Institute of Urban Studies

For More Information

Learn more about the IUS and how to contribute by contacting Wanna Smith, Coordinator at (817) 272-2139 or Alan Klein, Director at (817) 272-9237

Email Wanna Smith Email Alan Klein

MISSION

The Institute of Urban Studies (IUS) is the principal research center for the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Arlington. Originally established in 1967 by an act of the Texas Legislature, the Institute’s mandated mission is to conduct research and provide technical assistance to city and county governments, governmental agencies, and non-profit organizations, and to offer education and teaching opportunities to individuals either already in or contemplating public service careers.

IMPACT

For over fifty years, communities and community organizations across Texas, many with limited funding available for discretionary services, have benefitted from access to technical assistance at modest cost through IUS.

  • More than 240 projects since 1969
  • More than 100 communities and organizations involved
  • 8 state agency projects
  • 4 federal agency projects
  • 33 economic development projects
  • 7 comprehensive plans
  • 7 APA awards
  • Hundreds of graduate student alumni

RESEARCH INTEREST

The institute conducts research into critical issues affecting people and the places they live. Working with faculty across CAPPA, UTA, and beyond, the Institute has recently researched:

  • Transportation and Housing Affordability
  • Measures of Urban Walkability
  • DFW Water Withdrawal Categories

Other areas of research interest include:

  • Comprehensive Planning
  • Strategic Planning
  • Parks and Open Space Planning
  • Land Use and Transportation
  • Community Development Tools
  • “Missing Middle” Housing

LEADERSHIP

Maria Martinez-Cosio

Interim Dean

Professor of Public Affairs

Public Affairs and Planning

Email: mcosio@uta.edu

Phone #: (817) 272-9343

Alan Klein

Director, Institute of Urban Studies

Alan klein

Email: alan.klein@uta.edu

Phone #: 817-235-8558

Office: CAPPA 103D

Wanna Smith

Coordinator of Special Programs (IUS)

Wanna Smith

Email: wanna.smith@uta.edu

Phone #: 817-272-2139

Office: CAPPA 103C

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

The Institute offers unparalleled opportunities for students to engage in cutting edge research, creative collaboration, and service to communities across Texas. Working with faculty, staff, and the professional community in one of the most dynamic urban environments in the nation, IUS students explore subjects that span the breadth and depth of the modern city. Specific research and service project areas include sustainable development, transportation and transit, local and regional economic development, public health and the built environment, and many more.

CURRENT GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSOCIATES

       
 Amruta Sakalker  Nusrat Jahan Nipu  Kathleen Stanford  Padmi Ranasinghe

News

The Institute of Urban Studies (IUS) project team of Kathleen Stanford, Padmi Ranasinghe, and Nusrat Jahan Nipu, under the supervision of IUS Director Alan Klein, had their poster proposal accepted for inclusion in the American Planning Association's National Planning Conference's (NPC21) educational program.

The poster titled: Remote Engagement & Participation Strategies During COVID-19, showcases new remote engagement techniques utilized by IUS to target underrepresented populations in the planning process. The poster will be transformed into an online course within APA Learn, and the team will receive a certificate and acknowledgment of publication in APA Learn.

The Institute of Urban Studies is collaborating with the City of Gunter, Texas to develop a strategic plan for the City and its departments. Gunter, Texas is a general law city with 1,857 residents as of 2020. Located in rapidly growing Grayson County, near the current northern terminus of the Dallas North Tollway, Gunter seeks to prepare its city government to deal with the many expected challenges future growth will bring. As part of the plan development, Institute graduate student personnel will conduct an environmental scan of the city and surrounding region, including numerous one on one stakeholder interviews. A full day planning retreat will culminate the process. Over its 53 year history, the Institute of Urban Studies has conducted strategic planning efforts throughout Texas and internationally. IUS has previously worked with the City of Gunter, providing board and commission training for its city leaders.
Amruta Sakalker (UPPP Ph.D. Student), Alan Klein (Director of the IUS), and Dr. Joowon Im (Assistant Professor in Planning & Landscape Architecture) received the NITC Education Grant to collaborate with City Lab High School for the proposal titled "GIS training in Transportation and Environmental justice for promoting student success in STEAM."

The research team will collaborate with Oswaldo Rivera-Ortiz and other teachers at the City Lab High School to create a unique pilot introductory ArcGIS course that connects transportation planning, environmental justice, and design, utilizing locations along Trinity River as case study.

The GIS analyses and findings from the lab course will help students formulate a program for their planning and design studios that addresses transportation and environmental justice issues of accessibility around the Trinity river. The pilot course aims to demonstrate the inter-disciplinary relationship between transportation planning, sustainability, and architecture to students with future trajectories in transportation and related fields.

Nusrat Nipu received a Merit Award in the 2021 Texas ASLA Student Design Competition. Studio V Project named "Spark of the Light" was presented at the Awards Luncheon on April 29, 2021Galveston, Texas

 

IUS would like to recognize Amruta Sakalker, Alan Klein, and Meghna Tare for submitting project "Upper Trinity River Water Quality Report Card" for the 2020 RCE North Texas Award and received Honorable Mention for its role in contributing to SDG6: Clean Water and Sanitation.

This award is given annually to RCEs that have made outstanding contributions to address local, sustainable development challenges in their regions.