Charnelle Hicks
is founder and principal of CHPlanning, Ltd., a provider of planning services in support of urban redevelopment and infrastructure. She also is president of the American Society of Consulting Planners, a national trade association, and was recently elected to the associate board of the Philadelphia Academies. She is also on the executive committee of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.
Quotation to live by: "If I can't do it, it can't be done," from the 50 Cent song "If I Can't" (from the 2003 album Get Rich or Die Trying). I don't know how many times my team of urban planners and I are told what we can't do, what our neighborhoods can't do, what our cities can't do. We hear that sprawl is unavoidable, that agriculture is a dying field, and that the urban environment isn't worth saving. So, we take on complex, seemingly insurmountable challenges every day. That's what planners are supposed to do. That's what we do.
Books on my night stand right now: Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, by William McDonough and Michael Braungart; Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, and Charles Burck; The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson.
Favorite author, fiction: Fyodor Dostoyevsky is my favorite. You always know he's going to give you a good story, a good read, and a little history. Also you won't need to pick up another book for a long time. I don't follow book reviews, so it's pretty safe to stick with the classics.
Favorite author, nonfiction: Robert A. Caro, who wrote, among other books, The Power Broker, a biography of New York urban planner Robert Moses. I first read his work while I was in graduate school at the University of North Carolina.
Favorite poet: Shel Silverstein; he's big in our house, and our children also love his work.
Favorite beach reading: Everything by David Sedaris. I love his books of short stories. The only problem is there are just not enough of them, so I keep reading them over and over.
Book or author other people praise but I never liked: Ayn Rand. I honestly can't say I've gotten too far past the covers of any of her books. But then, the people who go on about her work are usually not people I tend to like being around much. Probably not a fair assessment (of her work or the people who read her), but it's how I feel.
A book that influenced how I live my life: There are two: Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, and The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair: the first, because it truly began the debate - if there is a still a debate - on the impact of the environmental issues, and the second because it made the world look anew not only at labor issues, but also at what people were eating. Both books remind me of the impact the written word can have.
TV show I'm not ashamed to admit I watch: The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, on PBS. When I watch it, I feel I am getting a good dose of healthy news and analysis. I've been watching since grad school.
TV show I hate to admit I like: I don't watch very much network TV and I don't have cable. What I do watch, I don't feel too bad about. I used to hate to admit listening to Howard Stern when he was on WYSP-FM (94.1). I never made the switch to satellite, but I still ask about what's happening when the chance comes up.
Favorite comic strip: Brenda Starr, Reporter, originated by Dale Messick, now written by Mary Schmich. Nothing can stop her, in her career, yet she always retains her glamour.
Movie I love so much I've watched it more than twice: Cars. The movie inspired a recent trip with the kids to Santa Fe. We've watched it 100 times.
Web sites I visit regularly: I like to check out Planetizen (www.planetizen.com) for more edgy planning info; the Urban Land Institute Web site (www.uli.org), to get developers' perspectives, and The American Planning Association Web site (www.planning.org), to see what's going on in the broader planning community.
If you turned my car radio on right now, it would be tuned to: National Public Radio on WHYY-FM (90.9); I listen all the time. It's informative, vivid and entertaining.
Magazines I read regularly: I regularly read National Geographic, Mother Jones, The Utne Reader, Ms., and Black Enterprise. I also read Essence and Elle Décor. I like to keep my brain going while I'm thinking about decorating. My husband sometimes asks why there is no Clean House Magazine, and I tell him that it's because decorating is much more fun than cleaning.
Favorite type of music: Recently, I have been buying a little rap (usually older and not too raw) and music from my days at Swarthmore College. Recent buys include Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman and the Violent Femmes; Dire Straights is in there too.
Last concert/performance attended: The Rolling Stones at the Wachovia Center, Oct. 10, 2005. Mick Jagger was my make-believe sweetheart when I was 13. I bought fifth-row seats for three guests and myself. I swear I had eye contact, but he didn't invite me to hang out backstage.
Recording I play when my soul needs a lift: I listen to Gillian Welch's "Elvis Presley Blues." It's about Elvis working his craft and John Henry swinging his hammer and how we need to keep going until our work is done. Elvis opened up the music world, John Henry beat the steam drill, and I know that the plans I make, together with my team, will make the world a better place. We'll keep going at it as long as we can and as hard as we can.
Person in my field whom I most admire: My team of young urban planners at CHPlanning. The late David Wallace, founding partner of WRT, designers and planners, was always a professional inspiration. I was privileged to have been mentored by him while at WRT and for some time afterward. I learned the importance of design to the performance and function of places. While I can't say I have emulated his approach, elements have influenced the work of CHPlanning.
Living person I'd most like to join for dinner and conversation: Director Spike Lee. From She's Gotta Have It and Do the Right Thing to Malcolm X and When the Levees Broke, his documentary series on New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina, his work is powerful, thought-provoking and evocative. I would love to discover for myself what influences him.
Heroes from history: Jonah, who tried to put off his calling then reconsidered - from the belly of a fish; Harriet Tubman, who led the way when she did not have to; Josephine Baker, who rose up from nothing through grace, beauty and intellect; Muhammad Ali, a phenomenal fighter I've followed since his "comeback" in 1970.
If I had the power to order all of the Philadelphia region to read one book, it would be: The Death and Life of Great American Cities, by Jane Jacobs.
And here's why: Jane Jacobs, writer and urban activist, championed new community-based approaches to planning. Her book focuses on the neighborhoods and community. Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods and should continue to encourage planning that incorporates a vibrant urban community. After reading this book, Philadelphians would have an even greater appreciation of the incredible assets their city. That will make it easier for us to continue moving forward toward a better Philadelphia.