At CAPLA, thought leadership on architecture, design, landscape architecture, heritage conservation, real estate development, urban planning, sustainability and much more drives our research, design and practice—resulting in a rich, transformative educational and community experience centered on the built environment.
Read our latest thought leadership, and learn how the CAPLA community is building a changing world:
We're at a 'heat-shed moment,' researcher Ladd Keith says of University's world-class heat expertise
Ladd Keith, associate professor in the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning, explains what heat governance is and why the University of Arizona may be at a "heat-shed moment" for heat research – uniquely positioned to be a leading institution.
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.
CAPLA in the News: Extreme heat and the affordable housing crisis
Assistant Professor Ladd Keith was quoted in an Arizona Public Media story about the dangers of extreme heat on the affordable housing crises. Together with an Arizona State Researcher, they co-authored an urban heat resilience guide for planners.
International Symposium Unites Scholars, Artists, and Architects to Remember Spaces of Internment
The second annual Remembering Spaces of Internment (ReSI) International Symposium convened an interdisciplinary network to study internment sites globally. Co-founder Beth Weinstein discussed ReSI's goals, emphasizing the need to analyze and remember the systemic nature of internment
In the News: Dr. Esther Sternberg Discusses Office Design Impact on Wellbeing, Productivity
University of Arizona professor of medicine Dr. Esther Sternberg, director of the Institute on Place, Well-being and Performance and research director at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, shares her research examining how work environments effect people's health and productivity.
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.
CAPLA’s Ryan E. Smith Leads Efforts on HUD Research Roadmap to Address Challenges in Offsite Housing Construction
Architecture Professor Ryan E. Smith, director of the School of Architecture, is lead author on a HUD report outlining policy, finance, labor and other parameters for growth of offsite housing construction in the United States: Offsite Construction for Housing: Research Roadmap.
Dr. Esther M. Sternberg Authors Acclaimed New Book, ‘Well at Work: Creating Wellbeing in Any Workspace’
Esther M. Sternberg, M.D., Inaugural Andrew Weil Chair for Research in Integrative Medicine and professor of architecture, landscape architecture and planning (by joint appointment), has published Well at Work: Creating Wellbeing in Any Workspace, a "Top Ten Lifestyle Book" by Publishers Weekly.
New Media Guide Offers Tips for Journalists Reporting on Extreme Heat Events
The Global Heat Health Information Network’s free resource for members of the press, created by CAPLA's Ladd Keith, aims to help make reporting on heat more impactful, effective and beneficial for the public.
Why Homes Often Feel Warmer Than the Thermostat Suggests — And What to Do About It
In a thought leadership piece for The Conversation, Associate Professor of Architecture, Sustainable Built Environments and Marketing Jonathan Bean discusses why homes often feel warmer than what the thermostat suggests, and what we can do about it.
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.
Prestigious Graham Foundation Grant Supports Architecture Professor Beth Weinstein's Research on Architecture and Choreography
Thanks in part to a 2022 grant from Chicago-based Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Associate Professor of Architecture Beth Weinstein is synthesizing more than a decade of her research on architecture and dance into a book that “establishes a field of practice, raises many critical questions” and also aims to “inspire people interested in interdisciplinary dialogues.”