Neal Shafers from the Miami DDA

July 11, 2022

NEAL VISITS THE BUENOS DIAZ MORNING SHOW

We had a special guest today with the Buenos Diaz Morning Show on TUBOX 101.1 FM, Neal Shafers. He is the head of Urban Planning for the Miami DDA. We spoke at length about the re-development of Downtown Miami, specifically Flagler Street. Listen to the full interview in the video.

One of the more innovative topics we spoke about was the plan to landscape the Downtown Area to give it more of a rolling canopy and neighborhood feel than our competing neighborhoods in Brickell and Wynwood. These added oxygenating machines will provide shade, fresh air and a scenic backdrop for the area.

DOWNTOWN MIAMI'S #1 RADIO SHOW — THE BUENOS DIAZ MORNING SHOW CREW

ABOUT NEAL: Neal’s current role is the Head of Urban Planning for the Planning, Resilience + Transportation Department of the Miami Downtown Development Authority (Miami DDA). On a daily basis, we work with our partner agencies at the City, County, Miami-Dade TPO, Miami River Commission and FDOT, as well as a comprehensive mix of public agencies and private development. Our goal is to make Miami the place to work, live, play, eat, shop and enjoy… and that means quality public & green spaces, multi-modal options, a safe bicycle and pedestrian network, and a fully-connected mass transit system. We are also hard at work on making Miami a sustainable and resilient place for generations to come.

Before joining the team at the Miami DDA, Neal spent nearly 8 years at EDSA, where he was actively involved in the planning and design for a variety of projects ranging from large-scale environmental planning to detailed resort design. Project experience includes masterplanning, resort & hospitality, wildlife parks, housing developments (single and multi-family), urban plazas, streetscapes, and environmentally sensitive parks.

He has also worked and lived onsite at the Al Ain Wildlife Park & Resort (UAE) for two years, acting as a construction supervisor/design manager. and spent another year in Shanghai, China. There, Neal performed as both an onsite project manager for waterfront projects and an onsite construction liaison for EDSA’s Ft. Lauderdale office.

Prior to joining EDSA, Neal also worked for Miller Legg in Orlando and Font Designs in Doral. He is very active with the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and Urban Land Development (ULI), and is proud to serve as a voting Board Member of the Miami River Commission.