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Introduction
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1.1 Foreword
I would like to take a brief opportunity to in-
troduce myself, my goals, and the things I’m
most passionate about; both in my working
life and outside of it. I promise to keep things
(relatively) brief so you can actually get to the
substance of my portfolio, so here’s a sum-
mary of Paul Lorenc:
First of all, I’m a planner; I’m a graduate of
the Master’s of City and Regional Planning
(MCRP) program at Georgia Tech, where I
specialized in Urban Design and GIS there.
My passion for those things (and planning in
general), however, goes much further than
a piece of paper with my name on it.
My story begins much the same as many
others in American cities: I was brought up
in Atlanta’s sprawling suburbs, never quite
consciously realizing that the built environ-
ment around me was the way it was because
someone actually planned it to be that way.
I was lucky enough to travel across the world
in my formative years, being exposed to vastly
different cities across the globe, from the
dense but beautiful Barcelona to the chaotic
yet charming streets of Jaipur. One thing was
certain to me: cities were different elsewhere,
yet (at the time), I couldn’t quite grasp why.
When I finally moved to Atlanta proper six
years ago to attend college at Georgia State
University, I was put right in the middle of
everything: the University Commons in
Downtown Atlanta. As I gazed outside of my
dorm window one evening, I pondered why
the entire lot across the street was a block-
sized parking lot, and an empty one at that.
And thus began my questioning of cities
and what makes them different. Why was
there an empty parking lot where an active
use could be; why was the very center of
Atlanta–a region inhabited by over 5 million
individuals–so dormant after working hours?
One thing lead to another and I came to the
realization that these things were the result
of planning. Considering my dissatisfaction
with many of the elements of the state of
the built environment in Atlanta at the time,
I made it my plan to be a planner.
Fast forward about six or so years, and here I
am: a designer, GIS and data guru, a staunch
advocate of alternative transport, a planner.
Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with my
journey towards planning, I want to share my
overriding passion: I enjoy my bicycle. I want to
ride my bicycle, and I have forgone car owner-
ship in Atlanta–out of all places–in part just so
I can ride it more. Of course it goes far beyond
that; I want to make a statement that our
car-obsessed culture has gone a bit too far.
I’ve certainly had the privilege of traveling the
world and having access to alternative trans-
port, but that is not the case for many. I
believe that I can share these experiences,
however, and be a part of the movement to-
wards well-planned, sustainable places: places
that contribute to a high quality of life. Luck-
ily for me, I can facilitate this as a planner.
Others across Georgia have come to similiar
conclusions, and now planning for sustainable,
accessible, and livable cities is a common goal
nearly everywhere I go; planning organiza-
tions all around Atlanta are now promoting
these ideals and actually implementing
them. So I find myself in the perfect position,
to use planning to turn these dreams into
realities: to make better cities..
At this point, you may find yourself asking:
how does all of this expository information
qualify this person for the job? Well, it doesn’t
(not yet, at least). The point of this foreword
is to preface the rest of this document; I
am a planner, a cyclist, and my goal in life
is all about making better places, chiefly by
promoting and implementing diverse and
accessible transportation options for all.
I’ve spent most of my life in Atlanta, having
worked in the planning field for over seven
years. Throughout all of these positions, I’ve
consistently been a GIS/graphics special-
ist, with a keen eye for both stringent data
managment and analysis as well as aesthetics.
To demonstrate my qualifications for this job, I’ve
assembled this document as a comprehensive
(and interactive) summary of my experience,
portfolio of my planning work (mostly in the
form of maps for legibility), and an excerpt from
a transportation accessibility proposal I re-
cently put together for an Atlanta-based CID.
Thanks for your consideration,
Paul Lorenc, MCRP
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Introduction
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Paul Lorenc, MCRP
GIS Analyst, Planner, Designer, and Cyclist
Education
Masters of City and Regional Planning,
Georgia Institute of Technology
2013
Bachelor of Arts, Geography
Georgia State University
2011
Awards & Publications
Awarded the American Planning Association’s Award
for Contribution of Planning to Contemporary Issues
for contributions to his planning studio, “Tracking the
Effects of Sea Level Rise in Georgia’s Coastal Com-
munities.”
2014
Presented a paper at the Transportation Research
Board Conference entitled “Using GPS Data Collect-
ed in Household Travel Surveys to Assess Physical
Activity.”
