Jillian Crandall is a registered architect, educator, and researcher investigating the effects of digital technologies on infrastructure, space, and lives. Jillian is currently pursuing a PhD in Geography at the University of California, Berkeley, working at the intersection of feminist digital geographies and political economic geographies. Jillian runs a critical urban research and design practice, CONTRA+, which focuses on enacting more equitable policy and planning around civic technology and data / design justice.
Jillian holds an MA in Theories of Urban Practice from Parsons, The New School; and a B.Arch from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. From 2019 – 2023, Jillian was a Lecturer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Architecture, teaching Urban Theory, Critical Cartographies, Contemporary Design Approaches, and Design Studios. Jillian has guest-lectured and contributed to publications at Columbia, Cornell, Pratt, RPI, and Parsons; and volunteered as a Mentor with the ACE Mentoring Program. As an architect, Jillian has led the design and construction of several civic projects in the New York City metropolitan region, and in Puerto Rico.
Jillian’s recent research focuses on cryptoeconomic geographies and inequalities, and has been published in Design and Culture, Political Geography, and South Atlantic Quarterly. Outside of academic writing, Jillian enjoys writing speculative fiction, kickboxing, making things with their hands, and measuring spices with their heart when cooking.
