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Jim Chappell, SPUR President
Jim Chappell is an urban planner with 40 years experience implementing urban and regional plans. Since 1994, he has led the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), a fifty year-old independent, nonprofit membership organization of citizens, businesses and government representatives. SPUR seeks to bring a balanced and informed perspective to San Francisco Bay Area and California urban issues through research, education and public advocacy. His latest project is building the SPUR Urban Center, at 654 Mission Street, to be a learning destination for all those interested in building stronger cities. Currently under construction, the Urban Center will contain seminar rooms, SPUR's unequalled urban affairs library, and an expansive exhibition space to display the best ideas in urban planning and development. The SPUR Urban Center is one of a network of such facilities around the world.
Prior to joining SPUR, Jim was senior environmental planner at EDAW, Inc. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University, a Master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania, and is a member of the American Institute of Planners; Lambda Alpha, honorary land economics society; Urban Land Institute; National Society of Architectural Historians; and an associate member of the American Institute of Architects. He was recently honored by the Friends of City Planning for his leadership in creating the Urban Center.
Other recent awards include the Gerbode Fellowship from the University of California and the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation; Member of the Year Award from Lambda Alpha International Land Economics Society; Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects, California Council, for housing advocacy; Chinese American Voters Education Committee award for his work to reform the San Francisco Municipal Railway; Excellence in Leadership Award from the California Association of Nonprofits; and commendations from the American Institute of Architects, California Council, for civic leadership.
He recently spoke on evolving trends in regional planning at the Foundation for Lectures on Intensive and Multiple Land Use at the University of Amsterdam. He was one of seven American Planners selected by the French Ministry of Culture and the French American Foundation for a cultural exchange with France. He is an Alternate Member of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, appointed by the governor; and a member of the following: the Board of Directors of the Union Square Business Improvement District, a public benefit corporation which SPUR helped found to improve the image and economic vitality of the Union Square neighborhood; the steering committee of the Yerba Buena Community Benefit District; the Advisory Council of the Dorothy Erskine Open Space Fund; the Advisory Board of the Architectural Foundation of San Francisco; the Advisory Council of the International Museum of Women; and the Advisory Council of the Alliance Française.
He is a frequent speaker on planning and design issues, author of numerous published articles, and is frequently quoted in the local and national and international media. In his spare time, he teaches the next generation of planners at the University of California Extension, where he was recently named Honored Instructor for the Year.
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