Gene Bunnell

Biography

Gene Bunnell, AICP, M.C.P., M.P.H., is a planning educator with considerable experience as a planning practitioner. He worked as an Associate Planner at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Communities and Development (EOCD), where he directed the preparation of comprehensive plans and district plans for a number of cities and towns and authored Built to Last: A Handbook on Recycling Old Buildings (Preservation Press, 1977). In 1980, he became Director of Planning and Development for Northampton, Mass., and taught planning-related courses at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Smith College, and Hampshire College. In 1989, he was awarded an Overseas Studies Scholarship Grant from the Principals and Vice Chancellors of the Universities of the United Kingdom. After earning his doctorate, he taught planning-related courses at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Vassar College, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and New School University. With a grant from the American Planning Association, he conducted extensive field research in eight cities, including more than 150 interviews, which led to the publication of Making Places Special: Stories of Real Places Made Better by Planning (Planners Press, 2002).

Research Interest

Urban, city, district, and regional planning; anthropology; economics; public health