Dr. Frank is a Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at the University of California, San Diego. He specializes in the interaction between land use, travel behavior, air quality, health, energy use, and climate change impacts of urban form policies. He is a “walkability pioneer” and was first to quantify connections between built environment, active transportation, and health. He coined the term “walkability” in the early 90s, and his work led to WalkScore and has been cited over 60,000 times. His citation “H” Index is 106 and highest among planning and transportation policy academics in North America (and globally) according to Google Scholar.
He is listed in Thompson and Reuter’s top 1% in the social sciences. Dr. Frank has published over 200 peer reviewed articles and co-authored Heath and Community Design and Urban Sprawl and Public Health, mapping the nexus between built and natural environments, transportation, and public health.
Dr. Frank founded Urban Design 4 Health, Inc. in the late 90s to help decision makers.
