Urban and Regional Planning

Zhaoxi Zhang

Zhaoxi Zhang

Urban and Regional Planning
Assistant Professor
AH 450
zhang.zhaoxi@ufl.edu

Ph.D., Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Denmark, 2022
M.A., Architecture (Urban Design), Tongji University, China, 2018

Areas of Focus

  • Sensor-based measurement for urban health
  • Human exposure to eye-level urban features (e.g., greenery)
  • Urban agent for participatory intelligence
  • 3D virtual simulation and human decision-making
  • Urban robotics and street transition
  • Technology-forward mixed-methods in public realm

Biography

Zhaoxi Zhang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Florida’s College of Design, Construction and Planning. Her research focuses on the intersection of the built environment, human health and technology. This involves leveraging interdisciplinary knowledge and cutting-edge tools to build capacity for socio-technical transitions and dynamics. Her current research focuses on ‘human-computer-environment’ interaction in participatory design and planning. She works on developing new tools and methods to measure human-level evidence, gather public opinion, and study human decision-making processes for health-priority urban design and a smart future.

Over the past decade, Dr Zhang’s work has focused on the following areas: 1) human perceptions, behaviors, physical activities and environmental exposures in public spaces; 2) using sensor-based measurements to assess the health effects of urban features on humans; 3) urban AI agents for participatory planning and urban governance; 4) human decision-making in urban disasters and environmental challenges.

Prior to UF, Dr. Zhang was a faculty fellow at the Center for Urban Science + Progress (CUSP) at NYU Tandon from 2023 to 2025. Her previous research projects at NYU CUSP focus on innovations for human-environment interaction, such as sensor-supported monitoring of urban stress, AI chatbots for public participation, and VR-enhanced disaster preparedness. Her previous teaching courses included Urban Decision Models, Guided Studies, and Capstone Projects, as well as a PhD Colloquium.

Previously, she completed her PhD project ‘Urban Health Sensing’ in the Big Data Center for Environment and Health (BERTHA) at Aarhus University, Denmark in 2022 and joined the United Nations Internship Program at UN-Habitat, Nairobi office, working on global urban health strategies in 2023.

Currently, Dr. Zhang’s courses at UF include: 1) URP 6871 – Planning and Design I; 2) URP6280 – 3D Geospatial Urban Modelling & Visualization

Opportunities

Zhaoxi Zhang is leading the Urban Tech & Design (UTD) Laboratory at the University of Florida and is recruiting doctoral students. For more information, please visit https://www.urbanzzhaoxi.com/team.

Publications

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Vivian Wong

Vivian Wong

M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management
Assistant Professor
352-846-7051
AH 446
vivian.wong@ufl.edu

Publications

Google Scholar

Biography

Vivian Wong holds a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering and a minor in Computer Science from Stanford University, with research interests in the interface of data-driven methods and urban systems. Her research combines spatio-temporal analysis with practical implementations to manage the flow of people, goods and services in space and through time, with the overarching goal of establishing a safe, efficient and inclusive urban societal system. She received her bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from UIUC in 2017 and her master’s in Civil Engineering from Stanford in 2019.

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Changjie Chen

Changjie Chen

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Assistant Scientist
AH 160
chj.chen@ufl.edu

Changjie is a planner and statistician whose research emphasis is directed at the simulation of future land-use scenarios and transportation modeling by integrating spatial analytics, High-Performance Computing (HPC), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms.

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Xingjing Xu

Xingjing Xu

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Research Assistant Scientist
352-295-8799
AH 416
axuxinjing@ufl.edu

University of Florida, PhD Urban Planning, 2021
University of Florida, M.S. Statistics, 2019
Bauhaus University, M.S. Advanced Urbanism, 2014
Tongji University, Master of Engineering, Urban Planning, 2014
Tongji University, Bachelor of Engineering, Urban Planning and Design, 2011

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RESEARCH AREAS

• Transportation safety
• Geospatial analysis
• Urban planning and design
• Automation of GIS

BIO

Xingjing Xu has joined the University of Florida Department of Urban and Regional Planning in 2022 as a Research Assistant Scientist. She has extensive experience in transportation safety analysis and geospatial techniques in urban planning and design. Her research work includes transportation safety studies and automated GIS application developments.

