LAM, ALVEN

Director of International Research

Office of International Affairs

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Alven Lam is director of international research at the Office of International Affairs, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Washington D.C. He manages research projects and seminars on international housing and sustainable urban development exchange. In 2001, he managed the U.S.-China Housing Initiative, which was a bilateral exchange between HUD and the Chinese Ministry of Construction with the focuses on finance and building technology. In 2007, HUD and Ministry of Construction again signed a Memorandum of Cooperation expanding the bilateral collaboration.  Since 2001, Mr. Lam has developed international training and research projects with USAID, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, United Nations Habitat Program, and the Governments of Spain, Mexico, Canada, China, Uganda, Ghana, El Salvador, and other multilateral banks and international organizations.  Mr. Lam specializes in urban development and housing policy, geographic information system, local finance, and property taxation. He has served in the U.S. delegations to major multilateral meetings including the UN-Habitat Governing Council, UN Commission on Sustainable Development, UN Commission on Population and Development, and the World Urban Forum.  Prior to joining HUD, he was research fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mr. Lam received a doctoral degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Design.