Weiming Lu papers

Weiming Lu is an internationally recognized urban planner and designer well known for his expertise blending original and new design. Born in Shanghai, China, his family fled to Taiwan in 1949 amid political unrest. After receiving a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Cheng-Kung University, Lu attended the University of Minnesota, receiving a master of science degree in 1954. Lu then received a scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and pursued his master’s degree in Regional Planning in 1957 from the Department of City and Regional Planning. He returned to Minneapolis in 1959 to join the city planning department. His career took him to planning positions around the country. In Minneapolis Lu worked on Nicollet Mall, the skyway system, and co-authored the Metro 85 plan, which acted as the blueprint for Minneapolis urban planning in the 1970s. In 1979 Lu served as Deputy Director for Urban Design for the Lowertown Redevelopment Corporation in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Lu has also served as a consultant and advisor on numerous public and private projects in the United States and abroad, including the reconstruction of South Central Los Angeles following the 1992 riots, and the United Nations Planning Team in Taiwan. Lu served as a member of the jury for the international design competition for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. His career includes extensive writing on urban planning and lectures around the world. Lu is also an accomplished Chinese calligrapher whose work has been exhibited at art galleries.