Dr. Louis Merlin, AICP
Office: Department of City and Regional Planning • CB# 3140 • UNC-CH • Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3140
Home: 2000 Baity Hill Drive Apt 220 • Chapel Hill, NC 27514 • 404.374.7532 • lmerlin@email.unc.edu
Education
Publications
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Dissertation Title: ‘Accessibility, Travel Behavior, and Urban Form
Change’
Advisors: Dr. Yan Song and Dr. Daniel Rodriguez
2014
Georgia Institute of Technology
Master’s of City and Regional Planning
Thesis Title: Industrial Area Redevelopment and Bohemians
Advisor: Dr. David Sawicki
2004
Georgia Institute of Technology
Master’s of Operations Research
1999
Yale University
Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, Cum Laude
1994
Merlin, L. (2014). Measuring Community Completeness: JobsHousing Balance, Accessibility, and Convenient Local Access to
Nonwork Destinations. Environment and Planning B. (In press)
Rodriguez, D.A., Merlin, L., et. al. (2014). Influence of The Built
Environment on Pedestrian Route Choices of Adolescent Girls.
Environment and Behavior. (In press)
Song, Y., Merlin, L., and Rodriguez, D.A. (2013). Comparing
Measures of Urban Land Use Mix. Computers, Environment, and
Urban Systems, 42, 1-13.
Under Review
Merlin, L. (2014). Does Accessibility Influence Nonwork Activity
Participation? An Analysis with National Data. Transportation.
(Minor revisions requested)
McDonald, N., Merlin, L. Hu, H. (2014). Longitudinal Analysis of
Adolescent Girls’ Activity Patterns in San Diego and
Minneapolis: Understanding the Influence of the Transition to
Licensure. Journal of Transport and Land Use. (Revise and
resubmit)
Working Papers
Merlin, L. Changing Accessibility in US Metropolitan Areas:
The Influence of Changing Urban Form and Travel Times. (Draft
available upon request)
Merlin, L. Driving Optional, Planning Required: Automated
Vehicles Create New Uncertainty for Transportation Planning.
(Draft available upon request)
Merlin, L., and Song, Y. An Overview of The Literature on Retail
Location. (Draft available upon request)
Professional Reports
Morton, B. and Merlin L. (2011). Impacts of Land Use on Travel
Behavior in Small Communities And Rural Areas: Interim Report
(NCHRP 25-36). Chapel Hill, NC: CURS.
Honors
 Graduate and Professional Student Federation Excellence in
Mentoring Award
 Graduate Fellow, Royster Society of Fellows
Research
Experience
2014
2009 - 2014
 EDAW Early Career Leadership Development Forum
2008
 American Institute of Certified Planners, Certification
2007
 American Institute of Certified Planners Outstanding Student
Award
2004
 Glatting Jackson Fellowship Award
2003
 National Science Foundation, Graduate Fellowship
1998
 Arthur D. Stanley Prize in Mathematics
1994
Research Assistant
Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls 2 (TAAG2), “Away From
Home and Out of School: Adolescent Physical Activity and
Body Mass Index”
Funded by National Institutes of Health
PI: Dr. Daniel Rodriguez, Carolina Transportation Program
Jun. 2010 - Jul. 2013
Research Assistant
National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP)
25-36, “Impacts of Land Use on Travel Behavior in Small
Communities and Rural Areas”
Funded by National Cooperative Highway Research Program
PI: Dr. Brian Morton, Center for Urban and Regional Studies
Jul. 2011 - Mar. 2012
Research Assistant
“Interventions in The Built Environment and Health
Outcomes”
Funded by National Institutes of Health
PI: Dr. Yan Song, University of North Carolina
May 2010 - Oct. 2010
Dr. Louis Merlin, AICP
louismerlin@gmail.com
2
Teaching
Experience
Professional
Experience
Teaching Assistant, PLAN 741, Land Use Planning
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Step-by-step development of a comprehensive plan for a local
government with a strong focus on written, graphic, and oral
communication for professional practice.
