HOUSTON, TX — Mayor Sylvester Turner has appointed David Fields, AICP, as the City of Houston’s first Chief Transportation Planner. Fields, a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, will provide leadership for the City’s systems-level transportation planning efforts. The role will focus on creating a paradigm shift in how Houstonians move in and around the city — moving away from single occupancy vehicles to a combination of walking, biking, riding transit, and driving.

The Chief Transportation Planner will work in the City’s Planning & Development Department and will coordinate closely with transportation partners such as Houston Public Works, METRO, the Texas Department of Transportation, and the Houston-Galveston Area Council.

Fields offers more than 20 years of professional planning experience, most recently as a Principal Planner with Nelson\Nygaard Associates, a planning firm. He led the firm's multimodal practice, in which he developed mobility solutions that improve access by all modes. Key clients have included the cities and transit agencies in New York, New Orleans, and San Francisco, with plans in Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Ohio, and Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Fields earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Binghamton University and a master’s degree in urban planning from New York University.

“Transportation can change people’s lives. Doing it right starts by making sure every Houstonian can safely cross the street and ends when everyone can safely and easily connect from their home to their job, their school, and all Houston has to offer,” Fields said.