Martin Zimmerman

Biography

Martin is a planner, architect, urban journalist and principal of City Wise Studio USA, an urban research and communications firm. He writes about sustainable cities and livable neighborhoods, and he travels frequently to communities in the USA, Canada and abroad in search of innovative models for Charlotte. His articles and reviews have appeared locally in the Charlotte Observer and Axios / Charlotte Agenda.com, and nationally in Urban Land.org, APA Planning, National Building Museum’s Blueprints Journal, ASLA DIRT.org, Architectural Record, Washington Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and other print and on-line media. As the first architect to lead the Office of Facilities Planning for the Charlotte campus of the University of North Carolina (1992-2001), Martin and his team created campus-wide design guidelines, updated the master plan, and launched corridor studies for a light rail transit link to Center City Charlotte. As ED for the Charlotte Area Bicycle Alliance (2003-2012), he campaigned successfully to redirect the arc of Charlotte’s auto-centric travel culture. His vehicle of choice has two wheels and a bell. He can be reached at martin@citywisestudio.us.