Galina Tachieva is the managing partner of DPZ CoDESIGN, directing the work of the firm in the US and around the world. With more than 25 years of expertise in sustainable planning, urban redevelopment and form-based codes, Galina is the author of the “Sprawl Repair Manual”, an award-winning publication by Island Press, which focuses on the retrofit of auto-centric suburban places into complete walkable communities.
Multilingual, Galina has experience with projects across the United States, Latin America, Europe and Russia, including downtowns and urban revitalizations, regional plans, environmental conservation, new communities, and resort towns. Managing complex projects and teams, she has led charrettes and other public processes, from project initiation through implementation.
Galina maintains an active civic engagement. A Fellow of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) she has been leading its national Sprawl Retrofit Initiative. She is a founding member of the Council for European Urbanism (CEU), and she has lectured throughout the world. She has been a visiting lecturer and design critic at Harvard University, the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), and at the University of Miami, among others.
Born and raised in Bulgaria, she received her architectural education at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia, Bulgaria. Later, Galina received her Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Miami School of Architecture. Galina is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and is a LEED-Accredited Professional.
Book Contributions
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The Sprawl Repair Manual
The Sprawl Repair Manual presents a comprehensive methodology for transforming sprawl developments into human-scale, sustainable communities. In this richly illustrated book, Galina Tachieva draws on more than two decades of experience to provide a step-by-step process of design, regulatory, and implementation techniques for reurbanizing and rebalancing suburbia. Her solutions will inspire and equip anyone looking…
Articles
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Red Friday
Steve Mouzon comments on the conspicuously-empty parking lots at malls and shopping centers during last week’s annual Black Friday event, looking for signs of the “Fall of Sprawl.” While the final accounting is not yet in, he predicts, “most retailers will still be firmly in the red, many with little hope of turning a profit…
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Four ways to reform a commuter campus
Robert Steuteville of Build a Better Burb starts a new series of articles based on the Sprawl Repair Manual by Galina Tachieva, Managing Partner at DPZ CoDesign. Building placement, block structure/connectivity, parking and open space are examined: “Thousands of college campuses in the suburbs—whether they be full universities or community colleges—are poorly designed with buildings,…
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Genuine change or lipstick on a pig?
A well-known new urban project has begun to reshape the relentless sprawl around it, but communities shouldn’t wait for that to happen. Robert Steuteville wonders if Santana Row, “represents real progress—or is it merely dressing up a mess of disconnected development?” To what extent is Santana Row an improvement [over conventional suburban development (CSD)]? And is…
Events and Lectures
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