Hester/McNally / Community Development by Design Collection 2010.-10
Julia Larson
University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives
2024
230 Bauer Wurster Hall #1820
Berkeley, CA 94720-1820
designarchives@berkeley.edu
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives
Title: Hester/McNally / Community Development by Design Collection
Identifier/Call Number: 2010.-10
Physical Description:
70 Linear Feet:
69 tubes, 55 boxes, 2 flat file drawers
Date (inclusive): 1982-2016
Date (bulk): 1987-1997
Language of Material:
English
.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the
Curator.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of Item], Hester/McNally / Community Development by Design Collection, 2010-10, Environmental Design Archives,
University of California, Berkeley.
Biographical / Historical
Randy Hester and Marcia McNally have been leaders in the field of community design for decades. They have worked extensively
in the eastern and western U.S. and in East Asia at a range of scales and communities. The work began in the late 60s with
design for a series of parks in Cambridge, MA; projects devised as a way to prevent freeway construction through the city's
working and poor neighborhoods. For 10 years after that the work was conducted through a partnership between North Carolina
State University and cities throughout the state of North Carolina and then for 30 years at the University of California,
Berkeley, where Hester and McNally taught until 2010.
In 1985 they formed the firm Community Development by Design (CDbyD) to provide similar planning services to other public
clients. The firm is distinguished for applying ecological thinking to community problems resulting in innovations in city
design, regional land use, and natural resource management. Their comprehensive and participatory approach has produced plans,
designs, and built projects that balanced economic development, environmental protection and enhancement, and the preservation
of places sacred to the community, with a need to grow wisely. By creating new landscape planning techniques that introduce
citizens to the scientific information needed to solve complex issues, the firm encourages citizens to become stewards of
the land.
Randolph (Randy) Hester, Jr. grew up in rural North Carolina (b. 1944). Hester earned a BA in Landscape Architecture and Sociology
from North Carolina State University, and an MA in Landscape Architecture from Harvard. Following graduation, he returned
to UNC where he helped to form the New Lands organization to help residents resist eviction, and published his first book,
Neighborhood Spaces in 1975. His research is centered on the role of citizens in community design and ecological planning,
and his publications include Neighborhood Space With People (1984), Community Design Primer (1990), and Design for Ecological
Democracy (2006).
Professor and former chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning at the University of California
at Berkeley, Randy Hester was also co-director of Community Development by Design, a planning organization specializing in
neighborhood design, community participation, and sacred landscapes from 1985-2010. The organization worked on small town
community development, large-scale open space planning and public participation in natural resource management decisions in
Washington, California, Hawaii, and elsewhere. In 2023, Hester was awarded the Landscape Architecture Foudation Medal for
his distinguished career.
Marcia McNally grew up in suburban Chicago and earned a BA in Economics from the University of Hawaii, and a Master of City
and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. McNally is an award-winning landscape and urban planner
who uses participatory design as a vehicle for change. Her work demonstrates how merging community issues, visions, and values
with science, planning, and politics can result in ground-breaking advances in city design, regional land use, and natural
resource management.
McNally's projects promote a progressive vision for society and the planet that is based on grassroots mobilization, evidence,
and expert input. She cultivated her approach at the University of California, Berkeley as a faculty member in the Department
of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning. With her husband Randy Hester she founded the firm Community Development
by Design in 1985. The firm was known for its ability to work effectively and creatively at the site, park, community, and
wilderness scales with everyone from Native Hawaiians, to Taiwanese fisherfolk and Los Angeles suburbanites.
Sources: marciamcnally.com and Project for Public Spaces (https://www.pps.org/article/rhester)
Scope and Contents
The Hester/McNally collection primarily consists of planning and project records, including a substantial amount of material
highlighting their evolutionary strategies for engaging communities during the course of designing a project. Archival materials
include site specific historical reference materials, correspondence with developers and government leaders, community engagement
materials (including correspondence, listening summaries and goal reports), and project records (including site evaluations,
sketches, master plans, and clippings). Important projects in the collection include the Bay Area Ridge Trail, Runyon Canyon,
Mulholland Gateway Park, and the Los Angeles River.
Arrangement
The Hester/McNally collection is divided into three Series: Professional Papers, Faculty Papers, and Project Records. Professional
Papers series contains materials related to their work as Community Development By Design with local Bay Area non-profit entities
on such projects as the Bay Area Ridge Trail and the book Blueprint for a Sustainable Bay Area. This series also contains
numerous research reports, located in boxes 4-6.
