Embedded Files
My interest in the built environment and natural landscapes has long been a driving force in my academic and professional trajectory. Growing up on a Caribbean island, surrounded by ocean and rich tropical vegetation, yet embedded within an automobile-dependent, sprawling, and often hostile urban context, shaped my early curiosity about human settlements, natural resources, and the relationships between them. These formative experiences led me to pursue studies and careers in Architecture, Urban Design, and City and Regional Planning. My professional experience in regional and city planning, combined with more than 15 years of practice as an architect and urban designer, deepened my interest in both the static and dynamic patterns that characterize human settlements. This progression ultimately led me to doctoral studies in Urban and Regional Planning, where I focused on sustainable urban mobility and spatial analysis. My current research lies at the intersection of sustainable urban transportation planning, transit systems performance evaluation, land-use planning, urban design, and travel behavior. I focus specifically on developing analytical models for policy analysis, ridership forecasting, and performance assessment of transit systems, including bus, streetcar (tram), light rail, bus rapid transit, and metro systems. This work considers key attributes of the built environment, planning and design for active transportation (pedestrian and bicycle), and the integration of these elements within multimodal transportation networks. A secondary line of research examines sustainable, or ecological, urban design through a transdisciplinary Social-Ecological Systems (SES) lens. These frameworks are critical for understanding 20th- and 21st-century urbanization processes and for informing policies and design strategies aimed at addressing environmental crises exacerbated by unsustainable development patterns. Transforming these patterns is essential for advancing resilient and sustainable human settlements and mitigating the negative externalities associated with climate change. My research agenda seeks to identify and better understand these dynamics to inform more effective planning, transportation, and urban design policies. This includes a particular focus on urban and suburban adaptation and redevelopment, reducing automobile dependence, and improving the integration of built and natural environments. Ultimately, my goal is to contribute to a more sustainable, resilient, and adaptive equilibrium between human systems and the natural systems upon which they depend. In my teaching, I aim to prepare and mentor graduate students to become thoughtful and effective urban planners who can serve as agents of positive social and environmental change. I emphasize the development of analytical, critical, and applied skills necessary to navigate and shape the complex transformations facing cities during this pivotal moment.
Areas of Interest and Research
Areas of Interest and Research
Dr. Ramos-Santiago is a City and Regional planner, architect, and social scientist whose research focuses on sustainable urban transportation and accessibility (via mass transit, bicycling, walking), urban social-ecological studies, and ecological urban design. His transportation studies have been published in recognized peer-reviewed journals such as Transportation Reserach: Interdisciplinary Perspectives [TRIP] ; Transportation Research Record [ TRR ] - Journal of the Transportation Research Board of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ; Journal of Public Transportation ; Urban Studies ; Case Studies on Transport Policies ; and Mineta Transportation Institute. His ecological urban design and social-ecological system studies (SES) have been published in recognized environmental and design-oriented venues such as Ecology & Society and Sustainability. Dr. Ramos-Santiago has also published in other professional, planning, and design-oriented venues including Patrimonio (official publication of the Puerto Rico State Historic Preservation Office; PR-SHPO) and DoCoMoMo International-Proceedings (International Committee for Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement) and has received various academic and design awards, including the Congress for New Urbanism 2007 Charter Award for his academic research "Towards an Urban and Sustainable Puerto Nuevo: a Green Redevelopment of San Juan's Inner-Ring Suburbs".
Before entering academia Dr. Ramos-Santiago worked as a licensed city & regional planner and licensed architect in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the North Florida region (Tallahassee). As of September 1st, 2024, Dr. Ramos-Santiago will be assistant professor in transportation planning and equity at the University of Massachusetts School for the Environment, Boston campus (USA).
Recent Papers Accepted, In-press, and Under Review
Recent Papers Accepted, In-press, and Under Review
Ramos-Santiago, Luis Enrique and Derochers, Luke, (Published; Journal of Public Transportation) The Influence of Walking Accessibility on Station-to-Station Passenger Flow and its Interaction with Metropolitan Race/Class Segregation: A Case Study of Marta's Heavy-Rail Network, Atlanta (USA). Available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubtr.2024.100115
Ramos-Santiago, L.E., Rodriguez, Y.N., Shemirani, M., Morris, P. (In-Print). "Developing and Pilot-Testing a Neighborhood Multi-Destination Walking Accessibility Index: Evidence from ‘New Deal’ Villages ”
Kamyab, F. and Ramos-Santiago, L.E. (Published; Sustainability). "Neighborhood Decline and Green Coverage Change in Los Angeles Suburbs: A Social-Ecological Perspective"; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17219850
Ramos-Santiago, L.E. (Published; Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives). "Enhancing Station-Level Direct-Demand Models with Multi-Scalar Accessibility Indicators"; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2023.100834
Ramos-Santiago, L.E. (Published; Case Studies On Transport Policies). "Towards a Better Account and Understanding of Bus / Rapid-transit Interactions: The Case of Los Angeles" ; doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2021.06.005
Ramos-Santiago, L.E. (Published; Journal of Public Transportation). "Does Walkability Around Feeder Bus-Stops Influence Rapid-Transit Station Boardings?" ; doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubtr.2022.100026
Ramos-Santiago, L.E., Novales, M., and Varela-Garcia, F.A. (Published; Case Studies On Transport Policies). "Identifying and Understanding Determinants of Regional Differences in Light-Rail Patronage and Performance" ; doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2022.04.005
Towards a Better Account and Understanding of Bus / Rapid-transit Interactions: The case of Los Angeles
Published
Case Studies On Transport Policies
Does Walkability Around Feeder Bus-Stops Influence Rapid-Transit Station Boardings?
