Dr. Finlay is a health geographer and environmental gerontologist who uses mixed methods to investigate how built, social, and natural environments affect health, well-being, and quality of life. In particular, she focuses on aging in place and cognitive health across the life course. Dr. Finlay also investigates impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on neighborhood environments and health among aging Americans.
keywords
Health geography, neighborhoods and health, aging and the life course, socio-geographic determinants of health, social epidemiology, qualitative methods, mixed methods
GEOG 2552 - Healthy Places, Toxic Spaces: Geographies of Wellbeing, Risk, and Care
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2026
Your address may be the strongest predictor of how long�and how well�you live. This course introduces health and medical geography to explore how built, social, and natural environments shape wellbeing, illness, and access to care. Through local to global case studies and hands-on activities, students will examine socio-spatial patterns of disease, environmental injustices, and health dynamics. Emphasizing interdisciplinary methods, the course builds foundational skills to understand how geography literally gets under the skin.
GEOG 3612 - Reimagining Cities: Spaces of Power, Privilege, and Possibility
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2025
Curious about what shapes your lifestyle, health, job opportunities, and how long you�ll live? Your zip code! This course introduces the dynamics of American cities by investigating our country�s built, social, and natural urban environments through a critical and applied lens. With engaging class exercises and independent local field trips, you�ll explore how urban (re)development is a contested, socially and spatially uneven process. As a group, we will unpack how structural axes of power and privilege literally shape cities and create highly unequal opportunities for health, wellbeing, and opportunity. By the end of the course, students will be able to critically analyze urban spaces and apply insights to fields like urban planning, public health, social justice, and environmental sustainability. Whether pursuing further academic research or engaging in community-based work, students will gain practical skills in spatial analysis, policy evaluation, and the design of more equitable urban spaces.
GEOG 3692 - Introduction to Global Public Health
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2023 / Spring 2024
Introduces global health by putting its contemporary definition, determinants, development and direction as a field into a broad global context. The course is divided into four core topics: 1) the burden and distribution of disease and mortality; 2) the determinants of global health disparities; 3) the development of global health policies; and 4) the outcomes of global health interventions. Required for the Public Health Certificate. Same as PBHL 3692.
