Les Pollock
Urban Scholar
College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs
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About
Leslie (Les) S. Pollock, FAICP, is a principal consultant and co-founder of Camiros Ltd., an urban planning and zoning consulting firm in Chicago. He has a wide ranging practice, and has been nationally recognized for his work in community planning, TOD and zoning. His clients include numerous large and mid-sized cities across the country such as Austin, TX, Baltimore, MD; Chicago, IL; Minneapolis, MN; New Orleans, LA; Phoenix, AZ; Providence, RI; Salt Lake City, UT; Toledo, OH; and Raleigh, NC; Illinois cities such as, Decatur, Macomb, Peoria, Rockford and Urbana; and many suburban communities in the Chicago area including Des Plaines, Libertyville, Riverside, Schaumburg, and Tinley Park.
Les has served on a number of public and professional boards and commissions related to urban planning. These include serving as an elected city council member and chair of the Plan Commission in Wilmette, Illinois. He is a past president of Ely Chapter and of Lambda Alpha International – an international land economics honorary society. He is also a Fellow of Lambda Alpha International.
Active as teacher, Les holds the title of “Urban Scholar” at University of Illinois, Chicago, has served as adjunct and full time faculty in planning at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and as adjunct faculty at University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology, and Loyola University. He is the author of numerous articles and papers on various aspects of planning and zoning, and holds degrees in architecture and urban planning from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Selected Publications
PUBLISHED ARTICLES AND PAPERS
Lucus Museum Makes Little Sense, invited article, Chicago Tribune, July 24, 2014
How to Craft a New City Plan, invited article, Chicago Tribune, July 24, 2013
Chicago Needs a City Plan, invited article, Crain’s Chicago Business, June 19, 2013
“Citizen Planning in Chicago”, Planning Chicago, D. Bradford Hunt and Jon B. Devries, APA Planners Press, 2013
“After the Plan, the Code”, January 2010, Planning Magazine
“The Future of the Burnham Plan”, The Plan of Chicago @ 100: 15 Views of Burnham’s Legacy for a New Century, Lambda Alpha International, 2009.
“Planners as Private Consultants”. Local Planning, Contemporary Principles and Practice, Gary Hack, Eugenie L. Birch, Paul H. Sedway, Mitchell J. Silver (eds.), ICMA, Pittsburg: ICMA Press, 2009
“The Midwest Faces the World”, Book Review: Caught in the Middle, by R.C. Longworth, Planning Magazine, 2008
“Site Plan Review” November 2007, American Planning Association’s Zoning Practice, co-authored with Arista Strungys
“Downtown Plans”, in Planning and Urban Design Standards, John Wiley & Sons, 2005
“Corridor Plans”, in Planning and Urban Design Standards, John Wiley & Sons, 2005
“So You’re Going to Revise the Zoning Ordinance,” Zoning News, American Planning Association, May and June 1999
“Planning Principles for Transit Oriented Development,” American Planning Association PAS Memo, 1996.
“Red Penciler’s Guide to Site Plan Review,” Planning, April 1991.
“Should You Update Your Zoning Ordinance?,” American Planning Association PAS Memo, 1989.
(Joint Author) “ Comprehensive Planning” The Practice of Local Government Planning; Washington, DC International City Managers Association, 1988.
“The Roles of the Planner,” Proceedings of the Institute on Planning and Zoning, University of Illinois, 1988.
Commissioner’s Memo, Pointers for Sign Control,” Planning, August 1987, pp 31-32.
“What Elected Officials Want from Planners,” Planning, May 1987, pp 26B-26C.
“The Relationship Between Planning and Zoning” Illinois Municipal Review, December 1983.
“Statewide Planning for Alternative Futures,” National Conference of the American Institute of Planners, San Antonio, Texas, October 1975.
“Survey of Existing Transportation Planning Courses in Planning Schools,” National Conference of the American Institute of Planners, San Antonio, Texas, October 1975.
“Public Investment Strategies for Regional Planning,” National Conference of the American Institute of Planners, Denver, Colorado, October 1974.
(Joint Author) “Methodological Issues in Transit Station Design,” Transit Station Planning and Design: State of the Art, Hoel, Lester A. & Roszner Ferum S. (eds.), Pittsburgh: Carnegie-Mellon University, 1975.
“Some Unique Aspects of Dual Mode Station Design,” International Conference on Dual Mode Transportation, Highway Research Board, Washington, DC, May 1974.
(Joint Author) “New Community Development: A Prototype for Orderly and Effective Planning,” American Land Development Association National Land Conference in New Orleans, October 1973.
(Joint Author) “What is a New Community?,” Systems Building News, June 1973.
“Relating Urban Design to the Motorist: An Empirical Viewpoint,” Environmental Design: Research and Practice, Proceedings of the EDRA3/AR8 Conference, UCLA, January 1972.
“Transportation, Land-Use and Public Policy: An Applied Approach for Producing Alternatives,” paper prepared for presentation at the AIP Confer-In West, San Francisco, California, October 1971.
(Joint Author) “Station Location and Design,” paper prepared for presentation at the Urban Transportation Program Lecture Series of Mass Transit, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 1971.
“A Strategy for Providing Urban Recreation Services,” paper prepared for presentation at the AIP Confer-In, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, October 1970.
“Driver Distraction as Related to Physical Development Abutting Urban Streets,” Exchange Bibliography 58, Monticello, Illinois, Council of Planning Librarians, July 1968.
“The Effect of the Physical Environment upon Motor Vehicle Accidents,” Proceedings of the Midwest Students’ Seminar on Urban and Regional Research, Department of City and Regional Planning, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, 1968.
(Joint Author) “The Corridor Concept in Planning,” Department of Urban Planning, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign 1968.
Education
Bachelor of Architecture
University of Illinois
Masters of Urban Planning
University of Illinois
Professional Memberships
American Institute of Certified Planners
American Planning Association
Urban Land Institute
Lambda Alpha International
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
Member, AICP College of Fellows
Fellow of Lambda Alpha International Land Economics Honorary Society
Richard T. Ely Distinguished Chapter Service Award, Lambda Alpha International, 2012
Profiled in:
- Who’s Who in the Midwest
- Men of Achievement
- International Who’s Who in Community Service
- Community Leaders and Noteworthy Americans
AIP Student Award, University of Illinois 1968
Outstanding Graduate Student Award, University of Illinois 1968
Representative Awards:
City of New Orleans Master Plan, National Achievement Award, American Planning Association, 2011
LISC Chicago Neighborhood Plans, Gold Award, Illinois Chapter, American Planning Association, 2006
Village of Libertyville Comprehensive Plan, Silver Award, Illinois Chapter, American Planning Association, 2006
Village of River Grove Grand Avenue Corridor Plan, Honorable Mention, Illinois Chapter, American Planning Association, 2005
Noblesville Comprehensive Master Plan, Indiana Planning Association Award, 1995