Tunney Lee

Tunney Lee (1931 – July 2, 2020) was an influential architect, planner, educator, and activist known for his community engagement work primarily in Chinatown, Boston. Lee was a professor emeritus of urban planning and a former head of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) within the MIT School of Architecture and Planning. He is also known as the founder of the Department of Architecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), now called the School of Architecture. Lee also maintained a career in public service as chief of planning and design for the Boston Redevelopment Authority and deputy commissioner of the state Division of Capital Planning and Operations under Governor Michael S. Dukakis. He passed away on July 2nd, 2020 in Boston at the age of 88.[1]

Early Life and Education

Tunney Lee was born in 1931 in Taishan, China to his father, Kwang Lien Lee, a lawyer, and mother, Kam Kwai Chan. In 1938, Lee left his mother and three sisters and emigrated with his father to Boston's Chinatown. He attended the Boston Latin School before graduating with a degree in architecture from the University of Michigan in 1954.[2]

Work

After graduating from the University of Michigan, Lee worked for notable architects Buckminster Fuller and I.M. Pei.[1] In the late 1950s Lee fought with members of Boston's Chinatown to resist the impact of a planned interstate highway. These efforts of community resistance are chronicled in Karilyn Crockett's book titled "People Before Highways: Boston Activists, Urban Planners, and a New Movement for City Making."[3] Lee continued to grow his roots in Boston and joined MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning in 1970. He became tenured in 1977 and was promoted to full professor in 1985. Throughout his tenure at MIT, he worked to develop relationships with community-based organizations in Boston's Chinatown as well as Boston at large. In partnership with the Chinese Historical Society of New England, Chinatown Lantern Cultural and Educational Center, and UMass Boston Institute for Asian American Studies, Lee led MIT students to create the Chinatown Atlas. [1]

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References

"Tunney Lee, professor emeritus of urban planning, dies at 88". MIT News. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
Marquard, Bryan (2020-07-05). "MIT professor Tunney Lee, an architect, urban planner, and historian of Chinatown, dies at 88 – The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
Crockett, Karilyn (2018-04-01). People before Highways: Boston Activists, Urban Planners, and a New Movement for City Making. University of Massachusetts Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv47w9bw. ISBN 978-1-61376-536-4.

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[:0-1] "Tunney Lee, professor emeritus of urban planning, dies at 88". MIT News. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

[2] Marquard, Bryan (2020-07-05). "MIT professor Tunney Lee, an architect, urban planner, and historian of Chinatown, dies at 88 – The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

[3] Crockett, Karilyn (2018-04-01). People before Highways: Boston Activists, Urban Planners, and a New Movement for City Making. University of Massachusetts Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv47w9bw. ISBN 978-1-61376-536-4.