William Graves

William Graves

Associate Professor
Geography and Earth Sciences

John H. Biggs Faculty Fellow, GlaxoSmithKline Faculty Fellow
Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Earth Sciences
Associate Professor, Public Policy Doctoral Program

Faculty Website

Research Interests: Economic Development, Economic Geography, Urban Development; Post-industrial Transformation,

Dr. Graves is an economic geographer specializing in studies of the post-industrial transformation of North Carolina. His work focuses on the role of finance in economic development as well as understanding the urban transformation associated with economic change. This work has been funded by the John H. Biggs Faculty Fellowship from UNC Charlotte and the GlaxoSmithKline Faculty Fellowship from the NC State University Institute for Emerging Issues.

The Geography of Finance
  • “Risk, Finance and North Carolina’s Post-Industrial Future.”Southeastern Geographer. (forthcoming with Chris Woodey)
  • “Financing Flexibility in a Global Market: The Metropolitan Distribution of Equity Investment.” in Urban Geography
  • “Corporate Command Status in the Nonmetropolitan South, 1990-2001.” in The Southeastern Geographer
  • “Paying for the New Economy: The Geography of Equity Finance in North Carolina.” in The North Carolina Geographer
  • “Charlotte’s Role as a Financial Center: Looking Beyond Bank Assets.” in The Southeastern Geographer
  • “The Geography of Mutual Fund Assets.” in The Professional Geographer
The Economic Development of the Urban South
  • “Gentrification as Corporate Growth Strategy: The Strange Case of Charlotte, North Carolina and the Bank of America.” Journal of Urban Affairs. (with Heather Smith)
  • “‘Great Banks Need Great Cities.’ The Corporate (re) Development of a New South City.” in The Southeastern Geographer (with Heather Smith)
  • “The Intra-Urban Distribution of Corporate Activities: A Case Study of Atlanta.” in The Southeastern Geographer
  • “From Mills to Multinationals. The Corporate Production of Space in Southern Cities” (under review) (with Heather Smith)