Skip to main content
Nels Nelson's notes on urban planning and design
I’m Nels Nelson, an urban planner and designer focused on healthy and resilience places, land use optimization, and data-driven analysis. My intention with these notes is to share my thoughts with the urbanism community. I encourage engagement and welcome your feedback.
OpenAI’s GPT-3 beta access playground wrote an article about “extreme heat vulnerability and smart cities”
Research into decentralized utility management models for community-led infrastructure such as electricity, heat, seasonal heat storage, wastewater treatment, water provision, car sharing, recycling facility, educational facility, shared workshop, or community garden.
Roundup of 15-minute city documentation
A book review and some lessons learned from Bike City Amsterdam: How Amsterdam became the cycling Capital of the World by Fred Feddes and Marjolein de Lange
Opportunities and issues with using crowdfunding models for civic infrastructure.
A discussion of the social dimension of ecological objects.
Generic two-family house financial proforma for owner-occupied and rental units and policy discussion.
Helping communities find common ground for action.
Book review of Haussmann’s Paris: A Model’s Relevance. Benoit Jallon, Umberto Napolitano, and Franck Boutté. Park Books; Bilingual edition, 2017.
Other publications and presentations
2021, Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic: Improving urban social equity and wellness, Stantec
2020, Webinar Moderator: Global Panel on COVID-19 Responses in Vulnerable Urban Contexts, Stantec
2020, A global view of design and urban planning post-COVID-19: Pandemic prevention, Stantec (contributing author)
2020, Walking—our oldest mode of transportation—can inform the future of urban mobility, Stantec
2019, Deep Dive into Community Scale Rating Systems, Walk21 Rotterdam
2018, Piecing together resilient cities, UNDP (contributing author)
2018, Like People, Diseases Travel Fast These Days, CityLab (co-author)
2018, What if your neighborhood could make you healthier?, Stantec
2018, Designing the World’s First WELL Community [PRESENTATION VIDEO], Livable Cities
2017, Boston's Guide to Placemaking for Mobility: Reclaiming streets for the people, Stantec
2016, How good urban design can make city residents healthier, Stantec
2015, Cyclifiers: an investigation into actors that enable intra-urban metabolism, Cyclifier.org (co-author)
2012, The Use of Carbon Credit Mechanisms to Finance Transportation Improvements in the Developing World, CODATU XV (co-author)
2012, Decentralized utility provision management: Models for community-led infrastructure services, SASBE
Project portfolio
2020, Comprehensive Plan, Saco, ME, Planner
2020, Design Guidelines, Minden, NV, Planner
2020, Downtown Master Plan, Moorhead, MN, Planner
2020, Affordable Housing GIS Analysis, Medford, MA, Project Manager/Planner
2019, Affordable Housing GIS Analysis and Expert Witness, Weston, MA, Project Manager/Planner
2019, Transportation Demand Management Code, Everett, MA, Planner
2019, Bus Rapid Transit Design Guidelines, Suffolk County, NY, Project Manager/Planner
2019, OnMain Mixed Use Zoning, Dayton, OH, Planner
2019, Alewife Master Plan, Cambridge, MA, Planner
2019, Resilience Building Code Development, East Lyme, CT, Project Manager/Planner
2019, Riverside District Development, Newton, MA, Planner
2018, Flood Resilience Communication, Somerville, MA, Task Manager
2018, Resilience Community Visioning and Risk Assessment, Weymouth, MA, Project Manager/Planner
2017, River District Master Plan, Elkhart, IN, Planner
2017, Riverfront Industrial Area Plan, Kansas City, MO, Project Manager/Planner
2017, Architectural Design Guidelines, Everett, MA, Project Manager/Planner
2017, Public Realm Design Guidelines, Boston, MA, Planner
2017, Affordable Housing GIS Analysis and Expert Witness, Braintree, MA, Project Manager/Planner
2017, Brooklyn Village Open Space Study, Charlotte, NC, Planner
2017, Harbor Garage Redevelopment Public Realm, Boston, MA, Project Manager/Planner
2017, Neighborhood Resilience Study, Old Saybrook, CT, Project Manager/Planner
2017, Comprehensive Plan, Taunton, MA, Project Manager
2017, Green-Blue Streets Demographic Analysis, New Orleans, LA, Planner
2016, 100RC Platform Partnership, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Project Manager
2016, citizenAR: Augmented Reality for Livable Cities Challenge, San Francisco, CA, Project Manager
2016, Unified Plan, Wellesley, MA, Planner
2016, Exchange South End Design and Permitting, Boston, MA, Planner
2016, Route 419 Complete Streets Corridor Study , Roanoke, VA, Planner
2016, District Redevelopment Strategy and Vision Plan, Baton Rouge, LA, Planner
2016, Parcel 27 Disposition Redevelopment Studies, Boston, MA, Planner
2016, Project Catalyst District Redevelopment, Austin, TX, Planner
2016, Blatchford West Design Guidelines, Edmonton, Canada, Lead Planner
2015, Delhi Pike Plan, Delhi, OH, Planner
2015, One Charlestown Master Plan, Boston, MA, Planner
2015, Comprehensive Plan, Fontana, CA, Planner
2015, Constructed Wetland Design and Construction, Bogota, Colombia, Designer
2015, Pawtucket Street Corridor, Lowell, MA, Project Manager/Planner
2015, Union Square Redevelopment Master Plan, Somerville, MA, Planner
2015, Water Street Tampa, Tampa, FL, Planner
2014, Redding Gilbert and Bennett Industrial Site Reuse Study, Redding, CT, Planner
2014, Ferry Terminal Planning and Design, Bridgeport, CT, Planner
2014, Downtown Revitalization Plan, Bridgewater, MA, Planner
2014, Kelly's Corner Improvement Initiative, Acton, MA, Planner
2014, Lee Northern Mills Areawide Brownfield Study, Lee, MA, Planner
2013, Center Village Master Plan, Chelmsford, MA, Planner
2013, Hanscom Field Planning Report, Bedford, MA, Planner
2013, Corridor Zoning Study, Keene, NH, Planner
2013, Facilities Master Plan, Lexington, MA, Planner
2013, Walnut Hill Historic Master Plan, New Britain, CT, Lead Planner
2013, Transit Oriented Development Master Plan, Windsor, CT, Planner
2012, Carbon Neutral Coffee Supply Chain Study, Ethiopia, Planner
2011, Clean Development Mechanism Project Registration, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Project Manager
2011, Cyclifiers, Rotterdam, NL, Researcher
2010, Functional Urban Green, Roosendaal, NL, Planner
2009, Renewable City 2040, Rotterdam, NL, Planner
2009, Erasmusveld Sustainable Implant Research, The Hague, NL, Researcher
