Amanda Burden

Amanda Burden is an urban planner and principal at Bloomberg Associates, the international consulting firm founded by Michael Bloomberg to advise cities on livability, public space, and development strategy. She previously served as Director of the New York City Department of City Planning and Chair of the City Planning Commission from 2002 to 2013, where she led the largest citywide planning and rezoning effort since 1961, reshaping nearly 40 % of New York City’s land use to create housing opportunities and enhance public spaces across the five boroughs.

A champion of design excellence and community consensus‑building, Burden’s tenure oversaw transformative projects such as the creation of the East River Esplanade, the preservation and activation of the High Line as a public park, and major waterfront revitalization plans that expanded access to the city’s shoreline.

Earlier in her career, she helped launch the Midtown Community Court in Times Square, a pioneering model of community‑based justice, and served as Vice President for Planning and Design at the Battery Park City Authority, where she established design guidelines and oversaw parkland and esplanade development.

Burden holds a Master of Urban Planning from Columbia University, a Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College, and an honorary doctorate in Public Administration from Pratt Institute. She was elected to the Council on Foreign Relations in 2014 and continues to influence urban strategy and public space advocacy through her work at Bloomberg Associates and in civic discourse.