APAPASE is a network of nearly 800 planners working and studying in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Our members work across public, private, nonprofit, and institutional sectors and possess an impressive diversity of expertise and experience. The APAPASE Member Spotlight is a new regular feature of our website designed to help you get to know your peers. If you or someone you know would like to be featured here, please send an email to admin@dvrpc.org.
Name: Mark Davie
School: West Chester University
Program of Study: Master of Urban & Regional Planning
Year/Class: 2nd year grad student
What is your favorite class you are taking or have taken? As dry as it sounds, I really enjoyed my planning law class. I liked learning about the
different ways states tackle planning issues and the frameworks and processes they have in place.
What are you working on now? Can you tell us about a recent or ongoing project or initiative that you are excited about? I am currently in an internship at an MPO in New Hampshire! I am operating traffic counts, conducting site visits for a parks and recreation inventory under the state children’s health foundation, and assisting with a housing assessment for the region.
How did you get into the field of planning? I’ve always liked maps and geography but I read “Walkable City” by Jeff Speck for a gen ed class in
college and that’s when I realized people do this work for a living.
What did you want to be when you grew up? Despite getting in trouble in elementary school for drawing highway interchanges during class, I actually started college as a nursing major. I think my family always knew I’d end up here anyway.
What was your first job? I worked at a Boy Scout camp in New Mexico! I taught search and rescue skills to high schoolers as they made their way across the mountains.
What is your favorite place in the region? I love running and biking at the Heinz refuge by the airport!
What are the greatest planning challenges facing our region? What are the greatest opportunities? Transit inequality is an issue that disproportionately affects low-income communities and populations of color. However, I feel that SEPTA and the region have a lot to work with, having one of the most extensive multi-modal networ
