Dawn Jourdan

Dawn Jourdan’s research regarding the legal aspects of land use, affordable housing, historic preservation and aesthetics regulation at the federal, state, and local level, has been published in numerous academic journals and law reviews, including the Journal of Real Estate Research, International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, and the Journal of Law and Public Policy. She is a professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning in the College of Architecture at Texas A&M and also serves as the college’s executive associate dean. A widely published author, Jourdan co-wrote “Planning for Wicked Problems: A Planner’s Guide to Land Use Law,” which shows students how the law can be a useful tool when planners devise solutions to intractable planning problems. Jourdan earned a Master of Urban Planning Degree and a Juris Doctor, a professional graduate law degree, at the University of Kansas in 2000, she joined Holland & Knight LLP, an international law firm, as an associate in its Chicago office. Her academic career, which began in 2002, included positions at Florida State, Rutgers University, Texas A&M and the University of Florida. In Florida, she filled a joint appointment in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and the Levin College of Law and directed the university’s Center for Building Better Communities, which conducts research and advocates for innovation in collaborative planning and citizen participation in public projects.