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building our city

Asheville's urban design

speaker series

 

ABOUT

CITIes determine their futures by the policies and practices they adopt

Asheville is a community on the rise. The design of our community impacts how we interact with the space around us and with each other, and influences how we live.

Join us for this free four-part speaker series featuring national experts on urban design, planning, placemaking, transportation and other community development topics to explore the role of thoughtful design in building livable communities. These deep-dive community conversations are dedicated to creating a better understanding of the role design plays in the growth of Asheville and its surrounding regions. The goal is to help create conversations by hosting professionals from outside the region, who will bring innovative ideas as well as examples of other community’s successes and failures.

The series is free and open to the public, thanks to our generous sponsors. Interested in sponsoring? Email us at marci@ashevilledowntown.org!

 

NEXT EVENTs

HOMELESSNESS IS A HOUSING PROBLEM

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30 | 6 pm | the ASHEVILLE MASONIC TEMPLE

 

Gregg Colburn is an associate professor of real estate at the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments. He publishes research on topics related to housing and homelessness and is co-author of the book Homelessness is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns. Gregg holds an MSW and PhD from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from Northwestern University. Prior to academia, he worked as an investment banker and private equity professional. Gregg is co-chair of the University of Washington’s Homelessness Research Initiative and is a member of the National Alliance to End Homelessness Research Council.

With a diverse academic and professional background, including a Ph.D. from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, an M.S.W. from the University of Minnesota, an M.B.A. from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a B.A. from Albion College, Colburn brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. Before his academic career, he gained experience in investment banking and private equity. Currently, at the University of Washington, he teaches courses on housing, urban economics, and finance and is actively involved in the university’s Homelessness Research Initiative.

This event is the last of six sessions conducted this year, each aimed at encouraging dialogue and understanding around the vital issues of affordable housing and equity in our community. This event offers an invaluable opportunity for Downtown Stakeholders to engage with and learn from an expert in the field.

 

SPONSORSHIPS

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Contact us to become a sponsor for Building Our City:

marci@ashevilledowntown.org

 

PAST EVENTS

hacking inequity (through crowdfunding)

October 3 , 2023

Eve Picker's world is wrapped around cities and change. With a background as an architect, city planner, urban designer, real estate developer, community development strategist, publisher, and instigator, Eve has a rich understanding of how cities and urban neighborhoods work - and how they can be revitalized.

Eve launched and leads Small Change, a real estate equity crowdfunding portal to help fund transformational real estate projects. Small Change connects everyday investors with developers to help them build projects that make cities better and provides investment opportunities for everyone who cares about cities and wants to see positive change. 

Small Change focuses on impact in 3 ways: 1) They measure the impact of each project to ensure they are equitable and innovative; 2) They embrace emerging minority & women developers; and 3) Everyone (18+) can invest to build wealth on Small Change. Read more about Small Change here.


zoning with Eric Kronberg

June 28, 2023

Eric Kronberg is a zoning whisperer.  He specializes in examining and demystifying zoning ordinances to find ways to make great projects possible and help others navigate through the zoning swamp.  He uses his skills for the force of good as a principal at Kronberg Urbanists + Architects, leading the firm’s pre-development efforts by combining skills in planning, development, architecture, and zoning.  Eric leverages this potent cocktail to chart the course of best possibilities for each site’s redevelopment.  His work with KUA, the Incremental Development Alliance, the Congress for the New Urbanism, the Georgia Conservancy, and the National Town Builders Association has solidified his stance as an advocate for walkable and bikeable communities.


MISSING MIDDLE HOUSING with jennifer settle

April 26, 2023

Jennifer Settle leads the newly-established Chicago office of Opticos Design and brings over 15 years of experience in transforming the built environment to enhance people’s everyday lives. She has led numerous community design charrettes and played a critical role in neighborhood, city, and regional master planning projects. These visions formed the basis for innovative comprehensive and zoning plan overhauls, as well as the future build-out of important development sites. Jennifer advocates for intentional communities and neighborhoods that provide diverse housing choices, closely collaborating with cities to better calibrate their regulations to enable missing middle housing. She recently led the zoning code update for the City of South Bend, winner of the 2021 Richard Driehaus Form-Based Code Award, and created a set of pre-approved buildings to help implement infill housing. 


