American Planning Association

Woolpert Hires Ohio Transportation Leader Jeff Wallace as Program Director

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, March 7, 2024
American Planning Association, Ohio Department of Transportation, American Council, Ohio State University, Friends, Transport, Society, Northern Kentucky University

DAYTON, Ohio, March 7, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Woolpert has hired Jeff Wallace, an experienced civil engineer and transportation project manager, as program director for its growing transportation market. Wallace brings over 26 years of planning and project management experience supporting numerous regional and Ohio Department of Transportation projects, including Cincinnati's current Brent Spence Bridge rehabilitation and replacement project.

Key Points: 
  • Wallace will support local and state transportation clients throughout southwest Ohio and northern Kentucky.
  • DAYTON, Ohio, March 7, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Woolpert has hired Jeff Wallace, an experienced civil engineer and transportation project manager, as program director for its growing transportation market.
  • Wallace brings over 26 years of planning and project management experience supporting numerous regional and Ohio Department of Transportation projects, including Cincinnati's current Brent Spence Bridge rehabilitation and replacement project.
  • Woolpert Vice President and Transportation Market Director Judi Craig said that Wallace will continue to expand Woolpert's visibility with local and state clients throughout southwest Ohio and northern Kentucky.

Michael Baker International Promotes Kyle Kramer, AIA, LEED AP, to Office Executive for Greater DC and Maryland operations and Lorna Parkins, FAICP, to Office Executive for Virginia Beach and Richmond

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Applied economics, American Institute, Frostburg, Maryland, Michael Baker, American Council of Engineering Companies, American Institute of Certified Planners, University, American Institute of Architects, APA, Frostburg State University, American Planning Association, AECOM, Engineering, Economics, College of Fellows of the American Theatre, AIA, College, American Council, WTS, Anti-Money Laundering Office, Executive Yuan, Growth, U.S. Green Building Council, USGBC, Business administration, State university system, Virginia Tech, Office, LEED AP, APTA, Bachelor of Architecture, American Public Transportation Association, STV, AICP, Management, Civil engineering, Lists of United States Congress, Architecture

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Michael Baker International, a global leader in engineering, planning and consulting services, announced today a pair of promotions in the firm's Mid-Atlantic Region. Kyle Kramer, AIA, LEED AP, has been named Office Executive for Greater DC and Maryland operations, and Lorna Parkins, FAICP, has been elevated to Office Executive for Virginia Beach and Richmond. In their expanded roles, Mr. Kramer and Ms. Parkins will be responsible for driving continued growth in their respective offices, as well as providing operational management, staff management and production/project oversight in the office.

Key Points: 
  • Kyle Kramer, AIA, LEED AP, has been named Office Executive for Greater DC and Maryland operations, and Lorna Parkins, FAICP, has been elevated to Office Executive for Virginia Beach and Richmond.
  • As Office Executive for Greater DC and Maryland operations, Mr. Kramer will lead Michael Baker's Baltimore, Maryland, Alexandria, Virginia and Manassas, Virginia, offices.
  • His professional affiliations include the American Council of Engineering Companies of Maryland (ACEC/Maryland), American Institute of Architects (AIA) and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
  • With this promotion, Ms. Parkins will expand her role as Office Executive to include both the Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Richmond, Virginia, offices.

Urban planning is often overlooked as a career -- here are some ways to change that

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
Male, Baseball, Microsoft PowerPoint, University, Student, Awareness, Table, American Planning Association, Face, Berkeley, Solution, Cincinnati Public Schools, Curriculum, Activate, Canadian Institute of Planners, Employment, Osaka University, School, Local government, Walking, Climate change, Population, Association, Income, Map, ACE, American, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, United Kingdom, City, Program, Urban planning, Safety, Social media, Counselor, Football, Hughes STEM High School, Nursing, Civil engineering, Creative industries, Book, Tutoring, Forestry, Hughes

Students said they felt uncomfortable and unsafe using the field because of its unkempt conditions.

Key Points: 
  • Students said they felt uncomfortable and unsafe using the field because of its unkempt conditions.
  • Students also had to walk the 10 minutes it takes to get to the field along narrow streets.
  • We are urban planning scholars with interest in land use planning, ecological planning and design and urban green space planning.

