Planner Spotlight

Doug Lesh MPIA (Fellow)

Executive Director of Planning, Department of Lands, Planning and Environment

What first drew you to planning?

Looking back, I think my interest in planning really started before I even knew what planning was. I grew up in Chicago until I was about 14, in a neighbourhood that had everything we now talk about when we describe great urban places - walkable streets, corner shops, nearby parks you could walk to, and that sense of vibrancy you only get when the built environment encourages people to activate public spaces. I now know it is one of those areas that we, as planners, spend a lot of time trying to recreate. And I loved Chicago’s nearby skyline! As a kid I was completely captivated by the skyscrapers and the energy of the city which fostered my love of architecture and interest in the built environment.

Then, in high school, my family moved to a fast‑growing (and fast‑sprawling) suburban area in Utah (in the western part of the US). The contrast between the two places was huge to me as a kid who used to walk everywhere. It wasn’t “bad,” just completely different. Everything required a car, streets were quieter but not necessarily more welcoming, and the everyday buzz of city life just wasn’t there. It really made me curious about why places look and feel the way they do, and how much of that is a choice. That’s when I realised that shaping cities wasn’t just interesting, it was something I wanted to be part of. When I moved to Australia to be with my Australian girlfriend/ wife in 1996 I found out the University of Sydney offered a Master of Urban and Regional Planning course – and I couldn’t wait to sign up!

In hindsight, it feels like a natural progression: starting in a walkable, vibrant city, moving to a very different suburban environment, and becoming fascinated with the choices behind both. It made me want to be part of shaping places that people enjoy living in — places with identity and character. And that’s still what motivates me today.

Is there a project or moment you’re particularly proud of?

I really enjoy the work I do now as the Senior Executive Director of Planning and Development for the NT Government. Leading strategic planning, development assessment, and infrastructure delivery across the Territory gives me the chance to help shape the long-term direction of our cities and communities in a meaningful way. It’s challenging work, but also incredibly rewarding.

But if I had to single out one moment, it would be the work I did as the Manager of my small Darwin Development Assessment Services team about 15 years ago to improve active frontages in the Darwin CBD. At the time, Darwin was in the middle of a massive building boom driven by the Ichthys LNG project (at over $40 billion dollars) - there was a point where 14 construction cranes were up in the CBD at once and more than 30 towers built over roughly a decade! The skyline was changing almost monthly. It was exciting, but it also made it obvious that without guidance, we risked creating a city full of blank walls, service infrastructure, loading bays, waste bin areas, and driveways at street level.

We knew that developers wanted the best possible development outcomes; they just didn’t have clear guidance on how the planning rules were meant to achieve this (in terms of street activation). We worked closely with service authorities, industry, and our internal design specialists to create something that was practical, achievable, and built specifically for the NT environment. The result was a very effective design guide on how to achieve active building frontages in the Darwin CBD, a practical document that helped shape how new buildings meet and interact with the street. It sounds simple - more doors and windows and less dead space, but it completely changed the way developments approached their ground floors. It addressed things like façade articulation, the placement of essential services, glazing, weather protection, and minimising inactive edges. And most importantly, it showed that good pedestrian outcomes weren’t just an aesthetic extra, they were essential to the long-term success and feel of the CBD.

I now live in the Darwin CBD, and when I walk through the city today, I can actually see the difference. Developments built after the guidance was introduced have noticeably better street interfaces, more activity along the footpaths, and fewer of those dead, blank edges that make a city feel disconnected. It’s one of those pieces of work that I believe has led to genuinely changes in the way people experience a place over time. I think that’s why I’m so proud of it. It was a small team, working during a period of intense pressure, who identified a gap, collaborated widely, and delivered something that has had a lasting positive impact on the liveability and character of the Darwin CBD. It’s a great reminder to me of how thoughtful planning, done at the right time, can influence a city for decades to come.

PIA has created a space where even from a remote location like the Territory, planners can share ideas, challenge one another, and feel supported.

Looking back over PIA’s 75 years, what do you think has been the institute’s biggest impact?

It is hard to name just one. But to me, I think PIA’s greatest contributions has been its ability to bring planners together, across jurisdictions, across specialisations, and across career stages. I have been a member of PIA since I was the ‘Young Planner’ representative for the NT in 2001 (back when PIA was the Royal Australia Planning Institute (RAPI)). PIA’s ability to bring planners together has been particularly valuable for us as planners in the Northern Territory (due to our remoteness and distance from other cities in Australia). Planning can be a challenging in this context, but PIA has provided that sense of connection and community.

Whether through conferences, local events, committees, forums, mentoring programs, or Young Planner networks, PIA has created a space where even from a remote location such as the Territory, people can share ideas, challenge one another, and feel supported. Some of the most valuable professional relationships I’ve built over my career have come through PIA. It’s easy to underestimate how important that is, but the quality of planning outcomes across Australia is better because planners have a place to collaborate, network, and learn from each other.

The relationships you build will be just as important as the technical skills you gain.

What advice would you give someone considering a career in planning?

My small bit of advice, would be to build relationships.

Cities are shaped by collaboration. The most effective planners are the ones who listen well, communicate clearly, and genuinely enjoy working with others. The relationships you build will be just as important as the technical skills you gain and will enable you to ‘get things done’ at the right time when then need to get done.
I would also advise people considering or just starting a career in planning not to underestimate your potential influence as a planner. We as planners have the privilege of shaping decisions that outlast us. Even early in your career, your work can influence the form and feel of a place for generations.

Thoughtful planning, done at the right time, can influence a city for decades to come.

What excites you about the future of planning?

There are a lot of things that excite me about where planning is heading. We’re seeing huge shifts in technology, design thinking, and community expectations, and planners are in a great position to help guide how these changes shaping the places people live.

The rise of AI is one area that’s already transforming the profession. We can analyse data, model scenarios, and visualise options far more quickly and clearly than ever before. It gives us more room to focus on the strategic, creative, and collaborative parts of our work.

But if I had to choose one emerging trend that I’m especially fascinated by right now, it’s the potential impact of autonomous vehicles on how cities and regions will evolve over the next 50 years. When I was back visiting the US recently for my dad’s 82nd birthday, I spent a couple of days in San Francisco, and I’d estimate about one in every 200 cars I saw was a Waymo (fully autonomous, driverless, and operating like a regular Uber here in Australia). It really struck me that the future we’ve been talking about for years is no longer hypothetical.

The opportunities are huge. If autonomous vehicles reduce the need for individual car ownership, we could reclaim massive amounts of urban space currently used for parking—streets could be greener, footpaths wider, and land in our centres could be used for housing or public spaces instead of car parks. Traffic congestion could be managed far more efficiently if vehicles communicate with each other and optimise their routes collectively. But we need to cognisant of the flip side of this opportunity, in that if long commutes become painless because you can read, sleep, or work in transit, there’s a real risk of a new level of or sprawl stretching even further out into areas disconnected from services, community life, and sustainable infrastructure. So autonomous vehicles could either help us create more vibrant, people focused urban environments, or they could push cities outward even more dramatically if we’re not proactive and engaged as a profession.

In three words, what do you think makes a great planner?