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Home / Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris
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  • Urban Planning

Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris

Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning; Interim Dean, Luskin School of Public Affairs.

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Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris is Interim Dean of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, a former Associate Dean, a Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning, and a core faculty member of the UCLA Urban Humanities Initiative.

Professor Loukaitou-Sideris’ research focuses on the public environment of the city, its physical representation, aesthetics, social meaning and impact on the urban resident. Her work seeks to integrate social and physical issues in urban planning and architecture. An underlying theme of her work is its “user focus”; that is, she seeks to analyze and understand the built environment from the perspective of those who live and work there. Dr. Loukaitou-Sideris’ research includes documentation and analysis of the social and physical changes that have occurred in the public realm; cultural determinants of design and planning and their implications for public policy; quality-of-life issues for inner city residents; transit security, urban design, land use, and transportation issues.

Recent and ongoing projects, funded in part by the U.S. and California Departments of Transportation, The California Department of Recreation and Parks, the Mellon Foundation, the Haynes Foundation, the Gilbert Foundation, and the Mineta Transportation Institute, include: documentation of varying patterns of use of neighborhood parks among different ethnic groups; proposals for the physical and economic retrofit of inner city commercial corridors, examination of gentrification and displacement in transit station neighborhoods, sexual harassment in transit environments, studies of transit security, and planning for parklets.

She has served as a consultant to the Transportation Research Board, Federal Highway Administration, Los Angeles Metro, Southern California Association of Governments, South Bay Cities Council of Government, Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative, Project for Public Spaces, the Greek Government, and many municipal governments on issues of urban design, open space development, land use and transportation, and she has been commissioned to author research papers by the National Academies and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Dr. Loukaitou-Sideris is the author of numerous articles, the co-author of the books Urban Design Downtown: Poetics and Politics of Form (University of California Press, 1998), Sidewalks: Conflict and Negotiation over Public Space (MIT Press, 2009), Transit-Oriented Displacement or Community Divided? (MIT Press, 2019), and Urban Humanities: New Practices for Reimagining the City (MIT Press 2020); and the co-editor of the books Jobs and Economic Development in Minority Communities (Temple University Press, 2006), Companion to Urban Design (Routledge, 2011), The Informal American City: Beyond Taco Trucks and Day Labor (MIT Press, 2014),  New Companion to Urban Design (Routledge, 2019), and Transit Crime and Sexual Violence in Cities: International Evidence and Prevention .

BOOKS

Urban Humanities: New Practices for Reimagining the City.
Cuff, D., Loukaitou-Sideris, A., Presner, T., Zubiaurre, M., and Crisman, J., MIT Press (2020).

Transit Crime and Sexual Violence in Cities: International Evidence and Prevention
Ceccato, V., Loukaitou-Sideris, A., Routledge (2020).

Transit Oriented Displacement or Community Dividends?
Chapple, K., Loukaitou-Sideris, A., MIT Press (2019).

The New Companion to Urban Design
Banerjee, T., Loukaitou-Sideris, A., Routledge (2019).

“The Informal American City: Beyond Taco Trucks and Day Labor”
Edited by Vinit Mukhija and Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris. (MIT Press 2014)

Companion to Urban Design
Banerjee, T. and Loukaitou-Sideris, A. (Eds.)
New York and London: Routledge (2011).

Sidewalks: Conflict and Negotiation over Public Space
Loukaitou-Sideris, A. and Ehrenfeucht, R., MIT Press (2009).

Jobs and Economic Development in Minority Communities
Ong, P. and Loukaitou-Sideris, A. (Eds.) Temple University Press (2006).

Urban Design Downtown: Poetics and Politics of Form
Loukaitou-Sideris, A. and Banerjee, T., University of California Press (1998).

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Educational Background

  • Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning, University of Southern California

Areas of Expertise

  • Public Spaces, Urban Design, Urban Redevelopment

Latest News

Caroline Menjivar speaks on stage at UCLA Luskin Commencement ceremonies on June 12, 2026. She is a California State Senator and a prominent alumna of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, having earned her Master of Social Welfare (MSW) in 2018.|Jacqueline Waggoner '18 on the stage in front of a podium giving her commencement speech to the undergraduate class of 2026.
A Rousing Sendoff for UCLA Luskin’s Class of 2026
June 16, 2026
UCLA Luskin Social Welfare Receives Landmark $13.5 Million Investment to Revolutionize Youth Mental Health Training
April 7, 2026

UCLA Luskin Social Welfare receives $13.5M from Ballmer Group to train social workers addressing youth mental health in Los Angeles.

Latest News

Caroline Menjivar speaks on stage at UCLA Luskin Commencement ceremonies on June 12, 2026. She is a California State Senator and a prominent alumna of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, having earned her Master of Social Welfare (MSW) in 2018.|Jacqueline Waggoner '18 on the stage in front of a podium giving her commencement speech to the undergraduate class of 2026.