Spring 2014: Instructor Dr. Yan Song; 18 students
2014
Teaching Assistant, PLAN 636, Transportation Planning
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Broad overview of transportation planning, including key issues,
planning institutions, and analytical tools.
Fall 2013: Instructor Dr. Noreen McDonald; 31 students
2013
Instructor, PLAN 247, Solving Urban Problems
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Introduction to the professional practice of planning and the
identification of contemporary urban policy problems.
Spring 2012: 25 students
Summer 2011: 8 students
Spring 2011: 22 students
2011 - 2012
Teaching Assistant, PLAN 714, Urban Spatial Structure
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
History and theories of urban form in the US and the relationship
between urban form and current urban policy challenges.
Fall 2011: Instructor Dr. T. William Lester; 33 students
Fall 2010: Instructor Dr. Daniel A. Rodriguez; 38 students
2010 - 2011
Associate, EDAW, Inc., Atlanta, GA
Project Manager
2003 - 2009
 Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities (SC)
Redevelopment Plan
2009
 City of Brunswick (GA) Comprehensive Plan
2008
 Columbia County (GA) Urban Design Overlay
2008
Major Project Work
 Nashville (TN) Northeast Corridor Mobility Study
2009
 MARTA (Atlanta, GA) Transit Oriented Development Study
2009
 Mount Pleasant (SC) Comprehensive Plan
2009
 Glynn County (GA) Comprehensive Plan
2007
 Cleveland Avenue (Ft. Myers, FL) Redevelopment Plan
2007
 Doraville (GA) Livable Centers Initiative Plan
2007
 Upper Westside (Atlanta, GA) Livable Centers Initiative Plan
2005
 Columbia County (GA) Comprehensive Plan
2005
 Port St. Lucie (FL) Comprehensive Plan
2005
 Davie Boulevard (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) Redevelopment Plan
2004
Dr. Louis Merlin, AICP
louismerlin@gmail.com
3
Presentations
Merlin, L. Automated Vehicles and Transportation System
Sustainability (Session organizer). National Conference of the
American Planning Assoication, Atlanta, GA (April 26, 2014).
Merlin, L. Changing Accessibility in US Metropolitan Areas
(poster). University Transportation Center Conference for the
Southeast Region, Orlando, FL (April 4, 2013).
Merlin, L. Measuring Community Completeness: Building
Communities with Convenient Access to Nonwork Destinations.
Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference,
Cincinnati, OH (November 4, 2012).
Merlin, L. Impact Analysis for Climate Change Mitigation. UNC
PLAN 745, Development Impact Analysis, Chapel Hill, NC (April
23, 2012).
Merlin, L. Driving Less. UNC PLAN 246, Cities of the Future,
Chapel Hill, NC (November 10, 2011).
Merlin, L. Transportation Planning’s Influence on Land Use
Policy. North Carolina Chapter of the American Planning
Association Conference, Student Paper Award Competition,
New Bern, NC (September 30, 2010).
Merlin, L. Public Participation in a Multi-Cultural Environment:
Doraville Livable Centers Initiative Case Study. Georgia
Planning Association Conference, St. Simon’s Island, GA (June
12, 2007)
Service
Organizer, Baity Hill Playing Out
2013
Royster Advanced Mentoring Program
2011 - 2013
Admissions Committee, UNC Department of City and Regional
Planning
2012 - 2013
Policy Committee, UNC Department of City and Regional
Planning
2010 - 2013
Royster Service Project, Royster Society of Fellows
2010 - 2011
Chair of Atlanta-Miami office Green Team for sustainable
business practices, EDAW
2006 - 2008
2006
Member of the Infill Committee of the Atlanta Chapter of the
American Institute of Architects
Dr. Louis Merlin, AICP
louismerlin@gmail.com
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