She received her Ph.D. with a concentration in urban planning and a Master of science in statistics from University of Florida. She also holds a Bachelor and a Master of Engineering in urban planning and design from Tongji University. She worked as an urban planner at Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning & Design Institute, and her practitioner work includes urban design and ecocity technologies.

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Kyle Dost

Kyle Dost

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Instructional Assistant Professor
352-294-1486
AH 441
kyledost@ufl.edu

• Ph.D., University of Florida, Currently Pursuing
• Master of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Florida, 2017
• Bachelor of Science in Environmental Policy and Planning, Virginia Tech University, 2015

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Kyle is faculty with the University of Florida’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning where he serves as Program Director for the Master of Urban and Regional Planning online degree program. His role involves strategic program administration, fiscal management, and direct engagement with students through advising, internship placement, and professional development. He teaches URP 3001, Cities of the World, and leads students on international study abroad experiences.

Kyle is AICP certified and currently serves as Professional Development Officer for the Sun Coast section of the American Planning Association. He has hosted a variety of professional events for the Section, including AICP trivia and webinars as well as a webinar on Artificial Intelligence in Planning.

His primary areas of knowledge include planning education, natural resource management, international development, and community resilience. He holds a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Florida and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Policy and Planning from Virginia Tech.

Kyle is currently pursuing his doctorate at University of Florida.

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Shenhao Wang

Shenhao Wang

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Assistant Professor
AH 434
shenhaowang@ufl.edu

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Ph.D. Computer and Urban Science,
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), M.S. Transportation and Master City Planning,
• Peking University, B.A. Economics,
• Tsinghua University, B.A. Architecture and Law, Master in Architecture, 2012

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Shenhao Wang is an assistant professor and the director of the Urban AI Laboratory at the University of Florida. He investigates three research themes in intelligent individual decisions, spatiotemporal urban dynamics, and computational urban justice. The first theme focuses on the individual decisions by integrating discrete choice models and deep learning with wide urban applications in the choice of travel modes, residential locations, and urban activities. The second theme treats cities as an interrelated system. By integrating network theory and deep learning, it quantifies the spatiotemporal dynamics between people and places, thus facilitating the design of resilient and sustainable urban systems. The third research theme focuses on the normative aspect of urban science by enhancing transparency, accountability, and fairness of the urban machine intelligence to achieve broad social impacts. With the theoretical innovations and practical impacts, the lab seeks to create a more sustainable, intelligent, and equitable urban future with artificial intelligence. His research has been funded by Department of Energy (DOE), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), and industrial partners. Dr. Wang completed his interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Computer and Urban Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2020. He received B.A. in Economics from Peking University (2014) and B.A. in architecture and law from Tsinghua University (2011), Master of Science in Transportation, and Master of City Planning from MIT (2017).

Research Areas
• Urban science
• Deep learning
• Choice modeling
• Urban mobility
• Network analysis

Links

  1. Urban AI Lab: http://urbanailab.com/
  2. Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=01AmQ8wAAAAJ&hl=en

PUBLICATIONS
·      S. Wang, Q. Wang and J. Zhao*. “Deep neural networks for choice analysis: Extracting complete economic information for interpretation”, Transportation research part C: emerging technologies, 118: 102701
·      S. Wang and J. Zhao*. “Risk preference and adoption of autonomous vehicles.” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 126, 215-229.
·      D. Zhuang, S. Wang*, H. Koutsopoulos, and J. Zhao, “Uncertainty quantification of sparse trip demand prediction with spatial-temporal graph neural networks”, (Proceedings of the 28th ACM SIGKDD International Conference on Knowledge Discovery & Data Mining)
·      S. Cranenburgh*, S. Wang, A. Vij, F. Pereira, and J. Walker, “Choice modeling in an age of machine learning – discussion paper”, (Journal of Choice Modeling: 100340)
·      Y. Zheng, S. Wang*, and J. Zhao, “Equality of opportunity in travel demand prediction with deep neural networks and discrete choice models”, Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies. 132: 103410.

