D.W. Rowlands

I am an human geographer, currently based in the Washington, DC area. In May 2021, I completed my Master’s degree in Geography and Environmental Systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County with a thesis on using GIS data analysis to characterize and typologize US metropolitan areas and their neighborhoods based on built environment features.

I am currently employed as a senior research assistant at the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. My primary research interests are public transportation and walkable urban environments. While my research thus far has focused on metro areas in the United States, I am interested in expanding it to make comparisons to metropolitan areas in various countries and from different urban traditions.

Education

• Bachelor of Science (B.S.) California Institute of Technology (2005 — 2009)
• High School Concurrent Enrollment The Catholic University of America (2004 — 2005)
• Eleanor Roosevelt High School (2001 — 2005)

TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS

• D.W. Rowlands and T.H. Loh (2021). “Reinvesting in Urban Cores Can Revitalize Entire Regions.” Research Report, Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program, Washington, DC.
• D.W. Rowlands (2021). A Nation of Neighborhoods: A Quantitative Understanding of US Neighborhoods and Metropolitan Areas. MS Thesis, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD.
• D.W. Rowlands and T.H. Loh (2020). “Retail Revolution: The New Rules of Retail Call for Small Business Empowerment.” Research Report, Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program, Washington, DC.
• D.W. Rowlands (2020). “Understanding Walkable Density.” Research Report, City Observatory, Portland, OR.
• D.W. Rowlands (2015). Xenon Difluoride Etching and Molecular Oxygen Oxidation of Silicon by Reactive Scattering. MS Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.
• D.W. Rowlands (2009). Producing Safe Spin-Polarized Metabolites for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. BS Thesis, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.

AWARDS AND HONORS

• UMBC Grad Student Association Special Award for Outstanding Achievement (2021)
• MIT Teaching and Learning Lab Graduate Student Teaching Certificate (2014)
• MIT Chemistry Department Outstanding Teaching Award (2012-2013)
• MIT Energy Initiative Fellowship (2010-2011)
• Dow-Corning Foundation Fellowship (2010)
• MIT Presidential Fellowship (2009-2010)