Planning director heads to Africa to teach

Tim Stewart, Director of Planning and Development Services for the City of Shoreline, has resigned from his position to spend a year in Africa.

Stewart will be relocating with his wife, Dr. Rosemary Curran, also an urban planner. The couple will teach and conduct research in urban planning at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, as Fulbright Scholars.

“I am excited by the prospect of learning about urban issues in a developing country,” Stewart said, “and passing along some of the planning knowledge and skills I have developed over the past 25 years.”

Stewart has been the planning director in Shoreline since 1998, three years after the city incorporated. Before coming to Shoreline, he was the planning director in Lincoln City, Neb. (1991-1998) and planning coordinator for the city of Fitchburg, Mass.(1979-1991).

Stewart said Ethiopia is an ancient culture, often credited as the cradle of civilization, although the country itself is very young.

“The challenge for new governments is in building new institutions,” said Stewart. “I hope that some of the lessons I’ve learned in Shoreline will be useful.”

While planning director in Shoreline, Stewart helped the community develop its first comprehensive plan, critical areas ordinance and development code.

“I’ve always loved teaching,” said Stewart, who has a Master degree in Urban Planning from Michigan State University and an undergraduate degree in secondary education and is a certified teacher.

“A year in Africa will allow me to pursue my passion for education,” Stewart said, “and to get a fresh perspective on what is really important.

“We all hear about the problems of Africa, the poverty, the famine, the war and the HIV epidemic but we rarely hear about the strides being made toward democracy, education and the hope of long-term sustainability,” he said.

Curran, who is the benchmark program coordinator with King County, is a graduate of the University of Washington Urban Planning Program with a Ph.D. from Fordham University.

She will teach environmental systems and urban design and Stewart will present a number of lectures, with a focus on plan decision making and implementation. Both have an interest in the issue of land tenure security in the Third World.

“When people have no long-term vested interest in land, it is hard to justify a long-term investment in sustainability,” Stewart said. “Ethiopia does not permit private ownership of land, and this is an issue of great concern to potential international investors.”

Stewart and Curran expect to return to the Northwest after they complete their African adventure.

“Perhaps we can all learn some lessons from one of the oldest places humans have lived,” Stewart said, “about the balance between humans and the environment.”