Huijoo Shon
My background includes a geographical journey to East and Southern Africa. Major interests are environmental justice and health equity, with a focus on settlement environments, child health, and spatial practices. Past research focused on urbanicity, health, and poverty in African countries. I seek to understand residential infrastructures in water, sanitation, housing, and energy sectors and vulnerability to climate change.
My study includes structural and behavioral transitions to achieve a healthy and resilient community. I am delving into community development with the inclusion of residents’ voices, indigenous knowledge, and collaborative behaviors. Ongoing research integrates Earth observation data, field investigations, and surveys to understand settlement environments and their impacts on health in the geographies of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.
Research Interests: Environmental justice; Health equity; Water and sanitation; Energy; Community development; Climate change; African geography
Education
2023-present. Ph.D. student, Dept. of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2022 Master of City Planning, Graduated School of Environmental Studies, Seoul National University
2018 Bachelor of Science, Dept. of Geography, Konkuk University, Seoul
Paper
Urbanicity and child health in 26 sub-Saharan African countries: Settlement type and its association with mortality and morbidity. Social Science & Medicine, 340 (2024), 116401. [Paper] (Shon, H.)
Spatial pattern of aid allocation in the 21st century: Evidence from 38 sub-Saharan African countries. Under review, Papers in Regional Science, [Paper] (Shon, H., Lee, H., & Kim, B.)
Spatial and temporal patterns of energy aid and poverty in four African countries: Focusing on distributive and recognition energy justice. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 192 (2024), 114261. [Paper] (Lee, H., & Shon, H.)
Experience
2022-2023 Researcher, Field research in Kenya, supported by Taejae Research Foundation (City Research Inst.)
2022-2023 Researcher, Field research in Ethiopia, supported by Seoul National University
2020; 2023 Lecturer, Extension College, Seoul National University
2021-2022 Researcher, The Korea Safety Health Environment Foundation (Korea SHE)
2021-2022 Research Assistant, SNU Institute of Economic Research (SIER), Seoul National University
2020-2022 Research Assistant, Innovation for Sustainable Development Lab (ISD), Seoul National University
Contact Detail
hjshon@unc.edu