Demetri Baches

Demetri Baches AICP, CNU-A

A member of the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) since its founding, Demetri is a city planner by training with over twenty-five years of international urban design, coding, and real estate development experience in both the public and private sectors. 

Demetri focuses his professional practice at the intersection of vision and implementation, exploring and creating design techniques and fostering collaborations that unlock the conditions required to promote the harmonious play between urban development, governmental oversight, and citizen participation.  Demetri excels at identifying a project’s comprehensive vision and development potential, as well as the participants who can champion the resulting plans into reality.  He reinforces his role in industry innovation and leadership by lecturing nationally and internationally, at conferences and forums and to government agencies and developers, on planning, marketing and sustainable urban design.  Demetri is in the process of writing the books: Town and City Whispering: The Habits of Highly Successful Communities, as well as Top Tier Towns: The Principles & Techniques of Full Spectrum Development.

Demetri began his career in the public sector, as the first Planning Director for The City of Belmont, North Carolina. There he managed both the writing and preparation of the first form-based code for an existing municipality in the United States, in conjunction with Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ).  Demetri was hired by DPZ shortly thereafter, and quickly became one of four Directors at the Firm.  He was responsible for leading complex and multi-disciplinary planning and development projects around the world.  In his position at DPZ, and later as managing partner of DPZ Pacific, Demetri pursued his specific interest in municipal planning and community development, and the study of the relationships between them that generate the best results for public as well as private interests.

In 2010, Demetri founded Metrocology to further refine this interest, and to couple it with his passion for restructuring how muicipalities implement planning and engage various participants in city building.

EXPERTISE
·  Urban Design, Master Planning, Form-Based Codes, Comprehensive and Strategic Planning
·  Governmental Planning and Development Policies
·  Team Building, Multi-disciplinary and Large Group Management
·  Sustainability Theory, including integration with urban design and community development
·  Communication, Presentation and Listening Skills
·  Decision-Making, grounded in "informed observation"

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
2010 – Present      Owner and Managing Partner, Metrocology, Inc.
·  Directs projects that seek to streamline and re-tool the relationships between municipal planning, private sector development, and citizen participation
·  Advances the techniques and structure of a prototype Office of Civic Investment as a vehicle to silo-bust public sector regulatory hurdles
·  Assesses existing municipal organizations to facilitate the consolidation of public sector community building resources, to better engage and leverage private sector development and investment know-how
·  Leads developers, municipalities and NGOs in identifying and engaging underutilized and/or unrecognized community assets through Civic Master Planning aimed at improving quality of life and standard of living

2003 – 2011         Founder and Managing Principal, DPZPacific LLC
·  Co-founded DPZ’s first affiliate office and established its home office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, responding to the demand for sustainable and innovative planning solutions in the fastest growing region of the world
·  Directed the design and implementation of projects ranging from new cities and towns in Australia, China and the UAE, to neighborhood revitalizations and resorts in Australia, The Philippines, and New Zealand; to form based code writing for government agencies throughout the region
·  Organized and led multi-disciplinary teams of consultants, public officials, and citizen-based organizations to engage in tactical approaches to growth policy
·  Led Firm’s branding and marketing efforts through lectures, interviews and presentations

1997 – 2003        Director, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company
·  Responsible for selecting the Firm’s projects to advance the principles and techniques of smart growth within the planning and development industry
·  Led the Firm’s initiatives to distribute its urban design tools and methods to planning and development professionals around the world
·  Established and directed the Firm’s first international office in Manila, The Philippines
·  Co-founded the Fund for New Urbanism, sourcing investor participation and development opportunities based on mixed-use and walkable urban design
·  Coordinated with the Municipal Code Corporation of America to enable national access to the SmartCode through website sales and marketing

