Austin promotes Andrea Bates to lead planning department

Andrea Bates has been promoted to director of Austin’s planning department, stepping into a role left vacant after Lauren Middleton-Pratt departed in April for a position as an associate principal at an infrastructure consulting firm.  

Bates previously served as assistant director of Austin Planning, where she oversaw zoning, urban design, historic preservation, long-range planning, demographic analysis and amendments to the city code.  

Bates played key roles in developing the city’s density bonus programs, the HOME amendments, revisions to compatibility standards and transit-supportive code reforms, a set of changes that collectively reshaped what can be built, and where, across the city. 

She takes over with several major initiatives underway. The department is creating the Central City District Plan, which will steer future growth in downtown Austin, the West Campus area and the South Central Waterfront. It is also updating the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan, the city’s 30-year road map for how growth and development should unfold. 

Middleton-Pratt endorsed her successor, saying she is confident in the future of Austin Planning and calling Bates the right person to build on the foundation the department has established. 

Bates is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. She holds a master’s degree in city planning from MIT and a bachelor’s in environmental science and policy from Stanford University.

Story by Jacob Fisher; photo courtesy of the City of Austin