John Carruthers

John I. Carruthers's current scholarship is focused on evaluating environmental remediation projects in the Puget Sound region of Washington State and the value of public education and other amenities in the Seoul Metropolitan Area. Before joining Cornell, Carruthers worked at George Washington University (GW), where he was the founding director of the Sustainable Urban Planning Program, which he led to PAB accreditation.

In 2016, Carruthers was recognized by the National Capital Area Chapter of the American Planning Association via its Distinguished Leadership Award for a Planning Educator. In 2019, he received the George Washington Award, GW's highest academic honor. He has served on the North American Regional Science Council, on the Council of the Regional Science Association International, and is a board member of the Western Regional Science Association.

His research has been published in leading journals, including Environment and Planning B, the International Regional Science Review, the Journal of Economic Geography, the Journal of Regional Science, and others. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 2001, an M.S. from the University of Arizona in 1998, and a B.A. from Hunter College, City University of New York, in 1996.

"Planning is a normative field about inclusion and shared visioning of the future; regional science can help inform the visioning process and be instrumental in decision making. I view them as inextricably connected."

Academic Research/Specialty Areas

  • Economic development 
  • Housing
  • Land use/spatial planning
  • Regional science
  • Sustainability
  • Urbanism
  • Sustainable Urban Development
  • Economic Geography
  • Urban and Regional Economics
  • Environmental Quality of Life
  • Geospatial and Econometric Analysis

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Classes (Selected)

  • CRP 3270 Regional Economic Impact AnalysisThis course defines the context of a regional economy, taking a systems approach to sustainable development planning. Students will be introduced to the techniques of input-output analysis and will learn how to use social accounting models to evaluate social and environmental impacts. We will use international datasets and will also learn IMPLAN, a software and database designed to quantify the impact of exogenous forces on U.S. regions. Examples of exogenous forces include out-migration of population, natural disasters, financial flows, or the introduction of new activities. The course methods enable practicing professionals to integrate environmental and social dimensions of planning into the framework of economic impact analysis.
  • CRP 3850 Climate Change EconomicsThis course addresses pertinent issues relative to the subject of planning. Topics vary each semester.

Awards, Grants, and Fellowships (Selected)

  • George Washington Award, the highest academic honor bestowed by George Washington University (2019)
  • Distinguished Leadership Award for a Planning Educator, American Planning Association, National Capital Area Chapter (2016)
  • Estimating the Public Benefits of Green Space in the Seoul Metropolitan Area project for Korea Development Institute, nine month, ~$75,000 project (2015)

Publications (Selected)

  • Carruthers, John I.; Lee, SJ.  "Seoul as an Urban Empire: Evidence from Spatial Interaction Models." Urban Empires: Cities as Global Rulers in the New Urban World, edited by Glaeser, E.L., Kourtit, K., and Nijkamp, P. Cheltenham (UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, forthcoming)
  • Carruthers, John I.; Hepp, Selma; Knaap, Gerrit-Jan; Renner, Robert N. "The American Way of Land Use: A Spatial Hazard Analysis of Changes Through Time," International Regional Science Review 35, 267–302 (2012)
  • Carruthers, John I.; Boarnet, Marlon G.; McLaughlin, Ralph B. "Does State Growth Management Change the Pattern of Urban Growth? Evidence from Florida," Regional Science and Urban Economics 41, 236–252 (2011)
  • Carruthers, John I., Clark, David E. "Valuing Environmental Quality: A Space-based Strategy." Journal of Regional Science 50, 801–832 (2010)
  • Carruthers, John I.; Hepp, Selma; Knaap, Gerrit-Jan; Renner, Robert N. "Coming Undone: A Spatial Hazard Analysis of Urban Form" Papers in Regional Science 89,65–88 (2010)
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