Five Minutes with Kyle May
MKSK welcomes Kyle May, AICP, Senior Associate, Planner. We sat down with Kyle to better understand what makes him tick and his approach to planning.
Why did you choose a career in planning?
I’ve always been a forest guy versus the trees. Planning’s higher-order focus lets you “look down” on the systems and connections of the metro and analyze, diagnose, and prescribe. It also means learning a little about a lot, pursuing what Aristotle called intellectual autonomy. You don’t get there. You won’t get there. But having a career fueled by curiosity is so much fun.
Also, I like (most) people. I strongly believe in the “big raft” approach to community planning. You simply must pull people in and engage them in a real way. It’s messy, frustrating, and sometimes circular, but it’s the way forward. I’ve had the experience of running dozens of community meetings over my career and, while a lot of work, this is where a plan finds its legs. The energy can propel a process forward and drive implementation. And as a bonus, you find people. Great people, who want a chance to be involved. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to visit these places later and see these same folks fully “leaned in”. It’s inspiring.
Which projects have made an impact on you?
It’s hard to pick out favorites, but I’ve always enjoyed work in the “underdog” communities. Planning isn’t easy anywhere, but it’s especially difficult in places where the lights have dimmed, or even gone out. You meet people here that have given up the easy path for the hard one or had a harder path imposed upon them. Working in Flint, Muncie, Dayton, or other communities like them, has helped me see the country more clearly and taught me the importance of listening first.
I talk a lot about my work in Montgomery, Alabama. Those people mean a lot to me. On paper, we were working on a comprehensive plan, but really, we were having a conversation 200 years in the making. With the work as the excuse, I had the chance to meet the type of people that matter, that affect you, that make you want to work hard on their behalf. The end product is a kind of challenge to leadership. To work hard and deliver the profound potential of this place. I’m excited to watch this community transform.
Montgomery, Alabama and Civil Rights leader Rosa Parks (Upworthy.com) Photo Credit: Chandni G.
Kyle holds a Masters of City and Regional Planning, 2012 from The Ohio State University, and a Bachelors of Science, Urban Planning, 2009 from the Ohio University.