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Larissa Larsen
Chair of Urban and Regional Planning; Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning
Larissa Larsen is an associate professor in the Urban and Regional Planning Program (URP) at the University of Michigan.
She teaches graduate classes in environmental planning, land use planning, and physical planning and design. Larissa is the Physical Planning and Design Concentration Coordinator for the Master of Urban Planning Program. She regularly oversees community-based projects in Detroit neighborhoods, working collaboratively with neighborhood-based organizations.
Larsen’s research focuses on identifying environmental inequities, specifically environmental justice issues in low-income neighborhoods. Some of her past research has examined the disproportionate burden of urban heat islands on lower income neighborhoods, urban water sustainability, and neighborhood mobilization against environmental problems. Most of her current work investigates 1) the health impact of urban heat islands, 2) air pollution in Detroit, and 3) land use and storm water planning in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Detroit, Michigan.
Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; M.L.A. and B.S. University of Guelph
Faculty Projects
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Evaluating the Effectiveness of Bioretention Rain Gardens in Removing Pollutants Associated with Tire Dumping and Roadside Pollution The project: Environmental justice research has shown that low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, such as those in Southwest Detroit, are more likely to experience higher levels of pollution. In Southwest Detroit, residential and commercial areas are in close proximity to ongoing heavy industries and high-volume transportation corridors, increasing concerns about the local air and […]