Lauren Ames Fischer, Ph.D., assistant professor of urban and regional planning and director of research for the Rudy Bruner Center for Urban Excellence, has consulted on local area and neighborhood plans, conducted research on the impact of land use and infrastructure policies on social equity, and implemented community planning initiatives. Broadly, her scholarship leverages the planning and management of infrastructure systems to understand structural power dynamics in public decision-making. A significant portion of Dr. Fischer’s research focuses on the relationship between transportation and urban development. This includes projects on racial equity in transit-oriented development, gender equity in transit planning, and the role of transit financing strategies in neighborhood change. Her research has been featured in the Journal of the American Planning Association, the Journal of Planning Education and Research, Transportation Research Record and the Journal of Landscape and Urban Planning, among others. 

Using community-oriented protocols, Dr. Fischer regularly collaborates with local governments and advocacy organizations to reform infrastructure investment practices in ways that enhance equity and sustainability. In 2023, her team’s Healthy Infrastructure Plan, a collaboration with the city of Lewisville, Texas, was recognized with three awards: the Celebrating Leadership in Development Excellence (CLIDE) from the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the Environmental Planning Gold Award from Texas APA and the Excellence in Planning Award from the Texas Recreation and Parks Society. The project is used in teaching and community education initiatives throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth region, ranging from high school environmental science courses to graduate seminars.   

Dr. Fischer’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy and the Environmental Defense Fund, among others. In 2024, she was recognized as outstanding educator of the year by the Texas Recreation and Parks Society for her work on community education and environmental equity. Dr. Fischer earned her graduate degree in urban planning from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation where she also completed a National Science Foundation IGERT fellowship in Sustainable Urban Design. 

• PhD, Columbia University
• MS, DePaul University
• BA, Indiana University