SMALL SCALE DEVELOPMENT MATTERS WITH BERNICE RADLE

November 2, 2022

With climate change, automobile dependency, and rising costs for housing and transportation, America needs to reverse suburban sprawl and focus again on our cities and small towns now more than ever. This won't happen to any meaningful extent without small scale development, and lots of it. Zoning reform and incremental development education will be key to making it happen.

In this session, you’ll learn about how Buffalo’s 2017 zoning overhaul made a walkable, transit friendly development legal again. We will talk about how it is helping enable small scale projects, create wealth for working people, and rebuild a legacy Great Lakes city that despite losing half of its population from 1950 to 2010, is now America's fastest growing Rust Belt city.

Bernice Radle is owner and CEO of Buffalove Development and Little Wheel Restoration Co. She’s based in Buffalo, NY but do work in other small rust belt cities. She’s also the Vice Chair of the City of Buffalo Zoning Board of Appeals, a faculty member of the Incremental Development Alliance and a VIP with the Buffalo’s Young Preservationists. She was a host and house rehabber on American Rehab Buffalo (DIY Network & HGTV). Her work has been featured in the NYTimes, Huffington Post, City Lab, Preservation Magazine, Old Home Magazine and many other publications.


CENTERING CARBON EMISSIONS IN PLANNING WITH JASON HARDIN

December 15, 2021

Addressing climate change and carbon emissions is a crucial task. Moreover, unlike many other issues, it is one that local governments have substantial power to address. However, while comprehensive planning documents now often mention carbon emissions, it is rarely considered directly in decisions.

As part of the effort to meet carbon emissions goals, Raleigh has begun explicitly considering carbon emissions in all planning decisions – rezonings, area plans, code changes, and more. Those implications have, of course, always been present. They simply are not overtly acknowledged.

The city’s new carbon emissions analysis responds both to the city’s goal for significantly reducing carbon emissions by 2050 and to specific policy embedded in the Comprehensive Plan. The analysis considers the effect of a plan or zoning change on per-capita emissions.

What was previously hidden or ignored is now explicit. The environmental benefit of allowing more people to live or work in walkable areas with transit is now clear, as is the reverse – not allowing that means more people will live in work in places that are not walkable and are not served by transit, with corresponding increases in VMT and carbon emissions. Many planning processes allow that impact to be magically wished away. By highlighting the issue, this analysis does not allow that to happen in Raleigh, which is critically important.

Jason Hardin is a senior planner with the City of Raleigh’s Planning and Development department. His work includes area planning, rezoning, code changes, and other planning studies. He recently has been involved in projects including planning for sustainability and equity around transit, measuring the carbon impacts of planning decisions, and addressing parking requirements and zoning barriers to housing choice and affordability.


Sustainable tourism with Megan Epler Wood and Vic Isley

September 22, 2021

What is sustainable tourism and how could it support a more equitable and resilient Asheville?

Presentation made possible in collaboration with Thrive Asheville.

Megan Epler Wood is a thought leader, author, teacher, speaker, and consultant on questions of managing sustainable tourism for destinations and a founder of the field of ecotourism.  From 2010-2021 her research and online courses at Harvard University vetted a wide range of solutions to help protect travel destinations.  At Cornell’s Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise, SC Johnson College of Business, she leads research on how to advance more sustainable use of global resources by the travel industry.  She wrote her 2017 book, Sustainable Tourism on a Finite Planet while at Harvard and the 2019 report Destinations at Risk; The Invisible Burden of Tourism at Cornell to speak to a broad audience about how to meet the goals of sustainable tourism worldwide. Since 2018, she has given keynote speeches on her works at the Banff Center, Canada; Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; Edinburgh, Scotland; and many other destinations on Zoom in 2020.  Asheville, North Carolina will be her first in-person speech since the pandemic began. 

Victoria “Vic” Isley is the President & CEO of Explore Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority. She believes in the power of travel -- the emotional reward people get through exploring new places and the economic benefits communities generate through the process. Isley has been recognized as one of Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International’s (HSMAI) Top 25 Minds in Hospitality & Travel Sales Marketing for being an innovative marketing executive. Over her 25-year career, she has represented destinations including the island of Bermuda; Washington, DC; Tampa Bay, Florida and Durham, North Carolina. Solidifying her dedication to place marketing, she was Chief Operating Officer for what is now Destinations International, the world’s largest destination marketing trade association, representing 600 organizations worldwide. She also operated as the Executive Director of its Foundation. Vic is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, proud Carolina girl, passionate traveler, foodie, music lover and farmer’s daughter.

