How can new neighborhood developments become places where people truly belong?
That question is at the heart of Plan NH’s 2026 Fall Conference, Built to Belong: The Next Generation of Mixed-Use Neighborhood Developments, and we’re excited to announce Donald Powers, AIA, CNU, LEED AP, as this year’s keynote speaker.
A founding partner of Union Studio Architecture & Community Design in Providence, Rhode Island, Powers has spent nearly three decades focused on the intersection of architecture, urban design, and community. His work spans urban and town planning, mixed-use development, affordable housing, commercial and institutional buildings, and historic preservation with a consistent focus on creating places that are walkable, connected, enduring, and cherished.
Powers founded Union Studio in 2001 with a goal of using architecture and urban design to contribute to the civic and social health of communities. Today, the firm is nationally recognized for its work creating neighborhoods and buildings that strengthen a community’s sense of place.
Designing Places People Want to Belong
For Powers, successful development is about more than adding buildings or meeting a development program. It is about creating the physical framework for community.
His work and long-standing involvement with the Congress for the New Urbanism have given him particular expertise in integrated, mixed-use planning and the design of livable neighborhoods. He has frequently spoken at regional and national venues about neighborhood design, walkability, housing, and approaches to creating communities that resist the patterns of sprawl.
That perspective makes Powers a natural fit for this year’s conference, which will explore how New Hampshire communities can create new mixed-use neighborhoods that respond to today’s housing and economic development needs while drawing on the qualities that make traditional New England communities so successful, including walkability, connection, human scale, open space, and a strong sense of place.
From Big Development to Real Community
The scale of new development can present a challenge for communities. How can large projects feel connected rather than isolated? How can housing, open space, businesses, streets, and public spaces work together to create something more than a collection of buildings? These are questions Powers has spent his career exploring.
His experience includes projects ranging from individual buildings to compact neighborhoods and integrated master plans. He brings a perspective that considers not just how a place looks, but how its buildings, streets, public spaces, housing, and landscape work together to support everyday life.
That conversation is particularly timely in New Hampshire, where communities are navigating growing housing needs, changing development patterns, and increasing interest in walkable, mixed-use places.
Join Us in Dover
Plan NH’s 2026 Fall Conference will bring together planners, municipal leaders, developers, architects, landscape architects, and other professionals to explore the next generation of mixed-use neighborhood development.
In addition to Powers’ keynote, the conference will feature presentations by:
- Donna Benton | City of Dover
- Tyler Carmichael | City of Laconia
- Bob Duval | TFMoran
- John Farrell | Former Londonderry Select Board and Planning Board
- Jackie Huber | Cathartes
- Rob Mora | City of Laconia
- Rob Simmons | Cathartes
- Kevin Smith | Smith Horizon (Pillsbury Realty Group)
The day will also include an on-site tour of the Cocheco Waterfront District in Dover, giving attendees an opportunity to see these ideas in action, followed by an optional networking hour.
Built to Belong: The Next Generation of Mixed-Use Neighborhood Developments
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 | 9:00 AM–4:00 PM
Rivermill @ Dover Landing | Dover, NH
Whether you’re involved in planning, design, development, or community decision-making, we hope you’ll join us in Dover!