Washington Fajardo is an architect, urban planner and senior specialist in the Housing and Urban Development Division of Inter-American Development Bank, where he is also Cities Lab coordinator. He has held various positions in Rio de Janeiro, where he most recently headed the Pereira Passos Institute, the city’s research body, and was the city’s planning director. Fajardo was also president of the Rio World Heritage Institute and special urban planning advisor during the 2016 Olympic Games. In his career, he has coordinated and contributed to several urban projects in Rio, including downtown rehabilitation, transformation of the port region, restoration of historic buildings, and promotion of social housing and enhancement of African heritage sites. He is also a member of the Loeb Fellowship, a Harvard University program that selects urban planners committed to spatial justice.