This presentation will kick off the Ideas to Action Leadership Forum, a program of THRIVE ASHEVILLE, a year-long community-led discussion about sustainable tourism. We envision a tourism sector that meets the triple bottom line of profitability, protection for the environment, and care for our people and our culture.

Learn more about Thrive Asheville at www.thriveavl.org.

Watch the recorded presentation on YouTube here.


Heather Worthington

May 26, 2021

Consider this: It is illegal on 75 percent of the residential land in many American cities to build anything other than a detached single-family home. Single-family zoning has recently come under scrutiny as cities grapple with a dire shortage of affordable housing. Often single-family zoning stands as the only impediment to denser, multi-family developments in “traditional” neighborhoods. Planners are now beginning to ask whether removing single-family zoning is essential in order to address our current affordable housing crisis.


As Director of Long Range Planning in Minneapolis, Heather Worthington’s team led the creation, engagement, and policy adoption of the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan. As a result, in 2019, Minneapolis voted to end exclusive single-family zoning on 70 percent of the city’s residential land.

In this virtual presentation, Heather examined the efforts that led to this seismic shift in Minneapolis zoning, as well as the challenges that remain. Watch the zoom recording here.


Virtual Tour: Much Ado About ADUs

November 10th, 2020

Whether you call it a “granny flat,” a “garage apartment,” an “in-law apartment,” or another name, the greater Asheville area is speckled with Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). These dwellings are gaining in popularity and can be creative ways to help people age-in-place. Learn more about how ADUs can be a good housing option for many of us, including older adults.

 Learn more about the concept and explore examples in our community at this virtual tour. This event is sponsored by AARP North Carolina in collaboration with the R.L. Mace Institute for Universal Design, and Housing Options for Aging in Place (HOAP), an initiative of Age-friendly Buncombe County and the Asheville Design Center.


Dr. Richard Jackson

June 10th, 2020

Many of today’s major health problems – obesity, diabetes, depression, and more– can be traced directly to decades of bad design decisions in urban and suburban areas. It doesn’t have to be this way. Well-designed communities can improve both physical and mental health. But choosing how we design our built environment can be difficult, even in the best of times. With a likely recession looming in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Richard Jackson will offer guidance for how to prioritize where we invest our limited resources to ensure the improved health of our community.

Winner of the Heinz Award for his work in the environment, Dr. Jackson is Chair of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at UCLA’s School of Public Health. He has co-authored the books: Urban Sprawl and Public Health, Making Healthy Places, and Designing Healthy Communities for which he hosted a four hour PBS series. Formerly, he was Chief Public Health Officer for the State of California, and served for nine years as Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s National Center for Environmental Health. Dr. Jackson was inducted into the Institute of Medicine, one of the highest honors a doctor can receive, and is the only medical doctor elected to the Board of the American Institute of Architects, as well as the American Society of Landscape Architects.

 
 

PATRICK BOWEN

March 5th, 2020

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As both newcomers and locals know, Asheville's housing crisis is undeniable. In recent years, the City has become increasingly aware of this problem and has begun to put programs and funding in place to work towards solving the ongoing crisis.

In 2015, Bowen National Research conducted a Housing Needs Assessment and Market Study for the Asheville region. In 2019, Patrick's firm provided an update, including key demographic characteristics and trends of Asheville's housing market (including projections through 2023). The 2019 Bowen Report also illustrates key changes in both the rental and for-sale housing markets over the past five years.

On March 5th, Patrick will present his firm's findings and address the challenges our community faces as we seek solutions to our region's affordable housing crisis.


JEFF SPECK

November 6th, 2019

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Jeff Speck is a city planner and urban designer who advocates internationally for more walkable cities. We are excited for him to come to Asheville to inspire our community to imagine and plan for a more vibrant, walkable city. Join us to hear how we can make this vision a reality.

As Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003 through 2007, Mr. Speck presided over the Mayors' Institute on City Design and created the Governors' Institute on Community Design. Prior to his federal appointment, Mr. Speck spent ten years as Director of Town Planning at DPZ & Co., the principal firm behind the New Urbanism movement. Since 2007, he has led Speck & Associates, an award winning private design consultancy serving public officials and the real estate industry.

With Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Mr. Speck is the co-author of Suburban Nation, which the Wall Street Journal calls "the urbanist's bible.” His 2012 book, Walkable City–which the Christian Science Monitor calls “timely and important, a delightful, insightful, irreverent work” – was the best selling city-planning book of 2013-2016. Just released, Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places, takes Walkable City from ideas into action, and was named a Planetizen “Top Ten Book of the Year."


Debra Campbell

May 8th, 2019

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Debra Campbell comes to Asheville from the City of Charlotte, where she was employed in many strategic roles including her most recent position as Assistant City Manager. Prior to joining the Charlotte City Manager’s office, Campbell served as the city’s Planning Director from 2004-2014, a time of booming redevelopment for the Queen City.

Campbell’s list of accomplishments and strategic initiatives during her tenure as Charlotte’s Assistant City Manager include supporting the development of the Housing Charlotte Framework, a 10-year strategy for community collaboration to increase the supply of affordable housing. She initiated expansion of a public engagement effort in which city employees of all levels were asked to take 10 minutes to engage a person of a different race in a face-to-face conversation about city issues and concerns.

 Campbell also led an interdepartmental group to identify and address issues related to safety, trust and accountability, good paying jobs and affordable housing.  And she had a hand in coordination with federal and state officials on the funding and development of a rapid transit system resulting in the construction of 19.3 miles of light rail and millions of square feet of transit oriented development being built at the various transit stations in Charlotte.


Kimber Lanning

February 13th , 2019

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Kimber Lanning is Founder and Executive Director of Local First Arizona, a statewide organization implementing innovative strategies for new models of economic development that create vibrant local economies. Kimber's talk will begin at 6pm; doors will open at 5:30pm. 

Lanning is an entrepreneur, business leader and community development specialist who works to cultivate strong self-reliant communities and inspire a higher quality of life for people across Arizona. Lanning’s passions, which are seen throughout her work, include fostering cultural diversity and inclusion, economic resilience and responsible growth for Arizona.

Lanning has grown Local First Arizona into a widely respected organization that is leading the nation in implementing systems and policies to ensure a level playing field for entrepreneurial endeavors of all sizes. With nearly 3,000 business members and four statewide offices, Lanning leads a team of 17 who work on a diverse array of programs ranging from healthy local food access, entrepreneurial development in underserved communities, and rural community development, each of which plays a part in building sustainable and resilient local economies.

Lanning is consistently recognized and has received numerous awards for her diverse work and extensive leadership. In 2014, Lanning was recognized as the Citizen Leader of the Year by the International Economic Development Council, a pivotal moment in recognizing the use of Localist policies as a force for economic development. Her work in promoting adaptive reuse in Phoenix’s urban core was recognized by the American Planning Association, who presented Lanning with the Distinguished Citizen Planner Award in 2013. Lanning has also been named one of the “50 Most Influential Women in Arizona” (Arizona Business Magazine, 2011), was the recipient of the Athena Award by the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce in 2013, and was the 2014 Leader of the Year in Public Policy (Arizona Capitol Times). 


Mitchell Silver

November 13th, 2018

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A renowned planner and urbanist, Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver has lead the New York City Parks Department since 2014. He oversees management, planning and operations of nearly 30,000 acres of parkland, including parks, playgrounds, beaches, marinas, recreation centers, wilderness areas and other assets. Mitchell is continually developing tools for local governance and 21st century urban planning on an international scale; this zealous dedication is reflected throughout his career in his publications and leading role in shaping the built environment

Mr. Silver’s insight is invaluable to Asheville. This visit will focus on the impact of planning and placemaking on physical and mental wellbeing.  He will also share learnings from a variety of projects during his role in New York, such as the Community Parks Equity Initiative, Parks without Borders, and Cool Pools and Creative Courts.

Before returning to his hometown of New York City, he served as Chief Planning and Development Officer and Planning Director for the City of Raleigh, North Carolina. He also holds the prestige of being president of the American Planning Association (APA) between 2011 and 2013, and was the first African American to hold the title.

