Sofia F. Franco
Biography
Sofia F. Franco, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Teaching (tenure track) in the Department of Economics at the University of California, Irvine. A scholar in urban economics, transportation economics, and environmental economics, Franco has focused her research on parking policy and its effects on urban form, mode choice, and spatial structure, as well as on the valuation of urban amenities through real estate markets. Her work examines topics including employer-paid parking, parking requirements, short-term rental markets, and the spatial impacts of development constraints.
Franco is an elected member of the Executive Committee of the International Transportation Economics Association (ITEA), serving from 2018-2022 and 2024-2026. She has published in journals including the Journal of Urban Economics, Regional Science and Urban Economics, the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, the Journal of Economic Geography, and Transportation Research Part B: Methodological. Franco received the 2018 AERNA Best Paper Award for her co-authored work on forest management at the urban-forest interface.
Franco has contributed to expanding educational access through her teaching in the UC Lifted Program, which offers bachelor's degree completion to incarcerated students at California state prisons. She has taught courses at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego and the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco. Franco received a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Management from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Return to topEducation
- Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Management, University of California-Santa Barbara, 2007
- B.A. in Economics, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Economia, 1997
Distinctions
- AERNA Best Paper Award for 'The Effects of Development Constraints on Forest Management at the Urban-Forest Interface', 2018
- Fall 2023 School of Social Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award for Economics of Strategy, University of California-Irvine, 2024
- Francisco José Barosa Award for Best Undergraduate Student in Industrial Organization I and II, 1996
Areas of Expertise
- Urban Economics
- Parking Regulation Impact
- Real Estate Valuation Methods
- Transportation Mode Choice
- Drug Consumption Room Effects
- Wildland-Urban Interface Management
- Short-Term Rental Markets
Recent Publications
- Franco S.F., Waxman A.R., “Surface parking lots in downtown areas and the role of regulatory delay in optimal dynamic land use” (opens in new tab), Regional Science and Urban Economics, vol. 118, 2026.
- Cutter W.B., Franco S.F., Lewis W.S., “The topography of regulatory costs: The shadow cost-gradient of parking standards” (opens in new tab), Journal of Urban Economics, vol. 152, 2026.
- Sofia F. Franco, “Urban Form and the Pricing of Transport and Parking” (opens in new tab), Handbook on Transport Pricing and Financing, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., pp. 73-106, 2023.
- Sofia F. Franco, Bowman W. Cutter, “The Determinants of Nonresidential Real Estate Values with Special Reference to Local Amenities.” (opens in new tab), Ecological Economics, vol. 201, no. C, 2022.
- Sofia F. Franco, “The Concept of External Cost: Marginal vs Total Cost and Internalization” (opens in new tab), International Encyclopedia of Transportation 1st Edition, Elsevier, vol. 1, pp. 56-66, 2021.
- Sofia F. Franco, Pedro Brinca, “Interim Report to ANA-Aeroportos de Portugal on Utopies preliminary study of the spatial distribution across Lisbon MSA southern municipalities of the economic impacts of the new Lisbon Airport (Montijo Airport) activity”, 2021.
- Sofia F. Franco, “The Spatial Effects of Employer-Paid Parking”, Parking Regulation and Management: The Emerging Tool for a Sustainable City, Routledge, pp. 104-122, 2020.
- Maria A. Cunha-e-Sá, Sofia F. Franco, “Interface Urban Forest Management in an Urbanizing Landscape”, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Environmental Science, Oxford University Press, pp. 32p., 2020.
- Sofia F. Franco, “Parking Prices and Availability, Mode Choice and Urban Form” (opens in new tab), International Transport Forum Discussion Papers, OECD Publishing, 2020.
- Sofia F. Franco, Pedro Brinca, “Parecer Técnico do Estudo de Impacto SocioEconómico do Aeroporto do Montijo”, ANA-Aeroportos de Portugal, 2019.
