Engages in critical studies of real estate and economic development tools such as Tax Increment Financing. Served as a TIF researcher for Rahm Emanuel and thus has professional experience working in this capacity.

Just released a new book on urban design, The Largest Art: A Measured Manifesto for a Plural Urbanism

MIT DUSP faculty member with expertise in planning and urban design

From her bio: " Her postdoctoral research explores African American diasporas and heritage through ethnographic study and documentation of the history of African American placemaking and planning in early ex-slave settlements as well as contemporary grassroots planning and social constructions of "free Black " communities."

Danish Architect and Urban Designer, founder of Gehl Architects and Gehl Institute. World renowned thought-leader on human scale design of cities and how the Copenhagen model has been so successful at creating more walkable, sustainable, equitable, and enjoyable cities.

Crosses bridge between Urban Planning and Architecture worlds - kept mostly separate in Taubman - so will have wide appeal to student body. Also, Jan is a veteran of public presentations around the world and gives a compelling, yet succinct showcase into his work and how it can be adapted to local contexts.

I would like to nominate bring Jonathan Pacheco Bell to speak at Taubman—he is a hybrid urban planner and urban librarian, UCLA Luskin alum, and has been working in LA as a zoning officer for over a decade! He is actively trying to promote a form of urban planning, which he calls embedded planning, that emphasizes putting humans at the heart of planning and being immersed in the communities that we serve. You can check out his piece about Embedded Planning that was published in the APA's planning magazine here. He also is on the APA's Social Equity Task Force.  

Recently, he's been giving a talk to put a human face on the housing crisis in California. Below is a description of the talk he gave in San Francisco at the SF Urban Film Fest. He's given many talks at UCLA and around California.:

"This presentation puts a human face on California’s housing crisis. Jonathan Pacheco Bell, a zoning enforcement planner in Los Angeles County, will tell the story of the Medina Family from the South Central L.A. community of Florence-Firestone, who built an informal granny flat for extra income after the sudden passing of their head of household. An anonymous complaint triggered an inspection and eventual demolition of the dwelling for code violations. It was Jonathan himself who ordered its removal. Audience members will understand the emotional rollercoaster the family endured while embroiled in this regulatory process and Jonathan’s inner conflict with the outcome."

Dr. Raja is currently directing Growing Food Connections, a comprehensive five-year initiative funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to build capacity of local governments to strengthen food systems.  Her additional research interests include the role of planning in communities experiencing conflict (she is especially interested in the region of Kashmir in South Asia), and the fiscal dimensions of urban and regional planning.

Housing scholar also well versed in finance, real estate issues, and digital platforms. Does work on Chinese investors and this might suit our international audience.

Bio: "With a particular focus on housing, Fields is interested in how the link between real estate and finance is being reconstructed since the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, how residents experience this process, and its implications for housing policy and advocacy."

Google Scholar

Critical urbanist with a focus on smart cities and development of the Global South (particularly India). Also has connections with Martin Murray due to an edited volume.

If she would agree to come back--was previously a candidate for Asst. Dean but not hired.  Her presentation for that was extraordinarily rich and very well received by students and faculty.  In one of her recent books, she focused on immigration from Mexico, Detroit, and west Africa and the effects on "native" white residents in a small town in Illinois.  She uses this as a way to springboard into commentary about contemporary immigration debates and how different racial/ ethnic groups can work together.

Has done interesting work on poverty particularly in Africa, a notable venue and focus given this year's Nobel Prize winners in Economics.  Mature assistant professor, articulate, promising thought leader.  Her work marries traditional empiricism with subtle exploration of cultural influences on environmental conditions such as access to clean water.  Teaches environmental planning/ sustainability UC Berkeley.  POCIG member.

Prof.Wu is the professor of Architecture and Urban Planning and the vice president of Tongji University. Prof. Wu is one of the most influential scholars and practitioners in the field of urban planning in China. He was the chief planner for the Shanghai 2010 World Expo. His recent work is focused on sustainability in urban design and urban development. Wu is a good speaker and presents well in English.

Founder in Residence, PolicyLink.  Closing keynote at 2018 APA Conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB_cgZcAzyg.

Eugenie Birch, FAICP, Nussdorf Professor of Urban Research and co-Director, Penn Institute for Urban Research, has served as president of the Habitat III General Assembly of Partners.

The author of great, innovative pieces on technology and the future of cities.   

