Areas of Research

The Center conducts research in five major areas:

Public Health and Metropolitan Growth: assessing the impacts of urban sprawl; effective growth management, smart growth, and regional governance approaches; relationships between active living and neighborhood design and public health; development of planning policies to promote active living and healthy lifestyles.

Industrial Ecology and Business Sustainability: analyzing relationships between regional industrial patterns, energy use, and pollution; testing models of eco-industrial development; understanding lifecycle costs of regional industries; participatory action research and collaborative learning models for business systems.

Cities and Climate Change: climate change and environmental justice; alternative energy and environmental health; vulnerability of urban populations and critical infrastructure to climate change; community-based participation in urban climate strategy; local carbon footprint models..