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Brian D. Taylor

Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Urban Planning; Director, Institute of Transportation Studies

“I wanted to be a transportation planner before I knew that such a thing existed. I was obsessed with building elaborate road networks in my preschool sandbox and just sort of went from there,” said Taylor, who earned a Ph.D. in urban planning from UCLA in 1992. He joined the UCLA faculty in 1994.

What is your greatest extravagance?
I narrowly missed a career in Division I college basketball and then later the NBA. Had I been born just 10 inches taller. ... To soften the blow, my exceedingly understanding spouse (and fellow UCLA faculty member) tolerates the extravagance of season tickets to UCLA men’s basketball.

What is your favorite type of music?
What I like best is listening to my wife play the guitar and sing.

What is your motto?
“People with mottos have too much spare time on their hands.”