Sean F. Kennedy

Dr. Kennedy’s research analyzes the relationship between environmental planning and regional development, with an emphasis on how urban sustainability initiatives shape economies and livelihoods in rural and peri-urban regions. His research and teaching interests span areas of urban sustainability, international planning, environmental governance, and regional development, with a geographic focus on Southeast Asia and the United States.

Dr. Kennedy has wide-ranging environmental policy experience across public, private and nonprofit sectors, including policy and research positions at the Australian Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency in Canberra, Australia, and the World Agroforestry Centre in Bogor, Indonesia. He received his Ph.D. in Urban Planning from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2018. Upon the completion of his doctoral study, he worked as a postdoctoral scholar at the California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA, where he contributed technical expertise and supported stakeholder engagement as part of the Los Angeles County Sustainability Plan.