2012
Skills
»» ArcGIS 10.3
»» Adobe Illustrator
»» Adobe Photoshop
»» Adobe InDesign
»» IBM SPSS
»» Microsoft Office (including Access)
My foremost passion is promoting safe, sustainable, and accessible transportation within car-depen-
dent places to facilitate travel by bicycle, walking, or by transit. I believe in cohesive, accessible, and
equitable cities, where anyone can simply walk to a community park to interact with their neighbors.
As an avid cyclist and bicycle commuter of Atlanta, I know doing this is an uphill battle (sometimes
literally), but I strive to encourage change through personal lifestyle choices as well as the work I do.
I’m a graduate of Georgia Tech’s Masters of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) program, where I
studied Urban Design and GIS. I use a wide range of spatial and analytical skills to address the planning
problems that affect the contemporary city; I’m proficient with data analysis, GIS, as well as graphic
design and cartography. I believe that I can use innovative technical processes to accomplish a wide
range of analyses and produce aesthetically pleasing, legible maps, graphics, and other documents.
Professional Experience
Center Forward
GIS/Design Consultant
2015-2016
Lorenc + Yoo Design
Design Associate / Data Analyst
2014-2016
RS&H
GIS Analyst / Transportation Planner
2013-2014
Westat/GeoStats
Research Assistant / Data Analyst
2010-2013
Project Experience
Atlanta Bikeshare
City of Atlanta
2015-2016
Regional Trails Corridor Assessment
River to Sea TPO, Florida
2014
Liberty County Transit Plan and Implementation
Liberty Consolidated Planning Commission, GA
2013-2014
Massachusetts Statewide Travel Survey
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
2011-2012
1.2 Profile
paul.lorenc@gmail.com • 678-358-7305 • 349 Decatur St SE #1205 Atlanta, GA 30312
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Portfolio
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2.1 Overview
So here it is: a compilation of the things I’ve
made that I believe qualifies me for this plan-
ning position. Since this portfolio encompass-
es a wide range of different GIS techniques,
I’ve broken this portfolio into a few sections.
They include:
1. Cartography/Graphic Design: This is
really the crux of my portfolio in terms of
accessibility; I believe that the graphics
and presentations I produce should
be just as accessible and legible as the
transportation proposals I support.
2. GIS Analysis: Though you can’t really
separate analysis from cartography and
design, I wanted to give you some insight
into the GIS techniques I’ve used, many of
which are crucial for planning projects.
3. Contracting/Other: A few pages to
hopefully prove my bold claim that I’m
actually obsessed with planning and
biking, presented through some non-GIS
examples. This section also demonstrates
some of my volunteer experience with
local non-profits, such as Atlanta Bicycle
Coalition.
Each project I present in this portfolio has a
brief description associated with it, though
sometimes it’s squeezed into a corner; I want
to give most of the page real estate to the
actual showcase, my maps.
Just remember to keep your eyes open for
the supplementary information if you have
an interest to learn more about some of the
maps I present.
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Portfolio
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2.2 Cartography/Graphic Design
My crowning achievement in cartography, this map of Florida was my
first real foray into implementing my base knowledge of graphic design
in a geographic context; I ended up winning GA Tech’s Annual GIS Day
Cartography Award for it in 2012. Everything that’s shown here was
done exclusively in ArcMap (as required the project), though sometimes
in somewhat unconventional manners. When I do implement other
software into my workflow–especially those developed specifically for
graphic design–I can make maps look even better.
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Portfolio
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This was the cover of an urban design field study (one that ended up
morphing into my graduate thesis), showing what does result when
I do intergrate other graphic design programs into my cartography
practice. In this case, I used Adobe InDesign to enhance the maps I
created in ArcMap to create an intuitive design that I could easily pres-
ent to others.
I feature another page of this project on page 9, which further high-
lights the methods I used to make the maps more accessible to the
everyday (e.g., not completely literate in GIS) viewer; I believe this is a
crucially important element of mapmaking and plannning in general,
especially when information is directed at the greater public.
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Portfolio
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Since my graduation from Georgia Tech in 2013, I have worked
on several projects that involve alternative modes of transporta-
tion, including bike/ped (left) and transit (right).
While the design for these maps are more utilitarian in nature
than the previous maps I’ve shown, these were directed at a
professional (GIS-savvy) audience.
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Portfolio
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2.3 GIS Analysis
This is another map in a series I created for a field study, showing
more of the GIS analyses I used regularly in my practice. In this case,
I did a study on pedestrian and bicycle accessibility across the DeKalb
Ave corridor just east of downtown.
