research paper topics in urban planning

Presentations made painless

• Get Premium

105 Urban Planning Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Urban planning is an essential aspect of city development that aims to create sustainable, livable, and functional urban environments. It involves the design and management of the physical and social infrastructure of cities, towns, and communities. If you are studying urban planning or are interested in exploring this field, here are 105 essay topic ideas and examples to inspire your research and writing:

• The impact of urbanization on the environment
• The role of transportation in urban planning
• The importance of affordable housing in urban development
• Urban renewal and gentrification
• The influence of technology on urban planning
• The concept of smart cities
• The history of urban planning
• The relationship between urban planning and public health
• The role of public spaces in urban design
• The challenges of urban development in developing countries
• The impact of urban sprawl on communities
• The role of community participation in urban planning
• The principles of sustainable urban planning
• The benefits of mixed-use development in urban areas
• The impact of climate change on urban planning
• The concept of walkable cities
• The role of public transportation in reducing traffic congestion
• The importance of historic preservation in urban planning
• The impact of globalization on urban development
• The role of zoning laws in urban planning
• The benefits of green infrastructure in cities
• The challenges of urban planning in post-disaster reconstruction
• The role of urban design in promoting social equity
• The impact of urban planning on social cohesion
• The role of urban agriculture in sustainable cities
• The benefits of mixed-income housing in urban areas
• The impact of urban planning on economic development
• The concept of new urbanism
• The challenges of urban planning in mega-cities
• The role of urban planning in reducing crime
• The benefits of public art in urban spaces
• The impact of urban planning on mental health
• The role of urban design in promoting physical activity
• The challenges of affordable housing in high-cost cities
• The importance of universal design in urban planning
• The impact of transportation infrastructure on urban development
• The role of urban planning in disaster preparedness
• The benefits of mixed-use development in reducing car dependence
• The impact of urban planning on air quality
• The role of urban design in reducing noise pollution
• The challenges of urban planning in rapidly growing cities
• The importance of green spaces in urban areas
• The impact of urban planning on social segregation
• The role of urban design in promoting cultural diversity
• The benefits of pedestrian-friendly cities
• The impact of urban planning on water management
• The challenges of urban planning in informal settlements
• The role of urban design in promoting inclusivity
• The benefits of adaptive reuse in historic preservation
• The impact of urban planning on energy consumption
• The role of urban agriculture in food security
• The challenges of urban planning in coastal cities
• The importance of public art in placemaking
• The impact of urban planning on wildlife habitat
• The role of urban design in promoting social interaction
• The benefits of mixed-use development in reducing urban sprawl
• The impact of urban planning on biodiversity
• The role of urban planning in disaster recovery
• The challenges of urban planning in shrinking cities
• The importance of green building in sustainable cities
• The impact of urban planning on water quality
• The role of urban design in promoting community engagement
• The benefits of green roofs in urban areas
• The impact of urban planning on wildlife migration
• The challenges of urban planning in conflict-affected areas
• The importance of public transportation in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• The role of urban design in promoting social justice
• The benefits of mixed-income housing in reducing poverty
• The impact of urban planning on cultural heritage preservation
• The role of urban planning in promoting disaster resilience
• The challenges of urban planning in rapidly urbanizing regions
• The importance of urban greenways in promoting biodiversity
• The impact of urban planning on soil quality
• The role of urban design in promoting sustainable tourism
• The benefits of transit-oriented development in reducing car dependence
• The impact of urban planning on water conservation
• The challenges of urban planning in post-industrial cities
• The importance of public art in urban regeneration
• The role of urban design in promoting sustainable transportation
• The benefits of green infrastructure in reducing urban heat islands
• The impact of urban planning on cultural diversity
• The challenges of urban planning in high-density cities
• The importance of public spaces in promoting social cohesion
• The role of urban design in promoting active transportation
• The benefits of mixed-use development in reducing urban blight
• The impact of urban planning on food access
• The challenges of urban planning in mountainous regions
• The importance of urban forests in promoting climate resilience
• The role of urban design in promoting gender equality
• The benefits of green roofs in reducing stormwater runoff
• The impact of urban planning on indigenous communities
• The challenges of urban planning in desert regions
• The importance of public art in promoting cultural identity
• The role of urban design in promoting sustainable agriculture
• The benefits of green infrastructure in reducing flooding
• The impact of urban planning on wildlife conservation
• The challenges of urban planning in riverfront cities
• The importance of public transportation in reducing air pollution
• The role of urban design in promoting social inclusion
• The benefits of mixed-income housing in reducing social inequality
• The impact of urban planning on public health
• The challenges of urban planning in island cities
• The importance of urban green spaces in promoting mental well-being
• The role of urban design in promoting community resilience
• The benefits of green infrastructure in reducing urban poverty

These essay topic ideas and examples cover a wide range of issues and concepts in urban planning, providing you with plenty of inspiration for your research and writing. Whether you are interested in environmental sustainability, social equity, economic development, or cultural preservation, there is a topic here for you to explore and analyze in depth. Happy writing!

Want to research companies faster?

Instantly access industry insights

Let PitchGrade do this for me

Leverage powerful AI research capabilities

We will create your text and designs for you. Sit back and relax while we do the work.

Explore More Content

• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Service

© 2024 Pitchgrade

Urban Planning Thesis/ Research Topic Suggestions (Part 1)

Introduction, urban planning, urban finance, environment planning, informal sector, slum/ informal settlements, housing and real estate, inclusive planning, transport planning, about the author, nancy grover.

94 Urban Planning Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best urban planning topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 most interesting urban planning topics to write about, 👍 good research topics about urban planning, ❓ urban planning research questions.

• Urban Planning Problems in New Delhi The growth of urban centers is usually a sign of economic stability and the political maturity of a country. The size of the population in Delhi is the driver behind its environmental problems.
• Governmental Relations in Urban Planning This verse highlights the importance of having a clear and meaningful vision for the future, which is reflected in the city’s approach to planning.
• Gentrification: Urban Planning in Canada It is important to find a way of addressing the concerns that stakeholders have to eliminate the current controversies in the new approach to urban planning.
• The Impact of the Urban Planning Housing, neighborhoods, and real estate markets are primarily determined by urban planning, policies, and practices, the failures of which are the causes for the existing housing problems, but a healthy neighborhoods approach can be a […]
• Urban Planning and Redevelopment Urban planning is a discipline that explores aspects of the built and environment of communities and municipalities. The Harrapan civilizations, the Mesopotamia, Ur, and cities of the Indus valley in India are among the earliest […]
• Urban Planning and Zoning Categories The goal of zoning is to ensure that the different types of land use are separated and that the uses are compatible with one another. Zoning categories are very important because they regulate the use […]
• Development and Theories in Urban Planning Mainly, conceptual planning and the rational-comprehensive planning theories are frameworks builders should adopt to cater to diverse issues and fulfil their responsibility to the earth as stipulated in the bible.
• Urban Planning Code of Ethics Ethics can help planners foster an integral, moral, and trustworthy environment in the planning process and make socially acceptable approaches/ For instance, explaining to stakeholders existing and anticipated social problems that may occur in the […]
• Urban Planning Development and Theories For example, during the period of city creation in the 17th century in Europe, urban planning, the creation of architectural ensembles and public spaces, and the design of local facilities have long been actively used.
• Professional Urban Planning and Practices Reviewing the knowledge, skills, and components of the curriculum to ensure that they address the planning needs of the evolving world is a great example of an approach that focuses on the future of professional […]
• Internet, Architecture, and Urban Planning: William J. Mitchell’s “City of Bits” Professor William Mitchell, a professor of ‘Architecture and Media Arts and Science in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’, has written the book called “City of Bits”, which deals with the relationship among internet, architecture and […]
• The City Beautiful Movement and Urban Planning This quickly led to conflict with public interest and led to the formation of city planning commissions, intended to account for public input in city planning.
• Michael Apted’s “Thunderheart”: Urban Planning His role was to investigate the circumstances that led to the murder of a Native American who was a follower of the American Indian Movement.
• Urban Planning Optimization and Homelessness Therefore, the urban planning should be revised regarding those private providers’ interests: the risk of failure for future city development would strongly increase in the areas of possible economic concern.
• Optimizing Urban Planning to Address Homelessness Researchers use sensitivity analysis to assess the contribution of single preference parameters to the uncertainty of the ranking of alternatives. In the same manner, authorities can create a database consisting of all the shelters for […]
• Internet of Things in a Work of an Urban Planning Specialist Due to the fact that urban planning ultimately targets the experiences of urban dwellers, the internet of things and is vital to consider for a city designer.
• Urban Planning: City Summary Grayslake, IL It is located to the north of Chicago’s downtown approximately 64km away, and the west of Lake Michigan approximately 23km away, and to the south of Wisconsin border approximately 24km away.
• Urban Planning: Transit-Oriented Development Lynch defines efficiency in terms of cost: the less costly the creation and the maintenance of a system is, the more efficient it can be considered.
• Urban Planning: “The Great Good Place” by Ray Oldenburg The author wrote the book in 1999 in an attempt to show the significance of casual and open gathering places, which he referred to as “third places”.
• Sustainable Urban Planning in West Loop Area Due to the global and ubiquitous nature of environmental challenges and the adverse effects of the pollution of the atmosphere and oceans, deforestation, and the destruction of sea beds and ecosystems, the need for sustainable […]
• Urban Planning Issues in the “Boyz n the Hood” Film Boyz n the Hood reveals the problem of the suburbanization of the society and non-functional urban environment, which is typical of the areas similar to the one shown in the movie.
• Green Communities in Urban Planning Under such circumstances, much attention is paid to green communities as the most appropriate form of living in balance with nature one of the examples of such a green community in Copenhagen.
• Issues Affecting Urban Planning in “City of God” Film The author of the movie draws the reader’s attention to some of the factors that affect urban planning. Therefore, this call for a combined effort to see that each issues is addressed fully in order […]
• Urban Planning Issues About the Movie “City of God” This is where he also discovers corruption and collaboration in between the Kenyan government, the pharmaceutical corporation, and his fellow British colleagues. The main cause for lack of social mobility is limited of education.
• Urban Planning Issues About the Movie “Julie and Julia” Paris is portrayed as superior to the New York City and Julia’s recipes seem to influence the way the residents of Paris as well as the New Yorkers eat.
• “Gone Baby Gone” Movie: Urban Planning Issues The residents of the area are also suspicious that the police are not honest in their dealings and this makes it difficult for the two detectives to resolve Amanda’s abduction.
• Urban Planning Aspects: “Before Sunset” Urban planning is defined as the process of controlling the utilization of design and land of an urban development, with the aim of ensuring that communities and settlements in the urban areas are orderly developed.
• Canadian Urban Planning, Housing, and Women
• When Urban Planning Doctrine Meets Low Density Countryside
• Urban Planning, Modern and Postmodern Design
• Project and Urban Planning at the University of California
• European Urban Planning Systems: Diversity and Convergence
• Smart Methods for Environmental Externalities: Urban Planning, Environmental Health and Hygiene in the Netherlands
• Geographic Information System and Its Application in Urban Planning and Environment
• Environmental Management and Urban Planning Practices
• Urban Planning and Information and Communication Technology: Ideas and Facts
• Ecological Urban Planning and Design: A Systematic Literature Review
• The City Beautiful Movement: The Urban Planning Practices
• Urban Planning Management System in Los Angeles: An Overview
• Urban Planning and the Geographic Information System
• Kevin Lynch and His Contribution to the Urban Planning Theory
• Urban Planning: The History of Cycling Infrastructure
• Handbook for Gender-Inclusive Urban Planning and Design
• Biodiversity and Green Infrastructure in Urban Planning
• Women, Housing and Urban Planning in Canada
• Urban Planning Community and Economic Development
• Multitype Green-Space Modeling for Urban Planning Using GA and GIS
• Social Mix and the City: Challenging the Mixed Communities Consensus in Housing and Urban Planning Policies
• Urban Planning and Its Role of the Public
• Urban Planning Critical Issues on Urban Development
• Environmental Holism and the Biophilic Hypothesis in Urban Planning
• The Similarities and Differences in Urban Planning in Italy and The Netherlands
• Classifying and Valuing Ecosystem Services for Urban Planning
• Urban Planning and Development Theories of Paul Peterson
• How The Urban Planning and Development of Jane Jacobs
• Urban Planning and Railway Corridors: Resolving Regulatory Dysfunction in Australia
• Urban Heat Island Adaptation Through Urban Planning and Design: The Struggle of the City of Los Angeles
• Urban Planning and the Location of Environmental Amenities
• Urban Planning with the Aid of Factor Analysis Approach: The Case of Isfahan Municipality
• Urban Planning, Architecture, and the Contributions of Rome
• Washington, D.C.: The First Example of Urban Planning
• Urban Planning Policy for Realizing Public Objectives Through Private Development in Seoul
• Urban Planning for the New Buildings
• Scientific Reasoning and Methods in Urban Planning
• Risk, Uncertainty, and Spatial Distinction: A Study of Urban Planning in Stockholm
• Paris and London: Late 19th Century Urban Planning
• Overcrowding and Urban Planning in Victorian London
• What Does an Urban Planning Do?
• Why Urban Planning Is Important?
• What Does Urban Planning Focus On?
• What Are the Goals of Urban Planning?
• What Is Urban Planning in Simple Words?
• What Are the Types of Urban Planning?
• How Does Urban Planning Affect the Environment?
• Which City Has the Best Urban Planning?
• Is Urban Planning Similar to Civil Engineering?
• What Is the Difference Between Urban Design and Urban Planning?
• What Is an Example of Urban Planning?
• What Are the Factors of Urban Planning?
• How Can Urban Planning Be Improved?
• Which Software Is Used for Urban Planning?
• Is Urban Planning and Architecture Same?
• What Are the Challenges of Urban Planning?
• How Urban Planning Affects Economy?
• What Is the Most Important Issue in Urban Planning?
• How Does Urban Planning Affect Quality of Life?
• How Is Urban Planning Sustainable?
• What Influences Urban Planning?
• How Does Urban Planning Relate to Architecture?
• What Are the Reasons for Urban Planning Failure?
• What Is Level of Urban Planning?
• Overpopulation Topics
• Bicycle Research Topics
• Disaster Essay Titles
• Evacuation Essay Topics
• Growth Strategy Titles
• Wind Energy Essay Topics
• Deforestation Research Ideas
• Culture Topics
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, March 2). 94 Urban Planning Essay Topic Ideas & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/urban-planning-essay-topics/

"94 Urban Planning Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." IvyPanda , 2 Mar. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/topic/urban-planning-essay-topics/.

IvyPanda . (2024) '94 Urban Planning Essay Topic Ideas & Examples'. 2 March.

IvyPanda . 2024. "94 Urban Planning Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." March 2, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/urban-planning-essay-topics/.

1. IvyPanda . "94 Urban Planning Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." March 2, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/urban-planning-essay-topics/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "94 Urban Planning Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." March 2, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/urban-planning-essay-topics/.

• How it works

Useful Links

How much will your dissertation cost?

Have an expert academic write your dissertation paper!

Dissertation Services

Get unlimited topic ideas and a dissertation plan for just £45.00

Order topics and plan

Get 1 free topic in your area of study with aim and justification

Yes I want the free topic

Urban Planning Dissertation Topics Ideas and Examples

Published by Owen Ingram at January 5th, 2023 , Revised On March 24, 2023

Urban planning is an essential tool in creating vibrant and healthy communities. It is the practice of balancing the needs of a society with limited resources to ensure equitable development and long-term sustainability. Urban planners work at all scales, from local communities to global initiatives, helping to shape cities, regions and even entire countries.

At its core, urban planning focuses on improving the quality of life through efficient use of land, transportation networks and public services such as education and healthcare facilities.

Planning can be a powerful tool in tackling social issues like poverty, inequality and environmental degradation by finding smart solutions that meet people’s needs while preserving natural resources.

This can include everything from designing walkable neighbourhoods that promote physical activity to creating green spaces that clean air pollutants out of the atmosphere.

Conducting research on urban planning topics is essential for students writing dissertations because it allows them to understand the field better while developing critical thinking skills.

Researching urban planning topics gives students insight into life within various cities and towns worldwide. Knowing how different areas have developed over time can help inform future decisions shaping our society.

Research projects give students hands-on experience conducting surveys and collecting data, which can then be used to formulate opinions about current issues facing cities and regions today.

How to Choose the Best Urban Planning Dissertation Topic

Choosing a dissertation topic for urban planning can be one of the most challenging and rewarding. It’s essential for students to take the time to carefully research and assess different topics, as this will form the basis for their entire dissertation project.

The following tips will help students choose a dissertation topic that connects with their interests while also contributing something new and exciting to urban planning literature.

• First, students must consider what topics they are passionate about within urban planning.
• Doing so may reveal potential research gaps or intersections, which could become their project’s focus.
• Identifying any specific industry trends or current debates in this area is also beneficial and could provide an impetus for conducting original research.

List of Urban Planning Dissertation Topics

• Chinese urban planning at fifty: an assessment of the planning theory literature
• Shifting approaches to planning theory: Global North and South
•  Disintegrated development at the rural-urban fringe: Re-connecting spatial planning theory and practice
• Computer-supported participation in urban planning from the viewpoint of “Communicative Planning Theory.”
• Jaqueline Tyrwhitt: a transnational life in urban planning and design
• A serious Digital game for urban planning: “B3—Design your marketplace!”
• The value of community informatics to participatory urban planning and design: a case study in Helsinki
• Urban planning and development in Tehran
• Application of system dynamics model as a decision-making tool in urban planning process toward stabilising carbon dioxide emissions from cities
• Property, politics, and urban planning: a history of Australian city planning, 1890-1990
• The making of urban America: a history of city planning in the United States
• Slope instability in static and dynamic conditions for urban planning: the ‘Oltre Po Pavese’case history (Regione Lombardia–Italy)
• The impact of sanitary reform upon American urban planning, 1840-1890
•  The capital of Europe: Architecture and urban planning for the European Union
• Settlement history and urban planning at Zincirli Höyük, southern Turkey
• Urban transportation planning in the United States: history, policy, and practice
• Beyond the colonial city: Re-evaluating the urban history of India, ca. 1920–1970
• Shadows of planning: on landscape/planning history and inherited landscape ambiguities at the urban fringe
• White cities, linguistic turns, and Disneylands: The new paradigms of urban history
• Analysis of problems in urban green space system planning in China
• Lagos (Nigeria) flooding and influence of urban planning
• Reusing organic solid waste in urban farming in African cities: A challenge for urban planners
• An assessment of public participation GIS and Web 2.0 technologies in urban planning practice in Canela, Brazil
• City of change and challenge: Urban planning and regeneration in Liverpool
• Urban planning in Russia: towards the market

What is the Importance of Choosing the Correct Urban Planning Research Topic

Urban planning is a very important topic for students to study, as it helps them understand the complexities of city life and its many related disciplines. When researching an urban planning dissertation topic, students should carefully consider their approach and the structure of their research project.

An excellent urban planning dissertation topic can help students better understand the issues, provide insight into potential solutions, and even develop new ideas for further investigation.

When selecting an urban planning dissertation topic, it is important for students to consider their interests in the subject matter. Choosing a topic that aligns with students’ interests will often result in more meaningful results and may lead to exciting discoveries.

Students should also be aware of current events or trends relevant to their chosen field, as these can provide invaluable insights into urban planning topics.

How Can ResearchProspect Help?

ResearchProspect writers can send several custom topic ideas to your email address. Once you have chosen a topic that suits your needs and interests, you can order for our dissertation outline service which will include a brief introduction to the topic, research questions , literature review , methodology , expected results , and conclusion . The dissertation outline will enable you to review the quality of our work before placing the order for our full dissertation writing service!

FAQ’s About Urban Planning Dissertation Ideas

When to choose the urban planning dissertation topic.

In terms of choosing a topic for the dissertation, students should take into account the time of their academic year. Having enough time for research is important. In case you do not have time to write your dissertation, visit our website and see our services .

How do I choose the most appropriate urban planning dissertation topic?

The best way to choose an appropriate topic is by doing research on various topics related to urban planning. Consider what research you want to do and how much time you have to write your dissertation.

Examining journals and publications that explore urban planning issues can give you ideas about potential topics for your dissertation. Additionally, attending conferences or seminars related to urban planning can provide insight into current research in this field.

Can I use these topics for my dissertation?

The topics listed here can be used for your dissertation. There are a variety of topics you can use depending on the type of research project you are doing.

Have other students used these topics already?

These dissertation topics may have already been used by other students. You can order unique dissertation topics on our website if you need topics that have never been used before.

Can ResearchProspect provide unique and customised urban planning dissertation topics?

Yes, ResearchProspect provide unique and customised Urban Planning dissertation topics.

Can you make a research proposal on my selected topic?

Yes, we can develop a research proposal for your chosen topic. On our website, you can order research proposal topics or learn more about our proposal writing services .

You May Also Like

Here is a list of Research Topics on Art and culture, choose the one that suits your requirements.

Need interesting and manageable history dissertation topics or thesis? Here are the trending history dissertation titles so you can choose the most suitable one.

If you are looking for a dissertation topic, you can find one here. We have listed some of the best dissertation topics on graphic design. Choose one and get started immediately!

USEFUL LINKS

LEARNING RESOURCES

COMPANY DETAILS

• How It Works

Urban Planning

Open access journal, issn: 2183-7635.

Check out our latest project

• Other Journals

SCImago Journal & Country Rank

Urban Planning (ISSN: 2183-7635) is an international, peer-reviewed open access journal of urban studies aimed at advancing understandings and ideas of humankind’s habitats — villages, towns, cities, megacities — in order to promote progress and quality of life.

Open Access: free to read and share, with an article processing charge for accepted papers to offset production costs (more details here ).

Indexing: Web of Science (ESCI), Scopus, and other databases.

• Most Viewed
• Most Downloaded

© Cogitatio Press (Lisbon, Portugal) unless otherwise stated | Privacy Policy | Homepage

• Directories
• E-Newspapers
• Images & Drawings
• Pacific Coast Architecture Database
• Writing on Urban Design and Planning
• Bicycle Transportation
• Government Organizations
• Mass Transit
• New Urbanism
• Professional Development
• Urban Ecology & Sustainability
• Start Your Research
• Research Guides
• University of Washington Libraries
• Library Guides
• UW Libraries
• Urban Design and Planning (UrDP)
• Research Topics

Urban Design and Planning (UrDP): Research Topics

Urban design and planning.

Image: Bogue Plan Map - Rapid Transit & Boulevards Author: Virgil G. Bogue License: Public Domain Date: 11/1911

• Governmental Organizations
• Urban Ecology & Sustainability
• << Previous: Writing on Urban Design and Planning
• Next: Bicycle Transportation >>
• Last Updated: Jun 24, 2024 4:21 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/urbanDesign

Home > School, College, or Department > CUPA > USP > Dissertations and Theses

Urban Studies and Planning Dissertations and Theses

Theses/dissertations from 2024 2024.

