Fernando Costa, the director of planning for Fort Worth, Texas, has won praise from residents with his common sense and consensus building approach to planning in this fast growing region.
"Fernando Costa is a familiar sight at Fort Worth City Council meetings, giving presentations on one aspect or another of the city's past, present, or future. As city planning director, he is the hub where many spokes on the city's wheel connect. Whether the issue is zoning, road planning, or making commercial developments work, Costa is in the middle. On issues from Trinity River Vision to big ranches being subdivided for housing on Fort Worth's ever-expanding edges to revitalizing older neighborhoods in Cowtown's heart, his voice is perhaps the most influential in the city - Fort Worth's "secret weapon," as the mayor called him."
A 20 year veteran of urban planning in Atlanta and Fort Worth, Costa successfully manages the delicate political balancing act of his job, and has earned the trust and respect of many in the city when it comes to planning issues.
"Give some real estate developers everything they want, and condos will spring up on every street, and ranches will be converted into subdivisions that will cost billions in infrastructure. But on the other hand, if existing neighborhoods block all changes to preserve their comfortable existence, then the city is back at square one. It's not about stopping development, but shaping it - not about preserving the city in amber, but keeping the blood pumping."
FULL STORY: Shaping a Future for the Fort
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