The 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers (AAG) took place from March 24 to 28 in Detroit, Michigan, marking a significant return to the city after four decades. Held at Huntington Place, the conference attracted geographers from around the world to explore the theme "Making Spaces of Possibility."​ Detroit, renowned for its history of activism, innovation, and environmental justice, provided a dynamic backdrop for the event. The conference featured sessions that delved into topics such as Black food sovereignty, urban co-governance, and environmental justice.

CSS Data Scientist Brad Bottoms and Research Associate Caroline Egan were among the 60+ presentations hosted at the conference. 

Bottoms had the opportunity to present his research on improving flood resilience metrics using spatial methods. The talk built on his published work, "Towards Urban Place-Based Resilience Modeling", highlighting how communities can extract richer, more accurate information from imperfect datasets rather than accepting data at face value, which is exactly the kind of practical, cross-disciplinary thinking geography requires. Bottoms shared, "It was especially rewarding to share this work as part of the Center for Social Solutions, where I get to work across disciplines on real-world, water-related hazard issues that actually matter to people". As a board member of the Qualitative Research Specialty Group (QRSG), he also helped organize and host a keynote session with the Black Bottom Archives, one of the most well received panels at the conference due to its relevance to the area. This powerful session underscored the importance of place and memory in Detroit’s Black communities and brought critical attention to the role of qualitative methods and community storytelling in geographic research.

Egan presented her paper titled, “This Grid Ain't Big Enough for the Two of Us: The Contested Geographies of AI Infrastructure” as part of the panel “Topics in Energy Research.” Her presentation touched on the ethical, political, and practical issues concerning the burgeoning construction of AI infrastructure. Like many other digital technologies, AI can seem like an intangible and placeless technology that doesn’t exist outside of the phone or computer used to access it. However, AI tools are powered by massive data centers that draw on natural resources including electricity and water, affecting local communities' access and often resulting in higher prices for average consumers. Egan’s work examines the potential and ongoing construction of AI data centers in three locations–Benton Harbor, Michigan; Clarksville, Virginia; and Memphis, Tennessee–to understand how various stakeholders attempt to balance growth, regulation, and community impact. 

The 2025 AAG Annual Meeting successfully highlighted the intersection of geography with social justice, culture, and community engagement. As the AAG continues its approach of connecting the conference more strongly to the place where it is held, the Detroit gathering set a precedent for future meetings that prioritize local context and community involvement. ​