Ken Greenberg

Principal Greenberg Consultants Inc.

  • Toronto ON

Can you see what I see? Engage your imagination and improve your community with Greenberg Consultants award-winning urban designer

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Biography

Ken Greenberg is an architect, urban designer, teacher, writer, former Director of Urban Design and Architecture for the City of Toronto, founding partner of Urban Strategies Inc., and now Principal of Greenberg Consultants.

For over three decades he has played a pivotal role on public and private assignments in urban settings throughout North America and Europe, focusing on the rejuvenation of downtowns, waterfronts, neighborhoods and on campus master planning, regional growth management, and new community planning. Cities as diverse as Toronto, Hartford, Amsterdam, New York, Boston, Montréal, Washington DC, Paris, Detroit and San Juan Puerto Rico have benefited from his advocacy and passion for restoring the vitality, relevance and sustainability of the public realm in urban life.

With over three decades of experience, he has managed large multi-disciplinary staff and consultant groups for both the public and private sectors. He applies a holistic approach to city building, crossing traditional boundaries and working in team settings collaborating with many talented professionals from a variety of disciplines. In each city, with each project, his strategic, consensus-building approach has led to coordinated planning and a renewed focus on urban design.

He is the recipient of the 2010 American Institute of Architects Thomas Jefferson Award for public design excellence and the author of Walking Home: the Life and Lessons of a City Builder published by Random House.

Ken is a frequent lecturer and teacher in both North America and Europe, inspiring professionals and students in thinking about the demographically diverse, post-industrial city.

He has been the Charles Moore Visiting Professor of Architecture at the Taubman School at the University of Michigan and taught Masters studios in urban design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the University of Toronto, L'Université de Montréal, UC Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania. He is a frequent contributor to the Mayor's Institute for City Design.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Institute of Architects, the Toronto Society of Architects and the Institute for Urban Design as well as a frequent participant in the Mayors Institutes. His work has garnered awards from the Canadian Institute of Planners, Progressive Architecture, the City of Toronto, the Canadian Architect, the American Planning Association and the American Institute of Architects.

Industry Expertise

Civil Engineering
Renewables and Environmental
Architecture and Planning
Environmental Services

Areas of Expertise

Urban Planning
Green Development
Sustainable Development
Green Architecture
Transforming Cities

Accomplishments

Recipient - Excellence in Planning Award (Ontario Professional Planners Institute)

In 2011, Ken received the Excellence in Planning Award for "Lower Don Lands Framework Plan and Keating Channel Precinct Plan" in the Urban/Community Design category. The Excellence in Planning Awards recognizes:

*excellence in all aspects of the profession;
*a strong awareness of the planning profession among related professions, all levels of government, potential private - and public-sector clients, and the general public;
*professional planners serving their communities.

Recipient - Calgary Mayor's Urban Design Award

In 2011, Ken received the Calgary Mayor's Urban Design Award for 'RiverWalk'
with Calgary Municipal Lands Corporation. The Mayor's Urban Design Awards are awards that acknowledge the important contribution that designers, architects and artists make in improving the quality of life in our city by producing high quality buildings and public spaces. Well-designed spaces make people feel welcome, support pedestrian activity, improve safety and accessibility, and create a memorable sense of place.

Author

In Walking Home: The Life and Lessons of a City Builder, Ken Greenberg shares his passion and methods for rejuvenating neglected cities and argues passionately for the importance and possibilities of their renewal. Walking Home is both Ken's story and a lesson in turning the world's urban spaces back into places that can give us not only a platform to face the challenges of the future, but also a place we can call, with pride and satisfaction, home.

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Education

University of Toronto

Bachelor of Architecture

1970

Amherst College

Bachelor of Arts

1965

Links

Event Appearances

KEYNOTE SPEECH

Design Regina Speaker Series  University of Regina

2011-09-22

Regent Park Revitalization - the past, the master plan, and the development phase

Toronto Society of Architects Urban Affairs Series  Toronto, Ontario

Past, Present, and Future of our Brownfields

Toronto Society of Architects Urban Affairs Series  Toronto, Ontario

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Sample Talks

Transform car dependent communities into denser urban locale

Altering a downtown that is dominated by cars is no easy task. Many cities struggle with phasing in plans to pedestrianize their downtown and reduce auto dependency. Inspired by leading examples, cities are learning from each other as this process gains momentum.

- Explore innovative strategies guiding successful planning policies
- Capitalize on the benefits of a populated downtown core
- Learn from approaches to sustaining community involvement

City Building on the Toronto Waterfront

Ken will provide an insider’s view of the Waterfront Toronto project, the role of the economic, environmental and community forces that are shaping it and discuss the opportunities for the City of Toronto to be transformed by its waterfront.

Leveraging Your Existing Economic Strengths to Map Your Unique Competitive Advantage

To compete for talent, cities need to leverage their existing assets. Before economic development plans are established, you need to know where your existing strengths lie. Take away strategies for:

* Mapping assets to understand your advantages and weaknesses
* Conducting SWOT reviews to generate competitive advantage
* Developing effective strategies to cultivate clusters that fit your city's advantages

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Availability

  • Keynote
  • Moderator
  • Panelist
  • Workshop Leader
  • Host/MC
  • Author Appearance
  • Corporate Training