Francisco Lara-Valencia Assistant Professor; School of Planning and Department of Geography, Southwest Borderland Scholar, Faculty North American Center for Transborder Studies. Office: AED 73 Phone: 480.965.0496 fcolara@asu.edu

Academic Credentials

PhD	University of Michigan
MA	El Colegio de la Fontera Norte, Mexico
BS	Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Mexico

Research Interests

Francisco's major areas of inquiry include socio-environmental vulnerability, urban health, regional development, binational planning, and the role of community networks on sustainable development. His policy research focuses on issues of equity and efficiency of policy making in the Southwest and the impact of globalization and free trade in urban communities along the US-Mexico border.

Sponsored and Applied Research  

“Urban Growth Patterns Along the U.S.-Mexico Border, The Case of Yuma-San Luis and Ambos Nogales”,  Southwest Center for Environmental Research and Policy, 2006.

“Generation and Management of Hazardous Wastes in Mexican Border Cities: Challenges and Opportunities for Action”. Southwest Center for Environmental Research and Policy, 2005.

“Mexico: Maquila, Environmental Vulnerability and Health”, (In collaboration with the University of Michigan and El Colegio de Sonora) sponsored by the National Health Institute, HEED Program, 2003-2005, US $ 200,000.

“Formacion de una Red para el Fortalecimiento de Capacidades Locales para el Desarrollo Comunitario y el Medio Ambiente: El Proyecto RUECA”, (In collaboration with UCSD), sponsored by the Border PACT/CONAHEC Grants Program, 2001. US$ 15,000.

Links to research and faculty pages

Southwest Borderlands Initiative: http://www.asu.edu/provost/swb/
Center for Latin American Studies: http://www.asu.edu/clas/latin/usmex_border.htm

Bio

Francisco Lara-Valencia, faculty of the School of Planning and of the Southwest Borderland Initiative at ASU, is an urban planner who studies socio-environmental vulnerability, local development, and urban growth along the US-Mexico border. He received his Ph.D. in Urban Planning from The University of Michigan and did graduate (M.A in regional development) and undergraduate work (B.A. in Economics) in Mexico. He worked for more than a decade in border universities in Mexico (COLEF, UABC, COLSON) and has been a Fulbright Scholar and Visiting Fellow in the Center for US-Mexican Studies at UCSD, the University of Arizona, and the University of Texas in Austin. He has lectured in Mexico and the United States where he has taught courses on urban land use planning, urban economics, environmental planning, and research methods for planners.

Curriculum Vitae