San Diego—August 28: Landscape Architect Michael Brennan has been chosen as one of San Diego’s best and brightest by San Diego Ranch Coast publishing, publishers of SD Metro Magazine and SDmetro.com. Brennan is one of 40 men and women under the age of 40 receiving the “40 Under 40” award at a luncheon on October 4 at the Sheraton Harbor Island Hotel and Marina.
Brennan was recognized for his business accomplishments as well as his community service.
Brennan, 39, is the current president of the American Society of Landscape Architects, San Diego (ASLA) chapter and is dedicated to “empowering and engaging the next generation of landscape architects, promoting diversity in all levels of our profession, and elevating the role of landscape architecture in the public realm.”
He is principal of Carson Douglas Landscape Architecture, focusing on distinctive residential and commercial clients in Southern California and New England. The firm is also focused on community service and environmental responsibility.
Brennan has a long list of community involvement including being a member of the Uptown Planners since 2015, advocating for sustainable growth and greater mobility options. He was a board member for the Hillcrest Business Association for six years, working on projects including installation of the Pride Flag.
He was appointed by Todd Gloria to the City’s Bicycle Advisory Committee and served for two years helping craft the City’s Strategic Implementation Plan for bicycle infrastructure. He was also a member of the Uptown Community Parking District for several years, advocating for the adoption of projects that would support mode shift away from cars and ease pressures on parking in Uptown.
Brennan is currently a member of the Hillcrest Community Development Corporation where he has been working on a grassroots plan with other local design professionals to create Hillcrest’s first neighborhood park on Normal Street.
As part of his ASLA responsibilities he recently went to Washington DC to advocate for Living Shorelines legislation, which resulted in Rep. Susan Davis becoming a sponsor in the House and Senator Kamala Harris introducing The Living Shorelines Act in the Senate. According to messages from their staff, Senators Harris’ and Rep. Davis’ interest in the bill was a direct result of ASLA advocacy efforts.
For his volunteer work he has received many awards including Circulate San Diego’s Momentum Citizen Award in 2016 and San Diego County Bicycle Coalition’s Advocate of the Year award in 2017 for his outstanding contributions for better bicycling across the region and for leading advocacy efforts that resulted in bike lanes recently being installed along University Avenue in Hillcrest.
Brennan is the landscape architect of record for the Pride Flag and Monument project that has become a Hillcrest landmark. As a pro-bono project, he designed the plaza, the monument and championed the project through the planning and approval process in 2011 alongside the Hillcrest Business Association.
The flag was installed in 2012 and the historic monument completed the following year. Brennan partnered with the Lambda Archives to provide the historic GLBT information inscribed the four panels of the monument.
Some of Brennan’s notable professional work includes Orchid Award-winning Sofia Lofts, a LEED platinum development centered around a renovated historic residence that has become CDLA’s new office location; and Alcazar Court, the historic bungalow court renovation in the heart of Hillcrest and SOHO preservation-award winner.
Brennan has been a Principal and partner of Carson Douglas since its founding, January 2014. His works have been published both internationally and locally in publications including Dwell and San Diego Home & Garden Lifestyles.
