Robert Gibbs, the founder of Birmingham, Michigan-based Gibbs Planning Group, is teaching the “Urban Retail: Essential Planning, Design, and Management Practices” course at Harvard University this July 12 – 14. This is the 24th consecutive year Gibbs has been teaching the class.
The course, recommended for developers, planners, investors, retailers, architects and public officials, demonstrates how the proven principles of retail development can be combined with the best practices of New Urbanism, Smart Growth and architectural design to create successful and competitive mixed-use urban commercial centers.
Gibbs founded Gibbs Planning Group in 1988. He is the author of “Principles of Urban Retail,” and is regularly retained by municipalities as an urban planning consultant. Gibbs was a member of the planning team that wrote and implemented the Birmingham 2016 Master Plan, which re-branded the Detroit suburb, making it one of the most walkable and commercially successful small towns in Michigan and the United States.
