Tabatabaie, Sara

Research

research overview

Sara's research has focused on the nexus between community health, design of the built environment and policies that shape human behaviors. Over the past decade, Sara has been working in the neighborhoods of Denver and Boulder on a variety of issues related to the built environment and health, including active mobility, urban greenness, sun safety, climate responsive design and integrated ecology. As an interdisciplinary educator and researcher, Sara employs methods of community engagement, and a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods to study and teach topics across the fields of environmental health, equity and urban ecology.

keywords

Healthy community design emphasizing walkability and sun safety, design for urban green spaces and green infrastructure, planning and policy determinants of healthy communities, community engagement in design, and the application of technology in planning and design

Publications

selected publications

journal article
- Sidewalks, trees and shade matter: A visual landscape assessment approach to understanding people's preferences for walking. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening. 2023
- The experience of outdoor physical activity for skin cancer survivors: understanding the importance of the built and natural environments. Journal of Cancer Survivorship. 739-756. 2020
- A Study of Perceived Nature, Shade and Trees and Self-Reported Physical Activity in Denver. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019
- Motivations and Strategies for Bicycle Planning in Rural, Suburban, and Low-Density Communities: The Need for New Best Practices. Journal of the American Planning Association. 99-111. 2018
- DELAY-BASED PASSENGER CAR EQUIVALENT AT SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS IN IRAN. Promet (Zagreb). 135-142. 2017

Teaching

courses taught

ENVD 1002 - Technology 1: Applications for Environmental Design
Primary Instructor - Fall 2019
Introduces technological competencies to support studio work including design representation and presentation. Students develop fundamental competencies in sketching, graphic design, file management and 3D modeling.
ENVD 1012 - Technology 2: Visual Communications
Primary Instructor - Spring 2020 / Spring 2022 / Summer 2022 / Spring 2023 / Summer 2023
Explores the basic visual communication skills necessary for environmental design through image manipulation, vector and raster graphics, and composite renderings. Students will explore concepts in visual hierarchy, composition, and color theory to inform graphics within each environmental design major.
ENVD 1020 - Studio 1: Introduction to Architecture
Primary Instructor - Fall 2019 / Fall 2020
The second of four introductory studios introduces students to strategies and techniques of architectural design and communication in a hands-on studio environment. Students design a small-scale architectural project that responds to environmental, contextual and programmatic needs while developing the necessary skills for iterative design processes.
ENVD 1022 - Technology 3: Intermediate Applications for Environmental Design
Primary Instructor - Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
Building on the technological competencies developed in Technology 1 and 2, students explore more advanced competencies in graphic design, 3D modeling, and diagramming.
ENVD 1030 - Studio 1: Introduction to Landscape Architecture
Primary Instructor - Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Summer 2022 / Spring 2023 / Summer 2023 / Spring 2024
The third of four introductory studios exposes students to concepts and strategies inherent to the practice of landscape architecture. Students analyze and design ecological related systems within an urban context in this immersive studio environment.

ENVD 1040 - Studio 1: Introduction to Planning and Urban Design
Primary Instructor - Summer 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2023
The fourth of four introductory studios in which students learn concepts and strategies related to urban planning and design. Students collaboratively develop a design solution to a small-scale problem within an urban fabric using basic skills of analysis and design iteration.

ENVD 1120 - Studio 2: Fundamentals of Architecture
Primary Instructor - Fall 2021
Focusing on the languages of design, as well as on traditional and digital methods of visualizing architectural ideas and forms, this course builds on the skills learned in Studio 1 and begins incorporating the dynamic forces that shape our buildings.

ENVD 1130 - Studio 2: Fundamentals of Landscape Architecture
Primary Instructor - Fall 2020 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
Building on skills learned from the introductory studio, this course expands the skills and knowledge needed for the practice of landscape architecture. With a focus on resilient design and an exploration through multiple scales, students design ecological systems in an urban context.

