I am associate professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment at the University of Texas at Austin. My research lies in the intersection of land change science, spatial analysis, and landscape ecology. I am a human-environmental geographer interested in understanding the motivations that drive humans to act upon and transform tropical landscapes and how that manifests spatially in terms of patterns. This link between human agency and landscape pattern is based on conceptual and theoretical approaches derived from behavioral theory and political economy. In my work, I employ mixed-methods such as interview-based fieldwork, computer simulation, econometrics and spatial statistics, geographic information systems, and remote sensing. My research contributes to public policies focused on people, the environment, and sustainable development.

Contact information:

Department of Geography and the Environment
305 E 23rd St STOP A3100
Austin, TX 78749
arima[at]austin.utexas.edu