Laura Sara Wainer

Laura Sara Wainer is an Assistant Professor at the City College of New York, CUNY (since 2022), affiliated with the Spitzer School of Architecture. She holds a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning from MIT (2022), an M.S. in International Affairs from The New School (2015), and a B.A. in Architecture and Urbanism from Universidad de Buenos Aires (2008).

Professional Experience: Her career includes roles as Senior Consultant at the Inter-American Development Bank (2018–2022), Curator at MIT’s Center for Advanced Urbanism (2016–2018), and Urban Designer for Rwanda’s Housing Authority. She has also taught at universities in Argentina and the U.S., including MIT and The New School.

Research Focus: Wainer specializes in urban planning, housing policy, and informal urbanization in the Global South. Her work examines housing affordability, incremental construction, and the intersection of design with socio-economic equity. Notable projects include analyzing housing needs in Kigali, Rwanda, and studying counterhegemonic urbanization in South America and Africa.

Awards: Notable accolades include the Fulbright Scholarship, Delta Kappa Gamma Fellowship, and MIT’s SPURS Fellowship. Her research emphasizes policy-relevant solutions for equitable urban development.

Key Collaborations: She contributes to initiatives like the MIT-Harvard Joint Center for Urban Studies and co-leads the Inter-American Development Bank’s Urban Housing Studies. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges academic research with practical urban interventions.