As Urban Strategies
Leader for Arup, the global consulting and engineering firm, Gary Lawrence provides thought leadership for strategic
urban development throughout the firm’s 70 global offices. A
locally-grown asset, Gary’s roots are firmly planted in the Pacific
Northwest. As Redmond City Manager, Gary turned the first shovel of dirt on the
development of Microsoft’s campus. Then, as Planning Director for the
City of Seattle, he led development of “Toward a Sustainable
Seattle,” the first sustainability-focused municipal comprehensive plan
in the world.
National and
international recognition of his work followed and Gary has subsequently served
as advisor to the Clinton Administration's Council on Sustainable Development, the
UN’s Habitat II, the US Agency for International Development, the
Brazilian President’s Office, the British Prime Minister’s Office,
the European Academy for the Urban Environment in Berlin, and the Organization
for Economic and Community Development (OECD) (Paris) on matters of sustainable
development and environmental policy.
Gary’s
speeches and publications have formed the basis for the development of much of
the current thinking on sustainable development and he is acknowledged by Wally
N’Dow, the then UN Secretary General of Habitat, as having authored “the
single most important contribution to the entire habitat process.”
Despite his
international recognition, no one has ever been able to lure Gary away from the
Pacific Northwest. He now leads Arup’s Urban Strategies consulting
practice out of the Seattle office, driving Arup’s vision to create
communities of the present and future that address human need and environmental
limitations. Gary is also actively involved in the local and national chapters
of the Urban Land Institute, the American Planning Association, and the US
Smart Growth Leadership Council. In Bellingham, Gary serves as Adjunct
Professor at Huxley College of Environmental Studies at Western Washington
University.
With its origins as
consulting engineers, Arup is a global leader delivering innovative, practical
design solutions to challenges in the built environment. Founded in 1946, Arup
today is at work in more than 70 offices and 32 countries around the world. Its
7,000 engineers, designers, planners, and scientists are committed to their founder’s
vision of shaping a better world for the citizens of today and tomorrow.
ARUP
403 Columbia Street, Suite 220
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 749-9674 ext 228
gary.lawrence@arup.com