AAG 2026
We will participate in the 2026 American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting held in San Francisco, California, from March 17 to 21, 2026. During the conference, we will organize four sessions to showcase our research on homelessness, human mobility, and GeoAI.
Below is the agenda for our sessions during the conference:
Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Session Schedule:
| Session | Date | Time (PST) | Room | Session Chair |
| 1 | 3/18 | 10:10 AM – 11:30 AM | Union Square 24, 4th Floor, Hilton Union Square | Atsushi Nara |
| 2 | 3/18 | 12:50 PM – 02:10 PM | Gabriela Fernandez | |
| 3 | 3/18 | 02:30 PM – 03:50 PM | Ming-Hsiang Tsou | |
| 4 | 3/18 | 04:10 PM – 05:30 PM | Christopher Swindell |
Sponsoring AAG Specialty Groups:
Geographic Information Science & Systems, Health & Medical Geography
Spatial Analysis & Modeling, Urban Geography
Detailed Session Schedule:
Geographies of Care in the Age of AI: Mapping and Modeling Homelessness and Public Health with Big Data
Date: March 18, 2026
Location: Union Square 24, 4th Floor, Hilton Union Square
Format: In-person only (not hybrid, streamed, or recorded)
Session I – Theme: Geographies of Marginality: Mapping Vulnerability and Social Health
Time: 10:10 AM – 11:30 AM
Chair: Atsushi Nara (San Diego State University)
Presentations
- 10:10–10:25 — Ming-Hsiang Tsou (San Diego State University)
Transform Basic GIScience into Translational GIScience: A Case Study in Analyzing Spatiotemporal Changes and Socio-Environmental Impacts of the Homeless Population using GeoAI and Mixed Methods. - 10:25–10:40 — Ran Meng (Harbin Institute of Technology)
Characterizing the provision and inequality of primary school greenspaces in China’s major cities based on multi-sensor remote sensing - 10:40–10:55 — Yanjia Cao (University of Hong Kong)
The role of island connectivity in estimating healthcare access in Hong Kong - 10:55–11:10 — Mahboobe Safaei Mehr (University of Texas at Austin)
Barriers to Reproductive Care: Understanding Maternal Health Inequities in Texas - 11:10–11:25 — Xiangyi Zhu (San Diego State University)
AI Agent: Providing Customized Assistance to Unsheltered Homeless Population
Session II – Theme: Spatial Strategies for Health, Environment, and Urban Resilience
Time: 12:50 PM – 2:10 PM
Chair: Gabriela Fernandez (San Diego State University)
Presentations
- 12:50–1:05 — Dohyeong Kim (University of Texas at Dallas)
Comparing Spatial Interpolation Methods for Indoor Radon Risk Estimation - 1:05–1:20 — Catherine Brinkley (University of California, Davis)
Land-use Planning for Future-proof Food Systems - 1:20–1:35 — Stephen Liwur (Florida State University)
After the flames and smoke, then what? Spatial analysis and heterogeneity modeling of bushfire effects on vegetation health and air quality in Ghana - 1:35–1:50 — Anna Mewkill (San Diego State University)
Visualizing the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and Spatiotemporal Patterns of Homeless Encampments in San Diego County - 1:50–2:05 — Atsushi Nara (San Diego State University)
Exploring Homelessness Dynamics Using Multi-Source Spatiotemporal Data
Session III – Theme: Borders, Contaminants, and Community Health
Time: 2:30 PM – 3:50 PM
Chair: Ming-Hsiang Tsou (San Diego State University)
Presentations
- 2:30–2:45 — Jaehee Park (University of Redlands)
Human Mobility, Air Quality Exposure, and Climate Resilience: A Case study of the Inland Empire - 2:45–3:00 — Ana Louro (University of Lisbon)
From Evidence to Action: Identifying and Valuing Urban Health Determinants for Local Decision-Makers - 3:00–3:15 — Gabriela Fernandez (San Diego State University)
Mapping Voices: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Homelessness and Health Inequality along the U.S.-Mexico Border - 3:15–3:30 — Synthesis & moderated discussion
Led by Ming-Hsiang Tsou, focusing on borders, environmental exposure, and health equity
Session IV – Theme: Innovations in Spatial Health Analytics
Time: 4:10 PM – 5:30 PM
Chair: Christopher Swindell (San Diego State University)
Presentations
- 4:10–4:25 — Nuno Costa (University of Lisbon)
Mapping Cardiovascular Disease in Lisbon city – Portugal: A Spatial Approach to the Social Determinants Inequities - 4:25–4:40 — James Anderson (University of Oklahoma)
Applying the Moving LISA for Time Geography - 4:40–4:55 — Naoki Matsumoto (Keio University)
Mapping the Unhealthy Period: A Spatio-temporal Analysis of Lifespan Measures and Social Welfare Factors in Japan - 4:55–5:10 — Ashley Funk (San Diego State University)
Improving YOLOv5 Deep Learning Models for Detecting Homeless Encampments Using F1-Score and ROC Curve Analysis - 5:10–5:25 — Alexandra Nguyen (San Diego State University)
Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) In Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI) Applications: A Case Study of San Diego’s Unhoused Population