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:
Learning as Rich Experience: Sandra Bernal Cordova, Lecturer and UArizona Hispanic Serving Institution Fellow
UArizona Hispanic Serving Institution Fellow Sandra Bernal Cordova, who joined CAPLA in 2018 as a lecturer, uses her built environment research, community service and cross-campus collaborations to inform the classes she teaches and co-teaches, which include Water Efficiency in Building, Equitable Cities and the Sustainable Built Environments Capstone.
Lecture Recap and Video: Seth Okyere on 'Walking the Unwalkable City: An Exploration of Walking Conditions, Experiences and Interventions in the Global South'
Seth Okyere lectures on "Walking the Unwalkable City," a discussion which brings forward conditions and experiences of a walking city that is not walkable and, most importantly, resident improvisations to minimize walking inequities.
Design Poetics: Michael Scott Silver, Assistant Professor of Architecture
Assistant Professor of Architecture Michael Scott Silver joined CAPLA this fall. His research and practice focus on the relationship between existing cultures of labor and the effects new automation technologies will have on the built environment.
Timely, Essential ‘Planning for Urban Heat Resilience’ Report Wins Planning Awards
CAPLA Assistant Professor of Planning and Sustainable Built Environments Ladd Keith and ASU Associate Professor Sara Meerow have been honored with the Western Planner 2022 Sheldon D. Gerber Merit Award for Excellence in Environmental Planning and 2022 APA Arizona Open Category (Applied Research) Award for their Planning for Urban Heat Resilience.
Designing Suburban Futures: June Williamson, Visiting Professor of Architecture
Visiting Professor of Architecture June Williamson has joined CAPLA for the Fall 2022 semester from The City College of New York. Her research focuses on northern American suburban form and its discontents, documenting how underperforming suburban property types and development patterns are being redeveloped, reinhabited or regreened.
Thinking Innovatively: Daniel Kuhlmann, Assistant Professor of Real Estate Development and Planning
Assistant Professor Daniel Kuhlmann joined CAPLA this fall. He has an MA and PhD in Urban Planning from Cornell University and a BA in International Relations from Carleton College. In his research, he focuses on land-use issues, real estate development and the businesses of residential landlords.
Inspiring the Next Generation of Change Makers: An Interview with UArizona School of Architecture Director Ryan E. Smith
In this interview, UArizona School of Architecture Director Ryan E. Smith shares his initial vision for the school, discusses the importance of interdisciplinarity, shares his passions for research on affordable housing and the importance of research in an architectural education, discusses the value of connecting with firms, provides advice to students and more.
Deep Engagement with Local Communities: Seth Asare Okyere, Visiting Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Emerging Faculty Fellow
Seth Asare Okyere joined the college this semester as visiting assistant professor of urban planning as part of CAPLA's inaugural emerging faculty fellow program. Learn more about Seth, including his current research on socio-spatial and environmental aspects of everyday southern urban experiences in relation to social equity and community resilience planning.
The Washington Post Built a Fake City to Demonstrate Extreme Heat: CAPLA’s Ladd Keith Provides Expert Analysis
“Welcome to Meltsville,” reads the new sign for a fake metropolis featured this week in The Washington Post. The interactive article relies on the expert analysis of Ladd Keith, assistant professor of planning and sustainable built environments at CAPLA, who provides insight on extreme heat's effects on infrastructure.
Why do roads, runways and railways warp in extreme heat?
Buckled roads, warped train tracks and expanded bridges are a stark reminder of the need to adapt our infrastructure to a warming planet. Heat can impact all types of physical infrastructure, but roads, runways and railways may be among the most vulnerable, says CAPLA Assistant Professor Ladd Keith.
How Can an Old Golf Course Fight Climate Change? Study by CAPLA Lecturer and Alumna Offers Insight for Bloomberg Article
A 2017 study by Kelly Cederberg ’13 MLA, a CAPLA adjunct lecturer in landscape architecture, has been cited by Bloomberg in a story on how the Trust for Public Land is converting the San Geronimo Golf Course in Marin County, California, into a park and restored habitat for endangered wildlife.
The Washington Post Interviews CAPLA Professor on Creating ‘Cool Corridors’ to Counter Extreme Heat
Assistant Professor of Planning and Sustainable Built Environments Ladd Keith was interviewed by The Washington Post about the City of Tucson's Cool Pavement Program as well as the inequitable impacts of extreme heat on communities, the concepts behind "cool corridors" and more.