
Our faculty conduct a wide array of transformative research related to development, planning, design and the built environments.
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CAPLA Faculty Awarded $250K to Start Heat Consortium
A team led by CAPLA’s Sandra Bernal Cordova, Altaf Engineer, and Ladd Keith has received a $250,000 grant over two years from the Office of Research and Partnerships through the inaugural Big Idea Challenge. Their project, the Heat and Health Resilience Innovation Consortium (HHRIC), aims to develop community-centered solutions to the growing threat of extreme heat. The team—comprising experts from across the University of Arizona—will focus on wearable biosensors, mobile cooling and care structures, health system algorithms, and AI-powered education tools. Their innovations, including the solar-powered CHILL-IT Health Oasis and telemedicine-equipped Kiosk Care, aim to improve public health and infrastructure resilience in Arizona and beyond.

Extreme Heat Planning Works: Building on a Proven Platform at the Second Annual Southern Arizona Heat Summit
Held at the University of Arizona’s ENR2 building, the 2nd Annual Southern Arizona Heat Summit brought together experts and community leaders to discuss strategies for extreme heat preparedness, featuring presentations from City of Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and other officials.

Santa Cruz River moves closer to national designation with guidance from U of A experts
Mackenzie Waller, assistant professor of landscape architecture, leads effort to have portions of the Santa Cruz River added to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wildlife Refuge System.

Improving water conservation and mitigating Arizona's heat island effect
The Arizona Board of Regents held a November showcase at the Arizona Experiment Station's Campus Agricultural Center in Tucson, featuring award-winning research from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University around new smart tree watering techniques.

Guiding a New Era: Kirk Dimond, Landscape Architecture Program Chair and Associate Professor
Kirk Dimond, associate professor of Landscape Architecture, was recently named program chair for the landscape architecture program at CAPLA. Hear about his background in the field and vision for the future.

CAPLA students collaborate with Iskashitaa Refugee Network on experiential learning garden
Last spring, CAPLA Sustainable Built Environments Lecturer Nataliya Apanovich partnered with Iskashitaa Refugee Network to create a study concerning issues among University of Arizona students and United Nation (UN) Refugees.

MLA students honored with American Society of Landscape Architects award in research category
Master of Landscape Architecture students Annalise Hummel, Christian Aguilar Murrieta and Cordell Lee were honored for highlighting the need for smart watering solutions to support tree planting as a cost-effective way to mitigate urban heat.

City of Tucson Adopts Comprehensive Heat Action Roadmap with UArizona Collaboration
Collaborative efforts from City of Tucson leadership and staff, community stakeholders, and University of Arizona faculty to address escalating heat challenges have resulted in the adoption of a newly crafted Heat Action Roadmap and Heat Protection Ordinance for city workers and contractors.

New federally funded center will rely on UArizona expertise to help communities manage extreme heat
A new federal initiative will rely on University of Arizona research and scholarship to help communities across the U.S. create policies and take action to mitigate and manage extreme heat. Ladd Keith, an associate professor in CAPLA, will lead UArizona's involvement in the center.

Balancing Books and Trails: Garrett Smith, Lecturer in SBE and Landscape Architecture Interim Chair
Garrett Smith serves as a CAPLA lecturer in both Sustainable Built Environments and Landscape Architecture. His research focuses on how recreation affects people, the environment and those responsible for managing it.

Drachman Institute Will Help Establish New Center to Study Housing Equity and Sustainability with $3M Federal Grant
Researchers from the UArizona Drachman Institute, along with colleagues from ASU, NAU and the University of New Mexico, will research housing security, climate and health with a focus on Hispanic and underserved communities in the arid Southwest.

Nature Sustainability Article by CAPLA Emerging Faculty Fellow Proposes Model for Sustainability Transition in the Global South
Seth Okyere, a CAPLA visiting assistant professor and Emerging Faculty Fellow, contributed to an article published this summer in Nature Sustainability, which publishes significant original research about sustainability, including policy dimensions and possible solutions.