Greater Dallas Planning Council

What Greater Dallas Planning Council does

Greater Dallas Planning Council (GDPC) is a nonprofit, membership-based regional planning organization founded in 1946 and headquartered in Irving, Texas. It convenes stakeholders across the Dallas-Fort Worth region to address urban and regional planning issues through five standing task forces — Mobility, Environment & Natural Resources, Urban Design, Diversity & Equity, and Technology & Innovation — and through signature programming including a Breakfast Series, an Annual Meeting, and the Trinity Urban Design Awards. GDPC also operates North and South Committees that segment its work across sub-regions of the metroplex, and has integrated Microsoft Teams to support virtual and hybrid participation.

The organization operates on a tiered membership model with six levels — Platinum Corporate, Corporate, Non-Profit/Public Agency, Small Business, Individual, and Ambassador — complemented by corporate sponsorships and venue partnerships with entities such as BECK, JHP, CARCON Industries, Gresham-Smith, Spectrum, Matthews, HKS, Olsson, WSP, Halff Associates, Jacobs, Collin College, Park City Club, and Trinity Park Conservancy. Leadership includes Josh Peterman as Vice President of Membership. The organization's 80th anniversary in 2026 marks eight decades since its founding with an initial 200 members.

Revenue and membership counts are not publicly disclosed. Most recently, on 2025-11-03, GDPC received a $50,000 grant from Communities Foundation of Texas. The organization runs on a small staff of 1–10 employees, and there is no evidence of proprietary technology products, AI/ML capabilities, or venture-style funding rounds in the source material.

Name

Greater Dallas Planning Council

Legal name

Greater Dallas Planning Council

Website

https://gdpc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Greater Dallas Planning Council is a nonprofit, membership-based regional planning organization founded in 1946 and based in Irving, Texas, convening Dallas-Fort Worth stakeholders across five task forces and signature events to address mobility, urban design, environment, equity, and technology issues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Planning & Policy Advocacy Services

NAICS

Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Urban & Regional Planning (Land Use, Zoning, Master Planning) (BPAIANAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD), Architecture, Planning & Surveying (AIA, Planning, Land Surveyor CE) (EDAAALAG)

Keywords

• Urban planning council
• Regional development
• Policy advocacy
• Urban design awards
• Community planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Irving

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: GDPC generates revenue through various membership tiers including Platinum Corporate, Corporate, Non-Profit/Public Agency, Small Business, Individual, and Ambassador memberships. The organization uses a membership portal at members.gdpc.org for join/renewal operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Greater Dallas Planning Council is a nonprofit membership-based regional planning and advocacy organization that sells tiered annual memberships (Platinum Corporate, Corporate, Non-Profit/Public Agency, Small Business, Individual, Ambassador) granting access to five policy task forces (Mobility, Environment & Natural Resources, Urban Design, Diversity & Equity, Technology & Innovation), signature networking events (Breakfast Series, Annual Meeting, State of the City Address, North/South Urban Summits, Trinity Urban Design Awards), and educational programming (Lunch & Learns, symposiums, workshops) for professionals across planning, engineering, architecture, economics, environment, legal, communications, and community sectors in North Texas.

Product overview

Greater Dallas Planning Council (GDPC) is a membership-based regional planning and advocacy organization offering a unified suite of programs centered on its membership tiers, signature events, and five task forces. The core offering consists of membership programs (Platinum Corporate, Corporate, Non-Profit/Public Agency, Small Business, Individual, and Ambassador) that provide access to advocacy initiatives, educational programming (breakfast series, Lunch & Learns, symposiums), and policy development resources. The five task forces—Mobility, Environment & Natural Resources, Urban Design, Diversity & Equity, and Technology & Innovation—serve as the primary vehicles for developing policy recommendations. Signature events including the Annual Meeting, Breakfast Series, and Trinity Urban Design Awards complement the membership value proposition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Membership Programs Tiered annual membership program offering six levels — Platinum Corporate, Corporate, Non-Profit/Public Agency, Small Business, Individual, and Ambassador — that grant access to GDPC's task forces, signature events, advocacy initiatives, and educational programming for professionals and organizations across planning, engineering, architecture, and related sectors in North Texas.
• Signature Events Recurring in-person and hybrid events including the Breakfast Series, State of the City Address, North Urban Summit, South Urban Summit, Annual Meeting, and Trinity Urban Design Awards that convene members, public officials, and the public for regional planning discourse and networking.
• Task Forces Five standing policy task forces — Mobility, Environment & Natural Resources, Urban Design, Diversity & Equity, and Technology & Innovation — that meet regularly to develop white papers, position statements, and resolutions addressing North Texas regional planning priorities.
• Educational Programming Continuing education programming including monthly breakfasts, socials, annual luncheons, Lunch & Learns, symposiums, and workshops that deliver professional development for GDPC members across planning, engineering, architecture, and related disciplines.