Lack of awareness

    • Employment in the field is projected to grow by 4% between 2021 and 2031 from 41,900 jobs in 2021.
    • We wanted young people to know that urban planning is also a profession that will enable them to literally change the world around them.
    • It also suffers from a profound lack of diversity.
    • The reality of the lack of awareness of urban planning as a profession hit home for us in 2016.
    • In March 2016, School of Planning faculty members and students launched the Activate Community Empowerment initiative in an effort to turn things around.

The process of planning

    • The Activate Community Empowerment initiative – or ACE – was a three-week outreach program to help high school students, counselors and teachers become aware of the urban planning profession.
    • After students told us they wanted to improve the conditions of their playing field, School of Planning faculty members and students helped the Hughes students tackle the problem as if they were urban planners.
    • Students were asked to mark the maps to identify different issues they experienced while walking to and using Coy Field.
    • One group of students focused on the paths to Coy Field, and a second group focused on Coy Field itself.

A global look


    As a result of our work at Hughes, in 2023 we published a new book about urban planning around the world. The book is meant to draw attention to the need to make urban planning more attractive to children and young people as they explore different careers. We believe there are a series of steps that education leaders can take to raise awareness about urban planning among young people in the U.S. and throughout the world. Here are just three:

1. Partner with schools to provide real-world experiences

    • To raise awareness of urban planning among students before college, universities in general – and urban planning programs in particular – can promote youth engagement by forming partnerships with local schools.
    • The word “machizukuri” can be loosely translated as “community building.” Among other things, these entities worked with the club to provide public seating, tables, and recreation spaces for fishing and sand spots in their community.

2. Make urban planning part of the high school curriculum


    In New South Wales, Australia, inclusion of urban and regional planning in the high school geography curriculum increased students’ awareness about the profession.

3. Support prospective and existing urban planning students

    • Urban planning programs can do more to support future and current students through recruitment programs, mentorships and community engagement.
    • This article is informed by our book published by Routledge titled, "Routledge Companion to Professional Awareness and Diversity in Planning Education."

Hilco Redevelopment Partners and Computer CORE Launch Partnership to Help Prepare Underserved Adults with Digital and Professional Skills

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, July 19, 2023
American Planning Association, Workforce, Partnership, Twenty-five Year Award, Head, Potomac River, Computer, Student, City, HRP, Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning, Project, CORE, Conference, Mixed-use development, Management

ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP), a national leader in transforming obsolete industrial sites into sustainable economic engines, today welcomed guests to the site of the former Potomac River Generating Station to announce a partnership with local nonprofit, Computer CORE, which includes an initial $10,000 contribution to the nonprofit to help fund programs that prepare underserved adults to realize career aspirations with foundational digital and professional skills.HRP joined the Old Town North Community when the company acquired the former power plant in 2020 and has since held regular site tours, community meetings, and events in collaboration with local organizations to share their vision for the site and receive feedback from neighbors. The company, which redevelops former industrial sites across the country, has released plans to transform the site into a vibrant and sustainable mixed-use destination featuring approximately 14 acres of publicly accessible open space on and adjacent to the site, including public waterfront access."We are committed to transforming this extraordinary site and delivering a vibrant and sustainable space that will create economic growth and opportunity for the Alexandria community," said HRP CEO Roberto Perez. "It is imperative that our neighbors have the opportunity to access the jobs this project will create. Partnering with a fantastic organization like Computer CORE, with over two decades of work here in Alexandria, will help to ensure that we deliver on our values of economic, environmental, and community sustainability."The partnership between HRP and Computer CORE recognizes their shared mission of ensuring that Alexandria's workforce has equitable access to good-paying jobs, including the projected 2,000 jobs that HRP's redevelopment of the former coal-fired power plant will create."We thank HRP for their partnership and look forward to collaborating in our mission of training the workforce of tomorrow," said Computer CORE Executive Director Donna Walker James. "Since its inception, Computer CORE has provided technology education to more than 5,000 people. This contribution will ensure our programs are staffed and resourced to grow that number and ensure our students are qualified as they pursue opportunities in a modern economy."

Key Points: 
  • "It is imperative that our neighbors have the opportunity to access the jobs this project will create.
  • "We thank HRP for their partnership and look forward to collaborating in our mission of training the workforce of tomorrow," said Computer CORE Executive Director Donna Walker James.
  • "Since its inception, Computer CORE has provided technology education to more than 5,000 people.
  • Following a check presentation ceremony, Computer CORE volunteers and community members joined HRP team members to tour the previously inaccessible property along the Potomac River.