1995 – 1997         Project Manager, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company
·  Managed the master plan for Atlantic Station, a billion dollar grey-field redevelopment in downtown Atlanta in conjunction with the EPA, the City of Atlanta, and the Developer
·  Sourced and managed the Firm’s first master plans in Malaysia, China, and The Philippines
·  Participated in the development of affordable housing design guidelines for the HUD Hope VI initiative
·  Participated in the development of the first SmartCode, a zoning code based on the Firm’s work that would become the template for all current Form-Based zoning ordinances

1992 – 1995         Director of Planning, City of Belmont, USA
·  Created the City’s first Planning Department and established the first inter-governmental monthly meeting schedule between Planning & Zoning and Public Works
·  Managed the City’s engagement with Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company for the Downtown Belmont Master Plan
·  Developed and implemented the first Form-Based zoning ordinance for an existing municipality in the United States
·  Coordinated consultants, community leaders, and citizens to complete the City’s first Comprehensive Plan entitled “Between Two Rivers”
·  Served as design oversight of the City’s first streetscape improvement project
·  Committee Member for the Catawba River Corridor Plan, a joint planning effort between the Centralina Council of Governments, the State of North Carolina, and local municipalities along the Catawba River

AFFILIATIONS + CERTIFICATIONS
2012          Congress for the New Urbanism - Accredited
1999          Urban Land Institute - Member
1996          American Institute of Certified Planners - Certified
1993          Congress for the New Urbanism - Member
1992          American Planning Association - Member

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
1992          Masters Program - Planning and Geography - University of North Carolina, Charlotte
1988          Bachelor of Arts - Political Science + Business - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

AWARDS
2016          Congress for New Urbanism Charter Award, for Beaufort Civic Master Plan
2015          North Carolina APA Marvin Collins Outstanding Planning Award, for Build A Better Boulevard
2014          South Carolina APA Outstanding Planning Project Award, for Beaufort Civic Master Plan

SELECTED LECTURES, INTERVIEWS, PANELS + PUBLICATIONS
2016           Joint GPA / SCAPA Fall Conference, Panel Member: "How to Get the Most from Your Consultant"
2011           Urban Land Institute, TAP team member, CARTA Intermodal Transportation Analysis, Charleston SC
2010          Affordable Housing and the Transect, Planning Institute of Australia Growth Seminar, Brisbane, Australia
2010          Urban Land Institute, Form Based Coding in Real Estate Development, Webinar, USA
2010          Crisis and Beyond: The Path to a Post-Carbon Human Habitat, Gold Coast City Council, Australia
2007          Auckland Regional Council Planning Conference, Speaker, Auckland, New Zealand
2006          Radio New Zealand, Ideas Segment, “Urban Cool” Interview, Auckland
2004          New Zealand Cubes Magazine, Interview, “Thinking Outside the Box," Issue 004, New Zealand
2004          Gold Coast Transportation Planning Address, Gold Coast Council, Keynote, Surfer’s Paradise, Australia
2003          Planning and New Urbanism, Forum, Keynote, Christchurch, New Zealand
2002          New Urban News, National Radiocast, Smartcode, USA
2002          HGTV Interview, Live Work Housing, televised segment, Atlanta GA
2002          Rolling Stone Magazine, Interview, Asbury Park Master Plan Redevelopment, New York NY
2001          Congress for Asian New Urbanism, Presenter/Panelist, Manila, The Philippines
2001          Urban Land Institute Development and Transportation Summit, Presenter and Panelist, Miami FL
2000          National Landscape Architects Conference, Keynote, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1999          Malaysian Builders and Developers Conference, Speaker, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1998          National Development Council Keynote, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1997          Architectural Record Magazine, “The New Urbanists: The Second Generation,” USA
1997          Builder Magazine National Conference, Panelist, Washington DC
1996          Asian Development Conference, Presenter/Panelist, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cambridge MA
1992          AIA North Carolina State Conference, Charlotte, Keynote, Charlotte NC

download a copy of curriculum vitae

For all inquiries, please contact Demetri Baches: