Rashad Williams

Rashad Williams is an assistant professor in urban and regional planning at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. He was previously an assistant professor of race and social justice in public policy at the University of Pittsburgh.

Williams’s interdisciplinary research crosses the boundaries of urban planning, urban politics, and the political economy of race to study the urban expressions of the Black reparations movement. His research also explores the conditions under which egalitarian ideas become implemented into municipal policy, ideology, and race-class inequality. He has coined the term "reparative planning" to describe how cities can pursue redress at the local level. He has also published work in the areas of planning theory, planning practice, and housing policy.

Williams is a recipient of the Urban Affairs Association’s Emerging Scholar Award. He is also a Humphrey School alumnus, having earned his PhD there in 2022.