Embodied Urban Political Ecology of Oil: Social Reproduction in Oil ‎Geographies Case Study: Ahwaz, Khuzestan, Iran , Maryam Amiri (Dissertation)

Three Essays on Communicative Planning: From the Perspective of East Asians , Minji Cho (Dissertation)

The Central Role of Perceived Safety in Connecting Crash Risk Factors and Walking Behavior , Kyu Ri Kim (Dissertation)

Theses/Dissertations from 2023 2023

E Hui me ke Kaiāulu: To Connect with the Community , Heather Kayleen Bartlett (Thesis)

The Affective Discourses of Eviction: Right to Counsel in New York City , Hadley Savana Bates (Thesis)

A Just Futures Framework: Insurgent Roller-Skating in Portland, Oregon , Célia Camile Beauchamp (Thesis)

Factors Affecting Community Rating System Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program: A Case Study of Texas , Ryan David Eddings (Dissertation)

LEED Buildings and Green Gentrification: Portland as a Case Study , Jordan Macintosh (Thesis)

Wasted Space , Ryan Martyn (Thesis)

The Use and Influence of Health Indicators in Municipal Transportation Plans , Kelly Christine Rodgers (Dissertation)

Uncovering the Nuance and Complexity of Gentrification in Asian Immigrant Communities: A Case Study of Koreatown, Los Angeles , Seyoung Sung (Dissertation)

Defining Dementia-Friendly Communities From the Perspective of Those Affected , Iris Alexandra Wernher (Dissertation)

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Heat, Wildfire and Energy Demand: An Examination of Residential Buildings and Community Equity , Chrissi Argyro Antonopoulos (Dissertation)

The Connections Between Innovation, Culture, and Expertise in Water Infrastructure Organizations , Alice Brawley-Chesworth (Dissertation)

The New Shiny Penny? Regenerative Agriculture Beliefs and Practices Among Portland's Urban Agriculturalists , Melia Ann Chase (Thesis)

Fortunate People in a Fortunate Land: Dwelling and Residential Alienation in Santa Monica's Rent-Controlled Housing , Lauren E.M. Everett (Dissertation)

In Favor of Bringing Game Theory into Urban Studies and Planning Curriculum: Reintroducing an Underused Method for the Next Generation of Urban Scholars , Brian McDonald Gardner (Thesis)

Transportation Mode Choice Behavior in the Era of Autonomous Vehicles: The Application of Discrete Choice Modeling and Machine Learning , Sangwan Lee (Dissertation)

An Analysis of the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Tulsa Remote Program, As an Effective Economic Development Strategy , Kristen J. Padilla (Thesis)

Geographies of Urban Unsafety: Homeless Women, Mental Maps, and Isolation , Jan Radle Roberson (Dissertation)

The Impact of New Light Rail Service on Employment Growth in Portland, Oregon , Lahar Santra (Thesis)

Examining Emergency Citizen Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Emergent Groups Addressing Food Insecurity in Portland, Oregon , Aliza Ruth Tuttle (Thesis)

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Nature-Based Solutions in Environmental Planning: Ecosystem-Based Adaptations, Green Infrastructures, and Ecosystem Services to Promote Diversity in Urban Landscapes , Lorena Alves Carvalho Nascimento (Dissertation)

Gas Stations and the Wealth Divide: Analyzing Spatial Correlations Between Wealth and Fuel Branding , Jean-Carl Ende (Thesis)

'There are No Bathrooms Available!': How Older Adults Experiencing Houselessness Manage their Daily Activities , Ellis Jourdan Hews (Thesis)

The Mode Less Traveled: Exploring Bicyclist Identity in Portland, OR , Christopher Johnson (Thesis)

The Soniferous Experience of Public Space: A Soundscape Approach , Kenya DuBois Williams (Dissertation)

Short-term and Long-term Effects of New Light Rail Transit Service on Transit Ridership and Traffic Congestion at Two Geographical Levels , Huajie Yang (Dissertation)

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Waste Management in the Global South: an Inquiry on the Patterns of Plastic and Waste Material Flows in Colombo, Sri Lanka , Katie Ann Conlon (Dissertation)

Unpacking the Process and Outcomes of Ethical Markets: a Focus on Certified B Corporations , Renée Bogin Curtis (Dissertation)

The Persistence of Indigenous Markets in Mexico's 'Supermarket Revolution' , Diana Christina Denham (Dissertation)

The Electronic Hardware Music Subculture in Portland, Oregon , James Andrew Hickey (Thesis)

"I Should Have Moved Somewhere Else": the Impacts of Gentrification on Transportation and Social Support for Black Working-Poor Families in Portland, Oregon , Steven Anthony Howland (Dissertation)

The Impacts of the Bicycle Network on Bicycling Activity: a Longitudinal Multi-City Approach , Wei Shi (Dissertation)

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

"Poverty Wages Are Not Fresh, Local, or Sustainable": Building Worker Power by Organizing Around (Re)production in Portland's "Sustainable" Food Industry , Amy Katherine Rose Coplen (Dissertation)

Manufacturing in Place: Industrial Preservation in the US , Jamaal William Green (Dissertation)

Can Churches Change a Neighborhood? A Census Tract, Multilevel Analysis of Churches and Neighborhood Change , David E. Kresta (Dissertation)

An Examination of Non-waged Labor and Local Food Movement Growth in the Southern Appalachians , Amy Kathryn Marion (Thesis)

Making Imaginaries: Identity, Value, and Place in the Maker Movement in Detroit and Portland , Stephen Joseph Marotta (Dissertation)

Recognizing and Addressing Risk Ambiguity in Sea Level Rise Adaptation Planning: a Case Study of Miami-Dade County, Florida , Mary Ann Rozance (Dissertation)

The Impact of Implementing Different Cordon Size Designs on Land Use Patterns in Portland, OR , Asia Spilotros (Dissertation)

Gentrification and Student Achievement: a Quantitative Analysis of Student Performance on Standardized Tests in Portland's Gentrifying Neighborhoods , Justin Joseph Ward (Thesis)

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Environmental Justice in Natural Disaster Mitigation Policy and Planning: a Case Study of Flood Risk Management in Johnson Creek, Portland, Oregon , Seong Yun Cho (Dissertation)

Our Town: Articulating Place Meanings and Attachments in St. Johns Using Resident-Employed Photography , Lauren Elizabeth Morrow Everett (Thesis)

Millennial Perceptions on Homeownership and Financial Planning Decisions , Margaret Ann Greenfield (Thesis)

Utilitarian Skateboarding: Insight into an Emergent Mode of Mobility , Michael Joseph Harpool (Thesis)

Consciousness Against Commodifcation: the Potential for a Radical Housing Movement in the Cully Neighborhood , Cameron Hart Herrington (Thesis)

News Work: the Impact of Corporate Newsroom Culture on News Workers & Community Reporting , Carey Lynne Higgins-Dobney (Dissertation)

Recent Advances in Activity-Based Travel Demand Models for Greater Flexibility , Kihong Kim (Dissertation)

An Analysis of the BizX Commercial Trade Exchange: the Attitudes and Motivations Behind Its Use , Ján André Montoya (Thesis)

Between a Rock and a Hot Place: Economic Development and Climate Change Adaptation in Vietnam , Khanh Katherine Pham (Thesis)

Neighborhood Economic Impacts of Contemporary Art Centers , Steve Van Eck (Closed Thesis)

Urban Geocomputation: Two Studies on Urban Form and its Role in Altering Climate , Jackson Lee Voelkel (Thesis)

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

Explaining Unequal Transportation Outcomes in a Gentrifying City: the Example of Portland, Oregon , Eugenio Arriaga Cordero (Dissertation)

Identifying Clusters of Non-Farm Activity within Exclusive Farm Use Zones in the Northern Willamette Valley , Nicholas Chun (Thesis)

Drivers' Attitudes and Behaviors Toward Bicyclists: Intermodal Interactions and Implications for Road Safety , Tara Beth Goddard (Dissertation)

Grassroots Resistance in the Sustainable City: Portland Harbor Superfund Site Contamination, Cleanup, and Collective Action , Erin Katherine Goodling (Dissertation)

Responsible Pet Ownership: Dog Parks and Demographic Change in Portland, Oregon , Matthew Harris (Thesis)

The Tension between Technocratic and Social Values in Environmental Decision-making: An'Yang Stream Restoration in South Korea , Chang-Yu Hong (Dissertation)

Regulating Pavement Dwellers: the Politics of the Visibly Poor in Public Space , Lauren Marie Larin (Dissertation)

Making Software, Making Regions: Labor Market Dualization, Segmentation, and Feminization in Austin, Portland and Seattle , Dillon Mahmoudi (Dissertation)

Knowing Nature in the City: Comparative Analysis of Knowledge Systems Challenges Along the 'Eco-Techno' Spectrum of Green Infrastructure in Portland & Baltimore , Annie Marissa Matsler (Dissertation)

Assessing the Impact of Land Use and Travel on Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Portland, Oregon , Zakari Mumuni (Thesis)

Trade-offs: the Production of Sustainability in Households , Kirstin Marie Elizabeth Munro (Dissertation)

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

The Kazaks of Istanbul: A Case of Social Cohesion, Economic Breakdown and the Search for a Moral Economy , Daniel Marc Auger (Thesis)

Citizen-led Urban Agriculture and the Politics of Spatial Reappropriation in Montreal, Quebec , Claire Emmanuelle Bach (Thesis)

Travel Mode Choice Framework Incorporating Realistic Bike and Walk Routes , Joseph Broach (Dissertation)

Cyclist Path Choices Through Shared Space Intersections in England , Allison Boyce Duncan (Dissertation)

Star Academics: Do They Garner Increasing Returns? , James Jeffrey Kline (Dissertation)

Configuring the Urban Smart Grid: Transitions, Experimentation, and Governance , Anthony Michael Levenda (Dissertation)

The Effects of Frequency of Social Interaction, Social Cohesion, Age, and the Built Environment on Walking , Gretchen Allison Luhr (Dissertation)

The Village Market: New Columbia Goes Shopping for Food Justice , Jane Therese Waddell (Dissertation)

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

Developing Key Sustainability Competencies through Real-World Learning Experiences: Evaluating Community Environmental Services , Erin Lorene Anderson (Thesis)

Beyond Fruit: Examining Community in a Community Orchard , Emily Jane Becker (Thesis)

Challenges, Experiences, and Future Directions of Senior Centers Serving the Portland Metropolitan Area , Melissa Lynn Cannon (Dissertation)

Building Social Sustainability from the Ground Up: The Contested Social Dimension of Sustainability in Neighborhood-Scale Urban Regeneration in Portland, Copenhagen, and Nagoya , Jacklyn Nicole Kohon (Dissertation)

The Effects of Urban Containment Policies on Commuting Patterns , Sung Moon Kwon (Dissertation)

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Attitudes: An Exploration of a Landscape of Choices , Mersiha Spahic McClaren (Dissertation)

The Impact of Communication Impairments on the Social Relationships of Older Adults , Andrew Demetrius Palmer (Dissertation)

The Scales and Shapes of Queer Women's Geographies: Mapping Private, Public and Cyber Spaces in Portland, OR , Paola Renata Saldaña (Thesis)

Caring for the Land, Serving People: Creating a Multicultural Forest Service in the Civil Rights Era , Donna Lynn Sinclair (Dissertation)

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

Determinants of Recent Mover Non-work Travel Mode Choice , Arlie Steven Adkins (Dissertation)

Changing the Face of the Earth: The Morrison-­Knudsen Corporation as Partner to the U.S. Federal Government , Christopher S. Blanchard (Dissertation)

Participation, Information, Values, and Community Interests Within Health Impact Assessments , Nicole Iroz-Elardo (Dissertation)

The Objective vs. the Perceived Environment: What Matters for Active Travel , Liang Ma (Dissertation)

Implications of Local and Regional Food Systems: Toward a New Food Economy in Portland, Oregon , Michael Mercer Mertens (Dissertation)

Spirituality and Religion in Women's Leadership for Sustainable Development in Crisis Conditions: The Case of Burma , Phyusin Myo Kyaw Myint (Dissertation)

Street Level Food Networks: Understanding Ethnic Food Cart Supply Chains in Eastern Portland, OR , Alexander G. Novie (Thesis)

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Diffusion of Energy Efficient Technology in Commercial Buildings: An Analysis of the Commercial Building Partnerships Program , Chrissi Argyro Antonopoulos (Thesis)

Faulty Measurements and Shaky Tools: An Exploration into Hazus and the Seismic Vulnerabilities of Portland, OR , Brittany Ann Brannon (Thesis)

Sustainable, Affordable Housing for Older Adults: A Case Study of Factors that Affect Development in Portland, Oregon , Alan Kenneth DeLaTorre (Dissertation)

The Historical, Political, Social, and Individual Factors That Have Influenced the Development of Aging and Disability Resource Centers and Options Counseling , Sheryl DeJoy Elliott (Thesis)

Neighborhood Identity and Sustainability: A Comparison Study of Two Neighborhoods in Portland, Oregon , Zachary Lawrence Hathaway (Thesis)

Neighborhood Commercial Corridor Change: Portland, Oregon 1990-2010 , Kelly Ann Howsley-Glover (Dissertation)

Public Space and Urban Life: A Spatial Ethnography of a Portland Plaza , Katrina Leigh Johnston (Thesis)

Green Mind Gray Yard: Micro Scale Assessment of Ecosystem Services , Erin Jolene Kirkpatrick (Thesis)

The Impacts of Urban Renewal: The Residents' Experiences in Qianmen, Beijing, China , Yongxia Kou (Dissertation)

The Dynamics of Creating Strong Democracy in Portland, Oregon : 1974 to 2013 , Paul Roland Leistner (Dissertation)

Neighboring in Strip City: A Situational Analysis of Strip Clubs, Land Use Conflict, and Occupational Health in Portland, Oregon , Moriah McSharry McGrath (Dissertation)

Bicycle Traffic Count Factoring: An Examination of National, State and Locally Derived Daily Extrapolation Factors , Josh Frank Roll (Thesis)

Advanced Search

• Notify me via email or RSS
• Featured Collections
• All Authors
• Schools & Colleges
• Dissertations & Theses
• PDXOpen Textbooks
• Conferences
• Collections
• Disciplines
• Faculty Expert Gallery
• Submit Research
• Faculty Profiles
• Terms of Use
• Feedback Form

Home | About | My Account | Accessibility Statement | Portland State University

Privacy Copyright

• Book Series
• Newsletters & Annual Reports
• Studies & White Papers
• Expert Voices
• Faculty Spotlight

New Ideas in Urban Research: Research Questions and Findings from Penn IUR’s Emerging Scholars

Artistic rendering of a city skyline by Dee Ashley via Flicker Creative Commons.

Penn IUR is invested in supporting and encouraging a new generation of urban scholars who are identifying and pursuing key questions related to urbanization. For this month’s issue of  Urban Link , we interviewed some of our most recent PhDs to get a feel for the issues that they consider important or that they are currently pursuing in their research. 

• Benchmarking Economic Development and Environmental Protection for Rural Agricultural Communities | Catherine Brinkley
• Redefining Food Deserts | Ben Chrisinger
• Place-Based Initiatives and Neighborhood Revitalization: Who Benefits and Who Loses from University Initiatives in Neighborhoods? | Meagan Ehlenz
• Proximal Greening:  A Distinct Form and Possible Norm for 21st Century Urban Design : | Theodore Eisenman
• Costal Green Infrastructure and Resilience Projects (Plus, a Grassroots Political Organizing Project) | Billy Fleming
• Housing Affordability in Canadian Metropolitan Areas | Albert Han
• Consequences and Geographic Factors of Police Transport for Traumatically Injured Patients | Sara Jacoby
• Distributed Stormwater Management Techniques in Cities and Urban Regions | Theodore Lim
• Can US Metropolitan Areas Use Large Commercial Airports as Tools to Bolster Regional Economic Growth? | Simon Mosbah
• Philanthropy, Partnership and Innovation: 21st Century Urban Revitalization in US Legacy Cities | Mary Rocco
• Using Spatial Analytics to Transform How Governments Provide Services, Minimize Waste and Increase Transparency | Ken Steif
• Historically Marginalized Populations In Airport-adjacent Communities | Amber Woodburn
• Does the Option to Extract Home Equity Affect House Prices? | Albert Alex Zevelev

Benchmarking Economic Development and Environmental Protection for Rural Agricultural Communities

Catherine Brinkley, Assistant Professor, Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis

With a seed grant recently awarded from the Global Affairs program at UC Davis, I am now embarking on a study of the land-use and property value impacts of District Heating in Sweden. 

Sweden has shifted its energy supply from 75% oil import in the 1970s to over 30% biofuel, supplying rural economic development opportunities largely through forest management while reducing GHG emissions by 60%(Brinkley, 2014; IPCC Sweden 2014). The United Nations estimates that transition to DH systems, combined with energy efficiency measures, could result in a 30–50 per cent reduction in primary energy consumption, thereby reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 58 per cent in the energy sector by 2050 and allowing global temperature rises to stay within 2–3 degrees Celsius (UNEP, 2013).

Instead of every home and office operating an individual boiler, nearly 90% of apartment buildings and 20% of single-family homes in Sweden receive hot water and heat from district heating networks (DiLucia and Ericsson, 2014). Heat is produced by a central boiler and distributed through underground insulated pipes to heat exchangers at the point of use for both hot water and ambient heat (Bouffaron and Koch, 2014). Boilers can be coupled to geothermal, biomass incineration, waste heat from industry or heat storage during times of peak production. In light of this, my upcoming research will seek to answer the question: How has Sweden’s transition to DH systems affected land use and property values?

Redefining Food Deserts

Ben Chrisinger, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Medicine, Stanford University

Following early research linking food access to health outcomes, millions of community development dollars were spent building supermarkets in poor neighborhoods. Despite food access projects across the US [1] , and major pre/post evaluations in New York, Philly, and Pittsburgh, we have yet to find direct health benefits from opening supermarkets in food deserts. In light of disappointing results, at least in terms of diet and obesity, some food access funders and advocates have eased off the access-health rhetoric.

However, these evaluations mostly offered high-level epidemiological views of health: nobody was asking food desert residents about their thoughts and experiences. If new stores didn’t change diets or weight, why not?

To try and understand the value of a new supermarket, I interviewed dozens of shoppers in a North Philly store that had been developed in a food desert. I found that the store made shopping a little bit easier for low-income Philadelphians, and provided a higher-quality environment where customers felt respected and safe. In short: they got to shop like most Americans regularly do.

My findings made me believe that our food desert definition is wrong. More than anything, food deserts force individuals and families with limited means to settle for less. I believe that these stores can present a space where “upstream” health behavior changes can happen. [2] If we redefine food deserts as an experience - rather than a geography - we may start to identify better interventions.

Place-Based Initiatives and Neighborhood Revitalization: Who Benefits and Who Loses from University Initiatives in Neighborhoods?

Meagan Ehlenz,  Senior Sustainability Scholar, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, Assistant Professor, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University

My research examines universities pursuing neighborhood revitalization, focusing on the ways institutions have used place-based initiatives to engage with their surrounding communities. In recent work, I use a survey of university administrators to understand what university anchors do in the realm of neighborhood investment and, subsequently, study how neighborhoods with university revitalization initiatives have changed over time.

Three findings emerge from this current work. First, survey results suggest that universities typically emphasize attraction strategies, focusing on catalytic developments that meet university consumer demand (e.g. apartments, retail, dining, entertainment). Collectively, this imparts a vibrant, “college town” brand onto the neighborhood. In addition, it is common for universities to invest in value-added programs, including public safety, public amenities, and partnerships with K-12 schools. This marks a shift from 20 years ago, as universities now recognize neighborhoods as an asset instead of a liability.

Second, across these 19 cities, neighborhoods with university revitalization investment show statistically-significant differences in market indicators relative to other tracts within the same county, including increases in median home values and rents, and decreases in vacancy rate. Importantly, these home value observations hold across all cities in the sample, regardless of market strength, institutions, and revitalization style.

Third, despite growth in the real estate market, these university initiatives have not substantially changed the socioeconomic indicators for target neighborhoods. The trends suggest moderate growth in student-sensitive categories, such as educational attainment and poverty rate, in ways that augment existing conditions, rather than substantially changing trajectories. Amenity rich university neighborhoods are supporting changes that attract students and shift away from the commuter campus model. Also, new development is attracting middle- and upper-class professionals and families who can afford more expensive homeownership choices.

Universities now recognize neighborhoods should be an asset. But collectively, these observations point to a key unresolved question for university revitalization initiatives: who benefits from university initiatives in neighborhoods? And, perhaps more importantly, who does not These represent the future questions needed to refine our understanding of the field.

Proximal Greening: A Distinct Form and Possible Norm for 21st Century Urban Design

Theodore Eisenman, Assistant Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

My principal research addresses the historical, scientific, cultural, and design bases of urban greening, which I define as the introduction or conservation of outdoor vegetation in cities. As noted in “ Greening Cities in an Urbanizing Age: The Human Health Bases in the Nineteenth and Early Twenty-first Centuries ,” published in the fall 2016 issue of Change Over Time , this scholarly interest is rooted in an observation that cities have entered a historically significant period in the enduring aspiration to integrate nature with city.

Unlike the large destination parks of the 19th century, contemporary greening of roofs, facades, bridges, vacant lots, traffic islands, street sides, railways, and waterways is integrated into the very fabric of cities. Additionally, three decades of research now substantiates stress and related psychological outcomes as, perhaps, the most reliable health benefit of urban greenery. This nexus of practice and research points to proximal greening as a distinct form, and possible norm, for 21st century urban design. It also supports the call for “nature at the doorstep” three decades ago by esteemed environmental psychologist Rachel Kaplan at the University of Michigan, predicated on repeated, short-term exposures to greenery that may provide cumulative benefits through “micro-restorative opportunities.”

A proximal greening norm also aligns with the Nature Pyramid, a four-tiered hierarchy of nature contact scale and exposure proposed by Tim Beatley and Tanya Denckla-Cobb at the University of Virginia. Here, neighborhood greenery provides “the bulk of our nature diet” through daily encounters. The Nature Pyramid also provides a compelling framework to bridge urban greening practice with scholarly research, which has identified a need to better link health outcomes more directly to types of green spaces, while accounting for both quantity and quality of green spaces. 

Costal Green Infrastructure and Resilience Projects (Plus, a Grassroots Political Organizing Project)

Billy Fleming, PhD

For much of 2017, I have been engaged with two major projects. One, my dissertation, is ending. The other, a public, grassroots organizing project known as  Indivisible , is just beginning.

At the core of my dissertation, at least two key findings stand out. One takeaway is that the U.S. Army Corps (USACE) of Engineers is unable—or unwilling—to invest in coastal green infrastructure at a scale that’s commensurate with the problem of sea level rise. The likeliest outcome of this failure is that the U.S. will continue to build large, monolithic forms of grey infrastructure along the coast—a process that we know will induce new, greenfield development in flood-prone areas at the base of levees and surge barriers that we won’t be able to maintain. Without reforming the ways in which the USACE evaluates and invests in coastal infrastructure, it’s difficult to imagine a Corps-led process that bolsters the resilience of American cities—and that’s particularly important given the singular role that the Corps plays in shaping our coastline.

The other lesson from my dissertation is that, at least amongst landscape architects and designers, the recent push to build “resilience projects” like the ones generated through Rebuild by Design has left us a bit over our skis. By that I mean that many of these projects have developed without the kind of evidence base that’s needed—and available—to support their claims. There are things a reinforced dune can do, for instance, that an oyster reef cannot. It’s incumbent upon designers to better integrate the science of resilience within the practice of coastal design—we may only get one shot at it getting right.

Housing Affordability in Canadian Metropolitan Areas

Albert Han, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Metropolitan Growth and Change, University of Calgary

I am conducting research on urban sprawl and growth management policies in Canadian metropolitan areas and am currently analyzing development patterns of 11 major Canadian Metropolitan Areas between 1990 and 2010 in association with housing affordability. The research questions I seek to answer are “Did suburban sprawl decline as the result of densification of inner city in major Canadian Metropolitan Areas (CMA) in the 2000s compared to the 1990s? If so, how did housing affordability change along with the trend?”

I am hypothesizing that if a metro area successfully managed to promote infill and compact developments in the 2000s, I expect to find significant increase in density in “Inner City” areas. Densification may influence housing affordability What I hope to find from my study is whether housing affordability remains a key factor in attracting people to suburbs in Canadian metros and thus how affordability and density interact.

Consequences and Geographic Factors of Police Transport for Traumatically Injured Patients

Sara Jacoby, Postdoctoral Fellow, Penn Injury Science Center, University of Pennsylvania

Through ethnographic fieldwork with traumatically injured patients in Philadelphia, I recognized the profound impact of first responders on the way that patients interpret their injury and injury care. Pre-hospital police transport (PPT), known colloquially as ‘scoop and run,’ is authorized in select US cities, including Philadelphia, to reduce transport time and alleviate strain on emergency medical systems (EMS). This policy has been enacted specifically for victims of penetrating injuries like gunshot and stab wounds. It was codified on the basis of research that demonstrated comparable survival rates between patients who were transported by police and those transported by EMS providers.

In my recent work, I have collaborated with researchers at the Penn Injury Science Center in a mixed geospatial-qualitative study to investigate the broader consequences of PPT and its impact on different Philadelphia neighborhoods over the past decade. We identified several patient factors associated with the likelihood of PPT which included being male, black, and Hispanic and being injured at night, by a firearm, and outdoors. After controlling for these factors and the geographic distribution of police and EMS stations, crime rates, and relative economic disadvantage, we found that residents of specific Philadelphia neighborhoods were more likely to experience PPT than others. In qualitative analysis, the speed of transport was identified as PPT’s primary benefit by patients, police, and trauma care clinicians. Patients, however, perceived pain and being unsecured in a police vehicle as major drawbacks. Trauma clinicians found the unpredictability of police drop-offs challenging. And police described fears about blood exposure and limited knowledge of first response best practices. This ongoing work is demonstrating that while PPT has the potential to improve survival, cities implementing this practice should evaluate geographic equity in access to services and multifaceted impacts on patients, police, and the trauma care system at large.

Distributed Stormwater Management Techniques in Cities and Urban Regions

Theodore Lim, Global Environmental Data Scientist at Monsanto

Unlike the centralized pipes and treatment plants of traditional drainage infrastructure systems, distributed stormwater management techniques try to restore “near natural” site hydrology, close to where rain falls. These techniques are often collectively referred to as “green infrastructure.” The green infrastructure approach acknowledges that improvements to development practices and infrastructure planning can increase urban livability with less economic burden than re-constructing traditional drainage infrastructure.

My research explores the physical function and implementation of distributed stormwater management practices in cities and urban regions. Through a statistical analysis of stream flows in over 100 urban watersheds, I show that site planning needs to consider the integrity of native soil and vegetation, and not merely focus on limiting imperviousness. Second, I build a high resolution, surface-subsurface hydrologic laboratory of a Washington DC test site to show the dependence of networks of distributed infrastructure effectiveness on spatial configuration. Lastly, I studied one of the largest voluntary green infrastructure programs in the US, to show that social networks are an important factor in explaining adoption of green infrastructure within cities.

My work has shown how natural land conservation should be prioritized over practices that claim to allow development to match “near-natural” hydrologic conditions. However, within existing development, the spatial configuration of green infrastructure facilities is not expected to have a detectable effect on the network’s hydrological response. This finding frees planners from the burden of “optimal” location of individual green infrastructure projects, and allows them to focus on other placement based on other benefits of green infrastructure to communities. Lastly, planners can leverage the role of social networks to adapt the urban landscape to both increased urbanization and climate change-related challenges of water resource management in cities.

Can US Metropolitan Areas Use Large Commercial Airports as Tools to Bolster Regional Economic Growth?

Simon Mosbah, Consultant, Transit and Rail Project Development and Finance, WSP USA

My dissertation,  “Airports, Airport Expansions and Employment at Local and Regional Scale,” investigates how transportation infrastructure supports city and regional economic development strategies. Airport expansions are major endeavors of U.S. metropolitan areas engaged in global competition. Exploring airport expansions’ political economy and the zones surrounding airports, coined “airport zones”, sheds light on whether these projects support economic development locally and regionally.

