Blogs

August 10, 2016

Teens Help Bring 1911 Planning Manual into the 21st Century

The Chicago Architecture Foundation is reinventing the 1911 Wacker’s Manual urban planning treatise as a graphic novel intended to inspire young people to become engaged as stewards of Chicago.

July 26, 2016

Beacon Hill’s Enchanted Food Forest

Sandy Pernitz, the Seattle city staff person who works directly with the Beacon Food Forest, tells the tale of how the community rallied around an innovative project in food systems planning.

July 26, 2016

The Evolution of Food Systems Planning in Kansas

How Douglas County, Kansas became a nationally recognized leader in food systems planning.

July 25, 2016

Box Cities and Out-of-the-Box Lessons from CUBE

The Center for Understanding the Built Environment (CUBE) provides unique and innovative resources to teach children and adults about the value of engaged citizenry.

July 22, 2016

Using Green Coastal Infrastructure to Address Resilience

Nicole Faghin, LEED AP, a coastal management specialist at Washington Sea Grant, writes about the Green Shores for Homes project.

July 20, 2016

Turning Blight to Beets at the Roosevelt Row Growhouse

The Growhouse in Phoenix's Roosevelt Row, named a Great Neighborhood in 2015, turned a dry, vacant lot into a productive urban farm.

July 19, 2016

Announcing Planning Oregon, an Initiative for Statewide Future Planning

Faculty members at Portland State University explain Planning Oregon, an initiative to establish the school as a focal point of research and innovative practices for the statewide land-use planning program.

July 18, 2016

5 Things That Our PSO Does (And Yours Should, Too)

Three University of Arizona planning students share engagement strategies from their Planning Student Organization.

July 15, 2016

Chicago's Pullman Neighborhood Ventures into a Greener Industrial Age

Chicago's Pullman neighborhood is turning a new leaf with green rooftops from New York's Gotham Greens.

July 14, 2016

Study: Why Do Communities Adopt Inclusionary Zoning?

A new study examines why Inclusionary Zoning is a driver of economic diversity and expanding opportunities in cities across the U.S.

July 14, 2016

Play 'Solar Powering Sunnyside' to Sharpen Your Solar Skills

A new land-use planning exercise can help communities start a conversation about local solar energy use.

July 13, 2016

Fostering Young Planners in Texas with Scholarships and Art

Amy Wasielewski from North Central Texas Council of Governments talks about three programs that are engaging Arlington's youth in planning.

July 12, 2016

New Resources for Local Food Systems Planning

As a part of the Growing Food Connection partnership, APA recently unveiled a series of policy briefs for planners and decision makers that help tackle local issues in food systems planning.

July 6, 2016

Cities Subsidize Ride-Sharing to Boost Transportation Connections

The integration of ride-sharing services into municipal funding decisions holds the potential to be a low-cost way of boosting transportation investment and promoting regional integration.

June 28, 2016

In Memoriam: Former APA Executive Director Michael Barker

Remembering former APA Executive Director Michael Barker, who died in December 2015.

June 28, 2016

Washington Planners Are Rising to Meet Global Challenges

Big Ideas for Washington’s Future has produced a website and a variety of models for practicing planners, education programs for the public and elected officials, and partnerships with other organizations covering diverse topics

June 27, 2016

Parks Without Borders: A Free Vision for Urban Space

New York City Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, discusses his plan for creating better access to neighborhood parks throughout New York and the country.

June 27, 2016

Solving Chicago's Affordable Housing Conundrum

Building more market-rate housing in desirable areas, like Chicago's Lincoln Park, could increase access to affordable housing on a regional scale.

June 21, 2016

Columbus, Ohio, Awarded 'Smart City' Grant

Columbus, Ohio, is selected to receive the Department of Transportation's "Smart Cities Challenge" grant.

June 20, 2016

Prioritizing Urban and Community Parks Can Boost Health and Social Equity

Parks are integral to health and social equity, and public policy must support the development of urban and community parks.

June 17, 2016

Historic Preservation District Authority Under Threat in State Legislatures

Historic preservation district authority is threatened by state legislation that focuses on funding and the freedom of property owners to alter their property.

June 15, 2016

Automated Vehicles and the Next Great Transformation of the Built Environment

Researchers at Florida State University and the Florida Department of Transportation document how automated vehicles may transform the built environment in coming decades.

June 7, 2016

Smart Cities: Behind the Scenes With Austin, Portland, San Francisco

This is the second of a two-part series on the plans behind DOT's Smart City Challenge.

