Remembering Ingrid Reed

I hope you will celebrate the life of Ingrid Reed, one time vice dean of what was then the Woodrow Wilson School. I was fortunate to meet with her again last October when I was in Princeton on a very rare opportunity to visit. I owe her a great deal. 

As a mid-career government official with promise, in 1987 I was fortunate to be awarded a study year by the British government. I had approached an upstate university in New York, on the recommendation of a professor from there visiting London. I asked him about a fallback option, and he said I could always try approaching Princeton.

In Princeton, Ingrid shared her surprise with the dean that anyone would make the school their second choice. But they could see that the political dimension of zoning and land use planning was an interesting field. The result was that I and my young family arrived for a year’s immersion in U.S. academic life. 

Auditing a course in the architecture school, on Ingrid’s recommendation, I learned a huge amount from the teaching of the late Professor Chester Rapkin. He had been at the heart of planning in New York City over a long period and it fascinating to compare U.K. practice with the American way. Ingrid also introduced me to Henry Richmond, of the 1000 Friends of Oregon, which led to a summer study opportunity to review the success of that organization as it celebrated 10 years of informed campaigning. 

One obligation of my funder was a report of my year. Suitably inspired, I wrote more than just a report, a book on American planning and land use, published by the U.K. Government. I then went on to senior government roles in land use, often drawing on the Princeton experience. The Royal Town Planning Institute recognized me with honorary life membership. 

Ingrid’s decision in 1987 transformed my working life and led to a lifelong family friendship. I was able to thank her last fall, when I visited Princeton again. We will miss her.