More than 100 prospective students and family members visited the College for Design and Social Inquiry during the “College Expedition” portion of Explore FAU 2018. It was a great opportunity for Owl hopefuls to visit the colleges and departments they’re most interested in and speak with faculty and existing students about what it would be like to be a student in their respective degree programs.
A study released by FAU’s Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions (CUES) found that the vast majority of counties in the Florida Panhandle were less prepared for emergency evacuation compared to the rest of the state. Read more
South Florida’s Brightline: The Public Costs of Private Rail
The decline of state and federal transportation funding led to increased reliance on private sector partners to finance and construct new capital infrastructure. In this context, the Brightline project (formerly known as All Aboard Florida) is particularly promising. Heralded as the first 100 percent privately-owned and operated rail line built in the last 100 years, Brightline began service in late 2017, running 32 high-speed trains daily between Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, FL, USA, with future expansion to the Orlando Intermodal Transportation Facility. An article by Jesse Saginor, Ph.D., AICP and Eric Dumbaugh, Ph.D. explores this topic. Read the article
Large-scale damage to the power infrastructure from hurricanes and high-wind events can have devastating ripple effects on infrastructure, the broader economy, households, communities, and regions. Read the research by Dr. Diana Mitsova in Natural Hazards: Socioeconomic vulnerability and electric power restoration timelines in Florida: the case of Hurricane Irma
There is a growing understanding that cross‐sector risks faced by critical infrastructure assets in natural disasters require a collaborative foresight from multiple disciplines. However, current contributions to infrastructure interdependency analysis remain centered in discipline‐specific methodologies often constrained by underlying theories and assumptions. Dr. Diana Mitsova‘s perspective article contributes to ongoing discussions about the uses, challenges, and opportunities provided by interdisciplinary research in critical infrastructure interdependency analysis. Read the article
Is the fear of the negative economic effects of traffic congestion justified, or is congestion merely a nuisance with little economic impact? Research by Wesley E. Marshall of the University of Colorado at Denver and FAU’s Eric Dumbaugh was published in Transportation – Planning – Policy – Research – Practice, challenging the assumption that traffic congestion inhibits economic growth and jobs, costing money and driving away business and activity. The research was also featured in Streetsblog Denver | Read the Transportation article
Dr. Louis Merlin published in Transport Policy an article titled “Accessibility analysis for transportation projects and plans.”
We spend billions of dollars on new roadways, but are they making our transportation system work more efficiently? In this paper, Dr. Louis Merlin examines transportation success from two perspectives, firstly, in relation to how fast vehicles are able to travel, and secondly, in relation to how many destinations can be reached. From the perspective of speed, these roadway investments are working; but from the perspective of how many useful destinations can be reached, this study of San Antonio finds that typical radial highway investments may not offer any net benefits. Read the article
In the new Research in Transportation Economics article, Dr. Louis A. Merlin examines whether people who move to the intown infill development of Atlantic Station next to Midtown Atlanta travel differently than if they lived elsewhere in the region. He finds that households living in and near Atlantic Station drive significantly less per day than households elsewhere in the region – 18 fewer miles per day – and use walking, biking, and transit more – for 25.9% of their trips.
The upshot is that well-placed infill development actually can help reduce regional levels of congestion, which may be counter-intuitive to some. Read the article
Steve Bourassa, Director of the School of Urban and Regional Planning, co-authored an article titled “U.S. Metropolitan House Price Dynamics” in the May 2018 issue of the Journal of Urban Economics. The paper uses advanced statistical techniques to explain changes in house prices in metropolitan areas in the United States. He and his co-authors find that aggregate personal income for metropolitan areas is an important determinant of house price dynamics, but the effect of aggregate income is closely related to constraints on the supply of housing. Supply constraints can be topographical or regulatory. His co-authors are Martin Hoesli (University of Geneva, Switzerland) and Elias Oikarinen and Janne Engblom (both at the University of Turku, Finland).
