The Urban Form Lab
Housed within the Department of Urban Design and Planning, the UFL provides an environment for research about cities, towns, and suburbs. The focus of the research is on the physical and spatial components of human habitats, based on research methods derived from interdisciplinary approaches in urban morphology and people-environment relations. We use a scalar approach to the physical world of human habitats that is applied to both space and time. The spatial extents of our research span from buildings, streets, blocks, districts, cities, to entire metropolitan regions. Lots or parcels are the basic spatial units of data collection and analysis considered. Time scales usually vary from several years to centuries.

Misison
Urban morphological methods rest on the concept that environments made by humans are socio-physical entities. Social, cultural, and economic processes first shape these environments, and then, once in place, these environments in turn shape behavior and culture. Considering urban form over time gives the physical environment a dynamic dimension, allowing the researcher to address questions that address not only what urban forms are, but how these forms are produced and why.

Projects
Current research projects at the UFL include: probing associations between non SOV transportation and urban form, and between physical activity (walking and biking) and environments, land supply monitoring for infill and redevelopment, compact development patterns in suburban areas, the development of housing typologies. Many of the projects involve faculty in other departments of the University. They are always developed in close collaboration with sponsors in various agencies.

• Transit Stations Communities Project (Evaluation Component)
• Transportation Efficient Land Use and Development Patterns
• Pedestrian Safety and Transit Corridors
• Auditing Communities for Walkability and Bikability

For more information on the Urban Form Lab, see:
http://faculty.washington.edu/moudon/research.html