Simon Reich, Pitt professor of international affairs and director of the Ford Institute led the study to determine the factors that impact the security of populations in IDP and refugee camps. The plan is to use the information to create safer camps. Reich will present his recommendations, based on the results of the study, to the United Nations Office of Children and Armed Conflict May 1 in New York City. Here's the GIS bit:

The study is one of the first initiatives to generate a database of IDP and refugee camp attacks for analysis and policymaking purposes. The researchers also used geographic information systems (GIS) software to produce a series of maps that chart migration trends, camp attacks, and the abduction of children. A major advantage of GIS mapping is the ability to track the movement of IDP and refugee populations over time; this will allow Pitt researchers to continue to track population movements to determine whether migratory populations are at greater risk than those in permanent, stationary camps.

- press release

The article, available to all in the open access International Journal of Health Geographics in provisional form in PDF, mapped food deserts, areas without access to supermarkets, in London, Ontario. Kristian Larsen and Jason Gilliland of The University of Western Ontario Geography Department mapped and compared supermarket locations in the city in 1961 and 2005 and assess the changing levels of residents’ access.

In short, with supermarket chains pushing into the more lucrative suburbs, older city regions have fewer food options. That impacts the quality of life for the poor and elderly. Not only do these residents have a harder time access food, when they do find it, it's about double the price of suburban supermarkets.

Desertification has happened over time: In 1961 over 75% of the population of the urban core had easy access to a supermarket, fewer than 20% of core residents have access today.

The maps are at the very end of the PDF, with the captions a few pages before....

Since the Association of American Geographers meeting was held in Boston this year I was lucky enough to visit for the better part of a day. Here are a few observations: