About Larry M. Summers, PE
Engineering Belonging—
One System at a Time
“Infrastructure shapes lives — and every line we draw is a choice about what kind of world we want to live in.”
Larry M. Summers, PE is a City Engineer, civic strategist, and author working at the intersection of infrastructure, trust, and belonging. With over two decades of experience spanning national consulting, metropolitan transportation planning, and small-city public works leadership, Larry has built a career grounded in both systems thinking and human care.
Currently serving as the City Engineer for New Albany, Indiana, Larry leads with a belief that infrastructure is never just technical — it’s personal. Every sidewalk, storm drain, intersection, and access point tells a story about who is valued, who is forgotten, and what we choose to make possible.
He is the author of two books:
Ethical Infrastructure: Restoring Trust, Belonging, and the Soul of the Public Systems, a narrative-driven exploration of how public systems shape — and are shaped by — our shared moral foundations; and
The Ethical Infrastructure Field Guide, a practical toolkit for engineers, planners, public leaders, and educators committed to embedding ethics, equity, and belonging directly into the work of public service.
Together, the books offer both a philosophical lens and a hands-on methodology for building systems that do more than function — they reflect and reinforce the values of the communities they serve.
Larry is also the founder of Uniqor, a values-driven civic consultancy focused on helping cities, agencies, and organizations realign public systems with the people they serve. Whether speaking to national associations or leading local field crews, his work is rooted in a simple, urgent mission: to help communities build systems that are not only durable, but dignified.
He holds degrees in civil engineering and engineering management, and has spent his career working alongside DOTs, city governments, tribal nations, and public advocates. His leadership has helped shape downtown conversions, infrastructure overhauls, and policy shifts that prioritize accessibility, equity, and ethical governance.
Larry writes, speaks, and works from a place of quiet conviction:
that ethical public infrastructure is not a luxury — it’s a civic responsibility.
And it starts with how we show up.
The Human Behind the Hardhat
“I build order out of chaos — in cities, in households, and in myself.”
Hi — I’m Larry. Or Michael. Or just a person trying to reverse-engineer the universe with a whiteboard and a sense of humor.
By profession, I’m a civil engineer and city strategist. I help design systems that hold space for dignity — streets that don’t just move cars, but say you belong here. I believe infrastructure is moral. I also believe most of the best ideas happen somewhere between a caffeine spike and an existential spiral.
At home, I share life with five animals and one very lovable fellow ADHDer named Tyler. Our household is, frankly, a little chaotic — two brains with executive dysfunction trying to manage time, pets, careers, and wildly different notions of what “clean” means. But I’m always building structure into the mess, carving systems out of entropy. Somehow, against the odds, I produce. I show up. I make things better.
When I’m not knee-deep in civic strategy or trying to convince the dishwasher to load itself, you’ll probably find me unwinding with a little Fortnite or Madden, thinking about going swimming (and occasionally actually doing it), or deep in conversation with the people who keep me grounded — my tribe.
And yes, I love the Atlanta Falcons — fiercely, irrationally, and despite their ongoing campaign to break my heart at least once a season. It’s not just a team. It’s a long-term character-building exercise.
This site isn’t about finished work. That lives over at ethicalinfrastructure.org.
This is the quieter page. The one for side thoughts, soul notes, behind-the-scenes messiness, and moments where I realize storm drains might actually be emotional metaphors.
If you’re here, welcome. If you’re curious, stay.
And if you’re my mom: yes, I’m okay. No, you didn’t do anything wrong. And yes, I ate today (hopefully not too much, actually).