American Planning Association

Streets are very often a community's largest public asset, yet they have rarely been described as such. In an era of higher gas prices, increasing rates of chronic disease, and an increased call for fiscally responsible investments, people are demanding another look at our streets. They want safe streets that provide a choice of travel modes and access to destinations near and far. They want complete streets. An ideal complete streets policy is an inter-disciplinary vision and an actionable tool to create robust, safe transportation networks within and between our communities. But what are the real barriers to complete design? What do people really mean when they ask for complete streets? And why do so many projects result in incomplete streets? Stefanie Seskin from the Complete Streets Coalition and Paul Lippens, AICP, from the Active Transportation Alliance will describe the 10 elements of a complete streets policy, and how that written direction can prompt transportation decisions that are responsive to

Each year in the U.S., approximately 1.7 billion square feet of buildings are demolished and approximately 5 billion square feet of newly constructed buildings are added to the total building stock. Until recently, the environmental impacts of this cycle of demolition and new construction have been poorly understood, as were the opportunities to gain carbon savings through building retrofit and reuse. Earlier this year, the National Trust for Historic Preservation released "The Greenest Building: Quantifying the Environmental Value of Building Reuse," the most comprehensive analysis to date comparing the environmental impacts of new construction compared to retrofit and reuse of existing buildings. Commissioned by Preservation Green Lab, a project of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the study found that building reuse typically offers greater environmental savings than demolition and new construction and that building reuse and retrofits substantially reduce climate change impacts. Patrice Frey

Stretching 2.7 miles through four vibrant Chicago northwest side neighborhoods, the unused Bloomingdale elevated rail corridor is adjacent to numerous private properties and crosses over major arterials, a historic boulevard, bus and bicycle routes, and the CTA Blue Line. The conversion of this corridor into a trail and park will provide unprecedented connections to and among these communities. The recently released Bloomingdale Trail and Park Framework Plan represents a critical juncture in the development of the project. Balanced between the efforts of the past and the development of the future, it strives to capture and harness the momentum and history of the project while defining a vision for the Bloomingdale's initial development and long-term stewardship. Beth White from the Trust for Public Land and Kathleen Dickhut from the City of Chicago will provide an overview of the collaborative planning process and discuss the plan's guidelines to design, implement, and manage a local trail and park with glob

Obesity is the foremost public health crisis in Chicago and across the nation. More than half of Chicago adults and one-third of youth are overweight or obese, meaning they are at increased risk for serious, costly health problems such as heart disease and diabetes. A key focus in the city's obesity prevention effort is improving access to healthy food. To this end the City of Chicago is developing a new food plan through a partnership that includes the Departments of Housing and Economic Development, Public Health, Family and Support Services, the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC), and many stakeholders that include individuals and organizations representing health and food related issues. Bradley Roback from the City of Chicago will discuss the process of developing the plan and highlight strategies that seek to increase the production and distribution of healthy food, improve access to healthier food, build demand and increase consumption of healthy food, and capitalize on opportunit

Author Tony Hiss (Experience of Place), talks with Bob Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association about his new paperback edition of In Motion: The Experience of Travel. Hiss and Yaro discuss how planners can take on the role of stewards of Deep Travel.

Riverside, Illinois, and Mariemont, Ohio, are two acclaimed examples of early planned communities. Riverside's plan was created in 1869 by Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of New York City's Central Park, and John Nolen developed the town plan for Mariemont in 1921 as a national exemplar. Both of these pioneer planners were landscape architects who understood that good planning is good business. In recognition of their uniqueness and significance, Riverside and Mariemont enjoy a special honor — designation as National Historic Landmarks. In addition, they possess such enviable but often elusive attributes as sense of place, strong community identity, and outstanding quality of life. After presenting an overview of Olmsted, Nolen, and the two communities, former Mariemont Preservation Foundation president Frank Raeon, AICP, explained why the design principles used in Riverside and Mariemont merit not only further consideration but potential incorporation into the development patterns and character of c

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.