Alexander Garvin
Architect and urban planner
Alexander Garvin has combined a career in urban planning and real estate with teaching, architecture, and public service. He is currently President and CEO of AGA Public Realm Strategists, Inc., a planning and design firm in New York City that is responsible for initial master plans for the Atlanta BeltLine; Tessera (a 700-acre new community outside Austin); and Hinton Park in Collierville, Tennessee. Between 1996 and 2005 he was managing director for planning at NYC2012, the committee established to bring the Summer Olympics to New York in 2012. During 2002-2003, as Vice President for Planning, Design and Development, he was responsible for planning the rebuilding of the World Trade Center for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. Over the last 46 years he has held prominent positions in five New York City administrations, including Deputy Commissioner of Housing and City Planning Commissioner.
Garvin has won numerous awards, including the Municipal Art Society ‘s New York City Masterwork Award for Best Planning and Urban Design, the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter Merit Award, and the American Planning Association New York City Chapter, Distinguished Service Award.
Garvin is the author of The American City: What Works and What Doesn’t, now in its third edition; The Planning Game; Public Parks: The Key to Livable Communities; and his newest book, What Makes a Great City, published in 2017 by Island Press.