# David H. Kaplan

David Howard Kaplan is an American geographer, academic, and author. He is a professor of geography at Kent State University.
Kaplan is an author/editor of over a dozen books, including Landscapes of the Ethnic Economy; Urban Geography; Nested Identities: Nationalism, Territory, and Scale; Human Geography; and Navigating Ethnicity: Segregation, Place Making, and Difference. He is also the author of more than 70 articles and book chapters. His research is focused in urban and regional ethnicity, dynamics of residential segregation, urban economies, concepts of nationalism, and sustainable transportation. He is a Fellow of the American Association of Geographers (AAG).
Kaplan has served as both Vice President and President of the AAG (elected President from 2019 to 2020 following his vice presidency in the preceding year). In March 2023, Kaplan gave his Past-President’s address calling for greater inclusion in the field of Geography.
In addition to being a Councilor for the American Geographical Society (AGS), he has been the National Co-director of the Race, Ethnicity, and Place Conferences since 2022. He also holds an appointment as the Editor-in-Chief of Geographical Review, Series Editor of Exploring Geography, and Editor of National Identities.

## Education

Born on September 28, 1960, in Worcester, Massachusetts, Kaplan earned a B.A. in Humanities with a concentration in English Literature and History from The Johns Hopkins University in 1982. He obtained an M.S. (1986) and a Ph.D. (1991) in Geography from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

## Career

Kaplan's academic career began at the University of Southern California and later at the University of St. Thomas. He joined Kent State University in 1995 and has been a Professor there since 2005. He has also held appointments as the LaCoste Chair of Geopolitics at the French Institute of Geopolitics, University of Paris 8 in 2011; Carroll Professor of Urban Studies at the University of Oregon in spring 2014; and as a Distinguished Visiting professor at Henan University's School of Geography and Environment in summer 2022.
Kaplan founded and has since directed Kent State University's Environmental Studies Program starting in fall 2017.

## Research

Kaplan has researched four major topics: national identity, borderlands, and separatist movements; urban segregation patterns and their relationship to housing finance and economic opportunity worldwide; urban planning and sustainable transportation; and geography as a discipline.

### Nationalism and national identities

In one of his early works, Nested identities: Nationalism, Territory, And Scale, Kaplan maintained that national identity cannot be fully comprehended without considering the role of territory, and offered theoretical insights and empirical case studies to support the claim. Building on this work, his co-edited book Scaling Identities: Nationalism and Territory focused on the connections between national identity, territory, and scale. It identified four ways in which scale affects national identity formation, emphasizing the global significance of national identity in geopolitics. This book was praised by Alexander C. Deiner as "core reading" for those interested in the topic and commended for its comprehensive approach, as well as its ability to present new insights. Tamás Illés said that it is most successful "in weaving together wholly different place contexts around a clear-cut lens of investigation," whereas Kofi Johnson noted that the book's strength is its "theoretical scope". Among others, David Ettinger, praised the "unique historical arrangement" of his four-volume book, Nations and Nationalism: A Global Historical Overview, co-edited with Guntram H. Herb, which provided coverage of nationalism from the French Revolution to the contemporary period.

### Urban geography and ethnic economies

Kaplan has made contributions to the literature on ethnic segregation, examining the social and geographical dimensions of group formation and distribution, analyzing the underlying processes and significance, and proposing a framework for further study. In Navigating Ethnicity: Segregation, Placemaking, and Difference, he demonstrated how spatial arrangements shape cultural identity and opportunities, from segregation to multiculturalism and diasporas, and offered a perspective on the contingent nature of ethnicity. Carlos Teixeira called this book a "rich, well-organized manuscript" that offers an "impressive in-depth analysis of important global concepts..." His work has also focused on how ethnic economies shape urban landscapes by assessing their impact on neighborhood identity and presenting research on their significant role in providing goods and services to local communities. Furthermore, while examining the causal factors associated with ethnic segregation, he highlighted its multifaceted nature, and assessed the complexities and controversies of measuring and eliminating segregation.
One study investigated the spatial structure of urban ethnic economies, by identifying four advantages and explaining how spatial patterns may vary based on resources and sectoral composition. In addition, he has explored the impact of the US foreclosure crisis on cities, highlighting how they are often destroyed for cash. It was determined that the subprime-foreclosure crisis in the US was due to lax underwriting and aggressive mortgage practices, whereas deregulation and push for homeownership worsened the crisis, and created uneven geographies of debt, risk, and default.

### Sustainable transportation

Kaplan's work on transportation sustainability is focused on the opportunities and challenges in this field. He has proposed initiatives to shift toward sustainable transportation, increase the efficiency of personal automobiles, and increase accessibility, with the goal of promoting a more sustainable transportation future that may combat access disparities and environmental distress.

### Geography as a discipline

Kaplan has maintained a broad interest in some of the trends and prospects for U.S. geography. His research has examined how geography has developed as a discipline, the growing presence of women in the field, and geography's institutional position in the United States.

## Awards and honors

* 1989 – Rufus Z. Smith Prize "Most Distinguished Article" in the American Review of Canadian Studies
* 2008 – Best Reference Title, Pennsylvania School Librarians Association
* 2016 – Ethnic Geography Specialty Group Career Award
* 2018 – Distinguished Teaching Award, Kent State University
* 2018 – Susan Hardwick Excellence in Mentoring Award, American Association of Geographers
* 2023 – AAG Fellow, American Association of Geographers