About the Authors
Dr. IVONNE AUDIRAC
Professor, Public Affairs and Planning, UTA
Professor Audirac’s research interests are theory-driven and interdisciplinary, focusing on the social, ecological, economic, and policy dimensions of the processes of urbanization and urban development. She does collaborative international comparative research regarding globalization and urban restructuring resulting in shrinking cities—a 21st-century perspective on urban decline, re-development, and city resilience. She is a founding member of the Shrinking Cities International Research Network (SCIRN)—an international group of planning scholars and urbanists from across five continents. She has also conducted sponsored research on environment-behavior responses to non-motorized mobility in automobile-dependent urban areas and on aspects of universal design and public transit. Other foci of her research relate to information technology, urban form, and smart growth and to rural sustainable development. She has taught courses in planning history and theory, hypermobility and emerging urban mobilities, emphasizing sustainable and equitable transportation solutions.
Contributing Authors
Amber Raley
Ph.D. Student, Urban Planning & Public Policy, UTA
Amber Raley is a Ph.D. student in Planning at UTA and conducting her dissertation research on OER-enabled classes. In addition, she teaches courses in the Environmental and Sustainability Studies and Urban and Public Affairs minors at UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA). Her current research focuses on the Atlanta BeltLine as seen through the lens of sustainability and is informed by her background in consulting and industrial-organizational psychology (MA, Rice University) and Urban Planning and Public Policy (UTA).
Jenifer Reiner
Ph.D. Student, Urban Planning & Public Policy, UTA
Jenifer is an urban planner who has demonstrated her dedication to the field through her professional practice and educational pursuits. She has an extensive background as the lead planner for various community development projects. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. while also serving as an instructor at the University of Texas at Arlington. Her research is focused on addressing complex urban challenges, with a special emphasis on regulatory environments and housing issues.
Soheil Sharifi-Asl
Ph.D. Student, Urban Planning & Public Policy, UTA
Soheil is a Ph.D. student and graduate research assistant at the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs. Holding a master’s and bachelor’s degree in urban planning from the University of Tehran and completing his dissertations in transportation, Soheil is interested in urban transport, transportation equity, transportation infrastructure planning, public transit planning and modeling, transportation big data, and statistical models.
