Philip Berke Will Present Clarkson Chair in Planning Lecture at UB March 23

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- In a timely twist of fate, given the recent earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand, Philip Berke, noted specialist in planning for earthquakes and author of major books on urban planning and natural hazard mitigation, will present the University at Buffalo's 2011 Clarkson Chair in Planning Lecture March 23 at 5:30 p.m. in 301 Crosby Hall on the UB South Campus.

Berke, the 2011 Clarkson Chair in Planning in the UB School of Architecture and Planning, is professor of city and regional planning at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, where he is the deputy director of the Institute for Environment and the director of the Center for Sustainable Community Design.

He says, "The central focus of my work is to develop a deeper understanding of the connections between human settlements and the natural environment. My research explores the causes of land use decisions and their consequences on the environmental, social and economic systems of human settlements."

His ultimate goal is to seek solutions to complex urban development problems that enhance the transition to sustainable communities, he says.

Berke is currently a Collaborative Research Scholar of the International Global Change Institute in New Zealand and presents seminars throughout the world. His research has been supported by the United Nations Division of Humanitarian Affairs, U.S. National Science Foundation, New Zealand Foundation for Research Science and Technology, Federal Emergency Management Agency, North Carolina Water Resources Research Institute, and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. He is a co-recipient of the 2001 Best Article Award and 2000 Honorable Mention Best Article Award from the American Planning Association.

Since 1990, he has presented seminars at universities throughout the United States and lectured throughout Europe and Asia. He is a former member of the National Research Council's Committee on Disaster Research and the Social Sciences, a former Faculty Fellow of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and a 1993 Senior Fulbright Scholar in the Centre for Environmental and Resource Studies, University of Waikato, New Zealand.

He also has served as a consultant on land use and environmental planning to state and local governments, served as a Hazard Mitigation Specialist for the Federal Emergency Management, and a consultant on disaster recovery to international disaster relief organizations.

Berke has been on the editorial boards of the Journal of the American Planning Association and the Journal of Architecture and Planning Research, and was lead co-author of "Urban Land Use Planning," a major work that integrates the principles of sustainable communities in urban form, as well as author of important books on post-environmental disaster recovery, natural hazard mitigation and planning for sustainability.

The Clarkson Visiting Chair is an endowed visiting position awarded to distinguished scholars or professionals in the disciplines of architecture and urban planning. It recognizes excellence in the pursuit of scholarship and professional application within these disciplines and is made possible by the generous support of Will and Nan Clarkson.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.