About
Brian Garcia PhD AICP Associate AIA is an urban designer with experience on large projects in urban design, architecture and planning, in the United States, China, India, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia. His scholarship, teaching and practice focus on the importance of urban design and more recently how historic solutions to major challenges can be incorporated into everyday life. He is a champion of urban regeneration largely through public transport and affordable housing interventions for cities of cultural production and not just cities of consumption.
Brian’s work has been published in The Guardian, the Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, Area, Urban Research and Practice, Urban Design International, and the Urban Design Group Journal. He has presented research widely and internationally including for the Society of Architectural Historians, the American Association of Geographers, the European Urban Research Association, and the International Seminar on Urban Form.
Brian is currently Visiting Assistant Professor in urban studies at Loyola Marymount University. From 2022 to 2024 Brian was a Visiting Scholar at the UCLA Department of Urban Planning where he developed a book on . He also taught environmental analysis and environmental justice at Scripps College, Claremont and sustainable cities and environmental justice at Soka University. Brian was previously an Assistant Professor at Cal Poly Pomona teaching urban design, housing, social justice and international planning. Previously, Brian has taught at University College London (UCL) in urban regeneration and the University of Southern California in fine arts.
Dr. Garcia has been a Virtual Fellow for the United States Department of State and has advised on the American Planning Association’s national guides on Smart Growth and Energy. Brian has provided design guidance for the City of Los Angeles and the LA Metro Transportation Authority. Brian’s work has been featured in the Venice Biennale.
Brian has received research funding for projects and analysis in land use, travel behavior and design from the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), Cal Poly Pomona, The Bartlett, University College London, UCL Grand Challenges, University of Southern California, University of California Los Angeles, University of Hong Kong and Yale University.
As an architectural designer and project manager Brian has worked on projects including Bay Area Rapid Transit stations, mixed-use residential developments, new towns across Asia and on Rem Koolhaas Office for Metropolitan Architects’ projects including their West Coast Prada expansion.
A native of Central California, Brian grew up aware of the importance of the environment and resource management. These experiences motivated his interest in environmental policy and planning challenges.
Brian earned BAs in Architecture and Art at UC Berkeley. At the University of Southern California, he completed a Master of Architecture and a Master of Public Art Studies. After working for planning agencies in Los Angeles, Brian pursued an MSc in International Planning and completed his studies for a PhD on international comparisons in urban design and transport, at the Bartlett, University College London under the supervision of Professor Sir Peter Hall.