John van Nostrand

John is the Founding Principal of planningAlliance and affiliated firms regionalArchitects and rePlan. Over the last three decades, he has been the driving force behind the firm’s domestic and international planning and urban design practice. John has extensive experience leading large, multi-disciplinary consulting teams on sophisticated architecture and urban development projects across Canada and around the world, including a number of major mine-related housing projects in Africa, Latin America and Canada. He has worked in a wide range of developed and developing countries on the planning, design and construction of new communities ranging in size from 150 to 150,000 persons. John has been widely recognized for his expertise in the planning and design of sustainable housing and community design, as well as transportation and transit infrastructure. His work has been recognized with a number of international and national awards, including the World Leadership Award for Town Planning, Daniel Burnham Award from the American Planning Association, World Habitat Award from UN Habitat, numerous Awards of Excellence from the OAA, RAIC, CIP and OPPI, and many City of Toronto Urban Design Awards. In 2004, John was awarded the Jane Jacobs Award for his contributions to the advancement of urbanism.  John is a Founding Board Member of the Centre for Urban Growth and Renewal as well as a Core Professional on Harvard University’s Working Group for Sustainable Cities. He has written and lectured extensively on planning topics in Canada and overseas. He is a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and the Canadian Institute of Planners.