Our faculty conduct a wide array of transformative research related to development, planning, design and the built environments.
View select publications, presentations and research stories:
Select Faculty Publications
View faculty publications by year:
Select Faculty Presentations
View faculty presentations by year:
Our Research Stories
View our latest research stories and profiles:
How Cities Use Energy to Regulate Temperature—Just Like Mammals
A UArizona undergraduate working with CAPLA's Ladd Keith looked at cities as living things to investigate how human energy use changes with rising temperatures. Her research could help save lives from heat waves.
Architecture Lecturer Bill Mackey’s Book ‘Guess That Arroyo’ Sheds Playful Light on the Tucson Region Watershed
“Arroyos on the desert are magic,” writes CAPLA Lecturer in Architecture Bill Mackey in the introduction to his new bilingual book Guess That Arroyo: Tucson, developed in collaboration with the Watershed Management Group's River Run Network.
PlaceMakers and Strong Towns Turn to Arthur C. Nelson for Insight on How the Shifting 'Boomer Bulge' Impacts America’s Housing Market
Professor Emeritus of Urban Planning and Real Estate Development Arthur C. Nelson was recently featured in a two-part interview for PlaceMakers and in an article in Strong Towns, both focusing on how there may soon be too many homes for too few buyers and renters across the country.
Lecture Recap and Video: Tao Zhang on 'Marginalized Edge Effect: Ecology, Urban Waterfront and Landscapes'
In this CAPLA Lecture Series lecture, Tao Zhang discusses the edge effect and how landscape architecture should protect vulnerable landscape boundaries and help regenerate marginalized edge effects in urban ecology.
Lecture Recap and Video: Fletcher McCusker on 'Rio Nuevo: Catalyst for Tucson's Urban Core'
Fletcher McCusker speaks about the history and impact of tax increment financing districts, and how this tool was used to spur economic growth in Tucson's urban core in this CAPLA Lecture Series lecture.
Lecture Recap and Video: Jesus M Barajas on 'Equity in Project Prioritization and Planning at State and Regional Transportation Agencies'
Jesus M. Barajas shares findings from research about how departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations are addressing equity in their planning and project prioritization processes in this CAPLA Lecture Series lecture.
CAPLA Faculty Collaborate with Salt River Project to Understand Arizona’s Electrified Transportation Network Needs
SRP is funding CAPLA faculty members Bo Yang, professor of landscape architecture and urban planning, and Shujuan Li, associate professor of landscape architecture and planning, to research the planning and design of electric vehicle charging stations. Learn more in this fascinating interview.
CAPLA Professor on Heat Mitigation and Management in the Southwest and the Broader Workforce
Leading extreme heat expert Ladd Keith, an assistant professor of planning and sustainable built environments in CAPLA, was interviewed for recent articles in The Hill and Arizona Science, an NPR radio program.
Lecture Recap and Video: Gulsah Akar on 'Determinants of Sustainability Mobility Patterns Among Older Adults'
Gulsah Akar focuses on the factors that lead to sustainable mobility patterns among older adults in this CAPLA Lecture Series lecture.
The Key to Healthier Employees Could be a Quieter, or Louder, Office Space
A new study by researchers including Esther Sternberg, professor of architecture, landscape architecture and planning (joint appointment), suggests that too much—or too little—office noise has a negative effect on employee wellbeing. The sweet spot? About 50 decibels, comparable to moderate rain or birdsong.
Ghana Digitized Its Address System: Its Failure Offers Lessons to Other African Countries Creating Smart Cities
Research by Seth Asare Okyere, CAPLA visiting assistant professor of urban planning, and Louis Kusi Frimpong, Matthew Abunyewah and Stephen Kofi Diko, show that digitalization initiatives in Ghana need to take local factors and engagement into account if they’re going to succeed.
Lecture Recap and Video: Sharon Collinge on 'Working with Communities to Build Environmental and Societal Resilience'
Sharon Collinge shares her experiences working at the interface of land use and climate change in the context of building resilient ecosystems and communities in this CAPLA Lecture Series lecture.