June 7, 2016

TIGER Grant Sends Asheville's Planning Initiatives Roaring Ahead

The City of Asheville, North Carolina, leveraged federal funding to engage a marginalized community in the planning process.

June 6, 2016

Embracing Opportunities for Late Career Planners

For planners retirement may not mean the end to working, but a career and life change. We asked a couple of planners how they are managing the transition.

June 6, 2016

Environmental Justice Through Planning

Many planners have heard of environmental justice, but there have been challenges implementing it during the planning process. For a variety of reasons, the barriers are coming down.

May 31, 2016

Behind the Scenes: Smart City Challenge Finalists

A behind-the-scenes look at the Smart City Challenge finalists.

May 25, 2016

Aviation and Economic Development Equals Aerotropolis

An exploration of the impact of an aerotropolis as a tool for economic development, sustainability, and growth management.

May 19, 2016

How Federal Transportation Funding Is Creating Opportunity in North Carolina

How Wilson, North Carolina, began righting past design wrongs with federal transportation funding.

May 18, 2016

Acute Affordable Housing Shortages Engender New State and Local Approaches

States and local governments are working to find innovative ways to remove barriers to affordable housing construction and to be more involved in planning for higher density.

May 16, 2016

CPAT Impact on Heritage Trail

The director of the Dubuque County Conservation Board provides an update on the successes of the Heritage Trail since the CPAT project there in late 2012.

May 10, 2016

Inside Look: Grand Opening of KC Streetcar

For the first time in more than 50 years, streetcars are running along the streets of Kansas City. APA was on the ground for the grand opening to get the inside scoop.

May 3, 2016

Denver High School Students Tackle Issues Facing Their Community

A high school class in Denver is studying gentrification and its impact on their lives.

April 29, 2016

A More Perfect Union: Planning in Urban and Community Forestry

The National Urban Forestry 10 Year Action Plan promotes the integration of urban and community forestry Into all scales of planning.

April 18, 2016

Water: Cities' Biggest Risk?

Aggressive advocacy will be needed to build public support and transform the politics of water.

April 5, 2016

Sea Level Rise: A 'Wicked Problem,' an Amazing Opportunity

Oceanographer John Englander closed the 2016 National Planning Conference with a look at a "wicked problem" — sea level rise.

April 5, 2016

Federal LWCF Funding Helped Develop Phoenix's Encanto Park

The federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) provides matching state and local assistance grants to help develop parks like Encanto Park near downtown Phoenix.

April 5, 2016

'The Issue of Our Time': APA, HUD Address Income Inequality, Equitable Growth

HUD Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Harriet Tregoning tells the 2016 National Planning Conference that income inequality and equitable growth is “the issue of our time” in planning.

April 2, 2016

In Memoriam: Margarita P. McCoy, FAICP

Former AICP President Margarita McCoy, FAICP, died on April 1, 2016.

March 30, 2016

Conflict and Convergence Between Historic Preservation and City Planning

Conflict is perhaps endemic to the preservation process in which the goals of city planners and historic preservationists are not always the same.

March 29, 2016

NOAA Unveils New Water Resources Dashboard

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration worked with APA and several water-related organizations to develop and combine resources into its new Water Resources Dashboard.

March 25, 2016

Changes in Earth Require Adaptation and Mitigation

NOAA provides many of the science-based tools that planners need as the Earth changes.

March 24, 2016

City Planning and Historic Preservation: Friendly Enemies?

The Spring 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Planning Association (JAPA) examines the legacy of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

March 22, 2016

States Looking to Prevent Municipalities from Regulating Short-Term Rentals

States are looking to restrict their municipalities' control over short-term housing rentals, such as Airbnb.

March 22, 2016

Shared Mobility: A Complement to Public Transportation

A new report suggests that transit agencies should explore collaboration with ridesharing and bikesharing companies.

March 20, 2016

Support Federal Data and Funding Programs that Strengthen American Communities

Federal policy plays a critical role in providing planners with the data and resources they need to create effective and sustainable plans.

March 20, 2016

Support Federal Programs That Make American Communities Just

Partnering with local governments, planners, and residents to build neighborhoods of opportunity, promise and equity should be a fundamental goal of federal policy.

March 20, 2016

Election Year Advocacy? YES, You Can!

Eelection years hold some unique opportunities to advance a pro-planning agenda. Even if you aren’t endorsing candidates, elections open up your advocacy options.