Ricky Burdett is Professor of Urban Studies, and director of LSE Cities and the Urban Age Programme. His research interests focus on the interactions between the physical and social worlds in the contemporary city and how urbanisation affects social and environmental sustainability.
Professor Burdett was Global Distinguished Professor at New York University from 2010 – 2014. He is currently a Visiting Professor in Urban Planning and Design at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University as well as a member of the UK Government’s Independent Airports Commission and a member of Council of the Royal College of Art in London. He has been involved in regeneration projects across Europe and was Chief Adviser on Architecture and Urbanism for the London 2012 Olympics and architectural adviser to the Mayor of London from 2001 to 2006. He is a judge in the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities initiative and is a member of the Hurricane Sandy Regional Planning and Design Competition organised by US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Professor Burdett was also a member of the Urban Task Force which produced a major report for the UK government on the future of English cities. He is co-editor of The Endless City (2007), Living in the Endless City (2011) and Transforming Urban Economies (2013).