USC Price
Expertise
Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis

Urban Planning & Spatial Analysis

Urban development is 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.

Degree Programs

Research Centers and Opportunities

Urban Planning and Development News

Stories featuring USC Price research and expertise

Marlon Boarnet

“We live in the world’s first urban century. The challenges of our time – climate change, equity and inclusion, sustainable settlements – will play out in cities and communities. USC’s urban planning faculty are thought leaders, ranking among the most cited influencers in urban planning in the U.S. and worldwide.”

Professor

Urban Planning and Development Faculty

Explore USC Price faculty and their cross-disciplinary scholarship

	Name	Position	Expertise
	Marlon Boarnet	Professor Director, METRANS Transportation Center	Transportation, travel behavior, urban growth patterns, regional science, urban economics
	Geoff Boeing	Assistant Professor	Transportation networks, urban form, data science, urban informatics
	Mary Lynne Boorn	Associate Professor (Teaching) Program Director, Real Estate Development Program, USC Price Wilbur H. Smith III Department of Real Estate Development	Principles of real estate, real estate finance, real estate development
	Santina Contreras	Assistant Professor	Environmental Planning, Natural Hazards, Community Engagement, International Development, Engineering for Development
	Elizabeth Currid-Halkett	Professor James Irvine Chair in Urban and Regional Planning	Economic development, the arts, cultural economy, social networks, urban growth, economic geography
	Jorge De la Roca	Associate Professor	Urban economics, labor economics, economic geography, urban migration
	Liz Falletta	Professor (Teaching) Faculty Director, Executive Master of Urban Planning Degree	Architecture, urban design, design criticism
	Genevieve Giuliano	Professor Margaret and John Ferraro Chair in Effective Local Government	Transportation policy, metropolitan spatial structure, travel demand, urban transportation
	Richard K. Green	Professor Director and Chair of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate Chair, Wilbur H. Smith III Department of Real Estate Development	Economics, housing markets, housing policy, tax policy, transportation, mortgage finance, urban growth
	Eric Heikkila	Professor	Urban development, economic development, East Asian cities, urban economics, urban information systems
	Annette M. Kim	Associate 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 Knatz	Professor of the Practice of Policy and Engineering	Seaport policy and management, maritime transportation, international trade, seaport sustainability, environmental impact analysis
	LaVonna B. Lewis	Professor (Teaching) Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion	American politics, public policy (most notably health policy), interest groups, and federal programs
	John Loper	Associate Professor (Teaching)	Real estate development, real estate finance, urban and suburban development, master planned communities, urban design
	Leonard Mitchell	Professor 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
	Dowell Myers	Professor 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 Painter	Professor Director, Homelessness Policy Research Institute	Social Innovation, Housing economics, Urban economics, education policy, program evaluation.
	Jane Pisano	Professor	International relations, public administration, civic engagement
	Mark Pisano	Professor of the Practice of Public Administration	Regional planning, transportation, housing, development, environmental policy, enterprise financing, institutional design
	Christian L. Redfearn	Associate Professor Borstein Family Endowed Professor of Real Estate	Public policy, urban economics, housing markets, real estate finance
	Adam Rose	Professor (Research) Director of the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE)	Energy and environmental economics, public policy, natural hazards and terrorism, regional science, applied general equilibrium modeling
	Lisa Schweitzer	Professor	Environmental justice, Sustainable transportation, Hazardous materials in urban environments, Community environmental quality
	David Sloane	Professor Chair, Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis	Urban history, community health planning, health disparities, cultural landscapes
	Lois M. Takahashi	Professor (Teaching) Houston I. Flournoy Professor of State Government Director, USC Price School in Sacramento	Public and social service delivery to vulnerable populations in the U.S. and in Southeast/South Asian cities