May 17, 2018 – 8:30 am – 11:45 am
Palm Beach County Convention Center
West Palm Beach, FL
Submitted for 3 AICP CM credits
Participants in infrastructure restoration prioritization research took part in a fun, interactive, computer-based exercise at the Florida Governor’s Hurricane Conference.
The “Interdependent Infrastructure Incident” (I3) exercise featured a tabletop (discussion-based) exercise within the framework of a simulated disaster scenario. The purpose of the exercise was to collect data on the behavior and decision process of subject matter experts in disaster recovery.
I-Cube is part of the PRAISys project funded by the NSF CRISP 2 Program
All the best and continued success for our newest MURP graduates. From left to right, Ana Carolina Rocha, Daniel Mantell, (Dr. Louis Merlin), Ben Oliver and Alexis Rosenberg.
On Thursday, May 3, 2018, nearly 300 bachelor students and 140 masters students accepted their diplomas from the College for Design and Social Inquiry at Florida Atlantic University. To all of our students, it has been our pleasure to have you in our classrooms and to watch you grow and learn in your programs.
Whether you are continuing your education or ready to apply your knowledge in the workforce, we look forward to watching your next chapter unfold. Remember that we are here for you and rooting for your success each step along the way.
As Chairman of the FAU Board of Trustees Anthony Barbar said during his undergraduate commencement speech, “It’s now our turn to learn from you.” Be well and best wishes!
Want to explore the degree programs in the College for Design and Social Inquiry at FAU? Call our Academic Advising Team today: (561) 297-2316
The Journal of Environmental Planning Management published Dr. Diana Mitsova’s research on Spatial decision support for nature-based shoreline stabilization options in subtropical estuarine environments.
Related projects include the study, ‘Suitability Analysis for Living Shorelines Development in Southeast Florida’s Estuarine Systems,‘ funded by The Nature Conservancy, and a story map created by The Nature Conservancy in collaboration with the Shoreline Resilience Working Group of the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact.
Elsevier announces the formation of a new section of the international journal Transportation Research D focusing on Disasters and Resilience. This section will be edited by Karl Kim (University of Hawaii), John Renne (Florida Atlantic University) and Brian Wolshon (Louisiana State University).
This section of Transportation Research D will build on the special capabilities and interests of transportation researchers, coming from multiple disciplines, worldwide, to address the critical ways in which transportation science and the supporting theories, methods, and tools can be applied to increase societal resilience against all hazards, both natural and man-made. In addition to the wide range of natural hazards including both geo-physical and hydro-meteorological, the section will also cover industrial accidents, cascading events (where one hazard such as an earthquake can trigger a release of toxins and harmful substances into the environment), and intentional acts of sabotage or terrorism. In each of these disasters and emergencies, transportation plays a significant role. Core concepts such as travel demand modeling, rare event forecasting, activity-based analyses, system performance monitoring, optimization across time and space, mode choice, network analysis, geospatial modeling, and many other methods are appropriate topics for this section.
Interested authors are encouraged to contact section editors or submit manuscripts through EVISE: https://www.evise.com/profile/#/TRD/login
Dr. John L. Renne contributes on NPR’s Here and Now on 12/7/17 talking about Brightline, the private-public partnership, high-speed rail project delivering service to South Florida which relates to his research into rail and economic development. Listen to the interview
SURP’s Dr. Diana Mitsova and other experts presented research on coastal resilience during a King Tide event on board the Lady Atlantic. Read more
Florida Weekly’s Special Report on Planning in Florida featured input from two researchers at FAU’s School of Urban & Regional Planning. Read SURP Director Steven Bourassa’s thoughts on integrating land use and transportation regionally and CUES Director John Renne’s comments on transportation and growth.
As reported in The Guardian, the US spends twice as much on a tax break for the rich as on rent for the poorest. Dr. Steven Bourassa comments on the fact that the US spent $60bn in 2015 on the mortgage interest deduction for wealthy homeowners – while just a quarter of those needing housing assistance receive it. Read the article
How can urban planning students succeed as professionals? FAU Master of Urban and Regional Planning student Conor Campobasso serves as the Manager for Complete Streets and other Localized Initiatives Program (CSLIP) at the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization (Broward MPO). Conor talks about two of the projects he’s worked on and his tips for succeeding in the field of urban planning.
