Introduction

Dear Readers,

We are pleased to introduce the latest issue of Southeastern Geographer and to have the opportunity to engage with you once again in the opening pages of the journal. The contents of this issue demonstrates once again that geographers working in the American South are diverse, imaginative, and innovative whether they are academicians or practitioners.

Garrett Harper and Chad Cotton, both of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, have kindly contributed the cover photo for this issue, entitled, “Robert Ellis at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.” The photo was taken at a recent performance by Ellis in this historic auditorium, which served as the venue of Grand Old Opry performances and broadcasts from 1943 to 1974. This photo of Ellis, who is a prominent member of the emergent Americana musical genre, reminds us of the deep roots and the innovative culture of the music scene in Nashville.

The cover art essay is followed by six research articles that span the human and physical branches of our discipline and touch upon the geographical techniques as well. The first article—one of two that focus on the Atlanta Metropolitan Region—is written by John Strait and Gang Gong. It examines the geography of racial and ethnic segregation in and around Atlanta between 1990 and 2010, focusing particularly on the impacts of Hispanic and Asian residential patterns on the region as a whole. The second article, written by Thomas Saladyga and R. Stockton Maxwell, uses dendrochronological techniques to examine climate response of the Eastern Hemlock in southern West Virginia from the mid- nineteenth century to the present day. This is followed by an article written by Ryan James and Autumn James that uses convergence theory to analyze patterns of income and economic growth across Appalachia between 1990 and 2010. The third article, by Mario Giraldo, Paula Jackson, and Wayne Van-Horne, analyses the effects of tree species composition, and particularly deciduous versus coniferous species, on the hydrology of forest patches in suburban Atlanta. Larry Joe Morgan and Ted Klimasewski then analyze college football and demonstrate its importance in the American South with the aid of an index based on percentages of wins and margins of victory. The final article, written by Rebecca Johns Krishnaswami and Elizabeth Merton, report on the results of a photo survey of residential lawns in St. Petersburg, Florida in which they demonstrate that neglected lawns are more significant, both geographically and ecologically, than more intensively managed lawns. Concluding this issue is a book review by Andrew Hilburn of The Jumbies’ Playing Ground: Old World Influences on Afro-Creole Masquerades in the Eastern Caribbean, by Robert Wyndham Nicholls.

We hope you enjoy this issue of Southeastern Geographer. As always, we encourage you to submit research articles, cover art essays, geographical notes, and book reviews to be considered for publication. Likewise, we welcome your ideas for special issues and innovative content that would be of interest to the readership. Finally, we welcome your comments on how we are doing as editors and any suggestions you might have on how we could improve the quality of future issues.

Best regards,

Andy Reese and David Cochran