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Faculty Profile

Richard Booth

Title

Professor

Department

City & Regional Planning

Address

117 W. Sibley Hall

Phone

(607) 255-4025

Email

rsb6@cornell.edu
Richard Booth serves as a Commissioner on the New York State Adirondack Park Agency, pursuant to an appointment by the Governor. He was elected to two four-year terms on the Tompkins County Legislature and served there from 2002 to late 2007, when he resigned to take his seat on the Adirondack Park Agency.

 

He also served as a member of the NYS Low-level Radioactive Waste Siting Commission, 1991–95. In addition, he was elected alderperson on the City of Ithaca's Common Council in 1985 and served for a decade, including six years as chairperson of the City's Budget and Administration Committee. From 1975–77, he served as a lawyer for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, rising to the position of Assistant Counsel dealing with land use affairs. Prior to that, he was a senior attorney with the NYS Adirondack Park Agency. 

 

Booth is director of the undergraduate program in urban and regional studies. He received a B.A. from Amherst College in 1968 and a J.D. from George Washington University Law School in 1972.

Courses (selected)

  • CRP 4590 / 5590 Legal Aspects of Land Use Planning
  • CRP 4440 / 5440 Resource Management and Environmental Law

Publications (selected)

  • “Forging a Viable Future,” chapter in Crossroads: Environmental Priorities for the Future (1988)
  • Developing Regional Land Use Planning and Control Institutions – The Adirondack Experience,” 28 Buffalo Law (1980)
  • Effectiveness of Municipal Recycling Programs: A Case Study in Ithaca, New York,” chapter in LaVille et l’environnement (1994)

Awards, Grants, and Fellowships (selected)

  • Outstanding Educator selected by Merrill Presidential Scholar (1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 2001)
  • Cornell Institute and Public Affairs Distinguished Faculty Award (2003–04)
  • College of Architecture, Art, and Planning Distinguished Teaching Award (1983 and 1987)

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