Quantifiable outcome

• Policy recommendations submitted to Texas Legislature, City Councils, and media for action
• +1 more outcomes

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• BECKminorOthersStrategic stakeholder and corporate member of GDPC. BECK is listed among GDPC's strategic stakeholders and corporate members supporting the organization's regional planning initiatives.
• JHPminorOthersStrategic stakeholder and corporate member of GDPC. JHP is listed among GDPC's strategic stakeholders and corporate members supporting the organization's regional planning initiatives.
• CARCON IndustriesminorOthersStrategic stakeholder and corporate member of GDPC. CARCON Industries is listed among GDPC's strategic stakeholders and corporate members supporting the organization's regional planning initiatives.
• Gresham-SmithminorOthersStrategic stakeholder and corporate member of GDPC. Gresham-Smith is listed among GDPC's strategic stakeholders and corporate members supporting the organization's regional planning initiatives.
• SpectrumminorOthersStrategic stakeholder and corporate member of GDPC. Spectrum is listed among GDPC's strategic stakeholders and corporate members supporting the organization's regional planning initiatives.
• MatthewsminorOthersStrategic stakeholder and corporate member of GDPC. Matthews is listed among GDPC's strategic stakeholders and corporate members supporting the organization's regional planning initiatives.
• HKSminorOthersStrategic stakeholder and corporate member of GDPC. HKS is listed among GDPC's strategic stakeholders and corporate members supporting the organization's regional planning initiatives.
• OlssonminorOthersStrategic stakeholder and corporate member of GDPC. Olsson is listed among GDPC's strategic stakeholders and corporate members supporting the organization's regional planning initiatives.
• WSPminorOthersStrategic stakeholder and corporate member of GDPC. WSP is listed among GDPC's strategic stakeholders and corporate members supporting the organization's regional planning initiatives.
• Ben AbbottminorOthersStrategic stakeholder and corporate member of GDPC. Ben Abbott is listed among GDPC's strategic stakeholders and corporate members supporting the organization's regional planning initiatives.
• Halff AssociatesminorOthersCorporate member of GDPC, hosting Environmental Task Force meetings at their Richardson office location (2380 Performance Dr, Building C, Ste 150, Richardson, TX 75082).
• JacobsminorOthersCorporate member of GDPC, hosting Technology & Innovation Task Force meetings at their Dallas office (1999 Bryan St., 1st floor Jacobs Conference Room, Dallas, TX).
• Collin CollegeminorOthersVenue partner for North Breakfast Series events, hosting at their Conference Center (9700 Wade Blvd, Frisco, TX).
• Park City ClubminorOthersVenue partner for GDPC Breakfast Series events (5956 Sherry Lane, Suite 1700 Dallas, TX 75225).
• Trinity Park ConservancyminorOthersVenue partner for Urban Design Task Force meetings (305 W Commerce St Suite 105, Dallas, TX 75208).

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• International City/County Management Association: Professional association for local government managers and administrators. ICMA overlaps with GDPC's public-sector membership base and policy engagement with municipalities in North Texas.
• American Planning Association: National membership organization for urban and regional planning professionals. APA is the dominant national peer offering chapter-based programming, policy advocacy, and continuing education — overlapping directly with GDPC's mission at a larger scale.

Emerging players

• Strong Towns: Membership-based advocacy organization focused on incremental, bottom-up urban development and financial resilience. Strong Towns represents a more grassroots-flavored alternative addressing similar urbanist audiences as GDPC.

Regional players

• North Central Texas Council of Governments: Regional planning body covering the same 16-county North Texas region as GDPC. NCTCOG operates as the official governmental planning entity, while GDPC operates as the civic/private-sector convening forum — complementary rather than competing.

Direct peers

• Urban Land Institute: Global membership organization focused on land use, real estate development, and urban planning. ULI runs district councils in major U.S. metros — directly comparable to GDPC's model of convening public and private stakeholders around regional development.
• Smart Growth America: Coalition advancing equitable, sustainable, and economic development through better planning policy. Directly comparable to GDPC's advocacy and policy work on mobility, urban design, and regional growth strategies.
• Congress for the New Urbanism: Membership organization promoting walkable, mixed-use urban design through advocacy, education, and annual congresses. CNU overlaps with GDPC's Urban Design task force and Trinity Urban Design Awards in mission and audience.

Others

• National Civic League: Nonprofit advancing democratic governance and community engagement. Adjacent to GDPC's community engagement mission, particularly the Diversity & Equity task force focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/greater-dallas-planning-council
• Xx.com/gdpcTX

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Greater Dallas Planning Council