The public realm of Ottawa has been Nelson’s focus throughout his public sector career – grounded in the vision and values of landscape architecture. He has over 40 years of experience in a diversity of specialties including: urban design, transportation planning, street design, strategic land use planning, community planning, environmental assessments, and green space systems. Of note Nelson has:
- Played a pivotal role in the preparation City urban design policies, strategies and guides, and street design standards that are used in the development of new neighbourhoods and projects from the downtown to the suburban areas and the villages beyond.
- Prepared policies, strategies and plans that has resulted in a connected network of environmentally sound and accessible green and open spaces that physical defines Ottawa by sweeping through the rural area, into the Greenbelt and throughout the urban area.
- Guided the planning, design and construction of collector, local and downtown streets to accommodate room for trees, environmental management features, accessible sidewalks, safe cycling facilities, calmer vehicle movements, coordinated utilities and infrastructure, and convivial public space.
Working in the public realm has drawn Nelson into diverse areas of practice among many different professional disciplines. He is often called upon to help find innovative solutions to complex problems – always through a landscape architectural lens.
Nelson has been an avid volunteer in landscape architecture for over 40 years focusing on the Ottawa area, volunteering on OALA Council and committees, and contributing to CSLA initiatives such as design juries and congress committees. He is a founding member of Ottawa’s Urban Forum – one of the longest running, volunteer-organized, lecture series on urban issues in Canada.
Nelson has a BLA from University of Guelph (1983) and a MUP from McGill (1992).
