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Person walking on the streets of a small town
Annual LULC Conference 2024

Conference Speakers 2024

Jerold S. Kayden

Frank Backus Williams Professor of Urban Planning and Design
Founding Director, Master in Real Estate Program

Jerold S. Kayden is the Frank Backus Williams Professor of Urban Planning and Design and Founding Director of the Master in Real Estate degree program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Jerold S. Kayden is the Frank Backus Williams Professor of Urban Planning and Design and Founding Director of the Master in Real Estate degree program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He previously served as Co-Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design and Director of the Urban Planning program. His teaching and scholarship address issues of land use and environmental law, public-private real estate development, public space, urban disasters, climate change, design competitions, and cultural space. His books include Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience; Urban Disaster Resilience: New Dimensions from International Practice in the Built Environment; Landmark Justice: The Influence of William J. Brennan on America's Communities; and Zoning and the American Dream: Promises Still To Keep. From 2009 to 2011, he was Principal Investigator for the Harvard-Netherlands Project on Climate Change, Water, Land Development, and Adaptation, a collaborative effort between Harvard University, the Dutch Government, and the Deltares Institute.

Professor Kayden has advised governments, non-governmental organizations, and private and public real estate developers and owners in the United States and around the world. He has argued court cases, written amicus briefs for United States Supreme Court cases, and served as expert witness. He has drafted laws on inclusionary housing and public space in American cities. Since 1991, he has served as principal constitutional counsel to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C. He founded and heads Advocates for Privately Owned Public Space, a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging public use of privately owned public space.

Under contracts with the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the United States Agency for International Development, and the United Nations Development Programme, Professor Kayden’s international work has involved drafting laws and advising governments on land use, housing, and real estate issues, in Armenia, China, Nepal, Russia, and Ukraine among other countries.

Professor Kayden has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, and awards from the American Bar Association, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, the American Society of Landscape Architects, and the Environmental Design Research Association, among others. He has been recognized at the Design School as “Teacher of the Year” and at Harvard University as an “Outstanding Teacher.” He has served on a number of boards and is currently a trustee at Juilliard. Professor Kayden earned his undergraduate, law, and city and regional planning degrees from Harvard and subsequently served as law clerk to Judge James L. Oakes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Chris Allen

Strong Towns

Chris Allen is the Director of Events and Partnerships at Strong Towns

Chris Allen is the Director of Events and Partnerships at Strong Towns. With a long career in operations, sales, and management, Chris brings a passion for collaborating around big ideas and seeing them through. He brings his enthusiasm for the built environment and community advocacy to our partners and supporters through the work of the Events and Partnerships Team. Chris is proud to work out the Strong Towns principles with our partners and donors—encouraging flourishing for all to positively impact our communities.

Panelists