ENVD 1140 - Studio 2: Fundamentals of Planning and Urban Design
Primary Instructor - Fall 2021
Through a small-scale urban planning and design project, students explore solutions to challenges in dynamic urban systems. Builds on knowledge and skills gained in the introductory studios to explore the human and environmental dimensions of intertwined systems within the built environment.

ENVD 1150 - First Year Writing for Environmental Design
Primary Instructor - Spring 2022
Introduces students to fundamentals of effective academic and professional communication with an emphasis in Environmental Design. Projects are designed to develop strong written and oral communication skills as well as building knowledge of research techniques, while classroom activities and discussions challenge students to become more critical and flexible thinkers.

ENVD 2130 - Environmental Design Studio 2
Primary Instructor - Spring 2019
Exposes students to a sequence of design investigations that lead to the development of design concepts for critical evaluation and discussion. The intent of this introductory design studio is to expose students to the fundamental design practices that are common to the disciplines of architecture, urban design and landscape design - disciplines that share the responsibility for shaping the designed environment. Recommended corequisite: ENVD 3003.

ENVD 3100 - ENVD Interdisciplinary Design Studio
Primary Instructor - Fall 2018
This studio exposes students to a sequence of design investigations that lead to the development of design concepts for critical evaluation and discussion. Students will explore fundamental design practices that are common to the disciplines of architecture, planning, urban design, landscape architecture, and product design. Students will work on a project that provides an opportunity to integrate the various disciplines of environmental design. ENVD 3100 fulfills the Pick One studio requirement for ENVD majors. It does not fulfill the ENVD major-specific 3100 studio requirement. May be repeated up to 12 total credit hours.

ENVD 4979 - Honors Thesis
Primary Instructor - Spring 2024 / Fall 2024
Working with an advisor, students prepare, complete, and defend an honors thesis project, either written or creative.

LAND 2100 - Studio 1: Foundations of Landscape Architecture
Primary Instructor - Spring 2024
Introduces essential landscape architecture skills through a project-based studio, builds on design literacy, incorporates varied ecological processes, explores landscape as a medium for connecting the natural and cultural, develops analog and digital communication tools and focuses on the importance of place-making. Recommended corequisite: LAND 2004.

LAND 3003 - Site Planning, Materials, and Technologies
Primary Instructor - Fall 2022 / Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
Through workshops and lectures, the course will cover the fundamental skills in site planning and decision-making. Students will perform analysis, concept generation, and programming through biophysical and socio-economic parameters, while reflecting on the subjective experiences, and historical, cultural, and infrastructural factors influencing design. Additional emphasis is on the practice of site grading, surveying methods and infrastructure detailing in the context of watersheds and landscape restoration. Students will gain insights into materiality and design technologies. Recommended corequisite: LAND 3100.

LAND 3100 - Studio 2: Intermediate Landscape Architecture
Primary Instructor - Fall 2024
Building on skills established in Studio A, this studio advances the understanding of the practice of landscape architecture by incorporating projects through community engagement or other real-world applications. This studio builds on the digital technologies and drawing and graphic communication skills. Repeatable for up to 12 total credit hours.

PLAN 2100 - Studio 1: Foundations of Planning and Urban Design
Primary Instructor - Spring 2021
Expands on introductory planning and urban design concepts and methods to address social and ecological challenges in communities. Explores skills including spatial analysis, basic community engagement techniques and policy alternatives. The resultant project addresses challenges at the intersection between social and environmental systems. Recommended corequisite: PLAN 2004.

WRTG 1150 - First-Year Writing and Rhetoric
Primary Instructor - Spring 2018
Rhetorically informed introduction to college writing. Focuses on rhetorical analysis, argument, inquiry and information literacy. Taught as a writing workshop, the course emphasizes practicing writing strategies for all phases of the writing process. For placement criteria, see the arts and sciences advising office. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.

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Background

education and training

Ph.D., University of Colorado Boulder 2018
M.A., McGill Univ (Canada) 2007
M.S., Sharif University of Technology (Iran) 2003
B.S., Sharif University of Technology (Iran) 2001

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Research

research overview

keywords

Publications

selected publications

journal article

Teaching

courses taught

Background

education and training

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