Struckhoff Tapped to Lead PGAV Planners

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Cortex, East-West Gateway Council of Governments, City, Economic development, Land use, Greater St. Louis, Thought, Architect, Eye, Ferguson, American Planning Association, Growth, ST, Multimedia, Learning, Chair, Economy, Industrial design, Management, Destinations

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PGAV announces Andy Struckhoff as the new President of PGAV Planners, LLC, the firm's fast-growing urban planning practice subsidiary. Struckhoff, elevated from his role as Vice President, has led the group to achieve deeper regional partnerships; working with the City of St. Louis to develop the Economic Justice Action Plan, with the 24:1 Municipal Collaborative on a joint land use plan and economic development strategy, many other communities throughout the region to develop solutions to planning challenges, and with Cortex to help them grow into their next phase of evolution.

Key Points: 
  • PGAV announcement signals new energy, new focus at company's growing urban planning division
    ST. LOUIS, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PGAV announces Andy Struckhoff as the new President of PGAV Planners, LLC, the firm's fast-growing urban planning practice subsidiary.
  • "I am honored to lead this talented team and I look forward to helping PGAV grow across the country.
  • For more than a decade Struckhoff has helped PGAV clients remake their shared spaces.
  • "There is no better person to lead this team," said Mike Konzen, CEO and Chair, PGAV.

Public Works Partners Welcomes Melissa S. Lee as Principal, Head of Urban Planning Practice

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 6, 2023
Economic development, University, Government, Tulane University, Community engagement, Concordia, Investment, Community health, WBE, SBE, Climate change, News, AIA, Public works, International, American Planning Association, Growth, Women in architecture, Innovation, School, Friends, Woman, Transport, Conference, Policy, Urban planning, Architecture, New York University

Ms. Lee brings more than 25 years of experience delivering urban planning solutions in the government, nonprofit, and private sectors.

Key Points: 
  • Ms. Lee brings more than 25 years of experience delivering urban planning solutions in the government, nonprofit, and private sectors.
  • "We have significantly expanded our Community Health practice over the last three years and bringing Melissa on board enables us to accelerate this growth," said Celeste Frye, co-founder and CEO of Public Works Partners.
  • "I am thrilled to join Public Works Partners to lead the firm's work to shape public space through neighborhood economic development, community organizing, and urban planning," said Melissa Lee, incoming Principal at Public Works Partners.
  • I look forward to leading responsive and accessible planning practice at Public Works."

THE SOHAGI LAW GROUP'S NICOLE HOEKSMA GORDON AND MARGARET SOHAGI SELECTED AS SUPER LAWYERS

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
National Environmental Policy Act, Climate change, AEP, UCLA, APA, Solano, NEPA, Publication, Continuing legal education, USC, Housing, California Endangered Species Act, CEQA, Association of Environmental Professionals, Conference, City, Continuing legal education in the Philippines, Chairperson, ESA, California Environmental Quality Act, CLE, Superior court, Executive Committee, Environmental law, American Planning Association, Sohagi Barwa Wildlife Sanctuary

Gordon, a former Chair of the Executive Committee of the Environmental Law Section of the California Lawyers Association  and current Co-Chair of the annual CLE CEQA Conference, is at the forefront of the environmental law issues with which public agencies must grapple.

Key Points: 
  • Gordon, a former Chair of the Executive Committee of the Environmental Law Section of the California Lawyers Association  and current Co-Chair of the annual CLE CEQA Conference, is at the forefront of the environmental law issues with which public agencies must grapple.
  • Sohagi provides constructive, practical legal advice, working directly with lead agency counsel, staff, appointed elected officials.
  • As CEQA instructor for California's Continuing Judicial Studies Program, both Gordon and Sohagi have the unique opportunity to instruct Superior Court judges, appellate justices and court attorneys.
  • Sohagi's prior career as a city planner gives her invaluable insight into the intricacies of complex project development and review.

