Jake Levitas

Senior Analyst

Jake works to make cities more resilient, equitable, and innovative.

 
As a Senior Analyst, Jake works on projects at the intersection of economic development, resilience, and equity. Jake is currently supporting HR&A’s work on New York City’s Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan to improve Lower Manhattan’s resilience in the face of flooding and natural disasters. He is also supporting the firm’s work to help preserve and enhance Boston’s Newmarket industrial district as a job center for 21st century industry. Jake recently led an analysis of economic, fiscal, and social impacts for a proposed innovation district in the Southeast. He previously supported the firm’s market analysis work in Tysons, VA and Montgomery County, MD, and small area planning work in Prince George’s County, MD.
 
Prior to joining HR&A, Jake co-founded a nonprofit consulting and facilitation group, Our City, that helped cities from Oakland, CA to Rochester, MN leverage design and placemaking as tools for civic engagement. As a member of Lowercase Productions, he helped lead website redesigns for some of San Francisco’s largest city agencies, making complex programs and policies accessible to a wide range of audiences. As a fellow in the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Civic Innovation, he supported multiple city departments in advancing internal innovation efforts. As Research Director at digital arts nonprofit Gray Area, Jake developed cross-sector partnerships between the technology and design sectors, city agencies, and local communities that facilitated over 40,000 hours of civic engagement. Jake began his career in the Planning Group at Arup, where he conducted sustainability and geospatial analyses for master planning projects in California and beyond.
 
A Raleigh native, Jake has dual masters degrees in City and Regional Planning and Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he specialized in economic development. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis where he completed dual majors in Economics and Environmental Studies.