How to transform sprawl into human-scale, sustainable communities
Urban designer, planner, lecturer, and author Galina Tachieva wrote the book, literally, on retrofitting subdivisions, strip malls, and more
Grow Smart RI is proud to welcome Galina Tachieva to the Ocean State to deliver the keynote address at our Power of Place Summit on June 26. As managing partner of DPZ CoDESIGN, a renowned architecture and town-planning firm, Tachieva has 30 years of experience in urban design, redevelopment, and form-based codes, directing DPZ’s work in the United States and around the globe.
Tachieva is the author of Sprawl Repair Manual, an award-winning publication by Island Press which focuses on the retrofit of auto-centric places into human-scale, walkable communities. Hers is the first book to provide a step-by-step design, regulatory, and implementation process for fixing suburban sprawl, from turning subdivisions into walkable neighborhoods to reshaping shopping centers and malls into town centers and more.
As part of her Power of Place keynote address, Tachieva will point to examples of sprawl in Rhode Island and offer suggestions for how to transform those spaces.
For DPZ, Tachieva manages complex projects and teams leading charrettes and other public processes from project initiation through implementation. Her projects have included downtowns and urban revitalizations, regional plans, environmental conservation, new communities, and resort towns.
“Tachieva brings a wealth of knowledge, insight and pragmatism to…the techniques for repairing sprawl at all levels of the built environment.”
— URBAN DESIGN Journal
Tachieva is deeply engaged in the broader planning and urbanism community. A Fellow of the Congress for the New Urbanism, she leads its national Sprawl Retrofit Initiative. She is a founding member of the Council for European Urbanism and has served as a visiting lecturer and design critic at Harvard University, the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, and at the University of Miami, among others.
The multilingual Tachieva was born and raised in Bulgaria. She holds a degree in architecture from the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia, Bulgaria, and a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Miami School of Architecture. She is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and is a LEED-Accredited Professional.
Tachieva maintains an active civic engagement. A Fellow of the Congress for the New Urbanism, she leads its national Sprawl Retrofit Initiative. She is a founding member of the Council for European Urbanism and has served as a visiting lecturer and design critic at Harvard University, the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, and at the University of Miami, among others.
The multilingual Tachieva was born and raised in Bulgaria. She holds a degree in architecture from the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia, Bulgaria, and a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Miami School of Architecture. She is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and is a LEED-Accredited Professional.