James S. Russell advised on architect selection for a major corporate facility in a high-visibility, highly contentious area of a major global city. He evaluated experience, design approach, and likelihood that potential firms would be a good fit for the location as well as the client’s culture and aspirations (2010).
He restructured GreenPlan Philadelphia, the city’s open space plan. He revisited the report structure with the author team to bring in citizens’ voices, comprehensively integrate the contributions of a wide variety of stakeholders, and foreground the benefits of plan recommendations. He edited the entire text to make recommendations compelling (2008-2009). The plan won a 2011 Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects.
For American Forests and the U. S. Forest Service, he helped to develop a succinct but broadly encompassing conceptual framework, called Co-Evolution, to intertwine urban development and environmental restoration. With Michael Gallis & Associates (2008 – 2009).
As a consultant for the Philadelphia Rowhouse Manual, a guide for homeowners commissioned by the City of Philadelphia, Mr. Russell helped focus recommendations and edited to make the text compelling. With Schade & Bolender architects (2008).
Mr. Russell helped to Conceptualize a new mission for American Forests, a major environmental organization. It envisioned a role to convene scientific and activist resources to deal with ecological challenges that operate over vast regions; with Michael Gallis & Associates (2007 – 2008).
As analyst, editor, and writer, he united aspirations of diverse organizations within nine counties along the Hudson River. “21st Century Global Hudson” is a framework vision that addresses global-scale challenges; for Patterns for Progress, with Michael Gallis & Associates (2005-2006).
Mr. Russell evaluated the scope of work for the renovation of Merkin Concert Hall at the Kauffman Center, New York City, and assisted with architect selection (2002).
Hired as the editor, he helped focus the content and wrote much of the text for The Mayors’ Institute: Excellence in City Design, a widely used guide to the value of design in public projects; for the Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts (2002).
Hired as the editor, he honed data and wrote sections of the report, “Building a World-Class Economy in New Jersey,” for Prosperity New Jersey, with Michael Gallis & Associates (2002)
Hired as a writer, Mr. Russell augmented research and edited “Designing for Security,” guidelines for architects and designers; for the Art Commission of the City of New York (2000)