Blogs

February 27, 2025

Ethics of AI-Enhanced Planning

Uncovering JAPA: Discover how AI-enhanced planning can drive urban development while requiring planners to tackle biases, ensure transparency, safeguard privacy, and engage communities to promote ethical and equitable outcomes.

July 18, 2024

Can ChatGPT Analyze Public Feedback?

Uncovering JAPA: Learn how ChatGPT analyzes public feedback data, aiding urban planners with high accuracy and essential human oversight.

June 24, 2024

Mapping LGBTQ Sites of Historical Importance in Central Indiana

Equity in Practice: Indianapolis is working to include LGBTQ+ sites of historical significance into its broader preservation and educational frameworks.

WFH Planning Lessons (blog featured image)

June 20, 2024

Applying Online Community Engagement Lessons to In-Person Meetings

Uncovering JAPA: Explore the community engagement strategies and approaches planners utilized during the COVID-19 that provide valuable insights for enhancing future in-person engagement practices.

Embracing Conflict: A Planner’s Journey (blog featured image)

June 18, 2024

Embracing Conflict: Honing Your Conflict Management Skills

Conflict is increasingly permeating through every aspect of our lives — and community meetings are no exception.

Animators Unlock Active School Travel (blog featured image)

June 13, 2024

Integrating Community Animators into Planning

Uncovering JAPA: Learn how community animators can help municipal governments effectively engage marginalized communities in planning processes by bridging gaps between community members and urban planners.

May 31, 2024

Streamlining Local Government Operations: 8 Must-Have Features in Permitting and Licensing Software

Sponsored content from Tyler Technologies. Streamline your local government operations with tailored Permitting and Licensing software.

May 28, 2024

Asian Night Markets Spotlight Heritage and Culture

Night markets provide an opportunity to bolster local economies and a way to celebrate Asian heritage.

May 16, 2024

Park Equity via Development Fees in Los Angeles

Uncovering JAPA: Explore Los Angeles' modified development fee ordinance to allocate more funds to disadvantaged park areas, proposing policy adjustments for equitable distribution.

May 10, 2024

Empowering the Next Generation of Planners

Equity In Practice: In Boston, a collaborative effort is empowering diverse youth to pursue careers in urban planning and create positive community impact.

May 6, 2024

Journey Toward Better Decision-Making Using Digital Twins

Digital twins are having a moment — becoming more and more part of the built environment zeitgeist as planners look for ways to visualize and better design their communities.

May 1, 2024

Key Findings From the 2023 APA Member Equity Survey

Overview of key findings from APA's 2023 member equity survey.

March 26, 2024

Digital Community Engagement: Unlocking Local Knowledge

Sponsored content from Maptionnaire: Digital community engagement offers flexibility and accessibility. The web-based approach overcomes geographical and temporal constraints, allowing community members to share experiences, suggest ideas, and voice concerns at their convenience, regardless of when or where.

March 5, 2024

Overcoming Misinformation to Implement a Road Diet

Amidst a yearslong project to make a roadway safer in Bellingham, Washington, planners had to contend not just with the challenge of reducing lane widths but also with misinformation being spread about the project.

February 15, 2024

Long Beach’s Approach to Youth Advocacy in Planning

Uncovering JAPA: Long Beach invests in Youth, establishing a Global Model with the Office of Youth Development.

January 19, 2024

60 Years of Racial Equity in Urban Planning

Uncovering JAPA: Insightful analysis about racial equity planning to inform planning practitioners' efforts to advance racial and social justice.

January 17, 2024

Reconnecting a City to its Cherokee Culture Through Planning

How an architecture firm connected with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to craft a downtown master plan in Cherokee, North Carolina.

January 12, 2024

Harnessing the Power of Patterns for Zoning Reform

Spotlight on Zoning Practice: Can pre-reviewed plans, pattern books, and pattern zones pave the way to broader missing middle housing reforms?

January 8, 2024

The AARP Livability Index Platform: A Planning Resource for Livable Communities

Sponsored content from AARP. Through the AARP Livability IndexTM platform and other livable community resources, AARP seeks to support efforts by planners and APA to help inform policy, increase community awareness and participation, and improve the quality of life for people of all ages.

December 20, 2023

Placemaking by Shredding

Florida intergovernmental agency's Skateable Art Park transforms unused space into skaters’ dream.

December 14, 2023

Restorative Pathways: Navigating Healing and Justice in Communities Affected by Spatial Trauma

Uncovering JAPA: Addressing spatial trauma in Black and brown communities, urging today's planners to embrace equitable spatial development through healing approaches.

November 17, 2023

Improving Inclusivity of Urban Governance

Uncovering JAPA: Nurturing the culture of a governing body can make it more inclusive for everyone.

November 9, 2023

The Impact of Prejudice Data on Advancing Equitable Planning Practices

Uncovering JAPA: Understanding the impact of the Mapping Prejudice project on advancing more equitable planning policies and practices.

