Margaretta Lin

Margaretta Lin is a Lecturer in City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, and Principal Investigator at the Institute of Urban and Regional Development (IURD). She serves as the founding director of Just Cities, a racial justice organization, and co-leads the Transformative Justice Studio (CYPLAN 291). Her work focuses on policy solutions addressing structural discrimination, mass incarceration, and racial displacement through restorative and transformative justice frameworks.

Education: J.D. from UC Berkeley Law, Master in Asian Studies from UC Berkeley, and BA from the University of Virginia.

Research emphasizes anti-displacement policies, human empowerment as anti-recidivism strategy, and Asian American/Black multiracial solidarity. She has held senior roles in Oakland's government, securing federal/state resources during the Great Recession and pioneering land-use policies prioritizing marginalized East Oakland neighborhoods.

• Co-founded the Dellums Institute for Social Justice to combat racial displacement.
• Architect of community institutions like the East Bay Community Law Center’s Economic Justice Clinic.
• Developed courses on mindfulness in law, urban studies praxis, and transformative justice pedagogy.

Labs/Teams: Future Histories Lab, Just Cities, and Black Cultural Zone Collaborative.