Laura Toups, PE, LEED AP
Engagement Manager
Laura Toups has over three decades of experience in the civil engineering and urban design field. During her career, Laura has combined her understanding of engineering and development issues with an interest in city policies and regulations. This has facilitated the development of a collaborative vision of master planning and urban design. Her approach to master planning and urban design projects is to collaborate with architects and landscape architects to explore creative solutions to site civil improvements and to incorporate the elements and policies required to ultimately permit and construct sustainable projects. She has been active in City of Austin planning efforts serving on the Water and Wastewater Commission and Downtown Commission and various neighborhood planning efforts. Having served as project manager for numerous large-scale phased projects, Laura brings the experience to successfully work with multidiscipline design teams including project artists and stakeholder groups.
Q+A
Why did you choose this career?
I wanted to work in a field that was involved in creating spaces for people to work, live, and play.
What has been your favorite project to work on during your career?
Colony Park Sustainable Communities Initiative because it is a master plan for a new development in northeast Austin that will serve to help revitalize an underserved area and provide new opportunities for the future.
What is the most daring thing you've ever done?
Fly by helicopter to a very remote monastery in the Himalayas mountains in Nepal to stay a week. On the second day, a 7.9 earthquake occurred. We were rescued by the US Special Forces a week later.