Seaside Institute™ to Honor 2023 Seaside Prize™ Winner Donald Shoup

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
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SANTA ROSA BEACH, Fla., Sept. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Seaside Institute is pleased to announce that Donald Shoup, Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Urban Planning at UCLA, will be honored as the 2023 Seaside Prize recipient for his radical rethinking of parking policy. In his groundbreaking 2005 book, The High Cost of Free Parking, and his work since then, Shoup changed the way cities view the relationship between parking and the built environment, traffic congestion, energy consumption, and local economic development. The Institute will hold the 29th Annual Seaside Prize on February 24-26, 2023.

Key Points: 
  • 29th Annual Seaside Prize Weekend to Take Place February 24-26, 2023
    SANTA ROSA BEACH, Fla., Sept. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Seaside Institute is pleased to announce that Donald Shoup, Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Urban Planning at UCLA, will be honored as the 2023 Seaside Prize recipient for his radical rethinking of parking policy.
  • The Institute will hold the 29th Annual Seaside Prize on February 24-26, 2023.
  • The Seaside Institute awards the Seaside Prize annually to individuals, organizations, or places that have made major contributions to the quality of the built community.
  • The Seaside Prize Weekend will include guest lectures (some of which will be CEU accredited); the Seaside Prize Gala and awards ceremony; walking tours of Seaside, Alys Beach and Rosemary Beach; and social gatherings.

Treplus Communities Hires Land Acquisition and Entitlement Director

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Community, AICP, Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, CEO, Bachelor, American Institute of Certified Planners, American Planning Association, City, Senior, Universal design, APA, American Institute, GLOBE, Nichole, American, Growth, Industry, Development, Region, Management

Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Treplus Communities is pleased to announce that Nichole Martin, AICP has joined the team at Treplus Communities as the Director of Land Acquisition and Entitlement.

Key Points: 
  • Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Treplus Communities is pleased to announce that Nichole Martin, AICP has joined the team at Treplus Communities as the Director of Land Acquisition and Entitlement.
  • Nichole offers nearly a decade of local government experience including land use, zoning, community planning, and entitlement knowledge.
  • Treplus Communities is poised for scale and growth and Nicholes experience will be a valuable asset in developing new communities in national markets, said Jane Arthur Roslovic, CEO & Co-Founder of Treplus Communities.
  • Treplus Communities is a premier, multi-family development company based in Columbus, Ohio focused on meeting the needs of active adults age 55+.

THE SOHAGI LAW GROUP PARTNERS NICOLE GORDON AND TYSON SOHAGI NAMED "LEGAL VISIONARIES"

Retrieved on: 
Friday, July 22, 2022
Association, Public trust doctrine, VMT, National Environmental Policy Act, Executive Committee, Los Angeles Business Journal, University of California, Berkeley, Airport, California Endangered Species Act, Business, Greenhouse, Water quality, Environmental law, Groundwater, Election law, Continuing legal education, ESA, APA, Mechanical engineering, Law, California Environmental Quality Act, Climate change, Superconference, UCLA, Chairperson, Association of Environmental Professionals, Units of transportation measurement, UC, CLE, Sohagi Barwa Wildlife Sanctuary, Weeping Angel, Partner, AEP, CEQA, Seawater, Water supply, EBS University of Business and Law, American, American Planning Association, SLG, Rising Star, Geology, NEPA, Editis, Biophysical environment, National Executive Committee of the Labour Party, Noise, City, Civil engineering

LOS ANGELES, July 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Environmental and land use law firm The Sohagi Law Group announced that Partners Nicole Hoeksma Gordon and R. Tyson Sohagi have been recognized as 'Legal Visionaries' by the Los Angeles Times inits second annual Business of Law magazine .

Key Points: 
  • LOS ANGELES, July 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Environmental and land use law firm The Sohagi Law Group announced that Partners Nicole Hoeksma Gordon and R. Tyson Sohagi have been recognized as 'Legal Visionaries' by the Los Angeles Times inits second annual Business of Law magazine .
  • Tyson Sohagi's practice focuses upon environmental law, land use and planning law, the Coastal Act, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Public Trust Doctrine, and Election Law.
  • Nicole is also an Advisor to the Executive Committee of the Environmental Law Section of the California Lawyers Association, which she Chaired in 2018-2019.
  • The Sohagi Law Group handles complex transactional and litigation matters for public agencies, including cities, counties, townships, state agencies, special districts, commissions and authorities.