Celebrating 40 Years of Designing the San Diego Region

Join Us in Celebrating FSDA’s 40th Anniversary and Our Region’s Legacy as a World Design Capital!
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“Celebrating 40 Years of Designing the San Diego Region”
San Diego’s urban center in its coastal setting, November 26, 2024 (Robert Broms)
A Panel Discussion
Saturday, Sept. 20, 10:00 AM
San Diego History Center
Casa de Balboa
1649 El Prado
Balboa Park
SPECIAL NOTICE: The Cabrillo Bridge will be closed the morning of September 20; you may access the many parking lots on the east and south sides of the Prado from Park Blvd.

San Diego, like all urban regions around the world, is ever changing and is never really built out. The task of its citizens is to manage and guide that change. The Friends of San Diego Architecture for forty years has been observing, presenting, and discussing the changing environment, providing a framework for understanding those changes and how they may be for the better.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of our organization, we will host a panel of distinguished urban observers who will offer their unique perspectives on the past 40 years and the next 40 for San Diego.

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Gary London, development economist
Megan Groth, architect, author, and advocate
Michael Cintron, architectural designer and urban observer
Howard Blackson, urban designer and urban provocateur
The panel will be moderated by FSDA’s own Mike Stepner
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Gary London is the founding senior principal of London Moeder Advisors, a boutique strategic advisory firm, established in 1991. He provides market analysis, economic and financial analysis, and capital access to developers, investors, property owners, public agencies, and lenders; and is one of America’s leading experts in real estate litigation. London is well known as counsel to many of the nation’s successful real estate players and entities holding real property assets. London has counseled many of the nation’s most successful entrepreneurs and public officials about the built environment, how to transform our cities, and prepare for the future. He has been an instructor at UC San Diego, Arizona State University, and San Diego State University. He received his bachelors at UC Berkeley and master’s at SDSU.

Megan Groth is an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego, where she teaches urban design studios and architecture criticism. She is the author of the book Places We Love: San Diego Tijuana and a founding member of the Transborder Association of Architectural Education. Groth received her masters in architecture from the University of Washington and a master degree in city design from the London School of Economics. She was raised in North County and currently lives in North Park with her family.

Michael Cintron is a design professional dedicated to architecture for the public good and committed to community and service. He holds a degree in architecture from NewSchool of Architecture and Design with dual minors in healthy urbanism and graphic design. Cintron’s passion for architecture began with its intersection of art and technical skill, eventually evolving into a focus on the connections and collaboration needed to unite the two. He has contributed to public, institutional, housing and hospitality projects across California and Virginia. An advocate for equitable housing solutions, Cintron is deeply invested in community-focused design. He stays actively engaged in the architecture community and volunteers with nonprofit organizations to make a positive impact.

Howard Blackson is a Balboa Park Committee member and urban designer from San Diego. Educated at the University of Westminster, London, Howard writes zoning codes and designs places throughout the nation. He and Mike Stepner worked together on the CBX-Cross-Border Express and helped San Diego’s mayor re-imagine the Plaza de Panama in 2013, which is in need of their help again today.

Michael J. Stepner, FAIA, FAICP, is Professor Emeritus of the New School of Architecture and Design. He is the recipient of the 2024 AIA San Diego Lifetime Achievement Award. For five decades, Mike has been a passionate advocate for quality design and urban planning, with a focus on enhancing the urban experience. A firm believer that cities should serve the people, he has pioneered guidelines for streets, sidewalk cafes, and public spaces within urban environments.