Research Bio

Zachary Lamb is an urban planner and scholar whose research investigates housing, infrastructure, and environmental justice. He is best known for his work on climate adaptation, displacement, and community-led planning in cities vulnerable to climate change. Lamb’s research integrates urban design, social equity, and environmental planning to understand how cities can build resilience while maintaining affordability and inclusion. His work contributes to equitable urban transformation and climate justice.

He is a Professor of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley and Faculty Affiliate at the Institute for Urban and Regional Development, the Global Metropolitan Studies program, and the Institute of South Asian Studies. His first book, The Equitably Resilient City: Solidarities and Struggles in the Face of Climate Crisis (MIT Press 2024), co-authored with Lawrence Vale, won the 2025 Best Book in Urban Affairs Award from the Urban Affairs Association. His research has been published in Journal of the American Planning Association, Housing Policy Debate, and Planning Theory and Practice. At Berkeley, he teaches urban design and environmental design research methods, mentoring students in community-engaged and sustainability-oriented urban planning and design.

Research Expertise and Interest

urban spatial politics, ecological design, environmental hazards of climate change, Affordable housing, shared equity housing, manufactured housing, adaptation to flooding