November 1, 2023

A Community's Successful Journey to Modern, Digital Community Development

Sponsored content from Tyler Technologies. Learn how planners in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida collaborated with IT to successfully implement Enterprise Permitting & Licensing software and modernize their planning process.

October 23, 2023

Investing and Rejuvenating Historic All-Black Towns

Equity in Practice: Weekend festival focuses on helping historical all-Black towns survive and thrive.

October 20, 2023

Dissecting 30 Years of Black Urbanist Thought in Urban Planning

Uncovering JAPA: Analysis confirms planning journals and practitioners have not focused on Black voices and Black urbanism for nearly three decades.

October 12, 2023

A New Tool for Assessing Equity in Health Impact Assessments

Uncovering JAPA: A new approach to ensuring racial and ethnic equity are advanced in health impact assessments (HIAs).

October 11, 2023

Are We Close to Automating Zoning?

Spotlight on Zoning Practice: Can generative AI take the drudgery out of drafting zoning regulations?

October 4, 2023

Planning for Boulder's Unique Community: Navigating Challenges and Embracing Digital Transformation

Sponsored content from Tyler Technologies. Learn about the unique qualities of the community of Boulder, Colorado and how a shift to digital helped address their planning challenges.

August 31, 2023

Addressing Racial Harms Through Reparative Planning

Uncovering JAPA: A framework that provides theory and practice for planners working toward urban justice.

August 3, 2023

Black Counternarratives in Planning History

Uncovering JAPA: Understanding planning history from the perspective of those oppressed by traditional planning ensures the oppressed are no longer dismissed as passive victims but active players in their lives and communities.

August 1, 2023

Empowering Planners: Harnessing Data and Insights for Community Development

Sponsored content from Tyler Technologies. How can planning departments use data and technology tools to help make data-driven decisions that solve their locality’s problems? This article looks at data's potential for planners and how technology tools can empower their decision-making process.

July 18, 2023

Futureproofing the Planning Profession

Learn about the skills and approaches planners will need to future-proof the profession.

July 6, 2023

Understanding Opportunities and Challenges in Publicly Traded Planning Firms

Uncovering JAPA: Understanding how to balance the opportunities and challenges of working in a publicly traded planning firm.

June 14, 2023

Finding Meaning – Public Sector Planning in the U.K.

From across the pond, Peter Geraghty finds the U.K. facing similar challenges in recruiting and retaining planners in the profession.

June 13, 2023

Six LGBTQ+ Walking Tours

This June, learn about LGBTQ history while on your feet at one of these six historical walking tours.

June 9, 2023

Is Creativity the Key to Better Staff Reports?

Spotlight on Zoning Practice: Could "right-brain" thinking unlock the potential of your staff reports?

June 1, 2023

Winning Cities Deliver Online Community Development Services

Sponsored Content from Tyler Technologies. Managing community growth while preserving residents' quality of life requires the right solutions. Cloud-based, intuitive software connects agencies, staff, and constituents through visibility and access, balancing faster growth with safer, satisfied residents.

June 1, 2023

Designing Age-Friendly Connectivity in Melbourne, Australia

Uncovering JAPA: Study finds it necessary for planners to take action to ensure the built environment becomes more age-friendly.

May 23, 2023

Immigrant and Refugee Empowerment is Social Justice

A walking tour during NPC23 highlighted the impact of local community groups as they advocate for API residents.

May 18, 2023

Do Municipalities Use Cost-Benefit Analysis for Incentive Zoning?

Uncovering JAPA: Exploring the use of cost-benefit to develop incentive zoning programs.

May 15, 2023

Practical Tips to Foster Diversity and Inclusion in Your Workplace

Understanding the barriers to diverse planners' recruitment, retention, promotion, and leadership. How employers can promote a welcoming environment and encourage access to opportunities for career growth.

May 9, 2023

Augmented: Planners in an Era of Generative AI

Understand the implications of generative AI and learn three steps for planners to take today.

May 5, 2023

Take 5: Celebrating Five Locations Honoring AAPI Heritage

Take 5: Travel the U.S. and learn about five places of significance that honor the heritage of Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

April 21, 2023

It Takes a Planner: Communicating Your Value to Policymakers

APA is launching “It Takes a Planner”, an effort aimed at building the influence of planners among state and local elected and appointed officials.

April 14, 2023

Planning for Neurodiversity: NPC23 Planners' Day of Service

Planners' Day of Service at NPC23 explored neurodiversity within the built environment and assembled Calm Kits for a local Philadelphia organization.

March 30, 2023

Enforcing Asian Exclusion Through Design and Planning Regulations

Uncovering JAPA: Three cities in Los Angeles County developed stringent development controls to encourage Anglo or Spanish heritage in response to Asian newcomers.