From: Melanie Woodin, Dean, Faculty of Arts & Science
Cheryl Regehr, Vice-President and Provost
Date: December 8, 2020
Re: Appointment of New Director of the School of Cities (PDAD&C #32)

We are writing to inform you that Professor Karen Chapple has been named the new Director of the School of Cities at the University of Toronto where she will continue to amplify the School’s successes in helping cities and regions grow sustainably, as they face increasingly complex challenges in today’s world. Professor Chapple will hold her academic appointment as professor with tenure in the Department of Geography & Planning.

Professor Chapple is currently at the University of California, Berkeley, where she holds the Carmel P. Friesen Chair in Urban Studies. She also serves as an affiliated faculty member at Berkeley’s School of Information and was previously the senior faculty advisor in UC-Berkeley’s Division of Data Sciences. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from Columbia University, a Master of Science in City and Regional Planning from the Pratt Institute, and a PhD from UC Berkeley. She was also on faculty at the University of Minnesota and the University of Pennsylvania.

Renowned for her community engagement and innovative uses of analytic methods including data science, Professor Chapple’s research focuses on inequalities in the planning, structure and governance of regions in the U.S. and Latin America, with a focus on economic development and housing. She co-founded the Urban Displacement Project, an online research hub examining patterns of residential, commercial and industrial displacement, as well as policy and planning solutions.

She was recognized with a Fulbright Global Scholar Award to explore expanding the Urban Displacement Project to cities in Europe and Latin America. Her scholarship on climate change and tax policy won the UC-wide competition for the Bacon Public Lectureship, which highlights evidence-based public policy and creative thinking for the public good.

In addition, Professor Chapple received the 2017 UC-Berkeley Chancellor’s Award for Research in the Public Interest.

Professor Chapple begins her post with the School of Cities on July 1, 2021.

We are grateful to Professor Matti Siemiatycki for his strong and effective leadership of the School since its launch in 2018. He has played a critical role in the School’s success and impact over the past three years. Under Matti’s leadership the School has become an innovative interdisciplinary centre for urban research, education and engagement. Professor Siemiatycki will continue to serve as Interim Director until June 30, 2021.