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Dr. Allen - (Retired)
   

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- James P. Allen, Ph.D.

 

James P. Allen
Department of Geography
California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8249

e-mail: james.allen@csun.edu

Professor Allen teaches only Spring semesters.


 

Information on Professor Allen's teaching, professional activities, and publications can
be found in various sections below:

 

I. General and Research Interests

Riding on the top of a freight train, as it climbs up the western slope of the Colorado Rockies from Grand Junction, is one way to experience the fascinating and dramatic geography of the western states. Before coming to California and doing such crazy things as hopping freights with friends and even students, I lived in several different places in the Eastern United States. This, plus travels over most parts of the United States, led to my major research interest in this country and its people.

Nowadays, I use more conventional methods of research, particularly mapping and analysis of census data and interviewing. But I believe that travel and living experiences outside the lab and the library are what get the real geographical juices flowing in me and in most of us geographers. Moreover, travels in Africa, India, China, Europe, and Latin America whetted my curiosity about other places so that I still look forward to teaching regularly the classes in world regional geography.

Ph.D. training at Syracuse University under Donald Meinig was what led to my research
focus on the changing distributions, migrations, and employment patterns of ethnic groups in the United States. Since the mid-1980s I have often worked closely on projects with my colleague, Gene Turner, whose specialties are cartography, GIS, and computer applications in geography. We produced the large volume, We the People: An Atlas of America's Ethnic Diversity (Macmillan 1988), which was honored by the A.A.G. with a special J. B. Jackson Prize and by the American Library Association as the best reference volume in 1988. In competition with over 200 other books, We the People also received the R. R. Hawkins Award from the Association of American Publishers as the "out-standing professional, reference or scholarly work of 1988."

Although I still keep a strong research interest in the geography of the United States,
in the 1990s I have been studying our local metropolitan area (Los Angeles.) I have enjoyed the stimulation of being part of a large community of scholars from geography, history, and sociology who share an interest in this area. Gene Turner and I have collaborated on various research projects, dealing with racial and ethnic populations in greater Los Angeles.

Our first book on our local area, The Ethnic Quilt: Population Diversity in Southern
California, appeared in 1997. It attempts to show how the many ethnic populations fit
together into the larger social, employment, and spatial structure of the area. We have been gratified at the very positive reviews it has received (such as in the Annals of the A.A.G., September 1998) and at its use in many classes in different disciplines. In recognition of The Ethnic Quilt, Gene Turner and I were awarded the Donald H. Pflueger Award from the Historical Society of Southern California and the Scholarly Publication Award from CSU Northridge.

Our most recent book, Changing Faces, Changing Places: Mapping Southern
 Californians, uses both 1990 and 2000 census data to map and analyze racial and Latino population shifts during the 1990s. This book shows these patterns in great detail (in terms of neighborhoods or census tracts) and covers all of Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura Counties, as well as the most populous portions of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.

II. Academic Background and Recent Teaching Experience

  Syracuse University, Ph.D., 1970
  Harvard University, M.A.T., 1959
  Amherst College, A.B., 1958

Professor of Geography, California State University, Northridge. Teaching at CSUN
during most years, 1969-2002. Most frequently taught classes are population geography,
seminar on Los Angeles, individual student research, urban field methods and experience, and world regional geography.

III. Advanced Classes Occasionally Taught

IV. Honors and Professional Responsibilities

Elected President of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers,
Sept. 2004-Sept. 2005
 
Elected Vice-President of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers,
Sept. 2003-Sept. 2004.
 
Winner (with co-author Eugene Turner) of the Donald H. Pflueger Award for
  Distinguished Research and Writing on the Local History of Southern
  California, given by the Historical Society of Southern California for The
  Ethnic Quilt: Population Diversity in Southern California, September 2001.
   
Winner (with co-author Eugene Turner) of the Scholarly Publication Award from
  California State University, Northridge, for The Ethnic Quilt: Population
  Diversity in Southern California, May 1998.
   
Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Ethnic Geography Specialty Group
  of the Association of American Geographers, March 1998.
   
Chair of the American Ethnic Geography Specialty Group of the Association of
  American Geographers, April 1994 - April 1996.
   
Member of the Content Advisory Committee of the Geography Education Standards
  Project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education and supported by the
  Association of American Geographers, the National Council for Geographic
  Education, and the National Geographic Society, June 1992 - June 1995.
   
