Peter Anthamatten

Dr. Peter Anthamatten
Ph.D. • Associate Professor
Department of Geography & Environmental Sciences

Mailing Address:
Dept. of Geography & Environmental Sciences
Campus Box 172
P.O. Box 173364
Denver, CO 80217-3364

Physical Location:
Auraria Campus
North Classroom Building
Room 3514-A

Expertise Areas:
Cartography, Geography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Environmental Health, Children

Post-Doctoral Fellowship: Center for Geographic Learning at Hunter-CUNY (New York, NY), 2008
PhD, Geography: University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN), 2007
MPH, Environmental Health: University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN), 2002
MA, Geography: University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN), 2001
BA, Geography, German, and Political Science with a minor in Psychology, summa cum laude with honors, University of Missouri (Columbia, MO), 1997

I was attracted to geography's breadth of approach and topic and have sought to take advantage of its holism throughout my career by working with a range of topics. The primary focus of my work is around the geography of health, which is the study how places and spaces (locations) affect human health. I began my career by exploring patterns of malnutrition in poor regions, while most of my work since arriving in Denver in 2008 has centered around the links between the built environment and children's physical activity behavior.

A secondary focus of my work has been on geographic education, specifically on teaching spatial thinking skills to elementary-aged children. I’ve recently become involved with a project that examines the ability of the National Geographic Society’s giant maps to teach children spatial thinking skills.

I was drawn into the geospatial world through cartography and quantitative analysis, which constitutes the core of my teaching load at UC Denver as well as the basis of my contributions to research on a variety of other topics.

Books and Chapters

Anthamatten, P.  2015. Geography and Health. In Naidoo, J. and J. Willis, eds. Health Studies: An Introduction3rd edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.

Anthamatten, P. and H. Hazen. 2011. An Introduction to the Geography of Health. London / New York:  Routledge. (ISBN: 978-0-415-49806-7). 273 pages.

Articles

Anthamatten, P., and Hazen, H. 2015. Changes in the global distribution of protected areas, 2003 to 2012Professional Geographer. (doi: 10.1080/00330124.2014.921014) (article page)

Anthamatten, P., Fiene, E.*, Kutchman, E.*, Mainar, M.*, Brink, L., Browning, R., and Nigg, C. 2014. A microgeographic analysis of physical activity behavior within elementary school grounds.  American Journal of Health Promotion. 28(6): 403-412. (PMID: 23971525; doi: 10.4278/ajhp.121116-QUAN-566) (please send me an e-mail to request a copy of the paper)

Smolinski, S.*, Anthamatten, P., Bruederle, L., Barbour, J., and Chambers, F. 2014. An analysis of the impact of water diversions on mountain pine beetle infestation of lodgepole pine. 2014. Journal of Environmental Management. 139(7): 32-37. (PMID: 24681362; doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.02.034)

Anthamatten, P., Brink, L., Kingston, B., Kutchman, E.*, Lampe, S. and Nigg, C. 2014. An assessment of schoolyard features and behavior patterns in children's utilization and physical activity.  Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 11(3): 564-573. (PMID: 23416457; doi: 10.1123/jpah.2012-0064)

Wee, B. and Anthamatten, P. 2014. Using photography to visualize children’s culture of play: A socio-spatial perspectiveGeographical Review. 104(1): 87-100. (doi: 10.1111/j.1931-0846.2014.12006.x)

Nikoi, E. and Anthamatten, P. 2014. Childhood anemia in Ghana: an examination of associated socioeconomic and health factors.  African Geographical Review. 33(1): 19-35. (doi: 10.1080/19376812.2013.838688)

Tinker, M.*, Anthamatten, P., Simley, J., and Finn, M. 2013. Method to generalize NHDPlus flowlines to small scale maps by a variable flow-based pruning thresholdCartography and Geographic Information Science. 40(5): 444-457. (doi: 10.1080/15230406.2013.801701).

Anthamatten, P., Wee B., and Korris, E.* 2013. Exploring children’s perceptions of play using visual methodologiesHealth Education Journal. 72(3): 309-318. (doi: 10.1177/0017896912443119).

Anthamatten, P., L. Brink, S. Lampe, E. Greenwood*, B. Kingston and Nigg, C. 2011. An assessment of schoolyard renovation strategies to encourage children's physical activityInternational Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 8(27): 1-9. (PMID: 21477325; doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-8-27).

Anthamatten, P. 2010. Spatial Thinking Concepts in Early Grade-Level Geography StandardsJournal of Geography, 109(5): 169-180. (doi: 10.1080/00221341.2010.498898).

Anthamatten, P. 2009. On building the bridge between research and teaching practice: spatial thinking  concepts in geography standards in the United States and EnglandResearch in Geographic Education, 11(5): 94-114.

Anthamatten, P. and Ziegler, S. 2006. Teaching geography with 3-D visualization technologyJournal of Geography, 105(6): 231-237. (doi: 10.1080/00221340608978692).

Anthamatten, P. 2004. State geography standards in 2004Journal of Geography, 103(4): 182-184. (doi: 10.1080/00221340408978596).

Geography (GEOG) 2080: Introduction to Mapping and Map Analysis
Geography (GEOG) 3501: Introduction to the Geography of Health
Geography (GEOG) 4080 / 5080: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
Geography (GEOG) 4081 / 5081: Cartography and Computer Mapping
Geography (GEOG) 4235 / 5235: GIS Applications in the Health Sciences
Geography (GEOG) 4995 / 5995: Sustainable Development in Costa Rica
Geography (GEOG) 5050: Spatial Statistics
Public Health (PBHL) 2020: Introduction to Environmental Health
Public Health (PBHL) 6623: Global Health Perspectives