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.
SLAB Director Annette Kim's op-ed in The Atlantic examines how computer analysis of satellite images for developing cities will often overlook some urban communities whose settlements are unplanned; and as a result, many of the poorest residents are harmed by inadequately distributing public services.
Professor Gen Giuliano and two recent Ph.D. students won the 2017 ACSP Chester Rapkin Award for best paper in the Journal of Planning Education and Research (JPER).
The APA honor recognizes the students' community outreach program, “Planning for College,” which provides local high schoolers the opportunity to visit USC and learn about urban planning careers.
During the workshop, which aims to increase diversity in MPL programs, Professor David Sloane explained that state and local governments, as well as grassroots efforts, are taking more ownership over how their own communities are being built.
“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.”
| Name | Position | Expertise | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Tridib Banerjee | Professor James Irvine Chair in Urban and Regional Planning | Urban design, comparative urbanism, urban sprawl, developing world urbanization, planning theory |
| Marlon Boarnet | Professor Chair, Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis | Transportation, travel behavior, urban growth patterns, regional science, urban economics |
 | Elizabeth Currid-Halkett | Professor James Irvine Chair in Urban and Regional Planning | Economic development, cultural economy, social networks, urban growth, economic geography |
 | Jorge De la Roca | Assistant Professor | Urban economics, labor economics, economic geography, urban migration |
 | Liz Falletta | Professor (Teaching) | Architecture, urban design, design criticism |
 | Genevieve Giuliano | Professor Margaret and John Ferraro Chair in Effective Local Government Director, METRANS Transportation Center | 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, Department of Real Estate Development | Economics, housing markets, housing policy, tax policy, transportation, mortgage finance, urban growth |
 | Eric Heikkila | Professor Director, Office of Global Engagement | 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 |
 | Martin H. Krieger | Professor | Defense 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 |
 | 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 |
 | James Elliott Moore, II | Professor | Economic impact analysis, engineering economics, transportation engineering, urban transportation, infrastructure performance |
 | 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 |
 | Jane Pisano | Professor | International relations, public administration, civic engagement |
 | Jovanna Rosen | Research Assistant Professor | Community and economic development, community investment, urban sustainability |
| Lisa Schweitzer | Professor | Environmental justice, Sustainable transportation, Hazardous materials in urban environments, Community environmental quality |
 | David Sloane | Professor | Urban history, community health planning, health disparaties, cultural landscapes |
