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Urban Development and Real Estate

Impresarios of the urban landscape

Urban development and real estate are about contributing to the built environment and designing more livable communities. The ingredients for success involve vision, active engagement with the community, and working with various fields and sectors to implement solutions.

Price faculty include renowned experts and influencers — they have been named to leadership and advisory roles at the U.S Department of Housing & Urban Development, and provided expert testimony to the Senate Committees on Finance and Banking.

Urban Development and Real Estate Impact

How USC Price is informing policy decisions and making an impact in the community

“Half of humanity now lives in urban areas. As challenges of sustainability, economic development, human health, and democratic governance play out in mega-cities across the globe, urban planners will have an increasingly critical role to play.”

Marlon Boarnet
Professor and Chair, Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis

“Industry leaders appreciate our interdisciplinary reach. We fund research across the USC campus and bring useful, rigorous information to them that’s not found anywhere else. And, they bring to our faculty and students a depth that nobody else can match.”

Richard K. Green
Professor and Director, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate

Urban Development and Real Estate News

Stories featuring USC Price research and expertise

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USC Price faculty and students share their expertise in policy areas that are shaping the world.

“The Price School and BS RED program have allowed me to see the field of real estate from both a business and public point of view. With the interdisciplinary education offered by Price, I am able to approach real estate development issues from a holistic viewpoint that will best serve both people and business interests.”

Alvin Neo, BRED ’18

 

“I interned at the LA Department of Transportation in the Bicycle and Pedestrian Division. I learned the ins and outs of local government agencies, how to manage a citywide bicycle parking program, and how to work with nonprofits and Council offices to enact transportation safety improvements in a city that is extremely dependent on cars. The urban design principles, sustainable planning methods, and community engagement tools that I learned in the classroom helped me succeed in my internship. The MPL program’s intensive weekend courses made it possible for me to accept a full-time job with Santa Barbara County during my last semester of school.”

Gwendolyn Von Klan, MPL ’17

Academic Programs in Urban Development and Real Estate

Urban Planning and Real Estate Faculty

Explore USC Price faculty and their cross-disciplinary scholarship

NamePositionExpertise
Tridib BanerjeeProfessor
James Irvine Chair in Urban and Regional Planning		Urban design, comparative urbanism, urban sprawl, developing world urbanization, planning theory
Marlon BoarnetProfessor
Chair, Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis		Transportation, travel behavior, urban growth patterns, regional science, urban economics
Mary Lynne BoornAssociate Professor (Teaching)Principles of real estate, real estate finance, real estate development
Elizabeth Currid-HalkettProfessor
James Irvine Chair in Urban and Regional Planning		Economic development, cultural economy, social networks, urban growth, economic geography
Jorge De la RocaAssistant ProfessorUrban economics, labor economics, economic geography, urban migration
Liz FallettaAssociate Professor (Teaching)Architecture, urban design, design criticism
Genevieve GiulianoProfessor
Margaret and John Ferraro Chair in Effective Local Government
Director, METRANS Transportation Center		Transportation policy, metropolitan spatial structure, travel demand, urban transportation
Richard K. GreenProfessor
Director and Chair of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate
Chair, Department of Policy Analysis and Real Estate		Economics, housing markets, housing policy, tax policy, transportation, mortgage finance, urban growth
Eric HeikkilaProfessor
Director, Office of Global Engagement		Urban development, economic development, East Asian cities, urban economics, urban information systems
Annette M. KimAssociate Professor
Director, Spatial Analysis Lab (SLAB)		Housing and land use; international development planning; East Asian urbanization; race, arts, and placemaking; critical mapping and urban analytics
Geraldine KnatzProfessor of the Practice of Policy and EngineeringSeaport policy and management, maritime transportation, international trade, seaport sustainability, environmental impact analysis
Martin KriegerMartin H. KriegerProfessorDefense policy; uncertainty and ambiguity; mathematical modeling of urban phenomena and their foundations in mathematics and physics; aural and photographic documentation of cities, especially Southern California; planning theory and design theory; urban spatial processes; mathematical modeling; environmental policy
John LoperAssociate Professor (Teaching)Real estate development, real estate finance, urban and suburban development, master planned communities, urban design
Leonard MitchellProfessor of the Practice of Economic Development
Executive Director, Center for Economic Development		Real estate development finance and law, regional and local economic development, economic development finance and law, international trade finance and law
James Elliott Moore, IIProfessorEconomic impact analysis, engineering economics, transportation engineering, urban transportation, infrastructure performance
Dowell MyersProfessor
Director, Population Dynamics Research Group		Demographic change, future of California, housing impacts, workforce and education, immigration and assimilation, communication for consensus about change
Gary Dean PainterProfessor
Director, USC Sol Price Center for Social Innovation
Director, Homelessness Policy Research Institute		Social Innovation, Housing economics, Urban economics, education policy, program evaluation
Jane PisanoProfessorInternational relations, public administration, civic engagement
Christian L. RedfearnAssociate Professor
Borstein Family Endowed Professor of Real Estate		Public policy, urban economics, housing markets, real estate finance
Jovanna RosenResearch Assistant ProfessorCommunity and economic development, community investment, urban sustainability
Lisa SchweitzerProfessorEnvironmental justice, Sustainable transportation, Hazardous materials in urban environments, Community environmental quality
David SloaneProfessorUrban history, community health planning, health disparaties, cultural landscapes
USC Lusk Center for Real Estate

Do college grads cause a spike in urban rents?

Professor and Lusk Center Director Richard Green found that the rise of more educated people with higher incomes in metropolitan areas has increased housing/rent costs that predominantly affect the less educated — widening the class divide. 

USC Lusk Center researchers dig into data – analyzing housing supply, demand, and cost – to inform business practices and address the big questions that affect the real estate industry, the urban economy, and public policy.

Visit the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate

Cartographers for a new age.

USC Price’s Spatial Analysis Lab (SLAB) innovates ways to create data and stories, particularly of marginalized populations and places. Synergizing with the arts and humanities, SLAB’s experiments seek to advance the visualization of the social sciences for public service through research, public engagement, and teaching.

 

Students can take classes in Price’s Spatial Analysis Teaching Laboratory where they are encouraged to innovate in producing knowledge with new data, cultural media, and public engagement.

Visit the Spatial Analysis Lab (SLAB)