Findings from three case studies of recent airport expansions in Denver, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky contributed to answer two questions: (1) How do decision-makers of airport expansions perceive the impacts of the airport in the economy, and integrate this conceptualization in their decisions? and (2) To what extent do airport-related employment growth and airport-oriented development occur in areas closer to the airport, and through which mechanisms in terms of airport expansions and plans?

With respect to expected results from airport expansions, interviewees made no direct links between airport expansion and air service enhancement and employment growth. However, the different members of the “airport growth coalitions” focus on the role the airport and air service play to attract or retain Fortune 500 headquarters and regional headquarters of foreign companies. This finding is somewhat contradicted by the fact that interviews also suggest that changes in air service only have limited impacts on metro areas’ abilities to retain and attract companies’ headquarters.

Regarding airport zone development, coalition building and land assembly seem to matter most in order to build the basic infrastructure necessary to foster development in the airport zone and attract developers. For instance, in Denver, a mayoral administration successfully renegotiated with surrounding jurisdictions an agreement preventing local development on airport property and on land that was annexed for building the new airport.

The literature review of this dissertation was published in the Journal of Planning Literature ( http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0885412216653100 ) under the title “Can US Metropolitan Areas Use Large Commercial Airports as Tools to Bolster Regional Economic Growth?”

Philanthropy, Partnership and Innovation: 21st Century Urban Revitalization in US Legacy Cities

Mary Rocco, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher, Penn Institute of Urban Research (IUR)

The future of American cities depends increasingly on philanthropy. Older industrial cities, also referred to as Legacy Cities, continue to grapple with the long-term effects of physical and economic decline and high poverty rates. In the face of constrained public and private resources and limited leadership, how does revitalization occur? This question of who influences urban revitalization in declining cities as they attempt to recover matter more than ever. Philanthropic foundations challenge traditional assumptions about who catalyzes and leads urban revitalization. They do this in the cities where they work through investments in physical upgrading, community and economic development and in capacity building.

An analysis of grantmaking in 50 Legacy Cities between 2003-2012 found that philanthropic expenditure totaled $6.3 billion and surpassed federal sources such as community development block grants (CDBG) monies. While a small number of foundations engage in place-based activities, local foundations not only support local and regional regeneration but leverage funds from multiple sources to supplement and enhance revitalization planning and implementation. In-depth case studies revealed foundations amplified their role in efforts to revitalize in Legacy Cities through three models of philanthropy- traditional, collaborative and directive. Through traditional grantmaking, foundations solicit applications and fund projects based advanced by city agencies and local non-governmental organizations. In other cases, foundations collaborate widely with other funders, city agencies, non-governmental organizations and developers on a variety of project based and long-term investments. Increasingly, some foundations take a directive approach to conceive, plan and implement projects with the goal of revitalization. These findings suggest that philanthropic foundations amplified their roles in Legacy Cities beyond traditional grantmaking to contribute to and, in some cases, lead revitalization efforts

Using Spatial Analytics to Transform How Governments Provide Services, Minimize Waste and Increase Transparency

Ken Steif, MUSA Program Director and Lecturer, School of Design, University of Pennsylvania and Founder, Urban Spatial

Historically Marginalized Populations In Airport-adjacent Communities

Amber Woodburn, Assistant Professor, City and Regional Planning Section, Knowlton School, Center for Aviation Studies, The Ohio State University

As the busiest airport hubs have grown in size since the rise of the Jet Age, city planners have seen airport infrastructure transform into locally unwanted land uses while simultaneously spurring a new economic land use: the airport-centric activity center. Motivated by this airport transformation, my recent research takes a closer look at airport-adjacent communities (AACs) and asks “How has the population of historically marginalized groups living near airports changed with the rise of the Jet Age?”

The main findings are threefold. First, disadvantaged groups often constituted larger proportions in communities near the less dominant hubs (<250,000 operations per year), but only later in the jet age after most hubs were established. Thus, it seems unlikely that a lack of community power (as related to race, ethnicity, nationality, or socioeconomic status) was a driving force in the rise of the busiest hub airports.

Second, in evaluating the push–pull effect (or ‘come to the nuisance’ effect), the percentage of white persons frequently decreased far more near airports than in their respective metropolitan regions. Thus, there is evidence to suspect that the market has played a role in reshaping the demographics of AACs, often in a way that drastically increased the presence of historically marginalized groups.

Third, airport-adjacent residents frequently had less favorable socioeconomic outcomes when compared with their respective regions. Even if airports are functioning as strong activity centers, the economic benefits for local residents are not substantial enough to keep pace with the average socioeconomic performance of the metropolitan region.

Further research can explore “Good Neighbor” policies that (1) distribute the economic benefits of airport-centric development to airport-adjacent residents and (2) anticipate and remedy the challenges of further airport expansion into AACs with increasing proportions of historically marginalized groups.

Woodburn, A. (2017). Investigating neighborhood change in airport-adjacent communities in multiairport regions from 1970 to 2010. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2626, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.3141/2626-01

Does the Option to Extract Home Equity Affect House Prices?

Albert Alex Zevelev, Assistant Professor of Real Estate, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College

Real Estate can be pledged as collateral for a loan at the time of purchase and after purchase via a home equity loan. My recent paper “Does Collateral Value Affect Asset Prices?” asks whether the ability to pledge an asset as collateral after purchase affects its price. Economic theory predicts the answer is yes: if households are credit constrained, they should prefer to own assets which facilitate their future ability to borrow.

The challenge to answering the question is to disentangle collateral value from other factors that affect house prices. The paper exploits law changes in Texas where home equity loans were illegal before 1998. The empirical strategy is to compare house prices in Texas zip codes to border zip codes before and after the law using a difference-in-differences estimator. The identifying assumption is parallel trends: that the law change was uncorrelated with other variables that affect Texas house prices. Research has linked this law change to the Tax Reform Act of 1986, a circuit court ruling in 1994 and growing Republican control in Texas. This assumption can be defended as these factors are not clearly linked to Texas house prices.

The impact of the law change on house prices was PHD: Positive, Heterogeneous and Direct. The law increased Texas house prices 3.5-5%. Pre-trends are parallel and the rise in prices was gradual. House prices rose more in inelastic locations, consistent with theory. Prices rose more in zip-codes with higher pre-law house prices, income and employment. This indicates that wealthier households value the option to extract home equity more strongly. Finally, variables related to house prices such as rent and income were unaffected by the laws. This indicates the rise in prices was due to demand for the option to extract equity.

References:

Zevelev, Albert A. “Does Collateral Value Affect Asset Prices? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Texas.”  (2017).

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2815609

[1] i Chrisinger, B. (2016). Taking Stock of New Supermarkets in Food Deserts: Patterns in Development, Financing, and Health Promotion. San Francisco: Community Development Investment Center, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Working Paper 2016-04. http://www.frbsf.org/community-development/publications/working-papers/ 2016/august/new-supermarkets-in-food-deserts-development-financing-health-promotion/

[2] ii Chrisinger, B. (2016). A Mixed-Method Assessment of a New Supermarket in a Food Desert: Contributions to Everyday Life and Health. Journal of Urban Health, 93(3):425-437. DOI: 10.1007/s11524-016-0055-8. PMID: 27197735. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27197735

Bring our latest initiatives, publications and events to your inbox.

• Articles , Special Edition Articles , Thesis

Best thesis topics for Urban Planning and Design

• January 8, 2022
• No Comments
• urban design terminology , urban design theory , Urban design thesis , urban glosary , Urban Planning , urban research

Once you enter the final year of your postgraduate study in urban design. Each student’s postgraduate architecture thesis project is a chance to demonstrate their creativity and ability. We’ve compiled a list of Best thesis topics for Urban Planning and design to assist you in choosing a topic for your research project. This section contains the best and most relevant topics related to urban design projects for your knowledge and understanding of new trends in urban design.

Urban design thesis topics list:

• Urban aesthetics and new trends in urban design
• Eco-friendly development.
• 3D Pedestrian Flow Modeling.
• Sensing, Monitoring, Modeling and Adapting the Urban Micro Climate.
• Deconstructing Eisenman: Cultural presemantic theory and social realism
• Modern and historical landscapes.
• Discourses of Futility: Expressionism in the works of Archigram.
• Sub dialectic desemanticism and constructivism in the works.
• Sub constructivism and De-objectivism: Crucifying the cross.

Source:  Architecture renewal in relationship to public space as a catalyst for urban regeneration :: Future Architecture (futurearchitectureplatform.org)

• Waste as a Resource – Urban Metabolism.
• 3D Indoor space analysis for way finding.
• The Urban Heat Island (UHI).
• Campus Project.
• The mobility of People.
• Optimal Cycling Infrastructure.
• Solar Energy Potential Calculation.
• New design methodologies.
• Preservation methods of architectural heritage.
• Urban property and regeneration.
• Building multicultural cities

Source: Studio Wessendorf – Urban Development – Hannover City 2020+ (studio-wessendorf.de)

Urban design and health.

Spatial changes in big cities.

Design of infrastructure as a reflection of public policy.

Coding the urban form

Designing density: increasing functionality through flexibility in family neighborhoods.

Resurgent Networks of cities.

Suburban Revisions.

Urban design in the wake of deindustrialization.

Urban Mobility: Transference and Public Transit.

The role of technology in changing how a city works.

Open exhibitions.

Modern Marketplace.

When is a design labeled as intrusive?

Is architecture about creativity or economy?

Should heights correspond with surrounding buildings?

Are there natural alternatives to lighting signage?

How to identify utility facilities in an eco-friendly manner.

Urban Street Design.

Source: Gallery of ‘Shenyang International Automobile City’ Winning Proposal / SBA International – 6 (archdaily.com)

Vestiges of urban spirit Isfahan’s urban fabric through socio-spatial transformations.

Critical Soviet Design: Senezh studio and the utopian imagination in late socialism.

A marketing design approach to destination development.

Separations in Multi vocality: Reconfiguring Dialogue through Design.

Suburban Navigation Structural Coherence and Visual Appearance in Urban Design.

URBAN SEGREGATION AND URBAN FORM From residential segregation to segregation in public space.

Evolving Urban Culture in Transforming Cities Architectural and Urban Design in a Fluid Context.

Light Design: Outdoor Urban Public Places – Urban Lighting: Design and Technologies.

• Sustainable Economic Urban Fringe Plan for an Internationally Important Trade Center
• Planning Interventions to address industrial Disparity,
• Change in Agricultural Pattern And Impact On the cities
• Potential for Eco-Tourism Development.
• Spatial Transformation through Agriculture.
• Impact of Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises on Regional Development:

Source: Gallery of Vancouver to Buy Old Rail Corridor for Future Public Greenway – 1 (archdaily.com)

Port and Port City Development in an Economically Emerging Coastal Region.

• Integrated Rural Cluster Action Plan for Agricultural Development.
• Impact of mining on Regional Development.
• Transformation of Villages under Urban Influence.
• Water Resource Management in a Drought Prone regions.
• Selection and Strategies formulation for modal villages.
• Planning Implications of Highway Corridor on Levels of Development and Settlement Pattern.
• Impact of Religious Tourism in Regional Development.
• Role of Agro- based industries in Regional Development.
• Legality and Illegality in Urban Fringe Development.
• Fiscal Decentralisation and Millennium Development Goals.
• Uncommon Ground : Urban Form and Social Territory
• Data-Driven Approaches for Traffic State and Emission Estimation
• Nature-Based Solutions in Environmental Planning: Ecosystem-Based Adaptations, Green Infrastructures, and Ecosystem Services to Promote Diversity in Urban Landscapes.
• Short-term and Long-term Effects of New Light Rail Transit Service on Transit Ridership and Traffic Congestion at Two Geographical Levels
• Waste Management in the Global South: an Inquiry on the Patterns of Plastic and Waste Material Flows.
• The Impacts of the Bicycle Network on Bicycling Activity: a Longitudinal Multi-City Approach,

Source: Postareal Kiel — CROSS Architecture | Architekturbüro | Aachen & Amsterdam (cross-architecture.net)

Impact of government policies and initiatives (most recent) on urban land use

Impact of urban sprawl on provision of public services

Implications of airport expansion on the surrounding areas

Assessing linkage between the parent city and satellite town

Planning for sustainable neighbourhood

Assessing the liveability in the residential areas of IT parks

Changes in building bye-laws and its implications on urban development

Planning implications of highway corridor on settlement pattern

Socio-economic impact assessment of metro rail

Impact of urban expansion on small towns

Role of International aid in urban poverty alleviation

Impact of urbanization on land use in the rural-urban fringe

Evolving a mechanism for public participation in urban planning and implementation

Role of urban local bodies (ULBs) in urban governance

Quality of life assessment in residential areas

• GIS modelling of Land Information System
• Urban Growth Modelling in GIS
• Urban Sprawl Pattern analysis using GIS
• Role of GIS in revenue improvement
• Municipal Information System using GIS in Property Tax Management
• Application of GIS for property tax Geo-Spatial Information System Based Model for Micro-Level 
• Integration of land records to GIS, a model for municipal application 
• Application of GIS Technology in Watershed management
• Use of the Geo-Informatics in land suitability analysis for Industrial Development
• Integrated public transportation systems using GIS

Source: Fountain City (archi.ru)

Tourism Potentiality of pilgrim centres

Impact of Tourism on Rural Livelihood

Water tourism: An Exploration of the Role of Inland Water Transport in Tourism Development

Strategies for Heritage Tourism Development

Strategies for Ecotourism Development

Potential of Community based Ecotourism

Tourism Development Plan for Inter State Border Conflict areas

Spatiotemporal movement patterns of international tourists

Potential of Urban Wetlands for Ecotourism Development

Impact of Religious Tourism in Regional Development

Planning for tourism circuit

Impact of tourism on the development of Local Areas

Eco-Tourism development strategies for Coastal Town

Impact of Ecotourism on Local Community

Impact of tourism on district development

Urban Design Lab

About the author.

This is the admin account of Urban Design Lab. This account publishes articles written by team members, contributions from guest writers, and other occasional submissions. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or comments.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Related articles

Climate Change and Urban Design

Definitions of Urban Design

How Patrick Geddes Revolutionized Urban Planning in India?

Udl thesis publication 2024.

Curating the Best Thesis Projects Globally !

UDL Photoshop

Masterclass.

Decipher the secrets of

Urban Mapping and 3D Visualisation

Session Dates

27th-28th July, 2024

UDL Thesis Publication

A Comprehensive Guide

Thesis report writing for architecture and urban studies.

UDL Stationery and Products

Urban Design | Landscape| Planning

Join the largest social media community.

STAY UPDATED

Join our whatsapp group.

Recent Posts

Architecture Stationery for Students in 2024

• Article Posted: July 13, 2024

People Over Parking: Transforming Cities by Eliminating Parking Minimums

• Article Posted: June 28, 2024

Perfect Gifts for Architects and Designers

• Article Posted: June 24, 2024

Top Laptops for Architects and Designers – 2024

• Article Posted: June 22, 2024

• Article Posted: June 17, 2024

• Article Posted: June 16, 2024

• Article Posted: June 12, 2024

Water Sensitive Urban Design

• Article Posted: June 11, 2024

Architecture Thesis Report Writing Guide

• Article Posted: May 5, 2024

Architecture Thesis Projects Inspiration 2024

• Article Posted: May 3, 2024

What Is an Urban Heat Island?

• Article Posted: March 28, 2024

What is urban Health?

Sign up for our newsletter.

“Let’s explore the new avenues of Urban environment together “

© 2019 UDL Education Pvt. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Privacy Overview

A Comprehensive Guide (Free E-book)

A comprehensive guide to thesis report writing for architecture and urban studies.

Urban and Regional Planning

• Building Codes
• Data Sources and Databases
• Very Useful Websites
• Find Articles
• Peer-reviewed and Open Access Journals
• Document Delivery
• Writing & Citing
• Getting Images
• Citing Images
• Think Tanks
• Presentation tips

Step 1: Research Process

Step 2:Literature Review

Review articles give you an overview of your topic on the current state of the research. Review Articles explain:

• the main people working in a field;
• recent major advances and discoveries;
• significant gaps in the research;
• current debates;
• ideas of where research might go next.

This information is based Review Articles - Finding Journal Articles 101.

Image from Stellenbosch University Library

Step 3: Research Design & Methods

What is research design how is it different from research method.

Research design is how you will answer your question. It's a plan to answer your research question.  A research method is your strategy used to implement that plan. These ideas are closely related but research design ensures you will answer your research question more effectively.

Which research method should I choose ?

It depends on your research and the data you are trying to collect. Common research methods used are:

• Observation / Participant Observation
• Focus Groups
• Experiments
• Secondary Data Analysis / Archival Study
• Mixed Methods (combination of some of the above)

Step 4: Findings/Discussion

The step is where you discuss your research in an objective, factual way. You are communicating factual information about your topic based on the evidence you found in articles, books, and media backed by data you have collected. Use the active voice as much as possible (e.g., achieved, improved, report, etc.)

• << Previous: Very Useful Websites
• Next: Find Books >>
• Last Updated: Jul 25, 2024 10:23 AM
• URL: https://libguides.library.cpp.edu/urp

Land Use & Planning

News | June 28, 2022

‘Something has to change:’ These architecture students are challenging Seattle’s housing norms

The City of Seattle expects to have 1 million residents by the year 2044. That’s about one-third more people than Seattle has right now. We’re having trouble housing the people here now. So where are we going to put all the new people? Some University of Washington architecture students are looking at new ways to…

News | December 12, 2019

‘Blue’ space: Access to water features can boost city dwellers’ mental health

Officials are increasingly recognizing that integrating nature into cities is an effective public health strategy to improve mental health. Doctors around the world now administer “green prescriptions” – where patients are encouraged to spend time in local nature spaces – based on hundreds of studies showing that time in nature can benefit people’s psychological well-being and increase…

News | August 26, 2019

‘The lack of affordable housing is actually costing us’: Cantwell promotes affordable housing bill in Spokane

Had U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell stood at 1 S. Madelia St. just a few years ago, she would have been in a used car lot. But on Tuesday, she was in the the lobby of an affordable housing complex now home to more than 100 residents. Cantwell was joined by Spokane leaders on Tuesday as…

News | August 14, 2019

‘Vehicle ranching’ in Seattle: Inside the underground market of renting RVs to homeless people

Richard Winn considered himself a decent landlord, particularly in a cutthroat rental market like Seattle’s. Sometimes his tenants did not pay their $75 weekly rent, and weren’t required to sign a lease or put down a deposit. But there were trade-offs. Winn never gave residents keys to their units. Tenants were not to use the…

News | July 24, 2015

1st International Workshop on Smart Cities & Urban Analytics (UrbanGIS)

Now Taking Submissions! CALL FOR PAPERS: The 1st International Workshop on Smart Cities and Urban Analytics (UrbanGIS) 2015 in conjunction with ACM SIGSPATIAL 2015 Seattle, WA, USA – November 3, 2015 http://engineering.nyu.edu/urbangis2015/ IMPORTANT DATES: Paper Submission: September 1, 2015 (midnight PT) Notification of Acceptance: September 19, 2015 Workshop date: November 3, 2015 Paper Submission Site:…

News | October 18, 2018

4 fresh ideas to ease Seattle’s coming traffic nightmare

Seattle is doomed — at least in terms of its traffic for at least the next three years. Already, morning and evening gridlock seems to start earlier and end later. I-5 through downtown is nearly always jammed up. Overloaded buses wait through multiple light cycles attempting to inch through intersections at rush hour. And it’s…

News | September 20, 2018

5 architectural approaches that are shaping the way we live

Mary Johnston notices the big-city big picture, and the subtler, smaller, neighborhood-level pixels that shape it. But then, she’s an architect — she and her husband, Ray Johnston, founded Johnston Architects in 1991 — and plugged-in visionaries have a way of noticing things. “Architects tend to be canaries in the coal mine,” she says. “We start to…

News | March 31, 2020

A decade of punishment and heavy traffic catches up to the West Seattle Bridge

Most mornings in the last decade, travelers on the West Seattle Bridge could see a menagerie of box trucks delivering food, 25-ton buses aligned nose to tail, flatbeds of steel rebar and hordes of cars, vans and pickups. It turns out, we may have loved the concrete span to death. The Seattle Department of Transportation…

News | March 19, 2024

A New ‘Holy Grail’ in the Housing Crisis: Statewide Rent Caps

Reported in The New York Times by David W. Chen As housing costs soar, Washington State wants to limit annual rent increases to 7 percent. Oregon and California have passed similar measures.   With her husband struggling at times to find work, Ms. Horn has maxed out her credit cards to keep pace with the…

News | October 10, 2019

A space-strapped city gets an unusual opportunity: A brand-new neighborhood

As apartment high-rises and office skyscrapers have filled and reshaped Seattle, there’s one long, thin strip of relatively untouched land that stands in sharp contrast to all the development around it. The 25-acre plot of land next to the Queen Anne neighborhood and near the shore of Elliott Bay—surrounded by a golf course, rail yard,…

News | July 7, 2020

A/B Streets game lets you create the Seattle street grid of your dreams

It seems like a lifetime ago when we could just leave the house and go places, whether on foot or bike or (if we must) car. And as much as one might long for a return to normal-times, let’s not forget that normalcy also involved such headaches as congestion, traffic sewers, long waits for buses,…

Aaron Luoma

Map | New York

Accidental Skyline NYC

Too often, New Yorkers are caught off guard by new development in their neighborhoods. The Accidental Skyline offers tools to help demystify the city planning process and bring the public into the conversation.

News | June 26, 2015

Achieving Inclusivity in Visions of a Better Urban Future by Lynne Manzo

Presented at June 1st Urban@UW Launch Meeting

Research Beyond UW | University of Cape Town

African Centre for Cities

The African Centre for Cities (ACC) is an interdisciplinary research and teaching programme focused on quality scholarship regarding the dynamics of unsustainable urbanisation processes in Africa, with an eye on identifying systemic responses. Rapid and poorly governed urbanization in Africa points to a profound developmental and philosophical crisis. Most scholarship focuses on the development challenges…

Research Beyond UW | Harvard University

Aga Khan Program

The Aga Khan Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design is part of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard and MIT, dedicated to the study of Islamic art and architecture, urbanism, landscape design and conservation. The GSD program is invested in the application of that knowledge to contemporary design issues. Established…

Ali Modarres

Amazon catalyst grant.

Amazon Catalyst’s goal is to help people develop solutions to key problems faced in the world today. Problems can be diverse, from computer security, to immigration, to climate change. Because issues like these are complex, solutions will come from many different fields and many different perspectives. Therefore, the grants are open to all disciplines, including…

News | April 21, 2020

Amid a pandemic, geography returns with a vengeance

The pandemic is redefining our relationship with space. Not outer space, but physical space. Hot spots, distance, spread, scale, proximity. In a word: geography. Suddenly, we can’t stop thinking about where. Over the past few centuries, new technologies in transportation and communication made geography feel less critical. The advent of railway and refrigerated train cars in the…

News | August 16, 2018

An Unfair Share: Exploring the disproportionate risks from climate change facing Washington State communities

Everyone in Washington state will be affected by climate change, but race, income and occupation influences how much risk Washington state residents and workers face from climate-related hazards like wildfires, floods and extreme heat. A new report finds that the state’s most vulnerable people are often communities of color, indigenous people and lower-income communities. “Climate…

Anaid Yerena

Andy dannenberg, anne taufen, anne vernez-moudon.

News | September 26, 2022

Annual letter recaps urban efforts across UW, beyond

As we all head into another autumn and academic year under the COVID-19 pandemic, Urban@UW wishes to acknowledge the ongoing impacts of this and so many other acute and chronic drivers of struggle, inequality and injustice. Along with the uncertainty, loss, and weariness, we also acknowledge this community’s perseverance and commitment to co-creating cities that…

Center & Lab

Applied Research Consortium

The Applied Research Consortium (ARC) is rooted in the idea that collaboration across academia and industry will accelerate progress in our fields. ARC brings together an interdisciplinary group of built environment firms with faculty experts and graduate student researchers at the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments (CBE) to address the most vexing challenges…

Aqueduct: Measuring and Mapping Water Risk (World Resources Institute)

Water scarcity is one of the defining issues of the 21st century. In its Global Risks 2013 report, the World Economic Forum identified water supply crises as one of the highest impact and most likely risks facing the planet. With the support of a diverse group of partners, the World Resources Institute built Aqueduct to…

Arthur Acolin

News | September 5, 2018

Artificial intelligence can estimate an area’s obesity levels by analyzing its buildings

Two researchers from the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation have found a way to estimate a US city’s obesity level without having to look at its inhabitants. The duo trained an artificial intelligence algorithm to find the relationship between a city’s infrastructure and obesity levels using satellite and Street View images…

News | July 6, 2017

As metro areas grow, whites move farther from the city center

In the middle of the 20th century, cities began to change. The popularity of the automobile and the construction of interstate highways fueled the growth of suburbs, while discriminatory housing policies segregated neighborhoods and helped create the phenomenon of “white flight” away from downtowns. Decades later, the average white person still lives farther from the…

News | December 3, 2019

As more people use RVs as homes, should cities find a place for them?

