URP Welcomes New 1855 Professor, Dr. Jesus J. Lara
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EmailThe School of Planning, Design and Construction would like to welcome Dr. Jesus J. Lara to the Urban & Regional Planning Program
The School of Planning, Design and Construction has a new addition to the Urban & Regional Planning faculty: 1855 Professor, Dr.Jesus J. Lara. Professor Lara received a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from California State Polytechnic University in 1994, a Master’s in both Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture from the University of Southern California in 2001, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Design and Planning from Arizona State University in 2006. He was a Fulbright Fellow at Delft University of Technology and Wageningen University, the Netherlands, between 2003 and 2004, where he conducted research on sustainable urban design practices. Between 2014 and 2015 Professor Lara was a visiting professor at the Institute for European Urban Studies (IfEU) at Bauhaus Universität, Weimar, Germany. This work was funded by the German Academic Exchange Program (DAAD).
During the 2022-2023 academic year Professor Lara was awarded a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award and a German Academic Exchange Program (DAAD) Research Stays for University Academics and Scientist Award for his project "A Place to Call Home: A study of the relationship between social change and the built environment, and the role of immigrant populations in the process sustainable urban design, informality and placemaking." During this time Professor Lara was hosted at the Institute of Sustainable Urbanism (ISU) at the Technical University of Braunschweig and the Institute of Urban and Regional Planning at the Technical University Berlin where he taught courses on Placemaking/Urban Design and conducted research.
Professor Lara’s research in urban planning further examines the effects of social and economic inequity as it relates to ethnicity and how this influences access to social and cultural infrastructure and, consequently, the health and well-being of individuals and communities His teaching, research, and community service emphasize a social consciousness that focuses on enhancing the built environment’s ability to generate social capital. Professor Lara’s pedagogy addresses global issues in planning and research that is site appropriate and involves student and community involvement. This approach is critical to his community service, research, teaching and scholarly work, and creates an academic agenda that seeks to balance social, cultural and ecological needs in producing a more sustainable urban environment. This perspective is reflected in the research and design topics of his studies, seminars, and course work. His interdisciplinary education and professional experience allow him to draw from related disciplines and work in diverse teams and settings.
As a teacher, Professor Lara's goal is to influence and inspire students to become reflective, knowledgeable planning and design professionals and ultimately leaders who can effectively engage the communities they serve. His personal philosophy of teaching has been shaped by his life experiences, particularly those during my academic preparation, which have spanned several countries and two continents. Being trained as a landscape architect, urban planner, and environmental designer, his professional orientation embodies a form of transdisciplinary research and practice. Working in diverse settings has led him to an integrative approach to pedagogy, scholarship, and practice. He has learned from individual experiences that two especially crucial elements are necessary for effective design, research, and teaching. The first is direct experience of a wide range of human and natural environments; the second is close observation and cultural immersion in those environments.
The School of Planning, Design and Construction is excited to welcome Dr. Lara into our faculty.
