Ariam L. Torres Cordero, MP, Ph.D
Catedrático Auxiliar
Ariam L Torres-Cordero is an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Planning at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras. He completed his Ph.D. in Regional Planning at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign in 2022 and served as a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at Columbia World Projects, Columbia University in 2023. Also in 2023, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) gave Dr. Torres-Cordero the Barclay Gibbs Jones Award for Best Dissertation Best Dissertation in Planning.
Ariam’s research focuses on urban, environmental, and coastal planning, bottom-up community planning, environmental and climate justice, and climate action planning, including disaster recovery, climate adaptation, and loss and damage. Beyond academia, Ariam co-founded and co-directs Urbana Planifica, a non-profit organization committed to advancing social, environmental, and climate justice goals through planning research, popular civic education, and community support in Puerto Rico
Publications
- Torres-Cordero, A. L. (2024). Bomba planning and the pursuit of a just recovery. Planning Theory, 14730952231225816.
- Torres-Cordero, A. L. (2022). The struggle for a just recovery: Insurgent planning, transnational networks, and colonial legacies in post-disaster Puerto Rico (Doctoral dissertation).
- Torres-Cordero, A. L. (2020). What Is Possible? Policy Options for Long-term Disaster Recovery in Puerto Rico. Centro Journal, 32(3).
- Santiago, L., Loomis, J., Ortiz, A. V., & Torres-Cordero, A. L. (2016). Valuing urban tropical river recreation attributes using choice experiments. Environ. Natural Resources Res., 6, 128-135.
GRANTS/SUBVENCIONES
- 2024 – 2027. “Catalyzing JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion)- Centered Solutions for the Culturally Appropriate Use of Flood Inundations Mapping Service.” CO-PI. Funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Sea Grant Special Projects “J” Competition: Community Flooding Social Science Liaisons.
- 2024 – 2026. “The quandary of the villas pesqueras (fish landing centers) in Puerto Rico: Abandonment, displacement, and resilience.” CO-PI. Funded by Sea Grant under the Puerto Rico Sea Grant Research Competition.
- 2024 – 2026. “Puerto Rico Planning for Locally-Led Adaptation Project.” CO-PI. Funded by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program.