The Faculty papers series contains materials associated with their teaching activities, including syllabi, class agendas,
field work, and student work (some of which is restricted). The majority of the series consists of their work with SAVE International
for protecting the habitat of the black-faced Spoonbill in Taiwan.
The Project Records series consists of both project files and drawings for multiple large and small scale planning and landscape
projects. Some of the projects also contain materials pertaining to classroom projects-- there is a large amount of overlap
in some of the projects between classroom projects and Community Development by Design projects.
Professional Papers I.
1984-2000
1975-2016
Scope and Contents
The Professional Papers series consists of materials collected while Randy Hester and Marcia McNally were working with/for
local Bay Area non-profit entities on such projects as the Bay Area Ridge Trail and the book Blueprint for a Sustainable Bay
Area. The series also contains Hester's work on the Martin Luther King Memorial jury, and the Research sub-series contains
many volumes and articles pertaining to research topics such as sustainability and urban planning.
Associations and Committees A.
1988-1997
Box 1, Box 2
Bay Area Ridge Trail
1988-1997
Scope and Contents
Files include: meeting minutes, agendas, work plans, correspondence, copies of Ridge Lines and Vista Voice, notebooks, Board
of Directors meeting notes, publicity, and other administrative files.
Box 4, Folder 6
Revitalizing Washington
1989
Box 4, Folder 7
Association of Washington Cities lecture
1990
Box 4, Folder 8
Train the Trainer Workshop in Pennsylvania
1997
Box 4, Folder 11
Sustainable Communities / Sacred Spaces workshop
1997
Box OS 54
Environmental Design Research Association career award citation
1996
Box 3
Blueprint for a Sustainable Bay Area
1995-1997
Scope and Contents
Files contain materials collected by Marcia McNally during the writing of the book. These files include: Urban Ecology meeting
notes, research, notes on case studies, book design and layout, correspondence, work plans, storyboards, notebooks, and drafts
of the final product.
Box OS 54
Community Design Workbook sketches
Box OS 54
"To Randy Hester from Mark Francis" drawings/sketches
Box OS 54
Neighborhood Space sketches and proofs
Box 4, Folder 2-5
Martin Luther King Memorial
1999-2000
Research D.
1975-2016
Scope and Contents
This sub-series contains research compiled by Hester and McNally on various topics for multiple projects. The materials consist
of works by others and government agencies.
Box 4
Chicago River Master Plan
2002
Box 4
City of Santa Monica Sustainable City Program
1997
Box 4
City of Santa Monica Sustainable City Progress Report
1996
Box 4
Civic Center West Marengo Block / YMCA Project Pasadena, CA
1988
Box 4
Creating Better Communities: The Lutraq Principles
1996
Box 4
Democratizing Information: First Year Report of the National Neighborhood Indicators Project
1996
Box 4
Economic Indicators and Outlook San Mateo County, California
1997
Box 4
Flathead Gauges Kalispell, MT
1997
Box 4
Guide to Sustainable Community Indicators
1995
Box 4
Hall of Justice Building Feasibility Study of Adaptive Reuse for Housing Pasadena, CA
1988
Box 5
I-880 / Cypress Replacement Alameda County Final Environmental Impact Statement Volume 1
1991
Box 5
I-880 / Cypress Replacement Alameda County Final Environmental Impact Statement Volume 2
1991
Box 4
Indicators for a Sustainable San Mateo County
2001
Box 4
Indicators for a Sustainable San Mateo County
1998
Box 4
Indicators for a Sustainable San Mateo County
1997
Box 5
Jackson Demonstration State Forest Supplementary Report: Behavior Observation
1989
Box 4
Joint Venture's 1999 Index of Silicon Valley
1999
Box 5
King County Benchmark Report
1996
Box 4
The Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) System for Wilderness Planning
1985
Box 4
Managing Wilderness Recreation Use: Common Problems and Potential Solutions
1987
Box 5
Manteo Coastal Area Management Act Land Use Plan
1981
Box 5
Market and Octavia Neighborhood Plan San Francisco Planning Department
2002
Box 4
Mountain Association for Community Economic Development
1998
Box 4
Pasadena Civic Center Master Plan Questionnaire
1987
Box 5
Pasadena LRT Routes Traffic Impact Study
1989
Box 5
Pasadena / Los Angeles Route Refinement Study: Northeast
1989
Box 4
Planning for Prosperity: Building Successful Communities in the Sierra Nevada
1997
Box 5
Profiles of Community Planning Areas: San Francisco's Eastern Neighborhoods
2002
Box 5
Rockbridge County Comprehensive Plan
2016
Box 5
Rockbridge County Entrance Corridors and Interstate Interchanges Plan
1996
Box 4
Shorty Lawson Museum of the Black Tenant Farmer
