Awais Azhar

Awais Azhar is a Community and Regional Planning PhD student and Teaching Assistant at The University of Texas at Austin in the School of Architecture. His research focuses on how racial justice can be operationalized in relation to housing and land use planning. His previous research focused on affordable housing strategies in the United States and housing displacement in Pakistan.

Over the past six years, Awais has been involved in affordable housing and social justice advocacy in Austin, Texas. He currently serves on the City of Austin Planning Commission, Executive Committee of the Austin Housing Coalition, the Advocacy Committee of HousingWorks Austin, the Membership Council of the Austin Continuum of Care, and the Board of Directors of Equality Texas.

Awais has a Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning degree and a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Texas at Austin, with a portfolio in Nonprofit Studies. He also has a Bachelor in Architecture degree from the National College of Arts, Pakistan. Previously, he worked as Program Manager for the Austin Community Investment Collaborative at HousingWorks Austin, focusing on affordable housing policy and research.