I used a network analysis to find a gap in the bike/ped connectivity in
the area, then proposed the addition of a new connection to resolve
the issue, as shown above. As mentioned previously, I used InDesign to
augment the legibility of the map, as it was part of a larger presentation.
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Portfolio
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6% OF THE 900 PERSONS SAMPLED USED TRANSIT AT LEAST ONCE
TRANSIT WAS USED BY 39% OF THOSE WHO REPORTED A LOCATION PROXIMAT
81% OF TRANSIT RIDERS REPORTED A COMMON LOCATION WITHIN 0.5 MILE
DATA AND METHODS: There were 900 persons in
with GPS devices in the 436 households. Parti
ranged from 16 to 75 with a mean age of 47 and a
of 48. A total of 10,630 GPS trips (consisting o
segments) were captured and processed. Hous
asked to report the following habitual locations:
A
HOME WORK S
A
These geocoded habitual locations were utilize
persons for this analysis.
and
cial
r its
and
age
were
ode,
Trip
on.
GPS
ata,
ode
344
2465
128
- 6.88
- 49.3
- 2.56
5.13 7.16
0.26 0.37
5.10 6.73
0.26 0.36
25.58 36.41
1.12 1.00
Walk Segments Greater than 100m by Persons who Reported a Ho
School Location within the Boston Metropolitan Area
Median Mean M
Persons who
used Transit (50) no
Distance of Non-Transportation Walk Segs.
Duration of Non-Transportation Walk Segs.
Total # of Walk Segs.
Total Duration of Walk Segs.
Total Distance of Walk Segs.
# of Walk Segs. per Person
Walking Duration per Person
Walking Distance per Person
Duration of all Walk Segs.
Distance of all Walk Segs.
Duration of Transportation Walk Segs.
Distance of Transportation Walk Segs.
These two maps show my first application of GIS analyses in a pro-
fessional context, when I worked at GeoStats (now part of Westat).
After completing the Massachusetts Statewide Travel Survey, Geo-
Stats had a glut of GPS data. While using GPS to complete travel
surveys was innovative enough, we decided to take it a step further
and see what we could accomplish with our extensive datasets. We
ended up processing this data to a greater extent, following this
general methodology:
»» Using anonymous travel survey data, my team and I at GeoStats
mapped the home, work, and school locations of those who
participated in the travel survey. We were able to determine
the mode of travel through a combination of both in-house
algorithms and manual processing (see top left).
»» Once this data were processed, I did a network analysis on the
various locations provided to us to determine how far each one
was from a transit station. The results of this are shown in the
map I made on the bottom of the page.
»» Following all of these different analyses, we determined the
statistics of how distance from transit stations affects transit
use, and in turn, the occurrence of physical activity in general.
We found that those who live, work, or go to school near transit
were much more likely to use transit, and therefore generally
had more incidental physical activity.
We summed up our findings in a paper entitled “Using GPS Data
Collected in Household Travel Surveys to Assess Physical Activity,”
which we presented at the 2012 Transportation Research Board
(TRB) conference.
This project was my first real foray into advanced GIS methods, and
I was lucky enough that it involved a subject that interests me to no
end: the benefits of alternative transportation options. In this case, I
was able to objectively prove a seemingly obvious hypothesis; more
accessible transportation can foster healthier, more livable places.
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Portfolio
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For my Master’s studio, I chose to participate in a project that sought
to determine the impacts–both physical and societal–of 100 years’
worth of sea level rise on the Georgia coast. Though I was assigned
specifically with the physical portion of this project (a couple of these
maps shown above), my contributions went far further than that.
I ended up becoming the de facto GIS lead on this project as it went
on, organizing the countless shapefiles and designing a standardized
map template that was used to make hundreds of maps throughout
the document. It was a tall task, ensuring that all the maps retained a
similar look and used the same datasets, but it ended up being wildly
successful in the end.
After I completed this studio,”Tracking the Effects of Sea Level Rise
in Georgia’s Coastal Communities” was nominated for the American
Planning Association (APA) student project award for Contribution of
Planning to Contemporary Issues, which it won at the APA’s 2013 con-
ference here in Atlanta.
Making one map look good, that’s easy; making hundreds, many of
which are made by different hands: that’s a different story entirely.
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Portfolio
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As an contractor, I’ve had several
opportunities to work on a wide
variety of projects–GIS/Plan-
ning-related, or otherwise.