Planners in attendance at APA’s 2017 National Planning Conference answer that question, providing answers that range from improving access to parks to building a sustainable future. Interested in learning more? Visit our programs:
Urban & Regional Planning | Urban Design | Master of Urban & Regional Planning
The Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association Minority Scholarship is meant to celebrate planning and foster increased interest in planning by providing financial support for planning students who are members of underserved ethnic groups and who attend a PAB-accredited planning institution or urban planning program actively seeking PAB accreditation in the state of Florida. Two scholarships are offered: one for $2000 and one for $1500. Learn more and apply here: 2017 Minority Scholarship Application Package
At the 2017 Florida APA Annual Conference in Daytona Beach, SURP faculty member Peter Henn and MURP student Amanda Murray engaged the audience in their session The A-Z of Land Use Law for Planners in 90 Minutes. See the presentation here
Associate professor Eric Dumbaugh, associate director of the Collaborative Sciences Center for Road Safety, was featured in the Fall 2017 issue of Owl Research & Innovation. In partnership with the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Dumbaugh is co-directing this National University Transportation Center with the goal of improving road safety. Read the article
Join us Friday, August 25 for the Fall Kick-Off and Orientation to be held Friday, August 25th from 7 to 9 pm at the Biergarten, 309 Via de Palmas #90, Boca Raton, FL 33432. All new and continuing SURP students, faculty, mentors, and supporters are invited to attend. This will be a great opportunity for students, faculty, and professional planners to interact.
New students will receive an orientation, can meet with continuing students, and also learn about professional planning and student planning organizations (Planning Society @ FAU).
In addition, the event will provide an opportunity for participants in the Mentorship Program to meet. Food and drinks will be provided. We hope to see you there!
Please RSVP so we can cater for the right number of attendees
During Spring Break 2018, Peter Henn will lead FAU Planning Abroad to London to study modern urban planning and design and transportation in a historical city. To secure a spot, students must sign up by December 2017. Limited scholarships to qualified students may be available. Get ready for some fun!
Learn more HERE about FAU Planning Abroad
Apply HERE to Study Abroad by November 30
For more information contact Peter J. Henn, J.D., AICP, Florida Atlantic University’s School of Urban & Regional Planning, at PHenn@FAU.edu or telephone 561-558-3884.
On April 25-26, 2017 CUES partnered with FAU’s Center for Environmental Studies (CES) to offer the inaugural FAU Incubator for Sustainable & Resilient Communities. The cities of Hollywood and West Palm Beach participated, addressing concerns about flooding and aging infrastructure, connectivity and economic development. The FAU Incubator offers leadership and expertise based on best practices and provides guidance on developing implementable plans and policies. Watch the 2-minute video here.
FAU planning students learned about urban planning and design in Vancouver during their Spring Break 2017 FAU Planning Abroad trip led by Peter J. Henn, J.D., AICP. They saw first hand how public art, the opiate crisis, public opinion and other factors can affect the planning process. See photos here >
Access to geospatial data has transformed Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology into one of the most widely-used and comprehensive analytical tools for local governments and city planners. To respond to the growing demand for GIS professionals, the Department of Geosciences jointly with the School of Urban and Regional Planning has developed a 15-credit graduate GIS certificate program. Students can apply the credits earned as part of the certificate towards the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) degree. For more information please see the certificate program’s web page here.
The application window for the Fall 2017 Mentorship Program has now been extended through July 31st. For more information and to apply to participate as a mentor or student mentee, please click here.
Noted transportation expert and University of California, Berkeley, Professor Emeritus Robert Cervero will speak on the the topic of “Active and Smart Mobility: Can They Co-Exist?” at FAU’s Fort Lauderdale campus, April 18th, 2017, from noon to 2 pm. For more information, click here: Robert Cervero Lecture Flyer. Please RSVP here: https://tinyurl.com/cervero.
