MIT World Speakers

Gary Hack PhD '76

Gary Hack teaches, practices, and studies large-scale physical planning and urban design. He is co-author of the third edition of Site Planning and Lessons from Local Experiences, as well as numerous articles and chapters on the spatial environment of cities.

Recently he was a member of the team that won the competition and prepared the design guidelines for redeveloping the World Trade Center Site. He also co-directed an international comparative study of urbanization patterns on four continents, published as Global City Regions: A Comparative Perspective.

Hack has prepared plans for more than 30 cities in the United States and abroad, including the redevelopment plan for the Prudential Center in Boston, the West Side Waterfront plan in New York City, and the new Metropolitan Plan for Bangkok, Thailand. He has also worked with smaller communities on urban design issues.

Earlier in his career, Hack directed several large neighborhood demonstration projects and the redevelopment of urban waterfronts in a number of Canadian cities. He has also served as an urban design consultant for projects in Japan, Taiwan, China and Saudi Arabia.

Hack has served on the executive committee of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning and the Planning Accreditation Board. He is a former chair of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, and is active in civic affairs in Philadelphia.

Hack received his B.Arch. from the University of Manitoba, an M.Arch. and M.U.P. from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. from MIT.