Diane Suchman

Biography: Diane R. Suchman Diane R. Suchman is an independent writer and consultant who specializes in housing, neighborhood revitalization, and urban revitalization issues. From 1993-1994, Ms. Suchman was special assistant to Michael Stegman, Assistant Secretary of Policy Development and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In that capacity, she was involved in all aspects of federal policy and programs to foster production and preservation of low and moderate-income housing and to promote the vitality of the nation+s cities. Before her tenure at HUD, Ms. Suchman was the director of housing and community development research for The Urban Land Institute (ULI), where she developed and managed research in single-family and multifamily residential development, infrastructure development, urban revitalization, public assembly facilities, and certain special land uses. Previously, as a senior research associate at ULI, Ms. Suchman directed research on urban/suburban development patterns and on management of development companies. She also served as editor of ULI+s Project Reference File case study series. While at ULI, Ms. Suchman served as the senior staff support for the Institute+s Low-and Moderate-Income Housing Task Force, creating and implementing a four-year program of applied research. As part of that work, she initiated and directed a series of Advisory Service panels in low-income neighborhoods. ULI published her analysis of the results of eight of those panels in the book, Revitalizing Low-Income Neighborhoods (1993). Since leaving ULI, Ms. Suchman has continued to participate in ULI+s Panel Advisory Service, including panels that have focused on housing, community and economic development, and downtown development issues. She has managed about a dozen ULI panels and served as a panelist on three. In addition, Ms. Suchman worked for several years as a market analyst, performing site selections, market assessments, and development feasibility studies. She is the author of four books, including (in addition to Revitalizing Low-Income Neighborhoods), Managing a Development Company (1987), Public/Private Housing Partnerships (1991), and Infill Housing in Inner-City Neighborhoods (forthcoming, Fall 1997). She has also written numerous articles, working papers, reports, and case studies. Ms. Suchman holds a masters degree in planning from the University of Virginia.