Robert Teska’s professional career spans over a period of more than forty years, during which he has provided consultation services to the World Bank overseas projects and directed over 400 projects throughout the United States. Many of these have been nationally and internationally acclaimed award winners for innovative concepts in transportation/land use relationships, new town design, business district revitalization and citizen participation in environmental planning.
In 1986, Mr. Teska was awarded the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Harland Bartholomew Award for distinguished service in the field of urban and regional planning. In 1999 Mr. Teska became one of the first urban planners in North America to be honored as Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners for his distinguished contributions to the advancement of the planning profession.
Mr. Teska founded Teska Associates, Inc. in 1975. The consulting firm specializes in community planning, site design, development economics and landscape architecture. In 1980, Mr. Teska founded Design Evanston, a non-profit volunteer organization of local design professionals to promote the theme “Good Design is Good Business”. In 1992, he founded Business Districts Inc., a consulting firm specializing in business district revitalization. He serves as Chairman of the Boards of Directors of Teska Associates, Inc. and Business Districts, Inc.
Mr. Teska has held positions as Principal and Vice President of Land and Community Planning for Barton-Aschman Associates, Inc. (Evanston and Washington, D.C.), Lieutenant in the U.S. Corps of
Engineers, Planning Engineer for the Blauvelt Engineering Company and Staff Planner for the Madison, Wisconsin City Planning Commission. He is a registered Professional Engineer and a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.
The author of over 50 professional papers and articles, Mr. Teska maintains a heavy public speaking schedule and lectures at numerous colleges and universities. He presently serves on the Board of Governors of the Metropolitan Planning Council of Chicago and is co-chair of its Regional Development Committee. He has also served as Chairman of the American Planning Association’s Metropolitan and Regional Planning Division, Chairman of the Governor’s Committee on Metropolitan Planning Organization in Northeastern Illinois , and Chairman of the Evanston Business District Redevelopment Commission.
Mr. Teska donated ten files boxes of reports spanning his 44 years of consulting practice to the City Planning and Landscape Architecture Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in October 2004. These reports include not only the compilation of the projects undertaken by Teska Associates Inc. (1975 to date) but also reports either prepared by him or under his supervision while at Barton-Aschman Associates, Inc. (1961-1975).
The various reports donated by Mr. Teska can be classified into the following eight categories:
- Economic and Fiscal Studies
- Evaluation and Feasibility Studies
- Land Use related Reports
- Plans and Planning Documents
- Policies, Rules and Procedures
- Reports related to Transportation
- Site Planning and Housing
- Miscellaneous Reports
The various reports under each head can be accessed by clicking on the individual link.