Our Story
Urban Vantage is a small consulting firm formed in 2016 that works with public and private sector clients to make cities and towns better places. That can take a variety of forms from attracting private investments, to government interventions in the housing market, to job and business creation, to re-using existing buildings. We have a unique approach to public engagement that we hope to unveil this year.
Meet the Team
Urban Vantage is a young, motivated, and highly principled group.
Richard Rogers
J.D./M.U.P.
Principal
Richard graduated from SUNY Buffalo's law school and planning school in 2017. He has previously worked with the City of Buffalo, the Buffalo Urban Development Corp., the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency, the Center for Urban Studies and GAR Associates in addition to working on his own startup company, Cartefi.
In those positions he developed a well rounded understanding of municipal law and finance, procurement and bidding, land use law and policy, real estate valuation and development, contract negotiation, property law, tax policy and related issues.
He started Urban Vantage with Travis in 2017. He is also currently a practicing attorney with the Law Firm Borrelli & Yots, PLLC which focuses its practice on Historic Preservation and Community Development Law.
Travis Gordon
A.I.C.P./M.U.P.
Principal
Travis graduated from SUNY Buffalo's Master's in Urban Planning program in 2015. Prior to starting Urban Vantage, Travis worked in the public and private sector as an urban planner, partnership specialist, community development advisor, and grant writer. His previous workplaces include the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, the United States Department of State, The United States Department of Commerce, the City of Dunkirk, Monroe County, and Rome, New York, in addition to Schenne & Associates, a private engineering and design firm.
Travis utilizes the concept of tactical urbanism to help make projects happen that will ultimately benefit the community at large. He is well versed in grant writing and grant administration, site planning, bidding, comprehensive planning, strategic planning, geographic information systems, and more. Travis brings affordable urban planning options to municipalities of all sizes that otherwise may not have the budget for a full time planning department.
Our firm's philosophy of crafting living documents and implementation plans is rooted in the notion that a dream can become a reality with the right guidance and planning principals being applied to it.
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