LAND DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY ▪ NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
RESILIENT SYSTEMS.
ENDURING PLACES.
Water movement, ecological patterns, topography, climate, and human experience all shape the long-term vitality of a place.
Ken approaches development through the lens of living infrastructure, creating resilient and restorative systems for land across Northern California, San Francisco, and Marin, thoughtfully connected to the environment.
THE PRACTICE
Ken Kortkamp is a systems-thinking engineer, advisor, and strategist who bridges technical engineering with architectural and landscape vision.
He translates innovative ideas into elevated living infrastructure.
With more than three decades across land development, green stormwater infrastructure, and ecological planning and design — including 15+ years of public-sector leadership — he partners with landowners, developers, communities, and designers to shape regenerative, human-centered places. He works with complex infrastructure and nature-based systems to create simple, practical solutions designed for the long term.
WHAT KEN OFFERS
THREE WAYS TO
WORK TOGETHER
(01)
Client
Representation
A trusted advisor, bridging regenerative vision with engineering rigor and reality, aligning project teams and resolving the gaps that quietly become cost overruns.
(02)
Green Infrastructure Advisory
Thirty years of green infrastructure leadership —from vision to implementation. A rare advisor who has not only designed and approved transformative systems, but also expanded regulatory frameworks to make them possible. His work has shaped nationally recognized, city-scale solutions while driving innovation at the highest levels of the profession.
(03)
Resilient & Living Infrastructure
Helping landowners build with the land, not on it. Regenerative, low-maintenance systems that grow more alive and supportive over time, designed for human wellbeing. Advising infrastructure that adapts and endures.
ABOUT KEN
NATURE BASED VISION.
ENGINEERING RIGOR.
Ken brings together nature-based vision and
engineering rigor, making living infrastructure real.
A licensed Professional Civil Engineer with a master’s degree in Water Resources Engineering, Ken has spent more than 30 years advancing regenerative land development and green stormwater infrastructure.
(01)
Leading Change
His experience spans both private practice and public leadership, including 15 years as Stormwater Program Manager for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, where he regulated and guided nearly 500 major development projects and master-planned redevelopment districts.
(02)
Early Vision
His career began in Portland in the mid-1990s, when “green” design was often dismissed as idealistic or impractical. Even then, Ken distinguished himself as a systems-thinking engineer, earning invitations from mentors to collaborate with the pioneering thinkers shaping Portland’s early green infrastructure movement. Since those formative years, one conviction has guided his work: the places we build should seamlessly integrate sustainability, resilience, and human wellbeing.
(03)
Lasting Impact
Over three decades of practice, Ken has helped redefine what infrastructure can be — not simply a network of engineered systems, but a living framework that supports ecological health, strengthens communities, and enhances quality of life. He understands that all things are connected. By designing the built environment as living infrastructure — with the goal of nourishing human wellbeing — we create enduring places that support both people and nature, fostering communities that are resilient, regenerative, and built to thrive for generations.
