Many have seen Dick Carlisle at local government meetings. Many have driven past developments he helped bring to the local communities. But do many really know who Dick Carlisle is?
The 52-year-old has more than 28 years experience in urban planning and has provided consulting services to the local governments, including Independence and Springfield townships for more than 20 years.
He was also the recent recipient of the Oakland County Planning Heritage Partner Award, which recognizes individuals who “through cooperative partnership with Oakland County contribute greatly to preserving natural and built heritage.”
“I was overwhelmed quite frankly,” Carlisle said. “It was fairly humbling to be the first recipient of this award. Beyond all that, it was particularly special to me because it was a decision made by the staff of the Oakland County Planning and Economic Development. It was nice for me because those are my peers and colleagues and people I’ve worked with for quite a number of years.” Carlisle was awarded Sept. 17 at an annual planning conference held at the Holly Hotel.
It was back in college at Miami University in Ohio, when Carlisle’s interests turned to a planning career. He had started out as a liberal arts student, but switched to education with an area of concentration in geography.
“In the geography program they were beginning to develop an urban studies concentration and I got more and more interested in that.”
He worked in a model cities program in downtown Dayton and felt urban planning was the right path for him professionally.
Shortly after graduation, Carlisle married Barb, and the two moved to Atlanta, where she began her teaching career.
“I went on to school at Georgia Tech in city and regional planning. There were several aspects about the field at the time that I recall why I wanted to be a planner,” Carlisle remembers. “One, it was a field where you could really be involved with people and help people. Second of all, it was a way to be involved in and promote positive change. And that’s the reason why I got into it. It’s funny as time has gone on I still feel that same way. I’m just as enthused about it as I was when I was 20 years old.”
Carlisle finished out his master’s program at Ohio State University. After relocating to Ann Arbor, he took a position with the Great Lakes Basin Commission, spending a year there. He was then appointed County Drain Commissioner in Washtenaw County, where he stayed for two years before deciding not to run for office.
Next, came a position at an Ann Arbor engineering firm, where he started their first planning department.
Carlisle moved on and became the owner