Ardmore, PA - Urban planning in the Philadelphia region has a long, storied history, and few have lived it quite like Richard G. Bickel. From a humble beginning in Montgomery County to overseeing major regional initiatives at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Bickel’s five-decade career maps an evolving landscape of communities, challenges, and solutions threaded together by a commitment to public engagement and pragmatic action.

Now retired, Bickel offers his vast experience as a Senior Advisor with Econsult Solutions, a national consultancy with a unique model: blending the fresh energy of its 35-member staff with the wisdom of over 60 senior advisors. For Bickel, retirement has meant selective participation. “If there’s something interesting, I’m happy to get involved,” he says, “but otherwise, I’m enjoying my retirement.”

The Accidental Planner

Surprisingly, Bickel didn’t always have his sights set on city grids or transit corridors. “I wanted to be a doctor. I was fascinated by medical dramas in the ‘60s and liked the idea of helping people,” he recalls. Yet, after a run-in with organic chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, Bickel pivoted to sociology and anthropology, areas that more closely matched his curiosity about people, places, and communities. A fateful urban geography course introduced him to the world of planning, prompting him to stay at Pitt for a Master’s in Urban Regional Planning.

Assigned as a community planner in Norristown, his first major project took Bickel to Rahway Avenue, a small minority neighborhood surrounded by dead-end streets. Residents were content with their unique arrangement and wanted no thoroughfare slicing through their peace and quiet. Bickel listened—and his recommendation to preserve the neighborhood’s layout became his first successful study. “That experience taught me an important lesson for planning. You cannot go into a community and impose your ideas. You need to talk to people and listen.”

From County to Region: A Career Built on Collaboration

Bickel’s subsequent work at the Montgomery County Planning Commission involved helping local governments with zoning, subdivision, and comprehensive plans. He describes a professional culture “where relationships are critical to implement plans.” This collaborative spirit followed him to the regional stage at DVRPC, where he dealt directly with federal transportation policies, complex funding streams, and the challenge of aligning the interests of nine counties across Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Later, his move to SEPTA deepened his insight into transportation planning—a world of acronyms, technical studies, and, at times, public skepticism. “Credibility is something that planners deal with. You go to a meeting and people wonder, ‘Who is this guy from the county?’” Over time, Bickel learned that trust, transparency, and a willingness to educate are a planner’s best tools.

Bickel’s roles also placed him on federal research panels and the American Planning Association, where he served as chapter president for Eastern Pennsylvania, (a uniquely Pennsylvanian position, considering the state had three separate chapters reflecting its diverse regions). He became an advocate for broader perspectives, always returning to the fundamentals: “All transportation issues start with demographics, population, and employment. That’s where planning begins.”

Lessons Learned and Challenges Ahead

Through the years, Bickel has navigated a shifting landscape of priorities: from infrastructure renewal in the Northeast to managing travel demands and the delicate politics of public-private partnerships. He’s witnessed the rise of NIMBYism (Not in My Back Yard) and the perennial challenge of affordable housing—all issues that remain front-and-center today.

Asked about his relationship with technology, Bickel is candid. “No, I don’t use AI now, and I didn’t then. But I was fortunate to have great technical people around me.” His focus has always been people, places, and plain language, qualities that served him well as a communicator and consensus-builder.

Bickel is under no illusions about the ease of reform. “If you want to see the ultimate in someone who got things done, it was Robert Moses. He was an implementer, but he didn’t want to be bothered by the concerns of people.” For Bickel, the better path is clear: “Selling planning is a communications effort and requires trying to get people to understand your concepts. And a successful planner is always prepared for compromise.”

Richard G. Bickel’s decades of work in urban planning offers more than a resume, it provides a blueprint for how cities and regions can tackle the obstacles ahead. Honored to have worked with planning commission members who were citizen-based at the local, county, and regional levels, as well as elected officials at all levels, his advice for the next generation is simple: “You need a comprehensive approach to implementation and not get sidelined into just one thing. Talk to people, listen, and be ready to adapt.”

As the Philadelphia region continues to grow and change, it does so with the benefit of Bickel’s wisdom. His story stands as a reminder that great planning starts, and ends, with people.

About Richard G. Bickel

Richard G. Bickel is a retired urban planner who has served with distinction at the Montgomery County Planning Commission, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC). He is currently a Senior Advisor at EconSalt, supporting thoughtful, pragmatic approaches to urban planning nationwide.

For more information about Richard G. Bickel, please visit https://econsultsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Bickel-Richard-G.-Bio-1.pdf/ and https://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/526916/richard-g-bickel-faicp-celebrated-for-excellence-in-the-field-of-urban-planning/