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Andrew Goetz

Professor

andrew.goetz@du.edu

303-871-2674 (Office)

https://du.digication.com/agoetz/home

Personal

Boettcher Center West, 2050 E. Iliff Ave. Denver, CO 80208

What I do

I am a Professor in the Department of Geography & the Environment specializing in transportation, urban studies, and urban & regional planning and policy.

Specialization(s)

transportation, urban, planning and policy

Professional Biography

Andrew R. Goetz is a Professor in the Department of Geography & the Environment and a faculty affiliate in the Scrivner Institute of Public Policy and the Urban Studies Program at the University of Denver. He received his PhD degree in Geography from The Ohio State University (1987), MA degree in Geography from Kent State University (1984), and BA degree in Geography from Northwestern University (1980). He has academic interests in the following areas: transportation, urban, and economic geography; urban, metropolitan, and statewide transportation planning and policy; transportation infrastructure and urban/economic growth; rail transit systems; transit-oriented development; smart growth planning; sustainability; high-speed rail; intermodal transportation; freight transportation; air transportation; airport planning; and globalization. He is currently a member of the Statewide Freight Advisory Council at the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), and has served on the State Freight and Passenger Rail Plan Working Group at CDOT, the Denver International Airport (DIA) Community Focus Group, the Transportation Advisory Committee for the City and County of Denver’s Strategic Transportation Plan, and the Transportation Advisory Committee for the Denver Regional Council of Governments [DRCOG]. Dr. Goetz served as associate editor of the Journal of Transport Geography from 2004-2012, and still serves on its editorial board along with the World Review of Intermodal Transportation Research. He is the treasurer of the Commission on Transport and Geography in the International Geographical Union, and is co-chair of the research cluster on network impacts in NECTAR—the Network of European Communications and Transport Activities Research. He received the 2010 Edward L. Ullman Award from the American Association of Geographers for Significant Contributions to Transportation Geography.

Degree(s)

  • Ph.D., Geography, Ohio State University, 1987
  • MA, Geography, Kent State University, 1984
  • BA, Geography, Northwestern University, 1980

Professional Affiliations

  • American Association of Geographers
  • International Geographical Union Commission on Transport and Geography
  • Network on European Communication and Transport Activities Research-Scientific Committee, Cluster 1 (Transport Infrastructure Impacts and Evaluation)
  • Transportation Research Board

Media Sources

Research

Most of my research pertains to the study of transportation and cities. My overall research goals involve seeking deeper knowledge in my areas of interest, including: 1) how transportation affects and is affected by urban form, 2) how transportation can be more effective and sustainable, 3) how cities can become better and more sustainable places.

I am a co-author or co-editor of five books, including Geographies of High-Speed Rail (Edward Elgar, forthcoming 2026), Metropolitan Denver: Growth and Change in the Mile-High City (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018), The Geographies of Air Transport (Ashgate, 2014), Denver International Airport: Lessons Learned (McGraw Hill, 1997), and Airline Deregulation and Laissez-Faire Mythology (Quorum, 1992). I have published over 80 peer-reviewed book chapters and articles in journals such as The Journal of Transport Geography, Urban Studies, Cities, Annals of the American Association of Geographers, The Professional Geographer, Transportation Research Part A, Transportation Research Record, and Publius: The Journal of Federalism. I have served as a principal investigator on over 30 funded research projects and fellowships, including an assessment of transportation planning at metropolitan planning organizations commissioned by the U.S. Congress, an assessment of intermodal transportation planning at state departments of transportation, funding and financing of transit infrastructure, urban goods movement and local climate action plans, international experiences with high-speed rail and implications for the US, and regional collaboration in support of transit infrastructure provision.

Areas of Research

transportation geography
urban geography
economic geography
transportation planning
transportation policy
urban planning
urban policy
transportation infrastructure and urban/economic growth
rail transit systems
transit-oriented development
smart growth planning
sustainability
high-speed rail
intermodal transportation
freight transportation
air transportation
airport planning
globalization.

Key Projects

  • Exploring the Potential of Providing High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Service to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport
  • Metropolitan Planning Organization Study
  • Passenger Rail and Freight Rail Partnerships: Case Studies in Boston, Chicago, and Denver
  • Urban Goods Movement and Local Climate Action Plans: Assessing strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from urban freight transportation
  • Buy America Requirements for Federally Funded Airports

Featured Publications

Goetz, A. R., & Boschmann, E. (2018). Metropolitan Denver: Growth and change in the Mile High City. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Goetz, A. R., & Budd, L. C. S. (Eds.). (2014). The Geographies of Air Transport. Ashgate.
Goetz, A. R., Szyliowicz, J. S., & Dempsey, P. S. (1997). Denver International Airport: Lessons Learned. Denver International Airport: Lessons Learned. New York, US: McGraw-Hill.
Goetz, A. R., & Dempsey, P. S. (1996). Airline Deregulation and Laissez-Faire Mythology (Japanese Language Edition). Airline Deregulation and Laissez-Faire Mythology. Westport,CT: Greenwood Press.
Goetz, A. R. (2023). Exploring the potential of providing high-speed intercity passenger rail service to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Chicago, IL: High Speed Rail Alliance.

Presentations

Goetz, A. R., & Perl, A. (2025). High-Speed Rail Connections to Airports: Complementarity and Competition Between Air and Rail Service. Annual Meeting of the AAG. Detroit, Michigan: American Association of Geographers.
Goetz, A. R. (2024). US High Speed Rail: Myth or Reality?. Socioeconomic Aspects of High Speed Rail Systems. Online: International Union of Railways.
Goetz, A. R. (2023). The next transport revolution: Sustainable mobility and decarbonisation. Clare Hall University of Cambridge Colloquium Series. Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge Clare Hall.
Goetz, A. R. (2023). Analyzing transportation innovations in Climate Action Plans (CAPs) for large U.S. cities. RGS-IBG Annual Conference. London: Royal Geographical Society-Institute of British Geographers.
Goetz, A. R. (2024). Impacts of Low-Cost Carriers on Air Travel and Tourism in Malta . AAG Annual Conference. Honolulu, Hawaii: American Association of Geographers.

Awards

  • 2010 Edward L. Ullman Award for Significant Contributions to Transportation Geography, Association of American Geographers
  • Malcolm L. Comeaux Honorary Lecture, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University
  • Hoyle Lecture in Transport Geography, Transport Geography Research Group, Royal Geographic Society
  • Douglas K. Fleming Honorary Lecture in Transportation Geography, Association of American Geographers
  • Senior Visiting Fellowship , University of Bologna Institute of Advanced Studies