Alan Voorhees
Encyclopedia
Alan Manners Voorhees was a transportation engineer
and urban planner
who designed many large public works in the United States
. Voorhees was born in Highland Park, New Jersey
.
, he left his studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
(RPI) to join the United States Navy
as an officer in what was called the "Underwater Demolition Team
11" (UDT-11), a precursor to the U.S. Navy SEALs. He spent much of the war mapping shoreline defenses in the Pacific
. After the atomic bombing of Nagasaki
, Voorhees' unit was sent in to inspect the city, making him one of the first Americans to see the bomb's aftermath. For his military service he received the Silver Star
, the Bronze Star
, and the Presidential Unit Citation
.
After the war, Voorhees continued his education, graduating from RPI in 1947 and then earning his master's degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1949.
to work for the nonprofit Automobile Safety Foundation. While studying traffic
in Baltimore
, Voorhees developed a mathematical formula to predict traffic patterns based on land use. This formula has been instrumental in the design of numerous transportation and public works projects around the world. He wrote "A General Theory of Traffic Movement" (1956), which applied the gravity model
to trip distribution
, which translates trips generated in an area to a matrix that identifies the number of trips from each origin to each destination, which can then be loaded onto the network.
In 1961, he began his own engineering firm (Alan M. Voorhees & Associates) which eventually grew to have branches in ten U.S. cities. He was involved in the design of many subway systems including those in São Paulo
, Hong Kong
, Caracas
, and Washington, D.C.
.
Voorhees sold his firm in 1967 and became the dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Urban Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle
in 1971. The firm went on to be project manager of the Boston Transportation Planning Review
. Voorhees invested in Micros Corporation
and its electronic cash register
in the late 1960s.
Voorhees designed the street grid for land that was reclaimed in lower Manhattan
in New York City
, connecting new streets to centuries-old already existing roads and to the Brooklyn Bridge
. He was also one of the early designers of the United States' Interstate Highway System
and helped determine how the highways would cut through or bypass urban areas.
, Voorhees helped found Atlantic Southeast Airlines
, which was later bought by Delta Air Lines
.
Voorhees received the first Harland Bartholomew Award of the American Society of Civil Engineers
as the engineer who has contributed most to urban planning, and was honored with the establishment of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University
in 1998, and helped found the Voorhees Computing Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
.
He was chairman of the board of Autometric
Corp., an aerospace company based in Northern Virginia. Autometric was later sold to Boeing. He was an angel investor
of Lizardtech, the software of which was excellent for digital mapping and GIS purposes.
Voorhees was an avid collector of historical map
s, amassing an impressive collection of over 300 maps focused on the history of Virginia
. He donated this valuable collection, worth millions of dollars, to the Library of Congress
, the Library of Virginia
, and the Virginia Historical Society
.
Voorhees believed government could greatly improve the human condition
, and was an early supporter of the Council for Excellence in Government
.
Voorhees was heavily involved with the Voorhees College, an Historical Black College in Denmark, SC. Voorhees often provided funding for campus improvement projects as well as scholarship funds for the students.
Voorhees and his family helped start the successful and family-oriented Westmoreland Berry Farm, located in the Northern Neck of Virginia.
In the late 1990s, Voorhees started a project to automate county government services in Richmond County, Virginia
. The system he supported involved scanning thousands of land records in the county clerk's office and connecting these with data from the county planning office (topo maps, sewer and water overlays, satellite views, etc.) and tax office. The land records were then sent via the Internet to be archived at the Library of Virginia
. He spent over $600,000 on this project.
Voorhees was concerned with environmental protection. He donated over 700 acres (2.8 km²) of land along the Potomac river in Virginia to become the Voorhees nature preserve. His interest in government automation was designed to make it easier to identify environmentally sensitive areas and ensure that development took them into account.
Voorhees died in a hotel he owned in Richmond, Virginia
from an apparent stroke
at the age of 83.
Transport engineering
Transportation engineering is the application of technology and scientific principles to the planning, functional design, operation and management of facilities for any mode of transportation in order to provide for the safe, rapid, comfortable, convenient, economical, and environmentally...
and urban planner
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
who designed many large public works in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Voorhees was born in Highland Park, New Jersey
Highland Park, New Jersey
Highland Park is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 13,982....
.
Early life
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he left his studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
(RPI) to join the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
as an officer in what was called the "Underwater Demolition Team
Underwater Demolition Team
The Underwater Demolition Teams were an elite special-purpose force established by the United States Navy during World War II. They also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War...
11" (UDT-11), a precursor to the U.S. Navy SEALs. He spent much of the war mapping shoreline defenses in the Pacific
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
. After the atomic bombing of Nagasaki
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
, Voorhees' unit was sent in to inspect the city, making him one of the first Americans to see the bomb's aftermath. For his military service he received the Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
, the Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
, and the Presidential Unit Citation
Presidential Unit Citation (US)
The Presidential Unit Citation, originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States and allies for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy on or after 7 December 1941...
.
After the war, Voorhees continued his education, graduating from RPI in 1947 and then earning his master's degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1949.
Transportation planning
In 1952, Voorhees came to Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to work for the nonprofit Automobile Safety Foundation. While studying traffic
Traffic
Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...
in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Voorhees developed a mathematical formula to predict traffic patterns based on land use. This formula has been instrumental in the design of numerous transportation and public works projects around the world. He wrote "A General Theory of Traffic Movement" (1956), which applied the gravity model
Gravity model
Gravity models are used in various social sciences to predict and describe certain behaviors that mimic gravitational interaction as described in Isaac Newton's law of gravity...
to trip distribution
Trip distribution
Trip distribution , is the second component in the traditional four-step transportation forecasting model...
