Urban Planning, Development & Transportation Research

Research Groups

Earth Research Institute (ERI) — UCSB

Individuals ( * indicates affiliation with ERI)

Keith Clarke
Geography

Dr. Clarke is the author of the SLEUTH land use change model and has overseen a large number of applications and led adaptations and improvements of the model. The model is increasingly used in sustainability planning, in Iran, Turkey, India, Brazil, China, and elsewhere. The model is open source and supported via online discussion forums.

National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis

Kostas Goulias
Geography

Dr. Goulias’ research interests include sustainable and green transportation, as well as human-environment relations. His models and simulations track fuel consumption and pollutants emitted (greenhouse emissions). He has also studied non-motorized transportation, hybrid-electric vehicles, and air pollution control program evaluation.

Trevor Hayton
Chemistry

Dr. Hayton works with a research group on projects involving the synthesis and characterization of new inorganic and organometallic complexes and materials. In 2010, he was awarded a Sloan Fellowship. Dr. Hayton has plans to use the fellowship to further research into uranium mediated catalysis. This research is a part of his exploration into actinide organometallics that will help improve the nuclear fuel cycle and the treatment of nuclear waste.

David Lopez-Carr
Geography

Dr. Lopez-Carr’s research interests include land use, deforestation, rural poverty, and health. He recently conducted a project to try to understand what was causing rapid land change and urban transition in Ghana. Dr. Lopez-Carr analyzed population and health surveys conducted in the region as part of the project. He has additionally researched agricultural intensification in Guatemala and implications for food security in Latin America.

Joe McFadden
Geography

Professor McFadden studies how changes in land cover and land use modify the two-way flows of water, energy, and carbon between ecosystems and the atmosphere. His current work is focused on understanding and modeling these processes in cities and suburbs, with the aim of using that knowledge to inform sustainable urban design and planning.

Dar Roberts
Geography

Dr. Roberts’ research interests include urban ecology and energy balance. He has studied sustainable land use through investigating the impacts of deforestation and pasture degradation and has mapped methane emissions across landscapes. His primary research tool is remote sensing.

UCSB Principal Investigator of the Southern California Wildfire Hazard Center

Stuart Sweeney
Geography

Dr. Sweeney’s research interests include applied statistics and spatial analysis, research methodology, demography, economic geography, and development studies. He recently conducted a study that looked at maize, one of the most economically and culturally important crops produced in Mexico. Dr. Sweeney discovered that changes in the production of this crop, caused by increased market integration and changes in irrigated land use, can impact consumption, livelihood, and food security.

Director of the Institute for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research