We don't always consider the people who work behind the scenes in the planning and development of a city, however the death of David Godschalk, a former Chapel Hill Town Council member and UNC professor, shines a light on the integral role he played.
Godschalk died on Jan. 27, at the age of 86.
Upon hearing of the death of the man who had served UNC and Chapel Hill for nearly 40 years, many former students and colleagues expressed gratitude for their time with him and all he accomplished.
“His greatest achievement was that he laid out a way to build better communities that would be safer for people and more resilient when natural disasters occur,” said Noreen McDonald, the chairperson of the Department of City and Regional Planning. “The second greatest contribution is that he taught generations of planning students that now work in communities across the country.”
Godschalk earned his bachelor’s degree at Dartmouth College and then spent time working in Florida, but he made Chapel Hill his home with his wife and son.
In the late 1980s, Godschalk brought his skills to the Chapel Hill Town Council. He worked with a former student of his, Roger Walden, who then served as Chapel Hill’s town planning director.
“I was very interested in the physical environment, how cities grow and the design of buildings, transportation and how all those pieces fit together,” Walden said. “And what Dave opened my eyes to was to think about the process, not just the physical outcome but how do we get there, how do we reach it, how do we have an inclusive process that considers all the various points of view.”
Walden said Godschalk knew how to find a consensus during meetings.
“I would watch Dave there just kind of turn the conversation from something that was competitive and angry into something that was productive and just sitting at the table, watching him do that, being so skillful and successful,” Walden said.
