Just Places Lab

Raf-al E.K. Moon focuses on circular brownfield redevelopment, particularly the intersection of adaptive reuse, environmental remediation, ecological infrastructure, land-use governance, and real-estate development. He is interested in how public-private partnerships, financing mechanisms, and alternative ownership models can make circular redevelopment economically viable while sustaining material reuse, environmental restoration, and cultural production.

A professional jazz musician, Moon also approaches planning through the vernacular of improvisation, understanding cities as dynamic systems shaped through adaptation, negotiation, collaboration, and the reconfiguration of existing conditions. His broader research explores how these principles can inform implementable development models for post-industrial communities in New York and beyond.

Moon is a Master of Regional Planning candidate at Cornell University and holds a B.S. in Political Science.