American Planning Association

Jim Schwab, Manager of the kAPA Hazards Planning Research Center and editor of the Recovery News blog, interviews Shirley Laska, PhD. and Kristina Peterson, PhD., from the Center for Hazards Assessment, Response, and Technology at The University of New Orleans (UNO-CHART).

Mobility Networks in the Americas: Local Politics and Cultural Paradigms March 13, 2012 As cities in Latin America take the lead in developing innovative, cost-effective transportation networks, such as Bus Rapid Transit, outcomes have shown how local politics and culture shape each system differently. Building on previous work in Colombia and New York City, Andrea Marpillero-Colomina, from Columb...

Redfield to Redevelopment in Libertyville, Illinois February 21, 2012 The newly minted term redfield refers to financially distressed development projects (i.e., properties in the red). As a result of the Great Recession, few communities are immune to the negative effects of redfields. The relatively affluent community of Libertyville, Illinois, felt the sting when plans for high-end townhomes and...

Travel Behavior, Transport Policy, and Sustainable Transport in Germany and the USA February 21, 2012 Reliance on the automobile for most trips contributes to costly trends like pollution, oil dependence, congestion, and obesity. Germany and the U.S. have among the highest motorization rates in the world. Yet Germans make a four times higher share of trips by foot, bike, and public transport and d...

Planning for and with Ecosystem Services January 24, 2012 Because all communities benefit from resources and processes supplied by natural ecosystems, ecology can be an important lens for viewing planning and site design. While many planners support and philosophically align with LEED, SITES, and the growing ecological design culture, they may feel ill-equipped to apply scientific findings to plan...

Greensburg, Kansas, Mayor Bob Dixson, and Stephen Hardy, senior planner with BNIM Architects in Kansas City, who prepared Greensburg’s Sustainable Comprehensive Plan following the May 2007 tornado that devastated the community, talk with Jim Schwab about the city’s four-year-old efforts to rebuild the community on green principles. The accompanying photo gallery consists of dozens of images captur...

Prioritizing Green Infrastructure Investments November 29, 2011 FCommunity decision makers are increasingly looking at installing green infrastructure to address stormwater issues. To be able to retrofit private property with such natural stormwater solutions, there needs to be a mechanism that can gain private sector involvement and investment. One approach is to use an auction system, where land...

In this podcast, Sidney Brower, author of Neighbors & Neighborhoods: Elements of Successful Community Design, discuss the connection between community design and the ability of residents to come together as a community.

2011 AICP Symposium Cities in Transition: Today's Realities and the Next Economies October 27, 2011 9:30 a.m.–12:00 noon National Building Museum Washington, D.C. Cities are always transitioning, requiring planners to reinvent techniques for new economic development. This year's AICP Symposium will provide examples of initiatives from around the country that are creating opportunities for effectiv...

2011 Lecture Tuesday, October 25, 2011 San Francisco Planning, Policy, and Poetics: Reviving Investment in Transportation and Infrastructure in America Marilyn Taylor Dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Design The 2011 L'Enfant Lecture was delivered by Marilyn Taylor, who became dean of The School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania in October 2008 after practicing as an archi...

Christine Butterfield is the director of community development for the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which was hit by a record-breaking flood in June 2008. She speaks here about the extensive planning effort to rebuild a city in which more than 10,000 people were evacuated from areas along the Cedar River, historic neighborhoods were inundated, and thousands of residents lost their homes or saw them...

Planning and Zoning for Natural Resource Protection September 27, 2011 In recent decades, planners have continued to be involved in natural resource protection as a core area of both interest and expertise. However, in many places, mitigation takes precedence over more meaningful efforts to avoid or minimize environmental damage. When wetlands are disturbed or mature trees replaced with seedlings,...

Roger Hart and Ramona Mullahy in conversation. Hart is co-director of the Children's Environments Research Group at the City University of New York. His work focuses on the development of theory and research on children's relationship to the physical environment. He has been particularly concerned with the application of research to the planning and design of children's environments and to environ...

Roger Hart and Ramona Mullahy in conversation. Hart is co-director of the Children's Environments Research Group at the City University of New York. His work focuses on the development of theory and research on children's relationship to the physical environment. He has been particularly concerned with the application of research to the planning and design of children's environments and to environ...

The Role of Planning in Stabilizing Distressed Properties August 30, 2011 Many communities have a glut of entitled but unfinished development projects. Depending on the context and scale of the problem, traditional stabilization tools such as code enforcement may prove inadequate or ineffective. In some cases, the best solution for the community may involve relaxing certain regulatory requirements...

Symposium on Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery On February 10–11, 2011, the American Planning Association hosted a scoping symposium in its Chicago office to explore a number of essential issues in guiding the Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery: Next Generation project as it moves forward. Invited participants focused on helping APA to define the appropriate audiences and central issues for the...

How did one woman change an entire profession in a few short years with such lasting effects? Listen as Max Page, co-editor of Reconsidering Jane Jacobs, discusses Jane Jacobs's lasting, global influence. Joining Page are contributors Rudayna Abdo, AICP, director of planning at Otak International's Abu Dhabi office, and Jamin Creed Rowan, assistant professor of English at Brigham Young University.

Arlington County's "Community Energy Plan" July 12, 2011 Arlington County's "Community Energy Plan" is a strategic planning effort to ensure economic competitiveness and energy supply security while reinforcing the county's environmental commitment. Through this process Arlington will transform the way it generates, distributes, stores, and uses energy. A nationally recognized leader in climate ac...

Tools for Great Lakes Planners in NOAA's Digital Coast July 19, 2011 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Digital Coast partnership provides data, tools, and training on topics such as land use, coastal conservation, hazards, marine spatial planning, and climate change. Recently, planners in the Great Lakes have participated in two needs assessments to help build new tools and imp...

Symposium on Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery On February 10–11, 2011, the American Planning Association hosted a scoping symposium in its Chicago office to explore a number of essential issues in guiding the Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery: Next Generation project as it moves forward. Invited participants focused on helping APA to define the appropriate audiences and central issues for the...

Implementing Sustainable Cities in a Harsh Environment: Some Lessons Learned from Masdar June 21, 2011 Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates is envisioned as the world's first carbon-neutral, zero waste, car-free city. However, the harsh, desert environment and the prevailing planning and construction practices in Abu Dhabi pose special challenges for an inherently ambitious goal. Margaret Ceder...

Symposium on Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery On February 10–11, 2011, the American Planning Association hosted a scoping symposium in its Chicago office to explore a number of essential issues in guiding the Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery: Next Generation project as it moves forward. Invited participants focused on helping APA to define the appropriate audiences and central issues for the...

Recycling in Chicago: Past, Present, and Future May 17, 2011 As Chicago begins a new political era, much attention has been paid to the problems in Chicago's recycling program. Carl Zimring from Roosevelt University analyzed the public and private systems used to recycle post-consumer materials in Chicago over the past century, with discussion of how the current system evolved, problems with it, a...

Symposium on Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery On February 10–11, 2011, the American Planning Association hosted a scoping symposium in its Chicago office to explore a number of essential issues in guiding the Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery: Next Generation project as it moves forward. Invited participants focused on helping APA to define the appropriate audiences and central issues for the...

Symposium on Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery On February 10–11, 2011, the American Planning Association hosted a scoping symposium in its Chicago office to explore a number of essential issues in guiding the Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery: Next Generation project as it moves forward. Invited participants focused on helping APA to define the appropriate audiences and central issues for the...