This year marks two professional milestones for CARPC’s Sean Higgins, reflecting 15 years of planning practice and a continued commitment to the future of the field. After 10 years as a Senior Community Planner—and 2½ years as a junior planner—Sean is scaling back his position with CARPC to make time for a continuing appointment as a Lecturer in the Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
At CARPC, Sean will continue leading land use planning efforts that support coordinated growth, protect natural resources, and advance a high quality of life across the region. In his role with UW–Madison, Sean will help prepare the next generation of planners and landscape architects for professional practice. His teaching will emphasize hands-on, applied learning, connecting contemporary planning challenges to active projects and helping students link theory to real-world outcomes.
Sean’s dual role creates valuable opportunities for CARPC, UW–Madison, and local communities by bridging academic resources with regional planning needs. Examples include:
- Integrating short-term, time-sensitive planning and design projects into coursework, allowing students to produce real work that directly benefits local communities.
- Keeping local partners informed of emerging research, trends, and opportunities by aligning class content with timely local and regional issues.
- Strengthening the local planning pipeline by connecting students with community-based positions and planning initiatives.
- Supporting consistent, long-term data collection and analysis through coursework and lesson modules—helping address issues that may otherwise go unexamined due to limited staff capacity or funding.
- Expanding local capacity and encouraging innovation by guiding student research toward topics regional staff may not have time to explore in depth.
Regardless of which hat he’s wearing, Sean welcomes questions, ideas, and collaboration opportunities. He can be reached at seanh@capitalarearpc.org.
