Mitchell, Don (1961–)

Don Mitchell is well known for his significant contributions to the field of cultural geography. Mitchell received his PhD from Rutgers University in 1992 and is Distinguished Professor of Geography at Syracuse University. He is a recipient of numerous awards, including a MacArthur Award and Fulbright and Guggenheim fellowships. His scholarship revolves around investigating the way people think and live their lives in particular places, and the associated networks of power that those relationships entail. He focuses on issues related to migrant labor and agricultural landscapes, urban public spaces, the homeless and hungry, and other marginal populations in U.S. cities.

Mitchell approaches ideas and theories of culture through a broadly Marxist and radical framework, exposing the various ways “culture” is revealed in the landscape through social struggles and the exercise of power. Mitchell argues that scholarship and political commitment cannot be divorced, emphasizing a decidedly social justice approach to geography. He has authored numerous articles and three books that examine the various meanings of public space, particularly as it relates to controlling marginalized people and public protesters. Much of this work emphasizes the relationship between law, rights, and public space. His volume The Lie of the Land, concerning agriculture in California, emphasized the role of labor in the region's landscapes. His textbook Cultural Geography: A Critical Introduction is seen by many as the starting point for university students interested in understanding the transformation of cultural geography that has occurred in the past two decades. He has also written extensively about struggles over the meaning and control of urban public spaces.

Mitchell is also the founder and director of The People's Geography Project, which brings the insights of critical contemporary geography to lay audiences, activists, and teachers. This effort, combined with his work with advocates addressing hunger in the Syracuse area, has evolved into the Community Geography Initiative. Community geography uses geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial analyses to create maps [Page 1914]that support community advocacy and organizing, and it serves as a resource for nonprofit social service agencies that would like to use GIS to address community concerns but lack the resources or technical capacity.