Graham Pruss is familiar with the trials and tribulations of living out of an RV. As part of his research for his anthropology PhD at the University of Washington in Seattle, Pruss bought and lived in an RV for five months. Within the first 12 hours of doing so, he says, police issued him tickets and former…

Research Beyond UW | Columbia University

Asian Megacities Lab

Over the next 25 years, it is projected that China will account for 50% of the world’s new construction. The majority of this construction will occur in existing cities or newly formed urban areas. It is the mission of the Asia Megacities Lab to become actively engaged with this rapid urbanization and spatial production occurring…

Barbara Endicott-Popovsky

News | April 30, 2019

Bellingham considers expanding city limits eastward

Students from the University of Washington are helping conduct an annexation study in Bellingham. The City of Bellingham is partnering with a team of student researchers from UW’s Master of Urban Planning program to assess the interest of residents in Bellingham’s eastern Urban Growth Areas regarding possible annexation to the City. The plan is to provide community…

Benjamin Brunjes

Map | Berlin

Berlin Places I live Map

This map calculates a Life Quality Index for every location in Berlin. What is that? Life Quality Index (LQI) identifies wide scope of threads and opportunities in the social and physical environment of any given urban area. It was created to provide an overall information about neighborhoods in different cities and help their citizens to…

News | October 23, 2017

Best answer to Seattle affordability may win the race for mayor

The rising cost of housing is a dominant issue in Seattle’s mayoral election, but political messaging – on trust, results and leadership – could also move voters in the race between Jenny Durkan and Cary Moon.It’s a race away from a scandal and a race to become Seattle’s first woman mayor in about 90 years,…

Biodiversity Interactive Map

Biodiversity Interactive Map (BIM) is an easy to use tool to display and produce maps of Victoria’s biodiversity, native vegetation, flora and fauna data. BIM displays information on Victoria’s: Vegetation, Biodiversity, Planning, Threatened Flora and Fauna, Wetlands, Marine and coast, Disturbance, Catchments, Land administration and classification

News | July 25, 2017

Birds versus buildings: Rural structures pose greater relative threat than urban ones

About one billion birds are killed every year when they unwittingly fly into human-made objects such as buildings with reflective windows. Such collisions are the largest unintended human cause of bird deaths worldwide — and they are a serious concern for conservationists. A new paper published in June in the journal Biological Conservation finds that,…

News | August 3, 2020

Black pastors and activists want Central District land as reparations

In the midst of ongoing protests against police brutality and the death of George Floyd, Black communities in the Seattle area have begun a push for bigger, more long-term actions toward overcoming the poverty created by decades of racist policies. “We need reparations for our Black and brown communities,” said Pastor Angela Ying of Bethany…

Bob Freitag

Branden born, bridge funding program.

The University of Washington Provost’s Office provides bridge funding to support faculty to span the gap in critical research programs. Applications from faculty should be submitted to the applicant’s department chair, who should prioritize requests before forwarding them to the dean of the college/school. In non-departmentalized colleges/schools, applications should be submitted to the dean or…

News | July 8, 2021

Bring back corner stores to create a connected, equitable city

Originally written by Sam Kraft, principal of D3 Architects and instructor of architecture at the University of Washington.  I used to live in Ravenna in a fourplex that looked like a large single-family house. I could walk to what was then Boulevard Grocery and buy lunch. In this small one-story gabled market, originally a garage…

News | March 30, 2020

Bringing the Lens of Hip Hop to Urban Planning

Urban planning is in itself an interdisciplinary field, but UW Community, Environment, and Planning (CEP) senior Aury Banos is pushing its interdisciplinary lens even further. For her senior project Aury is connecting hip hop lyrics and artists to urban planning and the built environment. “I was inspired by Michael Ford’s lecture on hip hop and…

Bruner Foundation – The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence

The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence (RBA) is a national urban design award that seeks to promote innovative thinking about the built environment and advance conversation about making cities better. The award discovers and celebrates urban places that are distinguished by quality design along with their social and economic contributions to our nation’s cities.

News | January 23, 2024

Building community resilience: A $2 million NSF grant will transform disaster response

Amy Sprague January 16, 2024 “Our advantage of being an interdisciplinary project at the University of Washington is that we are drawing from an excellent corps of researchers with complementary expertise at a University whose mission includes working for the greater good across the state of Washington and has excellent ties into our communities.” Professor…

Bullitt Foundation Grants

The Foundation’s resources are modest when compared to the ambitious mission of promoting sustainable development over a huge region. So its role is mostly catalytic. The Foundation looks for high risk, high potential payoff opportunities to exert unusual leverage. It has a special interest in demonstrating innovative approaches that promise to solve multiple problems simultaneously.…

News | November 19, 2019

Can Amazon shake its suburban mindset and become a responsible urban citizen?

What kind of urban citizen is Amazon going to be? High tech companies are traditionally a suburban phenomenon, and the burbs have been a gentler place for expansion than the heart of a city. The prototype, of course, is Silicon Valley, south of San Francisco, and Seattle’s Eastside. In such places tech companies could sprawl,…

News | April 14, 2020

Can Rainier Beach develop without displacing its residents?

Catch the light rail southbound, and when you erupt from the tunnel after Beacon Hill station, you see a city shifting: multicolored duplexes and mixed-use buildings. Continue, though, and development dissipates. In Rainier Beach, Seattle’s southernmost neighborhood, empty lots and old buildings flank the tracks. “Many of the things we were told would occur as…

News | November 9, 2017

Can Seattle rezone away the racial divide in housing?

For generations, Seattle was segregated through racist neighborhood covenants, deed restrictions, even banking policies designed to keep certain minorities out of largely white enclaves.Yet nearly 50 years after the landmark Fair Housing Act sought to reverse that legacy, the city remains strikingly separated along color lines. A Seattle Times analysis shows that areas dedicated to…

News | August 7, 2019

Can tiny houses help solve affordability crisis? A student who’s building one thinks so

Olivia Tyrnauer adjusts the ladder and carefully begins to climb, balancing on the steps as she carries a large window up to an empty frame. Positioned precariously on one of the top steps, she loops a screw gun out of her belt and pulls a screw from one of the pockets of her tan cargo…

News | February 8, 2018

Cascadia showcases how a coordinated corridor strategy can reinforce urban innovation

A central premise of Meeting of the Minds is that the flexibility, practicality, and focus of municipal governments make them ideal technological and social innovators. But can the ingenuity of U.S. cities be sufficiently amplified to effectively keep up with the pace of climate change, especially in the face of declining federal leadership? Answering this…

News | July 16, 2020

CEE researchers develop first-ever map that quantifies landslide risk in Seattle

When it comes to safeguarding Seattle from landslide hazards, UW CEE Ph.D. student William Pollock has a plan mapped out – quite literally. He will soon be releasing a first-of-its-kind map that predicts landslide risk throughout the city. “As far as I know, this is the first map in the nation to quantify landslide risk…

Research Beyond UW | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Center for Advanced Urbanism

The Center for Advanced Urbanism is committed to fostering a rigorous design culture for the large scale; by focusing our disciplinary conversations about architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, and systems thinking, not about the problems of yesterday, but of tomorrow. We are motivated by the radical changes in our environment, and the role that design…

Center for Asian Urbanism

The Center for Asian Urbanism is established to promote and undertake interdisciplinary and collaborative research of urban conditions and processes in Asia and the “Global Pacific” – i.e. the relevancies of cities and city-regions in Asia to each other, to the Pacific Northwest of the U.S., and to the world at large. Specifically, the Center…

Center for Livable Communities

The mission of the Center for Livable Communities is to enhance the livability of communities in the Pacific Northwest through applied research and outreach in the areas of land use planning, policy, and design; healthy communities; food security; and public participation and democracy. The Center is a research and policy center focused on issues of…

Research Beyond UW | Technical University of Berlin

Center for Metropolitan Studies

The city is our research field. Since 2004 the Center for Metropolitan Studies (CMS) at the Technische Universität Berlin has brought together both young and experienced researchers to study the historical developments and current problems of the metropolis in its international graduate research program, the masters program in historical urban studies, and adjunct research projects.…

News | May 1, 2019

Central District, other Seattle legacy communities are at risk — and we all need to help save them

In a new documentary about gentrification in the Central District, “On the Brink,” an advocate of Seattle’s historically African American neighborhood talks about recent construction projects in the area digging the soul out of that community. … The CD became a nearly 80% black neighborhood in the late 1960s and early ’70s because African Americans,…

Research Beyond UW | University of Toronto

Centre for Urban & Community Studies

The Centre for Urban and Community Studies (CUCS) was established in 1964 to promote and disseminate multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on urban issues. The Centre's activities contributed to scholarship on questions relating to the social, economic and physical well-being of people who live and work in urban areas large and small, in Canada and…

Research Beyond UW | University of London

Centre for Urban and Community Research (CUCR)

CUCR is a well established interdisciplinary research centre within Goldsmiths' Department of Sociology with a distinguished history of collaboration with local communities and activists. It combines theoretical investigation with critical ‘local’ project implementation from Deptford to Jakarta. From its inception in 1994 as the academic partner in Deptford City Challenge regeneration initiatives, CUCR maintains a…

Research Beyond UW | University of Nairobi

Centre for Urban Research and Innovations

Centre for Urban Research and Innovations (CURI), formerly Urban Innovations Program (UIP), is a think tank based at the University of Nairobi's Department of Urban and Regional Planning. The Centre seeks to create a forum for exploring innovative methodologies for enabling planners and professionals in the built environment to be more responsive and effective in…

Research Beyond UW | University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

Centre for Urbanism & Built Environment Studies (CUBES)

The Centre for Urbanism and Built Environment Studies (CUBES) is a platform for urban research, learning and civic engagement located in the School of Architecture and Planning. CUBES’s research focuses on material built-environment issues affecting the poor in cities and towns in South Africa. CUBES leads a variety of research programmes that consider how urban…

News | August 24, 2018

Certified healthy buildings? Bellevue and UW are working on it

Considering that most people spend one-third of their day at work, UW Civil and Environmental Engineering researchers are advocating for healthier buildings. And they aren’t wasting any time. The first government building in Puget Sound, Bellevue City Hall, recently gained Fitwel Certification thanks to their help. “Since the built environment affects human health, the certification symbolizes the city’s commitment…

Chandigarh Urban Lab

The Chandigarh Urban Lab is dedicated to creating a forum to understanding the contemporary Indian city in transformation. It is designed to support Indian and international students and scholars of architecture and urbanism interested in studying Chandigarh as a case-study in the above context. Besides infrastructural and logistical support, the Lab offers linkages with local…

Charles W Roeder

Charles wolfe, christine bae, christopher campbell.

News | May 5, 2020

Cities and the SARS CoV2 coronavirus in the Global South: Breaking points in an interconnected system

Since COVID-19 first erupted in China in December and began spreading across the world, the pandemic’s early outbreaks have “burned hottest in the richer, globalized quarters of the world linked by busy commercial air routes—Europe and the United States.” (National Geographic, 2020a [website]) Now, four months into the pandemic, compounding factors of urban density and…

News | January 5, 2018

Cities face a surge in online deliveries

By the time veteran UPS driver Thomas “Tommy” Chu leaves work, he will have picked up and delivered hundreds of packages in New York City, making some 16 stops an hour as his company hurries to meet the online shopping rush. But what may be his most impressive feat of the day precedes that scramble:…

News | November 12, 2020

City launches real estate company to save and create Seattle art spaces

Even before COVID-19 took a sledgehammer to Seattle’s arts and entertainment sector, things were rough for cultural organizations trying to hold on to venues in the city’s booming real estate market. Every panel conversation about galleries, nearly any article about the closure of yet another music venue came back to the same core issue: There’s…

News | March 23, 2018

City of Bellevue selected as 2018-2019 UW Livable City Year partner

The University of Washington Livable City Year program has selected the City of Bellevue to be the community partner for the 2018-2019 academic year. The year-long partnership connects city staff with students and faculty who will collaborate on projects to advance the Bellevue City Council Vision Priorities, specifically around livability and sustainability. In the upcoming…

Map | Melbourne

City of Melbourne Maps

This site includes information, maps and images relating to properties, features and assets located within the City of Melbourne municipal area. Map data includes childcare and schools, community facilities, development activities, historic maps, mobility information, districts, walking tours and more.

News | March 23, 2020

City of Seattle Adapting Streets to Support Small Businesses During Coronavirus Shut Down

Mayor Jenny A. Durkan announced today that starting this afternoon the Seattle Department of Transportation is converting on-street parking spaces near restaurants to temporary loading zones to facilitate curbside meal pickup.The first locations to receive temporary loading zones are areas with high concentrations of restaurants on blocks that do not otherwise have enough loading options….

News | August 5, 2019

City of Vancouver looks west to continue restoration of Burnt Bridge Creek greenway

For decades, Burnt Bridge Creek was little more than a polluted drainage ditch lined by invasive vegetation. The creek flows west for about 13 miles through the city, from its headwaters in east Vancouver, before emptying into a natural wetland near Northwest Lakeshore Avenue and flowing through two culverts into Vancouver Lake. It has a…

News | February 6, 2020

Climate Change Modeling can help Plan the Future of Land Conservation

Many of the existing efforts to protect plant and animal species across the United States rely on information about where these species currently live. For example, if a rare bird species such as the snowy plover is found in a specific location along the Washington coast, conservationists try to protect it from human development where…

News | March 16, 2020

Climate Debate Over Washington State Decarbonization

On March 11, KUOW’s That’s Debatable highlighted a goal, based on the state’s own policies and recommendations — “Washington State Can Decarbonize in a Decade” — and featured Schwartz, Simonen, and local youth activists Julia Barnett and Sarah Starman. The event was broadcasted live from the KUOW studios at 7 p.m. The event was originally…

Climate Impacts Group (CIG)

The Climate Impacts Group (CIG) is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary research group studying the impacts of natural climate variability and global climate change (“global warming”). Research at the CIG considers climate impacts at spatial scales ranging from local communities to the entire western U.S. region, with most work focused on the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Through…

Research Beyond UW | Lousiana State University

Coastal Sustainability Studio

The LSU Coastal Sustainability Studio brings together academic disciplines that typically conduct research separately—such as designers, scientists, planners, and engineers—to intensively study and respond to critical issues of coastal settlement, restoration, flood protection, and economic development. Through its integrated design and systems thinking approach, programs, and projects, the CSS builds university capacity and transdisciplinary teams…

News | August 4, 2022

College of Built Environments students help historically Black churches survive gentrification

Rev. George Davenport Jr. had a vision of using real estate to sustain his church community in its historically Black Central District neighborhood. But while the streets around the church gentrified, he struggled through the complex landscape of zoning laws, building codes and speculative funding options. Then he stumbled upon the Nehemiah Initiative and the…

News | May 18, 2022

College of Built Environments students help historically Black churches survive gentrification.

Degree Program

Community, Environment & Planning (BA)

Community, Environment, and Planning is a self-directed, diverse undergraduate major comprised of students, faculty, and staff engaged in holistic growth and a collaborative process of experiential and interdisciplinary learning. In our major, we develop skills, techniques, and knowledge necessary to be active leaders and conscientious planners in our communities and environments. Our values are presented…

News | April 28, 2020

Construction causes major pollution. Here’s how we can build better.

Buildings of the future will be grown on-site, says Wil Srubar, an assistant professor of architectural engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder who also runs the Living Materials Laboratory. They’ll be made from hemp, or algae or specially engineered wood — or bacteria that can photosynthesize, like the cyanobacteria mortar he and his research…

News | October 25, 2018

Could parcel lockers in transit stations reduce traffic congestion in Seattle?

UW researchers want to know if parcel lockers that aren’t owned by a specific company could alleviate traffic congestion in Seattle.Matt Hagen Seattle is one of the most congested cities in America. Delivery trucks take up space on already crowded roads and idle in parking spots and loading bays. And if no one is available…

News | December 13, 2019

Creating mental health friendly cities for youth

What would it take to make Seattle a mental health friendly city for young people? What innovations and actions might promote adolescent mental health in Seattle, as a model for other cities? The Population Health Initiative recently partnered with the University of Washington’s Global Mental Health program and Urban@UW to host an in-depth conversation with a multidisciplinary group of…

Crystal Raymond

Cynthia chen, dan abramson, daniel schindler, daniel winterbottom, david butman, david stokes, dawn lehman.

News | May 1, 2021

Deepfake tech takes on satellite maps

While the concept of “deepfakes,” or AI-generated synthetic imagery, has been decried primarily in connection with involuntary depictions of people, the technology is dangerous (and interesting) in other ways as well. For instance, researchers have shown that it can be used to manipulate satellite imagery to produce real-looking — but totally fake — overhead maps…

News | May 31, 2019

Designing for resilience

Seattle is one of the fastest growing cities in the country– a hub of innovation with a thriving economy. Yet this rapid growth challenges the capacity of the city to adapt without damaging its current communities. Students from The University of Washington’s College of Built Environments responded to these and other challenges through the Winter…

Designing Healthy Cities by Andrew Dannenberg

Presented at the June 1st Urban@UW Launch

News | October 27, 2017

Developing ‘breakaway’ tsunami resistant buildings

The best designs can also be the most surprising. A promising new concept for tsunami resistant buildings features breakaway walls and floors on lower levels that, when removed by forceful waves, strengthen the structure and better protect occupants seeking safety on higher floors. Thanks to a $1 million National Science Foundation Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing…

News | February 23, 2018

Do you have questions about transportation in Seattle? Here are a few answers

Since The Seattle Times Traffic Lab launched a year ago, they’ve heard from scores of readers about getting around Here are a few: Q: Do Uber and Lyft worsen Seattle’s traffic congestion? A: A study in New York City said the growth of the app-based ride services could work against cities’ goals of unclogging streets…

News | July 13, 2017

Does commercial zoning increase neighborhood crime?

In the run-up to the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump told The New York Times that America’s urban centers are some of the “most dangerous,” crime-filled places in the world. Even though experts were quick to point out that violent crime has actually declined in all but a handful of America’s largest cities and urban…

News | July 2, 2020

Don’t be fooled by Seattle’s police-free zone

Seattle’s police-free “autonomous zone” is coming to an end. After two largely peaceful weeks, shootings over the last several days near the Capitol Hill Organized Protest area, CHOP for short, left a 19-year-old man dead and three others wounded. Mayor Jenny Durkan announced on June 22 that the city would retake the abandoned police precinct at the heart of…

News | December 5, 2019

Don’t blame tech bros for the housing crisis

Can Big Tech solve the housing crisis? That’s the hope behind recent announcements by Apple, Facebook and Google, which together total $4.5 billion in grants and loans to remedy the affordable-housing crunch in California and the Bay Area. Microsoft last year pledged $500 million to relieve Seattle’s similarly stressed market. While Amazon’s opposition torpedoed Seattle’s attempt in 2018 to raise revenue for homelessness services,…

Donald H. Miller

Dredge collective: mapping new york harbor.

JFK airport and thousands of acres encircling Jamaica Bay were marshy wetlands before being filled in. The extant vegetated marsh islands within it are eroding at an ever-accelerating rate. Without additional anthropogenic influences – such as the creative application of dredged materials to reconstruct the islands – they may completely disappear as soon as 2020.…

News | May 20, 2020

EarthLab announces Innovation Grant recipients for 2020

Research projects funded for 2020 by EarthLab’s Innovation Grants Program will study how vegetation might reduce pollution, help an Alaskan village achieve safety and resilience amid climate change, organize a California river’s restoration with tribal involvement, compare practices in self-managed indigenous immigrant communities and more. EarthLab is a University of Washington-wide institute connecting scholars with community…

News | October 10, 2017

Earthquakes are inevitable but catastrophe is not

Written by University of Washington Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering professor Marc Eberherd, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering associate professor Jeffery Berman, and Department of Human-Centered Design senior scientist Scott Miles. Many older buildings provide vital, low-cost housing. But we must find a way to make these structures safer. It should not be…

News | February 4, 2022

Entombed in the Landscape: Waste with Assistant Professor Catherine De Almeida

Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture Catherine De Almeida remembers picking up trash on the playground, seeing people throw trash out their car window, and noticing trash flying around while she played outside as a child. The presence of litter in landscapes upset her so much that she would spend her elementary school recesses picking up…

News | February 27, 2019

Evictions, rent spikes contribute to Washington’s homelessness crisis, study finds

With rent spikes and the decline of affordable housing, a team of University of Washington researchers are finding that evictions are contributing to the rise in homelessness across Washington state. Tim Thomas is the Principal Investigator of the study, and post-doctoral fellow at the UW eScience Institute. Now they’ve created a “living document” that shows eviction rates…

News | September 19, 2016

Expand the frontiers of urban sustainability

Manhattan skyscrapers, rather than rustic rural towns, are quickly becoming the picture of sustainable living in the twenty-first century. San Francisco, Copenhagen and Singapore each top their regions in the Green City Index. As sites of innovation and economic dynamism, these places exemplify a blend of density and livability that large, prosperous cities in the…

News | October 29, 2019

Facebook commits $1 billion to ease Bay Area housing crisis

Facebook Inc. is following other tech titans like Microsoft Corp. and Google, pledging to use its deep pockets to ease the affordable housing shortage in West Coast cities. The social media giant said Tuesday that it would commit $1 billion over the next decade to address the crisis in the San Francisco Bay Area, building as many as…

News | June 4, 2021

Fast food, supermarkets, other aspects of built environments don’t play expected role in weight gain

People don’t gain or lose weight because they live near a fast-food restaurant or supermarket, according to a new study led by the University of Washington. And, living in a more “walkable”, dense neighborhood likely only has a small impact on weight. These “built-environment” amenities have been seen in past research as essential contributors to losing weight or tending…

News | March 16, 2017

First UW Livable City Year project reports delivered to the City of Auburn

Teams of University of Washington students have been working throughout this academic year on livability and sustainability projects in the City of Auburn. The yearlong Livable City Year partnership has given students a chance to work on real-world challenges identified by Auburn, while providing Auburn with tens of thousands of hours of study and student…

News | June 13, 2018

Forest loss in one part of US can harm trees on the opposite coast

Large swaths of U.S. forests are vulnerable to drought, forest fires and disease. Many local impacts of forest loss are well known: drier soils, stronger winds, increased erosion, loss of shade and habitat. But if a whole forest disappears, new research shows, this has ricocheting effects in the atmosphere that can affect vegetation on the…

News | July 28, 2020

Gentrification and changing foodscapes in Seattle

Seattle is the third most quickly gentrifying city in the US, after Washington, DC and Portland, OR (The Seattle Times [web]). Gentrification is often the outcome of decades of segregation, redlining, and urban renewal policies that exploit the large gap between existing and potential property values, which in turn encourages an influx of wealthier residents….

Geography (BA, minor, MA, PhD)

Geographers address some of the world’s most urgent challenges, including globalization, economic inequality, world hunger and agricultural development, global health and health care, the social control of public spaces, immigration, gender inequality, and what it means to be a citizen in the 21st century. Answers to such questions are complex and partial, and these issues…

Geospatial Technologies (MS)

The Urban Studies Program offers a Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies degree. Admission is open during autumn quarter only and will be comprised of a 20 student cohort. The degree will provide advanced training in GIS, training students to use and apply geospatial hardware, software, and data in urban and environmental planning scenarios. It…

News | March 20, 2018

Giving Voice, Being Seen: Community Agency and Design Action in a Time of Climate Change, April 26

Climate change affects everyone, but it does not impact all communities equally. These differences may be most evident in the built environment and the shared spaces such as parks, streets, schools, homes, which we experience and move through daily. In seeking to inspire more collaborative, inclusive and creative responses to climate change in the built…

Glen Duncan

Research Beyond UW | Newcastle University

Global Research Urban Research Unit (GURU)

The Global Urban Research Unit combines traditional and innovative approaches to the analysis of cities and towns, to better understand place and its potential creative and sustainable transformation. Our work is theoretically informed but often deeply related to the experiences of citizens, policy-makers and other stakeholders. GURU thus prides itself on the ways its work…

News | February 14, 2023

Google’s exit from big Seattle-area project shows fleeting relationship between tech and communities

The City of Kirkland was counting on Google to be the “catalyst project” in its proposed Station Area Plan, a reimagining of the area around a planned rapid transit bus station into a higher density community of housing and businesses. But suddenly and without warning, the plans evaporated last month. The City of Kirkland issued…

Gordon Bradley

Green cities: good health.

Metro nature - including trees, parks, gardens, and natural areas - enhance quality of life in cities and towns. The experience of nature improves human health and well-being in many ways. Nearly 40 years of scientific studies tell us how. Here's the research ...

Green Futures Lab

The Green Futures Lab mission is to support interdisciplinary research and design that advances our understanding of, visions for, and design of a vital and ecologically sustainable public realm. Apply Green Futures research and designs to policy develop potential urban green infrastructure solutions within Seattle and the Pacific Northwest region and work with the University…

Gregory Hicks

News | April 9, 2017

Growing Up in the University District

Vikram Jandhyala sees Seattle’s University District evolving into an “innovation district” — a place where public and private sectors work together to develop socially beneficial technologies. Think Silicon Valley, where Stanford University faculty and students launch new companies or work on their new technologies with existing tech giants. As the University of Washington’s vice president…

H. Pike Oliver

News | February 27, 2020

Health and Well-Being Linked to Wilderness in Urban Parks

As metropolises balloon with growth and sprawl widens the footprint of cities around the world, access to nature for people living in urban areas is becoming harder to find.If you’re lucky, a pocket park might be installed next to a new condominium complex on your block, or perhaps a green roof tops the building where…

Himanshu Grover

News | February 1, 2024

History uncovered: UW research finds thousands of past racial restrictions in Kitsap

Reported in The Kitsap Sun By Peiyu Lin It’s not a secret that Kitsap County possesses a history of segregation, where some areas of the peninsula were only allowed to sell or rent to white people in the early and mid-20th century. But a specific geographic distribution of the over 2,300 properties that carry racial…

News | May 29, 2019

Home construction continues to rise in north Snohomish County

The sounds of hammering, sawing and heavy equipment are echoing across the area these days. It’s in stark contrast to five years ago when few new homes were being built. “Back in 2014, we were one-at-a-timing it to eke our way through,” said Anthony Holbeck of Holbeck Construction & Design on Camano. “Now, it’s a…

News | December 9, 2021

Home, not-so-sweet home

Imagine buying your dream home — and then learning you are prohibited from owning it. A surprising number of residential property deeds in Washington state contain clauses excluding certain groups from ownership. Those clauses are no longer enforceable thanks to a 1968 anti-discrimination law, but the exclusionary language — a reminder of sanctioned racism in…

News | September 28, 2021

Homeless in Silicon Valley’s shadow get help, but ‘sustainable’ change is elusive

Andrea Urton, who grew up homeless in Los Angeles, has seen how little corporate interests  tend to care about helping the impoverished. So it was with some surprise when she received a phone call from an Apple representative. “I have never had an Apple or a Google or a Facebook reach out to me personally…

News | February 7, 2019

Homeowners keep building walls around Puget Sound. Biologists are taking out more

Puget Sound has started getting healthier, at least by one measure: A little less of its shoreline is buried under walls of concrete and rock. Biologists have long pointed to seawalls, bulkheads and other protective structures known as “shoreline armoring” as a major environmental problem for Puget Sound. More than 660 miles, or about 29…

News | July 8, 2022

Housing boom around University Village: Will it be a real Seattle neighborhood?

