Dr. Eric Rapaport

Dr. Rapaport is the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning at Dalhousie University, bringing more than 25 years of experience in planning education, research, and academic leadership. Raised in New York City, he developed a lifelong interest in cities, public space, and the systems that shape how communities are planned and lived in.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a master’s degree in sustainable infrastructure and environmental engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. Eric completed his PhD in regional planning at KTH, specializing in transportation and land‑use modelling and the relationship between planning decisions and air quality outcomes. An early leader in applied Geographic Information Systems (GIS) education, he has taught GIS and planning methods continuously for over two decades.

Before joining Dalhousie, Eric was a professor at the University of Northern British Columbia, where he later served as Director of the Planning program. During this time, he led the transition of the Bachelor of Science in Planning to a Bachelor of Planning degree and worked closely with natural‑resource‑dependent and Indigenous communities in northern British Columbia.

At Dalhousie, Eric has played a key role in curriculum development, accreditation preparation, and advancing critical reflection within planning education. His current research focuses on land‑use change, climate change vulnerability, and GIS‑based decision‑making, including published work on climate impacts in Atlantic Canada.