The College Values Online web site has rated SURP’s Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning program as the 12th best value in the country: http://www.collegevaluesonline.com/rankings/bachelors-urban-regional-planning/.
FAU will receive $1.5 million in total for the next five years from the US Department of Transportation to co-direct the Collaborative Sciences Center for Road Safety, a National University Transportation Center housed at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. This is one of five national centers with the aim to reduce injuries and fatalities on the nation’s roads by providing a new model for understanding and addressing traffic safety issues.
“We are very excited to join forces with the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and our partner universities to work collaboratively to address and improve road safety issues that impact millions of drivers throughout our country,” said Eric Dumbaugh, Ph.D., associate director of the Collaborative Sciences Center for Road Safety, and an associate professor in FAU’s School of Urban and Regional Planning within FAU’s College for Design and Social Inquiry.
Researchers from FAU’s College for Design and Social Inquiry will work with the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Duke University; the University of California, Berkeley; and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville on transportation research, planning, public health, data science and engineering programs related to the Collaborative Sciences Center for Road Safety.
“The establishment of these new designated centers will help to foster novel ideas that will lead and influence the future of transportation safety in the United States through multidisciplinary research, education, collaboration, and technology transfer activities,” said Daniel C. Flynn, Ph.D., FAU’s vice president for research.
The latest issue of the journal Housing Policy Debate is a special issue co-edited by SURP’s John Renne, Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions in the School of Urban and Regional Planning. The issue includes 15 papers focused on how location choices and associated transportation costs affect housing affordability.
SURP Director Steven Bourassa and co-author Martin Hoesli of the University of Geneva have won the “Innovative Thinking Out of the Box” best paper prize for their paper, “High Frequency House Price Indexes with Scarce Data”, presented at the 2016 American Real Estate Society (ARES) Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado. The paper presents a method for calculating house price indexes for small areas, such as city neighborhoods, on a monthly or quarterly basis. The paper is forthcoming in the Journal of Real Estate Literature, which is published by ARES. The prize is sponsored by the Homer Hoyt Institute.
Frank Schnidman, the FAU John M. DeGrove Eminent Scholar Chair in Growth Management and Development, is retiring. Frank began his involvement with FAU and Dr. DeGrove in the late 1970s when they organized seminars and conferences, and in the 1980s when they worked together on significant growth management and platted lands research and publications. In 1987 DeGrove recruited Schnidman to move to Florida and work at the Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems, now the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions (CUES). He has been involved with the Joint Center and CUES, the Institute of Government, and the School of Urban and Regional Planning for most of the past 30 years.
“At 67, it is time to step back and refocus goals and objectives. I hope to work with my co-authors to prepare a comprehensive updated 4th edition of our two-volume 1,600 plus page treatise, Handling the Land Use Case, first published in 1984. I will continue to do consulting regarding redevelopment, and I will spend more time with family.”
SURP thanks Frank for his years of care and nurturing of our planning students and, hopefully, we can have him periodically return to guest lecture!
The School of Urban and Regional Planning is pleased to welcome Bryan McConnell, MBA, who has been appointed Faculty Research Associate and Computer Systems Analyst. He has an MBA in International Business from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and is finishing a second master’s degree in Information Technology and Operations Management. Mr. McConnell joined FAU from the early childhood education industry where he worked in IT support and database management for hundreds of schools geographically dispersed across the US. Prior to education, Mr. McConnell worked in the telecommunications industry with a focus on applications development and database creation. He created and supported applications to enable the company’s primary task of laying fiber optic cables for corporate and residential customers. Mr. McConnell is working to utilize technology to meet the educational needs of students while preparing for technological changes in Urban and Regional Planning.
