Land Use

The evolution of the built environment – buildings, infrastructure, and open spaces – is attributable in profound ways to transportation, energy, and housing policies, and other public policies that influence land use spatial and temporal patterns.  Local and regional land use patterns alter the natural environment’s capacity to provide essential ecosystem services – including clean air and water, food, and fiber.  Research by this cluster seeks to inform public policies that directly – and indirectly – shape the built environment.  These include capital investment decisions (e.g., transportation and utility systems) and growth management initiatives (e.g., building codes, zoning ordinances, green space acquisition).

Evidence-based public policy requires research on the costs and benefits of the incentives and disincentives that shape investment in buildings, infrastructure, and open space.  With expertise in land-use planning, demography, and economics, this cluster’s faculty evaluates social, economic, legal, and environmental implications of land use across the urban to rural continuum.  The cluster helps foster sustainable solutions to critical land use policy challenges, including water and air pollution, traffic congestion, energy efficiency, and climate change.