Travis F. Davis is interested in city planning because it combines his interests in the physical sciences and visual arts. He is particularly interested in sustainability, including repurposing recyclable materials and designing renewable energy plants. Davis wants to serve communities by identifying issues, finding efficient solutions, and making improvements. His past experience includes military service, disaster relief work, and leading a Habitat for Humanity affiliate where he collaborated with various groups. Davis now seeks a role with Louisville's planning department to contribute to their Cornerstone 2020 project, which he sees as an opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration across education levels in sustainability-focused fields.

1. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Travis F. Davis
Learning never exhausts the mind. – Leonardo da Vinci
Since my youth I have had a very curious mind, having an interest in the physical sciences and various
forms of the visual arts. My ambitions within the realm of city planning are for the simple fact that,
comprehensively, it embraces both of these elements. In addition to developing and executing a
comprehensive master plan for an urban canvas such as Louisville (geographically, topographically,
and subterranely/compositionally), one area of research that has sparked my curiosity and growing
interest is that of sustainability – specifically, concentrations in the manufacturable repurposing of
the state’s recyclable materials for the local public sector and also land use/spatial analysis for a
potential hybrid plant design for the effective utilization of renewable energies. While I do believe
that we as a global community have a responsibility to maintain the earth’s ecological stability and
resource replenishment, my interests are vested in the physics, efficiency, and socioeconomic impact
of these two concentrations as well as their potential gleaning benefits (interdependently).
Part of what drives me is an eagerness to be a servant to the community, recognizing the benefits of
a given framework or methodology, identifying the discrepancies and imperfections when they exist,
and remediating them efficiently, effectively, and with due diligence. Serving as a Damage
Controlman in the United States Navy empowered me to establish and refine these skills. After
completing my Associates degree in Architecture these tools proved to be essential in my
contributions to the relief and reconstruction efforts after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.
Having served as Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity’s Shelby County, Kentucky affiliate I
was afforded the opportunity to work with a variety of groups in the local community (i.e. – churches
and civic groups, national retailers and small businesses, local media, the mayor’s office, etc.) which
enabled me to gain public relations experience. This venture also presented opportunities for me to
collaborate with a number of Kentucky State Representatives, discussing possible solutions to
eliminate substandard and poverty housing while incorporating cost-effective alternatives.
Having spoken with a number of representatives within Jefferson County’s organizational framework
about the historic districts, building codes and permits, and various matters related to the public
sector, my eagerness is to now become an integral part of Jefferson County’s organizational
framework as an associate of Louisville’s City Planning and Design Services in executing
Cornerstone 2020. Given the overall scope of this monumental task, I envision such an endeavor as
an opportunity for collaboration between various disciplines within Kentucky’s postsecondary
education system at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels. I believe this approach will
serve as the catalyst for Kentucky in developing interdisciplinary fields of such research with a
concentration in sustainability.