The School of Urban and Regional Planning is pleased to welcome Louis A. Merlin, who is a new Assistant Professor starting with the Fall 2016 semester. Dr. Merlin draws upon a strong background in Mathematics and Operations Research as well as experience as a professional urban planner in his teaching and research. Dr. Merlin is particularly interested in developing mathematical models that shed insight into pressing urban policy questions.
Dr. Merlin’s educational background includes a BA in Mathematics with Honors from Yale, and National Science Foundation funded graduate work towards Master’s Degrees in Operations Research and in City and Regional Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology. While at Georgia Tech, he was awarded both the Glatting Jackson Student Award and the American Institute of Certified Planners Outstanding Student Award. After a haitus working in professional practice, Merlin earned a doctoral degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina, with his research work funded by the prestigious Royster Society of Fellows.
Professionally, Dr. Merlin’s first full-time job was working in data-mining for the marketing department of a credit card company. Later, after earning his Master’s of City and Regional Planning, he worked as an urban planning consultant for EDAW | AECOM, based out of their Atlanta office. His professional engagements focused on comprehensive planning, redevelopment planning, and corridor planning for local and regional governments throughout the southeastern US. During this time he specialized in data analysis and modeling for EDAW | AECOM, including economic and fiscal impact assessments as well as land use forecasting.
Dr. Merlin’s current research concerns how to better integrate transportation and land use through the development of accessibility-based performance measures and tools, as well as the implications of self-driving cars for the transportation sustainability.
Dr. Merlin is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Louis Merlin, who will join SURP as an assistant professor in August 2016, recently participated in a seminar at the University of Michigan on the ethics of driverless cars. For a video summary of the panel discussion see http://a2ethics.org/humans-discuss-ethics-robot-cars-april-13-2016.
Peter Newman, Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University in Australia, will give a lecture on “The End of Automobile Dependence: How Cities Are Moving Beyond Car-Based Planning” at the Palm Beach Dramaworks Theatre, West Palm Beach, on August 9th, 2016, at 5:30 pm. Please see the attached flyer for more information and registration instructions:
Dr. Diana Mitsova, Associate Professor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning, and four graduate students from the School together studied coastal sites across southern Florida that have been fortified using environmentally friendly alternatives to physical structures. This research, sponsored by The Nature Conservancy, has been incorporated into that organization’s website focused on coastal erosion. For more details and to view Dr. Mitsova’s recent Estuarine Shoreline Suitability for Resilience Projects, click here.
Dr. Steven Bourassa, Director of the School of Urban and Regional Planning, visited the Department of Urban Planning at King Saud University in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in early April 2016. King Saud University was the first university in Saudi Arabia, established in 1957. Dr. Bourassa was chair of a site visit team reviewing the Bachelor of Urban Planning and Design program for the Saudi Arabian national accreditation agency.
This picture shows the three-person accreditation team (Dr. Bourassa is standing in the middle with a dark tie) along with faculty, administrators, and students from the Department of Urban Planning and the College of Architecture and Planning.
Photo courtesy of Greg Maffet.
This webinar, moderated by Dr. John Renne, Director of the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions in the School of Urban and Regional Planning, features the NACTO (National Association of City Transportation Officials) Transit Street Design Guide. The guide shows how transit design can help streets of every size support strong neighborhoods and downtowns. The webinar is available on YouTube.
In this podcast, Dr. John Renne, Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions in the School of Urban and Regional Planning, along with Shima Hamidi of the University of Texas at Arlington and Reid Ewing of the University of Utah, discuss their new article in the journal Housing Policy Debate, titled “How Affordable Is HUD Affordable Housing?” The article focuses on the relationship between transportation costs and affordable housing costs. The podcast is available on the Streetsblog USA web site.
Alexis Peña (center) receiving the 2016 Student Planner of the Year Award at the American Planning Association Florida Chapter Annual Meeting in Tampa. Read more
The School of Urban and Regional Planning is very pleased to welcome John Renne, Ph.D., AICP, who has been appointed Associate Professor. Read more
The title of this year’s trip was “Vancouverism and Eco-Density”. Read more
