David A. Wallace: Influential Planner, Distinguished Leader

David Wallace, an influential urban planner associated with one of the great U.S. urban renewal successes died in Philadelphia at age 87.

1 minute read

July 20, 2004, 11:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"David A. Wallace, a distinguished architect and urban planner, and his wife, Joan, were found dead in their Chestnut Hill home yesterday, in what police said was a double suicide."

Wallace was "an influential urban planner who spent decades reviving urban downtowns and waterfronts, most notably Baltimore's Inner Harbor..."

Versions of the story also appear in the Philadelphia Enquirer, "Eminent Architect Dies in Double Suicide", and the Baltimore Sun, "Influential planner mourned by friends and colleagues in city."

"David Wallace was 87 and suffered from prostate cancer, and his wife, Joan Wallace, was 83 and also in very poor health, police said."

He received the 2003 Distinguished Leadership Award for a Professional Planner from the American Planning Association. "In an illustrious career that spanned the second half of the 20th century, David Wallace established a model strategy for overall redevelopment of downtown Philadelphia, headed a team that planned a revitalization strategy for Baltimore's ailing central business district, devised the Inner Harbor Master Plan, and prepared a master plan for the moribund Lower Manhattan district in response to the erection of the World Trade Center. Wallace has also taught planning and urban design at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Fine Arts and at the University of Chicago."

Thanks to Scott Reale

Tuesday, July 20, 2004 in CNN

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

People walking up and down stairs in New York City subway station.

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving

Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

April 18 - Scientific American

White public transit bus with bike on front bike rack in Nashville, Tennessee.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan

Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

April 18 - Bloomberg CityLab

An engineer controlling a quality of water ,aerated activated sludge tank at a waste water treatment plant.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding

The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.

April 18 - Smart Cities Dive