Albuquerque developers Rob Dickson and Christopher Leinberger

Albuquerque developers Rob Dickson and Christopher Leinberger co-chaired the Governor’s Task Force on Our Communities, Our Future, which criticized contemporary development patterns such as large residential subdivisions with “suburban garage-scapes”; “the impersonality of multiple big-box ‘power centers’ surrounded by acres of parking lots”; and “intersections that are difficult for pedestrians to navigate.” The Task Force report, issued in January, urged Gov. Bill Richardson and the state legislature to emphasize livability and to provide grants for “Walkable District and Envision the Region planning processes,” among other initiatives.