Speakers and events

Joe DiStefano

Guest Speaker on Regional Growth and Urban Design - Joe DiStefano

26 March 2004

Joe DiStefano

Joe DiStefano is an urban planner with experience in land use, transportation, and regional and corridor planning and policy. His work and research ranges from federal and local transportation and land use planning and policy to transit-oriented design and implementation strategies.

Mr DiStefano is the current Policy Chair of the American Planning Association Information Technology Division. He has lectured on regional and corridor planning throughout the US and abroad, including New Zealand, Washington DC, New York, and Los Angeles.

Prior to joining Calthorpe Associates, Mr DiStefano worked with the Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) in Washington D.C., where he helped prepare the Smart Growth Toolkit, a decision-makers manual to aid growth management and smart growth practices at the local and regional level. His work at STPP culminated in the publication of the book 'Five Years of Progress', which examines state and local projects funded and/or made possible by the Federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA).

Joseph DiStefano received his Masters in City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of California at Berkeley.

Purpose of Visit
While on holiday in New Zealand Mr DiStefano offered to speak about his work. He spoke to a primarily local government planning audience at the ARC on regional planning and growth management, especially some projects in the US he had worked on, and the use of innovative techniques for establishing regional community priorities. About 80 in attendance.