Kurt Paulsen

Office: 213 Music Hall

Office Hours:

Phone: (608) 262-8990

Email: kpaulsen@wisc.edu

Assistant Professor Paulsen joined the Department in 2006, after serving for 3 years as Assistant Professor and undergraduate program director in the Department of Community and Regional Planning at Temple University.  Professor Paulsen holds an affiliate appointment with the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, where he also serves on the faculty governance committee of the Transportation Management and Policy certificate.   Professor Paulsen is a member of the “Land Use Cluster” faculty hiring initiative.  His research interests are in land use planning, land use change, housing, public finance, and intergovernmental relations.  At Wisconsin, he has taught courses in local government comprehensive planning, housing, planning history, and planning workshop.  

Professor Paulsen’s research has been funded by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, EPA, NASA, and 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania. 

Professor Paulsen completed his PhD in Urban Planning and Policy Development at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.  He was awarded the Barclay Gibbs Jones Award for Best Dissertation in the field of Planning by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.  He holds masters degrees in Agricultural and Applied Economics and Development Policy and Public Administration, both from the University of Wisconsin.  His undergraduate degree is from Northwestern University in Economics, Political Science and Urban Studies.  He has also studied at Moscow State Linguistic University.

While in Pennsylvania, Professor Paulsen served as a member and treasurer of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, a regional and county planning commission, and on his township’s Zoning Board. 

Professor Paulsen and his wife Evelyn have three children:  Anna (7), Stephen (5) and Lydia (2) and are big fans of UW Badger athletics.  Although not a fan of either Frank Lloyd Wright nor New Urbanism, he lives in Middleton Hills, a Wright-inspired “New Urbanist” neighborhood designed by Duany Plater-Zybek.