Thomas H. Douthat

Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences

Phone: 225-578-4304

Office: 2111 Energy, Coast and Environment Building

Bachelor's Degree(s): B.S. Economics, Guilford College, 2003

Juris Doctorate: J.D. Law, The University of Puerto Rico School of Law, 2008

Ph.D.(s): Ph.D. City & Regional Planning, Georgia Institute of Technology – School of City and Regional Planning, 2017

Research Interests

I study how place based systems adapt to social, economic, and environmental change through the lenses of law, planning and policy, and economic geography. My work has involved diverse subjects ranging from coffee to transportation, and spans both rural and urban areas. I approach problems through the prism of my background in the fields of environmental planning and governance, spatial analysis, and law, and seek to create practical solutions for a more equitable and resilient society. This involves adaptation in socio-environmental systems (e.g. coastal communities, and agriculture), linkages between environmental and economic systems, and sustainable transportation.

Research Areas

Planning, land use change, sustainable transportation, transit, space and policy, economic geography, economic development, environmental governance, environmental policy, hazards, environmental law, law and planning, geographic information systems, social network analysis

Awards

Gil-Lim Best International Planning Dissertation Award, ACSP (2017)

Fulbright Garcia-Robles Scholar, 2014 (Chiapas, Mexico)

Georgia Tech Presidential Fellowship, 2010-2014

Georgia Tech Professional Service Award, 2012

Recent Publications

Douthat, T., Morgan, J. D., Alibasic, H., Aneurim, G. (2019). Passive building characteristics, and summertime residential energy use: A spatial analysis of energy efficiency in Gainesville, FL. Building and Environment, 169. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132319307541

Douthat, T., Leigh, N. G. (2017). First Source Hiring: An Essential Tool for Linking the Poor to Employment or a "Dead Letter" Progressive Policy? URBAN AFFAIRS REVIEW, 53(6), 1025-1063.

De Jesus Crespo, R., Douthat, T., Pringle, C. "Stream Friendly Coffee: Evaluating the impact of coffee farming on high elevation streams of the Tarrazú coffee region of Costa Rica. Hydrobiologia, NA(NA), NA. https://www.springer.com/journal/10750