Megan E. Heim LaFrombois

Education

PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago

MS, University of Illinois at Chicago

About Me

Megan E. Heim LaFrombois, PhD, AICP, joined the Department of Political Science faculty at Auburn University in 2016, and is a faculty affiliate of the Women’s and Gender Studies program and the Sustainability Studies Minor program. She received her PhD and master’s degree in urban planning and policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her bachelor’s degree in urban and regional studies from the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay.

Dr. Heim LaFrombois’ research is situated at the interdisciplinary intersections of community planning, public administration, and public policy. Her research broadly focuses on the human and social infrastructures that make up our cities and communities. With almost a decade of professional experience working in the community development, affordable housing, social service and nonprofit, public policy, and planning arenas - focusing on issues related to ending homelessness in Chicago - an important aspect of her work, both as a practitioner and an academic, is community engagement in planning and decision-making processes. Her research strives to inform practice and policy, and to foster resilient cities and communities.

Dr. Heim LaFrombois is the recipient of the 2023 Chester Rapkin Award for the Best Article in the Journal of Planning Education and Research for her co-authored article, ‘How U.S. Shrinking Cities Plan for Change: Comparing Population Projections and Planning Strategies in Depopulating U.S. Cities.’ She is also the recipient of the 2020 Community and Civic Engagement Teaching Award from Auburn University’s College of Liberal Arts and the 2016 Alma H. Young Emerging Scholar Award from the Urban Affairs Association. She served as the secretary/treasurer of the Faculty Women’s Interest Group (FWIG) of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) from 2021-2023. She is a current member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).

Research Interests

Resilient communities, community development, participatory forms of planning and decision-making, public policy, plan evaluation, and community-based qualitative research methods

Publications

Books

Heim LaFrombois, Megan E.; and Jay Mittal (eds.). (2024). Routledge Handbook of University-Community Partnerships in Planning Education. New York, NY: Routledge. Available at https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Handbook-of-University-Community-Partnerships-in-Planning-Education/LaFrombois-Mittal/p/book/9781032389875.

Heim LaFrombois, Megan E. (2018). Reframing the Reclaiming of Urban Space: A Feminist Exploration into Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Urbanism in Chicago. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, Rowman and Littlefield. Available at https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498548700/Reframing-the-Reclaiming-of-Urban-Space-A-Feminist-Exploration-into-Do-It-Yourself-Urbanism-in-Chicago.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Vinke‐De Kruijf, Joanne, Megan E. Heim LaFrombois, Beau Warbroek, John C. Morris, and Stefan M. M. Kuks. (2024). “Climate‐Resilient Water Infrastructure: A Call to Action.” Critical Perspectives. Journal of Critical Infrastructure Policy, Vol 5, Issue 1, pp. 17 – 29. https://doi.org/10.1002/jci3.12017.

Heim LaFrombois, Megan E.; Yunmi Park; and Daniel Yurcaba. (2023). “How US Shrinking Cities Plan for Change: Comparing Population Projections and Planning Strategies in Depopulating US Cities.” Journal of Planning Education and Research, Vol 43, Issue 1, March 2023, pp. 81-93. Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X19854121.

Heim LaFrombois, Megan E.; and Yunmi Park. (2023). “The Uneven Shrinking City: Neighborhood Demographic Change and Creative Class Planning in Birmingham, Alabama.” Urban Geography, Vol 44, Issue 2, pp. 377-401. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2021.2004788. 

Heim LaFrombois, Megan E.; Charlene LeBleu, Sweta Byahut, and Stephanie Rogers. (2023). “Planning for Green Infrastructure Along the Gulf Coast: An Evaluation of Comprehensive Plans and Planning Practices in the Mississippi-Alabama Coastal Region.” Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. Vol 66, Issue 11, pp. 2352-2372. Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2022.2074822.

Park, Yunmi; Minju Kim; Jiyeon Shin; and Megan E. Heim LaFrombois. (2021). “Changing Trends in Long-Term Sentiments and Neighborhood Determinants in a Shrinking City.” Journal of Planning Education and Research, September 2021, pp. 1-14. Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X211044215.

Park, Yunmi; and Megan E. Heim LaFrombois. (2019). “Planning for Growth in Depopulating Cities: An Analysis of Population Projections and Population Change in Depopulating and Populating US Cities.” Cities: The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning, Vol 90, July 2019, pp. 237-248. Available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.02.016.  

Heim LaFrombois, Megan E. (2019). “(Re)Producing and Challenging Gender in and through Urban Space: Women Bicyclists’ Experiences in Chicago.” Gender, Place, and Culture, Vol 26, Issue 5, April 2019, pp. 659-679. Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2018.1555142. 

Heim LaFrombois, Megan. (2017). “Blind Spots and Pop-up Spots: A Feminist Exploration into the Discourses of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Urbanism.” Urban Studies, Vol 54, Issue 2, February 2017, pp. 421–436. Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098015604078.

Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters

Heim LaFrombois, Megan E. (2024). “Gendered and Feminist Interventions into the Urban.” In Handbook of Urban Politics and Policy, edited by Ronald K. Vogel. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK: England Edward Elgar Publishing. https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/handbook-of-urban-politics-and-policy-9781802200652.html

Invited Book Reviews

Trophy Cities: A Feminist Perspective on New Capitals (2021) by Dorina Pojani. Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol 88, Issue 3, June 2022, pp. 435-436. Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2022.2070409.

Courses Taught

• CPLN 5010/6010: Introduction to Community Planning
• CPLN 5080/6080: Affordable Housing Planning and Policy
• CPLN 5090/6090: Community Development
• CPLN 7300: Community-Based Qualitative Methods
• CPLN 7350: Planning History and Theory
• CPLN 7600/7610: Synthesis Studio I/II
• POLI 3250: Introduction to Public Administration
• POLI 8120: Qualitative Research Methods