Chen Chu

Chu is a PhD candidate in the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning. His dissertation examines how planning—environmental conservation, rural housing, and rural industrialization—both shapes and is shaped by agricultural trade liberalization, through a comparative study of rice politics in California and Arkansas. Chu holds a Master of Architecture from MIT and a BSc in Architecture from McGill University. Previously, he served as a consultant to the World Resources Institute and was a research assistant for the Planning for Peace Initiative and the Urban Risk Lab at MIT. He has also gained professional experience in Toulouse, France, and Ispra, Italy, as well as architectural design experience in Los Angeles, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, and Beijing.