CURRICULUM VITAE
Sy Adler
August, 2013
Education
Ph. D.1980 City and Regional Planning
University of California, Berkeley
MCP1973 City Planning
Harvard University
B.A.1971 Urban Studies
University of Pittsburgh
Employment
7/96-12/00Director, School of Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University
9/92-Professor of Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University.
9/87-6/92Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University.
9/82-6/87Assistant Professor of Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University.
3/80-6/82Regional Planner, Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning.
Publications
Books
2012Oregon Plans: The Making of an Unquiet Land Use Revolution. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press.
1997Carl Abbott, Sy Adler, and Margery Abbott, Planning a New West: The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area,Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press.
1994Carl Abbott, Deborah Howe, and Sy Adler, eds., Planning the Oregon Way, Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press.
Chapters
2011and Carl Abbott and Margery Abbott, “The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.– Regional Planning for the New West.” In Carleton Montgomery, ed., Regional Planning for a Sustainable America. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
2011and J. Brenner, M. Frisch, L. Knopp and M. Lauria, “Reflections on Classic Articles on Planning and LGBT Communities.” In Petra Doan, ed., Queerying Planning: Challenging Heteronormative Assumptions and Reframing Planning Practice. Ashgate.
2005and Johanna Brenner, “Gender and Space: Lesbians and Gay Men in the City.” In Jan Lin and Christopher Mele, eds., The Urban Sociology Reader. Routledge.
2004and Jennifer Dill, “The Evolution of Transportation Planning in the Portland Metropolitan Area.” In Connie Ozawa, ed., The Portland Edge. Covelo, CA: Island Press.
1994"The Oregon Approach to Integrating Transportation and Land Use Planning." In Carl Abbott, Deborah Howe, and Sy Adler, eds., Planning the Oregon Way, Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press.
1993"The Evolution of Federal Transit Policy.” In Martin Melosi, ed., Urban Public Policy: Historical Modes and Methods, University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.
1990and Sheldon Edner, "Governing and Managing Multi-Modal Regional Transit Agencies in a Multicentric Era." In George M. Guess, ed., Public Policy and Transit System Management, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Articles
2009Ellen Shoshkes and Sy Adler, “Planning for Healthy People/Healthy Places: Lessons from mid-20th Century Global Discourse.” Planning Perspectives, Volume 24, Number 2: 197-217.
2008and Noelle Dobson, Karen Perl Fox, and Lynn Weigand, “Advocates and Active Living on the Rural-Urban Fringe: A Case Study of Planning in the Portland, Oregon, Metropolitan Area.” Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law, Volume 33, Number 3: 525-558.
2007Noelle Dobson, Sy Adler, Karen Perl Fox and Lynn Weigand, “Advocating for Active Living on the Rural-Urban Fringe,” Planning Magazine, Volume 73, Number 2: A-5.
2004Deborah Howe, Carl Abbott, and Sy Adler, “What's on the Horizon for Oregon Planners?” Journal of the American Planning Association, Volume 70, Number 4: 391-397.
2004Mark Bello and Sy Adler, “Banning the ‘Snout House’: The Politics of Design in Portland, Oregon.” Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, Volume 21, Number 3: 193-208.
2003Carl Abbott, Sy Adler, Deborah Howe, “A Quiet Counterrevolution in Land Use Regulation: The Origins and Impacts of Oregon’s Ballot Measure 7.” Housing Policy Debate, Volume 14, Number 3: 383-425.
2002J. C. Jo and Sy Adler, “North Korean Planning: Urban Changes and Regional Balance.” Cities, Volume 19, Number 3: 205-215.
2002Jin Cheol Jo and Sy Adler, “Planning in the socialist developing country: the case of North Korea.” Habitat International 26: 251-267.
2001Martha Bianco and Sy Adler, “The Politics of Implementation: The Corporatist Paradigm Applied to the Implementation of Oregon’s Statewide Transportation Planning Rule.” Journal of Planning Education and Research, Volume 21, Number 1.
1996Matthew Slavin and Sy Adler, “Legislative Constraints on Gubernatorial State Industrial Policy: Evidence from Oregon’s Regional Strategies Program.” Economic Development Quarterly, Volume 10, Number 3.
1993"The Evolution of Federal Transit Policy." Journal of Policy History, Volume 5, Number 1.
(Reprinted in Martin Melosi, ed., Urban Public Policy: Historical Modes and Methods, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1993.)
1992and Sheldon Edner, "Challenges Confronting Metropolitan Portland's Transportation Decision System." Transportation Research Record, Number 1364.
1992and Johanna Brenner, "Gender and Space: Lesbians and Gay Men in the City." International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Volume 16, Number 1.
