Growing up in the NJ suburbs of the 1970s, I was struck by the myriad ways that post-war sprawl disconnected people from places and from each other. I had no idea then that this would lead me to graduate school (twice! once to Rutgers for a Masters in City & Regional Planning, and a second time to Clark University for a Doctorate in Geography) and to an almost three-decade career in planning.
I’ve devoted my professional planning and teaching life to rethinking and reconnecting communities based on the synergy between the built environment and transportation. Whether developing the nuts and bolts of local plans and ordinances or facilitating the development of statewide transportation policies and processes, I am mindful that transportation and land use go hand in hand to produce places. I bring the same approach into the classroom with my students at Vassar College.
Developing community driven plans and policies means reaching out to and connecting with the people who live, work and play in communities. Because of this, I take on a wide range of project roles — from facilitating public meetings and roundtables to crafting public surveys and providing expertise on development proposals and complete streets plans. I also often serve as an advisor or technical expert on larger, more complex projects and contribute to on-going research on bicycling and walking with the Voorhees Transportation Center (VTC) at Rutgers University.
Susan G. Blickstein, LLC is certified as a DBE (disadvantages business enterprise) in NJ and NY State. Susan G. Blickstein, Principal and Founder, is a licensed Professional Planner (NJ) and certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).
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