In the past decade, Silver has been recognized across a multitude of platforms as an international thought leader: Planetizen’s “100 Most Influential Urbanists” (2017); in the Urban Times as a top international thought leader of the built environment (2012); and in UBM Future Cities’ “Top 100 City Innovators in the World” (2013).

“[Silver] is a visionary - He has a passion for fairness and equality, and he brings it to the work of government, and understands that we have to ensure that parks and open spaces are available in every community, and are well-maintained in every community in this city.” ~ Mayor Bill de Blasio, NYC 


Michelle Mapp

August 28, 2018

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Michelle Mapp serves as the CEO of the South Carolina Community Loan Fund, a nonprofit, mission based lender that has facilitated the development of more than $246 million in community development projects throughout South Carolina.  A certified Housing Development Finance Professional, Michelle has been with SCCLF for 11 years and has served in her current capacity for the past 6 years.

She currently serves on the board of directors for Business Development Corp., Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Charlotte Branch, Frances P. Bunnelle Foundation, SC Community Capital Alliance, TogetherSC, and on the SC Rural Action Plan Taskforce. She is a Liberty Fellow and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. A 2012 executive finalist for the Charleston Regional Business Journal’s Influential Women in Business, Michelle was recently named one of Charleston Magazine’s 50 Most Influential.

Michelle holds a Master of Public Administration from the College of Charleston and University of South Carolina, a Master of Engineering Management from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering Analysis with a concentration in Industrial Engineering from Clemson University.


dennis pieprz

May 9, 2018

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Dennis Pieprz is Principal, Sasaki Associates, Watertown, MA. Dennis plays a key role in the planning and urban design practice with specific emphasis on international work. His 25 years of both national and international experience encompass diverse project types including urban districts, new communities, campus environments, waterfronts, and urban regeneration. Through his design practice, Dennis focuses on strategic thinking and creating value for clients. He approaches his urban design work collaboratively, integrating landscape, planning, and architecture with a critical understanding of the forces that shape contemporary cities.

Educated at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the University of Toronto School of Architecture, Dennis speaks regularly at conferences and academic institutions and has participated on several international design competition juries. At the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Dennis teaches in the Executive Education program and in 2010 taught a studio focused on the Boston Innovation District. Dennis leads remarkable teams that have been honored with more than 45 design awards, including national recognition from the American Institute of Architects, the American Society of Landscape Architects, and the Society for College and University Planning. Dennis has been inducted as an honorary member of ASLA—a title bestowed upon only a handful of professionals nationwide. Dennis also served as the youngest president of Sasaki from 2004 until 2011.


Hunter Franks

April 3, 2018

Hunter Franks creates ways for people to share introspections, hear other people’s stories, and reimagine social norms. His practice encompasses community-based public art, visual work, writing, and installation. He shares cultural commentary and conducts actions that display that we are all far more similar than we are different. As people begin to contemplate their own role in shaping culture, they begin to reimagine the possibilities present for connection, empathy, love, and joy within their own lives, their neighborhood, and their city.

His projects include a 500 person dinner on a freeway, a storytelling exchange to connect disparate neighborhoods, a swing on a subway, and a year of creative daily lists. His Neighborhood Postcard Project has been carried out in 26 communities around the world from Chennai, India to Santiago, Chile and he is the founder of the League of Creative Interventionists, a nationwide network of community catalysts using art and culture to reimagine their cities.

His work has been carried out in public spaces and venues around the United States including the de Young Museum, Mural Arts Program, Asian Art Museum, 111 Minna Gallery, Akron Art Museum, Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, and Detroit’s Eastern Market. His work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, Fast Company, Curbed, and Univision.

In 2014, Franks was named to GOOD Magazine’s GOOD 100, an annual showcase of individuals at the cutting-edge of creative impact. In 2016, he was chosen to participate in the Studio Residency Program at Root Division, a San Francisco arts non-profit. In 2017, Franks received a Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Fellowship to address equity. In 2018, his idea to transform a freeway into a forest won the Knight Cities Challenge, a nationwide call for civic ideas.

Franks is currently an Alumni Studio Artist at Root Division, resides in Northern California, and speaks about his work around the country.

Hunter was recently hired as a national creative placekeeping/placemaking expert to consult on the Broadway Cultural Gateway planning project.


