Latest News

COGS Director Rey Publishes New Paper on Measurement of Spatial Inequality
From the paper: Abstract. This paper explores the concepts and computational methods used to measure spatial inequality, emphasizing a reproducible approach that social scientists can apply to their research. The analysis focuses on geographic income disparities at the sub-national level, using Mexico as a case study.
COGS Receives NSF Pathways to Open Source Ecosystems (POSE) Grant
The COGS team has received a prestigious $1.5M award to transform the Python Spatial Analysis Library (PySAL) into a fully-fledged open-source ecosystem by engaging academia, government, and scientific partners. Read more on the grant page
Master’s Student Successfully Defends Research Proposal
Carli Henderson, a first-year M.S. student, sucessfully defended her research proposal titled “Geography of History: Mapping the Spatial Inequality of the National Register of Historic Places”. The project will focus on connections between historical redlining, segregation, and the National Register of Historic Places - the United States’ federal register of historic preservation.
New Paper by COGS and UCR examines the Landscape of Overdose in Inland California
From the paper: Abstract. This paper explores the concepts and computational methods used to measure spatial inequality, emphasizing a reproducible approach that social scientists can apply to their research. The analysis focuses on geographic income disparities at the sub-national level, using Mexico as a case study.
SDSU Students Enjoy a Guest Lecture from an Indigenous Scientist and Culture Bearer
Supported by COGS and CNNCTS, Dr. Janet Franklin brought Mr. Connor Magee into her class, Geography 570: Environmental Conservation Practice – Social-ecological Impacts of Climate Change on March 12, 2025. Connor Magee is an ecology Ph.
Famed Remote Sensing NASA Scientist J. Compton Tucker Visits SDSU
Dr. Janet Franklin recruited distinguished remote sensing scientist Dr Compton J. Tucker, from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to give a research seminar at SDSU on November 8 2024 entitled “A tool to address restoration efforts and the role of trees outside of forests in rural livelihoods: Mapping African semi-arid trees at the tree level south of the Sahara & north of the Equator.
Professor Janet Franklin Delivers 13th Virginia & J. Edward Holtry Distinguished Lecture in Geospatial Science at South Dakota State University
On October 14, 2024, San Diego State University geographer Janet Franklin was invited to give the 13th Virginia & J. Edward Holtry Distinguished Lecture in Geospatial Science at ‘the other SDSU’ – South Dakota State University.
New Paper by Knaap and Rey, Wei, and Skrah about Racial Segregation in Schools and Neighborhoods

In a new paper published in Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy, SASS scholars show the importance of considering features overlapping spaces when measuring racial residential segregation.

COGS Team Receives NSF-POSE Grant to Enhance PySAL into Open Source Ecosystem

In collaboration with partners at the University of Chicago, University of Maryland, and the University of California, Riverside, COGS has been awarded a POSE grant from the National Science Foundation focused on the open-source Python Spatial Analysis Library (PySAL), which has been downloaded over two million times.

COGS Director Sergio Rey Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

COGS is ecstatic to announce that Director Sergio Rey has been elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Rey is recognized for work as a leading pioneer of the Python Spatial Analysis Library (PySAL), downloaded two million times.