Our urbanization research examines the complex patterns and dynamics that characterize the matrix of interaction between human and natural systems in cities. Water, air, nutrient cycling, climate, land-use, flora and fauna are all affected by human factors such as economic activity, building and landscape practices, transportation, demography, population growth, resource use, and political and social organization. And the natural systems, in turn, limit and direct human systems. We study the drivers of and responses to change among and between these systems, at scales ranging from local to global.

Central Arizona–Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER)
Through interdisciplinary projects integrating natural sciences, social science, and engineering, CAP LTER examines the effects of urbanization on a desert ecosystem and vice versa.

Decision Center for a Desert City
This Center studies the decision processes used to plan and manage water resources and urbanization.

Decision Theater
The Decision Theater is an immersive, interactive, 3D-visualization facility for collaborative decision making.

Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) in Urban Ecology
This training program in urban ecology prepares young scientists to be flexible, adept at linking science with social issues, work collaboratively, that they might apply interdisciplinary knowledge in the world of tomorrow.

Arizona Water Institute
The Water Institute builds economic opportunity in Arizona by improving access to water information, assisting communities and local governments with technology transfer, and helping water-related industries.

National Center of Excellence (NCE) on SMART Innovations for Urban Climate and Energy
The NCE was founded to become the premier national laboratory for developing the next generation of Sustainable Materials and Renewable Technologies (SMART).

Sustainability Partnership
The Sustainability Partnership engages local and state policy-makers, resource managers, and industry leaders in planning for sustainable urban growth, social and economic development, resource management, and environmental protection.

100 Cities Project
This project uses remote-sensing technology to detect patterns of urbanization and their environmental consequences in 100 cities across the globe.

Urbanization and Global Environmental Change
This collaborative project is building greater knowledge and understanding of the bidirectional interactions between global environmental change and cities, present at local, regional, and global scales, and integrating the work of decision makers, practitioners, and academic researchers.

Social Dynamics of Environmental Equity
This interdisciplinary case study is investigating the spatial and temporal dynamics of environmental-equity patterns and processes in Baltimore, a large, postindustrial city that has undergone profound socioeconomic change.

Greater Phoenix 2100
GP2100 is a network of ASU and community researchers dedicated to using knowledge to create better lives for future generations.

Urban Atmosphere Project
The "Urban Air" project studies the exchange of chemical elements between land and atmosphere in urban systems.

Agrarian Landscapes in Transition: A Cross-Scale Approach
This project traces the effects of the introduction, spread, and abandonment of agriculture at six long-term ecological research sites.

Mediterranean Landscape Dynamics Project
This project examines long-term socioecological processes that shaped Mediterranean landscapes from the beginning of farming to the beginning of complex civilization.

Integrated Analysis of Robustness in Dynamic Social Ecological Systems
This project asks: "Why are some socioecological systems more successful in navigating environmental disturbances and change than others?"