UR (Urban Research), the imprint of Terreform, is a book series devoted to cities and their futures. Understanding that no single approach is adequate to the promise and problems of the urban, we publish a wide range of designs and analyses. The forthcoming list includes projects ranging from the practical to the utopian, from community-generated plans for neighborhood transformation to outstanding outcomes from academic studios, to visionary speculations by designers burning the midnight oil, and to collations of scholarly arguments about the most urgent issues of urban growth and survival. The remit is to get the word out about solutions that exceed the imaginative reach of “official” planning and design, and to encourage vigorous forms of debate. UR seeks to become a key venue for individuals and organizations engaged in progressive urban research, design, and critical advocacy.

Michael Sorkin, president, is an architect and urbanist whose practice spans design, criticism, and pedagogy. He is principal of Michael Sorkin Studio, an international design practice. Since 2000, Sorkin has been distinguished professor of architecture and director of the graduate program in urban design at City College of New York. He is the architecture critic for The Nation, contributing editor at Architectural Record, and author or editor of twenty books. Sorkin is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the recipient of the 2013 Cooper-Hewitt National Design Mind Award, and was a 2015 Guggenheim Fellow.

Maria Cecilia Fagel, executive editor, is an architecture/urban researcher, critic, and writer. She has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of San Carlos (Cebu); a BBA in Design Management from Parsons, The New School for Design, and a master’s in design criticism from the School of Visual Arts. Prior to Terreform, she was a market research analyst for the New York City-based Advisor to Dentsu Japan. Her work was published in Architect’s Newspaper, Verlag form GmbH & Co. KG, and by Cooper-Hewitt’s DesignFile.

Isaac Gertman, design director, is a graphic designer and educator with a keen interest in the overlapping social, cultural, and infrastructural systems found in cities. He also leads design direction at the Independent Group and teaches at the Maryland Institute College of Art. His work has been recognized by the Center for Architecture (AIANY), American Society of Landscape Architects, American Institute of Graphic Arts, and Society of Publication Designers. Gertman has a bachelor’s in graphic design and a master’s of professional studies in user experience design from Maryland Institute College of Art, and a master’s in graphic design from Rhode Island School of Design.

Deen Sharp is senior editor UR, codirector of Terreform, and a post-doctoral fellow at the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the coeditor of Beyond the Square: Urbanism and the Arab Uprisings (Urban Research: 2016).

Vyjayanthi V. Rao, senior editor UR and codirector of Terreform. She held research and teaching positions at The New School and at University of Chicago, where she also received her doctorate. Her current work focuses on cities after globalization, specifically on intersections of urban planning, design, art, violence, and speculation.

Lucas Jones, publicity manager, is a book publicist with over six years of experience representing publishers and authors. He specializes in nonfiction with a particular career focus in critical theory, current affairs, politics, and history.

Terreform is a nonprofit urban research studio and advocacy group. Founded in 2005 by Michael Sorkin, its mission is to investigate the forms, policies, technologies, and practices that will yield equitable, sustainable, and beautiful cities for our urbanizing planet. Terreform works as a “friend of the court,” dedicated to raising urban expectations and to advocating innovative and progressive ideas as widely as possible. The studio undertakes self-initiated investigations into both local and global issues and make research and design available to community and other organizations to support independent environmental and planning initiatives.