Planning Manager
CurrentLarry Hopper is a certified planner (Planner IV/Principal Planner) and is experienced in economic revitalization, urban planning, and transit/transportation planning with an emphasis on bus and rail strategies. The Planning Manager for EMBARK Transit in Oklahoma City (OKC) since 1999, he managed the Alternatives Analysis (AA) leading to the 2011 streetcar route decision and managed the TIGER II streetcar planning work. He is active in the streetcar planning and operations effort: opening day planned for 2018. Larry also managed the region's 2005 "Fixed Guideway Transit Plan" that recommended commuter rail, downtown streetcar, a transit hub, BRT, and vastly more bus service. In 2015 and 2016 he has been focusing increasingly on planning for “high capacity” transit (such as BRT or streetcar), TOD, livability, and a healthier community in OKC’s Northwest Multimodal Corridor. Previously in his career he was the leader on many projects: Bricktown mixed-use warehouse district revitalization, the circa 1996 Citywide trails masterplan, was the first staff for the Bricktown Urban Design Review Committee (warehouse district revitalization), handled annexation/deannexation matters, wrote zoning code amendments, reviewed plats and rezoning cases, and more. He played a key role in establishing OKC’s first TIF district and also raised the match needed to first add bike racks to the bus fleet. He has many interests, including sports, cycling, giving walking tours, all things planning, and supporting the alma mater of his Planning School: the University of Oklahoma. Larry is a member of Leadership OKC, Rotary, and various other organizations. A supporter of youth and the next generation of planners, he has mentored three youth teams in “Future Cities” competitions that all reached the national finals.
