Kristen Barnes

Kristen Barnes is a Visiting Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at Cornell University's College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP). She also holds the position of Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Professor of Law at Syracuse University, reflecting her deep engagement in legal academia and interdisciplinary planning scholarship.

Her educational background is exceptionally diverse and prestigious: she earned a B.A. in Political Science from Vassar College, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and a Ph.D. in Literature from Duke University. This interdisciplinary foundation informs her critical approach to legal and social issues.

Barnes’s research centers on anti-discrimination and equality law, property, housing, education, constitutional law, and pensions. Her work critically examines structural inequities and legal frameworks shaping social and spatial justice, particularly in urban and educational contexts.

She has presented her scholarship at leading forums including the American Society of International Law Midyear Meeting, Harvard Law School's Institute of Global Law and Policy Conference, the Association of Law, Property, and Society Annual Conference, Loyola Law School's Constitutional Colloquium, and Fordham Law School's International and Comparative Urban Law Conference.

Her notable honors include:

• American Bar Foundation Visiting Scholar Residency (2018–2019)
• American Bar Foundation Visiting Scholar Residency (2019–2020)

Barnes has held significant leadership roles in the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), including Chair of the Section on Property Law, Chair of the Real Estate Transactions Section, and Chair-Elect of the European Law Section. Internationally, she co-chaired the American Society of International Law Midyear Meeting in 2019 and is a member of the University of California–Berkeley's Comparative Law Equality Working Group. At Cornell, she teaches CRP 4590/5590 Land Use Law, bridging legal theory with urban planning practice.