Participatory planning and design, public-private partnerships, urban governance, gender and planning.
Dr. Nelischer received her Ph.D. in Planning from the University of Toronto. Prior to joining the Price School, she was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning.
She previously served as the Assistant Dean, Academic Planning & Governance at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, and taught at the University of Waterloo School of Planning and the Toronto Metropolitan University School of Urban and Regional Planning. In 2024 she received the Outstanding Faculty Member Award from the University at Buffalo Graduate Planning Student Association.
Dr. Nelischer’s research interests center on the governance of planning, design, and development processes, including citizen participation. Her work explores these issues through the lenses of public-private partnerships, smart cities, and gender and planning. Recent research projects include: an analysis of power dynamics within partnerships formed to plan smart cities; an examination of urban design criticism within smart city development; a survey of university-affiliated community design center missions; and, an analysis of the impact of cycling infrastructure on development demand and design decisions.
Prior to her career in academia, Dr. Nelischer worked for the City of Toronto and as a consultant for a Toronto-based planning and design firm. She is a director and treasurer of the International Women’s Resource Center, a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization offering educational resources for refugee and immigrant women and their families. From 2013 to 2022, Dr. Nelischer served on the National Board of Directors of YWCA Canada, the country’s largest feminist women’s service organization and key provider of shelter and affordable housing.