Joe Grengs

Joe Grengs is a Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan, where he teaches courses on transportation planning, methods, spatial analysis, and capstone studio. He coordinates the Social Justice and Urban Development focus area. His research examines social equity in transportation and land-use planning, and argues for prioritizing transportation investments that improve access to essential destinations for poor and marginalized people, and other disadvantaged travelers. He is a co-author, along with Jonathan Levine and Louis Merlin, of the book From Mobility to Accessibility: Transforming Urban Transportation and Land-Use Planning, published by Cornell University Press in 2019. He was appointed to the Federal Advisory Committee on Transportation Equity at the U.S. Department of Transportation under the Obama Administration. He holds certification as a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and is a registered Professional Engineer (P.E.), with work experience in both the private and public sectors, and in international settings. Leadership contributions include serving as Chair of the Urban and Regional Planning program and as an elected member of the Executive Committee for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. Grengs holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Minnesota, and a PhD in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University.