Rajrani Kalra
Contact
Office Hours
Bio
Dr. Rajrani Kalra is a Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at California State University, San Bernardino, where she has served on the faculty for over 18 years. She earned her Ph.D. in Geography from Kent State University in 2007.
Dr. Kalra’s research focuses on urban, economic, and tourism geography. Her scholarly contributions include 19 book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles. Her recent publications examine the linguistic diversity of India (2019) and topics in tourism geography (2020–2021). She has presented her research extensively, with more than fifty presentations at national and international geography conferences.
She served as President of International Phi Beta Delta, an international honors society, from 2016 to 2017. Dr. Kalra has also held several international academic appointments, including Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of Geography at the University of Otago, New Zealand (Summer 2018), Visiting Professor in Harbin, China (Summer 2019 and Fall 2023), and Visiting Professor at Fuyong Normal University (Fall 2023).
Office Hours
Mondays, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Zoom: https://csusb.zoom.us/j/3303891463?omn=82624469976
Education
PhD (Geography) Kent State University, Kent,Ohio (2007)
M.A (Geography/Urban) University of Akron, Akron,Ohio(2003)
M.Phil(Geography) University of Delhi, India (1999)
B.Ed(Education and Geography) Central Institute of Education, University of Delhi, India(1998)
M.A ( Geography) Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, India (1995)
B.A( Geography Honors), Miranda House, University of Delhi, India (1993)
Courses/Teaching
GEOG 1650: World regions and people
GEOG 3900: Human Geography Seminar( Geography of Tourism)
GEOG : 3040: Urban Geography
GEOG 3050: Economic Geography
SSCI 3000: Global Issues and Perspectives( Globalization and Urbanization)
GEOG 4860: GIS Socio-economic applications
GEOG 5000: Senior Seminar
Specialization
Selected Publications:
Book Chapter Publications
Saha, Kakoli, Kalra, R., and Khare, Rachna (2025) Sustainable Urbanism: Making Indian religious cities accessible, in Firoz, Dahiya, Rajendran, Daashora and Chatterjee (Eds.) Urban Planning and Design for Megacities in the Global South, Springer
Kalra, Rajrani (2020) ‘Recent Studies in Tourism Geography in India: Definition, Approaches and Prospects’ In R. Thakur, Ashok Dutt, G. Pomeroy and SK Thakur(Eds.) Urban and Regional Planning and Development: 20th century Forms and 21st century Transformations. Netherlands: Springer.
Kalra R., Dutt A.K. (2019) Exploring Linguistic Diversity in India: A Spatial Analysis. In: Brunn S., Kehrein R. (Eds) Handbook of the Changing World Language Map. Springer, Cham (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73400-2_202-1).
Kalra, Rajrani (2016) Land Use Change, Real Estate and High Technology in Bengaluru, in B. Thakur, H.S. Sharma, Suresh Misra, and S. Chattopadhyay (Eds.) Regional Development Theory and Practice, Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi.
Kalra, Rajrani (2015) High–Technology and Socio-Spatial Change in Bengaluru (India): A Mixed Method approach, in A.K. Dutt, A.G. Noble, F.C. Costa, R.R. Thakur and S.K. Thakur (Eds.) Spatial Diversity and Dynamics in Resources and Urban Development: Volume II: Urban Development, pp. 261- 290, Netherlands: Springer.
Kalra, Rajrani (2012) Changes in Linguistic Diversity in India: A Regional Analysis,1971-1991, in Ashok Dutt, F.J. Costa, B. Thakur, and V. Wadhwa (eds.) Facets of Social Geography - International and Indian Perspectives, Cambridge University Press, Delhi: India.
Kalra, R. (2007) Language Dissemination in India: 1971-1991, in B. Thakur, G. Pomeroy, Chris Cusack, and S.K. Thakur. (Eds.) City Society and Planning Volume 2, Society, Delhi: Concept Publishing Company, pp. 447-477.
