Michael Southworth’s research interests include: new forms of urban public space, the evolving form of the American metropolis, urban design theory and analysis, environmental interpretation and the design of educative environments, and environmental mapping.
His work has included planning and design for the Lowell Urban National Cultural Park, the Boston Discovery Network, the Detours children's guide to the Boston Subways, the Oakland Explorers program, and the Smart Maps project. Other relevant publications include The Evolving Metropolis: Studies of Community, Neighborhood and Street Form at the Urban Edge and Landscapes for Learning: Studies in Environmental Interpretation and Exploration. Southworth has also published Wastelands in the Evolving Metropolis. He is the coauthor of Streets and the Shaping of Towns and Cities (Island Press, 2003).