Faculty

Dr. Raja has joined ufv from 1^st of August 2019. She was formerly serving the Department of Geography & Sustainability at the Western Oregon University, USA as Assistant Professor of Sustainability. She graduated from Texas A & M University (TX, USA) on the 14th of December 2012 earning her doctoral degree in Urban and Regional Science after successfully passing the doctoral defense on the 28th of September 2012 with distinction. Being a Fulbright PhD scholar, she had to leave the US immediately after the completion of her doctorate, to serve Pakistan as of J-1 exchange visitor home-residency conditions (Which are now over and fulfilled already). She worked in Pakistan as Assistant Professor (Tenure track), at a leading Engineering University (UET)Pakistan, where she taught different Urban Planning, Geography, GIS and Sustainability courses for fourteen years at undergraduate and graduate level at various departments of the University. However, the core responsibility was to teach various subjects towards the fulfilment of Bachelors & Master’s degree in City & Regional Planning and Master’s degree in Community Development and Environmental Management. Additionally, she has also supervised many research projects/dissertations at the same institute. Dr. Raja also works as adjunct faculty for Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops-BC-Canada.

Dr. Raja earned a PhD degree in Urban & Regional Science from Texas A & M University, College Station-USA on a Fulbright Scholarship in 2012.

She also holds dual master's degrees from The University of Engineering & Technology (Lahore) in Architecture as well as City & Regional Planning.

In addition, she also holds a Graduate Certification in GIS and a Graduate Certification in Transportation Planning & Policy from Texas A & M, College Station Texas, USA.

Member American Planning Association Oregon Chapter

Member of Pakistan Council of Architects & Town Planners of Pakistan

Member Institute of Planners Pakistan

A compelling educator (sometimes using a bit of humor) conveys a solid command of the material coupled with a willingness to invite and control fruitful class discussion. Sometimes, I use my own research in various disciplines to update and make personal the subject matter. I always give real-world examples to illustrate the practical applications of the ideas we are studying. I try to ensure students learn from both a theoretical and a practical platform in my classes giving contrasting examples from the developing /developed world. As they see the global scope of their studies, students will discern how their degree will make them useful citizens in the world, and they will want to study hard to obtain a job and build a career for themselves and their families.

Dr. Raja has been teaching many Human/Urban Geography, GIS and quantitative analysis courses around the globe. At UFV she is teaching:

GEOG 140 Human Geography

GEOG 360 Introduction to Regional & Community Planning

GEOG 240 World Regional Geography

GEOG 252 Explanation in Geography: Quantitative Methods

Her scholarly work focuses on Neo-urbanism, Sustainable development, Smart cities, Planning Policy & decision making and the dynamics of housing stratification and distribution.

Research Paper Entitled" Linking Job/Housing balance, Land use mix and commute to work" Presented at Third International Conference on Urban and ExtraUrban Studies: Spaces and Flows, Wayne State University, Detroit, USA (2012)

Poster presented on GIS Day at Texas A & M University, entitled "Target Area/ Suitability Analysis for Urban Planning Reform Policies in Dallas County, Texas won a special university mention prize. (2012)

Research Paper entitled “Contribution of Jobs/Housing Balance and Land Use Mix towards Environmental Sustainability and Development” Presented at the 3rd International Conference on Environmental Pollution and Remediation, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada. (2013)

 Research Paper entitled “A GIS based planning support system to control urban sprawl “ Presented at Conference on “Computers in Urban Planning and Urban Management”, MIT Boston USA.(2015)

Working Paper entitled “Analytical study of the impact of Metro Bus System on Built Environment in Lahore” (2018)

Forthcoming: “Sustainable housing practices-Use of GIS as a tool to assess Housing stress” (2019)

Worked on a housing project as a GIS expert, it is a joint effort of City Club of Corvallis and Oregon State University Policy Analysis Laboratory (OPAL) (2017-2018). It deals with the exploration of the opportunities and barriers to both cluster/cottage housing and employer-assisted housing (EAH) in Corvallis, Oregon. The project involved a lot of community-based planning and initiatives, the community-based right of annexation was studied in detail and policy recommendations made accordingly. The final report does include suggestions on the consensus building strategies to be incorporated for policy work. Additionally, Dr. Raja been appointed Commission to the TSP Steering Committee for the city of Corvallis by the Mayor (2017-2018), where she has been advising the transportation staff on the Corvallis Transportation System Plan (TSP) project. Dr. Raja’s forthcoming project is related to “Bike Mobility & Connectivity”, this Project will be executed in consultation with CityStudio Abbotsford.