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Cleary Larkin

Cleary Larkin

Historic Preservation Program
Assistant Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning // Director, Historic Preservation Program, Center for World Heritage Research & Stewardship, Preservation Institutes Nantucket (PIN) & St. Augustine (PISA)
(352) 294-1438
AH 148
clarkin@ufl.edu

For program or degree interest: HPinfo@dcp.ufl.edu

Cleary Larkin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban & Regional Planning and Director of the Historic Preservation Program. Her coursework focuses on history and theory of historic preservation, historic preservation planning and policy, and the intersections of historic preservation with contemporary challenges such as climate change, social justice and affordable housing. Dr. Larkin’s research interests include interdisciplinary practice; historic land-use decisions as a source of inequity in communities; and the evolution of historic preservation as a discipline. Current research projects include Resilient Landscape and Building Adaptation of the DeMesa Sanchez House (PISA), Florida’s Green Book Sites, and multiple projects for PIN, including Heritage and Housing for Nantucket, Intangible Heritage at Risk, the West Monomoy/New Guinea neighborhood survey, and the Main Street Material History & Streetscapes Assessment.

Prior to her role as Director of UF’s Historic Preservation program, Dr. Larkin was Program Coordinator for the newly formed Florida Resilient Cities (FRC) program at UF’s Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER). The first FRC project focused on sustainable recovery and growth of Port St. Joe, a historic mill town in the Florida panhandle, damaged by Hurricane Michael in 2018. Dr. Larkin continues to work with the African American community in North Port St. Joe as they focus on community revitalization and resilience.

Cleary Larkin has over twenty years of practitioner experience as a licensed architect, historian and preservation planner. She has worked for Frazier Associates in Staunton, Virginia, Beyer Blinder Belle, Architects & Planners in New York City and as Historic Preservation Planner for the City of Gainesville, Florida. She is an advisory member of Gainesville Modern and sits on the Board of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Arkansas, a Master of Science in Historic Preservation from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. with a concentration in Urban & Regional Planning from the University of Florida.

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Erik Finlay

Erik Finlay

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Assistant Scholar, GeoPlan Center
352-392-8686
AH 131
erik3621@ufl.edu

Erik Finlay is an Assistant Scholar at the University of Florida GeoPlan Center. As an experienced geospatial professional, Erik supports research, teaching, and service at the Center. His research focuses on geospatial analysis, data management, and the development of decision-support tools for projects related to public health, transportation, and environmental and urban planning. 

Erik completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography and Master of Public Health degree at the University of Florida, as well as a Certificate in Spatial Analysis for Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. With his background in GIS and public health, Erik serves as a key team member on health-related geospatial projects at the Center. This work has led to several successful collaborations with UF faculty in the health sciences.

Erik is also an instructor and program advisor for the Online Graduate Certificate in GIS for Urban and Regional Planners at the University of Florida. As lead instructor for URP6278: Web Mapping and Visualization, Erik teaches concepts, techniques, and software for sharing and displaying geographic information on the web. He is also guest instructor for URP6275: Intermediate Planning Information Systems, and earned a “UF 2019 Exemplary Online Award” for his contribution to the course. 

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Sam Palmer

Sam Palmer

Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Assistant Scholar, GeoPlan Center
352-392-3246
AH 131
sam@geoplan.ufl.edu

It is with great pleasure that we introduce Sam Palmer, an Assistant Scholar and full time faculty since 2017, at the University of Florida – GeoPlan Center. Sam joined the Center as a research assistant in 2000, then became a full time employee in 2003. He earned a BS in Environmental Science in 1999 then MA in Urban and Regional Planning in 2003, both degrees from the University of Florida. 

Sam is an experienced geospatial professional that supports research, teaching, and service at the Center. He assists the Center’s Principal Investigators in management of funded research projects using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). He works closely with faculty, researchers, project sponsors, and external organizations to identify and assess geospatial problems, develop solutions, and present recommendations for resolution. 

Sam’s work at the Center spans a variety of topics, such as:

  • Geospatial data development, quality assurance/quality control of geospatial data, schema development, optimization of database performance, import and backup of data, and creation of database code to facilitate work flows within the database.
  • Administration and maintenance of enterprise geospatial databases to support funded research projects.
  • Collection, organization, and analysis of demographic data from the United States Census Bureau.
  • Assisting with administration of the ESRI Campus Site License for the University GIS community, including communication with campus GIS users (faculty, staff, and students).
  • Develop curriculum and teach courses for the Online Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems
  • Coordinate with public health researchers across campus to add demographic and geospatial expertise to their research projects.
  • Serve on the board for Florida Urban and Regional Information Systems (FLURISA) to coordinate and promote GIS activities around the State.

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