Ed McMahon Joins the Urban Land Institute as the ULI/Charles Fraser Senior Resident Fellow for Sustainable Development

WASHINGTON (August 2, 2004) — Ed McMahon, a nationally renowned authority on sustainable development, land conservation and urban design, has joined the staff of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) as the ULI/Charles Fraser Senior Resident Fellow for Sustainable Development. The position was endowed by numerous ULI members in honor of the late Charles Fraser, legendary developer of Hilton Head Island, S.C., who devoted his career to environmentally conscious development. ULI is a global nonprofit education and research institute dedicated to providing responsible leadership in land use.

According to ULI Chairman Harry H. Frampton, III, the purpose of the endowment is to use the expertise and guidance of a senior resident fellow to enhance ULI’s ability to conduct research and educational efforts related to green and sustainable development practices. Moving environmentally responsible development closer to the mainstream is a top priority for Frampton during his term as chairman of the Institute. “The addition of this senior resident fellow will extend ULI’s reach on key urban and suburban issues, enabling us to incorporate sustainability as vital part of all forms of community building. We are delighted that Ed McMahon is coming on board,” Frampton said.

McMahon, formerly the vice president and director of land use programs at The Conservation Fund, joins six other senior resident fellows who specialize in public policy, retail and urban entertainment, transportation, real estate finance, housing and urban development issues. The senior resident fellows program was established to enhance ULI’s role as the most influential voice in the real estate industry, and raise awareness of its mission to improve the quality of land use and development worldwide.

Making the business case for green and sustainable development is part of ULI’s ongoing efforts to promote responsible land use and smart growth. McMahon’s extensive background in sustainable development and land conservation issues is a key addition to the senior resident fellows’ areas of expertise, said ULI President Richard M. Rosan. “Ed’s insights will be extremely valuable. We are very fortunate to have him joining our team,” he said.

Along with raising awareness of the benefits of green and sustainable development, another ULI priority is to improve development patterns on the urban fringe. Last year, McMahon participated in a forum sponsored by ULI to examine the role of master-planned communities in fostering more efficient development in suburban areas. At the forum, he described the need to preserve green infrastructure. “Smart conservation is just as important as smart growth. Smart conservation is proactive, large-scale and coordinated. We need to think of open space as a form of infrastructure just as we think of roads as infrastructure,” McMahon said at the forum. “It must be viewed as a necessity, not an amenity. It must be preserved through a public investment, not leftover money. And, it must be preserved as a connected, contiguous system, not fragmented and preserved in isolation.”

McMahon is an attorney, community planner, lecturer, author and expert on the topics of sustainable development, land conservation, urban design and historic preservation. At the Conservation Fund, he worked to improve both land conservation and land development practices through programs that balance economic and environmental goals. His latest books are Land Conservation Finance and Better Models for Commercial Development. He has organized successful efforts to acquire and protect urban parkland, wilderness areas and other conservation properties, and he has made numerous presentations on the topics of tourism, conservation, land use planning and historic preservation. McMahon is also the co-founder and former president of Scenic America, a national non-profit organization devoted to protecting America’s scenic landscapes.

McMahon has an M.A. in Urban Studies from the University of Alabama and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law School, where he taught law and public policy from 1976-1985.