Sustainable Planning Design, LLC, is a woman-owned urban planning and urban design firm located in Buffalo, NY.  The firm is dedicated to working with communities and providing high quality professional services.

Sustainable Planning Design Philosophy

All planning and design should evaluate sustainability.  To be successful, plans need to look to the future to understand the impacts of actions on future generations.  Sustainable Planning Design integrates this philosophy in all its projects and communicates impacts through the use of high quality graphics and concise descriptions.  Planning and design is a tool to tell the story of a community, and how its past, present and future work together for a sustainable tomorrow.

Allison D. Harrington, AICP, MCIP, RPP - Principal, Urban Planner / Designer

Allison is the principal and founder of Sustainable Planning Design, LLC and an experienced planner and urban designer.  With more than ten years of experience working with over 40 different municipalities on planning projects as either the project manager or a key team member, Allison is a skilled community liaison.  Guiding projects from initiation to implementation, Allison is familiar with all aspects of the planning process. 

Allison has a Master of Urban Planning from University at Buffalo, The State University of New York and a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies from Hobart and William Smith Colleges.  She is certified as a planner by the American Institute of Certified Planners and is a member of the American Planning Association.  Allison is also designated as a Registered Professional Planner by the Ontario Professional Planners Institute and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners.  Before establishing Sustainable Planning Design, LLC, Allison was a senior planner and urban designer at peter j. smith & company, inc. Allison’s early career experience includes work at the Journal of Environmental Planning & Management from and at a small engineering firm in Massachusetts.

Allison's planning and design success is reflected in her management of several local, national and international award-winning plans.  Awards for projects she's managed include:

• First Prize Award for Excellence in the Category of District Planning/Urban Design from the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) for the Abu Dhabi Public Realm Design Manual for the Urban Planning Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi
• Honorable Mention for Urban Design from the Canadian Institute of Planners for the Abu Dhabi Public Realm Design Manual for the Urban Planning Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi
• Planning Excellence Award for Best Practice from the NY Upstate Chapter of the American Planning Association for the Halton Hills Cultural Master Plan for the Town of Halton Hills, ON
• Honor Award of Excellence - Research & Communication from the NY Upstate Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects for the Orillia Parks, Recreation, Culture Master Plan for the City of Orillia, ON
• Planning Excellence Award – Grassroots Initiative from the WNY Section of the NY Upstate Chapter of the American Planning Association for the Waterfront Redevelopment Visioning and Feasibility Study for the Hamlet of Willard in Romulus, NY