- Sofia F. Franco, “Revisão do Modelo de Previsão do Valor de Bens Imóveis do Banco Millenium BCP”, Millennium BCP, 2019.
- Sofia F. Franco, “Estudo de Modelação no Âmbito do Sistema de Reavaliação de Bens Imóveis do Banco Millenium BCP”, Millennium BCP, 2018.
- Maria A. Cunha-e-Sá, Sofia F. Franco, “The Effects of Development Constraints on Forest Management at the Urban-Forest Interface” (opens in new tab), American Journal of Agricultural Economics, vol. 99, no. 3, pp. 614-636, 2017.
- Sofia F. Franco, “Methodology to Classify the Type of Parking within Nonresidential Properties in Los Angeles County”, 2017.
- Sofia F. Franco, “Parking Costs in Los Angeles County” (opens in new tab), MRPI program of the University of California, 2016.
- Sofia F. Franco, “Vehicle Parking Facilities Data Collection for the RELU-TRAN L.A.-Parking Model” (opens in new tab), MRPI program of the University of California, 2016.
- Sofia F. Franco, “The Structure of the RELU-TRAN L.A.-Parking Model” (opens in new tab), MRPI program of the University of California, 2014.
- Sofia F. Franco, “Validation of the RELU-TRAN L.A. Model” (opens in new tab), MRPI program of the University of California, 2013.
- Sofia F. Franco, “Sistemas de financiamento da saúde mental em vigor no contexto internacional, com particular enfâse na Europa Ocidental”, 2012.
- Antonio M. Bento, Sofia F. Franco, Daniel Kaffine, “The Welfare Effects of Anti-Sprawl Policies in the Presence of Urban Decline” (opens in new tab), Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 439-450, 2011.
Most Cited Publications
- Sofia F. Franco, Carlos Daniel Santos, “The Impact of Airbnb on Residential Property Values and Rents: Evidence from Portugal.” (opens in new tab), Regional Science and Urban Economics, vol. 88, pp. 103667, 2021.
- Antonio M. Bento, Sofia F. Franco, Daniel Kaffine, “The Efficiency and Distributional Impacts of Alternative Anti-Sprawl Policies” (opens in new tab), Journal of Urban Economics, vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 121-141, 2006.
- Sofia F. Franco, Jacob L. Macdonald, “Measurement and Valuation of Urban Greenness: Remote Sensing and Hedonic Applications to Lisbon, Portugal” (opens in new tab), Regional Science and Urban Economics, vol. 72, pp. 156-180, 2018.
- Sofia F. Franco, Jacob L. Macdonald, “The Effects of Cultural Heritage on Property Values: Evidence from Lisbon, Portugal” (opens in new tab), Regional Science and Urban Economics, vol. 70, pp. 35-56, 2018.
- Jan K. Brueckner, Sofia F. Franco, “Employer-Paid Parking, Mode Choice, and Suburbanization” (opens in new tab), Journal of Urban Economics, vol. 104, pp. 35-46, 2018.
- Bowman W. Cutter, Sofia F. Franco, “Do Parking Requirements Significantly Increase the Area Dedicated to Parking? A Test of the Effect of Parking Requirements Values in Los Angeles County” (opens in new tab), Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, vol. 46, no. 6, pp. 901-925, 2012.
- Sofia F. Franco, “Downtown Parking Supply, Work-Trip Mode Choice and Urban Spatial Structure” (opens in new tab), Transportation Research part B: Methodological, vol. 101, pp. 107-122, 2017.
- Jan K. Brueckner, Sofia F. Franco, “Parking and Urban Form” (opens in new tab), Journal of Economic Geography, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 95-127, 2017.
- Antonio M. Bento, Sofia F. Franco, Daniel Kaffine, “Is There a Double-Dividend from Anti-Sprawl Policies?” (opens in new tab), Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, vol. 61, no. 2, pp. 135-152, 2011.
This profile was created with the help of AI.
Last updated on 6/30/2026.