A Rousing Sendoff for UCLA Luskin’s Class of 2026

June 16, 2026

UCLA Luskin Social Welfare Receives Landmark $13.5 Million Investment to Revolutionize Youth Mental Health Training

April 7, 2026

UCLA Luskin Social Welfare receives $13.5M from Ballmer Group to train social workers addressing youth mental health in Los Angeles.

Anastasia and her research team stand over a raised garden bed at the Golden Age Park in Westlake.

Reimagining Parking Lots into Senior-Friendly Parks in Los Angeles

March 5, 2026

Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris led research transforming underused urban spaces into safe and inclusive parks for older adults.

two people at bus stop at night

Loukaitou-Sideris on How to Keep Public Transit Safe and Welcoming

October 22, 2025

UCLA scholar recommends employing a suite of strategies at transportation hubs, including thoughtful design and new technologies.

Bus stop steel bench with a metal armrest in the middle to deter people from laying down.

Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris on How Hostile Architecture Shapes Our Cities

September 22, 2025

How public spaces are designed to exclude certain groups—and what that says about our cities.

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Contact Information

Phone

(310) 206-9679 on-campus: x69679

Email

sideris@ucla.edu

Office Location

5387, Public Affairs

Media Contact

For media inquiries, contact Kate Shirley at kshirley@luskin.ucla.edu (email preferred) or 310-206-5252.

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Graduate Programs
  • Master of Public Policy (MPP)
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  • Master of Social Welfare (MSW)
  • Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP)
  • PhD in Social Welfare
  • PhD in Urban Planning
  • Master of Public Policy (MPP)
  • Master of Real Estate Development (MRED)
  • Master of Social Welfare (MSW)
  • Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP)
  • PhD in Social Welfare
  • PhD in Urban Planning
Undergraduate Programs
  • BA in Public Affairs
  • Minor in Urban and Regional Studies
  • Minor in Gerontology
  • Minor in Public Affairs
  • BA in Public Affairs
  • Minor in Urban and Regional Studies
  • Minor in Gerontology
  • Minor in Public Affairs
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Program Specific Admissions
  • Public Policy
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  • Undergraduate Program
  • Public Policy
  • Real Estate Development
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  • Urban Planning
  • Undergraduate Program
Faculty
Our Faculty
  • All Faculty
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Leadership
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Research Centers
  • Agile Visual Analytics Lab (AVAL):

    Uses data visualization to improve decision-making for family and child services.

  • Berggruen Governance Index

    Evaluates the quality of political governance and democracy worldwide.

  • Center for Neighborhood Knowledge (CNK)

    Specializes in spatial analysis of socioeconomic disparities in neighborhoods.

  • Center for Policy Research on Aging (CPRA)

    Explores the societal and policy implications of an aging population.

  • Agile Visual Analytics Lab (AVAL):

    Uses data visualization to improve decision-making for family and child services.

  • Berggruen Governance Index

    Evaluates the quality of political governance and democracy worldwide.

  • Center for Neighborhood Knowledge (CNK)

    Specializes in spatial analysis of socioeconomic disparities in neighborhoods.

  • Center for Policy Research on Aging (CPRA)

    Explores the societal and policy implications of an aging population.

  • Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS)

    A national leader in transportation policy and mobility research.

  • Institute on Inequality and Democracy

    Advances scholarship addressing displacement and dispossession in Los Angeles and beyond.

  • Latin American Cities Initiative

    Connects urban planning and policy networks across the Americas.

  • Latino Policy & Politics Institute (LPPI)

    Addresses policy challenges facing Latinos and communities of color.

  • Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS)

    A national leader in transportation policy and mobility research.

  • Institute on Inequality and Democracy

    Advances scholarship addressing displacement and dispossession in Los Angeles and beyond.

  • Latin American Cities Initiative

    Connects urban planning and policy networks across the Americas.

  • Latino Policy & Politics Institute (LPPI)

    Addresses policy challenges facing Latinos and communities of color.

  • Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies

    Researches housing, transportation, and economic development in Southern California.

  • Los Angeles Education Research Institute (LAERI)

    Collaborates with schools to improve educational outcomes for L.A. students.

  • Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI)

    Focuses on environmental policy, clean energy, and climate justice.

  • UCLA Voting Rights Project

    The flagship project for voting rights litigation and policy research.

  • Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies

    Researches housing, transportation, and economic development in Southern California.

  • Los Angeles Education Research Institute (LAERI)

    Collaborates with schools to improve educational outcomes for L.A. students.

  • Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI)

    Focuses on environmental policy, clean energy, and climate justice.

  • UCLA Voting Rights Project

    The flagship project for voting rights litigation and policy research.

All Research Centers
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