Jason Corburn is a Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning and School of Public Health. He directs the Center for Global Healthy Cities and co-directs the joint Master of City Planning (MCP) and Master of Public Health (MPH) degree program at UC Berkeley. His research focuses on the links between environmental health and social justice in cities, notions of expertise in science-based policy making, and the role of local knowledge in addressing environmental and public health problems. Professor Corburn’s research and practice works to build partnerships between urban residents, professional scientists and decision-makers in order to collaboratively generate policy and planning solutions that improve the qualities of cities and the well-being of residents, particularly the poor and people of color.
Professor Corburn is currently leading the evaluation of the Advance Peace, urban gun violence reduction program. This project is operating in 10 cities across the US, hires formerly incarcerated residents to act as ‘credible messengers’ to interrupt conflicts and mentor those at the center of gun violence in each city. The work takes a public health approach to eliminating gun violence, which means addressing the traumas experienced in disinvested in neighborhoods and helping to heal impacted people and places.
Professor Corburn also co-leads participatory planning projects in Richmond, California, Kenya and Medellín, Colombia. In Richmond, he helped draft and support the first Health in All Policies ordinance in the US. In Kenya, Prof. Corburn has helped community groups draft climate justice strategies and complete the first Special Planning Area integrated plan for the Mukuru informal settlement. In Medellín, Prof. Corburn is collaborating with the Universidade de Antioquia, on community-driven projects addressing the health and equity impacts of climate change. Jason has also worked in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the State University of Rio de Janeiro, Institute of Social Medicine, the Center for Health Promotion (CEDAPS), and FioCruz, on evaluating the health impacts of policies and programs focused on improving conditions in favelas. Prof. Corburn has acted as a consultant on urban health for the World Health Organization, UN-Habitat, Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank. He is the Chair of the Board for the non-profit Shack Dwellers International -Kenya.
Jason was an ARC Fellow in Spring 2015 – he was chosen in the Faculty Fellow category.