Allison Lassiter

Allison Lassiter serves as Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania's Weitzman School of Design, where her research pioneers landscape infrastructure and emerging technologies to enhance urban climate resilience and adaptive capacity.

Her academic foundation includes:

• BS in Computational Biology from Cornell University
• Master in City Planning from MIT
• PhD in Environmental Planning from UC Berkeley
• Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Economics at Monash University with Australia’s CRC for Water Sensitive Cities

Lassiter develops transformative methods for urban water management under climate change through interdisciplinary mixed-methods research spanning economics, remote sensing, hydrology, and systems engineering. Her current work critically evaluates sea level rise threats to drinking water infrastructure while advancing tools for adaptation implementation and decentralized water system scaling. She integrates technical analysis with policy frameworks to address urgent climate-water challenges.

Recent publications reveal expanding research frontiers across climate adaptation measurement, urban carbon sequestration via green infrastructure, and agricultural climate solutions. Her work demonstrates consistent methodological innovation and growing influence in both U.S. and global policy arenas.

Lassiter actively shapes national water resilience strategies through the U.S. EPA’s Creating Water Resilient Utilities workgroup and the Aspen Institute-Duke Nicholas School Water Forum. Since 2019, she has contributed to UNFCCC processes as part of Penn’s delegation, delivering a 2023 NAP Expo keynote on urban water adaptation and co-leading LDC Expert Group initiatives for monitoring adaptation outcomes in vulnerable nations.