ARLINGTON, Va. – Peter Katz, a nationally recognized proponent of New Urbanism who played a key role in shaping the movement, has been named the Director of Planning for Arlington County’s Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development.

 

“Peter brings to this critical position a deep knowledge of the planning principles that Arlington is all about,” said Arlington County Director of Community Planning, Housing and Development Robert Brosnan. “He understands and appreciates the robust community engagement that is a hallmark of planning in Arlington. We expect Peter to provide strong leadership and vision as we continue the work of building a sustainable community.”

Katz was the founding executive director of the non-profit Congress for the New Urbanism, serving in that capacity from 1995 to 1997. New Urbanism is an approach to planning that recognizes walkable, human-scaled neighborhoods as the building blocks of sustainable communities and regions.

Katz’s book – The New Urbanism: Toward an Architecture of Community – is considered a seminal book on New Urbanism. Katz also was the founding president of the Form-Based Codes Institute, a national group that advocates for the use of physical form, rather than land use, as the primary organizing principle for development regulation. He is a member of that group’s Board of Directors.

 

Katz is a founding member of the National Charrette Institute’s Board of Advisors. He advised staff and elected officials on the County’s Columbia Pike Initiative, suggesting an implementation strategy for the corridor that includes the form-based code that now regulates development within the planning area.

 

“Arlington’s Smart Growth policies have become a model for communities across the nation that are grappling with the challenge of managing the complexities of people, place, energy and transportation as the building blocks of more sustainable communities,” said County Manager Barbara Donnellan. “But we still have a lot of work to do to ensure that Arlington remains a great place to live for generations to come. We believe Peter will help us continue to fulfill the vision that Arlingtonians have pursued for decades – a vision of a diverse, welcoming community that advances sustainable growth by offering an array of transit options, vibrant urban villages and safe, secure and healthy neighborhoods.”

 

Since 1990, Katz has been a planning consultant, working on a range of complex projects incorporating the principles of New Urbanism and Smart Growth. Katz lived in the Washington DC region from 1999 to 2004. During that time he was Professor in Practice in the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning at Virginia Tech’s Alexandria Campus. Since 2008, he has been the director of Smart Grown/Urban Planning for Sarasota County, in southwest Florida.