Role of Technology in Planning

Bret C. Keast, AICP, is CEO and Owner of enCodePlus and its parent company, Kendig Keast Collaborative. Bret has been a planner for 33 years working for an Iowa Council of Governments (COG) and the City of Olathe, Kansas prior to his tenure as a planning and zoning consultant in … Read More

Bret C. Keast, AICP, is CEO and Owner of enCodePlus and its parent company, Kendig Keast Collaborative. Bret has been a planner for 33 years working for an Iowa Council of Governments (COG) and the City of Olathe, Kansas prior to his tenure as a planning and zoning consultant in Texas since 1995. The use of technology in planning has been an interest and passion of his for his entire career. Beginning in 2008, Bret has built enCodePlus to become the premiere software in the U.S. for interactive web-based plan and code documents integrated with 3D analytical and visualization tools, development calculators and navigational aids to improve their administration, use and understanding. His enCodePlus clients range from Washington DC to Savannah, Fairfax and Prince Georges Counties and Las Vegas to Travis County, Corpus Christi, Pflugerville and Richmond, Texas. Read Less

Dr. Ming Zhang is Professor and Program Director of Community & Regional Planning at the University of Texas at Austin and Director of the US DOT University Transportation Center of Cooperative Mobility for Competitive Megaregions (CM2). His research and teaching interests include urban and regional planning, the built environment-travel behavior … Read More

Dr. Ming Zhang is Professor and Program Director of Community & Regional Planning at the University of Texas at Austin and Director of the US DOT University Transportation Center of Cooperative Mobility for Competitive Megaregions (CM2). His research and teaching interests include urban and regional planning, the built environment-travel behavior relationship, and GIS applications. His recent research has focused on megaregional planning issues, Transit-Oriented Development, and high-speed rail and regional spatial development. Prior to joining UT Austin, Dr. Zhang held several academic and professional positions, including tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning at Texas A&M University, Research Scientist at the Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany, New York, and Lecturer at the Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, China. Dr. Zhang received his B.Eng. and M.Eng. from Tsinghua University, Beijing and M. Sci. and Ph.D. from MIT, Cambridge, USA. Read Less

Keith Cooke is the Global Industry Manager for Planning & Community Development at Esri. A graduate of Auburn University, he has been a GIS professional since 1994 and has worked for planning and community development agencies at the regional and municipal level. Prior to this role, he was an account … Read More

Keith Cooke is the Global Industry Manager for Planning & Community Development at Esri. A graduate of Auburn University, he has been a GIS professional since 1994 and has worked for planning and community development agencies at the regional and municipal level. Prior to this role, he was an account executive at Esri for 15 years working with over 100 local and state governments. He is a frequent speaker at GIS, community planning, and economic development events and is an active member in the American Planning Association, where he has conducted nearly 100 hands-on GIS workshops for planners since 2004 at the National Planning Conference and state chapter conferences. Read Less

"Sue Schwartz, FAICP has been a professional planner for over 40 years. For 35 of those years she worked for the City of Greensboro NC and has been the Planning Director since 2011. Prior to becoming Director, Ms. Schwartz’s work was primarily with reinvestment and redevelopment areas of the city. … Read More

"Sue Schwartz, FAICP has been a professional planner for over 40 years. For 35 of those years she worked for the City of Greensboro NC and has been the Planning Director since 2011. Prior to becoming Director, Ms. Schwartz’s work was primarily with reinvestment and redevelopment areas of the city. She has been recognized at both the state and national levels for her creative approaches of community engagement and implementation of redevelopment plans. Most notably was her work as the Project Manager for Southside a redevelopment area in the corner of Greensboro’s downtown. It has been recognized for being one of the first application of Traditional Neighborhood Development concepts for a infill area. This work was awarded the US EPA Smart Growth Award for Build Projects, The American Planning Association’s National Planning Award for Plan Implementation and was recognized by the Sierra Club in 2005 as one of America’s Best Built Projects. Ms. Schwartz is active in her professional associations at the state and National Level most notable servicing as President of the American Institute of Certified Planners from 2004-08. She has also been recognized for her leadership in the profession with the 2015 AICP President’s Award for Professional Achievement. In 2003 she was inducted in to the College of Fellows of AICP. " Read Less

"Suhag Kansara is the Owner and CEO of ViewPro GIS, a leading SAAS based solutions providers for Cities and Local Government that enable city staff to perform decision making on easy to use GIS tools. As a company, we are passionate and committed in helping cities harness the true power … Read More

"Suhag Kansara is the Owner and CEO of ViewPro GIS, a leading SAAS based solutions providers for Cities and Local Government that enable city staff to perform decision making on easy to use GIS tools. As a company, we are passionate and committed in helping cities harness the true power of GIS data and bridge the technical gap that hinders its growth. Let's build leaders together who can leverage GIS to get a complete picture by viewing, mapping, sharing, analyzing, and acting on information about their community." Read Less