Intro: Simon Tan

I’m a newly minted urban planner, inspired to build safe and sustainable transportation options for the communities I serve. Currently helping Sound Transit execute one of the largest public transit system expansions in North America.

I previously had a run as a product manager in the software industry. I worked for companies including Dropbox, Atlassian, Box, and Microsoft, specializing in mobile & enterprise productivity SaaS (cloud software).

While I’m passionate about the future of work and mobile productivity, I retired from the tech industry in 2020 to pursue my other lifelong passion in urban planning. I’ve been involved with nonprofits such as SPUR, SF Transit Riders, and Seamless Bay Area for years, but now I’m taking this hobby to the next level.

Brisk mobility largely defined my style as a product manager in tech, and this is an element I will carry with me as I enter this new field. I look forward to documenting the journey here and invite you to connect and offer any advice or suggestions along the way!

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Recent Posts

Travel

Marvels in Mexico City

The perception of Mexico in much of the Western world can be quite the mixed bag. With the narrative driven mostly by the bluster of American politicians, many see Mexico as nothing more than a crime-ridden hellscape run by drug cartels and a conduit for migrants seeking to enter the United States illegally. At the…

Travel

Promenades in Paris

Paris is one of those classic European cities that residents of car-centric countries love to visit on holiday. Though it is a perennial conundrum why they enjoy it so much, yet fail to support policies that would replicate the experience in their own communities. This video explains the phenomenon a bit better: I had the…

Books

Emotional Intelligence in Planning

In The EQ Edge, authors Stein and Book make a compelling case that emotional intelligence (measured as “EQ”) is far more instrumental than cognitive intelligence (traditionally measured as “IQ”) in personal and career success. They systematically break down the building blocks of EQ and illustrate how each plays a role in affecting outcomes in all…

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