Peter Calthorpe’s 30-year design practice is informed by the idea that successful places -- whether neighborhoods, towns, urban districts or metropolitan regions -- must be diverse in uses and users, must be scaled to the pedestrian and human interaction, and must be environmentally sustainable.

In the early 1990s, Calthorpe developed the concept of Transit Oriented Development (described in his book The Next American Metropolis: Ecology, Community and the American Dream) -- an idea that is now the foundation of many regional policies and city plans around the world. His 2010 book is Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change. Calthorpe Associates' work in Europe, Asia and the Middle East has demonstrated that community design with a focus on sustainability and scale can be adapted throughout the globe. His current work throughout China is focused on developing standards and examples of Low Carbon Cities in Beijing, Chongqing, Kunming, Zhuhai, Jinan and other major cities.