Mission: Urban Prosperity Network exists to empower local communities toward long-term prosperity.
We are currently researching and developing content related to community and economic development and long-term prosperity. See our projects page for more details about specific initiatives.
Our Leadership Team
President: Louis Burns, PhD
Dr. Louis Burns holds a Ph.D. in Arts and Technology and an M.S. in Geospatial Information Sciences from the University of Texas at Dallas, an M.S. in Real Estate from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a B.S. in Communication Studies from the University of Texas (Austin). His research focus is on urban design, public participation, computation, and gaming. He currently owns a bookstore in Oregon. He was formerly both a commercial and residential Realtor, a freelance marketer, a tiny house builder, a math teacher, and an Airborne Army Medic.
Vice President: Christopher Franklin, PhD
Dr. Christopher Franklin holds a Ph.D. in Geospatial Information Sciences
from the University of Texas Dallas, an M.A. in Demographic and Social Analysis from UC Irvine, and two undergraduate degrees. He has over 30 years of both B2B and B2C executive industry experience. His “Avatar” 3D space-time visualization object received the Technology & Commercialization Innovator’s Award from the UTD in 2014. He has authored several peer-reviewed articles, receiving the SIGGIS pre-ICIS best paper award in 2015. His current postdoctoral research focuses on supply chain management forecasting with spatial-temporal analytics at UTD’s Naveen Jindal School of Business.
Secretary and Treasurer: Jerry Robinson, PhD
Dr. Jerry Robinson holds a Ph.D. in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication from the University of Texas at Dallas. He is currently an industrial design engineer. His research interests are in mobile health, energy, and sustainable development.