2023
Box 5
Silicon Valley 2010: /a Regional Framework for Growing Together
1998
Box 4
Sustainable San Francisco: Possible Goals, Objectives, Actions and Indicators
1996
Box 4
Sustainable San Francisco: How We're Trying to do it
1996
Box 4
Sustainable San Francisco: An Invitation to Public Discussion
1996
Box 5
Task 4.0 Route Refinement (alignment) Report Los Angeles County Transportation Commission
1989
Box 6, Folder 1
California Coastal Conservancy Mandate
1991
Box 6, Folder 2
California State Park Trail Standards
1978
Box 6, Folder 3
Los Angeles, City of Census Info
1993
Box 6, Folder 4
Los Angeles Significant Ecological Areas
1991
Box 6, Folder 5
Los Angeles, City of General Plan Encino and Tarzana District
undated
Box 6, Folder 6
Los Angeles, City of General Plan Hollywood Community Plan
undated
Box 6, Folder 7
Los Angeles General Plan Brentwood- Pacific Palisades District
undated
Box 6, Folder 8
Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks: Community Recreation Needs Survey
1999
Box 6, Folder 9
Los Angeles, County of Department of Recreation and Parks Strategic Plan for 2010
1992
Box 6
Los Angeles- Potrero Canyon Park Development Project
1985
Box 6, Folder 10
Malibu Land Use Plan Policies & Findings
1987
Box 6, Folder 11
Santa Monica Mountains Comprehensive Plan
undated
Box 6, Folder 12
Santa Monica Mountains Comprehensive Plan
1979
Box 6, Folder 13
Santa Monica Mountains national Park General Plan
1982
Box 6, Folder 14
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
1980
Box 6, Folder 15-16
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Workprogram
1993
Box 6, Folder 17
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy annual report
1994
Box 6, Folder 18
Santa Monica Mountains general management plan
1982
Box 6, Folder 19
Topanga State Park general development plan
1975
Box 6, Folder 20
J. Moore Methods Public opinion research
1992
Faculty Papers II.
1991-2008
Scope and Contents
The Faculty Papers series consists of classroom materials and student work, with many materials related to the class The Neighborhood
Landscape. The largest amount of material pertains to their work to save the habitat of the black-faced Spoonbill crane in
Taiwan. Materials include: classroom syllabi, student work, class trips to Taiwan, and photographs of the Spoonbill contest
at Wurster Hall.
Some of the Student work files are restricted due to privacy resrictions.
Box 7, Box OS 54
Neighborhood Landscapes / LA 256 / LA 236
1999-2002
Scope and Contents
Files contain materials for multiple classes of the Neighborhood Landscape and include: neighborhood surveys, case studies,
research, site visit photographs, class exercises, correspondence, and syllabi.
Box OS 54, Tube R 20.3, Tube 56
Caspar, California environmental planning studio
Tube R 20.4, Tube 68
Environmental Planning Studio- Taiwan airport
2003
Box 8, Box 9, Box 10, Box 11, Box OS 54, Tube R 20.3, Tube 59-63, Tube R 20.4, Tube 64-67
Spoonbill / Spoonbill Action Voluntary Echo (SAVE) International
1995-2008
Language of Material: Chinese, Korean.
Scope and Contents
Files contain materials related to the non-profit SAVE International to help prevent the extinction of the black-faced spoonbill
in Taiwan and Korea. Materials contain classroom files such as: syllabi, class projects, photographs of the spoonbill contest
at Wurster Hall, class trips to Taiwan, and some student work. Materials pertaining to SAVE International also include: financial
records, correspondence, administrative files, publicity, and marketing. News articles, some manuscript files, and posters
are in Chinese and Korean.
Box 12, Folder 1-12, Box OS 54
Visitacion Valley / The Neighborhood Landscape / LA 256
2007
Scope and Contents
Materials include: syllabi, correspondence, maps, neighbor questionnaires, and materials from the San Francisco Public Utilities
Commission about neighborhood watersheds. One folder also contains student work that is restricted.
Box 12, Folder 13-23, Tube R 20.3, Tube 58
West Oakland / South Prescott / LA 202
1991-1992
Scope and Contents
Materials include: class syllabi, correspondence, maps, workshop feedback, site tours, and materials related to the demolition
of the Cypress freeway after the 1989 earthquake.
Project Records III.
1980-2009
1987-1997
Scope and Contents
The Project Records series consists of projects undertaken by Community Development By Design and includes planning projects
in various cities and wilderness areas throughout the country, but with a focus on the West Coast. A large number of projects
were in the greater Los Angeles area, focused on the uban-wildlife interface and work with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.
