In cities across the country, beloved park systems have fallen subject to decades of disinvestment. With shrinking tax bases, municipal parks departments have been forced to do more with less. Examine cities that have crafted equitable park investment strategies.

As designers and planners, we ignore people with disabilities at the risk of alienating the people that public spaces are meant to serve. Listen to three case studies that illustrate best practices built around inclusion and accessibility.

This presentation will outline the Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard (PIRS), a method for analyzing the suite of a community's local plans, and resolving inconsistencies between these plans as they relate to local climate and hazard resilience.

Learn why our cities and regions must build eco-socially sustainable, “green” housing that is affordable at all income levels, what this looks like, and how to get it built through community-based strategies for designing, approving, and funding in diverse localities.

If zoning is a language, then every zoning ordinance is its own dialect. By mapping standardized zoning data across thousands of jurisdictions, the National Zoning Atlas provides legibility to those seeking to understand zoning trends that transcend jurisdictional boundaries.

Terms such as compatibility and context were thrown out and replaced with demolition and density. After a Corridor Improvement Authority went defunct and auto-oriented uses were multiplying like gremlins a radical approach was needed.

Large-scale solar development is necessary to decarbonize the grid. Yet, without careful planning, there is no guarantee that host communities will receive their fair share of project benefits. Plans, zoning, and development review are all key to capturing community benefits.

Much of our public space is dedicated to transportation uses like roadways and bridges and is often underutilized. Learn how to transform this into vibrant space centered on local culture, now serving as an asset for users of all ages.

The impacts of COVID-19 laid bare legacy inequities - driving historic conversations and demanding more comprehensive solutions. This session shares frameworks that serve as tools for public/ private-sector actors to intentionally shape an ecosystem that centers equity in public investments.

Electric vehicles are a hot topic, but is your community ready to support them? Our panel of experts turn your battery "range anxiety" into "range confidence" with real world case studies and planning approaches to enhance sustainability and equity.

In planning, city digital twins can be used for experimentation and simulation, to test policy options, to enhance cross-departmental collaboration, and to improve community engagement. Learn how to get started with examples from Columbus, Georgia, and Boston.

The 2010 U.S. census, there is roughly 75% of Native people live in cities. This shift has been influenced by the Relocation Act of 1950 and other relocation programs. The B.I.A. expanded funding to recruit Indigenous people to relocate off-reservations.

We already know the technical solutions to climate change but are caught in a loop of constant analysis to identify the “perfect” local actions. This presentation explores how strategies can be pursued locally and how to prioritize action.

Integrating climate science into local planning practice can help communities adapt to changing conditions. When combined with equity considerations, adaptation planning prepares communities for greater extremes, including flooding. Learn about practices to equitably implement climate change adaptation planning.

Communities are facing acute infrastructure needs to provide safe and reliable transportation with limited public funding available. It is critical for planners and local authorities to understand the procedures and approaches for securing and leveraging federal support to make changes.

Many communities have more mobility needs than funding and should prioritize investments that provide the greatest societal benefits. This presentation discusses how project development and prioritization has helped bring millions in discretionary dollars to entities in the Houston region.

In order to provide a way to coordinate planning initiatives between its member municipalities. A solution called the Regional Data Platform to support local and regional workflows among planning professionals in the region.

View five technological advancement examples designed to emphasize the use of international smart technology in planning.

With the unprecedented levels of federal, private and philanthropic funds currently available, how does one create a grant program that not only makes awards but genuinely supports projects with catalytic impact, and ensures those projects are completed successfully?

Removing or preventing a highway in a city is often a fight – and never a fair one! Learn the language of highway removal, tactics used by state DOT’s and how to present winning arguments, and available resources.

Digital tools are finally coming of age and making a difference in planning. These tools enable planners to become even better storytellers while providing compelling, data-rich cases to audiences and stakeholders. See these tools in action from real world projects.

Digital Twins — digital representations of the built environment that can be augmented with real-time information flows — are an emerging tool that holds great promise for the practice of planning. But developing an effective Digital Twin requires starting with the fundamentals: what, why, and how. In this webinar, you’ll learn about the benefits, standards, and capabilities of Digital Twins, illustrated by uses & case studies.

Planning for diversity and inclusion requires intentional efforts to dismantle systems of oppression and advance liberation and self-determination. This course equips planners with concepts and skills to perform inclusive and equitable planning and work effectively in diverse communities.

The Johnston Town Center, a public-private partnership opened August 2021, facilitated by city led acquisitions and investments in a vibrant “downtown” gathering space with public amenities/art, surrounded by thriving commercial businesses.

Arts and planning has a new Federal Government champion with a big and bold vision.

Learn the elements of an effective and equitable economic development initiative, how to successfully engage community members and partner organizations, and best practices for establishing feasible and achievable benchmarks to evaluate your initiative's effectiveness.

How do you leverage development to make infrastructure accessible using the zoning code? This session will provide an example of how agencies and advocates used novel zoning tools to achieve ADA compliance. Apply the same principles to your city's needs.

California passed AB686 as the statewide framework to AFFH; to promote inclusive communities, further housing choice, and address racial and economic disparities through government action. Hear CA staff, local planners, and advocates discuss implementing AFFH, common pitfalls, and best practices.

As in previous years, the 2024 Trend Report features a list of over 100 existing, emerging, and potential future trends that the APA Foresight team, together with our Trend Scouting Foresight Community, identified as relevant to planning. The trends are structured within three timeframes (Act Now, Prepare, Learn and Watch), which indicate the urgency of planners’ action.

This webinar will explore key skills needed to integrate empathy and compassion in planning practice. It will focus on deepening planners' awareness of and practice of skills that support them in honoring their own identity (and stories) while also respecting and valuing the varied identities, stories, and experiences of the community, leading to relationships that can advance equitable and sustainable planning.