Todd Brown
Education
BA Arch, MPH, MArch, University of Illinois at Chicago
MA, MPhil, City University of New York
UAPC
Biography
Dr. Todd Brown teaches psychology in FIT's Social Sciences Department. Trained as an architect, Dr. Brown is an environmental psychologist whose research lies primarily at the intersection of critical [race] theory and the built environment. Working theoretically, empirically, and visually, his research explores how architecture and other physical spaces and places are produced, perceived, and evaluated as racialized and embodying other social constructs. His dissertation investigated how environmental cues—such as architectural design features and other physical properties—are used to develop one’s sociospatial imaginary of urban space.
As an interdisciplinary environmental scholar, Dr. Brown bridges the fields of environmental psychology, architecture, sociology, urban studies, planning, public health, environmental science, and education to inform his research and practice. As a part of his work to increase socially critical considerations in the design of the built environment, he has provided consulting and training to design firms such as Array Architects (New York, NY), RIOS Design Collective (Los Angeles, CA), and Michael Hsu Office of Architecture (Austin, TX). Dr. Brown has served as a team member in several national design competitions. In 2017, his team, led by architect Lisa Tsang, was a competition finalist in the Van Alen Institute’s Justice in Design competition for healthier jail design. In 2022 his team, co-led by Neeraj Bhatia, Ignacio Galan and Karen Kubey, was one of four selected for the Reset: Towards A New Commons exhibit at the Center For Architecture NYC. This project, “Aging Against the Machine”, focused on providing senior-centered, socially integrated, multi-generational housing and amenities. He was also a recipient of a 2023-24 research fellowship and grant from the National Institute of Health’s AIM-AHEAD program where his research utilized artificial intelligence and machine learning to explore the environmental and socioracial determinants of stress and cardiometabolic health outcomes of transgender and gender-diverse individuals.
Dr. Brown has published several scholarly works at the intersections of psychosocial perception, race, social justice, architecture, and urban design including peer-reviewed journal articles, conference and symposium papers and, most recently, his book chapter, “Evaluating Correctional Environments: A Critical Psychosociospatial Approach” in the The Palgrave Handbook of Prison Design (Dec 2022). His most acclaimed work to-date is his 2019 article, “Racialized Architectural Space: A Critical Understanding of its Production, Perception and Evaluation”, in the journal ArchitectureMediaPolitics_Society (AMPS) which won a UCL Press Award for best article of the year.
As an interdisciplinary educator, he has taught in various programs including: psychology at Hunter College, urban studies at Queens College, and architecture at the City College of New York. He also served as the 2021-23 Race and Gender in the Built Environment Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture, where he taught design studios and seminars on inclusion and socioracial sustainability. Since 2017, he has frequently been appointed as a Roving Critic and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University where he has taught and advised several design studios.
Dr. Brown received his BA in architecture, Master of Public Health, and Master of Architecture degrees from the University of Illinois at Chicago and his MA, Master of Philosophy, and PhD degrees in environmental psychology from the CUNY Graduate Center.
Research Interests
environmental aesthetics; material culture; the psychosocial construction, perception and evaluation of architecture and the built environment; race and architecture; gentrification; environmental justice; place identity and attachment; post-cccupancy evaluation; socioracial performance of the built environment; social/environmental planning and sustainable development; marginalized geographies; carceral geographies; critical pedagogy; environmental and occupational health; psychosocial health and place
Selected Publications
Book Chapter
“Evaluating Correctional Environments: A Critical Psychosociospatial Approach.” In The Palgrave Handbook of Prison Design. 2022.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
“Racialized Architectural Space: A Critical Understanding of its Production, Perception and Evaluation.” Architecture_Media_Politics_Society, 15(3). 2019.
“A Critical Assessment of the Place of Post-Occupancy Evaluation in the Creation of Socially Responsible Housing.” Intelligent Buildings International, 10(3). 2018.
“OSHA Compliance Issues: Case Referrals to OSHA from an Interfaith Workers’ Rights Center.” Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 5(1). 2008.
Conference and Symposium Papers
“The Perception of Racialized Architectural Space As a Predictor for Architectural Meanings and Attributes: An East Harlem Study.” In EDRA50 2019 Conference: Sustainable Urban Environments. 2019.
“Understanding the Racialized Production and Perception of Architectural Space and Exploring Tools for its Critical Evaluation.” Black Space Production Symposium at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP). 2019.
Technical Reports
“Chapter 2: Introduction: State of the Academy”, “Chapter 3: Introduction: State of the Profession.” In Inclusion in Architecture. A technical report on the status of minorities in architecture. 2015.
