Leonard Machler

My research interest lies in understanding whether the diversity of different housing types (such as single family homes, as well as different multifamily housing types such as townhouses, secondary suites, apartments and condos, etc.) within a neighbourhood enables households to match the community of their preference with the community that they reside in. While countless official plans, regional growth strategies and planning movements such as New Urbanism and Smart Growth openly advocate for a greater mix of neighbourhood housing types, very little research has been undertaken to understand whether greater housing mix really does lead to better residential matching. My other interests include how different tools of land use regulation can be used to supply different housing and neighbourhood environments, and collaborative planning in designing sustainable visions, principally around neighbourhood transportation plans. Prior to coming to UBC, I completed a MA in Sustainability at Arizona State University and worked for several years as a research analyst specializing in global healthcare markets and as an assistant program coordinator at an environmental non-profit organization.