Professor Emeritus of Sociology at University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was Chair of Sociology between 1984 and 1988. He is also Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University. Before coming to NYU, he was Visiting Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics. He has conducted research on city growth, urban security, industrial design, and sociology of the environment. His books include Urban Fortunes (with John Logan), Where Stuff Comes From, and a volume on urban security, Against Security. He is the editor (with Davide Ponzini) of the book The New Arab Urban: Gulf Cities of Wealth, Ambition, and Distress.

Davide Ponzini is Associate Professor of Urban Planning at Politecnico di Milano and was Visiting Professor at TU Munich in 2017. He has also been a visiting scholar at Yale, Johns Hopkins, Columbia, and Sciences Po. His research focuses on planning theory, urban and cultural policy, contemporary architecture, and the urban environment. Among recent publications, he is co-author (with Pier Carlo Palermo) of the book Place-Making and Urban Development: New Challenges for Planning and Design and (with the photographer Michele Nastasi) Starchitecture: Scenes, Actors, and Spectacles in Contemporary Cities. He is the editor (with Harvey Molotch) of the book The New Arab Urban: Gulf Cities of Wealth, Ambition, and Distress.