Shown here are some complet-
ed portions of the Swiss Lucerne
project that is currently under
construction in Nanchang, China.
As a part of the Lorenc + Yoo
Design team, I contributed my
various expertise to enhance the
detailing and architecture of this
elegantly rendered town.
2.4 Contracting/Other
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Portfolio
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Outside of work, I’m a staunch advocate for
accessible cities and transportation in several
ways. I “preach what I practice” and promote
alternative transport options by opting to use
transit, bike, or walk to my destinations instead
of driving. I believe in a connected Atlanta.
I also spend much of my free time supporting
non-profit organizations such as the Atlanta
Bicycle Coalition (ABC), which seeks to make
cycling more accessible and safer for all.
To support the organizations and causes I’m
passionate about, I often provide my mapping
expertise (above) and photograph events, such
as April 2016’s Atlanta Streets Alive (below)..
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Portfolio
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Photography can be a potent
tool, allowing me to capture and
share the essence of Georgia and
its incredibly diverse population.
Whether its for work or pleasure,
I use photography to breathe
life into the history of places, the
culture of its communities, and
the aspirations of its peoples.
At the convergence of the past,
present, and future, Georgia is an
exciting place to be, and I want
to be here to experience it all.
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Portfolio
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I’ve had the unique opportunity to spend time
abroad to observe progressive transportation and
urban design techniques in practice.
This past year, I embarked on a trip of a lifetime:
I biked over 1,500 miles solo from Oslo, Norway
to Brussels, Belgium. Over two months, I experi-
enced what it’s like to be in places that are truly
multi-modal and accessible; there was not one
time I felt threatened as a biker or pedestrian in
Europe, and the transit within cities was always
far more than an afterthought.
These experiences bolster my ability to promote
sustainable planning practices in Atlanta and beyond.
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Portfolio
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I recently wrapped up my work on the Atlanta Bikeshare project,
which I worked on with Lowe Engineers and local planners at Center
Forward.
While not completely GIS related, this map is a testament to the
level of detail I require from anything I work on. As I biked from one
potential bike rack site to the next, I would stop for a few minutes,
sketch my measurements on an app on my phone, then move on to
the next site.
Once I returned home from a long day of biking and field work, I’d
take my sketches and make graphics like the one you see above to
help plan the exact location of future bike racks and kiosks for the
first 50 pilot sites.
Although I do have my own bike(s), I can’t wait until this project is
completed it the coming months; it’s really about time Atlanta had its
own bikeshare!
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Portfolio
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Even in my free time, I’m mapping. I’m always striving to keep up with the
most recent developments around town--bike-related, or otherwise. The
deluge of ideas for new transportation options, infill development, and parks
keeps me constantly occupied, and I want know about it all.
Mapping is usually the easiest way for me to wrap my mind around these
developments, and it often offers others in the community great utility as
well. While I usually do these sorts of mini-projects to keep myself informed
(and for my own enjoyment), this particular map of Atlanta’s high-priority
bicycle projects happened to go viral, with a feature on Scoutmob.
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Proposal
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3.1 Overview
The following pages contain an example
proposal that demonstrates the type of
projects I strive to work on in Atlanta and
how I go about accomplishing them.
My goal with this particular project for Cen-
tral Atlanta Progress (CAP) was to create a
legible series of travel time maps that will
help encourage more usage of alternative
means of transportation in Atlanta. I wanted
to produce a document that the average
downtown-denizen can pick up and think
to themselves: “wow, I had no idea I can get
to [location] in only ten minutes if I walk!”
The following section decribes in detail my
proposal for the specific tasks I accom-
plished to achieve this goal as well as the
tentative schedule.
1. Process: The first (and most extensive)
section of this proposal is a walkthrough
of the specific tasks I worked through,
with visual aids; I’ve created a series
of example maps to help illustrate my
methods and the general aesthetic of what
I envisioned the document becoming.
2. Timetable: After I describe my
methodology, you’ll find the tenative
schedule I created to keep myself on
track as I worked through the project.
This schedule was subject to change,
of course, but I generally like to keep
a rigid-yet-flexible timeline as I work
through a project.
