Jordana Maisel

Jordana Maisel, PhD, works at the intersection of research, teaching and practice as assistant professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and as research director for the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA Center) within the School of Architecture and Planning.  

She brings experience designing and conducting experimental studies in the laboratory and field; analyzing data; and, capturing and interpreting stakeholder perspectives with surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Maisel has led research in the areas of public transportation, street infrastructure, post occupancy evaluations, and accessible housing policy.

She co-directs the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Accessible Public Transportation (RERC-APT) from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). She is also a Project Lead on the current RERC on Universal Design and the Built Environment, and a co-PI on a NIDILRR field-initiated research project on Independent Wheelchair Securement and a Social Innovation grant from Toyota to study ride-hailing.

Maisel served as an adjunct instructor in the urban planning program for 10 years prior to her appointment as assistant professor. She says her dual teaching and research roles offer students a unique perspective: "My students are always eager to learn about ongoing research initiatives at the IDEA Center, and ultimately value seeing the practical application of what they’re learning about in the classroom."

Maisel co-authored the Goals of Universal Design, Universal Design: Creating Inclusive Environments (2012), Accessible Public Transportation (2018), and Inclusive Design: Implementation and Evaluation (2018), as well as numerous peer-reviewed publications. She earned her BS in Human Development from Cornell University, and holds a Master of Urban Planning and PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering from UB.