Jairo Garcia

Jairo Garcia is a Full-Time Lecturer in the School of City & Regional Planning at the Georgia Institute of Technology, part of the College of Design. His expertise spans sustainable urban development, climate change mitigation, and environmental health resilience. He holds an engineering degree, MSc in Management of Information Technologies (Syracuse University), MSc in Sustainability Management (Columbia University), and a Doctoral degree in Educational Technology and Sustainability (Pepperdine University).

His research focuses on spatial data analysis for ecological assessments, climate vulnerability identification, and public health resilience. Notable projects include developing Atlanta’s first Climate Action Plan and leading the City’s 100 Resilient Cities application, awarded in 2016. He represented Atlanta at the COP23 Climate Summit and contributed to the IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change.

Dr. Garcia has received prestigious awards, including the EPA’s 2017 Individual Climate Leadership Award and the 2023 Excellence in Climate Leadership Award from the American Public Health Association. His academic roles include teaching courses on sustainable urban development, global cities, and climate policies at Georgia Tech, alongside prior affiliations with Columbia University’s Earth Institute and UCLA.

His work bridges academia and practice, emphasizing policy-driven solutions for climate adaptation and sustainability. Current research explores public health co-benefits of climate policies and innovative urban transportation systems.