John is the Founding Principal of SvN. Over the last four decades, he has been the driving force behind the firm’s domestic and international architecture, planning and urban design practice. John has extensive experience leading large, multi-disciplinary consulting teams on complex regional planning and rural and urban development projects across Canada and around the World, including a number of major mine-related housing projects in Africa, Latin America and Canada. He has worked in a wide range of developed and developing countries on the planning, design and construction of new communities ranging in size from 150 to 150,000 persons. John has been widely recognized for his expertise in the planning and design of affordable housing and community infrastructure, as well as transportation and transit infrastructure. His work has been recognized with a number of national and international awards, including the World Leadership Award for Town Planning, Daniel Burnham Award from the American Planning Association, World Habitat Award from UN Habitat, numerous Awards of Excellence from the OAA, RAIC, CIP and OPPI, and many City of Toronto Urban Design Awards. In 2004, John was awarded the Jane Jacobs Award for “Ideas That Matter.”