“Pathways to Success for African American Males at UIC.” Report on the academic status of black male students at the University of Illinois at Chicago. 2010.
Other Publications
“The Square Mile City: Environmental and Social Equity through Proximity.” Self-published online Master of Architecture Thesis Book at lulu.com.
Select Conferences and Presentations
Race, Space and Place Perceptions in Gentrifying NYC. Black History Month Event. United College Employees (UCE) of Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). February 2024.
Psychosociospatial Research Methodologies and Strategies for Critical Design Evaluation and Production. Master of Architecture Advance IV Lecture Series. Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation. January 2024.
Racialized Space and Architecture - Environmental Semiotics and Socioracial Perception. Master of Architecture Core I Lecture Series. Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation. New York, NY. November 2022.
Institutional Environments, Mental Health and Psychosocial Wellbeing.Institutions & Impact: Mental Health.Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Virtual. 2022.
Environmental Cues and the Sociospatial Imaginary: Meaning-making in a Gentrifying Neighborhood. Staging, Space & The City.Pratt Institute Department of Humanities and Media Studies.New York, NY. 2022.
The Socioracial Perception of Architecture and the Built Environment: Meaning-making in Gentrified Space. American Institute of Architects Continuing Education Lecture. Austin, TX. April 2022.
Reading Race and other Social Imaginaries of the Built Environment. Psychology Colloquium. College of Staten Island of the City University of New York. Virtual. April 2022.
Environmental Semiotics and Socioracial Perception: Meaning-making in Gentrified Space. Division of Architecture and Design + Division of Liberal Arts Lecture.Rhode Island School of Design. Providence, RI.March 2022.
Disruption and Distinction: Understanding the Spatial and Psychosocial Mechanisms and Implications of Racialized Architecture. Center for American Architecture and Design (CAAD) Forum. University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture. Austin, TX. March 2022.
Environmental Semiotics: The Sociospatial Imaginaries of Gentrified Urban Landscapes.Departmental Colloquium. University of Texas at Austin Department of Geography & the Environment. Austin, TX. 2022.
Imagination and Gentrification: Environmental Perception and Urban Space. Division 34 (Society for Environmental, Population and Conservation Psychology) Webinar Series. American Psychological Association (APA). Virtual. November 2021.
Designing for Inclusion and Socioracial Sustainability. Design Futures Forum Workshop. University of Virginia School of Architecture. Charlotesville, VA. May 2022.
"Lo Sagrado/The Sacred”: Defining Sacred Places and Practices. Closing Plenary. Reclaiming Memories Lab – Necropolis Politic Symposium. University of Texas. Austin, TX. December 2021.
Disruption and Distinction: Understanding the Psychosocial Mechanisms and Implications of Racialized Architecture. Critical Cluster Fall 2019 Colloquium Series. CUNY Graduate Center. New York, NY. September 2019.
The Racialized Production and Perception of Architectural Space and Tools for its Critical Evaluation. Black Production and the Space of the University Symposium. Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation + Black Student Association. New York, NY. April 2019.
The Perception of Racialized Architectural Space As a Predictor for Architectural Meanings and Attributes: An East Harlem Study. EDRA50 Brooklyn Conference. Environmental Design Research Association. Brooklyn, NY. May 2019.
Outcomes of Interfaith Workers’ Center’s Case Referrals to OSHA. Graduate Student Poster Session. American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition. Philadelphia, PA. June 2007.
Exhibitions
“Aging Against the Machine” a Reset: Towards a New Commons exhibit with Neeraj Bhatia, Ignacio Galan, Lindsay Goldman, Karen Kubey and Annie Ledbury. Center for Architecture NYC. April - September, 2022
Grants
“Environmental and Socioracial Determinants of Stress and Cardiovascular Health Among Transgender and Gender Diverse Individuals.” National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity (AIM-AHEAD). 2023-2024. $50,000 research grant to use artificial intelligence (Al) and machine learning (ML) with statistical methodologies to explore the structural social and environmental factors that influence adverse cardiometabolic and stress outcomes among transgender and gender-diverse populations.
Awards
2019 Article of the Year. 2021. AMPS UCL Press Journal Award.
Enhanced Chancellor’s Fellowship. 2011-16. CUNY Graduate Center. $125,000 5-year recruitment fellowship.
Dean K. Harris Award. 2011-14. CUNY Graduate Center Office of Educational Opportunity and Diversity Programs.
Courses
- SS 131 General Psychology
- SS 206 Psychology of Consumer Behavior
- SS 311 Environmental Psychology
- SS 336 Psychology for Sustainability
Websites
Connect
Facebook: Todd Levon Brown
Instagram: @toddlevonbrown
LinkedIn