Brian Garcia

Brian Garcia, Ph.D., is an urban designer with experience on large development projects in the United States, Hong Kong, India, Kazakhstan and Malaysia.

Dr. Garcia’s current research interests include internationalism, active transport environments and comparative urbanism. In the past, Dr. Garcia has worked on research projects in land use, sustainable cities education and the economic and ecological transitions of London high streets.

Dr. Garcia has been a visiting researcher at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and the Hong Kong University School of Social Work and Social Administration.

Dr. Garcia studied for his Ph.D. at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London (UCL) and Yale University School of Architecture. His field work took place in Berlin, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles and Medellin. Dr. Garcia’s Ph.D. supervisor was Professor Sir Peter Hall.

At the Bartlett, UCL, Dr. Garcia taught Urban Regeneration as well as Transport Policy and Planning. He was also a studio critic for the Building and Urban Design in Development graduate program within the Development Planning Unit, UCL.

In Los Angeles, Dr. Garcia has worked at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMetro) in Metro Art and Design as well as the Environmental Compliance and Sustainability Program. Prior to that, he worked as an architectural designer on a variety of projects including portions of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system and within the Executive Architect team for the Office for Metropolitan Architecture’s (OMA) Prada expansion.

Dr. Garcia is currently involved with the American Institute of Architect’s political efforts to address the housing crisis. He is regularly involved in the City of Los Angeles Urban Design Studio’s design review process. He has advised the American Planning Association’s national policy guides on energy and smart growth. Brian has also been a Virtual Fellow for the United States Department of State.

A native of Central California, Brian grew up aware of the importance of the environment and resource management. However, he was always fascinated with cities and their cultural institutions. These experiences motivated his interest in environmental policy and urban design.

At Cal Poly Pomona Brian teaches Urban Design, Urban Design in Europe and International Urban Design.