MHCP
COLAB
Making cities better.
Melissa Hege's CV
Founder and Principal Melissa Hege is a certified planner with 23 years of experience practicing planning in South Florida and nationally.
Melissa leads the firm’s business development and all planning work including community outreach, online engagement, land use and zoning policy, master plan and redevelopment, multi-agency partnerships and funding solutions and contract negotiations.
She is the lead station planner for the Broward Commuter Rail project and created a policy plan, including a public relations strategy a on-line microsite, to make it safer for children to walk to school in Little Havana. She worked with the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority on a policy strategy to permit temporary pop-up uses which the City is using for their outdoor dining and retail program in response to the pandemic and lead the public engagement effort for the Wynwood Street Tree Master Plan.
She was nominated to the Miami Transportation Planning Organization’s Bicycle Pedestrian Committee and is a recent graduate of the ULI Leadership Institute’s class of 2020.
Registrations
American Institute of Certified Planners #016841
LEED Accredited Professional
Education
MA City Planning, University of Pennsylvania
William Wheaton Scholar
BA European Cultural Studies, Brandeis University
Cum Laude with Honors
Architectural Studies, Syracuse University
Florence, Italy
Career Discovery Program, Architecture
Harvard University
Professional Experience
Miami Downtown Development Authority
Manager Urban Planning and Transportation, 2014-2015
RMA, Pompano Beach, FL
Director of Planning and Business Development, 2013-2014
Zyscovich Architects, Miami, FL
Senior Planner/ Project Manager, 2003-2013
The Corradino Group, Miami, FL
Planner/ Project Manager, 1998-2003
Goody Clancy Architects, Boston, MA
Junior Planner 1995-1997
Professional Associations + Voluntary Boards
Miami Transportation Planning Organization (TPO)
Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) 2020, 2022
Urban Land Institute
Leadership Institute Class of 2020
Underline Health Committee and Design Advisory Committee Liaison 2018-2020
MiMo Biscayne Boulevard Association
Secretary 2018
Board Member 2016-2018
Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA)
Executive Board 2006-2008
Conference Chair 2008
Gold Coast Section of the Florida APA
Chair 2006-2008
Executive Board 2000-2015
Project List
Zoning + Transportation Policy
Miami TPO 215th Street Mobility Hub Study, FL
Broward Commuter Rail Station Area Planning, FL
Fort Meyers Beach 2040 Comprehensive Plan
Temporary Use Permits for Activation Projects, West Palm Beach
Little Havana Pedestrian Priority Zones, Miami, FL
2045 LRTP Bicycle/Pedestrian Element for Gainesville MTPO, FL
Complete Streets Conceptual Design, Cutler Bay, FL
Fort Lauderdale Comprehensive Plan
Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvement Projects, Downtown Miami, FL
Complete Streets Pilot Project Study, Downtown Miami, FL
Midtown Miami Special District 1+2 Zoning + Design Standards, FL
North Miami Beach Downtown Master Plan + Zoning, FL
Cocoa Beach Design Based Code, FL
Downtown West Palm Beach Master Plan + Urban Regulations
Hollywood Young Circle Downtown Zoning Code, FL
Hollywood Commercial Corridors Zoning Code, FL
Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal, MI
Miami Beach Municipal Mobility Plan, FL
Electrowave 7-year Long Range Plan, Miami Beach, FL
Redevelopment + Master Planning
Hollywood Industrial Park Master Plan and Code Recommendations
Laurens County Development Corporation Community Asset Mapping, SC
Bayside Wharf Redevelopment Analysis, Miami
Downtown Miami, Various Studies
Coral Springs CRA Plan, FL
Lafayette, LA Downtown Master Plan and Code Recommendations
Downtown Hollywood CRA Vision + Master Plan
Downtown Cocoa Beach CRA Plan and Vision
Broward County Downtown Campus Master Plan
Tampa Innovation Alliance Strategic Plan
Hollywood Beach Community Redevelopment Plan
Baywalk Multi-Use Trail Implementation, Downtown Miami, FL
Blackstone River Valley Environmental Assessment, MA
Public Engagement
Hollywood Beach Public Private Partnership, Related Group
Residences of Hillsboro Beach Public Outreach Campaign
Intracoastal Master Plan Outreach Campaign, North Miami Beach
Wynwood Street Tree Master Plan
Complete Streets Forum for Miami Dade County
Village of Pinecrest Strategic Plan, FL
Lafayette Parish Downtown Master Plan, Louisiana
Jacksonville Vision Plans & Future Land Use Plan
Atlantic Beach Community Vision, South Carolina
Selected Lectures
The Ideas Center at Miami Dade College 2019 and 2021
Guest Lecturer "Reimagining Cities"
FL APA Annual Conference 2014. “Suburbs to Cities and Why We're Still Searching for that Third Place”
FL APA Annual Conference 2014. “The Planner's New Toolbox: New Technologies for Outreach, Graphic Communication & Design”
FL APA Annual Conference 2012. “Reversing the Trend with Form Based Codes Best Practices for Administration & Implementation”
FL APA Annual Conference 2011. “The Redevelopment Of Downtown West Palm Beach: 20 Years Of Planning And Lessons Learned”
FL APA Annual Conference 2009. “A Planner’s Recovery Toolkit”
FL APA Annual Conference 2008. “Capacity Drive Codes vs Form Based Codes - a New Vision for West Palm Beach”
Selected Writings
"The Pandemic and the Public Realm: Global Innovations for Health, Social Equity, and Sustainability", Urban Land Institute, 2021- featured chapter on West Palm Beach, "Streateries, Businesses, and Neighborhoods"
"Dining on the Spot + Temporary Use Permits: How Covid-19 Changed the Way We Dine Outside, and How West Palm Beach Was Ahead of the Game", Florida Planning Magazine, Fall 2020
"Miami's Best Food Hall Dish Isn't on the Menu" Modern Cities, August 2019
" Why You Should Be Jealous of This Gorgeous Alley" Modern Cities, August 2018
"A River Runs Through It: NYC's Hudson River Park" Modern Cities, June 2018
"The Good the Bad and the Ugly: The New Urban Crisis" Modern Cities, May 2018
" DIY 101: How to Make Your City Waterfront Fabulous"
Florida Planning Magazine , Winter 2017
Featured blogger Planetizen 2010-2012
“NYC’s Active Design Guidelines: Promoting Physical Activity & Health in Design”. Florida Planning, Fall 2010