Kalra, R. (2006) High Technology and Urban development in Bangalore, India, in Jay Gatrell and Neil Reid (Eds.) Enterprising Worlds: A Geographic Perspective on Economics, Environment and Ethics. Netherlands: Springer: pp. 71-81.
Kalra, R. (2004) Rural-Urban Transformation in National Capital Territory of Delhi, in B. Thakur et al. (Eds.) Urban and Regional Development in India. Delhi: Concept Publishing Company: pp. 197-216.
Journal Articles (Publications)
Saha, K., Kalra, R. and Khare, R. (2022) A Geospatial Approach to Enhance Religious Tourism in India-A Case of Ujjain City (Madhya Pradesh), Geo Journal, 87:1793-1810
Kalra, Rajrani and S.K. Thakur (2015) Development patterns in India: Spatial convergence or divergence? Geo Journal, 80(1):15-31.
Kalra, Rajrani (2014) High Technology and Regional Development in a Globalizing World: A Case of India.in Asian Profile.42 (4):381-400.
Kalra, Rajrani and Vipin Gupta (2014) GIS and E-Learning for Exploring College Graduates with Transcultural Education, International Research and Review Phi Delta Honors Society for International Scholars
Kalra, Rajrani (2011) High Technology and Socio-Economic Transformation in Bengaluru (India): A Geographical Analysis. Asian Profile, 39 (6):536-558.
Encyclopedia Entries
Kalra, Rajrani (2016) "Defining Travel and Tourism (general definitions, trends, historical perspective)", for the SAGE Reference project The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Travel and Tourism.
Kalra, R (2011) Little India (Indian Americans) In Jonathan H.X.Lee and Kathleen M Nadeau (Eds.) Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folk life (Volume 2):Santa Barbara, CA:ABC-CLIO,LLC: 490-492.
Kalra, R(2011) Clothes and Jewelry (Indian Americans) In Jonathan H.X.Lee and Kathleen M Nadeau (Eds.) Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folk life(Volume 2):Santa Barbara, CA:ABC- CLIO,LLC: 466-467.
Kalra, R (2011) Social Etiquette and Customs (Indian Americans) In Jonathan H.X.Lee and Kathleen M Nadeau (Eds.) Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folk life(Volume 2):Santa Barbara, CA:ABC-CLIO,LLC:508-509.
Kalra, R( 2011) Names and Name Giving (Indian Americans) In Jonathan H.X.Lee and Kathleen M Nadeau (Eds.) Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folk life(Volume 2):Santa Barbara, CA:ABC- CLIO,LLC:496-498.
Research and Teaching Interests
Urban and Economic Geography, Globalization, Spatial Analysis and Thinking, Geography of Tourism, and South Asia( Focussing on India)
Come Explore the Spatial Journey of Inland Empire and around the World (Field Trips( A visit to Ethnic Enclaves) and Guest Speakers
BAPS Hindu Temple, Chino, CA.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/8mTEMqk5pkPCrsvd8
Riverside Sikh Temple
https://photos.app.goo.gl/UX3iRDRHcVzidyGu8
Diwali celebration with Class/Community via Zoom
https://photos.app.goo.gl/igMuuFvqLFihPa9F7
Prof. Jim Mulvihill on Development oppurtunities in Down town San Bernardino
https://photos.app.goo.gl/XTVx4YmKinTfdrbC7
Shri Laxmi Narayan Mandir, Riverside and Sikh Temple and GEOG 5000 ( Mock Interview sessions; Spring 2022)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/k62qwY2vjJ827K8w9
Experiences of Ron Lister Visiting Fellow, 2018, NZL( The University of Otago)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/tuBw58rhtRfxCGTC7
University of Christchurch
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WS4pgEUGLMhS8Bxt9
ESRI field Trip ( 2013) Dr. Michael Phoenix
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WS4pgEUGLMhS8Bxt9
Geography Awareness Day with Prof. Waldo Tobler, UCSB ( Nov, 2011)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/5YFAhK6KHu8njfD39