Kanako Iuchi

Kanako Iuchi is active in both practice and research. She has worked in the field of international development planning and disaster risk management for more than 25 years, specializing in disaster management planning, urban and regional planning, and community development. Currently at the International Research Center for Disaster Science (IRIDeS) within Tohoku University, Iuchi focuses on disaster research and advocating for better rebuilding after disasters. Before joining IRIDeS, she worked as an Urban Specialist at the World Bank. Iuchi has also worked as an international development planner and researcher with bi- and multi-lateral organizations; national, regional, and local governments; and communities in more than 10 countries across East and South Asia, South America, and Eastern Europe.

Iuchi's recent work has primarily centered on planning and researching post-disaster rebuilding after large-scale disasters in urban and coastal areas, including Aceh, Yogyakarta, and Central Sulawesi, Tohoku, Japan, New York City, USA, Tacloban, Philippines, and Kathmandu, Nepal. Iuchi holds a bachelor's degree from Tsukuba University, a master's of regional planning from Cornell University, and a PhD from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in urban and regional planning.