, which translates trips generated in an area to a matrix that identifies the number of trips from each origin to each destination, which can then be loaded onto the network.
In 1961, he began his own engineering firm (Alan M. Voorhees & Associates) which eventually grew to have branches in ten U.S. cities. He was involved in the design of many subway systems including those in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, and Washington, D.C.
Washington Metro
The Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...
.
Voorhees sold his firm in 1967 and became the dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Urban Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...
in 1971. The firm went on to be project manager of the Boston Transportation Planning Review
Boston Transportation Planning Review
Boston Transportation Planning Review is a transportation planning program for metropolitan Boston, United States which was responsible for analyzing and re-designing the entire area-wide transit and highway system in the 1970s. The major contractors involved were Alan M...
. Voorhees invested in Micros Corporation
MICROS Systems
MICROS Systems, Inc., is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, USA. The company manufactures and sells computer hardware, software, and services for the restaurant point of sale, hotel, hospitality, specialty retail markets and other similar markets...
and its electronic cash register
Cash register
A cash register or till is a mechanical or electronic device for calculating and recording sales transactions, and an attached cash drawer for storing cash...
in the late 1960s.
Voorhees designed the street grid for land that was reclaimed in lower Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, connecting new streets to centuries-old already existing roads and to the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
. He was also one of the early designers of the United States' Interstate Highway System
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
and helped determine how the highways would cut through or bypass urban areas.
Later life
In 1979, following airline deregulationAirline Deregulation Act
The Airline Deregulation Act is a United States federal law signed into law on October 24, 1978. The main purpose of the act was to remove government control over fares, routes and market entry from commercial aviation...
, Voorhees helped found Atlantic Southeast Airlines
Atlantic Southeast Airlines
Atlantic Southeast Airlines is an American airline based in the A-Tech Center in College Park, Georgia, flying to 144 destinations as a Delta Connection carrier and, as of February 2010, commenced service as a United Express carrier. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of SkyWest, Inc. ASA operates...
, which was later bought by Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
.
Voorhees received the first Harland Bartholomew Award of the American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Civil Engineers
The American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...
as the engineer who has contributed most to urban planning, and was honored with the establishment of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in 1998, and helped found the Voorhees Computing Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
.
He was chairman of the board of Autometric
Autometric
Autometric Inc. was a company spun out of Paramount Pictures to work with early satellite imagery. The company created image analysis products for representing imagery on the earth, cataloging, and image augmentation. This company was purchase by Boeing Inc. at the end of 2000...
Corp., an aerospace company based in Northern Virginia. Autometric was later sold to Boeing. He was an angel investor
Angel investor
An angel investor or angel is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity...
of Lizardtech, the software of which was excellent for digital mapping and GIS purposes.
Voorhees was an avid collector of historical map
Map
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....
s, amassing an impressive collection of over 300 maps focused on the history of Virginia
History of Virginia
The history of Virginia began with settlement of the geographic region now known as the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States thousands of years ago by Native Americans. Permanent European settlement began with the establishment of Jamestown in 1607, by English colonists. As tobacco emerged...
. He donated this valuable collection, worth millions of dollars, to the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, the Library of Virginia
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, its archival agency, and the reference library at the seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and is located at 800 East Broad Street, 2 blocks from the Virginia State...
, and the Virginia Historical Society
Virginia Historical Society
The Virginia Historical Society , founded in 1831 as the Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a major repository, research, and teaching center for Virginia history...
.
Voorhees believed government could greatly improve the human condition
Human condition
The human condition encompasses the experiences of being human in a social, cultural, and personal context. It can be described as the irreducible part of humanity that is inherent and not connected to gender, race, class, etc. — a search for purpose, sense of curiosity, the inevitability of...
, and was an early supporter of the Council for Excellence in Government
Council for Excellence in Government
The Council for Excellence in Government was a public/private partnership organization initiated in the 1980s designed to improve the effectiveness of federal, state, and local government in the United States. The organization ceased to operate in 2009 and the majority of its staff and programs...
.
Voorhees was heavily involved with the Voorhees College, an Historical Black College in Denmark, SC. Voorhees often provided funding for campus improvement projects as well as scholarship funds for the students.
Voorhees and his family helped start the successful and family-oriented Westmoreland Berry Farm, located in the Northern Neck of Virginia.
In the late 1990s, Voorhees started a project to automate county government services in Richmond County, Virginia
Richmond County, Virginia
Richmond County is a county located on the Northern Neck in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 9,254. Its county seat is Warsaw. The rural county should not be confused with the large city and state capital Richmond, Virginia, which is over...
. The system he supported involved scanning thousands of land records in the county clerk's office and connecting these with data from the county planning office (topo maps, sewer and water overlays, satellite views, etc.) and tax office. The land records were then sent via the Internet to be archived at the Library of Virginia
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, its archival agency, and the reference library at the seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and is located at 800 East Broad Street, 2 blocks from the Virginia State...
. He spent over $600,000 on this project.
Voorhees was concerned with environmental protection. He donated over 700 acres (2.8 km²) of land along the Potomac river in Virginia to become the Voorhees nature preserve. His interest in government automation was designed to make it easier to identify environmentally sensitive areas and ensure that development took them into account.
Voorhees died in a hotel he owned in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
from an apparent stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
at the age of 83.
Further reading
- Voorhees, Alan M., 1956; "A General Theory of Traffic Movement," 1955 Proceedings, Institute of Traffic Engineers, New Haven, Connecticut.