HEX's Projects

The first stage of the Land Cover Classification Project focuses on estimating and reporting the amount of carbon sequestration, among other data, from trees in the City of Turlock.

• Research Assistants
  • 2025
    • August Frisk, Research Assistant
  • 2023-2024 
    • Mitzi Osorio, College Corp Intern
    • Tiffani Sandoval-Rodríguez, College Corp Intern
    • Joshua Samayoa, College Corp Intern
    • Yaniri Piza, College Corp Intern
  • 2022-2023
    • Ari Carlos, College Corp Intern
    • Patrick Ejinaka, College Corp Intern
    • Moriah Do, College Corp Intern
    • Andrea Schoepf, College Corp Intern
    • Amelia Velázquez-Valencia, College Corp Intern
  • 2022
    • Laura Plascencia, Research Assistant

The Smoke & Vape Free Scholar Initiative Program 

California Endgame’s goal to end tobacco use in the state by 2035 requires strengthening tobacco control capacity in all regions of the state. Although California’s San Joaquin Valley (SJV) geographic land mass represents about 25% of the State and is the fastest growing region with over 4 million residents and counting, it is severely under-resourced and lags in achieving state tobacco control objectives. According to 2019 data, despite the fact that more people have tried to quit smoking, counties of the SJV have higher smoking prevalence compared to the whole state. Moreover, the SJV is home to several immigrant communities (e.g., Hispanic, Hmong), many of who reside in rural areas of the Valley and are vulnerable to tobacco use and are targets of the industry.

To help address this issue, faculty members from Stanislaus State (Dr. Díaz-Garayúa, PI & Dr. Meggan Jordan CoI) and the University of California, Merced (Dr. Arturo Durazo, PI) have partnered up to recruit and train cohorts of undergraduate scholars at Stanislaus State. In addition to the scholars being integrated into a tobacco control research project conducted at the UC Merced’s Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center (NCPC), scholars will be assigned to one of six county local lead agencies (LLAs).

• Cohorts
  • 2022-2023
    • Lara Al-Jaser
    • Giana Nunes
    • Monica Montenegro
    • Asha Nair
    • Jacqueline Villaseñor
  • 2023-2024
    • Yurixia Ávalos
    • Heriberto Fuentes
    • Saifa Sanguilan
    • Luis Suárez-López
    • Justin Thao
  • 2024-2025
    • Alexander Ayers
    • Xandria Cortez
    • Priscila García
    • Máximo Madrigal
    • Xochitl Ramírez

This work [Hernández-Lara, Oscar Gerardo; José Díaz-Garayúa; and Kevin Butler (2022) COVID- 19 deaths in México: A spatiotemporal analysis in Stanley D. Brunn and Donna Gilbreath (eds.) COVID-19 and an Emerging World of Ad Hoc Geographies (949-961). Springer: US.] fills a research void and addresses the pattern of COVID-19 deaths in México by focusing on a spatiotemporal analysis during the first year of the pandemic. The inclusion of a time-series analysis adds depth to the spatial analysis. You can also access a web-mapping application.
 

Racially Restrictive Covenants, Modesto, CA

After the Great Depression prompted the National Mortgage Crisis of the 1930s, legislation from the New Deal provided a shift on mortgage lending.  The Federal Government backed mortgage lending not just as a path to increase homeownership but also wealth accumulation.  However, not everybody was treated equally.  Non-white communities were redlined and housing developments and housing deeds on those developments started to add Racially Restrictive Covenants with a similar language to this:

“H) That said lots, or any portion thereof, shall not be used in any manner whatsoever or occupied by any Negro, Chinese, Japanese, Hindu, Malayan, Mexican, Cuban, or native of the Turkish Empire, or any person not of the Caucasian race, or descent thereof except as the servant of the occupant.”

These Racially Restrictive Covenants were used across the United States and Modesto was not an exception.  These records show how RRCs were used in Modesto mainly around the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.  Although these restrictions are not applicable nowadays, their effects continue haunting the deepest fabric of our society. 

You can access the WEB MAPPING APPLICATION or go to RRC | California State University Stanislaus

Digital Project Sponsors

Sharon Froba | Sharon Froba founded Modesto High School’s annual Day of Respect in 1998. Day of Respect has been featured on Inside California Education, a show on PBS, KVIE Channel 6, and the Modesto Bee.  As a retired teacher, Sharon has continued working for our community.  Sharon and David took on the painstakingly difficult task of collecting and identifying documents from the Stanislaus County archives on Racially Restrictive Covenants in Modesto.

David Froba | As a retired attorney at law, David Froba has helped uncover over one hundred subdivisions, and counting, with racially restrictive covenants (RRC's) In Modesto. RRC's were used as a legal tool to segregate many cities across the United States, and Modesto was no exception. These records show how RRCs were used in Modesto mainly around the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. 

David and Sharon Froba have sponsored this project in addition to facilitate the data for this work.

Digital Project Team

Cameron Pallotta | He was lecturer in the Geography Program and the Geography GIS computer lab manager at California State University, Stanislaus. He worked as a GIS Analyst for more than 10 years, helping to develop GIS systems for agencies in the Central Valley of California. 

José R. Díaz-Garayúa | He is Associate Professor of Human Geography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) at California State University Stanislaus.  He is co-Director of CASA, the Center for Applied Spatial Analysis.  His research focuses on inequities with emphasis on race, ethnicity, and place.  One of his interests spin around the intersection of Geography (Geographic Thought, Spatial Thinking, and GIS) and the Humanities (particularly the human experience and cultural studies).