Nora Libertun de Duren is an urban development and housing expert at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), where she leads research activities in urban issues. Nora has comprehensive research and operational experience in the topics of housing, urban public space, urban growth and sustainable development.

She has lectured about these topics in many universities, and will be teaching at Harvard University next fall. Prior to joining the IADB, she was the Director of Planning at New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, where she led a citywide strategy for creating sustainable and accessible public spaces. She has authored papers published in peer reviewed journals, including Housing Policy Debates, Planning Journal of Education and Research, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, City and Community, Urban Studies, Cities and International Journal of Housing Policy. She has been the MIT Journal of Planning editor, and the co-editor of Cities and Sovereignty: Identity Politics in Urban Spaces (Indiana University Press, 2011). Nora has been recipient of various awards, including a Fulbright Fellowship, a Harvard Fellowship, an MIT Presidential Scholarship, an MIT prize for outstanding PhD Dissertation in Planning, and the University of Buenos Aires Highest Achievement medal. Nora holds a PhD in Urban Planning from the MIT; a Master in urban design from Harvard University, and in Architecture from the University of Buenos Aires.