(Reprinted in Jan Lin and Christopher Mele, eds., The Urban Sociology Reader. Routledge, 2005.)
1991"The Transformation of the Pacific Electric Railway: Bradford Snell, Roger Rabbit, and the Politics of Transportation in Los Angeles." Urban Affairs Quarterly, Volume 27, Number 1.
1990"Environmental Movement Politics, Mandates to Plan, and Professional Planners: The Dialectics of Discretion in Planning Practice." Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, Volume 7, Number 4.
1990Sharon Baggett and Sy Adler, "Regulating the Residential Care Industry: Historical Precedents and Current Dilemmas." Journal of Aging and Social Policy, Volume 2, Number 1.
1990and Gerald Blake, "The Effects of a Formal Citizen Participation Program on Involvement in the Planning Process: A Case Study of Portland, Oregon." State and Local Government Review, Volume 22, Number 1.
1989Carl Abbott and Sy Adler, "History in Planning Analysis." Journal of the American Planning Association, Volume 55, Number 4.
1988"Infrastructure Politics: The Dynamics of Crossing San Francisco Bay." The Public Historian, Volume 10, Number 4.
1988"A Comparative Analysis of Rail Transit Politics, Policy and Planning in Canada and the United States." The Logistics and Transportation Review, Volume 24, Number 3.
1988and Sheldon Edner, "Technological Change in Urban Transport Organizations." Public Productivity Review, Volume 12, Number 2.
1988“Why BART but no ‘LART’? The Political Economy of Rail Rapid Transit Planning in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Metropolitan Areas, 1945-1957.” Planning Perspectives, Volume 2, Number 2.
1987“The New Information Technology and the Structure of Planning Practice.” Journal of Planning Education and Research, Volume 6, Number 2.
1986“The Dynamics of Transit Innovation in Los Angeles.” Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, Volume 4: 321-355.
Book Reviews
2007Review of Zachary Schrag, The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. Journal of American History. Volume 93, Number 4.
2006Review of Gregory Crowley, The Politics of Place: Contentious Urban Redevelopment in Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005. Journal of Planning Education and Research, Volume 26, Number 1.
1998Review of Greg Hise, Magnetic Los Angeles: Planning the Twentieth-Century Metropolis, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. Pacific Historical Review, Volume 67, Number 4.
1997Review of Bruce McClendon and Anthony Catanese, eds., Planners on Planning: Leading Planners Offer Real-Life Lessons on What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why, Jossey-Bass, 1996. Journal of the American Planning Association, Volume 63, Number 2.
1994Review of Clifton Hood, 722 Miles: How the Subways Shaped New York City, Simon and Schuster, 1993. Journal of Planning Education and Research, Volume 14, Number 1.
1988Review of Scott Bottles, Los Angeles and the Automobile: The Making of the Modern City, University of California Press, 1987. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, Volume 6, Number 2.
Completed Works
Work in Progress
The Planning History, Theory, and Politics of the Portland Metropolitan Area’s Original Urban Growth Boundary
Research Monographs
2003and Julie Odell, Assessment of the Community GIS Initiative. Prepared for Ford Foundation.
2002and Connie Ozawa, Pleasant Valley Concept Plan: Project Evaluation. Prepared for Metro.
1997and Carl Abbott, Conflict and Cooperation on the Metropolitan Frontier: The Politics of Regional Growth Management in the Pacific Northwest. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
1988Sheldon Edner, Sy Adler and Peter Morris, Challenges Confronting Metropolitan Portland's Transportation Decision-Making Regime. TRANS/NOW.
1986Understanding the Dynamics of Innovation in Urban Transit. United States Department of Transportation, Urban Mass Transportation Administration.
1980The Political Economy of Transit in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1945-1963. United States Department of Transportation. Urban Mass Transportation Administration.
Conference Papers and Presentations
2013“The Planning History, Theory, and Politics of Metropolitan Portland’s Urban Growth Boundary.”Presented at Association of European Schools of Planning/Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference.
2012“The Planning History, Theory, and Politics of Metropolitan Portland’s Urban Growth Boundary.”Presented at International Planning History Society Conference.
2012“Planning Innovations in Oregon and Metropolitan Portland, 1960s and 1970s.”CityWise Breakfast Series, Portland State University.
2010Andree Tremoulet and Sy Adler. “Unlikely Alliance: How Oregon Addressed Exclusionary Zoning in the 1970s.” Presented at Associated Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference.
2010Sy Adler, Deborah Howe, Connie Ozawa, “Planning Studios as Incubators for Ethical Professional Practice.” Presented at Associated Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference.
2009“The 1973 Oregon State Land Use Planning Law in Conceptual and Comparative Perspective.” Presented at Society for American City and Regional Planning History Conference.
