Tom Klein, MLA ’18
A through-line in alumnus Tom Klein’s career has been thinking about how infrastructural systems can be reimagined so that they take a more holistic approach to designing for human and non-human needs. Learn more about Tom’s professional journey, from WashU to today, in this spotlight.
Tell us about your work.
I’m the director of the Center for Urban & Community Design at the University of Miami. The CUCD was founded after Hurricane Andrew, with the goal of embedding resilience in the built environment. In this role, I work across disciplines to produce research, design, and policy solutions that help our communities thrive. We are a joint initiative of the Climate Resilience Institute and School of Architecture, which enables us to grow our impact by engaging in transdisciplinary built environment research and implementation.
What does an average day or week look like?
What I love most about my role is that every day is different. I have the opportunity to work with a variety of community groups at the state and local level, which means I get to spend a lot of time in community. We work with elected leaders, city staff, nonprofit organizations, and professors and researchers throughout the region and beyond. We even have active projects in the Caribbean where we are working directly with the Minster of Grand Bahama as part of a large, interdisciplinary team to develop resilient housing in Freeport.
What’s something you learned at WashU that has had a big impact on you?
A through-line in my career has been thinking about how infrastructural systems can be reimagined so that they take a more holistic approach to designing for human and non-human needs. I began thinking about urban design and landscape architecture through this lens thanks to Linda Samuels’ urban design studio. In studio, I was introduced to her “next generation infrastructure criteria” and later had the opportunity to work with her on her book, “Infrastructural Optimism,” along with Lecturer Bomin Kim. These ideas have really shaped how I engage with the built environment as I have formed my own lines of thinking about how we create resilient communities.
How did your WashU education prepare you for your current role?
One of the things I valued most about my time at WashU is how much freedom I was given as a student to develop my own worldview. I think that the curriculum design, faculty, and student body at the Sam Fox School pushed me to think critically about my environment, and my own work. This lens prepared me to dissect the challenging, messy problems we face in our cities in ways that enable me to come up with novel solutions and develop unique coalitions.
What was your “aha" moment during your time at WashU?
I had quite a few “aha” moments at WashU, but one that has stayed with me came out of my work for Michael Allen’s “Unruly City” seminar where I combined qualitative and quantitative research methods to understand the impact of gentrification in the Benton Park neighborhood. It was when I started to see how small-scale development, or flipping, was changing neighborhood identity. By cross-referencing this information with 311 nuisance calls and Google Street View data over time, I realized the impact of seemingly small change in community cohesion. Throughout the semester, we explored themes of encounter from scholars such as Michael Hardt, Antonio Negri, and Richard Sennett, which shaped how I understand cities. Later in the semester, the Sam Fox School co-hosted a symposium at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation and Keller Easterling gave the keynote address. She spoke about her research on subtraction, which further drove this idea home for me.
Tom Klein leading a tour of The Underline with founder Meg Daily and the authors of “Life After Cars.”
What do you wish people knew about your field? I wish people understood the many diverse ways in which landscape architects can shape their communities. I believe that the education and skills we develop position us to hold elected office, become city managers, activists, policy makers, and so much more. I am thankful that WashU held space for this exploration.
What did you do after graduation, and how did you get where you are now?
After graduating, I worked as a landscape and urban designer in New York City and Denver, including at SCAPE and Design Workshop. I also worked with the Waterfront Alliance to develop and share the Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines. I think having the opportunity to engage in practice from a variety of vantage points has helped me to grow my impact in my current role.
Klein on an urban design studio trip to the Everglades Coalition Conference in Naples.
Klein lobbying for the Massachusetts Nature for All bill (H.901/S.2571) with colleagues.
Klein moderating a panel about salty urbanism, buoyant architecture, and our coastline for Open House Miami