Gundars Rudzitis

Gundars Rudzitis (PhD) "lives in USA where he is a Professor of Geography and Environmental Science at the University of Idaho. He is an international expert in geography, development theory, environmental policy, and demography. He has done considerable work in wide ranging areas of development including: rural and regional development, indigenous Indian populations in USA, peace and conflict resolution in Latvia and international development issues in Costa Rica and Mexico, as well as field work in Japan and the Philippines.

"He was senior associate, National Research Associates, Dallas, Texas, USA, as well as for Urban Alternatives Inc., Chicago, Illinois; research associate, Center for Urban Studies and the Dept of Economics, University of Chicago, Program Manager, Underway Replenishment Division, Navy Department, Washington, USA, In addition, he was visiting research professor in a number of universities, including in the Geography Departments at: Boston and Clark Universities 1990, University of New Mexico, 1998, Harvard University, 2004, JKF School of Government, and a Fulbright Scholar, Department of Geography and Institute for International Studies, University of Latvia, 2005.

"He holds a PhD in Geography from University of Chicago, USA, MA in Social Sciences from University of Chicago, USA, MBA in Management, and BA Chemistry both from Adelphi College, USA.

"He is the author or editor of four books, numerous articles and book chapters, and in the USA, one of the originators of the quality-of-life development model."


 * Senior Consultant, OKEASSOCIATES International

Recent Publications

 * The Rural Rich: The Phenomenon and its Consequences, forthcoming, 2010, in David Marcouiller, Mark Lapping and Owen Fursuth, editors, Rural Housing and the Exurbanization Process, Burlington, VT: Ashgate Press (with David Marcouiller and Paul Lorah).
 * The Ongoing Transformation of the American West, forthcoming, 2010, University of Chicago Press.
 * “The Ugly, The Bad, and The Good: Aging on Indian Reservations,” in Nina Glasgow and Helen E. Berry, editors, Aging in Rural America, Routledge Press, forthcoming, 2010, (with Nicolas Barbier).
 * “Nez Perce Sovereignty and Resource Conflicts at the Local, State and Federal Level: A Spatial Perspective,” in R. G.Winchell, (editor), Geographical Perspectives of the Inland Northwest, EWU Press, forthcoming, 2010, (with Nicolas Barbier).
 * “The ‘Old’ versus the ‘New’ West: Cartographic Representations of Regional Change in the Pacific Northwest,” in R.G. Winchell, editor, Geographical Perspectives of the Inland Northwest, EWU Press, forthcoming, 2010, (with Paul Lorah).