Jeffrey Hou

Jeffrey Hou is Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Washington in Seattle. In a career that spans across the Pacific, he has worked with indigenous tribes, farmers, and fishers in Taiwan, neighborhood residents in Japan, ethnic minority villagers in China, and inner-city immigrant youths and elders in North American cities, through projects ranging from conservation of wildlife habitats to rebuilding of indigenous villages and design of urban open space. His recent research and practice focus on design activism, public space, and engaging marginalized social groups in the making of communities and urban spaces.

In addition to his co-authored and edited books, he is a contributing author to Just Urban Design (MIT Press 2022), The Informal American City: Beyond Taco Trucks and Day Labor (MIT Press 2014), Beyond Zuccotti Park: Freedom of Assembly and the Occupation of Public Space (New Village Press 2012), The Emerging Asian City: Concomitant Urbanities and Urbanism (Routledge 2012), and Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism (Metropolis 2008). Hou is the winner of the 2012 Great Places Award for his edited book Insurgent Public Space. To find out more about Jeff Hou's work, visit http://larch.be.washington.edu/people/jeff-hou