Richard S. Bolan earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Yale University and a Master’s Degree in city planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1956. After graduation, Bolan worked as a professional urban planner in the greater Boston metropolitan area and directed staff activities in both neighborhood and project planning. From this position, he transitioned into academia by working for the Joint Center for Urban Studies of MIT and Harvard University and the Boston College School of Social Work. By the time Bolan left Boston for the University of Minnesota in 1985, he was an authority on Boston city planning.

Bolan’s work after Boston College focused on international development concerns. Through his position at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Bolan tackled the issues of environmental reform and sustainable development in Eastern Europe. Bolan taught geographic information systems classes, and he published a book, Urban Planning's Philosophical Entanglements: The Rugged, Dialectical Path from Knowledge to Action in 2017. As the professor emeritus of planning and public affairs at the University of Minnesota, Bolan taught doctoral level planning theory courses.

Sources:

“Richard Bolan.” Humphrey School of Public Affairs. University of Minnesota, September 1, 2015. https://www.hhh.umn.edu/directory/richard-bolan.

Bolan, Richard S. “Richard Bolan - My 60 Years as a Planner.” American Planning Association. Accessed November 1, 2019. https://www.planning.org/plannerprofile/richardbolan/.