Owen Gutfreund

About Owen Gutfreund

Areas of specialization include planning history, transportation policy, infrastructure finance, and comparative urbanization. Was an Associate Editor of the Encyclopedia of NYC, on the editorial board of the Journal of Urban History.; currently on the board of the Skyscraper Museum, and on the River Cities Committee of Scenic Hudson.

Areas of Expertise

Planning History or History, Transportation and Infrastructure Planning

Selected Publications

Owen D. Gutfreund, 20th Century Sprawl: Highways and the Reshaping of the American Landscape (Oxford Univeristy Press), Owen D,. Gutfreund, “Rebuilding New York in the Auto Age: Robert Moses and His Highways” in Robert Moses and the Modern City: The Transformation of New York, edited by Hilary Ballon and Kenneth T. Jackson (W.W. Norton), Owen D. Gutfreund, “Street Fight: The Draft Riots of 1863” in New York 400: A Visual History of America's Greatest City (Running Press and the Museum of the City of New York), Owen D. Gutfreund, Cities Take Flight: Aviation, Airports, and Modern American Urbanism [an in-progress book project]

Recent Courses Taught

History and Theory of Urban Planning -- a core course in our Masters in Urban Planning degree program, Shaping the Future of the City -- a course in how to be an agent of change, with emphasis on complex problem-solving for \messy\ urban issues, evaluating corrective strategies, and how to develop and effectively use robust multi-format communication skills., Urbanization in Comparative Perspective -- a worldwide consideration of urban development and the related causal factors, drawing on case studies from all continents., The Shape of the City -- how housing and transportation policy, along with government structure, have together determined urban form, influencing land use patterns and cultural preferences. Includes consideration of environmental, economic, and political impacts, and consideration of alternative paths forward.