Shayan Lotfi

About Shayan Lotfi

Shayan Lotfi specializes in urban economic development, cultural policy, and land use and infrastructure economics. He has been involved in economic development strategies and frameworks at a variety of scales, from the corridor level, such as the Central Market Economic Strategy in San Francisco (winner of an APA Economic Development Planning Award); to the district scale, such as the North Brooklyn Industry and Innovation Plan. His cultural policy work includes industry assessments of the Film & TV, Theater, and Digital Games sectors in New York City; a cultural land use assessment for Toronto\'s Ontario Place site; and a land use and phasing strategy for the museum district of Abu Dhabi\'s Saadiyat Island. His expertise in industry development and cluster formation has helped cities assess the viability of, and approach to, industry expansion. This includes the life sciences sector in New York City, cleantech industries in Los Angeles, and the innovation technology sector in Hong Kong. He has provided economic analyses for some of the most significant infrastructure projects currently underway, including the trans-Hudson Gateway Project, California High-Speed Rail, and the Hong Kong International Airport expansion. In addition, his innovative cost-benefit assessments have been used to secure more than $80 million in federal funding for projects across the country, including the New Orleans Canal Street Ferry Terminal, the Gathering Place project in Tulsa, and the Living Breakwaters project in Staten Island. He has conducted extensive evaluations on the potential impacts of proposed economic policies, including changes to investment levels in the Northeast Corridor rail network, the restructuring of the commercial waste system in New York City, and California’s Senate Bill 375 aligning transportation funding to land use planning.

Experience

1. Head of Economics

   Buro Happold

   Jan 2019 — Present