My name is Muizz Akhtar (they/them), and I'm a writer and freelance journalist based in Houston, Texas. I am passionate about urban planning and how we design better, more sustainable cities for the future, both in the American South and the Global South.

Most recently, I was a digital content specialist at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research. Before that, I was a fellow at Vox, where I wrote about public health, urban planning, and climate change in the United States and in China. Before joining Vox, I was an editor at the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, working on academic papers related to public health, education, and poverty alleviation in China. I also served as communications director at the Texas Data Quality Coalition, advocating for legislation to improve public health outcomes, particularly in marginalized communities. Finally, I worked as an editor on Mastery of Words and Swords, an academic book on gender, race, and history in modern China.

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, I've previously worked in academia, strategic communications, nonprofit community organizations, and electoral campaigns. Above all, I'm civically engaged, an aspiring polyglot, and a punster extraordinaire.