Tony Arnold directs the interdisciplinary Center for Land Use and Environmental Responsibility.  He has taught or been a visiting scholar at some of the nation’s leading universities, including Stanford University and the University of Puerto Rico.  He is a faculty affiliate of the Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, as well as several other research centers nationwide.

Professor Arnold cares deeply about teaching and mentoring students.  He received the Trustee’s Award, which is the University of Louisville’s top award for a faculty member and given “for extraordinary impact on students.”  Many of his courses are innovative, featuring experiential learning of professional skills (especially negotiation and problem solving skills), integration of insights across disciplines, and field study.  

Professor Arnold’s highly interdisciplinary research at the intersection of land, water, the environment, and governance institutions is nationally and internationally recognized.  Several of his articles have been selected by experts to be featured in various publications as among the best in their fields, and his publications have been heavily used, both in the U.S. and worldwide, by scholars in many diverse fields, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and business and industry groups.  Professor Arnold has received awards for outstanding research and scholarship from the University of Louisville and Chapman University.  His research focuses on the following topics:

1) resilience, adaptive law, adaptive planning, and adaptive governance;

2) resilience justice, especially in low-income and minority communities;

3) environmental justice, particularly concerning land use, planning, ecosystems, and green and blue infrastructure in low-income and minority communities;

4) the emergence and evolution of governance institutions in land use, water, and the environment;

5) land use planning and regulation and ecosystems;

6) property as a web of interests;

7) watershed planning and governance;

8) “wet growth” policies and laws, integrating land use, water, and the environment;

9) the public trust in water and water privatization trends;

10) diverse and meaningful public participation in governance.

Professor Arnold likes to “get his cowboy boots muddy” in field study, public service, and real-world problem-solving.  Professor Arnold has served on many government commissions and nonprofit boards in Kentucky, California, and Texas, engaged in urban planning in California and Boston, and practiced law in Texas.  For example, he was Chairman of the Planning Commission of the City of Anaheim and served on the boards of The Nature Conservancy, Habitat for Humanity, the West Jefferson County Community Task Force, and Federacion Ecumenica de Fe y Accion.  He recently worked on a community-based field-study project in Los Angeles to address the resilience and vulnerability of low-income and minority neighborhoods and disparities in green and blue infrastructure (e.g., parks, trees, river restoration).