Mitchell Silver 
Special Advisor
McAdams
Mitchell is a special advisor with McAdams, a land planning and design company. He provides advisory services in urban planning, parks, and public space planning. He is an award-winning planner with over 40 years of experience and is internationally recognized for his leadership and contributions to contemporary planning issues. He is a prolific public speaker specializing in urban planning, placemaking, and implementation strategies. Before joining McAdams, Mitchell served as the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation commissioner, Chief Planning Officer in Raleigh, NC, and president of the American Planning Association and the American Institute of Certified Planners. Mitchell is one of the nation’s most celebrated urban thinkers. He was selected to Planetizen’s (PLAN-NET-TI-ZEN) list of the 100 Most Influential Urbanists in the world. In addition, he has been honored as one of the top 100 City Innovators in the world by UBM Future Cities, and the Urban Times named him one of the top international thought leaders of the built environment. Mitchell is an honorary Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia. He teaches urban planning at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Session(s):
Pardon My Blindspot »
2025 APA UT Fall Conference, October 9, 2025 11:30 amWe all have default planning settings, without even knowing it. What’s yours? Does housing ‘obviously’ mean single-family homes? Does ‘transportation’ automatically mean cars and roads? The 2021 AICP Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct admonishes practicing planners not to blindly resort to “a customary solution” (§A,5.2). One way to avoid blind spots is to “examine our own… unconscious biases” (§A, 1.1). Join us on a (non-judgmental) journey into our hidden and unconscious planning biases and blind spots.
Keynote: Planning with Purpose »
2025 APA UT Fall Conference, October 9, 2025 9:00 amWhat is our purpose as planners? Emerging trends and the convergence of global disruptions, such as political polarization, policy, and legislative mandates, have altered how we plan, design, and build places. What does our Code of Ethics tell us about our purpose, values, and principles as planners? What is the value of planning? Join me as I share my reflections on how to plan with purpose and how planners need to be at the forefront of managing growth and change.
= Keynote
