STEVEN BAUMGARTNER PE, EcoDistricts AP, CEM, HBDP, LEED AP
Steven is an engineer and planner, specializing in integrated systems solutions for campuses, communities, and cities.
Steven has spent his career building integrated approaches with diverse and highly collaborative teams. He spent two years at SmithGroup in a corporate leadership role advancing system solutions before starting Baumgartner Urban Systems Strategy LLC (BUSS). Prior, he was with the Buro Happold Cities team leading initiatives and projects globally with a diverse set of urban thinkers.
Steven leads projects at scale all over the world, including masterplanning, community development, infrastructure planning and climate action planning projects for higher education, cultural, corporate, non-profit, and municipal clients. He bridges the technical and analytical work with community-driven solutions. Known for being a highly energetic and passionate individual, he pushes his clients and collaborators to think beyond traditional disciplinary and systems boundaries.
He lives and works in Pittsburgh, PA and supports several local initiatives, including Riverlife, Higher Education Climate Collaborative (HECC), and p4 Pittsburgh. He is active nationally as a member of Van Alen Institute’s Council as well as ULI’s Sustainable Development Council. More information on these efforts is outlined below.
One of Steven’s strengths is his ability to gather, synthesize and leverage data from many channels. Through each discreet scope, Steven and the teams he has led have been very creative, yet concrete in translating complex systems and projects into connected, relevant and actionable paths. Having watched sensitive management of a diverse group of stakeholders, I have witnessed crisp leadership and direction that helps move the university forward. He has always flexed with the needs of the university and been very responsive to ever-swaying interests and targets.
I recommend Steven as a partner in conquering challenging, cross-disciplinary projects at similar organizations.
— Stephanie Corbett, Director of Energy and Sustainability
Case Western Reserve University
Industry Leadership and Committees
Van Alen Institute Council
The Van Alen Institute Council is an invitation-only community of leading systems-thinkers spanning the design professions. The council’s global dialogue tackles the most pressing 21st century challenges, providing a platform for knowledge sharing about cities, regions, and landscapes.
Council members are leaders in the fields of design, architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, planning, land-use, and real estate development. They share a commitment to the principles of inclusive design, expanding their networks, and supporting Van Alen’s mission.
ULI- Sustainable Development Council
The Sustainable Development Council (SDC) is a product council of the Urban Land Institute. the SDC aims to accelerate the adoption and implementation of sustainability, resiliency, and health across the real estate industry. The council provides a forum for exchange of emerging best practices including planning, financing, entitlements, design, construction, and operational aspects of projects that advance triple bottom-line benefits while fostering more sustainable built environments.
In line with a comprehensive vision of sustainability, the council hosts conversations exploring the nexus between the built environment and resource efficiency, health outcomes, and natural systems. Exchange of “lessons learned” informs council members of the quantitative and qualitative added-value to real estate and the urban environment.
Riverlife Riverfront Design Committee
Riverlife is a nonprofit organization formed in 1999 to create a plan for the redevelopment of Pittsburgh’s downtown riverfronts. Riverlife’s staff team works every day with developers, land owners, and neighborhood groups on issues of riverfront design, access, amenities and programming in Pittsburgh and the region.
To best inform Riverlife’s comments and testimony, Riverlife’s Riverfront Design Committee, consisting of design professionals, meets with riverfront project proponents early in their project development process to ensure that riverfront development objectives are understood and incorporated.