Ellen Dunham-Jones

March 7, 2018

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Ellen is Director of the Master of Science in Urban Design degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology, an authority on sustainable suburban redevelopment, and a leading urbanist. Author of over 60 articles linking contemporary theory and practice, she is co-author with June Williamson of Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs, (Wiley, 2009, 2011) Its documentation of successful retrofits of aging big box stores, malls, and office parks into healthier and more sustainable places received a PROSE award as the best architecture and urban planning book of 2009 and has been featured in The New York Times, Time Magazine, Harvard Business Review, NPR, PBS, TED and other prominent venues. She serves on several national boards and committees, is former Chair of the Board of the Congress for the New Urbanism, lectures widely and conducts community workshops. In both her teaching and research she focuses on helping communities address the 21st century challenges that they were never designed for – whether that’s through her unique database of successful suburban retrofits or studio classes on anticipating autonomous vehicles, coping with climate change or suburban blight.  She taught at UVA and MIT before joining Georgia Tech as Architecture Program Director from 2000-2009.


Tony garcia

November 30, 2017

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Tony Garcia is a Principal of Street Plans Collaborative, and leads the firm’s Miami office. Anthony is a nationally recognized architect, writer, speaker and advocate in the in the field of transit, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. 

As a writer and advocate, Tony’s work has appeared in or been featured by The Daily Business Review, Atlantic Cities, Next American City Magazine, New Urban News, The Real Deal, Momentum Magazine, Streetsblog, the Miami Herald, the El Paso Times, and The Miami New Times, among other publications. Tony is a coauthor of the globally acclaimed series Tactical Urbanism: Short-Term Action, Long-Term Change Vol. 1-4, and together with Mike Lydon is the recipient of the 2017 Seaside Prize and co-author of Tactical Urbanism, published by Island Press in March 2015. Tony was also awarded with the 2017-2018 CINTAS Foundation Fellowship for Architecture & Design. 

He is a part-time adjunct faculty member at the University of Miami School of Architecture, and is the past Chairman of the Green Mobility Network, the largest bicycle pedestrian advocacy organization in South Florida. He co-founded the Ludlam Trail project, which will result in the addition of over 50 acres of new park space in Miami-Dade County. Among the many professional organizations he is active with are the Association of Bicycle and Pedestrian Professionals, the Congress for the New Urbanism, the Dade Heritage Trust, and the Urban Environment League. He lectures and leads workshops on the topics of architecture, urban design, smart growth, tactical urbanism, and complete streets/active transportation.

Prior to launching the firm’s Miami office, Tony was Project Director for six years at the Dover Kohl & Partners affiliated architecture firm Chael Cooper & Associates, and from 2008 to 2012 he was the Publisher and Managing editor of the transportation blog TransitMiami.com, an award winning web journal dedicated to public participation and discourse in South Florida.

Tony holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and Urban Design from New York University and a Masters in Architecture from the University of Miami.


Charles Marohn

May 17, 201

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Charles Marohn - known as "Chuck" to friends and colleagues is the Founder and President of Strong Towns and the author of the forthcoming Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity. He is a Professional Engineer (PE) licensed in the State of Minnesota and a land use planner with two decades of experience. He holds a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, both from the University of Minnesota.

Marohn is also the lead author of Thoughts on Building Strong Towns — Volume 1Volume 2  and Volume 3 — as well as the author of A World Class Transportation System. He hosts the Strong Towns Podcast and is a primary writer for Strong Towns’ web content. He has presented Strong Towns concepts in hundreds of cities and towns across North America. He was named one of the 10 Most Influential Urbanists of all time by Planetizen.

Marohn is a long time commentator on KAXE Northern Community Radio. He currently co-hosts KAXE's Dig Deep program, a monthly examination of public policy issues affecting Minnesotans.

Chuck grew up on a small farm in Central Minnesota. The oldest of three sons of two elementary school teachers, he joined the Minnesota National Guard on his 17th birthday during his junior year of high school and served for nine years. In addition to being passionate about building a stronger America, he loves playing music, is an obsessive reader and religiously follows his favorite team, the Minnesota Twins.

Chuck and his wife live with their two daughters in their hometown of Brainerd, Minnesota.