Philip B. Herr

Age 92, of Newton, passed away on April 16th.

Predeceased by his wife, Dulcie Herr and his sister Barbara Cardillo. Survived by daughter Karen Barnard of Dorchester, son Greg Herr and wife Caroline of Byfield, and nieces and nephews in the US and Britain.

Phil was born in Rhode Island, graduated in 1949 from Lexington High School in MA and then Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in NY with a Bachelor of Architecture. Drafted into the Army during the Korean War, he served in Military Intelligence stationed in Japan. He earned his Master’s degree in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

While a graduate student at MIT he fell for a recent British emigre, Planning Department secretary Dulcie Jones, whom he married shortly after graduation. Within 5 years he had bought the land use planning consulting practice that became Philip B Herr and Associates, and with his wife had 2 children and bought the home in Newton he would own for the remainder of his life. His greatest passions were learning and teaching, leading him professionally to have dual careers in planning as a community consultant and a college professor. Outside of work he was a voracious reader on a wide variety of topics and enjoyed cooking, gardening, listening to music (anything from The Beatles to Tchaikovsky), taking walks, spending time in nature, hosting dinner parties, and sharing time with family and pets.

As a planning consultant, Phil’s approach to planning focused on support over the long-term rather than static “master plans,” so he worked with many of his clients for many years, often a decade or longer.  Phil’s firm introduced a number of novel ideas to Massachusetts, such as performance zoning, and he pioneered new ways to maximize citizen participation. His work took him across New England and the country (Alaska, Wyoming, California, Colorado, etc.) and around the world (Venezuela, South Korea, Mali) among numerous other venues.

He also served for over 30 years as Adjunct Professor of City Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Teaching was his love and whether it was his students, staff, children, or the citizens in the communities he served, he touched many lives.

He devoted significant time to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, where he was a member emeritus of the Board of Advisors Executive Committee and was chair of the Northeast Region.

He volunteered decades of service to make Newton live up to its promise of fair, affordable, safe, healthy and accessible housing. He shepherded Newton's Comprehensive Plan to successful passage in 2007 and worked to ensure that the Austin Street Partners project would be built. He continued to advocate for the goals of the plan as long as health permitted. He was grateful for the opportunity to serve and work with so many committed people in the city.

Donations in Phil’s honor can be made to Citizens for Affordable Housing in Newton Development Organization (CAN-DO, newtoncan-do.org).

Please share memories of Phil or condolences.

Details of a memorial service will be posted later.