Rate My Professor Roberta Feldman

Roberta M. Feldman is Professor Emerita in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she dedicated her career to advancing architecture and design through democratic processes and social justice. Holding a PhD from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Feldman co-founded the City Design Center at UIC in 1995, serving as its director for 26 years. This interdisciplinary initiative focused on research, design, and community engagement, particularly in low-income neighborhoods. She also held positions as Director of Architecture Graduate Studies and Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Feldman's research specializations include democratic design, community participation in shaping and revitalizing built environments, and affordable and public housing design. She collaborated with community leaders in Chicago's public housing and over fifty community organizations and development corporations to address their visions for preservation and improvement of designed spaces.

Feldman's impactful scholarship includes co-authoring 'The Dignity of Resistance: Women Residents’ Activism in Chicago Public Housing' with Susan Stall (Cambridge University Press, 2004), 'The Chicago Greystone in Historic North Lawndale' with James Wheaton (2007, University of Illinois Chicago City Design Center), and contributions such as 'Social Justice Through Historic Preservation' (2013) and 'Supporting Grassroots Resistance: Sustained Community/University Partnerships to Contest Chicago's HOPE VI Program' (2011). Her work earned numerous accolades, including the Environmental Design Research Association Career Award (2014) for sustained contributions to environmental design research, practice, and teaching; the FAIA Latrobe Prize (2011, with collaborators); EDRA/Places/Metropolis Award for Research (2008); ACSA Collaborative Practice Award (2007-2008); AIA Chicago Distinguished Service Award (2008); Association for Community Design Award for Excellence (2001); and Women's Leadership in Architecture for Activism Award from Architectural Record. Feldman's influence extends to board service on the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Environmental Design Research Association, and National Public Housing Museum, underscoring her commitment to equitable design as a human right.