David Brown

David Brown is a Professor and Interim Director at the University of Illinois at Chicago, holding a Master of Architecture from UC Berkeley and a BA from Brown University. His work centers on transformative urban design through The Available City project, which reimagines Chicago's 10,000+ city-owned vacant lots as a collective space system for immediate community-driven implementation.

His educational background includes:

• MArch, University of California, Berkeley
• BA, Brown University

Brown's research uniquely bridges architecture and jazz improvisation theory, initiated in his 2006 book 'Noise Orders' and expanded through essays examining how improvisational structures inform urban design. He focuses specifically on The Available City's transformative potential for Chicago's South and West Sides, with contributions to major publications including CENTER 18: Music in Architecture—Architecture in Music and the Oxford Handbook of Critical Improvisation Studies. His work has been exhibited internationally at the Venice Architecture Biennale and multiple Chicago Architecture Biennials.

As Artistic Director of the 2021 Chicago Architecture Biennial, Brown led the event that centered entirely on The Available City framework, demonstrating its application as a practical urban design solution. His leadership roles at UIC and the Biennial highlight his significant influence in architectural discourse.

Brown maintains active scholarly communication through his UIC email (dpb@uic.edu) and continues to develop The Available City as both theoretical framework and implementable urban strategy, with particular emphasis on community engagement in underserved neighborhoods.