Blakely Biography
Edward James Blakely (born 1938) is a renowned urban planning scholar and practitioner. He served as a professor of Urban Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, retiring in 1994, and held deanships at the University of Southern California and the New School University. Blakely earned a B.A. from UC Riverside, an M.A. from UC Berkeley, a master’s in management from Point Loma Nazarene University, an Ed.D. from UCLA, and an LLM from Northwestern University (2018).
He is best known for his role as Executive Director of Recovery Management for New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina, coordinating rebuilding efforts despite controversy over his statements and unfulfilled promises. Blakely authored ten books, including My Storm: Managing the Recovery of New Orleans and Crafting Innovative Places for Australia’s Knowledge Economy (2019), and over 100 scholarly articles. His work focuses on economic development, social justice, and disaster recovery.
Blakely advised governments worldwide, including the OECD, and served as a consultant to Oakland, California, and a Justice of the Peace in New South Wales, Australia. He received numerous awards, including the Edward J. Blakely Award for social inclusion and recognition from UN-Habitat. Currently, he is an international consultant in Sydney, a visiting professor at the University of Venice, and Emeritus Professor Univ of California, Berkeley.