Melissa Hege

Melissa Hege, AICP, LEED AP, Director of Planning at Redevelopment Management Associates.

Member for
15 years 1 month

Contributed 8 posts

Full Bio

Melissa Hege, AICP, LEED AP, practices planning and urban design in one of the Country’s most envied and envious iconic cities—the Republic of Miami. For more than a decade, she has enjoyed the juxtaposition of the region’s beauty and dysfunction, and continues to learn from it daily. Educated at the University of Pennsylvania and Brandeis University, her portfolio includes master plans and redevelopment plans, which translate design based solutions into practical applications. A focus on community outreach, goal setting, neighborhood preservation, and implementation is essential to her work as noted in her recent involvement with the Village of Pinecrest’s Strategic Plan. Other notable projects include the Downtown West Palm Beach Master Plan and Urban Regulations, which received the Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association’s highest honor in 2008.

Melissa is Immediate Past Chair of the Miami Section of the Florida American Planning Association, was Co-chair for the State’s 2008 annual conference on sustainable planning, was appointed to Miami-Dade County’s Transportation Aesthetic Review Committee for three years, and spearheaded an effort to initiate a dialogue between City and County leaders to address growth management in a half day symposium. She has been published in the Miami Herald, Florida Planning, and Panorama (University of Pennsylvania).

As Director of Planning and Redevelopment Management Associates, Ms. Hege transforms complex design concepts into practical applications for downtowns and main streets.

Youth and the Greatest Love of All….What I Learned From Whitney Houston

As a childhood Whitney Houston fan and former owner of her Greatest Hits cassette tape, her death revived memories of a 13 year old summer camper standing atop a twin bed belting out The Greatest Love of All into a hairbrush microphone. I never really paid much attention to the lyrics until news reports of her death relentlessly played the song--“I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.” The 13-year old in me always liked that Whitney was singing about my generation, but beyond that, I didn’t quite understand the message. And it wasn’t until last month when I listened to the lyrics and I get it now. It is our responsibility to prepare our children for their roles in building and shaping our world, our cities, our neighborhoods.

5 Things That Inspire Me

During these harsh economic times I’ve read about some of the most creative and inspiring planning and design projects in my career. Whether they are the product of the underemployed looking for a creative outlet or a resetting of our values and goals, something magical is happening in the world of planning. Below are 5 things that have inspired my inner planner.

A New Year’s Resolution List for City Planners

Be a better person; be a better planner. Musings from a planner who wants to improve our profession for 2011. Here’s how:

The Search for Scientific Validation: When Our Feelings Are Just Not Good Enough

Planners are taught to be analytical thinkers who use quantitative data, but also qualitative research. Remember the Myers Briggs personality test? It assesses an individual’s personality based on four preferences: A focus on the outer world (extraversion) or inner world (introversion); basic information (sensing) or interpretation and meaning (intuition); making decision based on logic (thinking) or people and special circumstances (feeling); dealing with the outside world with clear decisions (judging) or staying open to new information and options (perceiving). As planners, we are constantly in conflict with these preferences as we straddle the world of technician and analyst.

It’s About Data Baby