JOHN ZEANAH, AICP serves as Chief of Development and Infrastructure for the City of Memphis.  In this role, he leads a cross-functional team of agencies responsible for planning, housing, engineering, transportation, public works, and community and economic development. Prior to this role, John served as the Director of the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development for over seven years. Among his accomplishments, John led the development and adoption of the Memphis 3.0 Comprehensive Plan, the City’s first comprehensive plan in 40 years and winner of the American Planning Association’s Daniel Burnham Award of Excellence for a Comprehensive Plan in 2020 and a Charter Award from the Congress for the New Urbanism in 2021. John has also led the city and county’s housing policy plan, climate action and resilience plans, smart city plan, oversaw investments in placemaking and community infrastructure through the $200 million Accelerate Memphis initiative, and made significant improvements to development review and permitting.

 

John is a published author, noted speaker, and recognized nationally for his contributions to planning. He recently served on the steering committee of the Housing Supply Accelerator, a collaborative effort of the National League of Cities and the American Planning Association. John holds a BA in Political Science from Rhodes College and a Master of City and Regional Planning from the University of Memphis.