This work is mostly domestic but my international project experience includes China, Colombia, Guyana, Indonesia, Kenya, Thailand, and Yemen, and a Fulbright professorship at the Colegio de México in Mexico City.

I served on the National Research Council committee producing the report, Does the Built Environment Influence Physical Activity?, National Academies Press, 2005. Our book, Travel by Design: The Influence of Urban Form on Travel, Oxford, 2001 (with Marlon Boarnet) is positioned as the reference monograph on the topic. Two books in progress include How Are We Housed? Urban Shelter Trends and Stories in the U.S.A., 1985-2005, and The Death and Life of Smart Growth (with Daniel Chatman). Another on Chinese urbanization is in the planning stages. In the meantime, Rachel Weber and I are editing the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Urban Planning.

My courses vary from year to year and include Smart Growth (UP 269), Environmental Governance (UP 260), Water Policy (UP 262), the Global Environment (GE1), Transportation & Land Use (UP 254), Transportation & the Environment (UP 258), Sprawl (UP 253), Topics in Third World Cities (UP 239), and Transportation Economics (UP 257).

Research Blog: Urban Planning Research

Current Research Projects

The demographics of travel, 1985-2007. How do race, age, sex and other social and economic circumstances influence both the demand for and supply of travel by place, means and purpose?

The demographics of US housing, 1985-2007. How have the specific patterns of housing use and conditions changed in US cities over the past two decades, across a broad spectrum of individual and community characteristics? Why?

Understanding smart growth (with Daniel Chatman). What is different, better and worse about so-called smart growth urban development strategies as efforts to address the problems of modern urbanization?

The design of municipal taxes, fees and prices. Picking up where I left off in a series of papers in the 1990s on the determinants of the efficient and equitable mix of impact fees, property taxes, and other revenue instruments in theory and practice.

Person- versus place-based economic and community development (with Michael Manville). When are urban development strategies best addressed at geography, and when best aimed at individuals regardless of where they live and work?

Chinese urbanization. A substantial share of the world's urbanization over the next few decades will be concentrated in China. I am particularly interested in the evolution of public/private governance of land development and the joint issues of suburbanization and CBD development/redevelopment, which come together in increasingly common greenfield CBD construction at the city edge.

Chaired PhD Committees

Professor Daniel Chatman, PhD, UC Berkeley

Professor Richard Crepeau, PhD, Appalachian State University

Lynne Cripe, PhD, CARE USA

T.H. Culhane, UCLA

Professor Priyam Das, PhD, University of Hawaii

D. Gregg Doyle, PhD, Consultant

Jan Mazurek, PhD, Duke University.

Tuyet-le Pham, UCLA

Professor Oscar Alberto Pombo López, PhD, COLEF

Professor Lisa Schweitzer, PhD, USC

Hyun-Gun Sung, PhD, Korea Transport Institute

Beth Tamayose, UCLA

Recent and Upcoming Presentations

"Sources of the Narrowing and Widening of Travel Differences by Gender" TRB 4th International Conference on Women’s Issues in Transportation, Beckman Center, Irvine, October 2009

"Sex Changes Everything: The Recent Narrowing and Widening of Travel Differences by Gender" 50th Anniversary ACSP Conference, Washington, DC, October 2009

"New Downtowns in New China: Renewal, Replacement, or Relocation?" Urban Regeneration Roundtable, China Planning Network Conference, Renmin University, Beijing, June 2009

"Public Policy in Urban Planning," Urban Planning and Public Policy Roundtable, China Planning Network Conference, Renmin University, Beijing, June 2009

"Does Gender Matter? Changes, Choices and Consequences for Transportation Policy," Netconference 2009, National Center for Transit Research's National TDM and Telework Clearinghouse at the University of South Florida, May 2009

"Sex Changes Everything: Trends in the Demographics of the U.S. Commute," Visiting Scholars Seminar, University Transportation Research Center, The City College of New York, May 2009

"Place-Based versus People-Based Community Economic Development," Lincoln Lecture Series, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 2009

"Land Planning for Local Public Finance in China," Center for Urban Development and Land Policy, Peking University/Lincoln Institute, Beijing, April 2009

