School of Planning, Design and Construction

Jesus J. Lara, Ph.D., is a Professor of Urban and Regional Planning in the School of Planning, Design, and Construction at Michigan State University. His work advances an integrated model of applied, community-engaged planning focused on immigrant placemaking, cultural landscapes, and spatial justice. Bridging research, teaching, and practice, his scholarship emphasizes implementation-driven approaches that translate sociocultural insights into actionable planning strategies.

His research and teaching examine sustainable urban design, Latino Urbanism, community development, and the sociocultural dynamics shaping the built environment. He is the author of Latino Placemaking and Planning: Cultural Resiliency and Strategies for Re-urbanization (University of Arizona Press, 2018) and co-editor of Remaking Metropolis: Global Challenges of the Urban Landscape (Routledge, 2013). He has also guest-edited a special issue of the Journal of Urbanism on international placemaking and contributed to the Oxford Bibliographies in Latino Urbanism.

Prof. Lara’s work focuses on three interconnected areas:

• Planning and placemaking for emergent immigrant communities
• Community development through service-learning and practice-based education
• Pedagogical innovation in sustainable urban design

His approach positions the planning studio and practicum as living laboratories for applied research, generating replicable methods, community-informed strategies, and implementation frameworks.

He earned a B.S. in Landscape Architecture from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, dual master’s degrees in Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture from the University of Southern California, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Design and Planning from Arizona State University.

He was a Fulbright Fellow at Delft University of Technology and Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and later a visiting professor at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

In 2022–2023, he received both a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award and a DAAD Research Fellowship. His work was hosted at the Technical University of Braunschweig and Technische Universität Berlin, where he conducted research and taught courses on placemaking and urban design.

ONGOING RESEARCH

Immigrant Placemaking, Spatial Justice, and Comparative Urbanism

Prof. Lara’s research examines how immigrant communities shape urban environments through cultural landscapes and community-led placemaking, with a focus on spatial justice and inclusive development. This work extends into a comparative international context through collaboration with the Global Center of Spatial Methods for Urban Sustainability (SMUS) at Technische Universität Berlin.

His current project, Building Equitable Cities in Migration Societies, investigates neighborhoods in Berlin such as Neukölln, Moabit and Kreuzberg to understand how everyday spatial practices, ethnic commercial corridors, and community networks contribute to belonging, resilience, and social integration.

Using a mixed-methods approach—including spatial analysis, participatory mapping, ethnographic fieldwork, and governance analysis—the research evaluates how planning and mobility interventions intersect with redevelopment pressures and displacement dynamics.

This work incorporates comparative insights from U.S. cities to generate applied planning tools, policy-relevant strategies, and transferable methodologies that support culturally responsive and equitable urban development.

TEACHING AS PRACTICE-BASE RESEARCH

Planning Practicum

A central component of Prof. Lara’s work is the integration of teaching, research, and practice through a vertically integrated undergraduate and graduate planning practicum at Michigan State University.

Students collaborate with municipal and community partners on real-world planning projects addressing climate resilience, neighborhood revitalization, and equitable development.

Through a structured, phase-based methodology, the practicum produces applied planning frameworks, spatial analysis tools, and implementation strategies grounded in both qualitative and quantitative analysis.

This approach positions the practicum as a living laboratory for applied scholarship, generating replicable methods and actionable outcomes while advancing broader research agendas in immigrant placemaking, community development, and spatial justice.

Expertise

• Immigrant placemaking and cultural landscapes
• Spatial justice and equitable development
• Community-based and participatory planning
• Sustainable urban design
• Practice-based planning education