Most of Seattle’s growing urban neighborhoods surround light-rail stations, but at least one is sprouting around an upscale, open-air shopping center. There are more than 2,300 new apartments recently completed, currently under construction or planned in the blocks that encircle University Village, a sprawling collection of stores, restaurants, plazas and parking lots located northeast of…

News | January 12, 2022

How a Seattle community is supporting a tribe’s fight for its existence

The Duwamish tribe isn’t recognized by the US government. It doesn’t have its own reservation. More than a century of broken treaty promises, discriminatory laws and violence forced many of its people from their ancestral homelands in what is now the Seattle area. Still, the Duwamish continue to exist and fight for their survival. Today,…

How a Strong Regional Economy is Effecting the Snohomish Housing Market

Economic growth doesn’t come without some burden. “We are suffering from our own successes,” said economist and UW lecturer Matthew Gardner. “We have a robust economy, and that means growing pains.” The solid economy equates to more jobs — and more people — moving to the region, putting continued pressure on infrastructure and housing markets, he said….

News | January 7, 2022

How Crowds Run When Bulls Charge

People walking alone walk relatively quickly. A crowd walks slowly. But how does a crowd move when there is, say, a massive bull charging at them? To answer this, scientists analyzed the movement of a crowd of runners during the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, in 2019. The San Fermín festival in Pamplona,…

News | March 14, 2017

How future superstorms could overwhelm today’s wastewater infrastructure

The current Seattle rainstorm, and many like it this year, are overwhelming our city’s wastewater pipes, and some sewage may be dumping into the Puget Sound as we speak. But even in a normal year, King County dumps about 800 million gallons of raw sewage into its waterways. That’s because, when it rains too much…

News | January 6, 2023

How land design is answering the cultural needs of Native Americans in Seattle

Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center has been a feature in Tim Lehman’s life since he was 9 years old, when his family moved to the Seattle area. “I’m Northern Arapaho. My tribe, my people, my reservation is in Wyoming, yet I reside in Seattle. So where do I go for that cultural connection?” He found…

News | August 12, 2019

How nature can improve your family’s mental health

People who study health outcomes – and any parent with common sense – have long known that having access to a green space is important for health. From decreased asthma and obesity to increased immunities and quality sleep, exposure to the outdoors is good for everyone. But a large, growing body of evidence, captured in a new meta-study, reveals that experiences in nature have especially…

News | April 28, 2022

How one architect’s radical ideas about nature changed American cities forever

For those of us who did the majority of our growing up in upper Manhattan, it’s not hyperbolic to say that New York’s Central Park was our backyard. We spent snow days careening down Cedar Hill on our sleds. I attended a bar mitzvah reception at Loeb Boathouse, spending a good portion of it perched…

News | August 30, 2018

How racism kept black Tacomans from buying houses for decades

Honorably discharged after serving in the Korean War, the young man looked to settle down in Tacoma with his wife. If only they could convince someone to show them a home. If they got to a house first, the real estate agent would leave upon seeing them. They learned to park down the street and…

News | May 23, 2018

How Seattle’s appetite for construction is creating a growing waste problem

The sun has barely burned the fog off Lake Washington as Noel Stout, standing near the water’s edge, peers at a heavy wooden trellis suspended 20 feet above a concrete backyard patio. He’s rigged a system of ropes and pulleys to the cedar latticework, which just yesterday supported a deck with a sweeping view across…

News | August 29, 2019

How tech keeps Seattle’s transit system running — and why more innovation could be coming

Amid a sea of green rectangles on a computer monitor, one had turned red. A RapidRide bus — the red rectangle — was traveling a bit too rapidly. It was almost 11 a.m. on Friday, August 23 in the King County Metro Transit Control Center (TCC). Coordinators sat in front of large monitors, tracking the…

News | April 10, 2018

How Texas is ‘building back better’ from Hurricane Harvey

For most Americans, the one-two punch of last fall’s hurricanes is ancient history. But hard-hit communities in Texas, Florida and the Caribbean are still rebuilding. Nicole Errett, lecturer in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, recently traveled with public health students from the University of Washington to southeast Texas, where the impacts of…

News | August 1, 2019

How to consider nature’s impact on mental health in city plans

Almost one in five adults in the U.S. lives with a mental illness. That statistic is similar worldwide, with an estimated 450 million people currently dealing with a mental or neurological disorder. Of those, only about a third seek treatment. Interacting with nature is starting to be recognized as one way to improve mental health. A number of scientific…

News | July 6, 2020

How urban design can make or break protests

If protesters could plan a perfect stage to voice their grievances, it might look a lot like Athens, Greece. Its broad, yet not overly long, central boulevards are almost tailor-made for parading. Its large parliament-facing square, Syntagma, forms a natural focal point for marchers. With a warren of narrow streets surrounding the center, including the…

News | September 29, 2022

How Will Downtowns across America Change in the Next Decade?

There is nothing quite like the hustle and bustle of a city. No matter where you are, you know when you’ve made it downtown. Since downtowns have changed so much in the past, what will they look like in the next decade? Well, in order to predict the future, we must go back to the…

News | January 17, 2019

How your online shopping snarls traffic on city streets

This past holiday season, to the delight of retailers, saw shopping records broken left and right. Amazon set a sales record over the long Thanksgiving weekend. Cyber Monday hit a record $7.9 billion in sales. Online holiday shopping, at a predicted $126 billion, would mark an all-time record. That also means a record number of online deliveries. The strong retail economy…

Humans, Disasters, and the Built Environment (HDBE)

The Humans, Disasters and the Built Environment (HDBE) program supports fundamental, multidisciplinary research on the interactions between humans and the built environment within and among communities exposed to natural, technological and other types of hazards and disasters. The program's context is provided by ongoing and emerging changes in three interwoven elements of a community: its…

IBM Center for the Business of Government – Connecting Research to Practice

The aim of the IBM Center for The Business of Government is to tap into the best minds in academe and the nonprofit sector who can use rigorous public management research and analytic techniques to help public sector executives and managers improve the effectiveness of government. We are looking for very practical findings and actionable…

News | June 19, 2018

If you want to get to know Seattle, walk through it

Walking is ordinary. It is so ordinary, most of us do it without thinking: You put one foot in front of the other to get to the bus, to walk from your car to the office, to pick up something from the store. It requires only shoes — and, because we live in Seattle, some…

News | May 8, 2018

In a concrete jungle, one architect pushes for plywood for giants

Timber is coming back in the Northwest. I don’t mean old growth forests. Those have been holding steady for a couple of decades.I mean architecture. Cross-laminated timber, or CLT, is a material a true modernist can love — and not just for furniture and finishes. It’s very strong, and too beautiful to hide inside walls….

News | October 17, 2017

In Seattle, cost of meeting basic needs up $30,000 in a decade

A Seattle family of four must bring in $75,000 annually to pay for basic housing, food, transportation and health and child care – an increase of 62 percent since 2006, based on a new report from the University of Washington. The city’s escalating cost of living may not be a surprise. But across the state,…

In the coronavirus crisis, who gets to be outside?

As the first weekend of spring began, nearly 100 million Americans had just been ordered to stay home to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Even the most stringent stay-at-home orders in the U.S. currently allow people to go outside, which is providing multitudinous benefits in this time of great uncertainty. Taking a short walk, roll,…

News | July 11, 2019

Informal housing, poverty, and legacies of apartheid in South Africa

“Ten percent of all South Africans — the majority white — owns more than 90 percent of national wealth… Some 80 percent of the population — overwhelmingly black — owns nothing at all.” — New York Times On April 27, 1994, Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress (ANC) won the first multiracial democratic election…

Infrastructure Planning & Management

Well-planned infrastructure strengthens the sustainability and livability of our cities and communities. University of Washington's online Master of Infrastructure Planning & Management degree prepares you to lead the development of the next generation of critical infrastructure systems ­­— resilient, secure and accessible.

Institute for Hazards Mitigation Planning and Research

The Institute for Hazards Mitigation Planning and Research is dedicated to integrating hazards mitigation principles into a wide range of crisis, disaster, and risk management opportunities. Its mission is to build a resource center that will enhance risk reduction and resilience activities through research and analysis of hazards, policies related to mitigation, and outreach to…

Research Beyond UW | University of California, Berkeley

Institute of Urban and Regional Development

Through collaborative, interdisciplinary research and practice, Institute of Urban and Regional Development (IURD) supports students, faculty, and visiting scholars to critically investigate and help improve processes and outcomes that shape urban equity around the world. "The future of IURD will be to position itself as a global leader in research and policy that aims to…

News | July 19, 2021

Integrating solutions to adapt cities for climate change

A new article explores how record climate extremes are reducing urban livability, compounding inequality, and threatening infrastructure. Co-authored by Marina Alberti, Professor of Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington; Brenda B Lin, Alessandro Ossola, Erik Andersson, Xuemei Bai, Cynnamon Dobbs, Thomas Elmqvist, Karl L Evans, Niki Frantzeskaki, Richard A Fuller, Kevin J Gaston,…

News | September 21, 2021

Interdisciplinary course helps empower the local community

Professors in the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments have created an interdisciplinary, graduate-level course, the McKinley Futures Nehemiah Studio, that combines architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and design, and real estate principles into a groundbreaking opportunity for the local African American community as well as the students who participate in it. The studio…

Interdisciplinary Urban Design & Planning (PhD)

This program brings together faculty from disciplines ranging from Architecture to Sociology to focus on the interdisciplinary study of urban problems and interventions. Covering scales from neighborhoods to metropolitan areas, the program addresses interrelationships between the physical environment, the built environment, and the social, economic, and political institutions and processes that shape urban areas. The…

Investing in Bothell’s future

Over the past decade, Bothell has seen a boom in population and economic growth — and the related impacts. The city’s downtown revitalization is one of the brightest spots of that boom. However, the state has been largely absent in its support for infrastructure spending to support the growth in our community. The state passed…

James Young

Jan whittington, jeff shulman.

News | July 26, 2016

Jeff Shulman and the Seattle Growth Podcast: An Office Hours Visit

Jeff Shulman moved to Seattle a decade ago to begin his career at the University of Washington. In that short time, he’s watched Seattle’s dramatic and ongoing growth transform the city. This former South Lake Union resident has put together a thirteen-episode, in-depth look at how Seattle’s changes have affected real people. With nearly 100…

Jim Nicholls

Joe p. mahoney, joseph wartman, joshua lawler, julie parrett.

News | May 5, 2021

Just Sustainabilities in a Post-Pandemic World: Virtual Symposium on May 27th

The COVID-19 pandemic has tested our cities’ adaptability and resilience and dug deeper holes in cities’ social, environmental and physical fabric. As we come out of the pandemic, we need to re-think how the city fabric functions. Planning for the post-pandemic city requires a careful understanding of the implications of the COVID19 pandemic on pre-existing…

Killing the Colorado

The Colorado River — the most important water source for 40 million people in the West — is draining. For a century, seven states engineered ways to wring ever more water from the river, defying all natural limitations. But now, the very water laws and policies that shaped progress are rendering the West more vulnerable…

King County iMap

iMap is an application that allows you to view King County spatial information (GIS data and images) in an interactive map display. You can customize your map display to show just the information you want to see at the best scale for your chosen purpose. iMap is your window to a wealth of geographic information…

Map | Seattle

King County Parcel Viewer

With Parcel Viewer 2.0 searching for King County parcel information has never been easier! You can search by address, search by parcel number, or you can just zoom in on the map and click on a parcel. You can also select and zoom to a street intersection. Once a parcel is selected, you will get…

Kristi Park

Kyle crowder.

News | January 23, 2020

Land banking in the heart of Tacoma

There is a city block in the heart of Tacoma some people believe is not being put to its best use, stifling economic growth and blunting vitality. Four buildings and three parking lots now occupy 11 parcels along Tacoma Avenue, not far from the City-County Building. Six of the parcels have been tied up since 2005,…

Landscape Architecture (BLA, MLA, dual MArch-MLA, dual MLA-MUP)

At the University of Washington, we strive to create a program that meets the complex social, environmental, political, and aesthetic challenges of our time. Our program emphasis on urban ecological design addresses the multiple dimensions of today’s environmental challenges – infrastructure, culture, ecological literacy, and human and environmental health. With our focus on the intersection…

Landscape Ecology and Conservation Lab

​The Landscape Ecology and Conservation Lab does research in the areas of: Climate Change, Land-Use Change, and Ecosystem Services

News | July 6, 2023

Lessons Learned from the Pacific Northwest’s 2021 Heat Dome

Two years after the deadliest weather-related disaster in Washington state history, public officials are taking stock. High pressure locked the area in a heat dome for a week, starting June 26. It broke dozens of temperature records, killed hundreds of people and sent hundreds more to hospitals, unprepared for the unprecedented heat, especially so early…

News | August 16, 2021

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy honors UW College of Built Environments faculty, Nehemiah Studio for curriculum on mitigating gentrification

The Nehemiah Studio, a UW class on mitigating gentrification in Seattle’s Central District designed by Rachel Berney, Donald King and Al Levine with support from College of Built Environments Dean Renée Cheng, has been honored by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. The course supports joint efforts by the college and the Nehemiah Initiative Seattle to train graduate students to help mitigate displacement in…

Lisa Graumlich

Livable city year.

Most cities lack the capacity to fully address sustainability goals. Meanwhile, ideas and human capacity abound within universities. UW is a powerhouse of research and innovation on all aspects of urban life, but this knowledge isn’t always available to communities. Through Livable City Year, UW faculty and students from multiple disciplines work on high-priority projects…

News | October 2, 2018

Livable City Year and Tacoma finalize partnership

Throughout the 2017-2018 academic year, 349 University of Washington students and 26 UW faculty members worked with staff and community members from the City of Tacoma on projects to advance livability and sustainability in the city. The year-long partnership between Tacoma and UW Livable City Year (LCY) provided the city with university resources to tackle…

News | December 13, 2016

Livable City Year releases RFP, invites cities to partner for 2017-8 academic year

The University of Washington’s Livable City Year initiative is now accepting proposals from cities, counties, special districts and regional partnerships to partner with during the 2017-2018 academic year. UW Livable City Year (UW LCY) connects University of Washington faculty and students with a municipal partner for a full academic year to work on projects fostering…

News | August 25, 2020

Livable City Year research leads to publication on university–community partnerships

Anne Taufen, associate professor of Urban Studies at UW Tacoma, and Anneka Olson, graduate of UW Tacoma’s Community Planning MA program, recently published an article examining the Livable City Year program, a university-community partnership at the University of Washington. This work was partially supported through Urban@UW. “Especially in this time of polarization, with problems like…

News | November 14, 2019

Livable City Year: Jennifer Otten & Branden Born

Food brings people together. In the case of the academic collaboration between Jennifer Otten and Branden Born, so did food policy. Otten, an associate professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and core faculty in the Nutritional Sciences Program within the School of Public Health, met Born, an associate professor in Urban Design and Planning…

News | August 17, 2021

Living Landscapes Incubator Request for Proposals

The Living Landscapes Incubator is a new grant program, developed as a collaboration among the College of Built Environments, the College of the Environment, Urban@UW, and the School of Public Health. Planning and designing for landscapes, environments, and infrastructure that support sustainable, livable, and equitable communities is a key challenge of our time. With generous funding from…

Lucy Jarosz

Lynne manzo, macarthur foundation.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. In addition to selecting the MacArthur Fellows, the Foundation works to defend human rights, advance global conservation and security, make cities better places, and understand how technology is affecting children and…

Manish Chalana

News | January 28, 2020

Mapping Eviction in Western Washington

Evictions due to lack of affordable housing and rising rent costs contribute to the homelessness crisis. A new interactive map by graduate student Alex Ramiller with the UW Department of Geography builds on the study released in 2018 that measured and analyzed the issue of evictions in western Washington using court records, census data and housing market trends. Between…

News | January 9, 2020

Mapping the segregation of Minneapolis

Before it was torn apart by freeway construction in the middle of the 20th century, the Near North neighborhood in Minneapolis was home to the city’s largest concentration of African American families. That wasn’t by accident: As far back as the early 1900s, racially restrictive covenants on property deeds prevented African Americans and other minorities…

Marina Alberti

Mark hallenbeck, mark purcell, mary roderick, matthew kelley, meade krosby, melbourne urban forest.

The City of Melbourne maintains more than 70,000 trees. This website enables you to explore this dataset and some of the challenges facing Melbourne’s Urban Forest.

Melissa Best

Mental health benefits of nature should influence city planning, says uw study.

City planners should consider the mental health benefits of green spaces when making plans for the future of their cities. That’s according to a new study out of University of Washington that says urban green spaces can help improve mental health. The study found that accounting for the economic impacts of these benefits might help cities prioritize…

Minor in Urban Ecological Design

The Department of Landscape Architecture’s focus on Urban Ecological Design. This design practice integrates site, landscape, and people in a way that is functional, artful, and engaging. Urban Ecological Design is an interdisciplinary approach that addresses emerging local, regional, and global issues in five key areas: (1) design as activism, (2) design for ecological infrastructure,…

Monika Moskal

News | July 19, 2024

More Than 1 Trillion Microbes Live Inside the Average Tree Trunk

Reported by Erik Stokstad for Science  The wood inside the average tree might seem barren, but it’s home to an incredibly diverse array of life. More than 1 trillion fungi, bacteria, and other microbes live inside the average trunk, according to the most comprehensive survey yet conducted, comprising unique communities specialized to various tree species….

Nancy Rivenburgh

Nancy rottle.

News | August 15, 2016

New book ‘Cities that Think Like Planets’ imagines urban regions resilient to change

Marina Alberti is a professor in the Department of Urban Design and Planning, which is part of the University of Washington College of Built Environments. Alberti directs the college’s Urban Ecology Research Laboratory and the Graduate School’s interdisciplinary doctoral program in urban design and planning. She answered some questions about her new book, “Cities that…

News | January 11, 2018

New book ‘City Unsilenced’ explores protest and public space

Jeff Hou is a professor of landscape architecture and adjunct professor of urban design and planning in the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments. His research, teaching and practice focus on community design, design activism, cross-cultural learning and engaging marginalized communities in planning and design. Hou has written extensively on the agency of citizens…

News | June 5, 2019

New documentary examines the impact of gentrification in Seattle

If you’ve been in our area for any length of time, you can probably recognize the changes occurring not only in downtown Seattle but across Western Washington. Many feel that gentrification of neighborhoods is stifling cultural communities and their history. On the Brink, a new documentary produced by University of Washington’s Foster School of Business…

News | May 7, 2019

New study finds Seattle is even less prepared for mega quakes than previously thought

Scientists have found that the shaking likely to be generated by a massive earthquake on the Cascadia subduction zone is worse than previously thought—and Seattle’s current building codes aren’t equipped to handle it. The study, which was presented at the 2019 Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting last month, is based on the work of…

News | April 20, 2023

New UW Center for Environmental Health Equity to Launch with a $12 Million Grant from the US EPA

The University of Washington will lead a new center to help address longstanding environmental and energy justice issues—from legacy pollution to energy security—in Pacific Northwest and Alaska Native communities with funding announced today by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The $12 million, five-year EPA cooperative agreement will create the new UW Center for Environmental…

News | September 6, 2023

New York Is Full. And It’s the Housing Market’s Fault

Since last spring, roughly 100,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City. This is a city of immigrants, welcoming to immigrants, built by immigrants. People who were born abroad make up a third of New York’s population and own more than half of its businesses. Yet the city has struggled to accommodate this wave…

News | June 7, 2022

New, stronger rules for truck pollution still would not meet air quality goals

EPA’s proposal to limit toxic pollution from heavy-duty trucks is stronger than anything that has come before it. But state and local air quality agencies say it’s not aggressive enough to meet the federal regulator’s own clean air standards. The National Association of Clean Air Agencies — which represents 115 local air pollution control agencies…

News | February 12, 2016

New! Urban Map Gallery

We’ve created a new urban map gallery to explore how other people and organizations are studying and visualizing data. The gallery features seven cities facing different social, economic, and geographic issues. This curation is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather provide insight and inspiration. Maps included track everything from sound to subway…

Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center

The mission of the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center is to deliver science to help fish, wildlife, water, land and people adapt to a changing climate. The goal of the center is to help safeguard the Northwest’s natural and cultural resources by providing managers and policy-makers across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Western Montana with timely,…

News | January 19, 2024

Northwest innovators chase the dream of greener concrete

From The Seattle Times By Mike Lindblom PULLMAN — From a onetime speakeasy in North Seattle to a modern lab in the Palouse, inventors are testing recipes that make concrete less lethal to Earth’s climate. Most people understand that the world’s 1.4 billion fossil-fueled cars and trucks spew carbon dioxide, trapping heat in the atmosphere….

News | October 28, 2016

October Recap: Urban Transporation, Health, and Justice

October has seen a lot of research and engagement surrounding urban design, health, and transportation from University of Washington’s urban scholars and practitioners. Here at Urban@UW we’ve kicked off our Livable City Year program, reflected on our first full year of work and collaborations, and are planning for our symposium on Urban Environmental Justice in…

Opportunities to engage UW faculty and students to address COVID-19

In recognition of the intense needs of local governments around COVID-19 response and recovery, the LCY program has compiled a list of existing UW courses whose faculty and students are seeking to assist local communities in COVID-related projects. Most projects can start in Autumn 2020 — some as early as Summer 2020. The list of…

News | August 10, 2017

Opportunity abounds as Washington builds the modern electricity grid

The Horn Rapids Solar, Storage, and Training Project—which would be the largest solar installation in Washington, and one of a relative few anywhere with a significant amount of energy storage incorporated—embodies a long chain of public and private sector efforts that have positioned the state, and the broader Pacific Northwest, as a leader in the…

Opportunity Mapping

These maps provided by the Puget Sound Regional Council are a study of the region’s geography of opportunity, based on 2010 census data. “Opportunity” is a situation or condition that places individuals in a position to be more likely to succeed or excel. Opportunity maps illustrate where opportunity rich communities exist, assess who has access…

P-REX a research lab focused on environmental problems caused by urbanization, including the design, remediation, and reuse of waste landscapes worldwide. P-REX works to develop non-traditional design solutions to push the boundaries of conventional practice and incorporate resilient thinking into large-scale strategic planning & design.

News | January 7, 2020

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and UW creating app to make package delivery easier for drivers

The holidays may be over, but that means shipping and returns season has begun. Right now the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is developing a project that could potentially help us send and receive our packages sooner. The $1.5 million project is funded by the D.O.E’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Vehicle Technologies and…

Pacific Northwest Seismic Network

To monitor earthquake and volcanic activity across the Pacific Northwest, the University of Washington and the University of Oregon cooperatively operate the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN). The PNSN is sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. Department of Energy, the State of Washington, and the State of Oregon. Beginning in 1969 with…

News | November 25, 2020

Pandemic streets showed the promise of car-free Seattle

One morning in early April, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic’s first wave, Gordon Padelford watched one man with a pickup truck leaving “local access only” signs and traffic cones along 25th Avenue South in the Central District. A longtime advocate of pedestrian and cycling street access, Padelford held his breath: Would the low-budget infrastructure really work?…

News | October 16, 2015

Panel on Innovation Districts Seeks To Explore How To Foster New Ideas Through Urban Planning

What have we in Seattle learned about Innovation Districts, as we start to create them in places like Pioneer Square and the U District? Knowing that we are growing, what kind of Innovation District do we want? And frankly, what do Innovation Districts have to do with making Seattle a great place to live and…

News | October 31, 2018

Park facilities encourage longer bouts of physical activity

Researchers from the University of Washington School of Public Health watched 225 Seattle residents during their visits to public parks – through GPS devices, activity trackers and travel diaries – and found that they were active for longer at parks that had a greater variety of recreational facilities. The study, published online Sept. 19 in the Journal…

News | November 27, 2018

Parks help cities – but only if people use them

Written by Thaisa Way, faculty director of Urban@UW and Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture in the College of Built Environments. In cities, access to parks is strongly linked with better health for both people and neighborhoods. Children suffer higher rates of obesity when they grow up in urban areas without a park in easy reach. Because low-income neighborhoods have fewer green spaces, poorer…

PCE Certificate in Commercial Real Estate

Commercial real estate is the raw material of a region’s economy. The Seattle market is experiencing huge growth, which means both increased opportunity and heightened competition. Staying current and getting an insider’s perspective on the industry can give you the edge you need to succeed. In this three-course program, we’ll explore commercial real estate as…

News | March 13, 2019

Pedestrian deaths are rising, but not in Seattle. Here’s why.

