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Alan M. Voorhees
1922-2005
Credit:Nancy Voorhees
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Alan M. Voorhees was one of this nation's pivotal figures in city
planning and transportation concerns. From Atlanta
to Zurich,
Alan M. Voorhees set the pace in initiating a myriad of ventures
related to planning and transportation.
A list of the many projects piloted by Mr. Voorhees reflects the
visionary role he took in creating blueprints for change, including
development of planned cities such as Columbia,
Maryland, and Canberra, Australia,
and metropolitan transit systems such as the Washington Metro.
In 1961, he founded the transportation consulting firm of Alan M.
Voorhees & Associates, Inc., which grew to include ten offices in
the United States,
as well as offices in Caracas, London, Melbourne, Sao Paulo, Toronto,
and Zurich.
With Mr. Voorhees steering the course, the firm planned many of the
metropolitan transit systems built in the free world in the 1960s and
1970s, including those in Washington, DC, and Atlanta,
Georgia.
In 1967, his firm merged with Planning Research Corporation, where he
continued to work in transportation planning.
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In the late 1970s, Mr. Voorhees moved his career into a new area to
become dean of the College
of Architecture,
Art, and Urban Sciences at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
In 1980, Mr. Voorhees' multifaceted interests took him in new directions.
He founded Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA), which has become one of the
most successful commuter airlines in the country. ASA, now a subsidiary
of Delta Air Lines, Inc., is part of the Delta Connection with hubs in Atlanta and
Dallas-Fort Worth.
Throughout his prolific career, Mr. Voorhees contributed extensively to
the field of planning, serving as president of the American Institute of
Planners and chairman of the Transportation Research Board, the largest
unit of the National Academy of Sciences. He was the recipient of
numerous awards and received honorary doctoral degrees from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute and Voorhees
College.
Mr. Voorhees was born in New
Brunswick, New Jersey,
and was a veteran of World War II. He received both a silver and bronze
star for his distinguished service in the Pacific as a Navy Frogman, the
precursor of today's U.S. Navy SEAL.
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