After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley in 1968, John Logan worked as a community organizer in San Francisco, cultivating an interest in finding out how neighborhood politics affect people. He later began his career as a sociologist, studying school segregation, low-income housing and the environment and then laying out his findings in hand-drawn maps.
Two years ago, the professor of sociology brought both his research methods and broader interest in social inequality to Brown.
Logan was hired two years ago to serve as director of Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences, commonly known as S4. The program brings together Brown faculty and students to study, among other phenomena, "why the futures of some places are so much better than those of others," Logan said. By creating maps of social trends, Logan and the S4 researchers try to figure out why various patterns of inequality exist and why those same patterns seem so hidden from the public consciousness.
The roots of S4 are closely tied to computer science. About four years ago, computer-mapping software inspired the development of the program. With the mapping software, Logan and his fellow researchers use various sets of data to analyze communities. For instance, they might map the racial breakdown of neighborhoods and compare that with the amount of toxic chemicals in the air. They then try to publicize patterns of social inequality that their findings often reveal. Since the technology is computer-based, it can easily become available to a large audience - Logan compares it to Google Earth.
One of Logan's current projects involves studying how Hurricane Katrina changed the availability of education to students in affected districts. He is also looking at the process of rebuilding damaged neighborhoods. In evaluating such efforts, Logan analyzes political elements, including whose interests are at stake and how they're represented.
Logan is also looking at the physical surroundings of the schools where displaced students are now studying. In particular, he wants to find out if the schools are intensely segregated and whether toxic chemicals are prevalent near the campuses.
Steven Hamburg, an associate professor of environmental studies and one of Logan's fellow researchers, said he views S4's Katrina research as an opportunity to "think in new ways" and "cross traditional boundaries." As part of the project, Hamburg is looking at satellite imagery to see patterns of disturbance, which he then links to the demographic shifts identified by Logan. The collaboration between the two professors highlights S4's interdisciplinary nature.
Since Brown has no geography department, S4 conveniently fills a void that sits somewhere between sociology and political science. The initiative was formed as part of the Plan for Academic Enrichment, Logan said. Because of this, S4 gets most of its funds from the University, though Logan has also brought in money from foundations - including the National Science Foundation - and grants. For now, Logan says, S4 has enough funding, but he continues to search for outside revenue sources.
If S4 succeeds in raising awareness of social inequality, at least at the local level, then it will be easier for organizers to "mobilize at the local level," Logan said.
In general, Logan said he believes S4 works to achieve two goals: identifying social patterns and uncovering the processes that contribute to them. The first involves making full use of mapping technology, while the second requires more interpretation.
The future of S4 is somewhat unclear. If the program meets its goals, Logan said it may be unnecessary in a few years. On the other hand, it could also evolve into a full-fledged department. Regardless of what happens to the program, Logan said he is most concerned with pursuing the questions of inequality S4 has addressed thus far.
