Dana Cuff is Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at UCLA where she is also Director of cityLAB, an award-winning think tank that advances experimental urbanism and architecture. Since receiving her Ph.D. in Architecture from Berkeley, Cuff has published and lectured widely about spatial justice, the architectural profession, and affordable housing. She is author of several books, including The Provisional City about postwar housing in Los Angeles, and a co-authored book (in bookstores next year) documenting her innovative cross-disciplinary project at UCLA called the Urban Humanities Initiative, funded by the Mellon Foundation. Based on cityLAB’s studies, she co-authored a landmark bill that permits “backyard homes” on virtually all 8 million single-family properties in California (AB 2299, Bloom-2016), doubling the density of suburbs across the state. She and her team are currently working on a wide range of new forms of affordable housing to be co-located with schools.

The ArtCenter Dialogues—a Toyota Motor Company Endowed Lecture Series programmed by ArtCenter's Humanities and Sciences Department—provides a forum for eminent guests from a wide variety of art, design and educational backgrounds to inspire creativity, promote thoughtful discussion and broaden perspectives. Participants have an opportunity to engage the community in a flexible number of educational platforms, including lectures, panel discussions, workshops and collaborative endeavors.

Image: Park Shop Ride: A model for high-speed rail-adjacent planning developed by UCLA's cityLAB and partners.