My courses challenge future planners, architects, and heritage professionals to think critically about cities, power, and the built environment. Through a combination of theory, history, and practice, students learn to examine how planning decisions shape communities—and whose voices are heard in those decisions. This approach connects ideas to action, understanding that planning is both a technical field and a fundamentally social and political practice.

I teach courses on planning history, urban design, and heritage conservation at the University of Southern California, with appointments in both the Sol Price School of Public Policy and the School of Architecture. My teaching integrates scholarly research with real-world case studies, often drawing on Los Angeles as a living laboratory for understanding urban development, preservation conflicts, and the ongoing struggle to create more just and equitable cities.

Courses

Planning History and Theory for a Just Society

Sol Price School of Public Policy | PPD 522
View Syllabus

Ideas about planning are drawn from numerous traditions including political, social, economic, geographic, cultural, and urban theory. This course introduces first-year planning students to a rich body of literature and connects readings to everyday practice so that their work as planners has the potential to be both more effective and critically engaged. Over the semester, we explore scholars and practitioners who have shaped planning as a field of inquiry and as a profession. As we think through the effects of planning in the United States, students have the opportunity to reflect on their personal values as future planners and as citizens of an interconnected world.

Key themes: Planning theory and intellectual traditions • Social justice and equity in planning • The politics of urban development • Critical approaches to planning practice • Professional ethics and values

Shaping the Built Environment

Sol Price School of Public Policy | PPD 644
View Syllabus

Urban design shapes the appearance, layout, and organization of the built environment through deliberate processes aimed at creating functional, efficient, just, and aesthetically appealing places. This gateway course introduces students to foundational concepts and literature in urban design and physical planning. Through seminar discussions, students interrogate important ideas and methods, then apply them in the documentation and analysis of particular sites from historical, spatial, and social perspectives.

Key themes: Urban design theory and practice • Public space and the public realm • Form, function, and urban aesthetics • Spatial analysis and site documentation • Historical perspectives on design interventions

Heritage Conservation Policy and Planning

School of Architecture | ARCH 550
View Syllabus

Heritage conservation is a social practice with the goal of creating vibrant places that honor the history of diverse communities while facilitating the development of inclusive and equitable futures for all. This course provides an overview of how the conservation profession operates within the contexts of urban planning and policy. We examine how heritage mediates conflicts between preservation, social forces, economic interests, and politics, exploring both the power and limitations of conservation as a tool for community development.

Key themes: Heritage conservation theory and practice • Cultural landscape preservation • Conservation policy and regulations • Community engagement and inclusive heritage • Conflicts between preservation and development • Adaptive reuse and sustainability

Student Advising

I serve on thesis committees for students in the Master of Heritage Conservation program at USC’s School of Architecture, guiding research on topics ranging from the preservation of intangible heritage to the adaptive reuse of historic buildings to heritage justice and community-led conservation.

 

Teaching Philosophy

My approach to teaching is rooted in the belief that students learn best when they can connect abstract concepts to concrete realities. I use Los Angeles extensively as a case study because it offers particularly rich examples of planning successes, failures, and ongoing debates. By examining the forces that have shaped this complex metropolis, students develop analytical skills they can apply anywhere.

I encourage students to bring their own experiences and perspectives into the classroom, recognizing that diverse viewpoints strengthen our collective understanding of how cities work and whom they serve. Critical thinking doesn’t mean reflexive criticism; it means asking hard questions, examining evidence carefully, and being willing to change one’s mind when warranted.

Above all, I want students to leave my courses understanding that planning is not a neutral technical exercise but a value-laden practice with real consequences for real people. The decisions we make about cities reflect and reinforce particular visions of what cities should be and whom they should serve.