Philip C. Myrick
Assistant Vice President

A professional urban planner, skilled project manager and confident orator, Philip Myrick knows a lot about the revitalizing towns and cities through public spaces.

As manager for many of PPS' more complex projects, Phil's expertise spans the breadth of our work at PPS - from open space planning and downtown revitalization, to transportation enhancements and community organizing. His portfolio of technical assistance projects include: a vision plan for Vassar College and the Arlington Business District Association in Poughkeepsie, New York, involving the major redesign of a state road passing though the district; a public space and downtown revitalization plan for Mobile, Alabama; a community-wide process in Harlem, New York to revitalize Morningside Park; and a community planning process (with the Center City District) for pedestrian improvements along Vine Street in Philadlephia including public space revitalization from Logan Circle to Franklin Square.

Since 1995, Phil has managed the Urban Parks Institute. The $2.2 million grant-funded program brings together 2,000 parks leaders and advocates for conferences, research, networking, pulications and training. Its website - 'Urban Parks Online' - attracts over 1 million page views annually. Phil also manages our innovative public spaces program in the Czech Republic (funded by the Rockefeller Brothers and German Marshall Funds) and is helping to facilitate its expansion within eastern Europe.

Known for his clear and accessible presentations, Phil has delivered keynotes, professional training and workshops across the U.S and Europe. Audiences include the American Library Association, the Neighborhood Reinvestment Training Institute, the annual International Forum on Urban Parks in Bogota Colombia, National Association of Olmsted Parks, in addition to hundreds of neighborhood and community-based assocations.

Phil has led major research into the involvement of nonprofits in managing public spaces. The research which was published in the book 'Public Parks, Private Partners' (Project for Public Spaces, 2000).

Prior to joining PPS, Phil worked as a sculptor for a number of years in Zimbabwe and Portugal which, along with his own observations, raised his awareness of public space and urban issues internationally. His understanding of international issues extends back to a childhood in South Africa with activist parents, and also includes a leave of absence in the winter and spring of 2001 to teach a traveling college course on planning and community development in India (Mumbai), South Africa (Johannesburg and Cape Town), and Brazil (Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba).

Education
Hunter College, Master of Urban Planning, 1995.
Grinnell College, Bachelor of Arts, 1984.

Training and Instruction:
Faculty Member, Urban Planning, International Honors Program, a traveling college course on planning issues in developing countries: Mumbai, India; Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa; and Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba, Brazil (Winter/Spring semester 2001) Faculty Member, Neighborhood Reinvestment Training Institute
Guest Instructor, Vassar College, Department of Urban Affairs (1999) Adjunct Professor, New York University, Robert Wagner School of Public Service, CAPSTONE graduate seminar (1997)

Major Publications
Public Parks, Private Partners. New York, Project for Public Spaces, 2000 (135 pgs. Illustrated, ISBN 0-9706324-3-6).

Professional Affiliations
American Planning Association
Municipal Art Society of New York, Fellow
National Trust for Historic Preservation

Awards
American Planning Association (APA), Robert C. Weinberg student award for outstanding achievement Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS), Honorary Fellow James Felt Scholarship, Hunter College Steiner Prize, Grinnell College

Foreign Languages
Italian
Portuguese
French
German