Texas A&M University Recognizes Bob Hunter’s Work in City Planning

Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission Executive Director Robert B. Hunter, FAICP was honored by the Texas A&M University, College of Architecture with an Outstanding Alumni Award.  Hunter was recognized for his lifetime of achievements and devotion to excellence in planning by the College on November 13, 2009, in Bryan Texas.  Hunter received his Bachelor of Architecture in 1967 and a Master of Architecture in 1971 from TAMU. 

“It’s the highest honor the College bestows on its former students.” said Jorge Vanegas, Dean of the College.  “Through the generation of new knowledge and innovations, supported by extraordinary talent, abilities and skills, and fueled by a relentless pursuit of excellence, these honorees have advanced their disciplines and their organizations.”  Eleven former students from Texas A&M’s College of Architecture were honored as Outstanding Alumni during the banquet.

“I am honored to be recognized for my 30 years of work in the planning profession.  It’s a gratifying experience to be recognized by my alma mater,” Hunter said.  “Receiving my degrees from TAMU was, without a doubt, a life changing event for me, and I will be forever grateful to the University for challenging me, providing an excellent education and for honoring me with this award.”

[Hunter began his collegiate studies in Abilene Christian College but soon transferred to Texas A&M to study architecture.  When he told his parents and grandparents about his plans, his grandmother said to him, “Bob, you are going from heaven to hell.”

“I selected Texas A&M for not only its national reputation as an academic institution,” Hunter said, “but also because the College of Architecture focused on the entire practice of architecture and, more importantly, upon the process of decision making.”

After earning degrees from Texas A&M, Hunter, following a stint as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy’s Civil Engineer Corp, then became San Antonio’s youngest Director of Planning.

He went on to Reno, Nevada, as Director of Planning, where he created that city’s first planning department and commission.  He then became Kansas City’s first Director of Neighborhood Planning.

Hunter is a well known pioneer in growth management, multi-modal transportation, active citizen participation, sustainable growth, fiscal responsibility, and improving the quality of life for generations to come.  As Executive Director of the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission for the past 22 years, Hunter has been instrumental in shaping the region’s growth through Florida’s only multi-jurisdictional planning agency (serving the cities of Tampa, Temple Terrace, Plant City and unincorporated Hillsborough County – 1,000+ square miles with over one million residents) by developing an urban service boundary, performance standards, neighborhood planning, fiscal impact analysis, and overseeing the completion of the first state mandated comprehensive plans and subsequent updates for the four governments within Hillsborough County.  Under Hunter’s direction, the Planning Commission has become a model statewide for a nonpartisan approach to planning with high ethical standards. 

In 1978 he became a charter member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).  In 2001, Hunter was elevated to an AICP Fellow, a distinction the AICP bestows on a select group of planners who have made a significant contribution to planning and the urban environment and who have achieved a recognized standard of excellence in the profession.

From 2007-2008, as President of the American Planning Association (44,000 members throughout 46 countries), Hunter was credited with creating the Young Planners Group, marketing the profession through the Great Places in American Program, expanding the Global Planners Network and focusing on the products of planning.


As APA Past President, Hunter has lectured extensively throughout the United States and around the world, representing the American Planning Association at the World Urban forum in China and at the Royal Town Planning Institute in England, Australia, and other countries.]