Today we have Dan Zack on the show. Dan is an urban planner in Fresno California. In 2022 he founded Zack Urban Solutions, a consulting firm which offers a wide variety of urban planning services to cities, non-profits, and developers who want proven, practical approaches to creating walkable, fun, and inclusive places. Prior to that, he spent 23 years in local government working on downtown revitalization, streetscape projects, parking management, zoning and form-based codes, long-range plans, housing plans, and development entitlements. He spent 7 1/2 years with the City of Fresno: For the last year of that he was the Assistant Director of Economic Development and was focused on bringing housing to Downtown Fresno; for the remainder of his time there he was Assistant Director of the Planning and Development Department. His previous work was in Northern California; as the Downtown Development Manager for the City of Redwood City in the San Francisco Bay Area he attracted the development of 2,500 homes in an area that had stagnated for decades, but which is now one of the most active downtowns in the Silicon Valley.

Zack Urban Solutions Website

Books Mentioned

Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Places Better by Jeff Speck 

When Fresno Rode the Rails by Edward Hamm 

The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs

Survival of the City: The Future of Urban Life in an Age of Isolation by Edward Glaeser and David Cutler