Christopher Auffrey, Ph.D.
Professor of Planning School of Planning, College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
Christopher (Chris) Auffrey, Ph.D., is Co-Editor with Vikas Mehta of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Signage and Wayfinding, and is Professor of Planning in the School of Planning in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Auffrey also is a principal in Visual Environments Analytics, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in the assessment of how signage captures the attention of viewers in complex visual environments.
Dr. Auffrey holds a Ph.D. in Urban, Technological and Environmental Planning, an M.A. in Economic Development, and a B.A. in Environmental Conservation and Economics. He teaches an interdisciplinary course on the use of digital technology to assess signage in complex visual environments, with assessment outcomes used to enhance the design and regulation of signage, with the ultimate goal of enhancing communication and wayfinding in urban environments. In addition, he teaches planning history, planning theory and ethics, healthy urban planning and planning economics. His research has focused on on-premise highway signage and the use of objective approaches in the design of sign regulations. His recent signage research, with Professor Hank Hildebrandt, has focused on vernacular signage along America’s legacy highways.
In addition Dr. Auffrey is a member of the board of directors of the Ohio Chapter of the American Planning Association and has professional planning experience with neighborhood revitalization projects in Los Angeles, and as a project coordinator with an urban infrastructure consulting firm in Washington, D.C. He also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay.
Dr. Auffrey has published in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Signage and Wayfinding, Evaluation and Program Planning, Urban Rail Transit, Journal of Planning Education and Research, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, Environments, and other journals. He has been an invited speaker at academic and industry conferences, including the National Signage Research and Education Conference. He has authored a number of technical reports, including Economic Value of On-Premise Signs, with Jeff Rexhausen and Hank Hildebrandt. In addition, he has served as a reviewer for Housing Studies, Interdisciplinary Journal of Signage and Wayfinding, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Journal of Planning Education and Research, Landscape and Urban Planning, Population and Environment, Urban Policy and Research, Urban Rail Transit.