American Planning Association

Tax increment financing (TIF) has always been a key tool in the municipal arsenal to make high-quality development projects possible. Since the recession and real estate crash, TIF and other innovative public/private financing mechanisms such as tax credits, loan guarantees, and gap loans, have been more critical than ever. Tony Smith, AICP, of S.B. Friedman Development Advisors will discuss the principles of "when and how to TIF," sharing case studies and approaches for getting the deal done. He will cover the new applications of public/private financing that have emerged since the recession and suggest lessons learned from these applications.

APA talks with Aaron Paley about the CicLAvia bicycle and pedestrian event in Los Angeles.

Timothy Mennel, editor of APA Planners Press, interviews editor David C. Sloane and contributors Todd Gish and Andrew Whittemore, on their newest book, Planning Los Angeles.

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 Columbia University, and Thomas Bassett, from the American Planning Association, discussed recent field research in Santiago, Chile, where the government has recently implemented a new bus system. Like others in the region, this system has been confronted by substantial planning challenges.

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 the adaptive reuse of a decommissioned elementary school near the village's vibrant downtown went bust in 2008. Then in 2010 Libertyville-based developer John McLinden negotiated purchase of the bank-owned site and secured approval from the Village for the new urbanist SchoolStreet development. At build out, SchoolStreet will feature 26 single-family homes designed to blend with the historic turn-of-the-century homes in the neighborhood in addition to urban lofts in the preserved school. Apart from the project's prime location near downtown and a commuter rail station, another key to the project's success has been

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 drive for a 25 percent lower share of trips. This presentation investigated daily travel behavior in the two countries and then examined the transport and land-use policies in Germany over the last 40 years that have encouraged more walking, bicycling, and public transport use. Using a case study of policy changes in the German city of Freiburg, Ralph Buehler identified policies that are transferable to car-oriented countries around the world.

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 planning projects. Jacob Blue from Applied Ecological Services explored how science can inform planning decisions from the planner's and scientist's perspectives and provided planners with basic, practical tools for incorporating ecological decisions into their work.

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 captured by Jim Schwab during a June 2010 meeting in which Greensburg officials and citizens hosted representatives of several communities struck by tornadoes in the spring of 2010, so that they could learn how Greensburg developed its green recovery vision.

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 landowners learn about the economic value of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) and then participate in an auction to bid on what BMPs they are willing to pay for. Megan Lewis, AICP, of Cardno JFNew, and Sabina Shaikh of RCF Economic and Financial Consulting, described a project conducted for the City of Valparaiso, Indiana, to help that community prioritize stormwater BMP installation in a specific neighborhood.

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 effective and equitable development. Speakers Carolina Barco Former Ambassador of Colombia to the United States Robert N. Brown Director, City Planning Commission Cleveland, Ohio Jay Williams Executive Director, Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers Jason Jordan, moderator American Planning Association Director of Policy and Government Affairs

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 architect and urban designer at Skidmore Owings & Merrill. Taylor spoke on "Planning, Policy, and Poetics: Reviving Investment in Transportation and Infrastructure in America." Can we, as designers and planners, help rekindle a sense of stewardship for the future and rebuild the public will needed to stimulate investment? What does this mean for planners and, perhaps more importantly, for planning education?

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 badly damaged. At the APA National Planning Conference in Boston in April 2011, she and her staff saw the city’s heroic efforts recognized with an APA National Planning Excellence Award for Best Practices in Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Planning, shared with Sasaki Associates, Inc., for the city’s new River Corridor Development Plan.

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, it may take decades for the natural system to return to its prior value, and in terms of net carbon emissions, the debt may never be repaid. Now that planners are taking a renewed interest in sustainability, the time is right to rediscover planning and zoning principles to protect natural resources. Lane Kendig, founder of Kendig Keast Collaborative, discussed how planners can use performance zoning for resource protection.

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 environmental education.

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 environmental education.

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 or renegotiating the terms of development agreements. Daniel Shapiro from Robbins, Salomon & Patt and Jessica Schramm from Thompson Coburn discussed a wide range of strategies planners can use to stabilize and reposition distressed properties. Specific strategies covered will include reviewing agreements recorded against property, negotiating development fees, and re-entitling property. They also addressed how planners can assist when development deals turn sour.

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 project, delineate the guiding principles in planning for post-disaster recovery, refine the outline for the PAS Report, and identify criteria for best practices and potential case examples to study.

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.