Stefan Al | An Island Press Author

Stefan Al

Stefan Al, PHD, is an architect, urban designer, and infrastructure expert at global design firm Kohn Pedersen Fox in New York. Over the years, he served as a TED resident, advisor to the United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, and professor of urban design at the University of Pennsylvania. His books include Beyond Mobility: Planning Cities for People and Places (coauthored with Robert Cervero and Erick Guerra) and The Strip: Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dream, a Wall Street Journal "best book to read." He is a native of the Netherlands, a low-lying country that would not exist without flood protection.

Better Urban Design Can Help Curb Flooding

By Stefan Al / On October 9th, 2018
Given the new normal, it is time to rethink our approach to floods. The right infrastructure can prevent flooding, rather than treat it after the fact.

#ForewordFriday: Urban Transformations Edition

By Katharine Sucher / On December 8th, 2017
Cities across the globe have been designed with a primary goal of moving people around quickly—and the costs are becoming ever more apparent. The consequences are measured in smoggy air basins, sprawling suburbs, a failure to stem traffic congestion, and 1.25 million traffic fatalities each year. It is clear that change is needed. Instead of planning primarily for mobility, our cities should recalibrate planning and design to focus on the safety, health, and access of people in them.