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Urban Issues

David Lanegran

Urban Studies/Human Geography/Flooding/ Riverfront Development

Geography Department

Lanegran is a expert on urban development and planning issues, the history of the Twin Cities and the Iron Range area of Minnesota. He is also a resource on riverfront development in St. Paul. He has published several books and articles and is working on a book examining the residential patterns of the Twin Cities. He is the co-author of Grand Avenue: The Renaissance of an Urban Street. He teaches courses in human and urban geography. In addition, Lanegran is former president of the National Council for Geographic Education, serves as coordinator for the Minnesota Geography Alliance, which administers programming for K-12 geography teachers and students in the state, and is president of Minnesota Lankmarks. He also serves as Macalester's dean of social sciences.

George Latimer

Urban Issues/Affordable Housing/Politics

Urban Studies Program

Latimer, a former St. Paul mayor, is one of the country's leading authorities on urban issues such as affordable housing, jobs, urban development and poverty. He is interested in public-private partnerships that encourage growth and development of affordable housing. He is also interested in welfare reform and is a member of the Urban Institute's Policy Advisory Board on Assessing the New Federalism. He serves on the advisory panel of the Robert Wood Johnson National Urban Health Initiative which is addressing the welfare of children in five U.S. cities. In addition, he is the former CEO of the Chicago-based National Equity Fund, which organizes partnerships among corporations that invest in affordable rental housing developed by nonprofit groups. Latimer also served as a top aide to the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Sarah West

Environmental and Urban Economics/Public Finance Economics Department

West specializes in public, environmental and urban economic policies and issues. Her research on using market incentives to control car pollution was funded by the Public Policy Institute of California. West is also interested in congestion, policies to contain urban sprawl and water management. She is developing courses on environmental and natural resource economics, public finance issues including taxation and social expenditures as well as urban economic policies.