Former Congress for the New Urbanism executive director

Former Congress for the New Urbanism executive director Peter Katz has launched a firm, Urban Advantage, to promote well-designed developments and improvements in the public realm. “We’re a full service consultancy promoting the inherent benefits of urban places,” explains Katz, author of The New Urbanism. He adds that the firm will be selective in choosing projects. “We’ll only work on those that we believe in.” Katz emphasized that the firm will not be providing site-specific planning recommendations. “We see our work as a complement to that of the practitioners of New Urbanism, not as competition.” Urban Advantage will produce a range of educational and promotional materials for clients — who may include developers, investors, city agencies and community groups — as well as publishing projects initiated by the firm itself. Katz has teamed up with Steve Price, a technical illustrator who has provided services to architecture and planning firms such as Dover, Kohl & Partners and Sasaki Associates. Price specializes in modifying images of degraded suburban landscapes to show how such places can be improved with urban design (see images). Contact: Urban Advantage, 405 14th St., Suite 1410, Oakland, CA 94612. (510) 835-9635. As a speaker, Katz is represented by The Citistates Group, which also includes Neal Peirce, Curtis Johnson, John Parr, Camille Barnett and David Rusk. Contact: The Citistates Group, 650 Fairhaven, Dunkirk, MD 20754. (301) 855-6482.