U R B A N I N T E L L I G E N C E
Robert J. Gibbs AICP, ASLA, CNU-A
President, GPG
Profiled in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Urban Land, Gibbs has, writes The Atlantic Monthly, “a commercial sensibility unlike anything possessed by the urban planners who usually design downtown-renewal efforts.” He is also a recognized leader in the New Urbanism, having pioneered the implementation of its environmentally sustainable
principles of Traditional Town Planning and Smart Growth.
For the past 25 years, Gibbs has been active in developing
innovative yet practical methods for applying modern trends in commercial development to more than 400 town centers and historic cities here and abroad. He also planned Michigan’s first ten New Urban communities and Form Based Codes. A speaker at the First Congress of the New Urbanism in 1992 and eight subsequent CNUs, Gibbs lectures frequently throughout the country. He is the author of "Principles of Urban Retail Planning and Development" and the SmartCode "Retail Module," and has contributed articles to numerous books and publications. For the past 20 years, he has taught “Urban Retail Planning” in the Executive Education Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. In 2012, Gibbs was honored by the Clinton Presidential Library for his life’s contributions to urban planning and development and by the City of Auckland, New Zealand for his planning innovations.
Before Gibbs founded GPG in 1988, he gained invaluable expertise in retail planning by advising shopping center developers on the psychology of commerce—the practical science of analyzing and adjusting all elements known to affect a shopper's mood in the marketplace. From this experience, Gibbs distilled the fundamental retail and merchandising principles for reviving retail in moribund downtowns and for instilling successful
commerce in new ones.
Gibbs serves as GPG’s president , supervising all operations, planning, and research.
Education
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Michigan
Master of Landscape Architecture
Oakland University, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Bachelor of Arts in History
Books
Principles of Urban Retail Planning and Development
John Wiley and Sons, 2011
Book Contributions
New Urbanism & Beyond Sustainable Urbanism
Tigran Hass, Ed. Douglas Farr, Ed.
Ten Principles for Developing Successful Town Centers
Urban Land Institute
Smart Code Manual and The SmartCode Retail Module
SmartCode Institute
Publications
Atlantic Monthly New York Times
Albuquerque Journal New Urban News
Better Cities & Towns Orange County Register
Charleston Business Journal Palm Beach Daily News
Chain Store Age Planning Magazine
Chicago Tribune Portland Oregonian
Consumers Report Shopping Centers Today
Crain’s Detroit Business Urban Land Institute
Detroit News USA Today
Governing Magazine Wall Street Journal
ICSC Research Magazine Washington Post
Los Angeles Times
Professional Associations
American Institute of Certified Planners
American Planning Association
American Society of Landscape Architects
ASLA Michigan
Congress for the New Urbanism, Charter Member
CNU-Michigan, Board Member
Form Based Code Institute, Board Member
International Council of Shopping Centers
Urban Land Institute
Prior Experience