Laura Dedenbach

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Instructional Assistant Professor // Graduate Coordinator,
(352) 294-1493
ARCH 466

Ph.D., Design, Construction and Planning, University of Florida, 2016
•Concentration: Urban and Regional Planning
•Graduate Minor: Anthropology
Master of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning, University of Florida, 1999
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, University of Florida, 1996

Areas of Focus:
Sustainability
Social equity, or people, is one of the pillars of sustainability. My research focuses on dimensions of social equity, community resilience, and empowerment at the neighborhood level, particularly related to place-based narratives and the interface with public policy and neighborhood planning.

Bio:
Dr. Dedenbach received her master’s in urban and regional planning and doctorate in urban and regional planning, with a graduate minor in anthropology, from UF. Her research interests include crime prevention and the built environment, urban resilience, neighborhood planning, empowerment, effects of gentrification on neighborhood culture and stability, land use and comprehensive planning, and issues of land use compatibility. Dr. Dedenbach is currently engaged in research and service-learning projects in Gainesville and Atlanta. 

Dr. Dedenbach teaches classes in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, including:

  • URP 4000, Preview to Urban and Regional Planning
  • URP 4740, Housing and Urban Development
  • URP 4882, Defensible Space and CPTED in Urban Design
  • URP 4905, Neighborhood Planning

She also teaches a Quest 1 course: IDS 2935, “This Must Be the Place”: Place-based Narratives and Community Identity.

Prior to joining the URP Faculty in 2019 as a Lecturer and Undergraduate and Graduate Coordinator, Dr. Dedenbach was a practicing planner with over 23 years of experience, specializing in comprehensive planning, policy and development planning, and small town and rural planning, as well as being a recognized expert witness on planning and zoning issues by local governments, the Florida Department of Administrative Hearings, and Circuit, Appeals, and Federal courts. She has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) since 2001. 

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