Across the U.S., pedestrian fatalities are increasing, according to a recent report. That’s often due to distracted drivers and pedestrians looking at their phones. Some are high or drunk, and increasingly, they’re driving heavy, taller SUVs that strike victims at chest height, where they can do more harm. But Seattle has bucked the trend, thanks…

Pedro Arduino

Research Beyond UW | University of Pennsylvania

Penn Institute for Urban Research

The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) is a university-wide, interdisciplinary institute at the University of Pennsylvania dedicated to urban research, education, and civic engagement. Affiliated with all 12 schools of the University of Pennsylvania and with the world of practice, Penn IUR fosters collaboration among scholars and policymakers across disciplines to address the…

Phil Hurvitz

News | April 16, 2021

Planning the best route with multiple destinations is hard even for supercomputers – a new approach breaks a barrier that’s stood for nearly half a century

Originally written by Nathan Klein, PhD Student in Computer Science at the University of Washington.  Computers are good at answering questions. What’s the shortest route from my house to Area 51? Is 8,675,309 a prime number? How many teaspoons in a tablespoon? For questions like these, they’ve got you covered. There are certain innocent-sounding questions,…

Population Health Initiative

The University of Washington aspires to be the world’s leading university in population health. On May 3, 2016, President Ana Mari Cauce launched a groundbreaking Population Health Initiative by inviting the University community and partners to join in developing a 25-year vision to advance the health of people around the world by leveraging capabilities and…

Population Health Initiative announces award of 21 COVID-19 rapid response grants

The University of Washington Population Health Initiative announced the award of approximately $350,000 in COVID-19 rapid response grants to 21 different faculty-led teams. These teams are composed of individuals representing 10 different schools and colleges. Funding was partially matched by additional school, college and departmental funds, bringing the total value of these awards to roughly $820,000. “A…

News | February 27, 2021

Post-pandemic cities: Fighting congestion in the e-commerce age

Congested city streets. Trucks fighting for curb space. Bottlenecks on beltways and bridge approaches as freight-laden semis rumble toward crowded urban centers. Pedestrians, cyclists, commuters, rideshare vehicles, and parcel-crammed vans—all contending with one another. This was the picture in many cities before the pandemic hit, fueled in part by the on-demand economy. An October 2019 New…

Program on Climate Change

The Program on Climate Change amplifies the University of Washington’s exceptional range of expertise in climate related fields. Interaction among faculty through PCC activities promotes the integration of existing observational and modeling efforts within and between individual departments, providing a powerful synthesis approach for addressing the problems of climate change. Through courses, events, and planning…

News | June 22, 2020

Protestors want Seattle de-gentrified – This is how it could happen

For more than a week, protesters against police brutality and racial injustice have occupied a six-block stretch of a Seattle neighborhood and turned it into a festive hub for their demonstrations. They named it the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ, since renamed the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP), after police withdrew from a police…

News | March 15, 2019

PSU takes on regional sustainability with the Emerald Corridor Collaboratory

Last year,  the Institute for Sustainable Solutions at Portland State University joined a regional pilot project called the Emerald Corridor Collaboratory that aims to do just that by joining four universities and four Pacific Northwest cities in a quest for better, more effective partnerships. Funded by a $100,000 grant from the Seattle-based Bullitt Foundation, the Emerald Corridor Collaboratory…

News | September 21, 2022

Q&A: Exploring How the Design of the Built Environment Affects Our Health and Well-Being

How does the design of the built environment – such as houses, schools, workplaces, streets, parks, transportation systems, and urban form – affect our health and well-being? To explore these issues, editors Nisha D. Botchwey, Andrew Dannenberg, and Howard Frumkin, recently published the second edition of “Making Healthy Places: Designing and Building for Well-being, Equity,…

Rachel Berney

News | February 19, 2016

Reading List for Dr. Mario Small’s Visit 2/25

In anticipation of next week’s lecture with Harvard’s Dr. Mario Luis Small we thought you might enjoy a few readings to get a feel for what exactly he is all about. No Two Ghettos Are Alike – This short piece by Dr. Small shares it’s name with Thursday’s lecture, and explores some of the complex…

News | May 7, 2016

Reading List for Patricia Romero Lankao Visit 5/11

In anticipation of Patricia Romero Lankao’s visit we thought you might enjoy these pieces to get a feel for her research and thinking. Water in Mexico City: What Will Climate Change Bring to Its History of Water-Related Hazards and Vulnerabilities?—This research paper delves into the history and evolution of water related risks and crises in…

Real Estate (BS, MS, Minor, Cert, PCE)

Our mission is: To be one the world’s leading academic centers in real estate, through the promotion of excellence in research and educational programs in an intellectually stimulating, creative and innovative environment and that engages with and empowers real estate leaders and the community to transform our built environment To achieve this we aim to:…

News | February 28, 2018

Reducing failed deliveries, truck parking time could improve downtown Seattle congestion

In Amazon’s hometown, people turn to their computers to order everything from groceries to last-minute birthday presents to the odd toothbrush or medication forgotten from the store. If online shopping continues to grow at its current rate, there may be twice as many trucks delivering packages in Seattle’s city center within five years, a new…

News | May 7, 2020

Rethinking the needs of a post-pandemic city

What will the future city look like after the pandemic? As political leaders around the country debate when to safely reopen the economy, city planners and designers have been pondering the implications of the pandemic for the future design of cities. Some suggest reducing urban density, while others predict a second wave of “white flight”…

Rick Mohler

News | August 20, 2020

Rick Mohler receives Architect magazine 2020 R+D award for housing access prototype ‘ADUniverse’

Rick Mohler, UW associate professor of architecture, has won a 2020 R+D Award from Architect magazine for a project designed with Seattle city planner Nick Welch to give local homeowners the information they need to plan and build accessory dwelling units on their property. The two led a team at the UW Data Science for Social Good Program in creating a prototype…

News | February 3, 2016

Risk of lead poisoning from urban gardening is low, new study finds

Using compost is the single best thing you can do to protect your family from any danger associated with lead in urban soils. Good compost will also guarantee that you will have plenty of vegetables to harvest. That’s the main finding of a paper appearing this month in the Journal of Environmental Quality. The University…

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Pioneering Ideas and a Culture of Health

The goal of the Pioneering Ideas Brief Proposal funding opportunity is to explore; to look into the future and put health first as we design for changes in how we live, learn, work and play; to wade into uncharted territory in order to better understand what new trends, opportunities and breakthrough ideas can enable everyone…

Ronald J. Kasprisin

Rubén casas, runstad affiliate fellows program.

The Affiliate Fellows Program brings together thought leaders from industry, faculty from the College of Built Environments, and students on the Master of Science in Real Estate for an 8-month program to examine real estate issues in the built environment. The goals of the Fellows program are to foster interaction between students and the academic…

News | February 25, 2020

Rural Hospital Closings are Affecting Reproductive Health Care

In some rural communities around the country, where over one-fifth of American women live, the closest hospital with specialized OB-GYN care can be a 100-mile drive away. More than half of rural women live 30 minutes or more from a hospital that provides perinatal care, which could mean the difference between life and death in…

Sally Brown

News | August 7, 2018

Sammamish Utility first to install earthquake early warning technology

The Northeast Sammamish Water District is trying out earthquake early warning technology at a pumping station that sits on top of a half-million gallons of water. Check the Earthquake Tracker A simulation shows us what would happen if an earthquake were detected by the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. “The earthquake has hit, it’s a 7.5…

Map | São Paulo

São Paulo Real Estate

​This visually striking map using CartoDB displays the price per square meter by block in São Paulo, Brazil

News | August 5, 2021

Scientist tests soil for hidden contaminants in community gardens

This year saw many people rediscovering an interest in gardening, digging in the dirt and maybe even harvesting vegetables from a garden plot. But around the Puget Sound, not all garden soils are created equal. Soil, particularly in urban areas, can hold contaminants that are unhealthy for people who handle it or eat things grown…

News | August 6, 2018

Sea-level rise report contains best projections yet for Washington’s coasts

One certainty under climate change is that global ocean levels are rising. A new report led by Washington Sea Grant and the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group provides the clearest picture yet of what to expect in Washington state. The report includes projections for more than 150 different sites along the Washington coastline, from…

News | July 14, 2020

Searching for Seattle’s hidden Latino history

Just about every week in the Seattle area, it seems, there’s news of yet another iconic local theater or ornate apartment building threatened with demolition. It’s part of the deal for a booming region where people want to live and work, and where developers and investors are eager to capitalize on real estate transactions and…

News | November 5, 2019

Seattle area has undergone record growth. Now voters may reshape its politics.

The Seattle region has more of almost everything than it did just six years ago, when voters chose to elect City Council members by districts. The area has added 135,000 homes, but has seen its population swell by 400,000. Homelessness has spiked by a third. Amazon’s workforce here has exploded from 13,000 to nearly 55,000….

News | November 19, 2020

Seattle could become the next 15-minute city

A growing number of politicians, urban planners and climate experts believes that 15 minutes is roughly the maximum amount of time city dwellers should spend getting to basic needs — without having to resort to a car. In the so-called “15-minute city,” nutritious food, libraries, health care, parks, cafés and other amenities should be within a short walk, bike ride or roll…

Seattle Foundation

Few regions in the world can match Seattle’s current growth and prosperity. But accompanying our good fortune are great challenges, including the widening disparities between rich and poor. Such inequities weaken the vibrancy of our community. Philanthropy can—and must—step in. Using our philanthropic expertise, deep roots in the community and network of partners, Seattle Foundation…

News | June 30, 2020

Seattle OKs transfer of old UW laundry near Mount Baker light rail station to build affordable housing

The Seattle City Council voted unanimously on June 22 to acquire a former UW Medical Center laundry next to the Mount Baker light rail station to develop affordable housing. The transfer comes at no cost to the city, and the project will count toward the 450 units of affordable housing the university agreed to build when the council…

News | February 13, 2021

Seattle startup’s bright idea: High-tech crosswalk could signal a way to improve pedestrian safety

On a rainy, foggy night in Seattle, an incident in a crosswalk changed the path that Janie Bube was on. A University of Washington student at the time, Bube was walking near the Burke-Gilman Trail when she was hit by a bicyclist in December 2018. Nobody was hurt, but Bube was rattled enough to immediately…

News | October 22, 2020

Seattle’s charming new waterfront park on Portage Bay officially opens

While the weather might be a bit gusty and chilly, Seattleites have a quaint new waterfront park to explore this weekend for fall colors and launch their kayaks next spring. Fritz Hedges Waterway Park officially opened Wednesday and includes a kayak launch point, pier, small beach and picnic area. The 3.5-acre park sits adjacent to the Sakuma Viewpoint and…

Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development GIS

​This interactive GIS map published by Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development makes essential GIS layers easily accessible. A few of the base layers include: building outlines, contours, parcels, pavement edges, and tree canopy cover. Zoning and environmentally critical areas are also highlighted, including layers for areas that are: flood prone, susceptible liquefaction, wetlands, steep…

News | July 23, 2020

Seattle’s tarnished dream

In his 2017 State of the City address, then-mayor Ed Murray declared that “Seattle will shine a light and offer a different vision.” He promised a city where all four-year-olds attended preschool, where all high school graduates had access to free community college, and where strict labor standards guaranteed the lowliest worker a reasonable standard…

News | October 24, 2019

Seattle’s treasured P-Patch community gardens face uncertain future

Have you stumbled on a P-Patch community garden in your neighborhood? These beehives of gardening and community populate every corner of Seattle. Both the gardens and the people are as diverse as the neighborhoods they serve. From sprawling production farms to tiny lots, each provides a green respite, an open and interactive space. To those…

Shannon Affholter

Shaping seattle: buildings.

This interactive map from the Seattle Department of Planning and Development shows building projects throughout Seattle. Images, design proposals and projected timelines are provided for most of the sites.

Sharon E. Sutton

News | January 23, 2018

Should Seattle declare war on parking to fight climate change?

Make no mistake: The rising cost and declining amount of on-street parking downtown are part of a much bigger plan to reduce Seattle’s carbon footprint.University of Washington traffic engineer Mark Hallenbeck is adamant that Seattle should not go down the same road as Oslo. “Removing parking might have an environmental benefit, but the backlash from…

Social Agency Lab

The Social Agency Lab is a research group at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. The lab studies the ways in which individuals, institutions and organizations shape social outcomes in cities.

Sofia Dermisi

News | July 19, 2018

Sound Transit rail stations could help solve our housing crisis

All of Sound Transit’s LINK light-rail stations offer opportunities to create vibrant, walkable mixed-use communities with significant amounts of new housing and reduced dependence on automobiles. We need a bold, regional approach to housing affordability, says Rick Mohler, Associate Professor at the Department of Architecture, and  Al Levine, Associate Faculty at the Department of Urban Design…

News | November 7, 2023

Spark Grants Complete Collaborative Research on Artificial Turf, Food Bank Home Delivery, and Urban Streetwear

An electronic denim jacket, an artistic collaboration to depict Black residents’ urban experiences. (credit: Bret Halperin) Over the past year, three teams of researchers from the University of Washington tackled a host of urban challenges in our region with the support of Urban@UW’s Spark Grants. In September 2022,  Urban@UW awarded $20,000 to each team in…

News | November 16, 2021

Spark Grants foster research on community-centered environmental infrastructure, supporting collaborations amidst pandemic

Over the past year, two teams of researchers from the University of Washington tackled a host of urban challenges in our region with the support of Urban@UW’s Research Spark Grants. In August 2020 grants of up to $20,000 were awarded to amplify collaborative research-to-practice with a focus on today’s urban issues. Two UW teams of…

News | October 25, 2022

Sparking Climate Connections – UW Lightning Talks on Climate Change

Addressing our climate crisis can’t be done alone; this all-hands-on-deck moment requires as many voices, disciplines and perspectives as possible to forge connections that will inspire collective action. Urban@UW and the EarthLab Advisory Board of Deans invite you to participate in an exciting two-part event bringing together the rich variety of climate change related research…

Steve Herbert

Steven walters.

News | September 10, 2017

Storefront Studio creates vision for downtown block

Three graduate students and their professor from the University of Washington College of Built Environments spent much of this summer visiting Gig Harbor and creating a plan that could change and enhance an area in the downtown waterfront business district. The Storefront Studio Project, as the endeavor is called, began in June when the students…

News | February 16, 2024

Student Housing Has a New Mantra: Bigger Is Better

Written by Kevin Williams for The New York Times Off-campus complexes are getting larger, with some being home to more than 1,500 students, and being built on prime parcels of land as close to campus as possible. When the Standard, an off-campus student housing complex, opened in the fall in Bloomington, Ind., welcoming its first…

News | April 17, 2018

Students research historic South, East Tacoma for Livable City project

The City of Tacoma’s Historic Preservation Office is partnering with the University of Washington on a Livable City Year project to identify historic resources in South and East Tacoma. For this project, graduate and undergraduate students are researching the histories of two neighborhoods: McKinley Hill in East Tacoma, and the Edison Neighborhood along South Tacoma…

News | March 20, 2019

Study Finds Racial Gap Between Who Causes Air Pollution And Who Breathes It

Pollution, much like wealth, is not distributed equally in the United States. Scientists and policymakers have long known that black and Hispanic Americans tend to live in neighborhoods with more pollution of all kinds, than white Americans. And because pollution exposure can cause a range of health problems, this inequity could be a driver of unequal health outcomes across…

Sustainable Transportation Lab

In the Sustainable Transportation Lab, we study how to make our transportation system more economically viable, environmentally benign, while ensuring access to opportunities for all.

Sustainable Transportation: Planning and Livable Communities (Cert)

Examine the important issues involved in sustainable transportation planning. Review policies and programs that encourage mixed use development and higher density levels in order to promote modes of transportation other than the single occupancy vehicle. Study the impact different transportation options have on the environment and sustainability. Explore the movement of goods as well as…

Sustainable Urban Development (BA)

Accomplishing sustainable urban development is a crucial challenge for the twenty-first century. The University of Washington Tacoma is at the forefront of engaging and educating undergraduate students on this topic. The Sustainable Urban Development degree provides students with a critical and rigorous training in ecological, political, economic, and social aspects of urban development processes.

News | September 26, 2019

Tall buildings out of timber? In the face of climate change, Seattle encourages it

The loggers who worked in Ballard when it was Shingletown, a center of the national timber industry, are long gone. And only a few wooden landmarks of the timber heyday, mostly churches, still exist on Ballard’s low-slung skyline. But as concerns over climate change give new life to wooden building design, that could change. In the…

News | April 7, 2021

Taskar Center researchers offer a roadmap for more robust modeling of pedestrian mobility on a city-wide scale

Many approaches to measuring and supporting city-wide mobility lack the level of detail required to truly understand how pedestrians navigate the urban landscape, not to mention the quality of their journey. Transit apps can direct someone to the nearest bus stop, but they may not account for obstacles or terrain on the way to their…

Team of UW seniors wins ‘Re-imagining Red Square’ design competition

A team of UW Architecture and Landscape Architecture seniors has won this year’s Re-Imagining Red Square competition. The designers of the “The Loop” originally were looking at how to preserve Red Square and do some intervention underneath in the garage. Then, one of the architects helping critique the designs in the contest gave the team advice…

News | August 31, 2020

Terms in Seattle-area rental ads reinforce neighborhood segregation, study says

A new University of Washington study of thousands of local rental ads finds a pattern of “racialized language” that can perpetuate neighborhood segregation, using specific terms to describe apartments in different areas of town. Terms like “convenient” and “safe and secure” are more common in neighborhoods with a greater proportion of people of color, while…

Research Beyond UW | University College of London

The Bartlett Development Planning Unit

The Development Planning Unit conducts world-leading research and postgraduate teaching that helps to build the capacity of national governments, local authorities, NGOs, aid agencies and businesses working towards socially just and sustainable development in the global south. We are part of The Bartlett: UCL's global faculty of the built environment.

News | December 16, 2019

The Central District has lost over a dozen of its Black churches. The rest may still be saved

There’s little doubt that The Nehemiah Initiative faces an immense challenge combating the displacement of African Americans from central Seattle. When you drive through the Central District today, you see gentrification in its stark reality. New market-rate buildings line the intersections of 23rd Avenue and East Union Street, as well as 23rd and South Jackson…

News | March 23, 2017

The creation of the Burke-Gilman Trail

On Sunday, Sept. 12, 1971, hundreds of people began marching toward Matthews Beach Park along the shores of Lake Washington north of Sand Point. Families, couples, adults and senior citizens converged on the park in two streams – one from the south, one from the north. They marched there that sunny late-summer afternoon along old…

The Debate Over Single Family Housing

Nearly a century into the story of single-family zoning, feelings and ideas around it are starting to shift. The City of Minneapolis and the State of Oregon both recently passed laws that loosen single-family regulations. California has proposed similar measures: some have failed (such as one encouraging denser development near transit), others have succeeded (such…

News | March 3, 2020

The Effects of Seattle Housing Crisis

Aaron, who lives with his wife Silje and their two children in a parking lot outside of Seattle, begins his day in darkness, making a two-hour commute by scooter and bus to his job at the post office.  “You do what you need to get through a given day. You get rest when you can,”…

News | January 20, 2021

The environmental psychology of COVID-19 with Professor Lynne Manzo

We are living through a new reality, adjusting to life during a global pandemic. We are all changing our routines, our travel plans, our holiday traditions. For those of us who have been able to keep our jobs through this economic crash, we have had to adapt to a new working environment, working from our…

The M9 Project | Natural Hazards

M9 is a new NSF Hazards SEES project (EAR-1331412) bringing together a broad team of University of Washington researchers with the goal of reducing the catastrophic potential of Cascadia megathrust earthquakes on the social, built, and natural environments through research advances in methodologies, warnings, and community planning.

News | January 30, 2020

The Middle-Class Housing Crisis in Seattle

Kara Peters works at Seattle’s Central Library. She’s a third-generation Washingtonian who grew up in West Seattle. “Grandma, she did Mary Kay. She had four daughters who all went to West Seattle High School,” Peters said. But unlike her parents and grandparents, Peters can’t afford a house in Seattle, even though she makes a decent income. In…

The Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

The PNW CESU is a partnership for research, technical assistance, and education to enhance understanding and management of natural and cultural resources. Established in 2000 as a cooperative venture, the PNW CESU consists of 12 federal agencies dedicated to natural and cultural resource management and 19 leading academic institutions, four non-profits, one non-governmental organization, and…

News | September 15, 2020

The pandemic is transforming how Americans use public libraries, parks, and streets — and it’s depriving vulnerable people of space when they need it most

On a Friday in early March, Jennifer Pearson looked around her library in Lewisburg, Tennessee. “The library was full of older people,” Pearson, the library’s director, said. “I thought, if I don’t close this space, they will never stop coming to it, so I have to close it, for their good and for my staff.”…

The potential of green urban planning for mental health

Neighborhood architects, engineers, and policymakers look at all kinds of factors and needs when building a city, including transportation links, housing, aesthetics, amenities, and so forth. Natural spaces are also considered, for their aesthetic, recreational, and ecological benefits. A study published in July in Science Advances outlines a model that will let policymakers see nature’s impacts on…

The Urban Risk Lab

The Urban Risk Lab at MIT develops methods and technologies to embed risk reduction and preparedness into the design of cities and regions to increase the resilience of local communities. Operating at the intersection of ecology and infrastructure, rural and urban, research and action; the Urban Risk Lab is an interdisciplinary organization of researchers and…

THINK (Transportation-Human Interaction and Network Knowledge) Lab

The THINK (Transportation-Human Interaction and Network Knowledge) Lab studies the sustainability and resilience of a city through the lens of human beings interacting with the physical environment. We generate new knowledge and insights for use in city planning, infrastructure development and policy design. Our research results facilitate real-time disaster response and recovery efforts. Our work…

This is what Seattle’s new neighborhood could look like

Architecture and planning students love to wrestle with big ideas. And while their end-of-the-quarter presentations sometimes include out-of-the-box ideas, they usually don’t have the attention of public officials. But this time was different. Students with the University of Washington Built Environments Studio, taught by Rick Mohler (Architecture) and David Blum (Urban Design and Planning) in…

This startup wants to tame the chaos of city street parking

From the summer haze, and the cars and Ubers and bicycles and scooters and cement trucks and delivery vans and city buses that operate within it, emerges a white truck, the words “Belair Foods” and the image of a carrot plastered on its side. As a small crowd watches, the truck pulls into a parking spot….

Transit workers fight drugs on buses and trains

Written by Joseph Gallivan for Axios Oregon Transit companies are pushing to make it a Class A misdemeanor to use drugs on buses and trains in Oregon. TriMet, the Oregon Transit Association, and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757 testified yesterday to support amending Senate Bill 1553. The amendment would add the use of illicit drugs…

News | September 14, 2021

Trees: Our mental, physical, climate change antidote

There are many sugar maples along the banks of the Mill River in western Massachusetts. But this one is special, at least to Danielle Ignace. Its wide, green canopy keeps Ignace cool as she works or entertains friends, even on this hot summer day in Williamsburg. Its tens of thousands of leaves, rustling in a…

Research Beyond UW | University of Chicago

UChicago Urban Labs

The University of Chicago's Urban Labs comprises 5 units: Crime Lab, Education Lab, Energy & Environment Lab, Health Lab, and Poverty Lab. Working in partnership with policy makers and practitioners worldwide, Urban Labs help evaluate and implement the most effective urban policies and solutions around the world, bringing improvements to people's lives in real time.…

News | August 5, 2016

Uneven: Mobility, Sidewalks, and Maps (including a map-a-thon!)

Much has been said about sidewalks as theaters of urban life. Productive democratic friction between strangers is one of the hallmarks of good city building, yet this vision of a grandly equitable platform for urban life is not without flaws. Sidewalks may appear to be benign slabs of concrete or brick, but as platforms for…

News | January 9, 2024

Univ. of Washington set to break ground on 69-acre redevelopment to create Seattle innovation hub

The University of Washington this year expects to break ground on a new building that will anchor an ambitious, innovation-focused redevelopment called Portage Bay Crossing. The project will cover 69 acres of the southwest portion of the Seattle campus, revitalizing and unifying an area of buildings that officials called old and underutilized. UW leaders recently…

News | October 7, 2020

University of Washington studies future of urban package delivery with lockers and street sensors

Fed up with porch pirates snatching your packages? Missed yet another delivery that requires a signature because you couldn’t hear the delivery person knock over your umpteenth video meeting of the day? Property manager at your apartment or condo building sending yet another nagging note to pick up packages because the mailroom is full? The…

News | March 13, 2024

University of Washington study finds cities must prioritize youth mental health

Excerpted from KOIN/Channel Six in Portland Written by Michaela Bourgeois Researchers at the University of Washington conducted an international survey that found cities need to focus on youth mental health as younger generations flock to urban areas. Starting in April 2020, researchers worked with the nonprofit citiesRISE to survey over 500 people in 53 countries…

Urban Communication Foundation Grants

Since our launch in 2005, the Urban Communication Foundation has provided awards and grants to dozens of distinguished scholars, researchers, and journalists to recognize and support provocative work that contributes in significant ways to the discourse around urban communication issues. While most of our recipients hail from academia and journalism, we also encourage submissions from…

News | April 22, 2019

Urban coyote evolution favors the bold

Coyotes become fearless around people in just a few generations—which isn’t good for their longterm co-existence with humans in cities. Coyotes are now common residents of many large urban areas. And while it doesn’t happen all that often, coyotes are increasingly coming into conflict with people and pets. “They’re these mid-sized carnivores, [though] most people…

Urban data visualization lab

We design interactive experiences, data analysis, visualization, maps, and cartography, focusing on Brazil and the Amazon.

