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Expertise: Dr. Soule is the editor of a forthcoming (2005) reference work on urban sprawl for Greenwood Press. He is also the author of numerous articles on sprawl, regional development, and the relationship between property tax and local land use policies. He is a frequent speaker to local, regional, and national audiences on the dynamic forces shaping 21st century New England and metropolitan America.
Educational Background
Scholarly Interests
Dr. Soule is currently working with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Regional Planning Commissions in New Hampshire to integrate the theory and practice of social capital analysis with traditional community planning. This path breaking work promises to lend to significant new insights into the opportunities for synthesizing these disciplines into a new paradigm for planning as practiced by the Commissions and their counterparts around the country.
Bio Sketch
Dr. David Soule provides principal support to the New England Initiative project.
He recently stepped down as the executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council after more than 15 years of service. As the chief executive officer of the Council, he was responsible for a budget that exceeded $8 million and a staff of more than 80 professional and support personnel. During his tenure, he oversaw the development of MetroPlan, a comprehensive plan for the future of the Boston metropolitan area. Prior to joining the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Dr. Soule served as the executive director of the Nashua Regional Planning Commission in Nashua, New Hampshire for seven years. From 1971 to 1980, he served as deputy and planning director of the Capitol Region Council of Governments in Hartford, Connecticut.
Dr. Soule is currently working with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Regional Planning Commissions in New Hampshire to integrate the theory and practice of social capital analysis with traditional community planning. This pathbreaking work promises to lend to significant new insights into the opportunities for synthesizing these disciplines into a new paradigm for planning as practiced by the Commissions and their counterparts around the country.
Dr. Soule is the treasurer and a member of the board of the Alliance for Regional Stewardship, a national interest group facilitating dialogue between traditional public sector regional organizations, business and civic leaders, grassroots activists, and the foundation community.
He is also a former member and officer of the National Association of Regional Councils, of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Planning Association, and a founding member and first president of the New England Association of Regional Councils. He currently serves as the chronicler to the Forum of Major Metropolitan Regional Councils which is hosting its 3rd annual conference in New York in 2004.
David Soule is also a senior research fellow at the Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University. Through the National Association of Regional Councils, in his role at the CURP at Northeastern, he has facilitated the transformation of the Institute for the Regional Community into a new applied research arm of NARC known as the Regional Futures Institute. The Institute will focus on federal and state policies that support regional councils.