2009“Oregon’s Statewide Planning Goals in Historical Perspective.” Presented at Association of European Schools of Planning Conference.
2008“Planners, Environmentalists and Lawyers, and the Politics of Land Use Legislation in Oregon.” Presented at International Planning History Society Conference.
2008“The Politics of Adopting Oregon’s Statewide Land Use Planning Goals.” Presented at Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference.
2007“Lawyers, Planners, Lawyer/Planners: The Dynamics of Land Use Planning in Oregon.” Presented at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference.
2007“Watchdog Emerging: The Pre-History of 1000 Friends of Oregon.” Presented at Urban Affairs Association Conference.
2006Ellen Shoshkes and Sy Adler, “Planning for Healthy People/Healthy Places: Lessons from mid-20th Century Global Discourse. Presented at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference.
2003“The Evolution of Transportation Planning in the Portland Metropolitan Area.” Presented at the AESOP-ACSP Joint Conference.
2001Roundtable Presentation: “Oregon’s Ballot Measure 7.” Presented at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference.
1997"Planners and Angry Citizens: The Portland Planning Bureau and the Dynamics of Increasing Density." Presented at the Association of Collegiate School of Planning Conference.
1996Roundtable Presentation: “Toronto as a Capital of Good Planning: Canadian and U.S. Perspectives.” Presented at the Association of Collegiate School of Planning Conference.
1995"Implementing Oregon's Statewide Transportation Planning Rule: The Dynamics of Conflict and Cooperation Within the Community of Planners." Presented at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference.
1994"Pushing the Envelope of Planning Practice: Citizen Activists, Professional Planners, and the Politics of Transportation Modeling in the Portland Metropolitan Area." Presented at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference.
1993"Planners as Educators: The Portland Planning Bureau's Livable City Project." Presented at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference.
1992"The Oregon Approach to Integrating Transportation and Land Use Planning." Presented at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference.
1992"The Oregon Approach to Integrating Transportation and Land Use Planning." Presented at the Urban Affairs Association Annual Meeting.
1990"The Evolution of Transportation Planning Practice." Presented at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference.
1988"Institutional and Professional Issues in Planning Theory and Practice." Presented at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference.
1988Invited Participant, International Conference on Research on Planning Practice, Cornell University.
Grants, Fellowships and Prizes
2008Gift from John Gray to support research and writing about the history of the Oregon Land Use Planning program ($9,500).
2007Recipient, Excellence in Departmental Civic Engagement Award, Center for Academic Excellence, Portland State University.
2001The Impact of Ballot Measure 7 on Statewide Land Use Planning in Oregon. Co-Principal Investigators Carl Abbott, Sy Adler, and Deborah Howe. Fannie Mae Foundation. (Funded, $9,000)
2001Community GIS Initiative. Project Evaluator for this Ford Foundation-supported effort at PSU’s Institute for Portland Metropolitan Studies (Funded, $259,000).
1999Urban Reserve Planning for the Portland, Oregon Metropolitan Region. Professor Connie Ozawa, co-investigator. Metro contract funded through a grant to Metro from the Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation and Community and System Preservation Pilot Program (Funded, $57,000).
1997 Conflict and Cooperation on the Metropolitan Frontier: The Politics of Regional Growth Management in the Pacific Northwest. Professor Carl Abbott, co-investigator. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (Funded, $8,331).
1996Oregon Policy Seminar. Professor Carl Abbott, co-investigator. PSU Faculty Development Program (Funded, $1,700).
1993Catherine Bauer Wurster Prize for the best scholarly paper ("The Transformation of the Pacific Electric Railway...") 1991-1993. Society for American City and Regional Planning History.
1991Implementing Design Review in the Portland Metropolitan Area. Professor Stefano Zegretti, co-investigator. University Committee on Research and Publications (Funded, $1,000).
1991A Comparative Analysis of Planning Theory and Practice in the Pacific Northwest. PSU Faculty Development Program (Funded, $2,300).
1989Transportation Decision-Making Processes in the Portland, Oregon Metropolitan Area. TRANS/NOW.Professor Sheldon Edner, co-investigator. (Funded, $33,000).
1988Policy Implementation Issues in the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area. Professors Carl Abbott and Sheldon Edner, co-investigators. PSU Faculty Development Program (Funded, $2,200).
Courses Taught
Urban Planning Courses:
History and Theory of Planning
Introduction to Urban Planning
Planning Theory Seminar
Planning Workshop
Urban Studies Courses:
The Sociology and Politics of Urban Life
The Sociology and Politics of Urban Life: Advanced Readings
Marxism and the City
Community Development Courses:
Theory and Philosophy of Community Development
Community Development Seminar
Substantive Policy Courses:
Healthy Communities
Freshman Inquiry Course:
Portland
Dissertation Committees
Seven currently active.
