Richard Norton

Richard K. Norton is a professor in the urban and regional planning program. He holds a joint appointment as professor with the University of Michigan's Program in the Environment, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. He earned his Ph.D. in city and regional planning and his J.D. with honors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also holds master degrees in public policy studies and environmental management from Duke University. Dr. Norton teaches and conducts research in the areas of sustainable development, land use and environmental planning, and planning law. He is interested in local governance for land use and development management, particularly as it relates to the theory and practice of urban and regional planning for sustainable development. He contributes actively to the Michigan Association of Planning (MAP) by serving on its planning law committee. Through those efforts he has taken the lead in preparing draft legislation for the Michigan Legislature to reform the state's planning and zoning enabling laws, including reforms adopted by the Legislature in 2006 and 2008. He has also written amicus curiae appellate briefs to the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Michigan Supreme Court on behalf of the American Planning Association and MAP regarding planning and zoning disputes in the state. Prior to completing his graduate studies, Dr. Norton worked in professional practice as a consulting environmental policy analyst and planner in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, California.

Affiliation(s)

• Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
• Program in the Environment