Published
Journal of Public Transportation
An International Comparative Study of the Transit Performance of Small Light-Rail Systems in Spain and the United States
Published
Case Studies on Transport Policies
Published
Transportation Research: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Published
(above): Panoptic Accessibility
(below): Conditioned Walkability
Transportation Research: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Published
New Deal Villages POIs
and
Walksheds
Working Papers
Working Papers
Ramos-Santiago, L.E. (working paper). "Assessing MAUP [Modifiable Areal Unit Problem] in Walking Accessibility Indicators at Neighborhood Level"
Ramos-Santiago, L.E. and Lopez, David (working paper). "Enhancement and Validation of a Multi-Destination Walking Accessibility Index (ETCO)"
Ramos-Santiago, L.E. and Rodríguez, Y.N. (working paper). "A 20th Century Morphological and Typological Historiography of Federal Housing Projects and Policies in San Juan of Puerto Rico [1934-1966] : Neighborhood Design Experimentations, Metropolitan Restructuring, and Displacement"
An, M., Xuewu, C., Ramos-Santiago, L.E. (working paper). "Streetcar Development in China: A Reflection of Five Case Cities"
Map of MARTA's Metro Lines, CBD, Station Service Areas, and Median HH Income Levels. Credit: J.L. Derochers, M.Eng., MCP (Clemson University MCRP graduate)
Funded Research
Funded Research
"MIGEODAT: Microsimulation, Geospatial Analysis, and Data Science for Sustainable Mobility"; Universidade A Coruna (Spain) & University of Massachusetts Boston; L. Enrique Ramos-Santiago is research team member and external expert consultant (unfunded); Margarita Novales PhD and Alfonso Orro PhD Co-PIs; Funded by Spain's Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities and the European Union; $300,000
"Enhancement and Validation of a Multi-Destination Walking Accessibility Index: ETCO" - University of Massachusetts Boston & Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico; Co-PI; Funded by UMass-Boston Internal Research Funds (startup) $15,000.
"Intentions, Interactions, and Outcomes: a Case Study of Planners, Architects, Landscape Architects, and Developers of El Monte Renewal Project (San Juan, Puerto Rico)"; PI; Funded by Clemson University - College or Architecture, Arts, and Humanities (CAAH); Faculty Research Development Program, Faculty Research Grant.
"Eleonor Roosevelt: An Investigation of a New Deal Village in the Tropics."; PI; Funded by Clemson University - College or Architecture, Arts, and Humanities (CAAH); Faculty Research Development Program, Faculty Research Grant.
3-D Model Credits: Glenda Dias, B.Arch., MCP (Clemson University CPRED Program graduate)Viewpoints and Light/Shadow Rendering: Luis Enrique Ramos-Santiago, Ph.D. (Assistant professor). Software: SketchUp v.2017
On-going Research Collaborations & Proposals
On-going Research Collaborations & Proposals
ETCO-2 (2025 - active) "Development of an Enhanced Threshold-based Cumulative Opportunities Indicator of Walking Accessibility - Phase 2: Scaling and Validation"; University of Massachusetts - Boston Startup Funds; Dr. Luis Enrique Ramos-Santiago (PI) and Dr. David Lopez (collaborator; Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico-UNAM).
MIGEODAT - (2026 - active) "Microsimulation, Geospatial Analysis, and Data Science for Sustainable Mobility", European Union + 'MINISTERIO DE CIENCIA, INNOVACIÓN Y UNIVERSIDADES' (Spain) Grant; Dr. Margarita Novales (co-PI) and Dr. Alfonso Orro (co-PI) at Universidade A'Coruna; External Consultant (Equipo de Trabajo) collaborating in Origin-Destination model development of bikeshare flows.
VASAC (2025 - active) "Vieques: Ambiente, Salud, y Accion Comunitaria", EPA-funded, University of Massachusetts-Boston; Dr. Lorena Estrada (co-PI) and Dr. Rosalyn Negron (co-PI); Team member in charge of multidisciplinary GIS data integration and management, mapping, and spatial analyses.
