Downtown and Central Los Angeles Chancellor’s Society Regional Event

Challenges of Urban Landscapes in 21st Century US Cities: The Role of Urban Design

Despite the flourishing of the urban design field over the last quarter of a century, many of the issues and problems haunting urban environments have not been resolved. New social forces and concerns have appeared that have important spatial and design implications on how we should design and build our cities. These forces range from intensifying globalization and immigration flows to increasing flows of population to urban areas and increasing automobile ownership. Concerns about climate change, terrorism in cities and the epidemic of obesity and sedentary lifestyles have also intensified. Professor Loukaitou-Sideris’s talk will trace the spatial implications of these issues and will also explore the role and potential of urban design in responding to them.

About Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris

Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris is Associate Provost for Academic Planning at UCLA, Associate Dean of the Luskin School of Public Affairs, and a Professor of Urban Planning. She holds a B.A. in architecture from the National Technical University of Athens, Master’s degrees in architecture and in urban planning, and a Ph.D. in urban planning, all from the University of Southern California. Her research focuses on the public environment of the city, its physical representation, social meaning and impact on residents. She has published more than 100 articles and chapters and has co-authored or co-edited five books: Urban Design Downtown: Poetics and Politics of Form; Jobs and Economic Development in Minority Communities; Sidewalks: Conflict and Negotiation over Public Space; Companion to Urban Design; and The Informal American City: Beyond Taco Trucks and Day Labor. Her research projects have been funded by the California Air Resources Board, Caltrans, California Department of Parks and Recreation, Mellon Foundation, Haynes Foundation, Gilbert Foundation, Archstone Foundation, and the Mineta Transportation Institute, while she is about to embark on a project on age-friendly cities funded by the AARP.

Professor Loukaitou-Sideris has served as a consultant to the Transportation Research Board, Federal Transit Administration, Southern California Association of Governments, South Bay Cities Council of Government, Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative, Project for Public Spaces, Greek Ministry of Education, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, Dutch Technology Foundation STW, and as nominator for the MacArthur (“genius”) awards.