"Sex Changes Everything: Trends in the Demographics of the U.S. Commute," National Center for Smart Growth, University of Maryland College Park, April 2009

"Gender Differences: Travel Trends and Research Issues," Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, January 2009

"Reforming the Public Finance of Land in China," for the symposium “China’s Three Decades of Urban Planning through an International Perspective," Urban Planning Society of China, Xiamen, November 2008

Blog Reporter for Re-Imagining Cities: Urban Design After the Age of Oil, University of Pennsylvania, November 2008

"Does Gender Matter? Changes, Choices, and Consequences for Transportation Policy," TRB Impact of Changing Demographics on the Transportation System Conference, Washington, DC, October 2008

"Urban Regeneration in the New China," Financial Times Urban Regeneration Summit 2008, Shanghai, PRC, September 2008

"Economic Development and Transportation Access in China," Chengdu Post-Earthquake Reconstruction Symposium, Chengdu, PRC, July 2008

"The New Fiscalization of Land Use in Chinese Cities," CPN China Urban Housing Congress, Beijing, July 2008

"Urban Design and Transportation Policy," Peking University—Lincoln Institute Center for Urban Development and Land Policy, Beijing, July 2008

Roundtables on "Place/People Development Planning" and "The Oxford Handbook of Urban Planning," and paper on "U.S. Housing Trends, 1985-2005," ACSP/AESOP Fourth Joint Conference, Chicago, July 2008

"Urban Growth with Chinese Characteristics," Sino-US Workshop on the Environment and Sustainable Development in China, Natural Resources Defense Council and Global Environmental Institute, Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Beijing, PRC, May 2008

"Smart Growth with Chinese Characteristics," Workshop on Sustainable Urban Planning for Medium and Small Chinese Cities, Center for Agenda 21 (Ministry of Science and Technology) and Natural Resources Defense Council, Tongling City, PRC, May 2008

"Comments on Revenues in Chinese Urban Public Finance," Local Public Finance and Property Taxation in China, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 2008

"Mobility and Congestion," 100th National Planning Conference, APA, Las Vegas, April 2008

"Sex and Travel in the USA, 1985-2005," Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Boston, April 2008

"Smart Growth with Chinese Characteristics: Transportation/Land Use Integration in Urban China," Harvard China Project, Harvard University, March 2008

"Sex, Race and Traffic: What is Changing and Why," Distinguished Speaker Series, MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, March 2008

"How Urban Form Affects Travel, Public Health, and Climate Change," MIT Urban Studies & Planning, March 2008

"Public/Private People/Place Development Strategies," Harvard Graduate School of Design, March 2008

“Challenges for Smart Growth in China (and the U.S.)," presentation to visiting delegation from the Chinese Academy of Urban Planning & Design, PRC, January 2008

“Sex and Traffic, Etc.," Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, NYU, December 2007

"Downtown Development in Los Angeles: Planning Obstacles & Opportunities," Annual UCLA Real Estate Conference, Ziman Center for Real Estate, Skirball Center, Los Angeles, November 2007

“Sex and Commuting, 1985-2005," Department of Policy, Planning & Design, UC Irvine, October 2007

"People-Based Versus Place-Based Economic Development Strategies: A Reconciliation," ACSP Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 2007. (with M. Manville)

“Challenges to Land Use/Transportation Integration in Modern Urban China,” Institute of Transportation Studies/Enjoyor, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PRC, October 2007

“Smart Growth with Chinese Characteristics,” Third International Symposium on Urban Development and Land Policy in China, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Hangzhou, PRC, October 2007

"Top 5 Challenges to Integrating Transportation with Land Use in Urban China," 1st Urban Transportation Conference, China Planning Network, Beijing, August 2007.

"Urban Sprawl and the Built Environment," Invited lecture, Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning and Design, Beijing, August 2007.

"Suburbanization, Sprawl, and the New Mobility," Seventh International Symposium on Asia Pacific Architecture, School of Architecture, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, June 2007.

"Planeación Urbana y Políticas de Suelo: Puntos de Debate," Seminario Internacional 10 Años de la Ley 388 de 1997: Sus Aportes al Ordinamiento Urbano y a la Consolidatión de Políticas de Suelo, National Capitol Building, Bogotá, Colombia, May 2007.

