Rate My Professor John Harris

John Harris is an Associate Professor of Regional and City Planning and Director of the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture & Design in the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma. He earned a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning and an MSP with a concentration in Urban and Regional Planning for Developing Areas from Florida State University, along with BA degrees in Sociology and History, a minor in Spanish, and a Certificate in Urban Studies from Wheaton College. Before academia, Harris worked in post-conflict community development in South Sudan. At OU, he advanced from Assistant Professor in the Division of Regional and City Planning to Associate Professor and President's Associates Presidential Professor in 2018. He served as Director of Regional and City Planning from 2021, interim Director of the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design in 2023, and was appointed inaugural Director for a four-year term effective July 2024. An American Institute of Certified Planners member since 2015, he has led grants including the OU Faculty Investment Program (2018), Program for Research Enhancement (2017), and a $599,000 EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (2024) as part of an interdisciplinary team.

Harris's research examines everyday practices of informal economic production, needs of vulnerable populations in urbanizing Africa, post-conflict planning, grassroots community development, informal urbanization, and participatory research methods like photovoice. His publications include 'The Messy Reality of Agglomeration Economies in Urban Informality: Evidence from Nairobi’s Handicraft Industry' (World Development, 2014), 'Joint Action in Nairobi’s Informal Handicraft Production Clusters' (International Development Planning Review, 2016), 'Vulnerable Youth’s Perspectives and Priorities for Informal Settlements: Photovoice Evidence from Lusaka, Zambia' (Journal of Planning Education and Research, 2018), 'Mapping Hope: How Do Vulnerable Youth Locate Hope in Informal Settlements?' (Urban Forum, 2019), 'The Gendered Postconflict City: Possibilities for More Livable Urban Transformations in Gulu, Northern Uganda' (Journal of Urban Affairs, 2023), and 'Outsourcing Neighborhood Planning Processes? A Case Study of a Nonprofit in the City of Oklahoma City' (Journal of Planning Education and Research, 2024). Awards include the OU Presidential Professorship (2018), David L. Boren Award for Outstanding Global Engagement (2017), and Global Planning Educators Interest Group Best Journal Article Award (2019) for the Lusaka photovoice paper. Harris co-edits the 'Borderless' book series, has presented on tribal planning at Missouri State University (2020), hosted discussions on Uganda peacebuilding, and supervised student projects on community engagement.