Research Topics

Dr. Finn teaches courses in the Sustainability Studies Program’s Environmental Planning, Policy and Design major. Trained as an urban planner, Dr. Finn has worked as a community planner in East St. Louis, IL with the University of Illinois ESLARP center, and consulted with local governments in Illinois and Missouri on growth management and sustainable development policy while a research associate at the University of Illinois LEAM laboratory.
His current research focuses primarily on sustainability and resiliency planning in the New York region and the role of public participation in effective planning outcomes. He also works regularly with non-profit organizations and local governments in New York City and Long Island on issues of sustainability, resilience, and public participation. Dr. Finn teaches a number of the core courses in the Environmental Planning, Policy and Design major/minor. His classes emphasize critical thinking, teamwork and effective communication. Most of his courses include an applied design or planning project in which students apply material learned in the course to a real-world place or issue. See this Newsday article about one of Dr. Finn’s class projects for an example. An advocate for undergraduate research, Dr. Finn works regularly with students interested in pursuing their own directed research and regularly includes undergraduate students in his own research projects. Prior to Stony Brook, Dr. Finn taught courses in urban planning, urban policy and sustainable design at Hunter College (City University of New York) and The New School in New York City.