MICHELLE ROBINSON
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

AFFILIATION: Sole proprietor, Michelle Robinson, Architect, a full service architectural firm focused on transportation and transportation related projects;  former manager of Station Planning and Design for Amtrak

AREA OF EXPERTISE: Michelle is a registered architect with expertise in coalition building, the collaborative design process, and community building

BACKGROUND & EXPERIENCE: Michelle is the owner of Michelle Robinson, Architect, a full service architectural firm focused on transportation and transportation-related projects. With more than seven years of experience in the transportation environment, the firm presents a balanced understanding of the complexities associated with developing a positive transit experience. Michelle’s transportation experience includes planning for trains, planes, and automobiles.

In addition to her private practice, Michelle is an active volunteer and co-chair of the Project Review Committee for the Community Design Collaborative (CDC), a non-profit design center that is building neighborhood visions as communities and design professionals work together. Michelle has also been an adjunct instructor and guest speaker at local colleges and a guest speaker at the statewide Preservation Pennsylvania conference. Michelle is an advocate for sustainable design, public transportation, open space preservation, and improving the quality of the built environment.

 RESEARCH INTERESTS: In the winter of 2001, in her capacity of manager of Station Planning and Design for Amtrak, Michelle presented to statewide organizations the idea to bring together stakeholders from each of the eighteen active Amtrak stations from Ardmore to Greensburg, Pennsylvania. The purpose of this meeting was twofold: to unite the communities along the spine that literally connected them to each other—the railroad—and to begin a dialogue to revitalize each of the stations and the station areas. Her efforts resulted in a one-day symposium, “Railroad Station Revitalization: Challenges and Possibilities Along the Keystone Corridor,” in spring 2002. Throughout the day of presentations, the underlying concern expressed by stakeholders revolved around funding and documentation issues. Michelle’s ongoing research continues to focus on developing a “Commonwealth Neighborhood” and a clearinghouse of development efforts along the 352-mile Keystone corridor. Information she gathers will be applied to efforts to seek funding for transit redevelopment projects.