David T. Brown

Associate Professor, Geography and Tourism Studies

David T. Brown

Office: MC C425
Phone: 905-688-5550 x3293
Email: dbrown@brocku.ca

The combined approaches of sustainability theory and systems ecology provide us with powerful paradigms for understanding human impacts and managing change. Whether tourism, planning, or waste management, I am most interested in working towards sustainability by applying sound theoretical principles to real-world situations.

Research Interests

  • Digital tourism and interpretation
  • Municipal cultural mapping
  • Niagara Greenbelt Gateway Project
  • Land management plans for the Niagara Parks Commission
  • Trail and greenway management
  • Sustainable integrated waste management theory and practice

‘Inquisitive Minds’  – Radio interview with Dave Brown by Mike Saunders, CFBU FM, 12 November 2013 (aired 27 November 2013). Interview runs from time stamp 22:49 – 46:05 in one-hour radio show.

Publications and collections

  • Brown, David T. Ongoing. Friends of Laura Secord Website. A comprehensive website with maps and information on the Laura Secord Legacy Trail, background information on Laura Secord and her contemporaries, 65+ Secord-related points of interest, TripClip interpretive audio, mapping functions, multimedia content, itinerary planner, and other interpretive information. URL: http://friendsoflaurasecord.com.
  • Brown, David T. Ongoing. Niagara Greenbelt Gateway Website. A comprehensive interactive tourism website with 850+ points of interest, mapping functions, multimedia content, itinerary planner, and interpretive information.
  • Brown, David T. 2012. Invited chapter in To build or not to build a road . . . how do we honour the landscape? …By Understanding Context and Reconciling Kerouac with Our Inner Chicken. The Centre for Humans and Nature. Available online at URL http://www.humansandnature.org/build-road—david-t–brown-response-42.php.
  • Brown, David T. 2012. Tourism’s Wasteful Ways: Tourism and Waste Management. Invited review chapter (5000 words) in: Andrew Holden and Dave Fennell (Editors). A Handbook of Tourism and the Environment. Routledge Press. Published June 2012.
  • Brown, David T., John Middleton and Katelyn Vaughan. 2010. The Land Between the Lakes: An Overview of the Niagara Region. Invited introductory chapter in Black, John and Kayo J. Roy (eds.): Niagara Birds.
  • Baeker, Greg and Brown, David T. 2010. Mapping Community Identity: The Power of Stories. Municipal World, September 2010.
  • Brown, David T. 2010. A Wish List for Cultural Resource Mapping. Part 3, Leading Practice. Chapter 11 (pp. 111-116)  in Baeker, Greg. Rediscovering the Wealth of Places: The Municipal Cultural Planning Handbook. Municipal World Publications, St. Thomas, ON.
  • Brown, David T. 2010. Beyond Maps and Directories: A Wish List for Cultural Mapping. Remote presentation (from Christchurch, NZ, assisted by Greg Baeker and Jeannette Hanna) at the Ontario Library Association Super Conference 2010, Toronto, 25 February 2010.
  • Brown, David T. 2009. Trails, Tourism, Technology, and Taking Care: The promise and pitfalls of facilitating access to natural heritage destinations. Invited paper, Carolinian Canada Coalition Forum and Conference 2009: Caring for our Coast. 22-23 October 2009, Pelee Days Inn, Leamington, Ontario.
  • Black, John E., and David T. Brown (ed). Ongoing. Niagara Birds Migration, Census, and Breeding Data Repository,www.brocku.ca/tren/niagarabirds/. A collection of data records and analyses of Migration, Census, and Breeding data for significant bird species in the Greater Niagara region.
  • Brown, David T. and Renato Romanin. 2008. Digital Discovery and Electronic Explorations: Promoting Sustainable Tourism in the Niagara Greenbelt. Jury-selected award winning paper ($1000), Leading Edge 2008 conference on the Niagara Escarpment, 01-02 October, Monora Park Lodge, Orangeville, Ontario.
