Dennis Madsen is the manager of long-range and urban planning for the City of Huntsville. His job is to oversee long-range planning for growth and redevelopment of Huntsville, including demographic reviews, transportation network planning, market analysis, and land-use policy.

A Massachusetts native and former Atlanta resident, he’s been in the position for 10 years. According to a previous AL.com story, Madsen beat out more than 140 applicants to become the first person to fill the position. Madsen has played a role in Huntsville becoming the largest city in Alabama and one that annually ranks high in national quality of life rankings.

He recently participated in a question-and-answer session with the Lede.

Can you talk about your duties with the city? What’s all involved?

Long-range planning looks at a couple of things. The two big items in long-range planning are overseeing the operations of the Metropolitan Planning Organization and the MPO deals with regional transportation planning, laying out big projects like the (Interstate) 565 widening, the Arsenal East Connector, the Northern Bypass, all of the things that receive state and federal funding.