November 19, 2013 A growing number of cities across the country have begun to acknowledge their waterfronts as valuable community assets through plans, capital investments, and development regulations. The Cal-Sag Channel and Little Calumet River wind through the ecologically rich, but economically challenged Calumet region in Chicago's south suburbs. The region has received attention lately through the state's Millennium Reserve initiative, a new land bank and transit-oriented development fund,...
Nov 21, 2013
October 22, 2013 The American mobilization for World War II is famed for its industrial production; less well known is that it was also one of the greatest urban planning challenges that the United States has ever faced. Although Americans tend to think of World War II as a time of national unity, mobilization had a fractious side. Interest groups competed for federal attention, frequent — sometimes violent — protests interrupted mobilization plans, and seemingly local urban planning controversi...
Nov 04, 2013
October 22, 2013 Despite the planning profession's origins in visionary thinking about the future of our cities, many contemporary planning practitioners are mired in the political battles of today and, therefore, can feel disconnected from the idea of imagining how the cities of tomorrow may have different needs and functions than the cities of today. According to architect and urban designer Marshall Brown, from the Illinois Institute of Technology, future cities will be rooted in but not beho...
Oct 29, 2013
Tuesday, September 24, 2013 While the greater Chicago region has historically had access to ample fresh water, it can no longer assume that water supplies are infinite. Without coordinated planning and policy, the Chicago region may be in jeopardy of forfeiting future growth and prosperity. Fortunately, a lot has happened since the 2010 release of Water 2050: Northeastern Illinois Water Supply/Demand Plan that bodes well for water supply planning and management in northeastern Illinois, includin...
Sep 25, 2013
Tuesday, August 27, 2013 Since 2010, the American Planning Association (APA) has worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to examine the inclusion of public health goals within comprehensive plans and their implementation. This presentation will identify best practices for the effective integration of public health goals into plans and successful approaches to cross-sector collaboration and community partnerships to implement those goals. Anna Ricklin and Nick Kushner of APA's ...
Aug 28, 2013
Tuesday, August 27, 2013 The more planners engage in collaborative participation the more they should expect to find people making judgments about the future tied to current emotional attachments. How do planners anticipate this and prepare activities and plans that encourage and foster emotional shifts? Most planners and plans provide argument and evidence to inform clients about future changes giving reasons in support of different alternative responses. But these do not work in the face of em...
Aug 28, 2013
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center Reuse Plan provides the urban framework for 66.5 acres of land to be transferred to the District of Columbia following closing of the military installation. The planning effort was led by the District Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and the Office of Planning. This land has valuable frontage to 16th Street and Georgia Avenue, two major axial corridors, with the former originating in the White House and the latter being a major ...
Jul 31, 2013
The U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and the right to bear arms. Nevertheless, land uses that are dependent on these guarantees continue to court controversy in many communities. Whether sparked by chronic concerns over threats to community character or more acute debates related to public safety, many planners find themselves on the front lines of battles over contentious uses that have some claim on being constitutionally protected. Drawing from practice...
Jul 25, 2013
Transit oriented development has become the holy grail of land use and transportation planners. The logic of concentrating both residential and commercial growth at transit stations — especially rail transit stations — is compelling and has ample empirical support. There is also evidence that transit accessibility increases property values near stations and that mixed use, high density development near stations increases transit ridership. But investments in transit are designed to move riders t...
Jul 19, 2013
June 25, 2013 As we emerge from the Great Recession, communities with a predictable development review and approval process have a powerful competitive advantage in attracting private investment and economic development. Now, more than ever, limited access to capital, weaker markets, and less ability (or willingness) to share financial incentives is steering good development toward "easier" environments. "Winning" communities are delivering a predictable entitlement process that advances the com...
Jun 27, 2013
Despite a storied planning history, Chicago is no longer a city that plans with confidence and vision. Chicago lacks a city department with the name "planning" in its title. Instead, this essential municipal function is now largely focused on immediate zoning matters with long range and strategic planning in a secondary role and largely replaced with piecemeal, ad hoc, and volunteer planning efforts – often funded and focused on disconnected Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts. The city had ...
May 22, 2013
The film It's a Wonderful Life grows more relevant every day as more American consumers lose the value in their homes and anonymous customer service calling centers become our primary contact with our banks. However, there are still more than 7,000 banks and 7,000 credit unions in the United States. Each of these still has the ability to convert your insured deposit into a loan to a local business and to step up as a community civic leader. Just under 100 of those banks are certified by the U.S....
May 01, 2013
While sustainability and green urbanism have become buzzwords in urban policy circles, too little analysis has focused on who gets to decide what green looks like. Many visions of the green city seem to have room only for park space, waterfront cafes, and luxury LEED-certified buildings, prompting concern that there is no place in the "sustainable" city for industrial uses and the working class. While it is difficult to find anyone against "sustainability," the process through which urban enviro...
Mar 19, 2013
Conservation has often been considered a non-use of land, what is left over when other human needs have been accommodated. More recently, the importance of conservation as an intentional land use has been recognized for its role in supporting a variety of human needs: cultural, recreational, and ecosystem services with significant socioeconomic benefits. However, conservation is different because the factors that make an area valuable for conservation are not nearly as flexible and transportable...
Mar 13, 2013
In Chicago, 1.8 million trips are taken by transit per day, and more than half of these are by bus. However, because Chicago's congestion is the third worst in the country, buses are often caught in traffic, making them slower and less reliable than they should be. There have been many studies looking at new rail options, including a downtown circulator streetcar and the Circle Line L train, but all have stalled because of the time and money needed to plan and implement. For the last five years,...
Feb 27, 2013
Professor Thomas O’Rourke, Thomas R. Briggs Professor of Engineering at Cornell University, spoke in July 2012 at the Natural Hazards Workshop in Broomfield, Colorado, on the subject of “Infrastructure Too Big to Fail.” Jim Schwab, AICP, manager of the APA Hazards Planning Research Center, caught up with him later to explore that subject in the context of natural disasters. Their conversation is the focus of this podcast.
Feb 21, 2013
According to annual surveys by the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and the National League of Cities (NLC), cities have been eliminating jobs, decreasing infrastructure investments, and scaling back services for more than a decade. For many municipalities, the Great Recession has exacerbated these trends, endangering these communities ability to invest in future economic growth. Furthermore, the changing nature of municipal revenue structures affects land-use policy and the nature of fut...
Jan 30, 2013
As large populations in the United States are aging, our communities must adapt to this demographic shift. More people are living longer in varying locations from cities and towns to rural areas of the country. Planners are in a position to ensure that this growing population has access to services no matter what the context. Issues of mobility, food access, and healthy living are just some topics to be explored in this symposium. Panelists include: Sandy Markwood, CEO National Association of Ar...
Dec 07, 2012
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...
Nov 14, 2012
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...
Oct 24, 2012
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...
Sep 26, 2012
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 Develo...
Aug 29, 2012
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.
Aug 09, 2012
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...
Jul 18, 2012
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. H...
Jun 22, 2012
APA talks with Aaron Paley about the CicLAvia bicycle and pedestrian event in Los Angeles.
Apr 12, 2012
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.
Apr 05, 2012
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).
Mar 19, 2012
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 re...
Mar 14, 2012
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 b...
Feb 28, 2012
