American Planning Association

A discussion on the Economic Impact of Parks nationally, and how Arlington County's Park Commission is using a recent economic impact study to help make the case for Parks and Recreation in the area. Featured speakers include; Kevin A. Roth, Vice President of Research at the National Recreation and Park Association, Elizabeth Gearin, AICP, with the Arlington County Planning Commission, William Ross, vice chair of the Arlington County Park and Recreation Commission, and Jennifer Fioretti, deputy director at the Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation.

Steve Steinhoff discusses Plan4Health and its role with the Capital Region Healthy Communities initiative in Dane County, Wisconsin.

The discussion with Hugh Morris, AICP, LEED, manager of the Smart Growth Program for the National Association of Realtors focused on the results of the recent poll of residents in the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. The poll focused on biking, walking, and transit use as well as the degree to which respondents would be willing to live in a smaller home if it meant they could walk to more places. The large sample size, 3,000, provides an opportunity to examine the data though several demographic lenses.

Recorded October 28, 2015 at the National Building Museum, Washington D.C. In urban areas, stormwater presents major challenges for water quality. Runoff and combined sewer overflows result in impaired quality and degraded watersheds. Increasingly, green infrastructure approaches can treat and reduce discharge volumes and help mitigate flood risk, in addition to a range of environmental, social, and economic benefits. Learn from the experiences of Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia in adopting green stormwater management approaches. Moderator David Rouse, AICP, American Planning Association Speakers Paula Conolly, AICP Policy Strategist, Green City, Clean Waters Program, Philadelphia Water Department Bethany Bezak, PE, LEED AP Green Infrastructure Manager, DC Water, DC Clean Rivers Project Mathy Stanislaus Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, U.S. EPA

APA New York Metro Chapter President, James Rausse, AICP, discusses the "Live Well Kingston" coalition in New York.

Get an overview of what we know about changing consumer demand and some of the drivers behind these changes in demand. Learn how the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Local Food Research and Development Division is trying to help farmers and food marketers take advantage of the recent surge in local food demand through grant assistance, primary data collection, applied research on emerging business models, technical assistance, and market facility design. Debra Tropp of the USDA outlines a recent effort to capture and quantify economic impacts of local food system investments. She discusses the rollout of a toolkit that can be used by planners and other development practitioners in responding to oft-repeated questions about the expected job creation and economic activity resulting from public investments in local food systems infrastructure.

Small and rural planning and zoning commissions often have limited capacity. In response, the Eastern Highlands (Connecticut) Health District Community Health Action Response Team coalition will develop a toolkit aimed at assisting planning and zoning commissions with understanding how planning can impact long-term public health. In this podcast APA interviews coalition member Emily Hultquist about the project.

In July, D.C.'s first seasonal parklet popped up along K Street's busy commercial district. Transforming two parking spots into a playful, interactive micro-park, it invites pedestrians and office workers into a small oasis with fern and liatris. Called "parKIT," this new public space was designed by Gensler in collaboration with the Golden Triangle BID, as a toolkit for D.C.'s parklets. Wedge-shaped, multi-use modules of various heights can be scattered and rearranged by the public, and the scene at the parklet has been ever-changing since its opening. In this presentation, the parKIT team discussed the lessons learned from the design process, various reactions, and discoveries through the daily operation of the parklet. Also, they shared their observations on how temporary urban spaces can generate a new type of participation and placemaking in D.C.

The Santa Fe Railyard in Santa Fe, New Mexico was designated as a 2015 "Great Place in America" for the public space category by the American Planning Association. In this podcast Brian Drypolcher and Greg Hiner from the Trust for Public Land discuss how the Santa Fe Railyard became a vibrant public space.

Jim Schwab, AICP interviews James Buika from the Department of Planning for the County of Maui and Tara Owens from the University of Hawaii Sea Grant program about disaster recovery planning in Hawaii.

An interview with Daren Fluke, AICP about the Idaho Plan4Health coalition.

An interview with APA member and Bensenville, Illinois planner Victoria Benham about the "B-Well Bensenville" campaign which is part of APA's Plan4Health initiative.

Roundtable discussion on water shortage and drought originally aired July 13, 2015 on KVMR Radio in Nevada City, California. Discussion participants include Frank Meecham, San Luis Obispo Board Supervisor from District 1; Tom Tedd, Director of the Office of the Columbia River - Department of Ecology for the State of Washington; Vic Ferrara, Nevada County Office of Emergency Services; Jim Schwab, AICP, APA's Manager of the Hazards Planning Center.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015 As news arises of drought, harmful algal blooms, and chemical spills across the nation, we are regularly reminded of the need to protect drinking water in our cities and communities. Every day, land use decisions affect future drinking water supplies, either intentionally or inadvertently. By protecting sources of drinking water through regular planning activities and practices like green infrastructure, we can build resilient, healthy, and beautiful communities. The Source Water Collaborative formed in 2006 with the goal to combine the strengths and tools of a diverse set of member organizations to act now, and protect sources of drinking water for generations to come. As a member of the collaborative, APA works with partners like the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Forest Service, Smart Growth America, and many others to help communities across the nation protect sources of drinking water. Rachel Carlson is an e

APA talks to Dale Morris, Senior Economist at the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington, DC and David Waggonner, president of Waggonner and Ball Architects in New Orleans about the "Dutch Dialogues" workshops.

Linking Communities Together Through Innovative Regional Transportation Planning May 12, 2015 Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and regional planning councils are in the midst of a wave of innovative practices in how they work with communities to create long-range plans and how they work with local jurisdictions to implement land use, transportation and development decisions that support regional outcomes. Mariia Zimmerman shared highlights of recent work that she has conducted through her company, MZ Strategies, looking at some of the emerging best practices including highlights from the Innovative MPO Guidebook published by Transportation for America. Specifically, what types of local assistance programs are being created to foster more livable communities, how are regional agencies incorporating social equity into their investment decisions, and what role are MPOs and regional planning agencies playing in cross sector regional collaboratives. Erich Zimmermann focused on how MPOs and regional pl

2014 AICP Symposium - Originally Recorded on October 29, 2014 at the National Building Museum "Housing Equity and Healthy Housing Choices" Featuring: Carol Payne, Director, Baltimore Field Office of the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Derek Hyra, Associate Professor, Department of Public Administration and Policy, American University Jonathan Wilson, Deputy Director, National Center for Healthy Housing

On this episode, APA’s Emily Pasi talks with APA member Brad Klamer of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans about the actions the City of New Orleans is taking to create a more water resilient, green and educated community. We’ll explore what cities New Orleans is looking to as models in resiliency planning and how the City is learning to live with water.

February 24, 2015 This talk drew upon lessons from the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP), a collaboration of the Urban Institute and organizations in 35 cities. NNIP partners help local actors use neighborhood data to improve communities through policy, planning, and advocacy. From her experience in NNIP, Kathryn Pettit of the Urban Institute discussed the types of information infrastructure needed to make good decisions in a local community — including open government data, integrated data systems, community indicators, and neighborhood data systems. Examples from local partners demonstrated how stakeholders are using local data on health, housing, and education to set priorities and make better decisions, including examples from the Washington and Baltimore areas. For more information about NNIP, visit www.neighborhoodindicators.org.