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Allen Folks, RLA, ULI

I am a committed urbanist, having spent four decades of professional work examining and providing solutions for land and community projects. My work has been informed and inspired by my childhood neighborhood of Shadyside in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; graduate school mentors at the University of Pennsylvania such as Ed Bacon and Ian McHarg; colleagues at the firm of EDAW (and successor firm AECOM) in San Francisco, Singapore, and Sacramento; and travels to all parts of the globe.

I formed the Urban Design + Planning studio at Ascent in 2016 and am now semi-retired from the firm. I still contribute with select projects and proposals, allowing the next generation of leadership to advance the studio’s goals. I am also still very active in the Urban Land Institute, both locally and nationally, and recently completed work on an advisory panel for the Cities of Marysville and Yuba City in the Sacramento region. When not working or volunteering, I am on the golf course or trekking/cycling around the globe (e.g., Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Silk Road in Uzbekistan).

Principal Emeritus –
Urban Design and Planning
He/Him
Sacramento
916.444.7301
Notable Projects

Downtown Sunnyvale Specific Plan

Sacramento West Broadway Specific Plan

Taylor Builders SW Dixon Master Plan

Education

MLA, Landscape Architecture, University of Pennsylvania

Certificate in Urban Design, University of Pennsylvania

BS, Environmental Design, Philadelphia College of Art

AS, Landscape Design, Temple University

Kindnesses

Urban Land Institute

Advisory Services Panels/Technical Assistance Panels

American Planning Association, PLAN Mentor Program, Sacramento Valley Section

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