Winner (with co-author Eugene Turner) of four awards for We the People: An Atlas
  of American's Ethnic Diversity (Macmillan 1988): The Scholarly Publication
  Award from California State University, Northridge; a special J.B. Jackson
  Prize by the Association of American Geographers; the R.R. Hawkins
  Award from the Professional and Scholarly Publication Division of the
  Association of American Publishers for the "outstanding professional,
  reference, or scholarly work of 1988"; and the Dartmouth Medal from
  the Reference Books Division of the American Library Association for
  the best reference book of 1988.
   
Reviewer of manuscripts for Annals of the AAG, The Professional Geographer,
  Urban Geography, Urban Affairs Review, National Science Foundation.
   
Consultant for the National Geographic Society's Historical Atlas of the United
  States, 1988.
   

V. Professional Presentations and Invited Lectures (2000-present only)

The Economic Status of Ethnic Residential Concentrations," presentation
  (with Eugene Turner) at the annual meeting of the Association of Pacific
  Coast Geographers, Eugene, Oregon, September 2006.
   
"Demographic Change in Los Angeles," invited presentation to teachers'
  institute of the UCLA History-Geography Project, July 2006.
   

 "Migrants from California to Other States, 199% to 2000," presentation

  (with Eugene Turner) to the annual meeting of the Population
  Association of America, Los Angeles, April 2006.
   
Ethnic Geography Dynamics: Clues from Los Angeles," presentation at the
  annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers,
  Chicago, March 2006
   
"Changing Faces, Changing Places: Mapping Southern Californians," invited
  presentation to the Los Angeles History Research Group, Huntington
  Library, San Marino, December 2005.
   
 "How Successful Are Recent Immigrants to the United States and Their
  Children?" Presidential Address to the Association of Pacific Coast
  Geographers, Phoenix, October 2005.
   
 "Changing Ethnic Patterns in Los Angeles," invited presentation to students
  at UCLA Geography class on Ethnicity and the City, January 2006;
  to students teachers in the Accelerated Collaborative Training
  program, North Hollywood, September 2005; and to teachers in
  UCLA History-Geography Project, FIPSE "Places and Time"
  Institute, Los Angeles, July 2005.
   
 "Domestic Out-Migrants from California, 1995-2000," presentation
  (with Eugene Turner) at the annual conference of the California
  Geographical Society, Yosemite, April 2005.
   
 "Changing Asian Distributions in Greater Los Angeles, 1990-2000,"
  presentation (with Eugene Turner) at the annual conference of the
  Association of Asian American Studies, Los Angeles, April 2005.
   
 "International Migration to California and Politics," invited presentation to the
  Scholar-Teacher Symposium, History-Geography Project, UCLA,
  March 2005.
   
"Ethnic Diversity in the San Fernando Valley," invited presentation to the
  Valley Leadership Institute, L.A. Times Building, Northridge, January
  2005.
   
"Changing Faces, Changing Places," invited presentation (with Eugene
  Turner) to the Los Angeles Geographical Society, Los Angeles,
  November 2004.
   
 "Changing Ethnic Patterns in the San Fernando Valley and Greater Los
  Angeles," invited presentation (with Eugene Turner) to the Seminar
  for Human Resources Professionals, CSU Northridge College of
  Extended Learning, November 2004.
   
 "Changing Ethnic Patterns in Greater Los Angeles," invited presentation to
  the Sage Society Forum, Northridge, October 2004.
   
"The Economic Status of Immigrant Ethnic Enclaves," invited presentation
(with Eugene Turner) at the Conference on Race/Ethnicity and Place,
Washington, D.C., September 2004.
   
"Ethnic Geography Dynamics," invited presentation at the President's Plenary
Session at the annual meeting of the Association of Pacific Coast
Geographers, San Luis Obispo, CA, September 2004.
 
"Migrants Who Left California Between 1995 and 2000," presentation
(with Eugene Turner) at the annual meeting of the Association of
Pacific Coast Geographers, San Luis Obispo, CA, September 2004.
 
"Understanding Ethnic Los Angeles," invited presentation to Accelerated
Collaborative Teaching (ACT) students, CSUN College of
Education, Sun Valley, CA, August 2004.
 
"Ethnic Enclaves and Change in Greater Los Angeles," presentation (with
Eugene Turner) at the annual meeting of the California Geographical
Society, Long Beach, April 2004.
 
