Renowned Planner Jeff Speck Speaks in Bend, Oregon

Last night, NorthWest Crossing sponsored a presentation through the Building a BetterBend lecture series, which brings speakers to the region to help educate the community about quality growth and development. Renowned author and lecturer Jeff Speck joined us to talk about  “What Makes Commercial Centers Work:  Getting Planning and Transportation Right”.

Speck shared some great insights from his work around the country promoting smart growth and sustainable design, applying them to the Bend, Oregon community and ways that planners here could take into consideration choices that would impact daily life of its citizens.

He brings solid experience to his lectures - Speck is a city planner and architectural designer who, through writing, lectures, and built work, advocates internationally for smart growth and sustainable design. As Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003 through 2007, he oversaw the Mayors' Institute on City Design and created the Governors' Institute on Community Design, a federal program that helps state governors fight suburban sprawl. Prior to joining the Endowment, Mr. Speck spent ten years as Director of Town Planning at Duany Plater-Zyberk and Co., a leading practitioner of the New Urbanism, where he led or managed more than forty of the firm's projects. He is the co-author of Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream as well as the just-released Smart Growth Manual. He serves as a Contributing Editor to Metropolis Magazine, and on the Sustainability Task Force of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

NorthWest Crossing, which has been committed to the smart growth principles since its inception, was happy to support bringing a speaker like Speck to our community!