Richard B. Peiser is an American scholar and educator in

urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

and real estate development. He has been the Michael D. Spear Professor of Real Estate Development at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design (GSD) since 1998. His work focuses on interdisciplinary areas of real estate finance,

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes based on geographical location. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, city, ...

, and

suburban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

. He has authored books, including ''Professional Real Estate Development'' and ''New Towns for the Twenty-First Century''.

Early life and education

Peiser was born in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas, and raised in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. He is of

German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

heritage. His ancestors immigrated from

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

and Alsace-Lorraine in the mid-1800s. His father, Maurice Bondy Peiser (1913-2003), was born in Independence, MO, and his mother, Patricia Levy Peiser (1922-2024), was born in

Kansas City, MO Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. His father was a mechanical contractor in

. His mother was one of the first professional social workers, serving as Dallas president and later national secretary of the

National Council of Jewish Women The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Founded in 1893, the NCJW describes itself as the oldest Jewish women's grassroots organization organization in the USA and currently has over 225,000 members. ...

(NCJW). She founded the social work department of the Scottish Rite Crippled Children’s Hospital in Dallas and received many lifetime achievement awards for her social work and voluntary service. He graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1970 with a BA in economics. He earned an MBA from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

in 1973 and a PhD in Land Economy from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1980 where he was a member of

Magdalene College Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

Career

Peiser began his academic career at

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

in 1978, where he served as an Assistant Professor of Real Estate and

Regional Science Regional science is a field of economics concerned with analytical approaches to problems that are related specifically to regional and international issues. Topics in regional science include, but are not limited to location theory or spatial eco ...

until 1985. From 1986 to 1998, he held academic and administrative positions at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, including Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, Founding Director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate, and Founding Director of the Master of Real Estate Development Program within the School of Urban Planning and Development. In 1987, as the academic director of the newly established Master of Real Estate Development program, he oversaw a student-led project in which 17 graduate students invested $10,000 to design, construct, lease, manage, and sell a half-acre property in

Desert Hot Springs Desert Hot Springs is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is located within the Coachella Valley geographic region. The population was 32,512 as of the 2020 census, up from 25,938 at the 2010 census. The city has ...

in collaboration with developer Robert T. Best. Since 1998, he has held the position of Michael D. Spear Professor of Real Estate Development at the

Graduate School of Design Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumni, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed high ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. While at Harvard, he established and directed the university-wide Real Estate Academic Initiative and the Advanced Management Development Program for senior real estate professionals and entrepreneurs. He also directed the Master of Design Studies Program in Real Estate and the Urban Planning program. After graduating from Harvard Business School, Peiser began his career in 1974 with Gerald D. Hines Interests in

. He later co-developed residential, industrial, and mixed-use projects in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

through his own firm.Internationally, he co-managed fund for Chinese real estate investments and was involved in the Southern California Industrial Fund.

Research

Peiser's research covers

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parce ...

housing Housing refers to a property containing one or more Shelter (building), shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and right to ...

, and infrastructure finance. His work on

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

challenges assumptions about

leapfrog development Leapfrog development occurs when developers skip over land to obtain cheaper land further away from cities, thus, leaving huge areas empty between the city and the new development. It can be seen when it comes to the development or urbanization of ...

, arguing it can lead to higher long-term density. He has written on suburban development, mixed-use transformation, and new town planning, emphasizing strategies for financial viability and resilience during economic downturns. His research also addresses green space valuation, sustainability, and transit-oriented development. He has published on housing tenure, ownership vs. renting, real estate cycles, development financing, and land use in China.

Selected publications

Books

* * * * * * * * * *

Journal article

* * * * * *

References

External links

Peiser
at

Scopus Scopus is a scientific abstract and citation database, launched by the academic publisher Elsevier as a competitor to older Web of Science in 2004. The ensuing competition between the two databases has been characterized as "intense" and is c ...

Peiser profile
at

Harvard Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urba ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peiser, Richard B. American urban planners Living people University of Southern California faculty Southern Methodist University faculty Yale University alumni Harvard Graduate School of Design faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Harvard Business School alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge New Urbanism Real estate and property developers 21st-century American academics