Penn IUR faculty fellow John Landis analyzed 25 years of land use, transportation, energy, and water conservation efforts across the United States.
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A new report by Penn Institute for Urban Research faculty fellow John Landis offers a comprehensive assessment of how well state and local governments have advanced sustainable development over the past quarter century. This is the first study to combine sprawl, auto and transit use, energy conservation, and renewable energy production all together within a common performance assessment framework.
The report highlights how states and localities have pursued different approaches to common challenges, revealing why some places consistently outperform others and what lessons policymakers can apply in their own communities.
“States truly are America’s laboratories of democracy,” says Landis, professor emeritus of city and regional planning at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design. “The report asks a simple but important question: after decades of experimentation in land use, transportation, energy, and water policy, where have we actually moved the needle? The answers here point to practical strategies that could help communities become more resource-efficient while expanding opportunity.”
On the move: Water quality and antimicrobial resistance testing goes mobile
Penn researchers have developed a mobile field laboratory allowing them to test water quality and track antimicrobial resistance in and around San Cristóbal in the Galápagos.
Penn researchers Vanessa and Alexis North are studying one of the largest collections of Egyptian blue objects ever found in the ancient Near East, shedding new light on how the world’s first synthetic pigment may have traveled far beyond Egypt.
A new role for dental providers? Rethinking where vaccines are given
Vaccinations have traditionally been administered in primary care settings or pharmacies. However, for about a decade, some states have authorized dentists to administer vaccines, and many others did so during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effectiveness of this approach has led some countries and states to expand or consider expanding the role of dental providers in delivering routine vaccines, including those against COVID-19 and the human papillomavirus (HPV), and in providing vaccine education.
Penn student develops a way for computer chips to run more efficiently
Fluid Silicon, a platform from President’s Sustainability Prize winner Nhlanhla Mavuso, allows computer chips to continuously monitor their health and self-tune as their characteristics change. The technology has the potential to reduce energy usage in data centers and improve reliability in mission-critical applications.
