For Chair

Lawrence V. Antoine, Jr., AICP

Position Statement and Background Information

We work and strive to make better places in challenged times. Shrinking resources and tightened belts in both the public and private sector have made our efforts as new urbanist planners more difficult. In a political and community landscape of shifting priorities, we try hard to focus attention on smart planning based on the principles of New Urbanism, but it is sometimes hard to be heard above the din. The APA New Urbanism Division can help, and I would like to foster that assistance through continued service as your Division Chair through the next term of office.

The last two years have gone by quickly, and I have more to offer the Division. Here are some examples of how I would work to build on the Division's record of good work to enhance our role as a member resource:

• The New Urbanism Division will continue its moves towards more fluid and flexible communication and information sharing with members through establishing and strengthening digital tools, including:
  • All digital newsletter distribution;
  • Social Networking;
  • A stronger Web presence;
  • An active Listserv;
  • A file sharing system or distribution of informative and topical PowerPoint and other presentations for member use;
  • Webinar opportunities for AICP Credit Maintenance.
• The New Urbanism Division's Newsletters, under the direction of capable and dedicated editors, co-editors, and contributors have consistently delivered strong and engaging new urban content to its audience of planners.  As Chair, I will work to continue that record and increase the number of annual newsletters to our goal of a quarterly publication.  I plan to do that by more actively recruiting and encouraging a wider group of division members to contribute to the content, editing and assemblage of New Urbanism in Practice.
• I will ensure that the New Urbanism Division is at the center of APA and AICP discussions over Specialty Accreditation, particularly the anticipated Certification in Urban Design.
• I will foster better connection, input and feedback from, and to APA Headquarters and the CNU, particularly through CNU staff and leadership, by engaging and maintaining contact with the key individuals whose areas of interest and expertise have the greatest overlap for new urbanist planners.
• I will push for new initiatives in spreading the education of new urbanist planning principles, through better connections between division membership and their various local APA and CNU chapters.

I am a Principal and Segment Director with Torti Gallas and Partners, a private sector planning and architecture firm in Silver Spring, Maryland.  I work as a planner, architect and urban designer on the firm's extensive neighborhood revitalization portfolio, and my efforts to implement affordable housing, mixed-use, mixed-income and urban infill policy through appropriate and contextual neighborhood planning and architecture are reflected nationwide in almost three dozen projects.

My expertise has been tapped by APA, HUD and the CNU as a presenter at National and Chapter Conferences, as a facilitator and trainer at regional design training workshops, as a panelist at several CNU's, and at state Department of Housing and Community Development and Historic Preservation Office seminars.

I have served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the APA's New Urbanism Division during the inaugural 2003-2005 term, as the Division Vice Chair during the 2007-2009 term, and as the Division Chair during the current 2009-2011 term.  I am a certified planner and a registered architect, a member of APA since 1998, and AICP since 1999, and have been a member of the CNU since 1998.  I am a LEED Accredited Professional, and hold Masters Degrees in Urban and Environmental Planning, and in Architecture, both from the University of Virginia, along with specialized studies Certificates in American Urbanism, and in Historic Preservation.  My other professional affiliations are with the American Institute of Architects, the National Building Museum, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

I have held every elected office in the APA's New Urbanism Division, and am proud to represent us on the APA's Division Council. I would be proud to serve in a second - and final - term.  With your support, I look forward to serving the Division as its next Chair.