Applying Design as an Elected Official: A Talk with Councilman Roberto Treviño

Join us for an important discussion with Councilman Roberto Treviño, practicing architect and visual artist. Treviño is serving his fourth term as the Councilmember for District 1 in America’s 7th largest city of San Antonio, Texas. In the last three years he has tackled various social justice issues and managed the COVID-19 pandemic. In this discussion, learn how he uses his design background in public service. Moderated by Chris(sy) Quattro, PhD student and a Fontaine Fellow in the City and Regional Planning department.

Guest: Councilman Roberto C. Treviño is serving his fourth term as the Councilman for San Antonio’s District 1. This district contains all of Downtown San Antonio and the surrounding inner city neighborhoods. He is a native of McAllen, Texas where his interest in architecture was sparked. He was captivated by the intersection between humans, design, and the ways things are built. As a result, Treviño enrolled in the Texas Tech College of Architecture. Throughout his career, Treviño has become more involved in the areas of philanthropy and community service, all while building his own private architecture practice in San Antonio. Through his work he relished the opportunity to learn about San Antonio’s diverse communities through volunteer work or by serving on non-profit boards or citizen committees. Treviño began his tenure as a Councilman in 2014. Since then, he has become known for pushing the envelope and incorporating his design background into public policy decisions. Some of his best known accomplishments include overseeing the Alamo project, initiating the city’s award winning White Roof program, and restructuring the city’s infrastructure management program to save millions of dollars on sidewalk and street repair. He has also strongly defended the rights of Latinx, indigenous, black, and queer communities, including the removal of confederate and conquistador statues from city parks, finding a home for Pride Center San Antonio, and ensuring that businesses with histories of discrimination are removed from public contracts. 

Moderator: Chris(sy) Quattro is a PhD student and a Fontaine Fellow in the City and Regional Planning department at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design. Quattro’s research focuses on zoning law and development regulation in the US, with special attention paid to how such codes have impacted different classifications of race, class, gender, and ethnicity. Prior to their engagement with the PhD program, Quattro was the Director of City Planning and Development for the City Council of San Antonio (Texas), District 1. As Director, Quattro oversaw development and planning needs for the Downtown San Antonio area, including zoning, infrastructure, comprehensive planning, and capital projects. Quattro’s major achievements include the supervision of the amendment process for the Infill Development Zoning Code (IDZ), as well as the drafting of the Short-Term Rental Code (STR). Chris holds Masters and undergraduate degrees from institutions in the State University of New York system in Education, Business Management, and the Earth Sciences.

If you require any accessibility accommodation, such as live captioning, audio description, or a sign language interpreter, please email news@design.upenn.edu to let us know what you need. Please note, we require at least 48 hours’ notice. If you register within 48 hours of this event, we won’t be able to secure the appropriate accommodations.