[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 27, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E77]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE LIFE OF DR. EDWARD JAMES BLAKELY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK TAKANO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 27, 2026

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, today I recognize United States Air Force 
veteran, public servant, and champion for equitable and humane urban 
planning, Professor Edward James Blakely, who passed away last year at 
the age of 87.
  Dr. Blakely was called to serve his community, state, and country 
after receiving bachelor of arts at the University of California, 
Riverside, where he excelled both in the classroom and as a four-sport 
athlete. He served in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, in 
Oakland after the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, and around the world 
following some of the most devastating natural disasters of our 
lifetime.
  In addition to his service on the ground when communities needed him 
most, he shared his time, talent, and energy with students in the 
classroom and in the hallways of higher learning. He served as a 
professor of Urban Planning at the University of California, Berkely, 
as Dean of the School of Urban and Regional Planning at the University 
of Southern California in Los Angeles, and as the Dean of the Milano 
Graduate School of Public Policy at the New School in New York.
  Later in life, Dr. Blakely's passion for public service called him to 
Australia, where he served as the District Commissioner for the Greater 
Sydney Commission and an Acting Commissioner on the New South Wales 
Land and Environment Court.
  His multiple books on urban planning, the students he impacted, and 
the communities he touched serve as a living legacy to his commitment 
to making our society more equitable for the benefit of humanity.
  He, nor his deeds of good work, will not soon be forgotten from this 
earthly plane.
  My prayers are with Dr. Blakely's family and friends.

                          ____________________