Background
Having graduated from the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Queen’s University, Carla Guererra is a leader in urban infill and redevelopment with a record of leading award-winning brownfield redevelopment and waterfront revitalization projects. She has played a lead role in the planning and development of $475 million in real estate and consulted on planning, design, regulatory issues, and development strategy.
In pursuit of her passion for urban planning and development, Carla joined Waterfront Toronto, leading an interdisciplinary team tasked with redeveloping the West Don Lands, a complex brownfield site crossed by highway flyovers. Her energy, drive, ambition and out of the box thinking resulted into the development of one overpass into what's now known as Underpass Park, an award-winning public space that’s a social hub of the project.
Since her work in the City of Toronto, Carla relocated to Vancouver to join Wesgroup as a development manager. In her role, she has helped transform a vacant gas station site in North Vancouver into an award-winning, mixed-use development comprising the head office of a major local financial institution and a residential development called the Prescott.
More recently, Carla was awarded the Urban Land Institute 40 Under 40 as one of the leading land use professionals and in recognition of her unfailing contributions to the planning sector.
Today, Carla is putting her expertise and vision to work cultivating an interdisciplinary team in the Vancouver office of Edmonton-based engineering firm Stantec that’s capable of bringing an integrated approach to the planning and execution of projects across B.C.
Carla's Testimony
The School of Urban and Regional Planning at Queen's prepared me for my career and provided critical perspective in a number of ways. First, the applied project course where a group of students complete "real life" project for a company or government agency provides real-world experience and insight that I found critical to securing my first job. Also, the focus on multi-disciplinary perspective in solving "city challenges" is a lens I continue to use in my career and bring to all of my projects. Finally, the course on brownfield redevelopment really spurred a deep passion and interest that has been a central theme of my career. Well-done SURP!
Carla Guererra