Rachel B. Cohen
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Community and Regional Planning
Rachel Cohen is an urban planner and social worker
with a diverse professional background. She currently
works as a Planner for Philadelphia Corporation for
Aging (PCA), the Area Agency on Aging for Philadelphia
County. Ms. Cohen’s primary focus is on community
development, and affordable housing with a specialty
in senior issues. In addition, she has experience in
environmental planning.
Through her work with PCA, she is focusing on issues
such as aging in place and the importance of a
multi-disciplinary approach for ensuring the
development and sustainability of livable communities
for residents of all ages. Her previous work with the
People’s Emergency Center Community Development
Corporation (PECCDC) in West Philadelphia as a Program
Manager gave her hands on experience with managing the
construction of affordable housing and creating a
neighborhood plan for their West Philadelphia focus
area. While at PECCDC she was instrumental in raising
millions of dollars for a variety of community
development projects.
Ms. Cohen’s community development experience is rooted
in her environmental planning experience with National
Wildlife Federation and the consulting firm, Booz
Allen and Hamilton. She worked with National Wildlife
Federation in Ann Arbor, Michigan as the Brownfields
Coordinator. In this position, she organized and
conducted workshops on brownfields redevelopment for a
multitude of stakeholders including community groups,
government officials, and developers in Detroit,
Michigan and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In addition, she
also worked with Booz Allen and Hamilton in
Philadelphia on Potentially Responsible Party searches
for Superfund sites.
Ms. Cohen holds an undergraduate degree in City
Planning from the University of Virginia, and a
Masters of Urban Planning and a Masters of Social Work
from the University of Michigan. During her graduate
career she was awarded the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development Community Development Work Study
Program Fellowship and a John A. Hartford Foundation
Geriatric Fellowship.
In addition to teaching and working as an Urban
Planner, Ms. Cohen has also produced, directed, and
written two short films: a documentary/promotional
piece on urban redevelopment in Detroit, Michigan for
the National Wildlife Federation; and a documentary
about a senior garden in Ann Arbor, Michigan and the
benefits of gardening.
