Peter Dunn
BSSCD Program Director & Academic Advisor; Accelerated Master's Program Coordinator
PhD, University of Washington
MSc, London School of Economics
BA, University of Virginia
Biography
Peter Dunn, PhD, is a lecturer in regional planning at UMass Amherst, where he teaches both undergraduate and graduate students interested in creating better communities. Dunn is the Program Director and academic advisor for the Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Community Development (BSSCD). He is also the Program Coordinator for the "4+1 MRP" and "4+2 MLA" accelerated master's programs.
Professor Dunn’s intellectual focus is at the intersection of planning and digital technologies. Specifically, he asks how such technologies are not straightforward solutions to identified problems, but are messy sites where diverse actors work through conflicting visions of desirable public life. Work from his doctoral dissertation, which investigates the idealized promise and actual use of smartphone apps for urban mobility, has been published in Urban Planning and the Journal of Urban Technology.
Dunn also served as a researcher on an NSF-funded project investigating community resilience to natural hazards. Other interests include cartography, the politics of public space, and feminist political theory. Prior to entering academia, Dunn worked for Boston’s Metropolitan Area Planning Council and the International City/County Management Association.
Office Hours
Tuesdays 12:30- 1:30pm & Wednesdays 12:30- 1:30pm
(No appointment needed.)
Students can also make an appointment for another time at calendly.com/ptdunn
Courses
- History of Sustainable Community Development (SUSTCOMM 232)
- City Planning (SUSTCOMM / REGIONPL 574)
- Sustainable Cities (REGIONPL 580)
- Intro to GIS for Planning (REGIONPL 625)
- Planning History & Theory (REGIONPL 651)