Named after planner and professor of regional planning Robert S. Cornish (B.A. Arch. '51; M.C.P. ' 64), the Chair is a visiting professorship intended to attract nationally or internationally recognized regional planners to the Department of City & Regional Planning. Expected to advance Robert Cornish’s emphasis on regions as a natural framework for managing growth and promoting sustainable futures, the professorship focuses on innovative regional planning theory and practice within California.
Metcalf, who has led SPUR since 2005, was responsible for defining the overall vision and strategy for the organization and leading it through a major expansion throughout the East and South Bay. Prior to taking over the organization, he led SPUR’s policy work, specializing in regional planning, governance and sustainability issues. Previously, Metcalf worked for The Bay Institute, an environmental nonprofit focused on California water policy, and was also a co-founder and Board Chairman of City CarShare.
The author of Democratic by Design: How Carsharing, Co-ops, and Community Land Trusts are Reinventing America (St. Martin’s Press, 2015), Metcalf argues for the establishment of alternative institutions like cooperatives and community land trusts to help build more sustainable, socially responsible, and prosperous communities and metropolitan regions. A frequent writer and speaker on planning and policy topics, Metcalf’s commentaries can be found at America2050, CityLab and The Atlantic.
“We are excited to welcome Gabriel Metcalf to DCRP as the inaugural Cornish Chair. The discussions he is leading at the moment on democratic practice and regional planning are fundamental,” said Department of City & Regional Planning Chair and Professor of City & Regional Planning Teresa Caldeira. “We look forward to engaging with him in multiple conversations.”
Metcalf will teach a Spring 2017 graduate seminar titled “Regional Planning and Democratic Practice.” The seminar will investigate the intersection of regional planning and democratic theory to explore ways of making collective decisions to address regional planning challenges.
You can learn more about Gabriel Metcalf’s latest work here.
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