The Board of Advisors

Professor Robert Cervero

Professor Cervero is the leading international expert on TOD. He has published several books and hundreds of articles on the topic. His TOD books include: Developing Around Transit: Strategies and Solutions that Work (Urban Land Institute 2004), the Transit Metropolis (Island Press 1998), Transit Villages in the 21st Century (McGraw-Hill 1997) and America's Suburban Centers: The Land Use - Transportation Link (Unwin-Hyman 1989). Professor Cervero has been an advisor and consultant on transport projects in many countries, most recently in the United States, China, Colombia, Brazil, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Hong Kong. Over the past five years, Professor Cervero has been a regular instructor of transportation planning courses for the National Transit Institute and the World Bank Institute. In 2004, he was the first-ever recipient of the Dale Prize for Excellence in Urban Planning Research. He also won the 2003 Article of the Year award from the Journal of the American Planning Association. Professor Cervero serves on many boards and committees of professional and academic organizations.

 

Professor Peter Newman

Peter Newman is the Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University. He serves on the Board ofInfrastructure Australia, which advises Australian governments, investors and owners of infrastructure concerning nationally significant infrastructure projects, policy and regulatory reforms, options to develop and provide efficient national infrastructure, the needs of users, and financing mechanisms. In 2001-2003 Professor Newman directed the production of Western Australia's Sustainability Strategy in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. It was the first state sustainability strategy in the world. In 2004-2005 he was a Sustainability Commissioner in Sydney advising the government on planning issues. In 2006 - 2007, Professor Newman was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of Virginia Charlottesville where he completed two new books on resilient cities: Responding to Peak Oil and Climate Change (forthcoming Island Press 2009) and Cities as Sustainable Ecosystems (Island Press 2008). Professor Newman invented the term 'automobile dependence' in his 1989 book Cities and Automobile Dependence (Ashgate) to describe how we have created cities where we have to drive everywhere. For 30 years since he attended Stanford University during the first oil crisis he has been warning cities about preparing for peak oil, including the importance of transit oriented development. His best selling book, Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence (Island Press) was launched in the White House in 1999.

 

Ms. Marilee Utter

Ms. Marilee Utter is President of Citiventure Associates LLC. The Denver, Colorado-based real estate advisory firm was established in 1991 to focus on public-private transactions, and specializes in mixed-use projects that transform communities and build economic vitality. Marilee brings particular expertise in transit-oriented developments (TOD), mixed-use, failed mall sites, and large-scale master-plans. In addition to experience as a banker with (now) Wells Fargo Bank and private developer (with Trillium Corporation managing the revitalization of Denver's Central Platte Valley railyards), she previously established the Office of Asset Management for the City and County of Denver, and the Department of Transit-Oriented Development for the (Denver) Regional Transit District. With this unique background, Marilee has become a nationally known speaker, writer, and advisor on innovative approaches to community redevelopment and urban issues. On a national basis, her engagements have included Phoenix, Minneapolis, Roslyn VA, Seattle, Houston, West Palm Beach, and Colorado Springs. She is currently working on TOD's in Charlotte, NC, Austin, TX, Santa Fe, NM, and Thornton, CO. Marilee holds an MBA from UCLA's Anderson School, a certificate in State and Local Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School, and a designation from the Counselors of Real Estate (CRE). She is a national Trustee for the Urban Land Institute and Past Chair of the Colorado District Council. In addition, she serves on the Board of many community organizations, including the Metropolitan State College of Denver Foundation and the Center for Visual Arts.