Lauren Hood

Lauren A. Hood is an Assistant Professor of Practice at the Taubman College for Architecture & Urban Planning (University of Michigan) and founder of the Institute for AfroUrbanism (IAU). The IAU functions as a think tank and action lab focused on understanding what it means to be Black and thrive through social, structural, spatial, and spiritual frameworks.

• Chairwoman, Detroit Planning Commission
• Co-Chair, Detroit Reparations Task Force
• Trustee, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

In Fall 2025, she will launch the Black Thriving Index, an annual research initiative and fellowship program.

• 2020: Awarded Charles Blessing Award (AIA) for visionary planning approaches