HDR is expanding its multidisciplinary team of urban and regional planners by acquiring Calthorpe Associates, based in Berkeley, California. Going forward, the firm will do business as HDR|Calthorpe.

Calthorpe Associates is internationally recognized for innovative leadership in regional planning, urban design and transit-oriented development. Since 1983, the company has assisted public and private-sector clients in shaping livable communities. The firm is an international leader in smart growth and a founding partner in the Congress for the New Urbanism. The combined relationship with HDR will benefit communities with groundbreaking urban growth in livable, sustainable and low-carbon solutions.

“Calthorpe Associates brings years of inventive and transformative urban design experience that will enhance the services we offer our clients across the globe,” said HDR Chairman and CEO Eric Keen. “We see tremendous opportunity with our clients, who rely on our growing body of expertise to improve the way people live, work and play in our changing urban environments.”

“We believe our urban design practice can be a bridge between many of the HDR disciplines and a catalyst for integration,” said Peter Calthorpe, founder and principal at Calthorpe Associates. “Our focus on smart, sustainable cities over the decades has always depended on input and guidance between many design professionals. Now we can offer comprehensive services to our clients and develop plans that are truly grounded in expertise in every dimension of the challenge.”

Peter Calthorpe will join HDR as a senior vice president. He is a renowned pioneer of innovative approaches to urban revitalization, community planning and regional design. He was awarded the Urban Land Institute’s prestigious J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development and is one of the founders and first board president of the Congress for the New Urbanism.

“When we started thinking about how Calthorpe Associates would move forward into the future, we developed a set of critical issues,” added Joseph Scanga, partner and urban designer at Calthorpe Associates. “HDR provided it all.”

Joseph (Joey) Scanga will join HDR as a vice president. He has two decades of diverse experience at Calthorpe Associates and has managed projects in countries worldwide. Scanga holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of California, Berkeley and studied in Italy with the International Laboratory of Architecture & Urban Design program. He has also lectured extensively throughout the United States on the subject of compact growth adjacent to transit stations.

About HDR

For more than a century, HDR has partnered with clients to shape communities and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Our expertise spans nearly 10,000 employees, in more than 200 locations around the world — and counting. Our engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services bring an impressive breadth of knowledge to every project. Our optimistic approach to finding innovative solutions defined our past and drives our future. www.hdrinc.com