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Matthew Toro
- Matthew.Toro@asu.edu
- 480 727 5750
- Map and Geospatial Hub Hayden Library, Room 334 300 E Orange Mall Tempe, AZ 85281 Tempe
Director of Maps, Imagery, and Geospatial Services
University Staff, TEMPE Campus, Mailcode 1006
Biography:
Matthew Toro is a broadly trained geographer currently serving as the director of maps, imagery, and geospatial services at ASU Library. He leads projects and programming at the Map and Geospatial Hub. It's a traditional library-based map collection fused with modern mapping technologies -- GIS, remote sensing, and the related tools needed to transform geospatial data into powerful, value-added information.
Matt's produced insights on subjects ranging from land use conflicts in the agrarian landscapes of southern Laos, to the social impacts of the built environment in greater Miami. He's the founder and editor of Miami Geographic, a data visualization blog about the Miami metro region.
The Map and Geospatial Hub supports and leads a wide variety of spatial analysis, mapping and geovisualization, and curation projects. Through the Hub, Matthew's currently engaged in two main research initiatives:
- Mapping Grand Canyon: constructing multiple cartographic histories of the greater Grand Canyon region and the role of maps/mapmaking in fostering geographical consciousness of that (now) iconic landscape. He oversaw the unprecedented Mapping Grand Canyon Conference held at ASU in Spring 2019, and is involved in various interrelated projects, such as Dutton's Atlas and Visualizing the Survey.
- Urban Mobility and Land Use: addressing the pedestrian safety crisis and the potential of multimodal mobility in the greater Phoenix metropolitan region. As an inaugural (2019) fellow in the ASU Knowledge Exchange for Resilience (KER), he oversaw the analysis and development of Resilience Down to the Streets.
Publications:
Toro, M. (2019). Rescaling Geography: Grand Canyon Exploratory and Topographic Mapping, 1777-1978. Journal of Arizona History. 60(4). pp. 621-654.
Perrino, T.; Lombard, J.; Rundek, T.; Wang, K.; Dong, C.; Gutierrez, C.M.; Toro, M.; Byrne, M.; Nardi, M.I.; Kardys, J.; Szpocznik, J.; Brown, S. C. (2019). Neighborhood Greenness and Depression among Older Adults. The British Journal of Psychiatry. 215(2). pp. 476-480.
Brown, S. C.; Perrino, T.; Lombard, J.; Wang, K.; Toro, M.; Rundek, T.; Gutierrez, C.M.; Dong, C.; Plater-Zyberk, E.; Nardi, M.I.; Kardys, J.; Szpocznik, J. (2018). Health Disparities in the Relationship of Neighborhood Greenness to Mental Health Outcomes in 249,405 US Medicare Beneficiaries. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 15(3).
Brown, S. C.; Lombard, J.; Wang, K.; Byrne, M.; Toro, M.; Plater-Zyberk, E., Feaster, D. J.; Kardys, J.; Nardi, M., Perez-Gomez; G., Pantin, H.; & Szapocznik, J. (2016). Neighborhood greenness and chronic health conditions in Medicare beneficiaries. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 51(1). pp. 78-89.
Brown, S.C.; Lombard, J.; Toro, M.; Huang, S.; Perrino, T.; Perez-Gomez, G.; Plater-Zyberk, E.; Pantin, H.; Kumar, N.; Wang, K.; Szapocznik, J. (2014). Walking and Proximity to the Urban Growth Boundary and Central Business District. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 47(4). pp. 481-486.
Brown, S. C.; Pantin, H.; Lombard, J.; Toro, M.; Huang, S.; Plater-Zyberk, E.; Perrino, T.; Perez-Gomez, G.; Barrera-Allen, L.; & Szapocznik, J. (2013). Walk Score®: Associations with Purposive Walking in Recent Cuban Immigrants to the US. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 45(2). pp. 202-206.
Delang, C.O.; Toro, M.; Charlet-Phommachanh, M. (2013). Coffee, Mines, and Dams: Conflicts Over Land in the Bolaven Plateau, Southern Lao PDR. The Geographical Journal. 179(2). pp. 150-164.
Toro, M. (2012). Coffee Markets, Smallholder Credit, and Landscape Change in the Bolaven Plateau Region, Laos. (Master’s Thesis). University of Miami Open Access Theses. Paper 333.
Delang, C.O.; Toro, M. (2011). Hydropower-induced displacement and resettlement in the Lao PDR. South East Asia Research. 19(3). pp. 567-594.