Urban Design and Planning (Minor, Cert, MUP, dual MLA-MUP, PhD)

Our core mission is to develop a community of inquiry, learning, and practice that helps urban regions to become more livable, just, economically effective, and environmentally sound through a democratic process of urban design and planning.

Urban Design Lab

The Urban Design Lab (UDL) of the Earth Institute and GSAPP works to find innovative solutions to the sustainable development issues confronting cities. The UDL conducts multidisciplinary applied design research in collaboration with community-based organizations and other public and private interests. The UDL's team works closely with outside experts in architecture, ecology, economics, environmental science,…

Research Beyond UW | University of Tokyo

The objective of the Urban Design Lab is to strike a balance between scientific research, teaching, and practical urban design work in the field. We encourage students to develop practical skills as well as a sound theoretical knowledge in order to enable them practicing in all areas of urban design; in the contexts of spatial…

News | December 12, 2018

Urban Ecologist/Superhero

UW Tacoma Assistant Professor Christopher Schell is a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as evidenced by the Black Panther coffee cup and Black Panther bobble head on his desk. Schell is a scientist, not a superhero; but if he were to assume a secret identity he might be dubbed, “Coyote.” Schell is an urban…

News | January 25, 2020

Urban Ecology and Social Justice

Christopher Schell will tell you he’s a black nerd. He’ll tell you he was up at 3 a.m. the night before a conference because his infant son would not sleep. He’ll tell you the students who work in his lab at the University of Washington, Tacoma are paid rather than expected to volunteer. He’ll tell…

Urban Ecology Research Lab

The Urban Ecology Research Laboratory (UERL) is an interdisciplinary team of UW researchers and Ph.D. students studying cities as urban ecosystems. The lab studies urban landscapes as hybrid phenomena that emerge from the interactions between human and ecological processes, and the interactions between urban development and ecosystem dynamics. Specific areas of research include: complexity and…

Urban Form Lab

The Urban Form Lab (UFL) aims to affect policy and to support approaches to the design and planning of more livable environments, with a specialty in geospatial analyses of the built environment using multiple micro-scale data in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Current research includes the development of novel GIS routines for performing spatial inventories and…

Urban Infrastructure Lab

The Urban Infrastructure Lab (UIL) brings together students and faculty across numerous disciplines with a shared interest in the planning, governance, finance, design, development, economics, and environmental effects of infrastructure. The interests of the UIL span the systems critical to economic and social well-being, such as energy, water, health, transportation, education, and communications. Across these…

News | May 8, 2017

Urban lifestyles help to protect the Puget Sound ecosystem

As the state of Washington estimates that the Puget Sound area will grow by more than 1.5 million residents within the next two decades. That is expected to have profound effects on the environment as more and more people move to undeveloped areas. Christopher Dunagan with the Puget Sound Institute explains why urban lifestyles help…

News | April 28, 2021

Urban Scholar Highlight: Jan Whittington

Jan Whittington is an Associate Professor of the Department of Urban Design and Planning, Director of the Urban Infrastructure Lab, Associate Director of the Center for Information Assurance and Cybersecurity, and Affiliate Faculty at the Tech Policy Lab. Her research applies transaction cost economic theory to networked infrastructures, such as transportation, water, and communication systems,…

News | April 23, 2018

Urban Scholar Highlight: Margaret O’Mara

Margaret O’Mara is a Professor in the Department of History and a founding member of Urban@UW. She writes and teaches about the urban, political, and economic history of the modern United States. What led you to your current research interests? I’ve always been interested in how politics and government work with business and economics, and…

News | October 1, 2019

Urban Scholar Highlight: Rachel Berney

Rachel Berney is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban Design and Planning, Adjunct Assistant Professor in Landscape Architecture, an Urban@UW Fellow, and author of Learning from Bogotá: Pedagogical Urbanism and the Reshaping of Public Space. Her primary interests include community sustainable design, public space, and international development in the Americas, as well as…

News | November 22, 2022

Urban Scholar Highlight: Rubén Casas

This is the first in a series of interviews from Urban@UW highlighting the research of urban scholars at the University of Washington. Earlier this month, Urban@UW spoke to Rubén Casas, Assistant Professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the School of Urban Studies at the University of Washington…

Urban Studies (Cert, BA, MA, MS)

The Urban Studies Program offers a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies with formal options in Global Urbanism and Community Development & Planning. The degree starts with an introduction into the discipline of urban studies with course topics on exploring cities, world development, and urban studies “in practice”. The formal options deliver focused theory and…

Urban Theory Lab

In the early 1970s, Henri Lefebvre put forward the radical hypothesis of the complete urbanization of society. This required, in his view, a radical shift from the analysis of urban form to the investigation of urbanization processes. The Urban Theory Lab builds upon Lefebvre’s approach to investigate emergent sociospatial formations under early twenty-first century capitalism.…

Research Beyond UW | Durham University

Urban Worlds

Urban Worlds is a research cluster that was formed in 2009 to reflect the department’s international standing in cutting-edge urban research. Its purpose is to provide a forum that brings together existing urban research within the department and to generate new lines of inquiry. The urban geographical research in the department aims to understand the…

News | May 24, 2021

Urban@UW Announces Another Round of Funding Through Research Spark Grants

Urban@UW is excited to be able to provide another cycle of funding for small-scale, new or emergent projects in urban systems. Our Urban@UW Research Spark Grants RFP is intended to catalyze new ideas, connections, and next steps for UW faculty and research staff undertaking cross-disciplinary and community-engaged urban scholarship. The application window opens June 14,…

News | February 19, 2020

Urban@UW announces Research Spark Grants

UPDATE: In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on academic and research activities, Urban@UW has made the difficult decision to postpone our Spark Grants program. In addition to recognizing the varied strains and hardship our community is experiencing, we want to ensure that new collaborations launch in a context that promotes meeting and…

News | April 3, 2024

Urban@UW announces second cycle of Research to Action Collaboratory projects

Urban@UW is excited to announce the project teams selected for the second Research to Action Collaboratory (RAC) cohort. Throughout the next 18 months, Urban@UW will work with these teams to provide seed funds, dedicate time to building team cohesion and collaboration skills, and foster opportunities for peer support, shared resources, and learning. These two project…

News | October 20, 2017

Urban@UW compiles Faculty Highlights Report for research, teaching and engagement on homelessness

As part of its recently launched Homelessess Research Initiative, Urban@UW has collaborated with faculty and staff across all three UW campuses to compile a broad-ranging selection of powerful and robust projects addressing homelessness from a research lens. Check out the Faculty Highlights Report to learn more about these efforts and the people behind them.

News | August 18, 2020

Urban@UW Research Spark Grants awardees announced

Urban@UW is excited to announce the awardees for our Research Spark Grants program. The two proposals selected address urgent urban challenges in our region, with a strong focus on community engagement and vulnerable populations.   Co-creating an Adaptive Community-Science Network: Supporting Tribal and Grassroots Action through the Puget Creek Watershed Assessment Urban communities in the…

US transit ridership is down: Can San Diego’s speedy commuter rail plan buck the trend?

Elected officials are preparing to ask San Diegans to approve not one but two tax increases to fund billions of dollars in bus and rail investments, including a San Diego Grand Central Station to connect riders to the airport. The ask comes at a time when many cities around the country — from Atlanta to Houston to…

News | April 20, 2017

USGS, partners launch a unified, West Coast-wide earthquake early warning system

The U.S. Geological Survey and university, public and private partners held an event April 10 at the University of Washington to introduce the ShakeAlert earthquake early warning program as a unified, West Coast-wide system. The event also introduced the first pilot uses of the earthquake early warning in Washington and Oregon. The first Pacific Northwest…

News | October 25, 2016

UW EE Faculty to Tackle Urban Mobility

For urban roadways, traffic-choked streets have become synonymous with the weekday commute. Over the decades, strategic conversations between city officials, engineers and policy makers have sought to lessen congestion and provide increased transportation options. However, as cities continue to develop and populations increase, the results of years of conversation cannot materialize fast enough. On the…

News | October 27, 2015

UW initiative aims to tackle city, region’s most pressing urban issues

When Thaisa Way put a call out last spring to see if University of Washington faculty members working on urban issues wanted to join forces, she wasn’t sure what the response would be. “There were a lot of people who said, ‘You’re not going to get anyone to show up,‘” said Way, a UW associate…

News | December 6, 2022

UW Livable City Year program and Pacific County EDC launch new partnership

Every year, students at the University of Washington work with one or more local governments to help create solutions to challenging problems. This year, they’ll study Pacific County. Launching an exciting new partnership, the Livable City Year program and the Pacific County Economic Development Council (PCEDC) will connect UW courses with projects identified by PCEDC…

News | September 14, 2015

UW Partners with Seattle for Smart Cities Initiative

UW Today is reporting that, as part of a new White House Smart Cities Initiative called The MetroLab Network, the University of Washington has partnered with the City of Seattle in joining “a new national network of university-city partnerships that will work on ‘smart city’ solutions.” “Great universities can’t succeed without great cities,” said UW…

News | March 29, 2022

UW professor’s new book presents opportunity to ‘rethink housing’

Not all U.S. major cities are grappling with homelessness at the scale of say, Seattle or San Francisco. And it’s not because some cities have more people in poverty, or more people in crisis. Gregg Colburn, assistant professor of real estate at the University of Washington, believes housing market conditions — specifically, high housing and…

News | November 2, 2021

UW receives $2M from National Science Foundation to design an ‘adaptable society’

A team led by the University of Washington has received a nearly $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to further research into how urban societal systems can be organized to be both efficient and resilient. The Leading Engineering for America’s Prosperity, Health and Infrastructure (LEAP-HI) project, based in the UW College of Engineering, supports fundamental research to…

UW Remote Sensing & Geospatial Analysis Laboratory

RSGAL’s research goal is to understand multiscale and multidimensional dynamics of landscape change through the application of remote sensing, GIS and geospatial tools. The lab develops tools necessary to analyze hyper-resolution remotely sensed data by exploiting spatial, temporal and spectral capabilities of the data. RSGAL work focuses on the application of high spatial resolution remote…

News | May 26, 2020

UW research team seeks campus input with survey on coronavirus mobility impacts

Three professors are teaming up for a study of the mobility impacts of the coronavirus — and they are inviting UW faculty, staff and students to complete a short online survey to assist the research. The research is being conducted by Anne Vernez Moudon, professor emerita of urban design and planning in the College of Built Environments, with Jeff…

News | October 20, 2020

UW researchers drive around Seattle to document pandemic impact

So much has changed since the start of the pandemic, and University of Washington researchers are hoping to keep track of all of those changes by driving around and capturing snapshots of Seattle. “It’s a really unique dataset that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world,” said Joe Wartman, co-researcher and UW professor of civil…

News | September 1, 2020

UW researchers explore how urbanization changes Earth’s ecosystems in new paper

UW researchers Marina Alberti, Urban Design & Planning; Simone Des Roches, Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences; and Christopher Schell, Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences at UW Tacoma have published a new report titled “The Complexity of Urban Eco-evolutionary Dynamics”, examining how urbanization affects ecological and evolutionary processes over time, and how these changes affect nature’s contribution to people….

News | March 17, 2023

UW Study Details New Seattle Area Commute Patterns

In the post-Covid era, how we get around is changing. A new study from the University of Washington’s Mobility Innovation Center and Commute Seattle finds traffic is back not just because of work trips. 75% of people drive alone for errands. “If we can make transit, biking, and walking for those types of trips, we’ll…

News | April 8, 2019

UW study on methane emissions offers clues to Cascadia Subduction Zone

A University of Washington study that mapped methane gas emissions off the Washington coast provides new clues as to how the Cascadia Subduction Zone works. The study, which was published last month in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, documented 1,778 methane bubble plumes grouped in 491 clusters off the Washington coast. The presence of…

News | November 1, 2018

Valuing older buildings: Architecture professor’s book argues for reuse rather than wrecking ball

In her new book, Kathryn Rogers Merlino, University of Washington associate professor in the department of Architecture in the College of Built Environments, argues for the environmental benefit of reusing buildings rather than tearing them down and building anew. “I was trained as both an architect and architectural historian,” Merlino says, “and have always been drawn…

News | May 10, 2018

Vikram Prakash’s ‘ArchitectureTalk’ podcast explores topics ‘at the edge of the known’

Vikram Prakash says his weekly “ArchitectureTalk” podcast got its start, as many things do, from a student’s idea. Prakash is a professor of architecture in the University of Washington College of Built Environments. An architect himself, he is also an author, a theorist and an architectural historian. He said he has always felt “energized” by discussions in…

Map | Mumbai Nairobi New York São Paulo Seattle

Visualizing Cities – An Open Platform

Visualization as a tool for analysis, exploration and communication has become a driving force in the task of unravelling the complex urban fabrics that form our cities. This platform tries to bring together urban visualization projects from around the globe.

News | August 25, 2022

WA ecosystems are changing. Conservation efforts are, too

Ecologists like Joe Rocchio, who manages Washington’s Natural Heritage Program, are racing to keep biodiversity from disappearing. The program develops the rare plant and ecosystem databases and conservation priorities that feed directly into Natural Areas designations, among other state and federal natural resource policies and decisions. Without adjusting how Washington sets conservation priorities, Rocchio says…

News | October 4, 2022

WA Faces an Epidemic of Inaccessible Sidewalks

Across Washington lies a glut of impassable sidewalks for people with disabilities. At thousands of intersections, sidewalks end without a ramp to the street. Where there are ramps, a Seattle Times review of more than 30 cities’ and counties’ assessments of their roads and sidewalks found no jurisdiction where even 50% comply with the Americans with…

Washington Center for Real Estate Research

The Washington Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER) was initially established by the Board of Regents at Washington State University to provide a bridge between academic study and research on real estate topics and the professional real estate industries. It served that mission at WSU until merging with the Runstad Center at the beginning of…

News | October 15, 2020

Washington Center for Real Estate Research develops new Housing Market Data Toolkit

During the 2019 legislative session, affordable housing and housing supply issues became a primary issue of concern. Inward population migration, economic growth and shortage of new housing supply had led to rapidly rising house prices and rents for the past few years. In that context, local governments were required to develop Housing Action Plans to…

News | February 24, 2020

Washington State Agency Climate Change Plan Includes Land Use Changes

Saying her agency was “on the front lines of climate change,” Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz this week outlined the Department of Natural Resources’ plan to mitigate climate change and prepare for a warmer future. The department published its “Plan for Climate Resilience” this week in a 96-page document long on ambition but short on…

Washington State Transportation Center (TRAC)

The Washington State Transportation Center (TRAC) is a cooperative, interdisciplinary transportation research agency. Its members, Washington State University (WSU), the University of Washington (UW), and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), formed TRAC in 1983 to coordinate transportation research efforts—both state and commercial, public and private—and to develop research opportunities both nationally and locally.…

News | December 6, 2016

Welcoming the residents of Tent City 3

Winter is approaching, and with it the need for shelter for our neighbors who find themselves without permanent housing only grows. Earlier this year, at the request of the Tent City Collective – a group of students, alumni and Tent City 3 residents – our University engaged in a public process to assess whether we…

Wellcome Trust – Our Planet Our Health

Our Planet, Our Health: call for ambitious, transdisciplinary programmes that research the ways complex changes in our environment affect our health and develop potential solutions to enhance resilience.

West Philadelphia Landscape Project

The West Philadelphia Landscape Project has worked in the Mill Creek Watershed since 1987, with a focus on the Mill Creek neighborhood. Throughout our more than 25-year history, we have worked with the people of Mill Creek to address the opportunities and challenges posed by the urban landscape. For more than twenty-five years, the West…

News | May 7, 2021

What can our cities do for us? Columnist Rubén Casas has ideas

Originally written by Rubén Casas, Assistant Professor of rhetoric and composition at the University of Washington Tacoma, for Crosscut.  Of the many insightful things Italo Calvino wrote about a city, the one that sticks with me the most is this one: “You take delight not in a city’s seven or seventy wonders, but in the answer…

News | August 7, 2017

What city ants can teach us about species evolution and climate change

Acorn ants are tiny. They’re not the ants you’d notice marching across your kitchen or swarming around sidewalk cracks, but the species is common across eastern North America. In particular, acorn ants live anywhere you find oak or hickory trees: both in forests and in the hearts of cities. That’s why they’re so interesting to…

News | November 19, 2017

What counts as nature? It all depends

The environment we grow up with informs how we define “nature,” UW psychology professor Peter Kahn says. Encounters with truly wild places inspire people to preserve them.Think, for a moment, about the last time you were out in nature. Were you in a city park? At a campground? On the beach? In the mountains? Now…

News | December 7, 2018

What if Alaska’s earthquake happened here?

Last Friday, a 7.0 earthquake rattled Anchorage, Alaska. Amazingly, no one died — and revamped building codes enacted in the wake of the state’s deadly 1964 Good Friday quake meant the city was more prepared than most. Outside of a few structure fires, damage was kept to a minimum. But striking images of tectonic apocalypse…

News | December 24, 2020

What is a Community Land Trust? And could one help with Tacoma’s homelessness crisis?

When Tacoma Housing Now took over vacant Gault Middle School in November to shelter unhoused people, the action came with a list of demands. The most prominent of them insisted on making Gault, which has sat vacant for a decade, part of a Community Land Trust, also called a CLT. In Tacoma, CLTs aren’t a new idea….

News | December 6, 2021

What it’s going to take for Tacoma to become an ‘anti-racist city’

Urban@UW colleague Rubén Casas shares his perspective on the city of Tacoma’s goal of becoming an ‘anti-racist city’ in his Crosscut article. — Mayor Victoria Woodards wants to make Tacoma “an anti-racist city.” The question is, can she do it? And if so, how should it look in practice? This was a central theme of her…

What New Upzoning Will Mean for the U District

The U District has changed a lot in the last couple of decades. But it is about to change even more dramatically. In 2021, a Sound Transit light rail station will open in the heart of the U District at N.E. 43rd Street and Brooklyn Avenue N.E. Light rail will transform the U District into…

News | September 10, 2020

What will happen to Seattle’s empty office towers when COVID-19 ends?

As many white-collar employers extend into next year the work-from-home policies they instituted in response to the coronavirus pandemic, a vast amount of vertical space in downtown Seattle is leased but empty. The vacant space amounts to more than 700 football fields, by one estimate — acres of desks, with knickknacks and mementos that few…

News | February 21, 2018

What would a truly disabled-accessible city look like?

To David Meere, a visually impaired man from Melbourne, among the various obstacles to life in cities is another that is less frequently discussed: fear. “The fear of not being able to navigate busy, cluttered and visually oriented environments is a major barrier to participation in normal life,” says Meere, 52, “be that going to…

News | August 19, 2017

Why Architects should care about public health

Andrew Dannenberg, an Affiliate Professor at the School of Public Health and the College of Built Environments, writes about the importance of architects recognizing human health: while architects have long recognized the importance of human health —including physical, mental, and social well-being — as part of their mission, implementation sometimes reflects a spirit of compliance…

Why are cities (still) so expensive?

It isn’t just supply and demand. We look at the complicated history and skewed incentives that make “affordable housing” more punch line than reality in cities from New York and San Francisco to Flint, Michigan. New York City’s problems are not unique to New York. Thousands of cities in the U.S. are looking at big budget shortfalls; 1.5…

News | May 3, 2022

Why are condos in Seattle so rare and expensive?

The average home in Seattle costs over a million dollars. And now, rising interest rates have made mortgages more expensive. Homebuyers just can’t seem to get a break. Condominiums used to be a gateway to homeownership. Even if you didn’t have a big nest egg, you could get your foot in the door and own…

News | November 22, 2021

Why are the B.C. floods so bad? Blame the wildfires, at least in part

A few short months after the end of a devastating wildfire season, many B.C. communities are cleaning up after disastrous floods that have swept away highways, submerged homes, triggered deadly landslides, stranded hundreds of people and forced thousands more to evacuate. While climate change and (bad) luck each had some role to play, previous wildfires are known to boost the…

Will the pandemic create a move back to the suburbs?

We’re starting to get an understanding of just how much tax revenue the state is losing because of the pandemic. The latest numbers from the state Department of Transportation are staggering. The pandemic has seen a cratering of traffic, not only on the roads, but on the ferries, at the Department of Licensing, and at…

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

The Hewlett Foundation makes grants in five core program areas: education, environment, global development and population, performing arts, and philanthropy. In addition, the Foundation makes grants to support disadvantaged communities in the Bay Area. The Foundation’s grants are awarded solely for charitable purposes.

Working with Vulnerable Populations for Greater Community Resilience

Yinhai wang, yonn dierwechter, zackery thill, zoning for future são paulo.

​Interactive map of São Paulo developed based on the the Master Plan approved in 2014, which establishes guidelines for the city’s next 15 years of growth.

Be boundless

Connect with us:.

© 2024 University of Washington | Seattle, WA

Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs

• Master's Programs
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Public Affairs
• Certificate Programs
• Undergraduate Opportunities
• Fellowships and Professional Development
• Non-Degree Seeking Students
• The Application Process
• Application Timelines
• Application Requirements
• Tuition and Financial Aid
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Admitted Student Information
• Areas of Expertise
• Faculty and Research Updates
• Research Centers
• Faculty and Staff Directory
• Capstone Projects: Student-Community Partnerships
• Why Humphrey?
• Student Stories
• Student Organizations
• Career Outcomes
• Mission, Values, and Legacy
• Facts and Figures
• School Leadership
• Equity and Inclusion
• Awards and Honors
• News, Events, and Media
• Conference Center Rental
• Hire Humphrey Students
• Location and Directions
• Work with Us
• Commencement
• Student Resources
• Degree Planning
• Internships
• Career Planning
• Health and Safety
• Humphrey Alumni

Greg Lindsey, Urban Planner and Leader in Community-Engaged Scholarship, Retires from Humphrey School

By Ann Nordby

Professor Greg Lindsey has always taken a practitioner's perspective to research and teaching. That approach has been a win-win for students at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, but also for numerous local communities and for his field.

Lindsey is retiring this summer after 16 years at the School—as a leader who has helped shape the School’s graduate degree programs, as a faculty member in the urban and regional planning area whose expertise in bicycle and pedestrian traffic is highly regarded, and as a researcher who is committed to community-engaged scholarship. 

Leadership role

Lindsey came to the Humphrey School in 2008 as associate dean, after serving more than 15 years as an administrator and faculty member at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). 

Over the next four years he helped lead the School as associate, interim, and executive associate dean. He had a hand in designing the School’s  PhD in Public Affairs program, the Master of Development Practice (MDP) program, and the cohort structure of the mid-career Master of Public Affairs (MPA) program.  

Lindsey was director of the PhD program and has taught core courses in several of the School’s master’s degree programs. But his most significant impact is in the urban and regional planning area, where his research has shaped the ways state and local governments plan for nonmotorized travel by bicyclists and pedestrians. 

Numerous public agencies, including the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), the Department of Natural Resources, and Hennepin County, have implemented new monitoring programs to measure bicycling and pedestrian traffic volumes, based on research by Lindsey and his students.

He has designed myriad research projects throughout his career, always with an eye to applying the knowledge revealed. One recent example is a study he conducted in 2022, to assess h ow the COVID-19 pandemic impacted biking and walking in Minnesota . 

Community-engaged research  

Lindsey was an environmental advocate, consultant, and public administrator for nine years before obtaining his PhD and beginning his 30-year career in academia.

Perhaps due to these early experiences, he always incorporated two things into his research designs and teaching: hands-on learning for students and service to local communities.

"All of my classes, and particularly the capstone classes, are designed around that," Lindsey said recently. 

Most Humphrey School students complete a  capstone project that culminates their learning experience. In the capstone, students work in small groups to research and analyze a topic for external clients from the public or nonprofit sector. Lindsey has advised many students on their capstone projects, connecting them to meaningful work experiences that benefit real people. 

When he was starting out as a professor in Indiana, Lindsey developed a way for students to do research design, field work, data analysis, report writing, and presentation of their results to  local governments. 

In doing so, the students shared new knowledge to local officials, such as how many people were using their public facilities. "It became my motif," he said. 

Many of the Humphrey School’s capstone projects have been in support of underserved local communities. For example, some of Lindsey’s students recently developed designs to address  pedestrian safety in the communities of Redby and Red Lake on the Red Lake Nation reservation in northern Minnesota. 

Their work complemented two research projects Lindsey led for MnDOT over the past eight years that studied pedestrian risk on the seven federally recognized Anishinaabe reservations in the state.  

Along with tribal transportation leaders and MnDOT collaborators, Lindsey and his students assessed pedestrian risk at more than 20 highway crossings on tribal lands. They then recommended countermeasures such as crosswalks, beacons, and signage to make the highway crossings safer. The  final report for these two projects has just been published, and many of the safety improvements have already been implemented.  

Humphrey School impact 

Lindsey is proud of the work his students have done, both inside and outside of the classroom. 

"Their capstone projects have made an impact, and given these students the skills to build successful careers," he said, noting that many graduates have gone on to work in state departments of transportation around the country. 

Over the years, Lindsey’s leadership helped to build the programs that the Humphrey School offers today. The PhD program now has about 30 students and 27 graduates around the world, working as professors and research scientists. 

