He specializes in the areas of transportation and economic development, development strategy and spatial planning in globalization, and public finance and land policy. His research focuses principally on “spatial” and “financial” matters to increase city-regions’ global competitiveness and local livability. He is a Lead Author of WG III Chapter 12: Human Settlements, Infrastructure and Spatial Planning for the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He earned his Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley.