Juan Camilo Osorio

Pratt Institute Distinguished Teacher Award – 2023-2024

My work explores the tension between cities and the political economy of climate action and disaster recovery, where socio-economic and environmental inequality exacerbate each other at all stages of the planning process. This includes research, policy design, technical assistance and advocacy campaigns on community-based planning, environmental justice and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

As an Associate Professor at Pratt Institute’s Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment, I engage with students in applied research and planning collaborations with grassroots leaders across New York City and abroad to nurture mutual learning and explore the ethical and political complexity of urban planning work. In addition, I serve as a Commissioner at the New York City Planning Commission, nominated by the Brooklyn Borough President, Antonio Reynoso, to leverage roughly two decades of professional and research experience.

Before joining Pratt Institute as a full-time faculty member, I served as Research Affiliate and Co-Investigator at the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, Director of Research at the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, and Senior GIS Analyst and Planner at the Municipal Art Society Planning Center. In addition, I have been appointed to serve in several advisory capacities including the NYC Offshore Wind Advisory Council; the Land Use and Local Government Advisory Panel convened by the NYS Governor to inform the implementation of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA); and the Community Resiliency in Environmental Justice Industrial Waterfront Communities Work Group convened by the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (NEJAC).

• PhD, Urban & Regional Planning:
  Department of Urban Studies & Planning
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• MRP, Master of Regional Planning:
  Department of Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning
  University of Massachusetts-Amherst
• Bachelor of Architecture:
  Facultad de Artes
  Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Bogotá

Published Peer Reviewed Publications:

• Knox-Hayes, J., Osorio, J. C., Stamler, N., Dombrov, M., Winer, R., Smith, M. H., Rosenzweig, C. (2023) The Compound Risk of Heat and COVID-19 in New York City: Riskscapes, Physical and Social Factors, and Interventions. Local Environment. VOL. 28, NO. 6, 699–727.
• Yonder, A., Narciso, M., Osorio, J. C., Hanhardt, E. (2020). Pedagogy Built on Working with Communities: A First Semester Core Course. In Frank, A., da Rosa Pires, A. (eds.), “Teaching Urban and Regional Planning: Innovative Pedagogies in Practice”. Published by Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Dawson, R.J., Khan, M.S.A., Gornitz, V., Lemos, M. F., Atkinson, L., Pullen, J., and Osorio, J. C. (2018). Urban Areas in Coastal Zones. In Rosenzweig, C., W. Solecki, P. Romero-Lankao, S. Mehrotra, S. Dhakal, and S. Ali Ibrahim (eds.), Climate Change & Cities: Second Assessment Report of Urban Climate Change Research Network. Cambridge University Press. New York. 319–362.
• Reckien, D., Lwasa, S., Satterthwaite, D., McEvoy, D., Creutzig, F., Montgomery, M., Schensul, D., Balk, D., and Khan, I. (Contributing authors) Fernandez, B.; Brown, D.; Osorio, J. C.; Tovar-Restrepo, M.; De Sherbinin, A.; Feringa, W.; Sverdlik, A.; Porio, E.; Nair, A.; McCormick, S.; Bautista, E. (2018). Equity, environmental justice, and urban climate change. In Rosenzweig, C., W. Solecki, P. Romero-Lankao, S. Mehrotra, S. Dhakal, and S. Ali Ibrahim (eds.), Climate Change and Cities: Second Assessment Report of the Urban Climate Change Research Network. Cambridge University Press. New York. 173–224.
• Madrigano, J., Osorio, J. C., Bautista, E., Chavez, R., Chaisson, C., Meza, E., Shih, R., Chari, R. (2018). Environmental Monitoring Recommendations for Fugitive Chemicals in Industrial Waterfront Communities Following Severe Weather Events. Environmental Justice 11(3), pp. 95-100.
• Bautista, E.; Hernandez, A.; Osorio, J. C.; Soto; P., (2017). Building a Resilient and Equitable City: How to Advance Environmental Justice Through the OneNYC Plan. Metropolitics – ELECTRONIC.
• Bautista, E., Hanhardt, E., Osorio, J. C.; Dwyer, N., (2015). New York City Environmental Justice Alliance Waterfront Justice Project. Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, 20(6), pp. 664-682.
• Bautista, E., Osorio, J. C.; Dwyer, N., (2015). Building Climate Justice and Reducing Industrial Waterfront Vulnerability. Social Research: An International Quarterly 82(3), pp. 821-838.

OFFICE HOURS: Tuesdays, 9-11am by appointment via STARFISH.