Topics of research interest include housing, community development, urban planning, and immigration.

Professor Ryan Allen is a housing and community development scholar with a focus on the experience of immigrant communities in the U.S. He is the author of a variety of articles that focus on housing affordability, public housing, and immigrant integration in journals such as Ethnic and Racial Studies, the Journal of Urban Affairs, Urban Studies, and International Migration Review. Most recently, he co-authored "Immigrant Legal Status and Commute Mode Choice for Hispanics in the United States" in the Journal of the American Planning Association. In addition, Professor Allen has served as an expert witness in multiple federal lawsuits challenging the "public charge" rule in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Dr. Allen directs the Urban and Regional Planning program at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and has an appointment with the Center for Community Vitality in Minnesota Extension. He also serves as associate dean for research at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, where he acts as the point of contact for the Humphrey School’s research faculty and center directors, and updates faculty on policies regarding research ethics, procedures, grant funding, and other related information.