Faculty

Stephen Metts brings to The New School a practice at the intersection of geospatial science, data-driven urban research, and design-informed mapping. He teaches courses focused on quantitative spatial methods and reproducible analytical workflows in R and GIS.

In Spatial Thinking with GIS (UENV 3200 + UURB 3210), students work with real-world urban and environmental data to explore “what happens where” through mapping and analysis. GIS for International Crises, Development & the Environment (NINT 5380) applies spatial methods to humanitarian, development, and ecological systems. Design & Urban Ecologies Methods 1 (PGUD 5160) introduces R/RStudio, spatial workflows, and data visualization for urban design and policy contexts.  

As principal of TraceSpatial, Metts leads projects in cartographic design, spatial analytics, and R-based geoprocessing for public, nonprofit, and private clients.

Metts is co-author of Climate Crisis, Energy Violence: Mapping Fossil Energy’s Enduring Grasp on Our Precarious Future (Elsevier/Academic Press, 2024), exploring energy systems through spatial and temporal analysis within ecological and justice frameworks.  

Metts’s work centers on quantitative spatial methods: GIS and spatial data structures, computational workflows in R, cartographic design, and urban and environmental applications. Through teaching and practice, he bridges pedagogy and real-world spatial analytics to prepare students for data-driven inquiry and design.