The essential research of the CAPLA faculty goes well beyond the fields of design, development, planning and sustainability to the core of how we can live better lives in the built environment.
Faculty research solves problems, impacts decisions and shapes policy. Read our CAPLA faculty research stories:
Professor Arthur C. Nelson Honored with Western Planner’s Article of the Year Award
Arthur C. Nelson, an emeritus professor of urban planning and real estate development, has received the Western Planner 2023 Stan Steadman Article of the Year award for his “Homes on the Range” article series.
CAPLA Lecturer Valerie Lane Aims to Accelerate Tucson Casita Construction
In a recent story in Arizona Daily Star, CAPLA's Valerie Lane is highlighted for her new Tucson-based business partnership, the Urban Infill Project, working to help the Tucson community meet supplementary and affordable housing needs.
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.
CAPLA Real Estate Development Professor Provides Insight on Increasing Density as a Response to the U.S. Housing Crisis
A recent story in MarketWatch asked whether apartment buildings are the “silver bullet” for America’s housing shortage as lawmakers across the country ban single-family zoning. Daniel Kuhlmann, assistant professor of real estate development and planning, helps answer the question.
How Cities are Battling Extreme Heat, and Why Record-Breaking Temps Don't Tell the Whole Story
CAPLA Assistant Professor Ladd Keith explains how this year's heat wave extends well beyond Phoenix, how cities are addressing extreme heat and why record-breaking temperatures are an incomplete benchmark for understanding the effects of scorching heat.
The Heat Is On This Summer: CAPLA’s Ladd Keith Provides Expert Insight for Sierra Club, Vox, Global Heat Health Information Network and Others
As a leading expert on the impacts of extreme heat on communities, Assistant Professor of Planning and Sustainable Built Environments Ladd Keith is providing new insight for a variety of publications and media outlets this summer.
Bo Yang Named an American Society of Landscape Architects Fellow
Bo Yang, an award-winning professor of landscape architecture and urban planning and associate dean for research in CAPLA, has been named an ASLA Fellow for his "exceptional contributions to the landscape architecture profession and society at large."
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.