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Proposal
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Task One- Data Collection and Basemap Design
To begin this process, I will first collect the essential basemap
data from publicly available sources such as ARC, the City of
Atlanta, and the Census. The shapefiles I will require fall into
three main categories:
1. Transportation
-- Centerlines for roads, highways, transit systems
-- Transit system points, such as MARTA bus stops and rail
stations
2. Land Use
-- Zoning/land use data
-- Parcel boundaries
3. Census Data
-- Population/employment statistics
-- Census Transportation Planning Products (CTPP) data
Several of these data elements have already been procured,
as can be seen in my mock-up basemap to the right. This
map shows several elements that will be useful when con-
ducting GIS analyses, such as the location of roads, transit,
parks, geographic obstacles, etc.
A study area will need to be clearly defined to establish the
extent of the analyses and the final maps that will be pro-
duced. This basemap will be the foundation upon which
the final deliverable will be based, though it will certainly go
through multiple iterations; Abode InDesign and Illustrator
will be used to enhance the maps’ design and legibility.
3.2 Process
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Proposal
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Task Two- GIS Analysis
Once all relevant data has been collected and a study area is
defined, a series of GIS analyses will then be conducted to as-
certain the distances to and from different sections of Down-
town Atlanta. In order to accomplish these goals, a network
analysis will be executed on the street data layers. Here’s a
summary of this process:
»» The first stage of this analysis will be the construction of a
network, which will be based on the transportation centerline
data. This first step will be to turn the purely symbolic layer(s) into
an interconnected network of edges and junctions, in which
distances to/from locations and routes will be determined.
»» For this step in the process, care must be taken to include
or exclude certain network elements, depending on the
mode that’s being analyzed.
As an example of this process, I conducted a basic network
analysis on the area surrounding Five Points at the corner of
Woodruff Park (right).
In this example, I made different radii based on the distance
one could travel to or from Five Points by walking. The green
area represents areas within a quarter mile from Five Points,
or a 5 minute walk. The yellow area includes areas up to half a
mile, and the final orange radius shows areas within one mile.
Since I used walking as an example in this network analysis, I ex-
cluded infrastructural elements that are inaccessible to pedestrians,
such as the downtown connector or railroads. As such, notable
gaps can be observed within the areas covered; the I-20/I-75/85
interchange severly hampers accessibility to adjacent areas. The
same phenomenon can be seen around the Gulch area.
This data will be utilized to create a stylized map that uses
more intuitive, simplified radii to demonstrative generalized
distances to/from designated locations by different modes.
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Proposal
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Task Three- Route Overlays
Once the network analysis can been completed, routes can
be automatically created to/from one location to another; in
the case shown here, I created a route that shows the short-
est route from a location in Castleberry Hill to Woodruff Park
for a pedestrian. Since the example origin location is in the
orange area, it is within one mile of the destination.
By using the routing tool within network analysis, I can con-
firm the exact distance one must travel to reach their desti-
nation; in this case, the distance between these two locations
was 0.93 miles, well within a walkable range.
As explained in task two, this same process can be applied
for any desired mode. Seperate networks must be created to
incorporate bike or transit-specific routes, but the process
follows the same general principle.
Task Four- Optimization and Finalization
Following the conclusion of all the GIS data collection, base-
map design, and network analyses, a collection of several
maps will be produced and then refined within Adobe soft-
ware to present to the general public. These refinements
include aforementioned details, such as creating a more
user-friendly radii-based design, and the addition of a legend,
logos, and the like. This process of refinement will be a coll-
barative effort with CAP, after which a final design will deter-
mined.
The final deliverables will be a series of maps that clearly
display the travel time for bike, pedestrian, and transit modes
in and around the downtown area. Depending on what is
required, route-specific maps will also be created and stylized
in the same consistent, legible format. If desired, I will use
InDesign to format a handbook with all the maps compiled.
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Proposal
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3.3 Timetable
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6
PAULLORENC
Task One:
Data Collection
and Basemap
Design
Data collection
Basemap
creation
Submit draft
basemap to CAP
Submit refined
basemap tem-
plate to CAP
Task Two:
GIS Analysis
Network Analysis
Submit network
analysis results
Task Three:
Route Overlays
Routing analysis
Submit routing
analysis results
to CAP
Task Four:
Optimization
and Finalization
Refine ArcMap template based on
CAP feedback
Package and
submit finalized
maps
COORDINATION
Intial coordination
meeting with CAP;
define study area,
discuss project
objectives and scope
of deliverables
Discuss base-
map design
Discuss results
of network
analysis
Discuss routing
analysis and
refined basemap
Discuss final
design/any last
changes
Deadline
for Final
Deliverables