Shannon Mattern. 2017. A City Is Not a Computer. Places. February. [link]

Shannon Mattern. 2013. Methodolatry and the Art of Measure. The new wave of urban data science. Places. November. [link]

Jason Coburn does fascinating work around collaborative, community-led, equity health planning in CA and internationally. Much of his work also focuses on climate adaptation, environmental justice and "health in all policies". He directs the Institute of Urban & Regional Development and co-directs the Joint Master of City Planning and Master of Public Health degree program. He's also a fantastic speaker - I saw him speak at the Buffalo ACSP.

Mr Gladney is the CEO of Smart Growth America. Lots of experience with equitable and sustainable real estate development in many cities nationwide including Detroit and Grand Rapids. I saw him speak recently at the Center for Community Progress national conference and he's quite engaging. 

Bio here: https://smartgrowthamerica.org/about-us/our-staff/calvin-gladney/

Luís M. A. Bettencourt is the Pritzker Director of the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation at the University of Chicago. He is also a Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago and External Professor of Complex Systems at the Santa Fe Institute.

Bio at Columbia: http://ilas.columbia.edu/team/janice-perlman/

Bio at the Mega-Cities Project: https://megacitiesproject.org/our-founder/

SPUR editorial director and frequent writer for the NY Times.  recent stories:  

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/04/opinion/self-driving-cars-safety.html

see also:

https://www.nytimes.com/column/allison-arieff

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/03/01/opinion/dream-home-condo-cloverdale.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/opinion/lets-reconnect-with-our-streets.html

(CEO of Sidewalk Labs, formerly deputy mayor for econ dev, NYC under Mayor Bloomberg. Yes, perhaps more "corporate" than we are used to, but useful for us to see high-level urban decisionmaking.

Kimmelman is the New York Time critic for Architecture AND I would argue Urban Planning. His comments and insights are excellent. I have also learned from a friend that knows him that he is very approachable (good for student questions). I would love him to come!

Yglesias is an editor at Vox and longtime journalist and blogger who has become, in my opinion, the strongest voice either inside or outside professional/academic planning calling for less restrictive zoning to promote housing production and (he argues) affordability. In addition to his role in what I believe to be the most important debate in planning theory today, he exemplifies the new importance of "public intellectuals" outside the profession and planning academics to planning theory and practice.

Libby Schaaf is Mayor of Oakland and has had vigorous responses to immigration, housing, homelessness and economic development issues in a city revitalizing, but worried about displacement.  She has been an attorney, port official, city council member and economic policy advisory.  She will give insights for running a majority African american city and balancing challenges of growth and equity. 

Vishaan is the new dean of U.C. Berkeley's College of Environmental Design (starts Fall 2020), was NYC Dept. of Planning Manhattan, worked at Related, Worked at Shop Architects, founded PAU, ran Columbia U's Real Estate Program, currently his firm is the design and planning firm for Ford's Michigan Central Station Project and Sunny Side Yards in New York among other high profile projects.  Bridges Planning, Architecture and Urban Design. Dynamic speaker on cities and equity. 

Member of the California State Senate.  Is championing a bill that, if passed, would require municipalities to allow dense housing development near transit stations.  The current proposal makes special allowances for low-income areas (a revision in response to concerns about displacement).  The controversial bill would thoroughly transform California planning and establish it as a national leader in transportation/land-use integration.

Mayor of Minneapolis.  Minneapolis recently abolished the single-family zone within city limits, a move that will make multifamily housing of up to 3 units a by-right use in all of the single-family zone (a majority of the city's territory).  This is an important and quite revolutionary step in US planning.  The dynamic mayor was a supporter of this move. `

Planning faculty member at the University of Amsterdam.

Marco has expertise in four areas which I think would be of interest to our community:
1) He has extensive experience in transportation planning, including a project which involved conducting accessibility analysis in several cities across Europe.
2) He has been leading the Urban Cycling Institute, and tweets by the handle @fietsprofessor (Cycling Professor) https://twitter.com/fietsprofessor
3) He has published many seminal papers on Planning Support Systems.
4) He is a proponent to experiential and design science research approaches which would be of interest to PhD students.

With over 1,000 citations to his research (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BQsazWcAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao) he is a rising star in planning research who has many interesting ideas and findings to share.

Specialties: Consulting services for communities with coal-fired power plants that are closing. Services include addressing employment and tax loss, land use redevelopment, and grant writing, with the support of the Just Transition Fund, an initiative of the Rockefeller Family Fund. Legacy city redevelopment using brownfield redevelopment tools, zoning, resiliency planning, training, grant writing, land use and land dispute research.

Taubman grad, practitioner working on social justice issues