Dr. Zachary Lamb (University of California, Berkeley) and Dr. Lawrence Vale (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) have been selected to receive the 2025 Best Book in the Field of Urban Affairs Award for The Equitably Resilient City: Solidarities and Struggles in the Face of Climate Crisis (MIT Press, 2024).
This annual award is given to a book that is well-written and based on rigorous research on an urban issue(s) within any national context. Seventy (70) books were nominated this year from a variety of different disciplines and covering a wide range of urban topics.
AWARD COMMITTEE ASSESSMENT
The Equitably Resilient City: Solidarities and Struggles in the Face of Climate Crisis by Zachary B. Lamb and Lawrence J. Vale (MIT Press) is an insightful and groundbreaking exploration of how urban planning can address climate change while promoting social equity. Through twelve case studies in the Global North and South, Lamb and Vale present a compelling framework that integrates environmental safety, security from displacement, stable livelihoods, and enhanced self-governance. The authors merge theory with actionable insights, providing a clear path toward equitable urban resilience. They challenge conventional planning paradigms, offering transformative strategies that prioritize marginalized communities while addressing climate vulnerabilities. The book inspires and equips practitioners with the tools to reimagine urban spaces and offers scholars a compelling new analytic framework for understanding cities as hubs of justice, sustainability, and opportunity.
AWARD RECIPIENT BIOS
Zachary Lamb is an Assistant Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley. His work focuses on the role of urban planning and design in shaping uneven vulnerability and resilience in the face of climate change. Dr. Lamb received his PhD from MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning and was a Princeton Mellon Fellow in Urbanism and the Environment.
Lawrence J. Vale is Associate Dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, and Ford Professor of Urban Design and Planning in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, which he headed for seven years. A past president of the Society for American City and Regional Planning History, he received that Society’s Career award in 2022. Since 2014, he has directed MIT’s Resilient Cities Housing Initiative. Vale holds degrees from Amherst College (American Studies), M.I.T. (Architecture), and the University of Oxford (International Relations). A Rhodes Scholar and Guggenheim fellow, Vale is the author or editor of thirteen books and more than sixty articles examining urban design, housing, and planning. His writing on American low-income housing has included four sole-authored books and two co-edited volumes which have, collectively, won “best book” prizes from Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, from the Urban Affairs Association (twice), and from the International Planning History Society (three times).
The Equitably Resilient City (2024) joins other books on more globe-spanning topics, including the prize-winning Architecture, Power, and National Identity and The Resilient City: How Modern Cities Recover from Disaster.
At MIT, Vale has won the Institute’s highest awards for teaching and for graduate student advising.
AWARD PRESENTATION
The formal presentation of this award will be made at the upcoming International Conference on Urban Affairs in Vancouver, BC, Canada, at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre. The theme of this year’s conference is Urban Concentration: Challenges to Equity, Mobility, and Sustainability. The conference will convene over 900 participants from 55+ countries and representing 20+ fields of study. All award recipients will be formally recognized for their achievements during the Awards and Recognition Program on April 16, 2025; 3:00–4:15pm.
AWARD COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Deden Rukmana, University of Texas at Arlington (Chair); Evan Carver, University of Chicago; Laura Dedenbach, University of Florida; Robert Pfaff, Iowa State University; Erin Rugland, Cardiff University
ABOUT THE URBAN AFFAIRS ASSOCIATION
The Urban Affairs Association (UAA) is an international professional organization for 1000+ urban scholars, researchers, policy analysts, & public service providers. UAA is dedicated to creating interdisciplinary spaces for engaging in intellectual and practical discussions about urban life. Through theoretical, empirical, and action-oriented research, UAA fosters diverse activities to understand and shape a more just and equitable urban world.
In addition to hosting an annual conference, UAA sponsors ongoing professional development opportunities; Upsilon Sigma: The Urban Studies Honor Society; and two peer-reviewed journals, the Journal of Urban Affairs and the Journal of Race, Ethnicity and the City. You can find UAA on the web, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Facebook, and X.
