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Matarrita-Cascante, David

David Matarrita-Cascante

Associate Professor
Office:  
HFSB 322
Email:  
Phone:  
(979) 314-8478
Resume/CV

Education

Undergraduate Education
B.S. Agricultural Economics, University of Costa Rica.
Graduate Education
MSc. Rural Sociology, Penn State University
Ph.D. Rural Sociology, Penn State University

Areas of Expertise

  • Community sociology
  • Natural resource sociology
  • Human dimensions of natural resources

Professional Summary

Dr. David Matarrita-Cascante’s research investigates how demographic, social, and land-use changes affect the sustainability of rural, resource-dependent communities—including tourism destinations, amenity migration regions, and working lands—as well as multicultural urban communities. His work examines responses to these transformations at the levels of individuals, households, communities and institutions. By focusing on diverse property regimes, ranging from private ranches and community-owned lands to public resources such as national parks, Matarrita-Cascante studies how people and governance systems adapt to changing conditions in ways that influence sustainability, social justice, biodiversity, socio-ecological resilience and community well-being.

Through an interdisciplinary approach that integrates community sociology, natural resource sociology and social-ecological systems thinking, Matarrita-Cascante explores key challenges at the interface of people and their environments. His work addresses issues such as the impacts of land fragmentation on habitat connectivity, the role of private landowners in biodiversity conservation, and the potential of community-based institutions to promote adaptive management. He employs quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods approaches across diverse contexts in the U.S., Latin America and Japan. Over the course of his career, Matarrita-Cascante has secured, both independently and in collaboration with other investigators, more than $8 million in support of his research and pedagogical initiatives.

Selected Publications

Matarrita-Cascante, D. & Suess, C. (2020). Natural Amenities-Driven Migration and Tourism Entrepreneurship: Within Business Social Dynamics Conducive to Positive Social Change. Tourism Management 81: 104140.
Winkler, R. & Matarrita-Cascante, D. (2020). Exporting Consumption: Lifestyle Migration and Energy Use. Global Environmental Change 61: 102026. Matarrita-Cascante, D., Sene-Harper, A. & Ruyle, L. (2019). A Holistic Framework for Participatory Conservation Approaches. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 26(6): 484-494.
Matarrita-Cascante, D., Trejos, B., Qin, H., Joo, D., & Debner, S. (2017). Conceptualizing Community Resilience: Revisiting Conceptual Distinctions. Community Development 48(1): 105-123.
Matarrita-Cascante, D. & Brennan, M.A. (2012). Conceptualizing Community Development in the 21st Century. Community Development 43(3): 293-305.

All Publications