Joe A. Porter is a professional landscape architect and Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects

American Society of Landscape Architects

The American Society of Landscape Architects is the national professional association representing landscape architects, with more than 17,000 members in 48 chapters, representing all 50 states, U.S. territories, and 42 countries around the world, plus 68 student chapters...

. For the past thirty years, Mr. Porter has worked with new community, natural resource, and resort developers to advance the art of community development through design. In 1969 Mr. Porter co-founded Design Workshop

Design Workshop

Design Workshop is an international landscape architecture, land planning, urban design and strategic services firm that began in 1969. The firm was named ASLA's Firm of the Year in 2008 for its work in new communities, urban centers, resorts, public parks, golf courses and residences.The firm's...

. Design Workshop is an award-winning, international firm practising landscape architecture

Landscape architecture

Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...

, land planning, urban design and tourism planning. He is currently an adjunct professor in the graduate program in landscape architecture at the University of Colorado

University of Colorado at Boulder

The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...

 and frequently speaks at conferences and universities on community development and sustainability issues.

Professional history

• Founding partner, past president and past chairman of the board of Design Workshop.
• Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
• Former board member and former president of the Landscape Architecture Foundation.
• Former board member and former president of The Center for Design Innovation.
• Full member of the Urban Land Institute
  Urban Land Institute
  The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a non-profit research and education organization with offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London...
  
  .
• Former Assistant professor of landscape architecture at Louisiana State University
  Louisiana State University
  Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
  
   and the School of Design at North Carolina State University
  North Carolina State University
  North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
  
  .

Education

• Graduated from the Utah State University
  Utah State University
  Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....
  
  ,
• Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Illinois

Co-founder of Design Workshop

In 1969 Joe Porter and Don Ensign founded Design Workshop. The name is derived from the collaborative process with which they taught in the landscape architecture department at North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

.
The firm practices landscape architecture, land planning, urban design

Urban design

Urban design concerns the arrangement, appearance and functionality of towns and cities, and in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space. It has traditionally been regarded as a disciplinary subset of urban planning, landscape architecture, or architecture and in more recent times has...

 and tourism planning. They combine principles of smart growth

Smart growth

Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl and advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood schools, complete streets, and mixed-use development with a...

, sustainable design

Sustainable design

Sustainable design is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability.-Intentions:The intention of sustainable design is to "eliminate negative environmental...

 and environmentally sound planning to reconcile economic needs with the preservation of scenic, cultural and community values. Their earliest projects engaged them in planning new communities in Columbia, Maryland

Columbia, Maryland

Columbia is a planned community that consists of ten self-contained villages, located in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It began with the idea that a city could enhance its residents' quality of life. Creator and developer James W. Rouse saw the new community in terms of human values, not...

, and Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

, as well as resort work on the Outer Banks of North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

. Since its inception, Design Workshop has earned more than seventy design awards from such organizations as the American Society of Landscape Architects, the American Planning Association

American Planning Association

The American Planning Association is a professional organization representing the field of city and regional planning in the United States. The APA was formed in 1978 when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Planners and the American Society of Planning...

 and the Urban Land Institute

Urban Land Institute

The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a non-profit research and education organization with offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London...

. Presently, the firm comprises 140 designers, planners and support staff in six North American offices in Aspen

Aspen

Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...

, Denver, Salt Lake City, Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At a surface elevation of , it is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is , making it the USA's second-deepest...

, Austin

Austin

Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...

 and Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...

.