> contact us Drop us a note - comment on our site or send us your questions or comments on specific projects. We'd love to hear from you!
> about us Find out about the UDP, read staff bios, and visit our partners' sites and other urban planning resources.
> publications Peruse our publications. Many are available for free as downloadable pdf files, and others are available for purchase.
> projects Read about the projects we are currently working on. Also contains archives of past projects.

Elizabeth Cheteny

Elizabeth Cheteny AICP is the Director of Planning at the Urban Design Project, a center at the University at Buffalo (UB) that serves Western New York communities by bringing faculty and urban design and planning students together with local governments, community based organizations and citizens in general, to engage the work of making better places and stronger communities. Ms. Cheteny currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Preservation Coalition of Erie County. Formerly an elected official in East Aurora, NY, she served as Village Trustee from 2004-06. Ms. Cheteny also has served as Adjunct Professor in UB’s School of Architecture and Planning (2002-2004) and as a Board member of not-for-profit organizations including the Roycroft Campus Corporation and the Western New York Land Conservancy.

Ms. Cheteny holds a masters degree in City and Regional Planning from Harvard University and a bachelor’s in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University. A land use planner and economist, her broad experience over 20 years includes downtown revitalization; market and economic studies; municipal planning and zoning; environmental review; and historic, scenic, and open space preservation. Prior to joining the Urban Design Project, Ms. Cheteny was a Vice President at AKRF, a 150-person environmental and planning firm based in New York City.

At the Urban Design Project her current project work includes the 20-Year Restoration and Management Plan for the Buffalo Olmsted Park and Parkway System, the Southtowns Scenic Byway Nomination Study, a Strategic Plan for the Larkin District on the southeast side of downtown Buffalo, a Feasibility Study for Explore & More…a children’s museum, She also recently participated in work for the City of Buffalo on alternative designs for the Peace Bridge plaza and public outreach for the proposed Niagara River National Heritage Corridor.