Kate Lowe
Associate professor of urban planning and policy
Biography
Kate Lowe (Photo: Jenny Fontaine/University of Illinois Chicago)
Multilevel governance, low-income accessibility and funding are among the main areas of transportation research for urban planning and policy expert Kate Lowe.
In analyzing regional operation of federal transportation funding programs and planning rules, her work demonstrates the importance of implementation procedures for transportation plans, how unequal capacity reinforces disparities, and that the design of funding programs continues to affect how federal transportation investment and inequities unfold in metropolitan development.
Other interests for Lowe are the ways in which transportation acts as a financial and physiological barrier from economic and recreational opportunities for low-income communities. Her work in this field has examined the perspectives of low-income populations to better understand whether and how concepts used in transportation planning and policymaking align with lived experiences.
