NTE Planning Consultants, LLC is a Texas-based planning and environmental policy firm formed in 2007. The principal is Abdul Haleem Muhammad, Ph.D. (Robert S. Muhammad), a clergyman and planner with 35 years of community justice activism and a wide range of urban planning and environmental policy experience.
NTE Planning’s approach focuses on Equity as the basis for resilience in sustainable community development. Resilience is also achieved by incorporating redundancy into the planning regime. In the post 9-11-Hurricane Katrina-Great Recession planning environment, we incorporate five sustainability and resilience planning elements:
Equity: The appropriate distribution of burdens and benefits within and across generations
Security: (Civil Defense/Criminal Justice) – prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery
Safety: (Emergency Management) – mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery
Economy: Capacity building and participation
Environment: Protection of natural resources and protection of humans from environmental hazards
We specialize in applying this model in our approach to:
- Public Engagement, Stakeholder Relations, and Training
- Commercial, Residential, Institutional, Transportation, Green space, Homeland Security and Emergency Management plan development
- Environmental Impact Assessments, Environmental Justice, and Title VI compliance – quality assurance and quality control
Experience
1987, July – Present
Muhammad Mosque No.45 – Student Minister (1987-1994), Regional Student Minister (1994- Present)
1987-Present
Prison Reform Ministry – Ministry services Federal, State, and Local correctional facilities Harris County, State of Texas, and various institutions in the Federal Bureau of Prisons
1999-2000
Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Spiritual Advisor and Execution Witness to Death Row Inmates Odell Barnes and Shaka Sankofa (Gary Graham)
2000-Present
ACTION CDC – Community Development Corporation – Founder and CEO
2002 – Present
Greater Southeast Management District –Vice Chairman, Chairman of Transportation and Mobility Committee – FTA Grantee; Transportation and Mobility Infrastructure Improvement projects
2005-2006
Houston District D Metro Taskforce – Member– Rerouting METRO LRT Purple line
2006, February
Duany, Plater-Zyberk Architects and Town Planners – Consultant – Lake Charles, Louisiana post Hurricane Rita charrette
2006, March
Duany, Plater-Zyberk Architects and Town Planners – Consultant –St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana post Hurricane Katrina charrette
2007, June – May 2008
Washington Group Transportation Management Company – General Planning and Stakeholder Relations/Government Affairs Consultant – METRO Houston Rapid Transit (HRT) – General Planning and Stakeholder Relations/Government Affairs Consultant 2007, April – June 2010
Gulf Coast Rail District – By-laws, Planning and Projects, and Public Safety Committees-
Appointee Position 5
2008, May – 2016
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County and Houston Rapid Transit (HRT) –
General Planning & Stakeholder Relations/Government Affairs Consultant
2008, June – Present
HDR Engineering, Inc. – General Planning and Commuter Rail Consultant – METRO Houston Rapid Transit (HRT); 90A Commuter Rail Planning Study –
Quality Control/Quality Assurance Consultant for Environmental Impact Statement
2015-Present
Harris County Racial Ethnic Disparity Committee (MacArthur Safety and Justice Challenge for Jail Overcrowding and Ethnic Disparity) – Community Representative
2016
Turner Administration Traffic and Transportation Transition Team – Member
2016, April – Present
REM Services, Inc. – General Planning and Para Transit Consultant – METRO LIFT 2017 -Present
Complete Communities Advisory Committee, City of Houston – Member
2018, August-September
Mayor’s Anti-Gun Violence Commission – Member, Chair Community Advisory Subcommittee (United in Peace Houston Scott Street Peace Initiative offered and adopted)
2019-Present
Prairie View A&M University Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center College of Juvenile Justice & Psychology – Advisory Board
International Chiefs of Police Collective Healing Initiative – ACTION CDC Representative
Publications
Research Associate for second edition publication of McCoy on Deed Restrictions, Zoning and Planning in the United States: Selected Readings and Constitutional Basis for Zoning: Texas Supreme Court.
The Mayor Does Not Know Best: Metro Light Rail Op-ed. Houston Chronicle. Sunday, June 26, 2005.
– Watershed Management Plan (2007) for the Texas Coastal Management Program – Texas Coordination Council Texas, Commission on Environmental Quality and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration coauthored by Mustapha Beydoun, PhD of Texas Southern University.
Provided expert testimony before the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity October 29, 2007 field hearing in Houston, Texas on Affordable Housing Needs in the City of Houston: Unique Challenges and Opportunities.
Pollution Prevention through Community Education and Neighborhood Planning Dowling Street Corridor
Midtown: Future of Houston’s Inner Loop Neighborhoods or Development Patterns from the Past? In Cite Magazine (Fall, 2009)
Nation of Islam (2009) Encyclopedia of Race and Crime Volume 2. P.570-572
Muhammad: Forget Amazon’s HQ2; Houston Should Build A Silicon Bayou. Houston Chronicle. Sunday, February 25, 2018
Education
2006-2016 Texas Southern University Houston, Texas
Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Planning and Environmental Policy- Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs
Focus of Dissertation Research: A Planner’s Pyramid: Equity Based Model for Resilient Community Redevelopment. Primary research focuses on the development of the Planners’ Pyramid, a socio-ecological systems model of resilient urban planning theory and practice that introduces civil defense and emergency management as system elements to evolve the Planner’s Triangle sustainability model consisting of economy, environment, and social equity. In the Planner’s Pyramid, economy, environment, security (civil defense/criminal justice), and safety (emergency management) form the base of the model, with equity or ‘Just-City’ policy outcomes as the capstone or primary determinant of resilient redevelopment in a post 9/11 – Hurricane Katrina – Great Recession planning environment.
2002-2005 Texas Southern University Houston, Texas
Master of Science in Urban Planning and Environmental Policy- Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs.
Specialization: Community Development and Housing with research concentration in land use, deed restrictions, zoning, eminent domain, and community advocacy planning.
2000 College of Biblical Studies Houston, Texas
Six hours in Faith Based Community Development Curriculum.
1974-1978 Hampton University Hampton, Virginia
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with minor concentration in business management and communication arts.
Community Activities
Ministers in Support of Constable of Precinct 7 – Member
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People – Silver Life Member American Leadership Forum, Gulf Coast Chapter, Class XIX – Senior Fellow Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship, Inc. – Life Member
KPFT 90.1 FM “Connect the Dots” Radio Show, Pacifica Network – Host
Ministerial Advisory Board to the Mayor of the City of Houston Local Organizing Committee– Co convener