We Can’t Get There, Unless We Leave Here - Karl Fritschen
The passion which later came to be a hallmark of Karl Fritschen’s work in urban planning and landscape design, began early, inspired by his father’s career as a civil engineer with the oil and gas industry. Karl’s abilities and interest centered on the urban citizen and his, or her, environment; thus, Karl’s choice of academic preparation in cityscape planning and landscape design. “I care about the built environment…and the social effects of it…not all change is bad…we can’t get there, unless we leave here.” Karl has explained his approach to a planning project. “I like to know why something is…the way it is. What was the history behind a particular decision or plan?” Karl Fritschen’s respect for what came before, or, in the case of undeveloped, new spaces, the natural topography, geology and character of the land, drives the initial planning stages of any project he tackles. “I believe that when a building is built, we need to consider that fact: that it will be there a long time. Some of the most desirable places or public spaces are in areas where there is a rich history of attractive and iconic buildings.” Karl’s work on historically significant projects as varied as the Old Campground Cemetery in Concord, NC, and Vantage Point Park in Columbia, MD, which combined the beauty of the historic plantation home adjacent to the site, and the needs of an older adult and elderly population near the park site, reflect his “…keen sense of the development potential of a piece of land…to think in 3 dimensions.’ ‘…quality development, lifestyle centers and new urbanism, attracts a younger workforce, which in turn attracts quality companies paying higher wages.’” With an eye to providing the maximum economic benefit to a community with a developed space, and a commitment to saving city governments’ and their councils’ unnecessary expenditures, Karl Fritschen also is deeply aware of the personal benefit to urban citizens of a carefully planned, multi-use, and especially beautiful cityscape. “I can…make a long term contribution to improving the building environment around us, so as to improve the social bonding of people. (Whether working in the) public or private sector, my aspirations would be to leave the community that I work in, a better place upon my departure.” Karl Fritschen’s credentials are many: an American Institute Certified Planner, member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, studies in NIM’s “Complete Streets” of 2010, training certificates for Stormceptor NPDES Phase II, Watershed Planning, and the Sustainable Urban Region, 2003 and 2007, are only a few.