U. professor recognized as Sustainability Hero for statewide urban planning efforts

Leigh Ann Von Hagen, managing director and adjunct professor in the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center and founder of the Planning Healthy Communities Initiative at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, was recently recognized by Sustainable Jersey as a Sustainability Hero, according to a press release.

Von Hagen spoke with The Daily Targum about her work and the significance of the distinction. This title is given every month to one person who is working toward environmental efforts in an academic, municipal or Sustainable Jersey Task Force setting, according to the nomination form.

Von Hagen said she believes she was given this title to recognize the broader scope of her and her team's work. She said the Voorhees Transportation Center has collaborated with Sustainable Jersey for a long time, and this distinction was a means of showing appreciation for their strong alliance and shared goals.

"The Sustainable Jersey Hero (award) ... made me look back and say, 'I like the journey I've been taking.' And I've been able to take something I'm passionate about and make it part of my work. And that's been really satisfying," Von Hagen said.

She said she founded the Planning Healthy Communities Initiative to better urban planning and community health. She said her team at the Voorhees Transportation Center created "Together North Jersey," an outline for the initiative, to apply for a health grant from the Pew Charitable Trust.

Alongside Karen Lowrie, associate director of the Environmental Analysis and Communication group at the Bloustein School, Von Hagen said they continued organizing and planning ways to improve public health and urban planning on the level of policy.

As a professor, Von Hagen said she holds classes in the form of urban planning studios. She said these studio classes were built to give students the opportunity to engage in real-life examples of urban planning.

"As a student, you've been in classes … learning a lot of this, and the urban planning studio allows you to then take that knowledge and apply it and learn something new," Von Hagen said. "Like, 'What's it like to work with a client?' 'What kind of presentation works?' How to work on a team because the other thing about urban planning studios — it's almost always a team project."

Von Hagen gave an example of her students using chalk paint to put temporary bike lanes on roads in Asbury Park in April 2022. This month-long trial allowed the community to experiment with the implementation of bike lanes prior to investing in them.

She said one of her main goals is to eliminate transportation-related deaths. She said the process will involve community-wide efforts to swap driving for walking or cycling, which additionally relates to climate issues. With the title of Sustainability Hero, she said she intends to continue contributing to statewide safety measures.

As a new graduate and young professional, Von Hagen said that she was not able to predict her current career trajectory. She said that students who are unsure of their own futures can enable progress through networking and acting on areas of interest.

"Keep at it. Don't despair. I know sometimes it can feel like the job market's not in your favor. When I graduated, it certainly wasn't either. But there's a path," she said. "Whatever you're reading, whatever YouTube channel that piques your interest, see how people are doing what they're doing, and see if there's a path for you that way."