Janni Sorensen, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Earth Science, and Melissa Anne Currie, Mississippi State Univeristy, , teamed up to produce the Best Article in the Journal of Urban Affairs award for 2020.
The award, presented by the Urban Affairs Association (UAA), was for their article, “Repackaged “urban renewal”: Issues of spatial equity and environmental justice in new construction, suburban neighborhoods, and urban islands of infill.”
The UAA is the international professional organization for urban scholars, researchers, and public/nonprofit service providers. UAA’s 
purpose is to promote intellectual and practical discussions about urban life.
Sorensen holds a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois–Champaign Urbana and, in 2008, established the Charlotte Action Research Project (CHARP) at UNC Charlotte. CHARP partners with marginalized communities with a goal of social justice. Her research focuses on neighborhood scale participatory urban planning and community organization.
Currie holds a Ph.D. in Geography and Urban Regional Analysis from UNC Charlotte and is Assistant Professor in Mississippi State's Department of Landscape Architecture.
Visit the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences to learn more.