Molly Harris

Molly is an urban planner and strategist focused on community-led planning and housing justice. She is passionate about blending people-centred approaches with data-driven analysis to support positive neighbourhood change.

Before joining the Spring Cohort 2023, Molly was a senior consultant with HR&A Advisors, a New York City-based planning and economic development firm. There, she developed major strategic plans, resilience strategies, and open space governance frameworks, in addition to providing project management and strategic advisory services to local governments and affiliates across North America. Prior to that, she worked in mixed-use real estate development and policy in Vancouver.

While pursuing graduate studies in City Planning, Molly recommitted her practice to inclusive urban development. Her research explores the tensions between understanding housing as a social good versus a commodity. Molly has taught graduate and undergraduate courses on social justice-informed planning and research methods and went on to develop course curricula for planning and design practitioners focused on anti-Black racism and Indigenous reconciliation. 

London Borough of Lambeth

Joining Lambeth’s Economic Inclusion team, Molly supported a range of strategic and operational projects to improve the delivery of local economic outcomes, including leading the refresh of the council’s Economic Resilience Strategy. Embedded with the principles of community wealth building, Molly worked collaboratively across the council and closely with external partners in the public, private and third sectors to develop the council’s strategic approach to inclusive economic development. In addition, she was responsible for strengthening the council’s methods of securing community benefits through Section 106 agreements for new developments and social value for council-held contracts. Following intense internal engagement to identify challenges in the current processes, Molly designed and implemented several interventions to improve access to economic opportunities for local residents and businesses.