"Housing and Poverty in the U.S.: New Evidence on What, Who and Why," Institute of Urban and Regional Development, UC Berkeley, April 2007.

"U.S. Housing Affordability and Crowding Trends, 1985-2005," Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, San Francisco, April 2007.

"Is the Gender Gap History?," University of California Thirteenth Annual Transportation Research Conference, UCLA, February 2007.

"Sex, Lies, and Commuting in the US: 1985-2005," University of Toronto, February 2007.

"New Research on the Journey to Work," Department of Urban & Regional Planning, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, January 2007.

"Sex, Lies, and the Built Environment," Department of City & Regional Planning, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, January 2007.

"Growth, Growth Impacts, and Planning for Growth," Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, December 2006.

"Integrating Land Use and Transportation Planning," presentation to the Director of the Beijing Municipal Planning Bureau, November 2006.

"Public Economics for Planners,” ACSP Conference, Ft. Worth, Texas, November 2006.

"Local Public Finance Reform in China,” Second Annual International Symposium on Urban Planning and Land Policy, Lincoln Institute, Shenzhen, China, October 2006.

"Public Finance Concepts for Planners,” Fiscal Dimensions of Planning Seminar, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 24, 2006.

"Housing and Poverty in the USA, 1985-2005,” World Planning Schools Congress, Mexico City, July 14, 2006.

"The Rapid Development of China's Urban Transportation Systems: Opportunities, Challenges and Policies,” China Planning Network 3rd Annual Conference, Beijing, June 14, 2006.

"Smart Growth in the U.S. and the Pearl River Delta Region,” World Planning Scholars Lecture 1, China Planning Network, Zhongshan University, Guangzhou, China, June 12, 2006.

"Lectures on Land Use,” Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and PRC Ministry of Land Resources, Qingdao, China, June 10-11, 2006.

"Public Finance and Urban Development Strategies in China,” invited, Symposium on Important Issues in the Era of Rapid Urbanization in China, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 22, 2006.

"Formal/Informal: A Perspective on China,” invited, Center for Architecture and People's Architecture, New York City, May 16, 2006.

“Growth and Growth Impacts in the South San Francisco Bay Area,” invited, Social Science Dimensions Workshop: Identifying Political, Economic, and Social Obstacles and Opportunities, South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, Mountain View, California, April 18, 2006.

“Sex, Race and Roads: New Research on Shelter and Travel,” invited, Department of City Regional Planning, Cornell University, April 12, 2006.

“Suburbanization and Its Discontents: What We Do and Don't Know About How to Plan the Built Environment,” invited, Department of Urban Planning, Columbia University, April 10, 2006.

“The American University of Cairo/UCLA Environmental Studies Initiative,” American University of Cairo, Egypt, April 3, 2006.

“Smart Growth with Chinese Characteristics,” invited, Changsha University of Science and Technology, Xiantang, and Chinese Academy of Urban Planning and Design, Beijing, China, December 2005.

“Four Lectures on Sprawl, Suburbanization, and Alternatives,” Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Workshop, Changsha, Hunan Province, China, December 2005.

"For a Few Dollars Less: Estimating and Regulating the Costs & Benefits of Wal-Mart,” invited, Economic Impact Research Conference: An In-Depth Look at Wal-Mart and Society, Washington DC, November 2005. (with D. Chatman)

“3 Questions for the American Housing Survey, 1985-2003,” invited, Ziman Center for Real Estate, UCLA, November 2005.

“Is the Gender Gap History? Commuting in America,” ACSP, Kansas City, October 2005.

“Emerging Planning Trends in Retail: The Case of Wal-Mart,” invited, Urban Growth Seminar, USC, September 2005. (with M. Manville)

“Housing Affordability, Regulatory Obstacles, and Smart Growth,” invited, Annual Real Estate Conference, Ziman Center for Real Estate, UCLA, September 2005.

"Traffic and Mobility: FAQ,” 2005 Corporate Partners Summit, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UC Santa Barbara, May 2005.

"Urban Development & Foreign Models in the New China,” ChinaPlan Conference, MIT, May 2005.

"Counterpoint: Accessibility and sprawl," Journal of Transport and Land Use 1:1, Summer 2008.