"The Changing Ethnic Quilt of Greater Los Angeles," presentation at the
annual meeting of the California Studies Association, Loyola
Marymount University (L.A.), April 2004.
 
"Changing Faces, Changing Places: Ethnic Patterns in Southern California,"
invited presentation to the Fifth Annual Summit of the Housing
Rights Center, Los Angeles, April 2004.
 
"Boston's Emerging Ethnic Quilt: A Geographic Perspective," invited presentation
(with Eugene Turner) in a special session on Boston at the annual meeting
of the Population Association of America, Boston, April 2004. The talk,
references, and accompanying maps are available on the web site:
http://www.csun.edu/~hfgeg005/eturner/gallery/Bostonatlas/
 
On the same subject, a poster "Spatial Patterns of Boston's Ethnic Populations,
2000" (with Eugene Turner) was presented at a poster session.
 
"Income and Housing Status of Immigrant Enclaves in U.S. Metropolitan Areas,"
presentation (with Eugene Turner) at the annual meeting of the Association
of American Geographers, Philadelphia, March 2004.
 
   

 

VI. Books, Articles, and Book Chapters (1988-2002 only)

Forthcoming.  "Spatial Patterns of Ethnic Settlement, Immigrant Generation, and
  Homeownership Among Asians and Latinos in Greater Los Angeles"  
  (co-authored with James Craine), in The Immigrant Metropolis: The
  Dynamics of Intergenerational Mobility in Los Angeles and New York, F.
  Bean, R. Rumbaut, and S. Brown, eds. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
 

 

2006.  "How Successful Are Recent Immigrants to the United States and Their
  Children?" APCG Presidential Address, Yearbook of the Association of
  Pacific Coast Geographers 68: 9-32.
  http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/yearbook_of_the_association_of_pacific_co
  ast_geographers/toc/pcg68.1.html
   
2005.  "Ethnic Residential Concentrations in United States Metropolitan Areas"
  (co-authored with Eugene Turner), The Geographical Review 95 (2):267-285.
 

 
2005.  "Ethnic Geography," in The Encyclopedia of New England: The Culture
  and History of an American Region, B. Feintuch and D. H. Watters, eds.:
 

561-563. New Haven: Yale University Press.
   
2005.  "Ethnic Geography Dynamics: Clues from Los Angeles," President's
  Plenary Session, Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast
  Geographers 67: 97-116.
  http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/yearbook_of_the_association_of_pacific_co
  ast_geographers/toc/pcg67.1.html
   
2003.  "American Ethnic Geography" (co-authored with L. E. Estaville, S. W.
  Hardwick, and I. M. Miyares), chapter 37 in Geography in America
  at the Dawn of the 21st Century, G. L. Gaile and C. J. Willmott, eds.: 586-599. New
  York: Oxford University Press.
   
2002. Changing Faces, Changing Places: Mapping Southern Californians
  (co-authored with Eugene Turner). Northridge, CA: Center for
  Geographical Studies.
   
2002. "The Tortilla-Mercedes Divide in Los Angeles," Political Geography
  21(5): 701- 709.
   
2001. "Bridging 1990 and 2000 Census Race Data: Fractional Assignment of Multiracial Populations"
  (co-authored with Eugene Turner),
  Population Research and Policy Review 20 (6): 513-533.
  (Link is to abstract) For full text version click here Bridging
   
2001. "Measuring Ethnic Trends with Recent U.S. Census Data: Some Cautionary
  Notes," Immigration and Ethnic History Newsletter 32(2): 1, 8-9
  (November).
   
2000. "Studying Ethnic Patterns in Local Areas," Yearbook of the Association of
  Pacific Coast Geographers 62: 115-121.
   
2000. "A Problem for Users of Race Data from the 2000 Census," The American
  Ethnic Geographer 8 (1): 3-4.
   
1999. "Los Angeles: the American Dream?", chapter 15 in North America: A
  Geographical Mosaic, edited by F. W. Boal and S. A. Royle, pp. 213-221.
  London: Arnold.
   
1998. "Will Children of Mexican Immigrants Find Success in Small Towns in the
  Eastern United States?" The American Ethnic Geographer 6 (1): 2-4.
  Reprinted in Regional Geography of the United States and Canada,
  pp. 50-51, by T. L. McKnight (Prentice Hall, 2000).
   
