Mason also has written articles and book chapters about greenline parks (parks with a mix of public and privately-owned lands), land trusts, and management issues in New York State's Adirondack Park and New Jersey's Pinelands National Reserve. His current interests include growth management, suburban sprawl, and protected areas at the state (New Jersey, Pennsylvania), regional, and national leves in the United States. Japan interests include the emerging role of citizen environmental organizations at the national level, emerging patterns of suburban sprawl, and issues associated with management of the Shirakami Sanchi World Heritage Area. Shirakami Sanchi is an area of ancient beech forest situated in the Tohoku region of northern Japan.

Professor Mason teaches courses in basic human-environment interactions, environmental policy issues in the United States, environmental problems in Asia, and environmental aspects of tourism.

The links below provide more detailed information about Dr. Mason's background and interests.

Books and Monographs

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

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

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

Articles and Book Chapters

2010, forthcoming. "Metropolitan Philadelphia: Sprawl, Shrinkage, and Sustainability.” In Brian C. Black and Michael J. Chiarappa, eds. Nature’s Entrepot: Philadelphia’s Urban Sphere and its Environmental Thresholds (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press).

2004. William D. Solecki, Robert J. Mason, and Shannon 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. "Confronting Sprawl in Southeastern Pennsylvania: New Options for Communities." Temple University Environmental Technology & Law Journal 23(1): 23-40.

2004. "The Pinelands." In Mark B. Lapping and Owen J. Furuseth, eds. Big Places, Big Plans. Aldershot; UK: Ashgate, 27-51.

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

2001. Robert J. Mason and Sarah Michaels. "Sentimental Ecology, Science and Sustainable Ecosystem Management." In J.W. Handmer, T.W. Norton, and S.R. Dovers, eds., Ecology, Uncertainty and Policy: Managing Ecosystems for Sustainability (Harlow, Essex, England: Prentice Hall), 66-82.

2001.   Sarah Michaels, Robert J. Mason, and William D. Solecki. "Participatory Research on Collaborative Environmental Management: Results from the Adirondack Park." Society and Natural Resources 14(3): 251-255.

2001.   "Friends of the Earth" in Encyclopedia of Global Change (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 487-488.

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

1999. Sarah Michaels, Robert J. Mason, and William D. Solecki. "Comment: The Importance of Place in Partnerships for Regional Environmental Management." Environmental Conservation 26 (3): 189-192.

1999. Sarah Michaels, Robert J. Mason, and William D. Solecki. "Motivations for Ecostewardship Partnerships: Examples from the Adirondack Park." Land Use Policy 16: 1-9.

1997. "Transplanted Landscapes: The American Scene in Tokyo." Society for Commercial Archeology Journal, 14(2): 10-14.

1995. "Saving Place: Land Trusts as Conservators of Local and Regional Landscapes." Small Town 26(2): 14-19.

1995. "Sustainability, Regional Planning and the Future of New York’s Adirondack Park." Progress in Rural Policy & Planning 5: 15-28.

1994. "The Greenlining of America: Managing Private Lands for Public Purposes." Land Use Policy 11: 208-221.

1992 . "Defining and Protecting Rural Environments in the U.S." In I.R.Bowler, C.R. Bryant, and N. D. Nellis, eds. Contemporary Rural Systems in Transition. Vol. 2: Economy and Society (Wallingford, UK: CAB International), 129-140.