Other projects include planning for numerous small towns in northern California and Washington state, as well as use plans
for state forests in and around the Bay Area.
Astoria, OR downtown development
1984-1987
Box 47, Folder 2-5, Box 53, Folder 1
Berkeley High School Berkeley, CA
1990-1993
Scope and Contents
Also contains materials for LA 103 class work on Entry Space Design Project.
Berkeley Parks Berkeley, CA
2000-2009
Scope and Contents
Contains materials pertaining to the Legacy of Berkeley Parks A Century of Planning exhibition, classroom materials for LA
236 (Neighborhood Landscapes), classroom materials for LA 242 (Citizen Participation in the Planning Process), maps, and research
on Berkeley history.
Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest recreation management plan
1991-1993
Scope and Contents
Materials include: maps, surveys, visitor observations, recreation plan drafts, annual reports, management plans, and clippings
Box OS 55, Tube R 20.1, Tube 2
Brooktrails community survey Willits, CA
1992-1993
BYA / Berkeley Youth Alternatives
1994-1998
Scope and Contents
Materials include: Garden Patch research and administration, farmers market, surveys, Sustainable Agriculture Research and
Education Program (SAREP) materials, reports, and administrative materials.
Carroll County, MD sacred places workshops
1997
Castle Rock strategic plan Castle Rock, WA
1988-1995
Scope and Contents
Files include: strategic plans, listenings, feedback forms, history, financials, analysis, design for Exhibit Hall, design
for Pool Facility, Waterfront Plan, correspondence, contracts, and maps.
Tube R 20.1, Tube 3-6, flat-file-drawer R 23.9
Castro Valley, CA boulevard case study
1982
Chesapeake Bay program
1997
Durham County, NC open space
1988-1989
Fort Bragg, CA Main Street master plan
1980-1987
Friday Harbor community-wide survey Friday Harbor, WA
1988-1991
Scope and Contents
Materials include: surveys, drafts of final plans, listenings, correspondence, contracts, grant applications, clippings, data
analysis, maps, photographs, and data cross tabulations
Haleiwa Town Plan Haleiwa, HI
1988-1996
Scope and Contents
Materials include: listenings, correspondence, surveys, special district designs, plans for other towns and islands, history,
maps, articles, and clippings
Box 19, Box 20, Box 21, Box 53, Folder 3
Jackson Demonstration State Forest recreation master plan
1968-1995
1987-1994
Scope and Contents
Materials include: surveys, data analysis and tabulations, annual reports, newsletters, site plans, maps, administrative materials,
clippings, correspondence, and drafts of final plans.
Box OS 55, Tube R 20.1, Tube 10-13
Minnesota Main Street
1992
Port Townsend, WA Main Street Resource Team
1991
PSW / Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station
1986-1987
Scope and Contents
Materials include: maps, questionnaire, survey, photographs
Box 52, Box 53, Folder 11-12
Rockbridge County, MD land development / conservation council
1995-1998
Runyon Canyon master plan Los Angeles, CA
1983-1994
Scope and Contents
Materials include: surveys, photographs, history, correspondence, listenings, community meetings, goals report, newsletters.
Box 44 contains VHS videotapes
Box 43, Box 44, Box 45, Box 53, Folder 13-15
Parque Natural / South Central Nature Park Los Angeles CA
1996-1998
Box OS 55, Tube R 20.3, Tube 53
Sacramento, CA southside park housing and neighborhood studies
1989
San Jose Business Survey San Jose, CA
1985-1987
Santa Cruz County villages project
1990
Soquel Demonstration State Forest recreation study report
1991-1994
Scope and Contents
Materials include: reports, surveys, correspondence, annual reports, articles, listenings, maps, meeting minutes
Box 46, Box 53, Folder 16
Box OS 55, Tube R 20.3, Tube 48
St. Kitts / Florida International Volunteer Program
1992-1993
Union Point Park Oakland, CA
1997-1998
Tube R 20.3, Tube 52, flat-file-drawer R 23.9
Unidentified drawings and graphics
Box OS 54, Tube R 20.3, Tube 54-55, flat-file-drawer R 23.9
Waubun, MN ? Governors Design Team
1991
West Sacramento, CA urban design study
1988
Yountville general plan Yountville, CA
1997-2000
Scope and Contents
Materials include: surveys, alternatives, research, bicycle plans, development plans, Community Hall design plans, traffic
study, sketches, drawings, correspondence
Box 50, Box 51, Box 53, Folder 17
Box OS 55, Tube R 20.3, Tube 49-51, flat-file-drawer R 23.9