1997. "Selected Employment Trends and Patterns in the San Fernando Valley,
  1990-1994," (co-authored with Eugene Turner), Working Paper #1, Center
  for Southern California Studies, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences,
  CSUN (December).
   
1997. "Focus on Local Areas" (chapter 8) and "Using Maps in American Ethnic
  Geography" (chapter 16), in Teaching American Ethnic Geography, L. E.
  Estaville and C. J. Rosen, eds. Pathways in Geography, Resource Publication
  No. 18. National Council for Geographic Education.
   
1997. "Ethnic Ties Help Determine Choice of Job," Los Angeles Times,
  October 12, B17.
   
1997. The Ethnic Quilt: Population Diversity in Southern California
  (co-authored with Eugene Turner). Northridge: The Center for Geographical
  Studies, California State University, Northridge.
   
1996. "Spatial Patterns of Immigrant Assimilation" (co-authored with Eugene
  Turner), The Professional Geographer 48 (2): 140-155.
   
1996. "Ethnic Diversity and Segregation in the New Los Angeles" (co-authored
  with Eugene Turner), in EthniCity: Geographic Perspectives on Ethnic
  Change in Modern Cities, edited by C. Roseman, H. D. Laux, and G.
  Thieme, pp. 1-29. Rowman and Littlefield.
   
1995. "Ethnic Differentiation by Blocks within Census Tracts" (co-authored with
  Eugene Turner), Urban Geography 16 (4): 344-364
   
1992. "Cities and Towns with the Greatest Ethnic Diversity," a vignette in Regional
  Geography of the United States and Canada, by T. L. McKnight, pp. 86-87
  Prentice-Hall.
   
1991. An Atlas of Population Patterns in Metropolitan Los Angeles and Orange
  Counties, 1990. (co-authored with Eugene Turner), CSUN Department of
  Geography, Occasional Publication No. 8.
   
1990. "Migration Into and Out of Los Angeles County in the 1980s," Perspective
  (California State University, Northridge). Vol. 7, No. 2 (Fall), pp. 2-6, 16.
   
1990. "Where Diversity Reigns" (co-authored with Eugene Turner), American
  Demographics. August, pp. 34-38. (Reprinted in part in Rural Communities:
  Legacy and Change (Kansas State University Press).
   
1989. "The Most Ethnically Diverse Urban Places in the United States" (co-authored
  with Eugene Turner), Urban Geography. Vol. 10, No. 6 (Nov-Dec.),
  pp. 523-539.
   
1988. "Where to find the New Immigrants" (co-authored with Eugene Turner).
  American Demographics. September, pp. 22-27, 59-60. (Reprinted in
  Annual Editions, Sociology, by Dushkin Publishing Group, and in Readings
  in Nursing: Trends and Issues).
   
1988. We the People: An Atlas of America's Ethnic Diversity (co-authored
  with Eugene Turner). Macmillan Publishing Company.

VII. Book Reviews (1990-2002 only)

2002. Latino Metropolis and Magical Urbanism: Latinos Reinvent the U.S.
  Big City, reviewed in Journal of American Ethnic History, Vol. 21,
  No. 2, pp. 90-93.
   
2001. Wisconsin's Past and Present: A Historical Atlas, reviewed in the Pacific
  Historical Review, Vol. 69, No. 3, pp. 475-477.
   
2000. Urban Latino Cultures: La Vida Latina en L.A., reviewed in The
  Professional Geographer, Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 582-584.
   
1999. An Ethnic Geography of Early Utica, New York: Time, Space, and
  Community, reviewed in Geographical Review, Vol. 89, No. 4,
  pp. 600-601.
   
1997. Valley for Dreams: Life and Landscape in the Sacramento Valley,
  reviewed in The American Ethnic Geographer, Vol. 5, No. 2, p. 11.
   
1993. To Build in a New Land: Ethnic Landscapes of North America,
  reviewed in Geographical Review, Vol. 83, No. 3, pp. 345-347.
   
1992. Afoot and Afield in Los Angeles County, reviewed in Special Libraries
  Association Geography and Map Division's Bulletin, No. 170 , December,
  pp. 51-52.
   
1991. International Handbook on Internal Migration, reviewed in Historical
  Geography, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 18-19.
   
1990. From Many Strands: Ethnic and Racial Groups in Contemporary
  America, reviewed in Annals of the Association of American
  Geographers, Vol. 80, No. 2, pp. 312-314.
   
 

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