Meier (Richard L.) papers, 1928-2007

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Summary

Title:
Meier (Richard L.) papers
Dates:
1928-2007
Creators:
Meier, Richard L.
Abstract:
This collection documents the personal and professional life of pioneering regional planner, systems theorist, scientist, futurist, and University of California, Berkeley professor, Richard Louis Meier. Meier’s papers document his advocacy of sustainability in planning, his efforts to improve the lives of poor people in developing countries, his concerns about atomic power, his commitment to social justice, and his family life. Meier's papers include professional and family correspondence; writings and research; materials related to his work with the Federation of Atomic Scientists, the Society for General Systems Research, and international planning projects; and course materials.
Extent:
15 Linear Feet (12 cartons)
Language:
English and Collection materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Richard L. Meier papers, BANC MSS 2008/105c,The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection documents the personal and professional life of pioneering regional planner, systems theorist, scientist, futurist, and University of California, Berkeley professor, Richard Louis Meier. Meier’s papers document his advocacy of sustainability in planning, his efforts to improve the lives of poor people in developing countries, his concerns about atomic power, his commitment to social justice, and his engaged family life. The collection is divided into eight series: Correspondence; Family Correspondence and Personalia, which includes materials related to his wife, Gitta Unger; Writings and Research; Notebooks; Federation of Atomic Scientists; Professional Activities and Administrative Materials; International Project Files; and Course Materials.

Biographical / historical:

“Super-planner” Richard Louis Meier was an early advocate of sustainability in planning and recognized internationally for anticipating large-scale social problems and envisioning and devising practical solutions to them.

Meier was born into a poor family in Indiana in 1920. The oldest of five children, he helped run the household when his mother became ill after the birth of his youngest sibling. Meier received his B.S. from the University of Illinois in 1940, and his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1944. He married social worker Gitta Unger that same year. The couple had three children: Alan, Andrea, and Karen. Gitta Unger died in 1982. Meier remarried in 1992 and frequently collaborated on research projects with his second wife, Robin Standish.

While working at Standard Oil in Richmond as a research chemist during World War II, Meier talked with University of California, Berkeley scientists about the post-war implications of atomic energy and weapons. Consequently, he became a member of the Federation of Atomic Scientists in 1945 and served as executive secretary from 1947-1949. While on a Fulbright Fellowship in Manchester, England from 1949-1950, Meier focused on finding technological solutions to the problems of the world’s largest and poorest cities.

Meier taught in the University of Chicago’s Program on Research and Planning from 1950 to 1956. He was a research social scientist in the Mental Health Research Institute and professor in the School of Conservation’s Department of Natural Resources at the University of Michigan from 1957 to 1967. From 1957 to 1961, he served as Secretary-Treasurer of the Society for General Systems Research, which promoted interdisciplinary and international co-operation in the field of systems theory and systems science.

Meier joined the University of California, Berkeley faculty in 1967 and helped establish a new doctoral program in the Department of City and Regional Planning. He taught for over 35 years in the departments of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban and regional planning in the College of Environmental Design. Throughout his career, Meier maintained an optimism about the future and believed that good planning and social justice were inseparable.

Meier died of pneumonia and congestive heart failure in Berkeley in 2007. For more details about his life and work, see his daughter Karen Meier Reeds' obituary, https://sites.google.com/site/andreatestname/obituary%3Arichardl.meier%2C%22super-planner%2C%22

Acquisition information:
The Richard L. Meier papers were given to The Bancroft Library in 2008 by Alan Meier, on behalf of the widow and children of Richard L. Meier.
Processing information:

Arranged to the folder level.

Processed by Marjorie Bryer in 2018.

Accruals:

No future additions are expected.

Physical location:
Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Marjorie Bryer
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2018-06-26 10:58:54 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Richard L. Meier papers, BANC MSS 2008/105c,The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
Contact:
510-642-6481
bancref-library@berkeley.edu
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