Gray Read holds a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and is a licensed architect. She has written two books on historical urbanism, which explore specific design strategies that support livable and sustainable cities. The Miniature and the Gigantic in Philadelphia Architecture focuses on the poetics of scale in urban spaces. Modern Architecture in Theatre: Experiments of Art et Action considers an alternate path that modernism might have taken had architects embraced the city and allied with theater rather than fine arts. She has also composed a visual history of climate to a billion years ago, offering an accessible summary of the current crisis. Her expertise extends from the technical to the urban, focusing on design strategies toward an integrated approach to sustainability.