Many planners and even American Planning Association (APA) members are unaware that the APA has special member bodies called Divisions. These are essentially issue-focused member committees within APA that contribute to policymaking, develop conference sessions, publish newsletters, and generally act as focal points for like-minded APA members.
Sustainability
Cities Call Sustainability a Top Priority
Vancouver's Sustainable Olympic Village
Nature Guiding Green Building
Small Town Sustainability: Prospects for Collaboration in a Global Age
Thirteen Strategies for Sustainability
Can Trade Reform Beget Economic Recovery, Environmental Sustainability?

Low Impact Development
A grad student in our program at Ball State told me several months ago that he wanted to do his creative project (a thesis alternative) on “low impact development.” His particular interest was in what we called “natural drainage systems” when I worked with the planners and landscape architects at Rahenkamp, Sachs Wells in Philadelphia 30 years ago. I told him that it was a great topic and suggested some contemporary and older resources, including an excellent 1975 publication by the Urban Land Institute entitled Residential Storm Water Management. I also told the student that the big issue with such systems is maintenance.
The 'Outdated Ethic' of Iconic Architecture
Innovative Regional Government
Taking Cities Beyond the Greenwash
Unsustainable Humanity
The Small City: Reconsidered, And Ready to Be Sustainable
Building a Sustainable Suburb

Two bad words
Often, participants in public debates use words to mean things very different from their common-sense meanings, in order to manipulate the public’s emotions. Two examples in the field of urban planning come to mind.



















