Matthew Fry recently published an article in the Annals of the Association of American Geographers titled: "From Crops to Concrete: Urbanization, Deagriculturalization, and Construction Material Mining in Central Mexico." The article came out of an extended research project in central Veracuz, Mexico funded by the National Science Foundation. Using an integrated social, environmental, and geospatial approach the research analyzes changes in agricultural communities associated with their shift away from agriculture to the extraction of concrete aggregates. The research demonstrates how building booms in urban areas impact land use and livelihoods in rural peripheries. Although concrete aggregates are the most popular building materials globally, surprisingly few studies analyze how their growing demand influences landscapes and livelihoods. In addition, the work challenges conventional assumptions about the process of urbanization by arguing that building and construction are driving this process in tropical regions.

Matt recently also began researching in Peru on human disturbance and land cover change in the Andes. He's also developing projects on urbanization and gas drilling in North Texas.

Photo: Dr. Fry at his research site in central Mexico in 2006.