At the national APA conference in Boston early this month, APA praised “Vision North Texas” with the National Planning Excellence Award. Fernando Costa, FAICP (MCP ’76) chaired the Management Committee that directs Vision North Texas and is also the Assistant City Manager for the City of Forth Worth.

Vision North Texas covers 12,800 square miles, an impressive scale that caught the attention of APA for its innovation and success in collaborating across political and regulatory boundaries. The geographic area of the plan includes both Dallas and Forth Worth, making up the fourth-largest metropolitan region in the U.S. The partnership between private, public and academic organizations holds workshops throughout the 16-county region of North Texas to keep citizens involved with their future. The plan emphasizes sustainability and recommends a top-down approach with regional planning directives. More specifically, the plan focuses on these issues in order to plan successfully for a population that will double by 2050: community form, demographics, economics, education, energy, environment, governance and public policy, health, housing, infrastructure, innovation and resilience, security and technology.

Fernando Costa graduated from Georgia Tech’s City Planning  Program  in 1976 with a specialization in transportation.  He represents AICP on the Planning Accreditation Board, which he previously served as Chair.  Prior to moving to Texas, Costa was Planning Commissioner of the City of Atlanta. Learn more about Mr. Costa through his profile on the City of Fort Worth website and through his profile on the SCaRP alumni profile page.