About John Ottensmann

John R. Ottensmann, Ph.D., AICP, is associate director of the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment and a professor in the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, where he has been a faculty member since 1978. Dr. Ottensmann has consistently used his professional expertise to work for better communities and better quality of life. He is recognized nationally for his innovative work on computer applications in planning, including geographic information systems, use of planning tools in provision of public services, and studies of equity and racial change. In 2001, he received the Indiana Planning Association’s Earl Franke Award for outstanding contributions to planning in Indiana.

Dr. Ottensmann received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in 1974. He has worked with a number of public and nonprofit organizations, providing studies of the valuation of their services and analyses relating to the location of facilities. He also has served as a consultant to a number of planning and engineering consulting firms in Indianapolis, providing advice on forecasting and evaluation methods and performing reviews of comprehensive plans. He is responsible for the development of the Master of Planning (MPL) Program in SPEA at IUPUI where he teaches courses in urban planning and urban policy, geographic information systems, and management information systems.

Dr. Ottensmann has published three books and more than 25 articles in journals such as the Journal of the American Planning Association, Environment and Planning, Journal of Planning Education and Research, Urban Affairs Review, Library & Information Science Research, and Library Quarterly. He can be contacted via e-mail at jottensm@iupui.edu or at the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment, (317) 261-3000.