Chair: 4
Member: 3
Committee chair for thirty-seven completed Ph.D. dissertations to date.
Service to Profession
2013Senate Bill 100: The National Context of a Landmark Planning Law. Panel presentation to Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission as part of the 40th anniversary commemoration of Senate Bill 100.
2012-2013Chair, Academic Program Committee, Planning, Law, and Property Rights Conference.
2012-Consultant to Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development about Senate Bill 100 40th Anniversary commemoration in 2013 and a proposed oral history project.
2012Moderator, Oregon Chapters of the American Planning Association and American Society of Landscape Architects-sponsored Forum. City of Portland Mayoral Candidates.
2011Consultant to the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development on the design of a series of Urban Forums.
2011Planning Accreditation Board Site Visitor, Arizona State University.
2010Moderator, Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association-sponsored Panel Discussion. Metro Council President Candidates.
2009Presentation about the political history of the Oregon Statewide Planning Goals to Department of Land Conservation and Development staff.
2008-Oregon State University Press Editorial Board member.
2008Roundtable Organizer, Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association Conference. Creativity and Professional Planning Practice-An International Perspective.
2008Consultant to Oregon University System Land Use Project. Contributed to the design of a set of studies that evaluated the implementation of several Oregon statewide land use planning goals. Consulted with the authors of studies of the Citizen Participation goal and the Urbanization goal done as part of the Land Use Project.
2005Volunteer Service Award presented by Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association.
1998-2004Deborah Howe, Carl Abbott, and Sy Adler, Co-Editors, Journal of the American Planning Association. (Approximately $200,000 grant funding from American Planning Association during this period).
1993-1998Deborah Howe, Carl Abbott, and Sy Adler, Book Review Co-Editors, Journal of the American Planning Association. Approximately $85,000 grant funding from American Planning Association during this period).
1992-Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Architectural and Planning Research.
1990Member, Awards Committee, Oregon Chapter, American Planning Association.
Article Referee
Policy Studies Journal
Antipode
Urban Affairs Quarterly/Review
Planning Perspectives
Progress in Planning
Environment and Planning A
Environment and Planning D: Society and Space
Journal of Architectural and Planning Research
Journal of Environmental Planning and Mgmt.
Journal of Planning Education and Research
State and Local Government Review
Journal of Policy History
Journal of the American Planning Association
University Service
2013Researching the History of the Oregon Statewide Land Use Planning Program. Presentation sponsored by the Special Collection Department of the PSU Library to enhance interest in the Library collections related to urban and regional planning
2013-President, AAUP-Oregon
2012-2013AAUP Representative, Peer Review/Career Support Task Force
2011-Member, PSU-AAUP Collective Bargaining Team
2010-2012Community Studies Upper Division Cluster Coordinator. Substantially revised the cluster to conform to new University Studies Council requirements and secured approval for the revisions.
2006-2007Member, PSU-AAUP Executive Council (Past President)
2005-2006Member, Campus Master Plan Committee
2004-2005Member, Ad-Hoc Committee on the Summer Session
2004-2006President, PSU-AAUP.
2004-2005Member, Accreditation Self-Study Sub-committee: Standard 7 – Finance.
2003Member, University Budget and Priorities Committee
2002-2004Member, AAUP Executive Council.
2001-2005Community Studies Upper Division Cluster Coordinator
1999Member, Faculty Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Cross-Listed and Omnibus-Numbered Courses.
1996-2001Designer and Coordinator, Healthy People/Healthy Places Upper Division Cluster
1996-1999Member, Intercollegiate Athletics Board of the Faculty Senate.
1996Recipient, American Association of University Professors Faculty Service Award.
1994-1996Vice-President for Collective Bargaining, American Association of University Professors.
1994-1995Member, Search committee for Environmental Science/Studies positions.
1994-1995Member, Ad-hoc committee to design an Environmental Studies Major.
1993AAUP representative, Joint AAUP/Administration Committee on Faculty Productivity.
1993AAUP representative, University Budget Reduction Team.
1992AAUP representative, University Budget Reduction Team.
1992-1995Member, University Planning Council.
1992-1994Member, AAUP Executive Council.
1990-1992Vice-President for Collective Bargaining, American Association of University Professors.
1989Member, Collective Bargaining Team, AAUP.
1988Chair, Joint AAUP/Administration Committee on Salary Merit Pay Guidelines.
1984-1989Member, AAUP Executive Council
School/College Service
1/13-2/13Member, CUPA Dean’s Promotion and Tenure Committee