  • Vaughan, Katelyn, John Middleton, and David T. Brown. 2008. A comprehensive land management plan for the Niagara Parks Commission: Stage 1. Final submission January 2008.
  • Brown, David T. 2007. Biodiversity, Bats and Buddhism: Protecting Pteropus in Thailand (full research overview). First International South East Asian Bat Conference, hosted by Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat-Yai, Thailand, Texas Tech University, USA, and The Harrison Institute, U.K.. Club Andaman Resort Beach Hotel, Patong, Phuket,, Thailand – 08 May 2007.
  • Brown, David T. 2006. Trails, Tourism and Technology: Digital Convergence at the Trailhead. Parks Research Forum of Ontario 2006: Cross-Border Approaches to Protected Areas, Heritage Conservation, and Tourism. April 27-29, 2006, Niagara Falls, Ontario
  • Brown, David T. 2006. Garbage Cans to Gigabytes: Appropriate Technology for Taming Trash in Thailand. Keynote public presentation, Robert E. Umbaugh Annual Guest Lecture, Penn State University (DuBois), March 30, 2006.
  • Brown, David T. 2006. Talking Trash: Achieving Sustainable Integrated Waste Management. Invited lecture (part of Robert E. Umbaugh Annual Guest Lecture activities), Penn State University (DuBois), March 30, 2006.
  • Brown, David T. 2006. Biodiversity, Bats and Buddhism: Protecting Pteropus in Thailand. Invited lecture (part of Robert E. Umbaugh Annual Guest Lecture activities), Penn State University (DuBois), March 30, 2006.
  • Brown, David T. 2006. Biodiversity and conservation in northern Thailand:The Na Haeo Forest Reserve, Loei Province. Invited lecture (part of Robert E. Umbaugh Annual Guest Lecture activities), Penn State University (DuBois), March 30, 2006.
  • Brown, David T., John Middleton and Ryan Plummer. 2006. Management of  Species-at-Risk Habitats in the Niagara Glen and Gorge. Report commissioned by the Niagara Parks Commission, submitted 31 March 2006.
  • Plummer, Ryan, Jennifer Fresque, John Middleton and David T. Brown. 2006. Riparian Area Management: An Analysis of the Niagara Parks Commission. Dept of Tourism and Environment, Brock University. Report commissioned by the Niagara Parks Commission, submitted 31 March 2006.
  • Brown, David T. 2005. One person’s trash… The Informal Waste Economy in Eastern Thailand. Invited speaker, University of Toronto’s Centre for Environment Inaugural Seminar Series, Bahen Centre for Information Technology, University of Toronto, 19 October 2005.
  • Brown, David T. 2005. Internationalization: Lessons Learned at Brock. Thai Fulbright conference on Internationalization of Universities. Thai Fulbright Organization, Bangkok, Thailand. Workshop at Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand – 16 February 2005.

Courses

  • TOUR 1P92: Tourism Industry Sectors
  • TOUR/GEOG 2P33: Sustainable Integrated Waste Management
  • TOUR/GEOG 2P94: Human-Dominated Ecosystems
  • TOUR/GEOG 3P34: Sustainable Transportation
  • TOUR/GEOG 3F97: International Field Course (2015: TREN 3F94 – Ecological Regions and Tourism Destinations in Hong Kong and Thailand)
  • TOUR/IASC 3P93: Heritage in the Digital Age

Graduate Studies Opportunity

Herstmonceux_Castle_exterior

As part of my involvement with the Environments of Change research network, I am seeking a MA in Geography candidate to write a thesis on tourism approaches and heritage interpretation needs at Herstmonceux Castle, East Sussex. The candidate will produce an MA thesis which provides a roadmap for tourism interpretation by a wide audience, including scholars, policy makers, and the public. The thesis will also consider the historical environmental contexts of the estate and its historic gardens. Based at Brock University, the candidate will be working with an interdisciplinary team of scholars and practitioners from Canada and the UK.

This is a funded research opportunity, which will include a budget for travelling to the UK. Download the details here. Interested students are encouraged to reach out to me via email.