Our Experts

Doug Houston

Dr. Douglas Houston focuses on the environmental and health implications of urban development and transportation systems. He is interested in how the distribution of opportunity and environmental risk is related to urban form and activity patterns, and in developing and evaluating planning and policy strategies to address the harmful impacts of the built environment and to promote livable communities. His recent work draws from the fields of urban planning, environmental health sciences, and public health to assess the environmental and land use implications of vehicle-related air pollution for urban inhabitants who occupy areas near major roadways, with a focus on community impacts in goods movement corridors near the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and downtown Los Angeles. This work has received support from the California Air Resources Board, the University of California Transportation Center, and the California Endowment and uses activity surveys and real-time location and pollution tracking techniques to develop highly-revolved insights into activity and exposure patterns and environmental perceptions which can be used to develop land use, housing and transportation policies that more effectively mitigate near-roadway air pollution hazards for diverse and low-income communities. Professor Houston’s work also examines the extent to which neighborhoods with high densities, mixed land use patterns, high street connectivity, and transit accessibility can help encourage more active lifestyles and decrease household vehicle miles traveled and associated vehicle greenhouse gas emissions.