Keun Park

Assistant Professor

Research Interests

Design of healthy, just, and resilient cities through urban nature
Environmental justice
Human behaviour
Landscape planning
Public health
urban design
urban forestry
Urban planning

Relevant Thesis-Based Degree Programs

Research Options

I am available and interested in collaborations (e.g. clusters, grants).
I am interested in and conduct interdisciplinary research.
I am interested in working with undergraduate students on research projects.
 
 

Research Methodology

behavioural research
spatial econometrics
GIS
Case Studies
quasi-experimental
Statistics

Recruitment

Master's students
Doctoral students
Any time / year round

1. Effective monitoring of urban parks and forests usage

  • Overall research question: How can we monitor and predict the usage dynamics in urban parks and greenways in a reliable and efficient way?
  • Skills/interests needed: digital technology (sensors, drones, etc.), computer programming (python, R, SQL, etc.), machine learning algorithms, observational research

2. Role of urban forestry in urban developments

  • Overall research question: What are the role and impacts of urban forestry design and planning in sustainable urban developments?
  • Skills/interests needed: urban planning and design, mixed-methods research (case studies, quasi-experiments, statistical analysis)

3. Access to urban parks and forests of varying sizes and forms

  • Overall research question: How do we connect low-mobility populations (e.g., children, older adults, people with disabilities, low-income people) with different sizes and types of urban parks and forests?
  • Skills/interests needed: GIS, statistics, multidisciplinary interests (forest management, environmental justice, urban design and planning, transportation, etc.)
I support public scholarship, e.g. through the Public Scholars Initiative, and am available to supervise students and Postdocs interested in collaborating with external partners as part of their research.
I support experiential learning experiences, such as internships and work placements, for my graduate students and Postdocs.
I am open to hosting Visiting International Research Students (non-degree, up to 12 months).
I am interested in hiring Co-op students for research placements.

Complete these steps before you reach out to a faculty member!

Check requirements
  • Familiarize yourself with program requirements. You want to learn as much as possible from the information available to you before you reach out to a faculty member. Be sure to visit the graduate degree program listing and program-specific websites.
  • Check whether the program requires you to seek commitment from a supervisor prior to submitting an application. For some programs this is an essential step while others match successful applicants with faculty members within the first year of study. This is either indicated in the program profile under "Admission Information & Requirements" - "Prepare Application" - "Supervision" or on the program website.
Focus your search
  • Identify specific faculty members who are conducting research in your specific area of interest.
  • Establish that your research interests align with the faculty member’s research interests.
    • Read up on the faculty members in the program and the research being conducted in the department.
    • Familiarize yourself with their work, read their recent publications and past theses/dissertations that they supervised. Be certain that their research is indeed what you are hoping to study.
Make a good impression
  • Compose an error-free and grammatically correct email addressed to your specifically targeted faculty member, and remember to use their correct titles.
    • Do not send non-specific, mass emails to everyone in the department hoping for a match.
    • Address the faculty members by name. Your contact should be genuine rather than generic.
  • Include a brief outline of your academic background, why you are interested in working with the faculty member, and what experience you could bring to the department. The supervision enquiry form guides you with targeted questions. Ensure to craft compelling answers to these questions.
  • Highlight your achievements and why you are a top student. Faculty members receive dozens of requests from prospective students and you may have less than 30 seconds to pique someone’s interest.
  • Demonstrate that you are familiar with their research:
    • Convey the specific ways you are a good fit for the program.
    • Convey the specific ways the program/lab/faculty member is a good fit for the research you are interested in/already conducting.
  • Be enthusiastic, but don’t overdo it.
Attend an information session

G+PS regularly provides virtual sessions that focus on admission requirements and procedures and tips how to improve your application.

 

ADVICE AND INSIGHTS FROM UBC FACULTY ON REACHING OUT TO SUPERVISORS

These videos contain some general advice from faculty across UBC on finding and reaching out to a potential thesis supervisor.

Publications

 
 

If this is your researcher profile you can log in to the Faculty & Staff portal to update your details and provide recruitment preferences.

 
 

Follow these steps to apply to UBC Graduate School!