Lindsey’s years in the Humphrey School dean’s office from 2008 to 2012 included stints as associate dean and nearly a year as interim dean. During that time he oversaw student recruitment, a job made easier than in many other places by the bright job prospects here. Minnesota employers have a track record of hiring Humphrey School graduates. 

"There is a demand for curious, energetic people who want to change the world," he said of local governments and public agencies. "People here are very willing to give them opportunities."

As an example of the types of work Humphrey School students do that makes them competitive in the job market, Lindsey noted one team of MPA students who studied the Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, police department to develop strategies to diversify its police force. At the time, 100 of the city's 105 police officers were white, while the majority of its residents were people of color.  

"My students analyzed their recruitment practices, and wrote their capstone report on it," Lindsey said. This was in 2019, before the pandemic shone a harsh light on the inequities built into many police departments. 

"Students come to Humphrey because they want to change the world. We design capstone opportunities with agency partners so that they get a chance to do that. And they can do that; they have the capacity to change investment decisions that are being made,” Lindsey said. “That's the strength of the school and our programs. It's a hallmark of what the Humphrey School does." 

Lindsey's approach perfectly reflects the University of Minnesota's tripartite mission of research, service and teaching. At the Humphrey School, that mission shows up throughout the student experience. Even better, the University enjoys strong support throughout the state. 

"My students have undertaken projects with public agencies and then gone on to work with them. People here in Minnesota are very willing to give them opportunities,” Lindsey said. “The commitment to experimentation and innovation is greater than in most places. People here will go out on a limb.”

As an example, Lindsey said, Minnesota is among the top five or six states in the country for nonmotorized transportation and "a national leader in transportation equity. State leaders are willing to ask the questions and admit the wrongs of the past in order to fix the problems of today,” he said. “That does not happen in some states."

Recognition

Lindsey's contributions have earned him numerous accolades for his teaching, research and administration. He received the  University of Minnesota President’s Community-Engaged Scholar Award in 2019, was a Scholar in Residence with MnDOT, and four times received best paper awards from the Transportation Research Board. 

Lindsey was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Administration in 2015. He has published dozens of research papers and served as a peer reviewer for many more, and has served on numerous commissions. 

Even though he’s officially retiring, Lindsey says he will continue to work on traffic safety issues in Indian Country, and on bicycling and walking. Doing so will keep him involved in the impactful work he has found so rewarding.

It will also keep him close to his beloved Lutsen, Minnesota, on the North Shore of Lake Superior, and to his extended family in Minnesota, his adopted home. 

300G Humphrey School 301 19th Avenue South Minneapolis , MN 55455 United States

• Meet the MDP Faculty
• MDP Degree Brochure
• MDP Informational Session Recording
• MDP Application Requirements
• Alumni and Student Stories
• MDP Summer Field Experience
• Graduate Minors and Dual Degrees
• Meet the MHR Faculty
• MHR Brochure
• MHR Application Requirements
• MHR Alumni and Student Stories
• Meet the Faculty
• MPA Brochure
• MPA Application Requirements
• MPP Brochure
• MPP Fact Sheet
• MPP Application Requirements
• MS-STEP Brochure
• MS-STEP Application Requirements
• MURP Brochure
• MURP Strategic Plan
• MURP Application Requirements
• Current Students
• Job Market Candidates
• Program Brochure
• Faculty Currently Reviewing PhD Applicants
• ECP Brochure
• ECP Application Requirements
• CEA Application Requirements
• Preparing for the 2024 Elections
• The Profession of Democracy: Election Administration and State Associations
• Election Accuracy: Going on the Offensive
• Advisory Board
• NPM Brochure
• NPM Application Requirements
• PIWP Brochure
• PIWP Application Requirements
• PAL Brochure
• PAL Application Requirements
• Undergraduate Courses
• 2023-24 Fellows
• Meet the Faculty and Staff
• Past Fellowships
• Minnesota Senior Leadership Institute
• Current Policy Fellows
• Policy Fellows Alumni
• Policy Fellows Community
• Policy Fellows Frequently Asked Questions
• Meet the Staff
• Center for Integrative Leadership
• Center for Science, Technology and Environmental Policy
• Policy Fellows
• Election Administration
• Mondale Dialogues
• Public Events
• Transparency and Minnesota
• Central Banks
• Health Care Policy
• Ranked Choice Voting
• Minnesota's Aging Workforce
• Mondale Archives
• Gender Policy Report Summer Fellowship
• Gender and Public Policy Concentration
• Gender and Intersectional Network Series (GAINS)
• Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship
• Status of Women and Girls in Minnesota
• Gender Policy Report
• International Women's Day
• Past Events
• Fiscal Research
• State and Local Policy
• Publications
• Sixth World Conference on Remedies to Racial and Social Inequality
• Disparity Studies
• Training in Public Policy and Race
• The Minnesota Paradox
• About Roy Wilkins
• Publications and Presentations
• Humphrey School Constitution
• Senior Leadership Staff
• Alumni Society Board
• Dean's Advisory Council
• Equity and Inclusion Council
• Executive Council
• Equity and Inclusion: Humphrey School in Action
• Council Co-Chairs
• Humphrey-Johnson Book Prize
• Distinguished Carlson Lecture Series
• End-of-Year Award Information
• Hubert H. Humphrey Public Leadership Awards
• In the Media
• Subscribe to our Newsletters
• Ways to Give
• Request Space / Check Availability
• Sustainable Meetings and Events
• Conference Center Floor Plan
• Academic Integrity and Student Conduct
• Making the Most of Meetings with Faculty Advisor
• Contract for Completion of Incomplete Grades
• Course Substitutions
• Course Waivers
• Leave of Absence
• Transfer Credits
• Handbook for Leaders of Student Organizations
• Capstone Timeline
• Courses with Late Additions/Changes
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Course Highlights
• Duluth Tribal Administration and Tribal Stewardship Course Highlights
• New or Infrequently Offered Courses
• New or Returning Instructors Course Highlights
• Individual Professional Paper Options
• Internship Documentation Process
• Internship Grant Opportunities
• Job and Internship Postings
• Professional Connections
• Virtual Career Resources
• Alumni Mentor Program
• Alumni Updates
• Get Involved
• Support Our Students
• Hire Humphrey School Students

Information

• Author Services

Initiatives

You are accessing a machine-readable page. In order to be human-readable, please install an RSS reader.

All articles published by MDPI are made immediately available worldwide under an open access license. No special permission is required to reuse all or part of the article published by MDPI, including figures and tables. For articles published under an open access Creative Common CC BY license, any part of the article may be reused without permission provided that the original article is clearly cited. For more information, please refer to https://www.mdpi.com/openaccess .

Feature papers represent the most advanced research with significant potential for high impact in the field. A Feature Paper should be a substantial original Article that involves several techniques or approaches, provides an outlook for future research directions and describes possible research applications.

Feature papers are submitted upon individual invitation or recommendation by the scientific editors and must receive positive feedback from the reviewers.

Editor’s Choice articles are based on recommendations by the scientific editors of MDPI journals from around the world. Editors select a small number of articles recently published in the journal that they believe will be particularly interesting to readers, or important in the respective research area. The aim is to provide a snapshot of some of the most exciting work published in the various research areas of the journal.

Original Submission Date Received: .

• Active Journals
• Find a Journal
• Proceedings Series
• For Authors
• For Reviewers
• For Editors
• For Librarians
• For Publishers
• For Societies
• For Conference Organizers
• Open Access Policy
• Institutional Open Access Program
• Special Issues Guidelines
• Editorial Process
• Research and Publication Ethics
• Article Processing Charges
• Testimonials
• Preprints.org
• SciProfiles
• Encyclopedia

Article Menu

• Subscribe SciFeed
• Recommended Articles
• Google Scholar
• on Google Scholar
• Table of Contents

Find support for a specific problem in the support section of our website.

Please let us know what you think of our products and services.

Visit our dedicated information section to learn more about MDPI.

JSmol Viewer

Analyzing the diversion effect of debris flow in cross channels utilizing two-phase flow theory and the principle of energy conservation, share and cite.

Xu, X.; Zhou, C.; Tan, Y.; Chen, D.; Fu, J.; Chai, C.; Liang, L. Analyzing the Diversion Effect of Debris Flow in Cross Channels Utilizing Two-Phase Flow Theory and the Principle of Energy Conservation. Water 2024 , 16 , 2134. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16152134

Xu X, Zhou C, Tan Y, Chen D, Fu J, Chai C, Liang L. Analyzing the Diversion Effect of Debris Flow in Cross Channels Utilizing Two-Phase Flow Theory and the Principle of Energy Conservation. Water . 2024; 16(15):2134. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16152134

Xu, Xingshuo, Chang Zhou, Yansi Tan, Debin Chen, Jing Fu, Chen Chai, and Longfei Liang. 2024. "Analyzing the Diversion Effect of Debris Flow in Cross Channels Utilizing Two-Phase Flow Theory and the Principle of Energy Conservation" Water 16, no. 15: 2134. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16152134

Article Metrics

Article access statistics, further information, mdpi initiatives, follow mdpi.

Subscribe to receive issue release notifications and newsletters from MDPI journals

Cookies on GOV.UK

We use some essential cookies to make this website work.

We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services.

We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

You have accepted additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

You have rejected additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

King's Speech 2024: background briefing notes

Read the briefing notes on the announcements made in the 2024 King’s Speech.

The King's Speech 2024: background briefing notes

PDF , 556 KB , 104 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Updates to this page

The attachment on this page has been updated.

First published.

Sign up for emails or print this page

Is this page useful.

• Yes this page is useful
• No this page is not useful

Help us improve GOV.UK

Don’t include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details.

To help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about your visit today. Please fill in this survey (opens in a new tab) .

Suggestions or feedback?

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Machine learning
• Sustainability
• Black holes
• Classes and programs

Departments

• Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Brain and Cognitive Sciences
• Architecture
• Political Science
• Mechanical Engineering

Centers, Labs, & Programs

• Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)
• Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
• Lincoln Laboratory
• School of Architecture + Planning
• School of Engineering
• School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
• Sloan School of Management
• School of Science
• MIT Schwarzman College of Computing

Professor Emeritus Ralph Gakenheimer, mobility planner and champion of international development, dies at 89

Press contact :.

Previous image Next image

Ralph Gakenheimer, MIT professor emeritus of urban planning, passed away on June 17 in Concord, Massachusetts. He was 89 years old.

A faculty member in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP), Gakenheimer focused his research on the dynamic relationship between how we classify and use land with the mobility choices individuals make in cities. He was particularly interested in the intentions and choices behind the selection of a particular mode of mobility and how those choices intersect with sustainability and accessibility in developing nations.

During his 40-year tenure at MIT, Gakenheimer also served as a World Bank advisor and visiting professor at various universities including the University of Paris XII, the University of California at Berkeley, and the Universidad de Los Andes (Bogota), as well as being a visiting fellow at Balliol College, Oxford. He was a Fulbright Scholar and chaired several international committees, including the United Nations-appointed committee that oversaw comprehensive planning of the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

“So many of us at DUSP were influenced by Ralph in so many ways,” says Chris Zegras, professor of mobility and urban planning, and DUSP department head. “Personally, it is no exaggeration to say he is the reason I am at MIT. He was an advisor, mentor, role model, dear friend, colleague — and I feel immensely privileged to have had the opportunity to have him play those roles in my life. It’s a sad day, but I take solace in thinking of the infinite ways in which his wisdom, knowledge, good humor, and spirit live on.”

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Gakenheimer graduated from Towson High School, where he was recently inducted into its hall of fame for his career accomplishments. He received a bachelor’s degree in engineering science from Johns Hopkins University. Throughout his high school and college years, he helped at the family pharmacy, where he often worked as the soda jerk. He went on to get a master’s degree in regional planning from Cornell University and a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the faculty at MIT in 1969, Gakenheimer taught for seven years at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

The range of his academic background is reflected in his influential book, “Transportation Planning as a Response to Controversy: The Boston Case” (MIT Press, 1976). “Ralph’s scholarship on the 1960s Inner Belt fight is a must-read for anyone seriously concerned about the state of transportation planning in any era,” says Karilyn Crockett, assistant professor of urban history, public policy, and planning in DUSP. “His excellent, groundbreaking work, ‘Transportation Planning as a Response to Controversy,’ is a thrilling example of telling a sprawling urban story at the scale of humans. After every interaction with Ralph, I walked away feeling empowered and much smarter, what I call the Ralph Effect. The Ralph Effect is to be in proximity to someone whose brilliance is so bright that it amplifies your own.”

Gakenheimer brought deep consideration to his work as a scholar of international development, engaging with a range of projects centered on providing sustainable infrastructure and development. Fittingly for an advocate of responsible transportation, Gakenheimer often commuted to MIT by bike. 

“To describe an academic as thoughtful is perhaps redundant,” says Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab and leader of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s New England University Transportation Center. “However, when I think of Ralph, I cannot think of a better word. Ralph was thoughtful of his colleagues and students. He was thoughtful of the world we are imagining and leaving behind. He was, of course, thoughtful in tweaking and pulling the threads of even the most arcane theory. His soft-spoken demeanor and insights will be missed here and in the many places and spaces he touched over the years.”

Gakenheimer is survived by his wife, Caroline (Bierer) Gakenheimer; his daughters, Rachel Gakenheimer MCP ’99 and Katherine Gakenheimer; his grandchildren, Jesse and Vienne Begin; and his brothers, David and Martin Gakenheimer. 

Donations may be made in Gakenheimer’s memory to Bikes Not Bombs , a charity close to his heart. 

Share this news article on:

Related links.

• Book: "Urban Transport in the Developing World"
• Book: “Transportation Planning as a Response to Controversy: The Boston Case”
• Department of Urban Studies and Planning
• School of Architecture and Planning

Related Topics

• Urban studies and planning
• Transportation
• Developing countries
• International development

Related Articles

New books from the School of Architecture + Planning

Colombian leadership dialogue focuses on innovation, attitudes toward cars must change, speakers say.

Previous item Next item

More MIT News

Edgerton Center hosts workshop for deaf high school students in STEM

Read full story →

MIT Global SCALE Network expands by adding center at Loughborough University

New transistor’s superlative properties could have broad electronics applications

When learning at MIT means studying thousands of miles away

Flying high to enable sustainable delivery, remote care

A recipe for zero-emissions fuel: Soda cans, seawater, and caffeine

• More news on MIT News homepage →

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, USA

• Map (opens in new window)
• Events (opens in new window)
• People (opens in new window)
• Careers (opens in new window)
• Accessibility
• Social Media Hub
• MIT on Facebook
• MIT on YouTube
• MIT on Instagram

Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

Full Topic List

Regions & Countries

• Publications
• Our Methods
• Short Reads
• Tools & Resources

Read Our Research On:

How the origins of America’s immigrants have changed since 1850

The United States is the top destination in the world for people moving from one country to another. Over 70 million immigrants have arrived in the U.S. since 1965 , according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data. About 18 million have come from Mexico, making up the largest wave of immigration from a single country to the U.S.

In 2022, the number of immigrants living in the U.S. reached a high of 46.1 million, accounting for 13.8% of the population. (This includes both legal and unauthorized immigrants.)

These immigrants trace their roots to virtually all countries around the world. The largest numbers hail from Mexico (10.6 million) and India (2.8 million). That’s different from a century ago: In 1920, the largest immigrant populations were from Germany and Italy.

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to explore how immigration patterns have changed throughout the United States and by state over time.

The maps and data in this analysis are based on Center tabulations of Census Bureau microdata from IPUMS USA . The maps show the largest country of birth for immigrants in each state or territory from 1850 to 2022. The tabulations agree as closely as possible with published Census Bureau data on the national and state foreign-born populations and other national data on the country of birth of immigrants.

Data: For the 1850-1880 and 1900-1940 censuses, the tabulations use complete count census data, which has one record for each person counted in the census. The census data comes from 1% samples for 1950 and 1970 (form 1 for 1970). For the 1960 and 1980-2000 censuses, it comes from 5% samples. For 2010 and 2022, we use the 1% sample from the American Community Survey (ACS).

States and territories: Before 1960, some censuses included data for territories that would later become states. When available, we show data for these areas and designate the territorial status in the maps with an asterisk (*). Prior to 1959, Alaska and Hawaii were not routinely represented in IPUMS datasets used in this analysis. However, IPUMS samples that include these two areas in 1900-1920 (1% samples) and 1930 (5% sample) provide data for the maps.

Immigrant population: The immigrant or foreign-born population consists of people born outside the United States or its territories who are not U.S. citizens at birth. In census data for 1970-2000 and ACS data for 2010-2022, there is a direct question on U.S. citizenship that defines the foreign-born population.

For the earlier censuses, we used several steps to define the immigrant and U.S.-born or native populations. First, people born in U.S. territories and outlying areas are considered part of the native population.

The territories defined as part of the native population are: Alaska (1870 and later); Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam and American Samoa (1900 and later); Philippines (1900-1940); Panama Canal Zone (1900-1970); U.S. Virgin Islands (1920 and later); Trust Territory of the Pacific (1950-1980); and Northern Mariana Islands (1950 and later).

Beginning with the 1890 census, people born outside the U.S. and its territories were considered U.S. citizens at birth if they had one or two American-born parents under certain conditions. The criteria have changed over time and do not appear to have been consistently applied in the early censuses. The IPUMS data has coded some of these cases directly. For other cases, we use the country of birth of each respondent’s mother and father (either as reported in the census or assigned by IPUMS) to determine whether the individual is foreign born.

Country of birth: Countries of birth in the tabulations generally reflect the countries and regions within countries (e.g., Alsace-Lorraine, Bavaria) recognized at the time the data was collected. This reflects the responses to the census and generally agrees with official publications from the censuses. The country boundaries are similar to modern ones but may differ slightly in some cases.

The groupings used for the countries in the census and ACS data are:

• United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years; Northern Ireland in 1930 and later.
• Germany: Various German states, East Germany and West Germany in all years; Alsace and Lorraine for 1870-1910.
• Austria: Austria and regions defined as Austria, including Austria-Hungary.
• Poland: Regions defined as Poland, Austrian Poland, German Poland, Russian Poland, Prussian Poland, Galicia, Pomerania, West Prussia and various other areas.
• Russia (1850-1920), USSR (1930-1990), USSR (former): These designations basically refer to the same area. It includes Russia plus the republics within the Soviet Union (e.g., Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Siberia). The exception is Armenia, which is treated as a separate country for 1920-1930.
• China: Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000-2022.
• Portugal: Azores, Madeira Islands and St. Miguel in all years; Cape Verde Islands through 1970.
• Korea: North and South Korea.

Various other countries and regions are grouped together, but none are the top origin countries for states or in the top five origin countries nationally.

Immigrant populations by state

The share of immigrants varies widely among states, from 2% in West Virginia to 27% in California. In 2022, Mexican immigrants were the largest group in 29 states, while Indian immigrants were the largest group in six states.

Mirroring the national trend, the origins of immigrants living in each state have changed dramatically in the past century. In 1920, the largest immigrant groups in 29 states were born in Germany, Italy or Canada. And only six states had the same largest origin group in 2022 that they did in 1920: Arizona, New Mexico and Texas (all from Mexico) and Maine, Montana and Vermont (from Canada).

Why has the immigrant population changed over the years?

Reasons behind the changes in the U.S. immigrant population since 1965 include:

• A more equitable U.S. immigration law . The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act opened up legal immigration from Asia and Latin America. The law it replaced had favored immigrants from Northern and Western Europe and mostly barred those from Asia.
• Unauthorized immigration. Unauthorized immigration to the U.S. began to grow in the 1970s , which made the total number of immigrants go up. Most of those who came before 1982 acquired legal status after the passage of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act . However, unauthorized immigrants continued to come in large numbers.
• Further changes in U.S. immigration law. A revision to the 1965 act in 1990 allowed more legal immigrants to enter the U.S. and provided alternative ways for people to immigrate, increasing the diversity of origins.

Where immigrants have settled in the U.S. over time

The first large wave of immigration to the U.S. began in the 1840s and lasted until 1889. During this time, more than 14 million immigrants came to the country. Most arrived from Northern or Western Europe ; Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom alone accounted for 70% of the new arrivals .

How America’s source of immigrants has changed over time

Top country of birth among U.S. immigrants, by state

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)

Total U.S. population 23.2 million Total foreign born 2.2 million Percentage foreign born 9.7%

Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including “Austrian,” “German,” “Prussian” and “Russian” Poland. The term “Russia” is used for 1850-1920, “USSR” for 1930-1990 and “USSR (former)” for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “ Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 ”; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960,  1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

Total U.S. population 31.4 million Total foreign born 4.1 million Percentage foreign born 13.2%

Total U.S. population 38.6 million Total foreign born 5.6 million Percentage foreign born 14.4%

Total U.S. population 50.2 million Total foreign born 6.7 million Percentage foreign born 13.3%

Total U.S. population 62.6 million Total foreign born 9.3 million Percentage foreign born 14.8%

Total U.S. population 76.0 million Total foreign born 10.3 million Percentage foreign born 13.6%

Total U.S. population 92.0 million Total foreign born 13.5 million Percentage foreign born 14.7%

Total U.S. population 105.7 million Total foreign born 13.9 million Percentage foreign born 13.2%

Total U.S. population 122.8 million Total foreign born 14.2 million Percentage foreign born 11.6%

Total U.S. population 131.7 million Total foreign born 11.6 million Percentage foreign born 8.8%

Total U.S. population 150.2 million Total foreign born 10.3 million Percentage foreign born 6.9%

Total U.S. population 179.3 million Total foreign born 9.7 million Percentage foreign born 5.4%

Total U.S. population 203.2 million Total foreign born 9.6 million Percentage foreign born 4.7%

Total U.S. population 226.5 million Total foreign born 14.1 million Percentage foreign born 6.2%

Total U.S. population 248.7 million Total foreign born 19.8 million Percentage foreign born 7.9%

Total U.S. population 281.4 million Total foreign born 31.1 million Percentage foreign born 11.1%

Total U.S. population 309.4 million Total foreign born 40.0 million Percentage foreign born 12.9%

Total U.S. population 333.3 million Total foreign born 46.1 million Percentage foreign born 13.8%

From 1850 to 1880, Germany and Ireland were the largest immigrant origin countries in most states and territories. In 1860, Ireland was the largest origin country in 22 of the nation’s 39 states and territories.

By 1880, Germany was the largest origin country in 16 states and territories. Chinese immigrants were the largest group in California, Nevada, Oregon, and the Idaho and Washington territories. Mexicans were the largest group in Texas and the New Mexico and Arizona territories.

The next wave of immigration to the U.S. lasted from 1890 to 1919, when more than 18 million immigrants arrived. By then, over 60% came from Eastern and Southern Europe, with large numbers arriving from Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia and Poland.

The number of new immigrants fell dramatically in the years between World War I and World War II (1919 to 1939). As a result, the largest immigrant groups in each state did not change much for the next few decades.

In 1920, German immigrants were the largest group in 11 states, down from 18 in 1910. Immigrants from Italy and Russia became the largest groups in a growing number of states. At their peaks, Italians were the largest group in 10 states in 1940 and 1960, and Russians were the biggest in seven states in 1920 and 1950.

By 1960, the largest number of immigrants in most states came from Germany (17 states), Italy (10) and Canada (10).

Another wave of immigration began in 1965. Most immigrants in this wave came from Latin America (49%) or Asia (27%) . Mexico alone accounted for about 25% of these new immigrants. Large numbers also came from China, India, the Philippines, Central America and the Caribbean.

After 1990, the number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. started to grow quickly, from 3.5 million to 12.2 million in 2007. Most unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. at this time came from Mexico, which was also the largest source of legal immigrants.

These new legal and unauthorized arrivals led to major changes in states’ immigrant populations. Mexican immigrants became the largest group in an increasing number of states.

In 1980, Mexican immigrants were the largest group in 10 states, trailing German immigrants (19 states) and Canadian immigrants (11 states).

By 2000, Mexican immigrants were the largest group in 31 states, and Germans were no longer the largest immigrant group in any state. Immigrants from Cuba, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, the Philippines and India were the largest groups in 11 states.

The onset of the Great Recession led to changes in immigration patterns. Mexican immigration to the U.S. slowed dramatically after 2007. As a result, the Mexican immigrant population stopped growing. Though Mexico remained the largest source of U.S. immigrants, Mexicans’ share of the immigrant population fell from 29% in 2010 to 23% in 2022.

Meanwhile, immigration from Asia increased rapidly. In the 2010s, there were more new arrivals from Asia than from Latin America .

The unauthorized immigrant population declined from 12.2 million in 2007 to 10.2 million in 2019. Since then, though, the unauthorized immigrant population has grown again, reaching 11.0 million in 2022 .

Mexico remained the largest country of birth for immigrants in 29 states in 2022, while India was the largest in six states. For the first time, the following origin groups made up the largest immigrant population in a state or district:

• Ethiopians in the District of Columbia
• Guatemalans in South Dakota
• Hondurans in Louisiana

Note: This is an update of a post originally published Oct. 7, 2015.

• Immigration & Migration

Jeffrey S. Passel is a senior demographer at Pew Research Center .

Jens Manuel Krogstad is a senior writer and editor at Pew Research Center .

Mohamad Moslimani is a research analyst focusing on race and ethnicity at Pew Research Center .

What the data says about immigrants in the U.S.

Facts on u.s. immigrants, 2018, building outpaces population growth in many of china’s urban areas, most popular.

901 E St. NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20004 USA (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax (+1) 202-419-4372 |  Media Inquiries

Research Topics

• Email Newsletters

ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER  Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of  The Pew Charitable Trusts .

© 2024 Pew Research Center