This work focuses on integrating land-use location science with the technology of geographic information systems (GIS). The text describes the basic principles of location decision and the means for applying them in order to improve the real estate decision.
Dr. Thrall has led the development of the contemporary university school of business geography thought. His 2002 book published by Oxford University Press, Business Geography and New Real Estate Market Analysis, is a synthesis of his pioneering contributions for over a quarter century. The American Real Estate Society's Journal of Real Estate Literature called his book "a paradigm shift" for real estate market analysis. The Wharton School of Business writes that Thrall's book is "compelling" as it builds the bridge between urban economic and geographic sciences advancing real estate market analysis. George Mason University writes that Thrall's book is one that every person in business needs to read. He has been invited to give presentations on his 2002 book to University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business and Cal Berkeley's Haas School of Business, and others. In 2004 he was invited to present the annual "Golledge Lecture" at UC Santa Barbara, and in 2009 the annual "Burns Lecture" in the Daniels College of Business, University of Denver. In 2007 he received the ARES/Torto-Wheaton award for "Best Real Estate Market Analysis." In 2009 he received the Distinguished Scholar Award in Business Geography from the Association of American Geographers. In 2009 he was elected to be the 2012/13 President of the American Real Estate Society.
Dr. Thrall has written or edited over a dozen books, and over 150 professional articles. His ten volume Scientific Geography Series is the standard reference for academic and practitioner applications of business location modeling and applications of geographic information systems to the urban built environment. Hid co-authored work on real estate market analysis will be published by CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member, www.ccim.com ) with algorithms programmed by ESRI for CCIM's Site To Do Business. This collaborative work
will comprise the body of knowledge for CCIM's new Real Estate Market Analysis 102 curriculum.
Bridging the gap between academia and the private sector, he has over twenty years experience consulting. He has executed real estate market analysis for over $1B in development. He has been admitted as an expert in Federal and State Courts in the fields of real estate market analysis, geospatial location analysis, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS); he has been an expert in over $100M in litigation.
Dr. Thrall has been invited to make many public speaking engagements, and to publish articles for organizations including CCIM, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, FannieMae and the Appraisal Institute. Professor Thrall is the only geographer to have been on the academic board of editors of the Appraisal Institute's Appraisal Journal. He is one of four geographers that have been invited to be fellows of the Homer Hoyt Institute's Weimer School For Advanced Studies In Real Estate and Land Economics, one of the highest accolades in academic and high-level practitioner real estate. He gave the keynote address to the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities' 2005 annual meeting. He authored the Geographic Access To Higher Education Study for the Florida Board of Governors which contributed to the elevation of several two-year community colleges to four-year state college status, including Santa Fe College in Gainesville FL.
Dr. Thrall has been a Professor at University of Florida since 1983, where he is regularly nominated and has been a recipient of teaching awards. He created the Business Geography curriculum offering a Bachelors of Business Administration with a specialty in Business and Marketing Geography. He has chaired over 22 graduate student committees at MA and Ph.D. levels. For ten years he was co-editor of the Journal of Real Estate Literature, three times elected to the Board of Directors of the American Real Estate Society; and for fifteen years business geography, software and data editor for the GIS professional publication magazine GeoSpatial Solutions. He is on the Board of Directors of the International Geographical Union representing Applied Business Geography. He is a member of the editorial boards of Journal of Real Estate Research, and Journal of Sustainable Real Estate. He is Founding Chair
of the Business Geography Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers.
Dr. Grant Thrall has two patent pendings:
1. 20080228747 INFORMATION SYSTEM PROVIDING ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE INDICATORS BY LIFESTYLE SEGMENTATION PROFILE AND RELATED METHODS 09-18-2008
2. 20080227077 GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM PROVIDING ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND RELATED METHODS 09-18-2008
Dr. Thrall has a Ph.D. in Geography and Economics, and an MA in Economics from The Ohio State University, and a BA in Business & Economics from California State University at Los Angeles. Professor Grant Thrall has been on the faculty of McMaster University in Canada, and SUNY at Buffalo. In 1989, he was Resident Scholar of the Homer Hoyt Institute in Washington DC. In 1990, he was Visiting Distinguished Professor at San Diego State University. As a volunteer, Grant Thrall lent his expertise to his resident town of Gainesville, Florida. In appreciation, the Mayor and Gainesville City Commission declared two days as "Grant Thrall Days" for his advice and management of redevelopment of Gainesville's the historic downtown.