RSA Early Career Grant Scheme (EC) PROPOSAL: "Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on LRT Transit Patronage and Operations: A Pre-Post Station-Level Comparative Study of Systems in Spain and the United States". Submitted 7/30/2020.
TRB Presentations
TRB Presentations
2019
2020
Sustainable Transportation-Related Publications
Sustainable Transportation-Related Publications
My transportation research interests focus on land-use and built-environment (LU.BE) influence on travel behavior, with special attention to urban mass-transit systems patronage. These include most collective modes (heavy-rail, light-rail, bus, streetcar (tram)) and multi-modal network combinations. I also research and teach planning and design for non-motorized modes (bicycle and walking), and their interactions within multi-modal systems.
In collaboration with local and international scholars I have been developing a strong multidisciplinary research work on modern-era streetcars (trams) in the United States, including the identification of key ridership determinants, comparative transportation performance analyses, station-level and station-to-station ridership modeling, and qualitative assessments of political-economic forces in their planning, financing, and implementation.
My preferred research methodology is quantitative, relying on multivariate direct-demand statistical models and have experience working with OLS and negative-binomial (NBREG) regression of station-level boardings, generalized multilevel structural equation modeling (ML-GSEM), and generalized multilevel crossed models of OD-pair trip flows.
I am also skilled in qualitative research methods (e.g. interviews and survey content analysis, archival, and document analyses) and actively pursue mixed-method studies for their added in-depth analytical potential to highlight key insights and policy recommendations.
A selection of peer-reviewed manuscripts related to transportation topics that I have lead and/or co-authored can be accessed below:
Left: Portland's downtown light-rail alignment vis-a-vis streetcar boarding pattern.
Social-Ecological Systems (SES) and Ecological Urban Design Publications
Social-Ecological Systems (SES) and Ecological Urban Design Publications
A secondary line of research interest, which overlaps with my sustainable urban transportation studies and draws from my previous academic and professional experiences in architecture / urban design / regional planning, relates to social-ecological studies of urban and suburban environments with a focus on green/gray area dynamics at parcel- and neighborhood-scale. A few manuscripts where I served as lead author and co-author are listed below:
Left: El Monte Norte condominium green areas and tree inventory (2011). Source: Inventario de Arboles - Condominio El Monte Norte (map), by "arquitectura: ramos + lozada, csp".
Utopian Neighborhood Models and Real-World Implementations - Publications
Utopian Neighborhood Models and Real-World Implementations - Publications
Before engaging SES and transport-related scientific investigations my research interests lay in city- and neighborhood-scale utopian spatial models, cases of real-world implementation (mostly hybridized or transmuted versions), and longitudinal studies of their evolution along social, economic, physical, spatial, and environmental lines.
I also produced some articles related to these topics for professional and cultural venues, some of which are listed below:
Left: Partial map of San Juan City showing three distinct mid-20th century inner-ring suburbs wich were inspired in their planning, layout, and architectural typologies by three distinct European and North-American neighborhood utopian models: 1- Garnier's 'Une Cite Industrielle'; 2-Clarence Perry's 'neighborhood unit' and Stein's 'aggregate-cell' district model; and 3- the Corbusian/Sertian modernist 'Superblock'. Sources: 'Patrimonio: revista oficial de la oficina estatal de conservación histórica de Puerto Rico - Oficina del Gobernador', Vol 2 (2011); Arch/Plan Luis Enrique Ramos-Santiago, Ph.D.
... and what it means for the resilience and sustainability of human settlements in this 21st Century...
... and what it means for the resilience and sustainability of human settlements in this 21st Century...
Left: three distinct mid-20th century suburban neighborhood units in San Juan City. Colors represent different architectural typologies (e.g. one-story single family home, duplex, townhomes, and permutations of each).
Graduate Courses Taught
Graduate Courses Taught
Land Use and Comprehensive Planning
Place Making for the Built Environment
(before: site planning)
Urban Design for City Planners
Professional Planning Studio
Planning for Bicycle- and Pedestrian-Friendly Communities
Urban Transportation Systems and Policies
Transit Systems Planning
Introduction to GIS (Graduate & Undergraduate)
ACSP 2019 Annual Conference Bike Tour Greenville, S.C.
Clemson University CRP graduate students during a bicycle facilities assessment along the Swamp Rabbit Trail.Greenville (SC)Fall '19
Clemson University CRP graduate students during field-trip assignment along the Swamp Rabbit Trail. Greenville (SC).Fall '19.
Roundtable Planning | Moderator
Roundtable Planning | Moderator
Urban Design students during site visit in Abbeville, SC
Professional Planning Studio students during field trip to Clemson Experimental Forest.Fall 2020
Urban Design students during site visit in Abbeville, SC
Google Sites
Report abuse