The First Time I Met Doug…

The first time I met Doug was in 2006 while I was an undergraduate at the university of Georgia studying Landscape Architecture. He was presenting a guest lecture for one of the history courses I was enrolled in at the time. I remember being struck by his insight and wisdom into the nature of cities, and the curiosities that arose in me helped propel me toward a career in urban design.  Later, while enrolled as an Urban Planning student at Georgia Tech, I had the privilege of taking Doug’s History of Urban Form class.

“I remember being struck by his insight and wisdom into the nature of cities”

Words cannot adequately express the profound impact that this course had on me, and I consider the lessons learned to be the gateway into my intellectual study of cities. While nothing can replace the charm, charisma, and passion that Doug exuded while speaking about cities, I applaud the Doug Allen Institute in the pursuit of continuing his legacy. There is much wisdom to be gained from Doug’s study of the history of cities, and the information gleaned from his lectures will surely help us to understand how the cities of the past influenced where we are today, so we can consider how the city of today will become the city of tomorrow.

J. Kenneth Thompson

MCRP, 2012