LARRY BEASLEY is the retired Co-Director of Planning for the City of Vancouver. He is now the founding principal of Beasley and Associates and the ‘Distinguished Practice’ Professor of Planning at the University of British Columbia. He sits on the Board of TransLink, British Columbia’s integrated transportation agency. He is a Registered Professional Planner in Canada. Ecodesign for Cities and Suburbs is his new book, co-authored with Jonathan Barnett.
Serving in Vancouver for over 30 years, focusing on community planning, downtown planning and development management, Larry Beasley now teaches, writes and advises on urbanism around the world. He is Senior Advisor on Urban Design in Dallas, where he founded their Urban Design Studio. He is a member of the International Economic Development Advisory Board of Rotterdam. Hi is Advisor to the Nordic Built Cities Challenge in Scandinavia. For 5 years, he was Special Advisor on City Planning in Abu Dhabi, where he founded the Urban Planning Council. For 16 years (12 years as chair) he served on the National Capital Commission’s ‘Advisory Committee on Planning, Design and Realty’ in Ottawa. For 3 years, he was vice-president of Aquilini Developments. He is a Fellow of the Dallas Institute and on the Board of the Canadian Urban Institute. Recent notable work includes: completion of a plan for the expansion of Moscow; completion of a strategic organizational plan for the Toronto Planning Department; redesign of a freeway into a parkway in Dallas; and, advice on downtown revitalization in Canberra.
Initially studying architecture, Larry Beasley has Degrees in Geography and Political Science (BA) and Planning (MA). He has also been awarded two Honorary Doctorate Degrees (Hon LLD), from Simon Fraser University and Dalhousie University. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Planners, an Honorary Member of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects and has been recognized as an “Advocate for Architecture” by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. In 2007, he received the Kevin Lynch Prize from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2016, he received the Applied Sciences Dean’s Medal of Distinction at the University of British Columbia.
Larry Beasley is a Member of the Order of Canada and has received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.