Author: Robert A. Simons

Robert A. Simons is a Professor and former director of the Master of Urban Planning, Design and Development program at the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio. He is also the faculty advisor for the Certificate Program in Real Estate Development and Finance, offered in conjunction with the Nance College of Business at CSU. During Fall 2005, Dr. Simons was a Fulbright Scholar at Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa. Dr. Simons received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in City and Regional Planning, with an emphasis in real estate. He also holds a Master of Regional Planning and a Master of Science in Economics, both from U.N.C. His undergraduate degree in anthropology was earned at Colorado State University. He has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) since 1983. At the Levin College of Urban Affairs, Dr. Simons teaches courses in real estate development, market analysis and finance, public economics Ph.D. research methods and environmental finance. Dr. Simons has published over 40 articles and book chapters on real estate, urban redevelopment, environmental damages, housing policy and brownfields redevelopment. He authored a book entitled Turning Brownfields into Greenbacks, (published by Urban Land Institute), and When Bad Things Happen to Good Property, (published by Environmental Law Institute in 2006), and is the lead editor for an international research monograph on Indigenous Property and Valuation (forthcoming in 2008, ARES). Dr. Simons has an active consulting practice, and has served as an expert witness on over 45 matters related to real estate, housing markets, and environmental contamination