In Memoriam: Stuart Meck, FAICP

Stuart Meck, FAICP, whose 45-year planning career encompassed research, professional practice, teaching, and APA leadership, died on April 15, 2018, at the age of 70.

Headshot of Stuart Meck, FAICP.

Meck was an associate research professor and director of the Center for Planning Practice in the Bloustein School at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, where he had served for 13 years. He also served as an adjunct associate professor for the Master of Arts in Historic Preservation program at Goucher College.

Previously he spent 11 years as a senior research fellow at the American Planning Association and 12 years as assistant city manager and planning director of the City of Oxford, Ohio.

He was president of the American Planning Association from 1989 to 1991.

"His major professional contribution has been APA's Growing Smart Project, a multiyear effort to draft the next generation of model planning and zoning enabling legislation," wrote the FAICP committee when Meck was inducted into the AICP College of Fellows in 2000.

Major works include the Growing Smart Legislative Guidebook: Model Statutes for Planning and the Management of Change, for which he served as principal investigator and general editor, and Ohio Planning and Zoning Law with Kenneth Pearlman.

Meck held bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism and a master of city planning from Ohio State University as well as a master's degree in business administration from Wright State University.

In lieu of a service, Meck's family will be establishing a lecture series at Rutgers University. "The Stuart Meck Memorial Lecture" will highlight the work of experts, emerging scholars, and professionals focused on land use law and affordable housing.

Meck was an avid jazz musician. Contributions may be made to the New Jersey Jazz Society, 382 Springfield Ave., Suite 217, Summit, NJ 07901, or njjs.org, or the family recommends you visit and enjoy a public park.


April 19, 2018