I am an Associate Professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Delaware. I have an undergraduate degree in Architecture from India, graduate degrees in Urban and Regional Planning and Environmental Science from the Ohio State University, and a doctoral degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan. My research interests are at the nexus of public policy and urban planning in the broad areas of land use planning, regional planning and cooperation, growth management, and sustainability.

My research specifically focuses on

• the role of collaborative governance (including community engagement) on land use issues,
• the role of plans and ordinances in climate adaptation and shaping the built and natural environments,
• the effectiveness of smart growth and growth management programs

Much of the research I conduct is “engaged research” where the research is co-produced with community or policy stakeholders to better enable direct impacts on the ground.

I am also the Review Editor of the Journal of Planning Education and Research and the Associate Director of the Sociotechnical Systems Center (SSC) at the University of Delaware

I run two research groups:

The Sustainable Places Research (SUPER) group

The Living Lab Research group See: https://living-lab-1-udel.hub.arcgis.com